Opiate addicts struggle to escape addiction
"There has been a cultural belief that inpatient rehab has been the treatment of choice, but it really hasn't held up in truth with better treatment outcomes," said Feld, Independent Health's medical director for behavioral health. "It is hard to … Read more on Insurance News Net

"I couldn't stop": About 9% of users risk marijuana addiction
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Similar cases yield very different results in Wisconsin prison system
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Legal marijuana may have unintended consequences
Ironically, treatment centers such as Serenity Lane stand to benefit from the election results. It's not uncommon at all for us to see marijuana addiction among our patients who come in for treatment for alcoholism, prescription drug and/or opiate … Read more on The Register-Guard

Lincoln Park students hear how childhood trauma can result in addiction
By the time he was discharged in 1994, he was institutionalized in maximum security at a Veterans Administration hospital, where he was treated for alcoholism and bipolar disorder. It was during that treatment that he discovered his own self. "You have … Read more on NorthJersey.com

Houston sobering center turns to public for help
The vans are part of what substance abuse professionals call the "warm handoff" principle, the idea that a person who agrees to get help should be quickly shepherded to a detox or treatment center, whatever the next step might be, without pause and … Read more on Houston Chronicle

New drug used by high schoolers causing concern
A NEW AND VERY DANGEROUS DRUG IS NOW POPPING UP IN HOUSTON AREA HIGH SCHOOLS. NEARLY A DOZEN … Johnston is in drug rehab at Cenikor, a treatment center in Deer Park in the southeast part of the metro area. He said he has tried … Read more on KPRC Houston

Farming for the Future
One would not expect a place like this to be only a half-hour drive from downtown Houston, Texas, nestled within an area not known for having progressive politics, let alone making advanced preparations for ACD. Hans Hansen, the horticulturist who … Read more on Truth-Out

Singleton just getting started in Houston
He missed the first 50 games of last season after violating baseball's drug policy for a second time. This spring, he revealed to the Associated Press that he had struggled with marijuana addiction and spent a month in a rehab center. Overcoming what … Read more on Philly.com

BUCKS BEAT: McGary to work out with Bucks
McGary also flunked an NCAA drug test for marijuana and faced a possible one-year suspension. He then opted to enter the NBA … Contrary to a report, the market for Sanders is virtually non-existent as he not only has been plagued by off-court issues … Read more on Journal Times

Medical marijuana still scares most high profile Pa. politicians despite …
Thompson, a licensed nursing home administrator from Centre County, warned of the potential for abuse, but also remained open to medicinal legalization. “As a health care professional, I believe that treatments are best determined by a patient and his … Read more on The Patriot-News

O'Malley will sign bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
Under the bill, someone caught with less than 10 grams of marijuana would be charged with a fine ranging from $ 100 to $ 500. The bill would also require some caught with small amounts of pot to be assessed for substance abuse and referred to drug … Read more on CapitalGazette.com

Fairfax antidrug group warns of marijuana's dangers
“My life is still being written,” said Chris Leibowitz, 26, of battling a marijuana addiction that began at age 13 and developed into an addiction to painkillers and eventually heroin. “I knew something was wrong. I wasn't denying it,” he said. “If you … Read more on Fairfaxtimes.com

Supreme Court sides with AZ patient whose marijuana was taken by police
This federal government listing declares that the drug has “no currently accepted medical use,” that it has a high potential for abuse, and equates cannabis with substances including heroin and cocaine. “To me, that is the elephant in the room,” Polk said. Read more on RT

Alcohol & Drug Rehab Montreal Announces Program to Help Adolescents Cut …
A Montreal alcohol and drug rehab center is announcing a new program geared toward helping adolescents, especially those in high school, cut down and stop their marijuana addiction through Drug Addiction Treatment Centers. A report from the Canadian … Read more on PR Web (press release)

Treatment for drug war addicts
How do we create a “safe space” for both our political and law enforcement leaders to publicly acknowledge what most admit behind closed doors, which is that, indeed, our current policy is a failure. I propose that we start a Drug-War Addiction 12-step … Read more on Drug WarRant

Question by James: Will short term memory from weed last forever?
Im a 14 year old kid im really scared i tried weed once like one puff and now im freaking out i have really bad anxiety alot of people tell me it from that but i dont know i worry about illnesses and stuff what i do is think back to like yesterday then i forget something that happened yesterday and i freak out will this last forever when i think about it that it will last forever and my anxiety i think i should just kill myself and all my worries will go away Thanks James

Best answer:

Answer by KauaiChrons
It’s just short-term, you’re freaking yourself over nothing. However stay away from it you’re way too young, it’s not good on the developing brain. Coping skills is just one of the things you will lack if you continue to smoke weed. This is long term scientific studies recently collected, and was tested with ADULTS, but you should be more educated about marijuana:

Source:( http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/… )
Analysis of Studies Finds Little Effect From Long-Term Use
By Sid Kirchheimer
WebMD Health News
July 1, 2003 — Long-term and even daily marijuana use doesn’t appear to cause permanent brain damage, adding to evidence that it can be a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of diseases, say researchers.
The researchers found only a “very small” impairment in memory and learning among long-term marijuana users. Otherwise, scores on thinking tests were similar to those who don’t smoke marijuana, according to a new analysis of 15 previous studies.
In those studies, some 700 regular marijuana users were compared with 484 non-users on various aspects of brain function — including reaction time, language and motor skills, reasoning ability, memory, and the ability to learn new information.

Surprising Finding:
“We were somewhat surprised by our finding, especially since there’s been a controversy for some years on whether long-term cannabis use causes brain damage,” says lead researcher and psychiatrist Igor Grant, MD.
“I suppose we expected to see some differences in people who were heavy users, but in fact the differences were very minimal.”
The marijuana users in those 15 studies — which lasted between three months to more than 13 years — had smoked marijuana several times a week or month or daily. Still, researchers say impairments were less than what is typically found from using alcohol or other drugs.

Source: ( http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news.cfm… )
Many drugs, such as heroin, cocaine and alcohol, inhibit the growth of new cells in the hippocampus, which scientists believe could emotionally destabilize addicts. Understanding how drugs affect the hippocampus may have a critical role in treating addiction.Neuropsychologist Xia Zhang and a team of researchers based at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, aimed to find out just how marijuana-like drugs, known collectively as cannabinoids, act on the brain.

The researchers injected rats with HU210, a synthetic drug that is about one-hundred times as powerful as THC, the high-inducing compound naturally found in marijuana. They then used a chemical tracer to watch new cells growing in the hippocampus.

They found that HU210 seemed to induce new brain cell growth, just as some antidepressant drugs do, they report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This suggests that they could potentially be used to reduce anxiety and depression, Zhang says. He adds that the research might help to create new cannabinoid-based treatments.

“I think it’s a very exciting study,” says Amelia Eisch, an addiction researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “It makes marijuana look more like an antidepressant and less like a drug of abuse.”

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Teens and pot use: Parents, here's what you need to talk about
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I, Like David Brooks, Have Smoked Marijuana
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