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Monthly Archives: November 2009

What neurobiology cannot tell us about addiction

Molecular neurobiological studies have yielded enormous amounts of valuable information about neuronal response mechanisms and their adaptive changes. However, in relation to addiction this information is of limited value because almost every cell function appears to be involved.

Levamisole tainted cocaine causing severe neutropenia in Alberta and British Columbia

Background: Five cases of severe neutropenia (neutrophil counts < 0.5 per 109 cells/L) associated with exposure to cocaine and levamisole, an antihelimithic agent no longer available in Canada, were identified in Alberta in 2008. Alberta and British Columbia (BC) public health officials issued an advisory and urged health care professionals to report cases to public health

Mapping the world drug problem: Science and politics in the United Nations drug control system

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was formed in 1946 as the United Nations’ central policy-making body in matters relating to drugs: it “analyses the world drug situation and develops proposals to strengthen the international drug control system to combat the world drug problem.” (CND website, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/commissions/CND/01-its-mandate-and-functions.html accessed 09.10.09). It is the form that this analysis takes, and the information upon which it is based, which provide the objects of discussion for this editorial

Drinking before going out—A predictor of negative nightlife experiences in a German inner city area

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the presented study is to identify target groups for early interventions to reduce negative effects of nightlife alcohol consumption and negative nightlife experiences (e.g. involvement in fights) as well as to examine the consumption patterns and identify the need for further interventions.Method: A cross-sectional survey of 308 persons in a German city centre during night time

Drinking before going out—A predictor of negative nightlife experiences in a German inner city area

Conclusions: We found several factors which increase the risk of experiencing negative effects of alcohol consumption. In particular, drinking before going out seems to be associated with aversive consequences.

Looking for a solution for drug addiction in China: Exploring the challenges and opportunities in the way of China’s new Drug Control Law

Abstract: In the wake of the deteriorating situation of drug addiction and related infectious diseases among injecting drug users (IDUs) in China in recent years, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China adopted the new Drug Control Law which came into force in June 1, 2008. This law is part of a broad reform movement in China where drug addiction is no longer understood as simply a legal or moral issue but rather, as a complicated medical condition requiring comprehensive therapeutic strategies

Missing targets on drugs-related deaths, and a Scottish paradox

Abstract: The 10-year drug strategy for England and Wales was published in February 2008. It dropped drugs-related deaths (DRDs) as a key performance indicator.

Debunking the claim that abstinence is usually healthier for smokers than switching to a low-risk alternative, and other observations about…

Nicotine is so desirable to many people that when they are given only the options of consuming nicotine by smoking, with its high health costs, and not consuming nicotine at all, many opt for the former. Few smokers realize that there is a third choice: non-combustion nicotine sources, such as smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or pharmaceutical nicotine, which eliminate almost all the risk while still allowing consumption of nicotine.