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…
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Articles on Illicit drugs
Displaying 121 - 140 of 143 articles
The drug ketamine has been used for medical purposes since it was developed in the 1960s, but it is perhaps more widely known for its illicit use as a hallucinogenic tranquiliser. Now we’re beginning to…
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…
Alcohol continues to account for nearly half of government-funded substance abuse treatment in Australia. A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows 47% of drug treatments…
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…
Once again, overdose deaths from opioids are increasing in Australia. And once again, we are in danger of ignoring effective, evidence-based interventions. According to the National Drug and Alcohol Research…
Comparing cocaine’s effects on rats who have given birth to rats who haven’t has shown differences in brain chemistry and…
Sixteen years ago the premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, asked me to conduct an inquiry into drug policy. At the time, deaths from heroin overdoses were high and the use of cannabis and other drugs continued…
A national survey of 494 workers has found 58% consumed alcohol at “hazardous” levels, and a further 15% were at “significant…
Discovery of a key mechanism in the brain’s immune system that amplifies addiction to opioid drugs proves addiction to morphine…
Should governments make it easier to perform human research to discover medical uses of illicit drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy (MDMA) and LSD? Professor David Nutt of Imperial College London argued recently…
Criminalisation of many drugs of abuse has done little to deter their use. Recent estimates tell us nearly one in 20 individuals aged between 15 and 64 are experimenting with illicit drug use worldwide…
The party drug known as GHB or “fantasy” has been found to bind to a special protein in the brain, highlighting the potential…
The drug topiramate can help methamphetamine addicts stay clean, according to a recent study. Topiramate doesn’t eliminate…
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…
Schapelle Corby’s fate may be the centre of public attention in Australia, but not here in Indonesia where I currently live and work. The hot topic here for the past few days has been whether or not Lady…
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…
The Australia21 report argues the “war on drugs” has failed and we should consider other options for controlling drugs, such as decriminalisation or regulation. In addition to these arguments, an important…
Independent of its effect on neurons, marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient (THC) impairs memory by affecting passive support…
Policy making is supposedly influenced by scientific evidence, which in turn leads to better political, social and economic outcomes, depending on the issue at hand. One would like to think that in a moderately…
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Social Equity Research Centre and Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University
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Associate professor, La Trobe University
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
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Emeritus Consultant, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
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Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University
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Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin University
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Associate Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University
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Professor of Neuropharmacology, University of Central Lancashire
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Addiction Medicine Specialist & Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology & Psychiatry, Monash University
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Hon. Professor Drug Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
