drug abuse

Cannabis candies, made to look appealing, are being ingested by children under 6, sending some kids to the hospital. Most of the children found the edible weed at their own homes.

Health & Safety

3,000+ young children accidentally ate weed edibles in 2021, study finds

12:19pm January 03, 2023

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The cases of accidental ingestion of cannabis candies and baked goods among small children increased 1,375% in five years, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

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Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors

6:40pm January 25, 2019

by Rhitu Chatterjee

U.S. prescriptions for Valium, Ativan and other benzodiazepines have shot up since 2003, statistics show, especially for chronic pain. Roughly half those prescriptions are from primary care providers.

A homeless man in Denver draws heroin into a syringe. Treatment centers in the city say patterns of drug use seem to be changing. While most users once relied on a single drug Ã¢ÂÂ typically painkillers or heroin or cocaine Ã¢ÂÂ an increas

A Surge In Meth Use In Colorado Complicates Opioid Recovery

1:32pm July 14, 2018

by John Daley

Last year, 280 Coloradans who died of a drug overdose had methamphetamine in the mix. That's up sharply from 2016 and more than five times the number in 2012.

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Life expectancy in the U.S. has fallen for the second straight year, in part because of the surge of overdoses on opioids, such as oxycodone.

Health & Safety

Life Expectancy Drops Again As Opioid Deaths Surge In U.S.

2:44pm December 21, 2017

by Rob Stein

The opioid epidemic caused U.S. life expectancy to fall for the second year in a row, marking the first time that has happened since the early 1960s. Death rates also continued to rise.

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Roughly 80 percent of all first strokes arise from risks that people can influence with behavioral changes, doctors say — risks like high blood pressure, smoking and drug abuse.

Health Conditions That Increase Stroke Risk Rise Across All Ages, Races

5:18pm October 11, 2017

by April Fulton

Smoking, drug abuse and diabetes are all modifiable risk factors for stroke. Yet a large study of patients hospitalized for stroke suggests the number of people with these risk factors is rising.

Deaths by drugs, alcohol and suicide among non-Hispanic whites, ages 45-54

The Forces Driving Middle-Aged White People's 'Deaths Of Despair'

3:10pm March 23, 2017

by Jessica Boddy

Middle-aged white people without college degrees are increasingly likely to die of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse. The lack of a pathway to solid jobs is one reason, two economists say.

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German dictator Adolf Hitler gives a speech in October 1944. Author Norman Ohler says that Hitler's abuse of drugs increased "significantly" from the fall of 1941 until the winter of 1944.

Author Says Hitler Was 'Blitzed' On Cocaine And Opiates During The War

7:05pm March 07, 2017

Author Norman Ohler says that Adolf Hitler's drug abuse increased "significantly" from the fall of 1941 until winter of 1944: "Hitler needed those highs to substitute [for] his natural charisma."

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A large collage decorates a wall of one exam room at the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic in San Francisco, Calif. Dr. David Smith, founder of the clinic, says patients and staff call the mural the Psychedelic Wall of Fame.

Haight Ashbury's Free Health Clinic: Middle-Aged And Still Groovy

6:09pm January 22, 2017

by Laurie Udesky

A series of mergers with other nonprofit clinics has transformed the 50-year-old San Francisco clinic into a $110 million health care system that provides networked care up and down California.

Bob Topmiller, chief of toxicology at the Hamilton County Coroner's Office, holds a small vial containing carfentanil extracted from a sample of blood.

Deadly Opioid Overwhelms First Responders And Crime Labs in Ohio

12:53pm September 25, 2016

by Jake Harper

Carfentanil, a potent variation on fentanyl, is being blamed for a wave of opioid overdoses. In Cincinnati, the coroner, crime lab and first responders are struggling to keep up.

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The wake for Aristotle Garcia, a suspected drug dealer shot by the police during an operation. Garcia's relatives believe he was not a dealer, but a drug user who was set up.

World News

A Stark Choice For Filipino Drug Addicts: Surrender Or Risk Being Killed

4:32pm September 16, 2016

by Michael Sullivan

More than 3,000 have been killed in the country's new war on drugs. More than 700,000 have surrendered to police, fearing for their lives. Police say those who surrender and stay clean will be safe.

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