http://www.drugnews.org/ Media Awareness Project Drug News en-us Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:44:30 -0700 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 16:10:02 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Modperl editor@mapinc.org (MAP Editor) webmaster@mapinc.org (MAP Webmaster) http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v21/n000/a001.html Wall Street Journal, 14 Jan 2021 - In a referendum in November, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and LSD. The move was inspired by a 2001 law in Portugal that removed incarceration as a penalty for drug possession. To judge by "Drug Use for Grown-Ups," Carl Hart welcomed this news, which came too late for him to mention in his provocative and enlightening book. He opens with the announcement: "I am an unapologetic drug user." Mr. Hart, a professor of psychology and a neuroscientist at Columbia University, asserts that "recreational drugs can be used safely to enhance many vital human activities." He bases his claim on decades of research on the behavioral and physiological effects of drugs in humans, coupled with his personal use. Thanks to drugs, he says, "I am a happier and better person." He asks that we think about drugs in a more nuanced way, even at a time when opioid abuse is still headline news. Thus his book represents a calculated risk-namely, that by portraying drug use as so potentially rewarding for responsible users, it may inadvertently seduce non-grown-ups into hazardous use. Thu, 14 Jan 2021 08:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v21/n000/a001.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n011/a02.html New York Times, 20 Nov 2020 - MEXICO CITY - On June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of the White House press corps and made his historic declaration of a new type of war. "Public Enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse," he said. "In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it's necessary to wage a new all-out offensive." It would be a government-wide effort, and rally the United States's power abroad to stem the supply of drugs. Among the countries targeted was Mexico, which was home to abundant marijuana production and had been resistant to aerial crop spraying. Fri, 20 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n011/a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n010/a03.html Gisborne Herald, 15 Oct 2020 - It's been fascinating to watch the debate over cannabis law reform in New Zealand from Canada, especially the arguments based on how well or how poorly legal regulation has been playing out in my country. It's also interesting - and amusing - to read the sometimes apocalyptic or pollyannaish predictions about what will happen in New Zealand if voters endorse the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB), with no regard for evidence from overseas. It might have appeared out of the blue when Canada legalised cannabis almost two years ago, but we were finally following the unanimous recommendations of a non-partisan senate committee from 2002. Thu, 15 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n010/a03.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n008/a02.html Washington Post, 15 Sep 2020 - In July, the Canadian province of British Columbia experienced its fifth straight month with more than 100 overdose deaths - and its third above 170 lives lost. Globally, the World Health Organization reports approximately 500,000 deaths from drugs, over 70 percent of them tied to opioids. In Canada, from January 2016 through December 2019, more than 15,000 people died from apparent opioid-related causes. In 2019 alone, there were over 21,000 "suspected opioid-related overdoses" across nine provinces and territories, excluding Quebec (for which data wasn't provided). The opioid crisis clearly persists at home and abroad. Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n008/a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n031/a01.html New York Times, 18 Dec 2019 - TULSA, Okla. - The teenager had pink cheeks from the cold and a matter-of-fact tone as she explained why she had started using methamphetamine after becoming homeless last year. "Having nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat - that's where meth comes into play," said the girl, 17, who asked to be identified by her nickname, Rose. "Those things aren't a problem if you're using." Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n031/a01.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n027/a02.html Wall Street Journal, 26 Oct 2019 - The Volstead Act prohibiting intoxicating beverages became law on October 28, 1919-a century ago this week-and came into force a few months later. Most people now agree that Prohibition was a failure, driving the alcohol industry underground, where its products became unsafe, its profits lucrative and tax-free, and its methods violent. Most countries have since taken the view that it is better to legalize, regulate and tax drink than to ban it. Today, there is a similar debate over vaping, a popular new practice prohibited or heavily restricted in many countries. Electronic cigarettes, which use heating elements to vaporize liquids usually containing nicotine, were invented in China in the early 2000s by Hon Lik, a chemist looking for a way to satisfy his nicotine addiction without dying of lung cancer as his father had. Nicotine itself is far less harmful to smokers than the other chemicals created during combustion. Heavyweight studies confirm that there are much lower levels of dangerous chemicals in e-cigarette vapor than in smoke and fewer biomarkers of harm in the bodies of vapers than smokers. Sat, 26 Oct 2019 07:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n027/a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n015/a02.html Canadian Medical Association Journal, 19 Aug 2019 - Canada has been at the forefront of cannabis research, education and regulation for the past 2 decades, yet uncertainty remains about how the drug should be used in medicine. Physicians lack evidence-based information and formalized training about cannabis, which stems, in part, from the drug's previously illegal status that hindered research. Among the public, however, many perceive cannabis as a natural and safe medical treatment. Patients increasingly seek advice about cannabis from physicians, request prescriptions or experiment with cannabis for medical problems on their own. However, physicians must adhere to good medical practice regardless of public pressure and provide counselling to patients based on up-to-date knowledge and evidence. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada more research should be forthcoming, but the evidence base remains weak. Medical cannabis is unique in that it bypassed the process of due diligence required for drug registration and entered the therapeutic domain buoyed mostly by advocacy. Positive effects of cannabinoids have been reported for severe childhood epilepsy and chemotherapy-induced nausea, and as palliation at end of life, but data are limited. For other conditions commonly believed to improve with cannabis use, such as pain relief or mood disorder, the evidence is less convincing. A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of cannabis-based medicines on chronic noncancer pain reported a number needed to benefit of 24, whereas the number needed to harm was A randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the Netherlands that involved women with fibromyalgia who were treated with pharmaceutical-grade inhaled cannabis in various concentrations of [delta]9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) found that none of the treatments had an effect greater than placebo on spontaneous pain, and reduced pain scores were significantly correlated with the extent of drug high.5 Furthermore, CBD increased plasma concentrations of THC but reduced THC's analgesic effects, which emphasizes the complexity of THC-CBD interactions and the possible role of psychotropic mechanisms on symptom relief. Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n015/a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n014/a04.html The Daily Courier, 15 Aug 2019 - More than half of all Canadians believe drug treatment should focus on abstinence, rather than opioid replacement therapies, according to poll results released this week. Research Co. found 57% of those surveyed were in favour of programs that aim to get people off drugs entirely, rather than programs that supply people with free dope to help keep them healthy and out of trouble. Thu, 15 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n014/a04.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n002/a02.html Wall Street Journal, 03 Jan 2019 - There is a new tool to help battle the opioid epidemic that works like a pregnancy test to detect fentanyl, the potent substance behind the escalating number of deaths roiling communities around the country. The test strip, originally designed for the medical profession to test urine, can also be used off-label by heroin and cocaine users who fear their drugs have been adulterated with the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The strips are dipped in water containing a minute amount of a drug and generally provide a result within a minute-with one line indicating positive for fentanyl, and two lines negative. Thu, 03 Jan 2019 08:00:00 GMT http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n002/a02.html