The hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum has been used for centuries in shamanistic ceremonies led by spiritual healers in Mexico.
Drugs
Are Stoners Really Dumb, or Do They Just Think They Are?
If you’re acting stupid because you’re a stoner, you might just be playing to type. That is, it may be your expectations about marijuana’s long-term cognitive effects — rather than any real effect of the drug itself — that is …
Fighting Teen Drug Use with Plain Facts
Are you smarter than a high-schooler on drugs? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has declared Nov. 8–14 National Drug Facts Week, with more than 60 events planned online and around the country to help prevent teen …
Study: Rural Teens Are More Likely to Misuse Prescription Drugs
Contrary to what the pill-popping kids on Gossip Girl would have you believe, city-dwelling teenagers are actually significantly less likely than their rural counterparts to use prescription drugs such as painkillers and …
The Most Dangerous Drugs? Alcohol, Heroin and Crack — in That Order
How often does life really imitate art? Let’s imagine that a writer has been commissioned to develop a comedic screenplay about the deeply serious business of how to classify and control drugs.
Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: The Myth That Will Not Die
Of all the arguments that have been used to demonize marijuana, few have been more powerful than that of the “gateway effect”: the notion that while marijuana itself may not be especially dangerous, it ineluctably leads to harder …
How a Study of a Failed Antidepressant Shows That Antidepressants Really Work
The British Medical Journal recently released a study finding that the antidepressant reboxetine, which is manufactured by Pfizer and has been used in Europe since 1997 — but is not approved in the U.S. — does not work at …
The Marijuana Number That Was Too Good to Check
Over the last few years, supporters and opponents of marijuana legalization have both cited the same statistic to back their cause: 60% of the profits made by violent Mexican drug lords come from marijuana. But now, it seems, …
Prop 19 Analysis: Will Marijuana Legalization Increase Use?
As California moves toward the legalization of marijuana — next month, voters will decide on Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 — a key question remains: could the new law produce a whole …
What’s in Your Marijuana? Some Pot Doesn’t Rot Your Memory
Want fewer “Dude, where’s my car?” moments but not ready to give up the weed? A new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry suggests that variations in the chemical makeup of different strains of marijuana are …
Is Drug Use Really on the Rise?
Each year when the federal government releases new statistics on drug use, the bad news always gets reported first. That’s partly because bad news is always a better story than good news. It’s also partly because government …
Does Big Beer Fear Big Bud?
The California Beer and Beverage Distributors association, which describes itself on its website as “a nonprofit trade association representing over 100 beer distributors and brewer/vendor members,” has donated $10,000 to a group …
Who’s High? A School Suspends a Student for Bloodshot Eyes
California may be considering the full legalization of marijuana, but in Texas, a student was recently suspended from school for having red eyes.