ROADSIDE tests that are the only way of catching people driving under the influence of drugs may be fatally flawed, it was revealed last night. Research in Glasgow has cast doubt on the mental and physical tasks that police have been using for three years to try to crack down on what is feared to be an epidemic of drug driving. The problem could put traffic officers, who admit the tests are "not scientific" compared with breathalysers, back to square one in the search for an effective way of finding grounds to arrest and charge a drug-driving suspect. [continues 729 words]
AN OUTBREAK of the potentially fatal wound disease tetanus has prompted a warning to doctors to be vigilant. Three people, all injecting drug users, have succumbed to the infection in Scotland and the cases are thought to be part of a UK-wide problem involving contaminated heroin. The most recent patient, a 47-year-old woman from Glasgow, was hospitalised with muscle spasms and breathing problems 10 days ago. Tetanus is caused by bacteria from the soil getting into the body through a wound. It is rare because of the immunisation programme, but anyone who has not had booster doses of vaccine can be at risk. [continues 229 words]
CANNABIS will become the aspirin of the 21st century" if the early findings of new research are confirmed. It is thought the drug could protect against devastating illnesses including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease. Scientists at the Institute of Neurology in London said greater understanding of the properties of cannabis compounds was opening up new possibilities for treatments. The most optimistic predictions are that cannabis could have a wide range of preventative qualities when taken regularly, making it the "new aspirin". Originally seen as a painkiller, aspirin has increasingly been shown to help prevent conditions ranging from heart disease to breast cancer. [continues 230 words]