Drug Facts in Media

Vivid dreams involving drinking and drug use are common among individuals in recovery. A study finds these relapse dreams are more common in those with more severe clinical histories of alcohol and other drug problems.

With widespread legalization and increasing use, more care, education a research needed about how each marijuana formulation may affect and sometimes compromise the cardiovascular system of our aging population, according to a new article and editorial.

Female-specific interventions are needed, but in the meantime, treatment centers could use this study to educate women about their stronger mental connections to places and objects.

Long-term MDMA users have higher levels of empathy than cannabis and other drugs users, new research suggests. The findings contradict previous suggestions that long-term MDMA use may cause heightened social distress.

The legalization of marijuana in Washington state in 2012 gave parents the opportunity for a new teachable moment. Many say that as society has become more permissive, they want information and advice.

Researchers report that a possible cure for addiction may be found by following the pathways of significantly altered dopamine neurons in newborns who were chronically exposed to nicotine in utero.

Medical marijuana has gained attention in recent years for its potential to relieve pain and short-term anxiety and depression. Now, researchers say some cannabinoid compounds may actually inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in the lab.

Men who have smoked marijuana at some point in their life had significantly higher concentrations of sperm when compared with men who have never smoked marijuana, according to new research. The study also found that there was no significant difference in sperm concentrations between current and former marijuana smokers.

Legalizing the sale of cannabis for recreational use can lead to a short-term increase in traffic fatalities in legalizing states and their neighboring jurisdictions, new research suggests.

A new study seeks to understand whether people are using medical cannabis for evidence-based reasons.

Public health officials have blamed the shift from prescription opioids to injectable heroin as a cause of the rise in hepatitis C cases. A new study provides the best evidence to date that reformulation of the pain medicine OxyContin in 2010 to make it more difficult to abuse directly led to a surge in hepatitis C infections as drug abusers switched to heroin.

Nearly one percent of high school seniors report using Flakka, a highly potent and potentially dangerous synthetic drug, according to a new study.

Building on reviews of existing studies, researchers have identified the principles that may help improve substance use treatment systems.

Researchers identified the brain circuits that form memories associating environmental cues with cocaine use. Targeting these memories may improve the success of exposure therapy to prevent relapse.

Up to one-third of pregnant women do not believe cannabis is harmful to their fetus, according to a new review.

A study finds a surprising response to cocaine in a novel strain of mutant mice -- they failed to show hyperactivity seen in normal mice when given cocaine and didn't run around. In other tests, they still found cocaine appealing, but displayed an inability to shake the memory of cocaine's actions when the drug was no longer administered. The key change that blocks cocaine's stimulant effects in these mice is serotonin, not dopamine, which is responsible for producing a high.

At a time when several states are moving to legalize recreational use of marijuana, new research shows that concerns about the drug's impact on teens may be warranted. The study shows that even a small amount of cannabis use by teenagers is linked to differences in their brains.

Pain and substance use interact in a vicious cycle that can ultimately worsen and maintain both chronic pain and addiction, according to new research.

Researchers have revealed significant insight into cocaine addiction, a phenomenon which has grown significantly in the United States since 2015.

More than half of people who take medical cannabis for chronic pain say they've driven under the influence of cannabis within two hours of using it, at least once in the last six months, according to a new survey. One in five of them said they'd driven while 'very high' in the past six months.