A powerful and addictive new painkiller is coming down the pike. Can this be anything but an unmitigated disaster?
Addiction
Clean Needles Saved My Life. Now Congress Wants to Ban Funding for Needle Exchange
Would you rather save lives and save money — or make a political point? Sadly, when the question involves the issue of clean needle programs, the choice to “send a message” always seems to win.
Why the Myth of the Meth-Damaged Brain May Hinder Recovery
Methamphetamine is widely believed to cause brain damage and cognitive impairment in users. But this claim may be wildly overblown, according to a new review of the research.
A Brief History of OD’ing in America
The conviction of Dr. Conrad Murray in Michael Jackson’s death highlighted a worrying drug trend in the U.S. Less than a week before a jury found Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter for improperly using an anesthetic to …
Michael Jackson Verdict: Is a Doctor’s Conviction an Indictment of Modern Medicine?
Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty on Monday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. With overdose deaths tripling in the past decade, should Murray’s conviction be a lesson to other doctors?
Study: Whites More Likely to Abuse Drugs Than Blacks
Black youth are arrested for drug crimes at a rate ten times higher than that of whites. But new research shows that young African Americans are actually less likely to use drugs and less likely to develop substance use …
Are Doctors Really to Blame for the Overdose Epidemic?
Forty people die each day from what Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calls an “epidemic” of prescription drug overdose. Frieden largely attributes the rise in overdose …
The Tolerance Effect: How Drinking May Have Really Killed Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning, according to a British coroner’s inquest released Wednesday. The singer had a blood level of alcohol five times the legal limit for driving at the time of her “death by misadventure,” the …
Heavy Drinking Costs the U.S. $223.5 Billion Annually: CDC
Excessive alcohol consumption cost the U.S. $223.5 billion in 2006 alone, and nearly half of that burden was borne by the government, according to a new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Do People Really Drink More When the Economy Tanks?
A new study suggests that in hard economic times, people drink more alcohol. Intuitively, it might make sense, but the findings run counter to most previous research, which shows that alcoholism and other drinking-related …
Viewpoint: Teaching Recovery, Rather Than Treating Addiction
Today is the final day of Recovery Month, during which we celebrated those who are overcoming addictions. But as the month winds down, the question of how best to spur recovery remains. One New York program, Exponents, has …
Viewpoint: Why Dr. Feelgood Isn’t Always Wrong
Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, is currently on trial in Los Angeles for involuntary manslaughter, two years after the death of the singer — of “acute propofol intoxication” — was officially ruled a …
Fueled by Growing Painkiller Use, Overdose Deaths and Child Poisonings Are on the Rise
Drug overdose has now overtaken automobile crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., according to an analysis of government data. This is the first time that drugs have killed more people than car wrecks since …