THURSDAY, May 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) — When people receive methadone treatment for opioid use disorder, their use of the dangerous drugs heroin and fentanyl significantly declines, a new study shows. But decreases in cocaine or methamphetamine use were not seen in a year of treatment, researchers report. “Methadone treatmentContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, March 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Contrary to concerns, wider availability of naloxone treatment is not increasing heroin use among U.S. teens, new research finds. Naloxone (Narcan) quickly reverses an overdose from opioids like heroin, fentanyl, morphine and oxycodone (OxyContin). There had been some worry that expanding access toContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Deaths from methamphetamine among Americans increased 50-fold between 1999 and 2021, a chilling new study reports. Most of these deaths also involved heroin or fentanyl, according to researchers. “The staggering increase in methamphetamine-related deaths in the United States is largely now driven byContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Researchers already knew that injecting drugs can lead to the dangerous and deadly heart infection called endocarditis. Now they know that also becoming infected with COVID-19 appears to increase risk for this already vulnerable group. “A lot of people talk about long COVID,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Methamphetamine wreaks havoc on the heart, warns new research that shows heart failure rates linked to the illicit drug are on the rise around the world. Not only are these cases increasing, but they are more severe than traditional heart failure cases andContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Oct. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Using marijuana increases the risk of developing the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (a-fib), a new study suggests. It’s been known that drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and opiates can directly affect the heart and cause abnormal rhythms like a-fib, but weed canContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Aug. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Methamphetamine is driving an epidemic of drug overdoses in rural America, a new study concludes. Researchers attribute the surge to meth laced with fentanyl or combined with an opioid that contains fentanyl. “Methamphetamine is increasingly contaminated or adulterated with fentanyl, which is 50Continue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Amphetamines can pull people into a vicious cycle of addiction, but new research now shows that people who abuse these stimulants are also five times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users. The effect of “speed” on neurotransmitter signaling in the brain oftenContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Combined use of opioids and stimulant drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine can be deadly, and in the United States Black communities have been hit especially hard by this lethal combo, new research indicates. Over a 12-year period, Black Americans have had much largerContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There are indications the U.S. Justice Department may be open to the idea of allowing safe injection sites, a year after it won a court battle against them. The department told the Associated Press that it is “evaluating” safe injection sites and speakingContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — No magic bullet exists for ending the U.S. opioid crisis, but there’s hopeful news for one high-risk population: Providing addiction medication in jails reduces the odds of addicts being re-arrested after their release, new research shows. “Studies like this provide much-needed evidence andContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — New government data confirms what many have suspected: The pandemic has prompted a record number of drug overdose deaths, with more than 100,000 Americans succumbing to addiction as COVID-19 raged across the country. That figure is almost 30% higher than the previous year,Continue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week. This was the first public safety alert the DEAContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week. This was the first public safety alert the DEAContinue Reading