Return to Dust: Bane of the ’70s, PCP Now a Supporting Player in the Saga of Aaron Hernandez AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthDecember 7, 2013This post has been updated to reflect the latest developments in the criminal case against Aaron Hernandez. The powerful street drug PCP, largely unheard of since its violent heyday in the 1970s, may go higher profile as the saga of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez continues to unfold. Hernandez, already charged with murder…
Does Cannabis Use Change Outcome of Opioid Dependence Treatment? AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthDecember 4, 2013Opioid dependence is the term used to describe a reliance on the effects of opioid drugs or medications. In some cases, dependent people go on to develop the drug cravings and dysfunctional behaviors associated with opioid addiction. Opioid-dependent people often use cannabis in the form of marijuana, hashish or hashish oil. In a study published…
Quitting Smoking With Lasers: Too Good to Be True? AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 28, 2013Cigarette smoking is responsible for approximately one in every five deaths in the U.S., taking the lives of over 440,000 people per year, according to the CDC. That’s why any intervention that aims to reduce the huge morbidity and mortality associated with smoking is such a potential boon for public health. If it can do…
By ‘Seeking Professional Help,’ Much-Maligned Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Has Shown Hope for Change AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 27, 2013Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s been the pie-faced punch line since his blustery denials of drug use were disputed by video of him smoking crack. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on the eve of the Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade, even joked that the portly Ford does helium benders.
Hold the Extra Drumstick – Eat Mindfully This Thanksgiving AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 26, 2013Television ads don’t do the holidays justice when it comes to healthy eating at Thanksgiving – and Christmas and New Year’s. The image of a plump Thanksgiving turkey on a banquet table filled to overflowing may serve as a trigger to over-prepare high-fat, high-sugar foods and overeat at the table.
Homeless Veteran’s Makeover Leaves Addiction Intact AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 25, 2013Fifteen million people have watched the video makeover of Jim Wolf, from scruffy homeless veteran to well-groomed man in a suit. In 2 minutes and 50 seconds, a time-lapse transformation emerges of a fashionably bearded man ready for work. Wolf felt grateful, his sister said, for the global attention that drew atta-boys and job offers;…
Number of Painkiller-Addicted Newborns Soars AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 21, 2013The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville is busy this year. Every day, there are more than a dozen babies born who are hooked on painkillers and other drugs. It’s an alarming trend that has health officials worried. They’re calling it an “epidemic” that could become commonplace across…
‘I’m Not an Addict,’ Says Toronto Mayor Rob Ford AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 19, 2013To the citizens of Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford has these re-assuring words: “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But … do I? Am I an addict? No.” The allegations had been floating around for months, but Ford admitted it early in November, claiming he smoked crack about a year ago in a “drunken stupor.” Ford…
15 Maps Show Drug Use Across U.S. AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 5, 2013It’s no secret that drug abuse occurs in every community and every state in the U.S. But how, exactly, do the rates of drug use, and the drugs themselves, vary across the nation? Recent numbers released by the 2010-2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are now available in graph and map form,…
As ‘Vaping’ Rockets in Popularity, Will It Help Smokers Quit Tobacco, Hook Young Addicts or Mask Marijuana? AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthOctober 30, 2013Southern California’s first electronic cigarette expo promised to be “epic.” And like any good party, it briefly got shut down by authorities. How epic was it? So many thousands puffed away — or “vaped” — that the steamy haze set off fire alarms and forced the evacuation of the Anaheim Convention Center. Throngs of sellers…
