The number of deaths caused by a group of mind altering drugs, including mephedrone, has increased over the past three years. And while toxicology reports also link the use of these substances to deaths…
When the chairman of the ethical Co-operative Bank was recently caught on camera purchasing drugs, it became a major news story. But the links between drug-taking and Wall Street or the City of London…
Except for medical reasons or if you’re a horse.
The Justified Sinner
Sometimes it seems you’ve only got to turn around and there is another drug in the news. Now we are told that ketamine should be upgraded from being a Class C drug to a Class B drug. Why does this matter…
Kamiar Alaei, University at Albany, State University of New York
Brothers, Kamiar and Arash Alaei were imprisoned in Iran in 2008 for their work with HIV. Under a new government, Iran’s health minister, Hassan Hashemi, has blamed “misinformation and unscientific claims…
Teenagers who participate in hobbies, such as sport or music, are less likely to engage in risky behaviours such as drinking…
In contrast to War on Drugs rhetoric, many young people report that illicit drug use is manageable, pleasurable and creates social opportunities.
Poldavo
The idea that illicit drugs could hold value in the lives of young people is bewildering to most people, who tend to assume that illicit drug use is necessarily destructive. This becomes even more distressing…
Peru is now the world’s leading producer of coca leaves, used in cocaine. Should this mark a new shift in the War on Drugs?
Julyinireland
The United Nations has recently announced that Peru has taken over Colombia as the largest producer of illegal coca leaves, the base for the drug cocaine. This comes as Brazil becomes the second biggest…
War on Drugs proponents have argued the closure of Silk Road is going to make the public safer from the harms caused by illicit drugs, but does the evidence back up this view?
AAP/AFP
The recent closure of illicit drugs website Silk Road by the FBI has been hailed as a decisive blow in the fight against organised crime and another victory in the global War on Drugs. Although a minor…
A wave of new mind-altering drugs has appeared – a wave that won’t recede.
1000watt
Recreational drug use has been with us forever, and so have the challenges that this use brings to medicine and society. But the nature of the modern drug scene has changed to such an extent that the health…
Recent studies show psychedelics can have a positive effect on a range of mental health issues.
Shutterstock
A recent Norwegian study on psychedelic drugs and psychological well-being not only highlighted fewer mental health issues among users of these drugs but also underscored the reinvigoration of scientific…
Crystal meth forms the basis of fictional TV show Breaking Bad, but its effects are very real.
YVRBCbro
Crystal meth has at least two faces, in common with those people unfortunate enough to succumb to its charms, as these horrific before-and-after pics show. I’d like to look at the drug chemically, to shine…
Unlike LSD, which has a relatively low toxicity profile, NBOMe drugs carry a number of additional risks.
Image from shutterstock.com
NBOMe is an abbreviation for N-methoxybenzyl. While NBOMe is often referred to as a drug, it’s not a singular drug but a series of drugs that contain an N-methoxybenzyl group. The most common NBOMes that…
Zero tolerance leads to extreme solutions.
Image from shutterstock.com
WEEKEND READ: What does Australia’s handling of asylum seekers have in common with our approach to illicit drugs? Quite a lot, writes Desmond Manderson. In the following 10,000 word essay, he argues we…
Good research has to be sold right: Brian Kobilka.
Embassy of Sweden Washington, DC
Brian Kobilka won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012 for his work on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are main targets for making new drugs. Akshat Rathi, science and technology editor, and…
Drug companies invent hundreds of new molecules that they hope to turn into saleable medicines.
Keith Ramsey
Gone are the good old days when medicines had simple, easy to pronounce names such as aspirin, paracetamol and morphine. Nowadays pharmaceutical companies almost seem to revel in giving drugs names that…
Needle exchange kits are a cost-effective way of reducing the harm of illicit drugs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddwick
Australian governments are spending more on law enforcement against illicit drugs than treatment and prevention, according to a report released today by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. The…
High demand for cannabis has led some people down the ‘synthetic drugs’ route - but are these drugs actually trusted by the users?
Schorle
For decades, cannabis has remained the most popular illicit drug among Australians. The strong demand among cannabis and other drug users for methods to evade detection and legal trouble has made online…
Medicine residues that we flush down the toilet can affect fish and other wildlife.
Chris Ison/PA
It’s not a thought that occurs to most of us, but flushing the toilet doesn’t just mean disposing of our bodily waste. We’re also flushing away some of the medicine we take down with it. Our contraceptive…