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The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, setting the stage for a significant shift in the nation's drug policy.

In a proposed rule sent to the federal register, officials acknowledge the medical uses of marijuana and state that cannabis has less ...

TUESDAY, NOV. 14, 2023 (Healthday News) -- Over 1 in 6 Americans, adults and teens alike, suffered a substance use disorder in 2022, new government data released Monday shows.

In the survey, alcohol and drug abuse involved roughly the same numbers of people: About 30 million had an al...

The lax enforcement of age limits by many online marijuana dispensaries makes it easier for minors to buy weed, claims new research that looked at online weed sales in 32 states.

"It is imperative to require strict age-verification procedures prior to cannabis purchases online and to establish stringent surveillance of online marijuana dispensaries to protect youth,"wrote the authors of t...

Substance abuse and pregnancy may be a dangerous combination.

New research finds that pregnant women with a history of substance abuse had a dramatically increased risk of death from heart attack and stroke during childbirth compared to women with no drug history.

"This telling research shows that substance use during pregnancy doubled cardiovascular events and maternal mortality du...

In recent years, the opioid epidemic has been worsened by the advent of street fentanyl, an illicit version of a powerful prescription painkiller.

But experts now warn that the threat posed by fentanyl may ultimately pale in comparison to the emergence of an even more dangerous type of synthetic opioid that's now tainting the illegal drug supply: nitazenes.

That's because a new inve...

More than 1 out of every 10 patients who land in an ICU with a potentially deadly heart emergency test positive for recreational drug use, a new French study reports.

About 11% of nearly 1,500 patients admitted to a French intensive cardiac care unit for a heart crisis tested positive for cannabis, opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine or other illicit drugs, researchers said in the journal <...

Following a four-day raid, Mexico has closed 23 pharmacies in Caribbean resorts of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum for irregular pill sales.

Last spring, the United States warned of dangerous pill sales to foreigners and tourists where counterfeit drugs contained fentanyl, her...

One dose of the hallucinogenic ingredient in "magic mushrooms" may help some people with anorexia move past their preoccupation with body image, an early study suggests.

The study, of just 10 women with anorexia, tested the effects of a single dose of psilocybin plus psychological counseling sessions.

Researchers found that the treatment appeared safe, with patients rating the exper...

Teens who use stimulant medication like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not have an increased risk of illicit drug use later, a new study finds.

This study looked specifically at cocaine and methamphetamine use. High school seniors who used stimulant therapy were no more likely to use cocaine or methamphetamine as young adults (ages 19 to 24) than thei...

A fentanyl dealer has been found guilty of second-degree murder in what authorities believe is the first-ever murder conviction for dealing the dangerous drug.

The conviction happened in Placer County, Calif., in a case involving the fatal overdose last summer of a 15-year-old girl in Roseville, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento, ABC News reported.

"This conviction cou...

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are experiencing more mental health and substance use issues than their heterosexual peers, researchers say.

According to a new government report released Tuesday, this includes major depressive episodes, serious thoughts of suicide,...

Young American adults have doubled their use of non-LSD hallucinogens in just a few years, a new report warns.

Researchers found that between 2018 and 2021, U.S. adults aged 19 to 30 increased their use of mescaline, peyote, psilocybin ("magic mushrooms") and PCP, though not LSD.

The prevalence of young adults' past-year use of these drugs was 3.4% in 2018, but it hit 6.6% in 2021....

Seizures of illicit ketamine by drug enforcement agents have surged throughout the United States, growing 349% from 2017 through 2022, a new study finds.

Rising use of ketamine could increase the likelihood that people who use the drug recreationally may instead get a potentially harmful version of the substance, researchers say.

"This dramatic rise in ketamine seizures by law...

The U.S. federal government has committed $5 million to study three existing and planned safe drug injection sites to see if they help prevent overdoses and whether they may offer savings in the health and criminal justice systems.

At these overdose prevention centers (OPCs), people can use heroin or other illegal drugs under supervision so they can potentially be revived if they overdose...

U.S. regulators are urging Americans to avoid Apetamin, an illegal drug used for weight gain and figure enhancement.

The substance, typically sold as a syrup, is manufactured overseas, illegally imported and isn't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It contains a potent antihistamine called cyproheptadine, which requires a physician's prescription in the United State...

U.S. officials are intensifying efforts to crack down on illicit use of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine, which can cause painful and deadly side effects in humans.

The drug, when mixed with the opioid fentanyl, has been designated an "emerging threat,"the Office of National Drug Control Policy announced Wednesday.

"As a physician, I am deeply troubled about the devastating imp...

Congressional leaders introduced a bill on Tuesday that would further restrict access to the veterinary drug xylazine, which is now being added to fentanyl powder.

Also known as tranq, the drug is meant to be a sedative and muscle relaxer for horses and other large animals and is not approved for human use. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • March 29, 2023
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  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it has taken action to restrict imports of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine to prevent illicit use of the drug.

    While veterinarians use products containing xylazine to sedate large animals such as horses and deer, the drug is not safe for people. It is sold on the street under the names tranq, Philly dope and zombie drug.

    F...

    Researchers have uncovered groundbreaking evidence that pharmacies in tourist areas of Northern Mexico are selling counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamines.

    The pills, mainly sold to U.S. tourists without a prescription, were passed off as controlled substances, including oxycodone, percocet and Adderall,

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • February 6, 2023
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  • Colorado voters have voted narrowly to approve the medical use of "magic mushrooms"in Colorado.

    "I'm in awe of what we were able to accomplish,"said Veronica Lightning Horse Perez, a lead proponent for legalizing psilocybin, the main psychoactive compound in mushro...

    The U.S. opioid epidemic has been heartbreaking -- literally.

    Young adults' risk of dying from a devastating infection of the heart has doubled to tripled in the United States during the past two decades, a new study reports.

    Researchers ascribe the increase in fatal heart infections to the growing number of people between 15 and 44 who are injecting opioid drugs.

    "We found th...

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned health care workers to look out for patients who may have been exposed to a potentially deadly animal sedative, possibly through illicit drug use.

    The veterinary medication xylazine is sometimes added to fentanyl, heroin or other drugs, after either being diverted from the legal animal supply or illicitly produced, the FDA said.

    ...

    Smoking is an incredibly hard habit to break. Anne Levine of Baltimore can attest to that.

    But Levine, 58, is getting help from a potential new tool: psychedelics.

    The four-decade smoker has tried to quit a dozen times. But once she became part of a res...

    Pregnant women addicted to opioids have both a compelling reason to change and a harder time getting medications to battle their substance use disorder.

    Now, a new plan from the Biden administration would expand the use of medications to treat addiction in pregnant women through federal court and h...

    A new study is sounding the alarm about the addition of antihistamines to street forms of opioids -- and how they might make a fatal overdose more likely.

    The prime drug in question is diphenhydramine, found commonly in over-the-counter allergy meds such as Benadryl.

    Because

  • By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
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  • October 13, 2022
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  • Nitazenes: You've probably never heard of these highly toxic drugs, and neither have many Americans who abuse opioid street drugs.

    That lack of awareness could prove deadly, experts warn, because nitazenes are increasingly being added into heroin and ...

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning the public that colorfully dyed fentanyl -- dubbed "rainbow fentanyl" -- is readily available across the United States.

    "Rainbow fentanyl -- fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes -- is a deliberate effo...

    If you think hallucinogens like LSD are a thing of the past, think again.

    New research estimates that the use of mind-altering LSD rose from less than 1% in 2002 to 4% in 2019 among people aged 18 to 25. And, overall, 5.5 million Americans used some kind of hallucinogen in 2019.

    "According to our results, hallucin...

    People appear less likely to turn to dangerous synthetic pot products in U.S. states where marijuana has been legalized, a new Washington State University study finds.

    Researchers discovered a 37% drop in poisoning reports for

  • By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
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  • August 4, 2022
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  • Dovetailing with a surge in overdose deaths, the United States has seen a sharp rise in seizures of illicit fentanyl, according to a new report.

    Law enforcement seizures of pills containing illicit fen...

    The U.S. drug epidemic continues its death march, with new research showing American teens and young adults have lost nearly 1.5 million years of life due to drug overdose deaths in recent years.

    For the study, the researchers examined years of life lost -- the difference between a person's e...

    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 and momentum for jails and prisons to better enable the treatment, education and support systems that i...

    At least 59 overdoses were prevented in the first three weeks that two overdose prevention centers have been open in New York City, the city's health department said Tuesday.

    During that time, there were more than 2,000 visits to the centers that are operated by OnPoint NYC and are the first publicly recognized overdose prevention sites to open in the United States. The city first

    There may be a silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, with U.S. health officials reporting an "unprecedented" decline in teens' use of alcohol, marijuana, other illegal drugs and vaping.

    "We have never seen such dramatic decreases in drug use among teens in just a one-year period," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    "These data are unpreced...

    A wearable device that could inject a lifesaving antidote for an opioid overdose might be on the horizon.

    A new study shows that the device, worn on the stomach like an insulin pump, can detect when someone stops breathing from an overdose and inject the drug naloxone to restore breathing.

    "Fatal drug overdoses in the United States are at an all-time high, and opioid overdoses accou...

    Teenagers have followed the vaping trend into marijuana use, with recent studies chronicling a boom in pot vaping among adolescents in the United States and Canada, researchers report.

    The percentage of teens who've experimented with vaped pot has more than doubled in recent years, and vaping among frequent marijuana users has quadrupled, according to the study.

    Currently about 1 in...

    Researchers may be one step closer to developing the equivalent of a Breathalyzer for detecting marijuana use.

    In an early study, scientists found that their rapid test was able to reliably detect THC in people's saliva in under 5 minutes. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in marijuana.

    Right now, the "gold standard" for detecting marijuana use is to meas...

    Drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a new record for the 12-month period ending March 2021, new government data shows.

    A record high 96,779 drug overdose deaths occurred between March 2020 and March 2021, representing a 29.6% rise, new statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics found. The numbers are provisional, ...

    Use of stimulants among college students was once thought to be a problem among high achievers seeking energy and focus to study.

    Not so, according to new research that links misuse of these so-called "study drugs" to binge drinking and marijuana use. The stereotype of students bumming a prescription medication like Adderall or Ritalin to study is off the mark, it suggests.

    "Stimula...

    The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up the U.S. opioid crisis in ways bad and good, increasing the risk of use and overdose but also spurring innovative approaches to treatment.

    The pandemic has definitely been linked to an increase in opioid use and overdose deaths, Tufts University's Thomas Stopka said during a HealthDay Now video interview.

    "We've been seeing increases in o...

    For those who smoke or drink, it's only a small step to marijuana, researchers report.

    "Legal consumption of alcohol and tobacco may directly increase the level of illicit drug use. However, the relationships are complex," said researcher Dr. Zoe Reed. She is a senior research associate in the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

    The...

    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 DEA has issued in six years, CNN reported.

    Many of these counterfeit pills are laced with fentanyl and methamphetam...

    Deaths from methamphetamine overdoses in the United States nearly tripled between 2015 and 2019, health officials report in a new study.

    While the number of methamphetamine users did not increase as steeply, researchers said frequent use of methamphetamine, and using other drugs at the same time, may have contributed to the increase in overdose deaths. Meth users have also become more div...

    An animal tranquilizer, xylazine, is increasingly linked to drug overdose deaths across the United States, health officials say.

    According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, xylazine has turned up in overdose deaths in 25 of 38 states examined. In 2019, xylazine contributed to death in 64% of cases and almost always also involved fentanyl.

    The ...

    Hospitalized opioid addicts die at a rate similar to people who have a heart attack after leaving the hospital.

    Nearly 8% of patients addicted to opioids died within 12 months of hospital discharge, according to researchers from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

    "We need systems that can address comprehensive needs of people with substance use disorder and serious medical i...

    Fully half of all young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also battle alcohol or drug abuse.

    And folks with ADHD who have a history of depression or anxiety are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse problems, a new study showed.

    "People with ADHD may be self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to keep their depression under control, and of course, th...

    Overdose deaths linked to illicit "designer" benzodiazepines have surged in the United States, as underground labs crank out new synthetic variations on prescription tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax and Ativan.

    Overdose deaths involving illicit benzos increased more than sixfold (520%) between 2019 and 2020, rising from 51 to 316, according to data from 32 states and the District of Colum...

    There's been a sharp rise in opioid-related cardiac arrests in the United States and they now equal those associated with other prime causes, a new study finds.

    Of more than 1.4 million cardiac arrest hospitalizations nationwide between 2012 and 2018, more than 43,000 (3.1%) occurred in opioid users, and there was a significant increase in opioid-associated cardiac arrest over the seven-y...