The purpose of this article is to set out ten key facts that teachers need to know about cannabis if they are to be able to inform the pupils in their care authoritatively and which ideally they need to actively communicate when the context or situation arises: [...]

The number of people admitted to hospital in England with mental illnesses linked to use of illegal drugs has doubled in the past decade, official figures revealed yesterday. The NHS Information Centre said 38,170 adults and children were admitted with [...]

Nicotine becomes habit-forming by hijacking the brain’s pleasure pathways. But to better treat nicotine addicts, scientists need to figure out precisely how it does so. University of Chicago researchers led by postdoctoral student Huibert Mansvelder appear to have [...]

In the wake of a meeting of the UK government’s advisory body on drugs to discuss the harmful effects of ecstasy, Professor Keith Laws and Professor Fabrizio Schifano will reveal research findings about the drug at the university’s Health and Human Sciences Research Institute Showcase on October 21. [...]

Lester Grinspoon, MD, a psychiatrist and associate professor at Harvard, is frequently used as an “expert” in support of “medicalization of marijuana.” He has publicly attested to his personal use of illicit drugs and on several occasions has published statements in leading medical journals that cocaine is neither harmful [...]

It has been known for more than two decades that many illicit drugs inflict damage on the immune system leaving the body open to a host of opportunistic infections, not the least of which is the HIV virus. Other drugs accelerate the progression of HIV to full blown AIDS. In fact, a study [...]

Relief from pain. In some people, prescription pain relievers also cause euphoria or feelings of well being by affecting the brain regions that mediate pleasure. This is why they are abused. Other effects include drowsiness, constipation and slowed breathing. [...]

On Sunday researchers at the University of Buffalo reported that Ritalin, used on children diagnosed with ADHD, may cause long-term changes in the brain. Many clinicians regard Ritalin as short-acting but the research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes [...]

The body produces many chemicals and hormones, i.e., histamines, steroids, thyroid hormone, digitalis-like substances, adrenalin, etc, all of which work by attaching to corresponding brain receptors. The key is that these natural substances produced by the body are present in nanogram amounts [...]