April 17th, 2019
Mixing Benzos and Opiates – A Deadly Combination – Know the Risks
Mixing benzodiazepines (benzos) and opioid painkillers are one of the most common and deadly prescription substance abuse behaviors. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that of the more than seventy thousand overdoses that occurred in the United States in 2017, 11,537 involved ...
June 20th, 2017
Prescription ADHD Stimulant Abuse
Prescription ADHD stimulant abuse remains an incredibly popular trend that affects teenagers, college students and adults. Although ADHD medications are legal as prescribed by a doctor, they prove to be highly addictive, widely abused and extremely risky. What is ADHD? Attention Deficit ...
January 11th, 2016
Number of Babies Born Addicted to Painkillers Continues to Rise
Babies that are being born addicted to Opioids is going up.Throughout the years, one of the well-known but also well-avoided topics of discussion is the number of infants born to mothers who take illegal drugs or abuse prescription drugs during their pregnancy. This has a significant and ...
May 18th, 2015
How Authorities are Trying to Curb Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription drug abuse, primary of painkillers, is so widespread in the United States that it is considered an epidemic. All ages are vulnerable to this problem, but many young people are abusing the prescription painkillers that they find in their parent’s or friends’ medicine ...
May 11th, 2015
The Increasing Use of “Study Drugs” on College Campuses
Late night study sessions before finals used to consist of pots full of coffee to help students study. Now, instead of copious amounts of caffeine, more students on college campuses are using so-called “study drugs” to cram all night. These drugs consist of Adderall, Ritalin and ...
February 16th, 2015
The Brief and Poorly Known History of Some of the Most Commonly Used Drugs
Drugs and drug abuse are issues of our contemporary society everyone has heard about at least once in their lifetime. However, what may surprise you is that most of the drugs that are commonly used out there began as actual medicine. Later on, when specialists discovered their highly addictive ...
April 14th, 2014
New Opioid Approval: Zohydro
What better time than the present? The question didn’t escape the FDA, which has formally issued approval of a new opioid prescription painkiller called Zohydro. This prescription-only opioid analgesic was approved as a Schedule II drug. Schedule II drugs are more tightly controlled than ...
March 24th, 2014
New Label Requirements on Generic Drugs
A recent proposed federal regulation would establish new label requirements for generic drugs, and give patients greater rights in the event of rare drug-related complications. Generic drug companies have been fighting against the requirements, and a strange series of legal loopholes has made ...
February 5th, 2014
Adderall Abuse for Weight Loss
Facing the pressures to look thin, women struggle to keep up with the media’s projection of “beauty.” As technology becomes more advanced, editing pictures of models using Photoshop is a common occurrence. Most women find themselves consciously, or subconsciously, comparing themselves to ...
January 28th, 2014
Vermont Governor Attempts to Tackle Drug Addiction
This year, Vermont Governor Shumlin addressed his year-opening House and Senate with a State of the State message about a single topic: drug addiction. Though a concern to the country at large as well, Vermont has a particularly nasty stint with heroin and opiate addiction, consistently ranking ...
January 21st, 2014
The FDA Fights to Ban Painkillers
In 2009, the Federal Drug Administration advisory panel recommended banning hydrocodone and oxycodone products, like Vicodin and Percocet. The FDA’s goal in banning these highly used prescription drugs is in direct relation to the health concerns caused by acetaminophen. Karen Lee Richard, ...
January 16th, 2014
Instagram Provides an Illegal Market for “Lean”
Promethazine/codeine cough syrup, is a phenothiazine antihistamine and opioid medication used for pain. The cough syrup is usually prescribed to patients who are experiencing mild to moderate pain from continuous coughing or allergic reactions. Common side effect include constipation, ...
October 1st, 2013
Nasal Spray a New Weapon for NYC Cops Tackling Prescription Drug Abuse
Law enforcement officers in Staten Island’s 120th Precinct — one of the most overdose-prone regions in New York City — will soon be carrying a new weapon in their pockets. Doses of naloxone, a drug that combats opioid overdose, will be provided as part of a new pilot program ...
September 23rd, 2013
Lake Michigan’s On Drugs
Recent research published on Sciencedirect reveals a high concentration of prescription drugs in Lake Michigan. According to the findings by four University of Wisconsin researchers, the amount of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) pose a “significant threat to the health of the ...
August 7th, 2013
Can I Get an Ice Cream Coke — I Mean, Cone?
An NYC ice cream truck, ran by twenty-year-old part-time student Mina Gatas, offered more than just Klondike bars. Cleverly coined “Operation Snowcone,” a recent police bust uncovered that the driver sold an entirely different kind of “treat” to those in the know: hard narcotics; namely, ...
July 2nd, 2013
Fatal Overdoses From Prescription Painkillers Dramatically Increase Among Women
Every year, prescription painkillers take the lives of nearly 15,000 people — more than heroin and car accidents combined. While the number of overdose deaths from painkillers has skyrocketed over the past decade, a new federal report released Tuesday reveals that women may be more at ...
