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Psychoactive Substances
Psychoactive substances are natural or synthetic substances that act on the central nervous system and alter mental processes such as mood, perception, cognition, consciousness, and behaviour. These substances may be legally prescribed medications (e.g., pain medications or sedatives), legally available substances such as alcohol or caffeine, or controlled or illicit drugs. Psychoactive substances can be used for medical, social, cultural, or recreational purposes, but some carry risks of misuse, dependence, and health or social harms when used in harmful ways.
Outreach to People Who Survive Opioid Overdose
Often it takes a critical moment, such as when someone survives an overdose, to motivate behavioural change.
It is particularly important that at these times people have access to the appropriate treatment.
The objective of this study was...
Trajectories of psychological distress during recovery from polysubstance use disorder
Abstract
Introduction: Polysubstance use is a prevalent substance use pattern with adverse effects on psychological distress and diminished treatment outcomes. Although polysubstance use often dominates clinical practice, the trajectories...
Prevalence of Tobacco Use Among Rural-Dwelling Individuals Who Inject Drugs
Discussion
Among this large sample of rural-dwelling individuals who were actively injecting opioids and/or stimulants, an extremely high proportion reported that they currently smoked cigarettes. The smoking rate of more than 90% is...
Why Do Our Brains Get Addicted?
Neuroscientist Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the NIH, applies a lens of addiction to the obesity epidemic.
Differences in Availability and Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Residential Treatment Settings in the United States
Opioid use and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) continues to be a significant public health concern in the United States.
Several medications for OUD (MOUDs) are now considered by the medical community to be the criterion standard in OUD recovery...
Addictions Counseling Today: Substances and Addictive Behaviors (Annual Canadian Supplement 2020 edition)
The Canadian Supplement is intended for general circulation, but it also acts as an addendum to the American textbook called Addictions Counseling Today: Substances and Addictive Behavior, also written by Dr. Alderson.
If you have...
Differences between Girls and Boys at Treatment Entry and in Response to Treatment
Psychoactive substance use among children in Afghanistan is an issue of concern. Somewhere around 300,000 children in the country have been exposed to opioids that either parents directly provided to them or by passive exposure. Evidence...
Drug Related Deaths in Finland Increase by 25% in One Year
According to data published by Statistics Finland, the number of drug-related deaths in one year has increased by 25% in 2018.
Causes of death included accidental poisonings from multiple substances, deaths caused by long-term drug use...
Smoking Greatly Increases Risk of Complications after Surgery
A joint study conducted by the World Health Organization and the University of Newcastle in Australia has found that people who quit smoking tobacco at least four weeks before they undergo surgery have a lower risk of complication and show...
Should Cigarette Pack Sizes be Capped?
In an attempt to prevent harmful tobacco use, countries have introduced policies such as the minimum number of cigarettes. This increases the cost of buying a packet of tobacco and it is hoped it will deter young people from buying.
In...
CCSA Alcohol Resources
Healthcare and allied health professionals — including family physicians, nurses, addiction specialists, psychologists and social workers — use alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to help individuals...
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder in Jails and Prisons: A Planning and Implementation Toolkit
People who have been incarcerated are approximately 100 times more likely to die by overdose in the first two weeks after their release than the general public. Despite high rates of opioid use disorder among justice-involved individuals...
An Investigation into the Lasting Impact of Exposure to Alcohol and Drugs During Foetal Life
It is well recognised that substance use during pregnancy can harm the developing foetus, leading to potential cognitive dysfunction and mental and behavioural difficulties in later life.
Longitudinal studies, which track participants over...
Revista Internacional de Investigación en Adicciones
La Revista Internacional de Investigación en Adicciones (RIIAD), editada por Centros de Integración Juvenil A.C., tiene el propósito de desarrollar una plataforma para la publicación semestral bilingüe (español e inglés) de hallazgos...
Lecture by Dr. William Crano at the 6th International Freemind Congress
At the 6th International Freemind Congress, held from December 4th to 7th, 2019, in Águas de Lindóia/SP – Brazil, we had the presence of Dr. William D. Crano, who occupies the Oskamp chair and is a professor of psychology in the Division of...
Addiction Journal Book List
Addiction journal publishes new book lists five times per year, both in print and on this website. Items are alphabetised by author within each list.
The book list includes the latest evidence-based literature related to substance use and...
Roadmap to a Smokefree 2030
In July 2019, the UK Government set out its ambition for England to be smokefree by 2030. Government guidelines say the next steps should have been announced by 6th January 2020, but it has yet to do so.
Several key charities, including...
An Up-To-Date Review of Brain Stimulation Techniques for Addiction Treatment
This Recovery Research Institute review summarizes a recent meta-analysis of research on brain stimulation as a treatment for substance use disorders. The study finds that stimulation using specific methods on specific brain regions may...
Study indicates interventions to reduce alcohol consumption by Brazilian university students
University students are considered a risk population with regard to alcohol consumption, either by frequency of consumption or its consequences, which can even considerably affect the academic performance of the student. For this reason...
Training on the Universal Curriculum for Substance Use - Implementers Series (UPC1), Core Course for Afghanistan Cohort 2
Colombo, Sri Lanka 18-26 January 2020
By Rogers Kasirye
The workshop started on 18th January organized by Colombo/ INL for the support in undertaking the training programme for Afghanistan entitled Training on the Universal Curriculum...