Drug and Substance Abuse - Page 145

February 24, 2017

Deadly US heroin overdoses quadrupled in five years: study

The number of deadly heroin overdoses in the United States more than quadrupled from 2010 to 2015, a federal agency said on Friday, as the price of the drug dropped and its potency increased.

February 22, 2017

Opioids unnecessary for dental work, doc says

From 1999 to 2010, fatalities from opioid overdose have quadrupled with many of these cases involving teens, according to a JAMA study.

February 17, 2017

Prescription-drug monitoring cuts doctor-shopping for painkillers

State programs that require physicians to check drug registries before writing prescriptions appeared to slash the odds of doctor-shopping for opioid pain relievers, a new study found.

February 16, 2017

Wide variation in willingness of ER doctors to prescribe painkillers

A national comparison of emergency room physicians has uncovered a broad range of prescribing patterns for painkillers, and high-volume prescribers may be encouraging long-term use of the drugs among their elderly patients.

February 15, 2017

'Speed' and other recreational stimulants tied to heart damage

Middle-aged adults who use recreational amphetamines like "speed," "ecstasy" or "ice" may develop a prematurely aging heart and experience health problems normally associated with older people, a recent study suggests.

February 8, 2017

Synthetic marijuana substitutes are likely not safe

Drugs known as K2 or Spice, often sold as "safe" or "legal" versions of marijuana, are none of those things, a research review concludes.

January 27, 2017

Students given potentially lethal doses of caffeine

A misplaced decimal point put two students at Northumbria University in the ICU.

January 26, 2017

How to treat an opioid epidemic

The grim faces of the nation’s opioid epidemic—an overdosing parent slumped in the front seat of a car, mouth agape, with a neglected child in the rear seat—have become too familiar in recent years.

January 23, 2017

Changes mulled as synthetic drug sentences cause confusion

The men who sold it called it Mr. Miyagi, a mind-altering chemical compound mixed with vegetable material and resembling marijuana.

January 23, 2017

UK scientists give cancer risk warning on overdone chips, toast

Potatoes and bread cooked at high temperatures for a long time could increase the risk of cancer in people who eat them regularly, British government scientists said on Monday.