October 15th, 2008 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in For Educators, Interesting Information, Psychoactive Substances
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: [...]
October 15th, 2008 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Drug Culture, For Educators, For Parents
In 2006, the UK Times reported that 35,000 British children, under the age of 16, were second generation heroin users. Harm reduction, Safe Sites, free heroin for hard core intravenous [...]
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 [...]
Among the things everybody knows is that Democrats, being the party of the little people, raise money in small contributions, whereas Republicans, being the party of fat cats, raise funds in huge basketfuls from wealthy corporate types. At least, that’s the way the world is usually portrayed by the “Today Show,” The New York Times and the Democratic Party. So it’s of more than passing interest to see [...]
A full page ad appeared Sunday, April 25, l999 in the Denver Rocky Mountain News. It had a picture of Steve Allen and an appeal to Parents. A partial quote from the ad read: Are you as disgusted as I am at the filfth, vulgarity, sex and violence TV is sending into our homes? are you fed up with steamy unmarried sex situations, filthy jokes, perversion, vulgarity, foul language, violence, killings, etc.? [...]
A study from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University looked at driving under the influence of various types of music using a virtual Volkswagen New Beetle. The music used was Kenny G, “Stranger on the Shore” at 56 bpm, Spyro Gyra’s “Cashaca,” at 112 bpm, and DJ Jurgen, pop trance mix at 132 bpm. The study’s findings are just [...]