Drug use

Analysis and Comment (13)

Qs55b3yw-1358138541
Researchers found early and persistent cannabis users showed an eight-point decline in IQ compared to those who hadn’t used cannabis in this way. Jonah G.S.

Teen cannabis use lowers IQ, despite claims to the contrary

By Wayne Hall and Madeline Meier, Duke University

A study published today in the scholarly journal PNAS questions the conclusion of a paper from last year that was widely seen as greatly strengthening the evidence that regular cannabis use beginning in…
Qyc62dsx-1354229539
The finger has been pointed at Collingwood player Dane Swan in the latest drugs in sports ‘scandal’. AAP

AFL drug policy is the best and fairest

By Craig Fry, Victoria University

Here we go again. Another high profile sportsperson has been implicated in the latest drugs in sport “scandal”. This time the finger is being pointed at Collingwood Brownlow medallist Dane Swan. The same…
Wb2dwz53-1352848762
The products marketed as “legal weed” might cause more harm than the real thing. prensa

Legal highs: what should we do about synthetic cannabis?

By Monica Barratt, Curtin University and Stephen Bright, Curtin University

Synthetic cannabis is a lab-made product that mimics the effects of cannabis to give users a high when smoked. It has been sold in Australia since 2011 under various brand names, with a range of chemical…
8s99pvny-1342671916
Would it be so bad if a pill that improved athletic performance was available to everyone? Dave Campbell

What if doping were legal at the Olympics?

By Simon Outram, Victoria University

The Olympics is arguably the greatest show of combined physical and mental prowess we’ll ever see. The Games challenge competitors and challenge the watching public to think about the achievements they…
Vbckyhvd-1337841234
It’s difficult to detect impairment among doctors, but drug testing won’t solve all our problems. Best In Plastics

Dangerous addiction – should doctors be tested for drug use?

By Moira Sim

Doctors, just like the rest of the population, make personal choices about drug use. Some choose to use legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol; others take illicit substances like cannabis and amphetamines…
P7qdwrbq-1334014492
Drugs smuggled into a South Australian prison. If jails can’t be kept drug free, what hope is there for wider society? AAP/Thuy On

Australia’s love affair with drugs

By James Rowe, RMIT University

Australians have always loved their drugs – more so than any other nation in which those same drugs are proscribed and used under threat of native, criminal penalties. Drug taking is a national trait…
9rxfzxp3-1333598422
Brazilian police patrol a favela in Rio De Janiero. EPA/Marcelo Sayao

A moral argument against the war on drugs

By Julian Savulescu, Monash University and Bennett Foddy, University of Oxford

Former Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has argued that the war on drugs has failed and cannabis should be decriminalised. He argued that the hardline approach has brought “disastrous” consequences…
J9hrjy97-1333521311
Shamed senior police officer Mark Standen is lead away from King St Supreme Court after being found guilty of attempting to import a massive haul of pseudoephedrine. AAP/Tracey Nearmy

Good cop, bad cop: how corrupt police work with drug dealers

By Mike Pottenger, University of Melbourne

The Australia21 report on illicit drugs draws much-needed attention to many serious issues, including the major role played by corrupt police in drug distribution networks. The role played by drugs in…
7ts8wznx-1328658752
He’s in the spotlight for taking a drug that probably didn’t even help his performance. EPA/Alberto Martin

Alberto Contador banned for doping, but what is clenbuterol?

By Laura Corbit

After a drawn-out and controversial case, Spanish professional cyclist Alberto Contador has been found guilty of doping and banned from the sport for two years. Contador was stripped of his victories…
3533571619_5fb834267b_o
Addicts have choices, but those choices might be severely constrained. davidblume

Brain’s addiction: is shooting up a disease or a choice?

By Neil Levy, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Welcome to part four of On the brain, a Conversation series by people whose job it is to know as much as there is to know about the body’s most complex organ. Here, Neil Levy, Head of Neuroethics at Florey…
3582402039_889b57fcac_b-1317786601
Susceptibility to addiction can be seen as a form of Russian Roulette. kriffster

Brain’s addiction: what makes heavy drug users different?

By Andrew J. Lawrence, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Welcome to part three of On the brain, a Conversation series by people whose job it is to know as much as there is to know about the body’s most complex organ. Here, Professor Andrew J. Lawrence, the Florey…

Research and News (1)

Research Briefs (1)

Participants (98)