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
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, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In a finding that demonstrates methamphetamine’s power to destroy the human heart, new research shows hospitalizations for heart failure related to the illicit drug have soared by 585% in California. “Our study results should bring urgent attention to this insidious, yet rapidly growing,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, June 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Methamphetamine users are at increased risk for physical and mental health problems as well as other substance use disorders, new research shows. Meth is an illegal and highly addictive stimulant drug that can harm organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and neurologicalContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, April 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The Biden administration has eased guidelines for prescribing a crucial addiction treatment drug, just as a new study reveals one in five U.S. pharmacies refuses to dispense the medication, called buprenorphine. “Buprenorphine is a vital, lifesaving medication for people with opioid use disorder,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, April 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Overdose deaths resulting from a dangerous combination of cocaine and opioids are outpacing fatalities linked to cocaine abuse alone, a new U.S. government report warns. “Much of the increase in the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine in recent years is dueContinue Reading