News of substance – drugs in the worldwide news

1. PharmExec.com (USA) – ‘Insight’ Deficit May Explain Denial in Drug Addiction; Researchers Explore Role of Mental-Illness Hallmark at Neuroscience Symposiumколи под наем. “Drug abusers are often characterized as being in denial – not recognizing the severity of their disorder. Although denial is often considered to be a form of deception, emerging research suggests that it may be due to a specific brain dysfunction similar to that observed in other neuropsychiatric illnesses.”

2. Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) – Drug court a success: research. “Addicts who commit a drug-related crime are less likely to reoffend if they are dealt with by the NSW Drug Court than if they are are sentenced through the traditional judicial system, research reveals. A study by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation found that the Drug Court is more cost effective than sending offenders with a drug addiction to prison”.

3. Globe and Mail (Canada) – Safe injection may save system $14-million. “Vancouver’s safe-injection site will save the health-care system at least $14-million and prevent more than 1,000 HIV infections over a 10-year period, according to a new study about the controversial program. The study, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, is the latest piece of research to suggest the potential social benefit of Insite in helping curb substance abuse, and reducing the spread of hepatitis C, HIV and other infectious diseases.”

4. Medical News Today (USA) – In Cocaine Addiction, Drug-Related Preference Extends To Images. “When given a choice between viewing pictures of cocaine and a variety of other images, cocaine addicted individuals, as compared to healthy, non-addicted research subjects, show a clear preference for the drug-related images. Findings from this study, which was conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington D.C. by Scott Moeller, a psychology graduate student at the University of Michigan who worked with the Brookhaven Lab Neuropsychoimaging group.”

5. JAMA (USA) – Methadone Maintenance 4 Decades Later. “The effects of the article by Dole and Nyswander1 are best understood by knowing what preceded it. The current scientific consensus is that opioid dependence is a chronic and severe medical disorder, and withdrawal alone is usually followed by rapid relapse.2 A century ago, however, withdrawal was often considered adequate to treat narcotic addiction, with methods used often more dangerous than withdrawal. Individuals who relapsed were viewed as doing so out of choice rather than necessity. The frequency of relapse, however, led to the establishment of narcotic clinics to legally provide heroin or morphine to individuals with addiction.”

6. CounterPunch (USA) – When Mooning is a Sex Crime. “In 1993 JM turned around, dropped his trousers and told his sister-in-law to “kiss my black ass!” The younger sisters laughed, compounding the indignity. To make JM pay for this rude affront, the sister-in-law called the cops. He did three days in the county jail and pled out to misdemeanor indecent exposure and credit for time served. Sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it? Three day and nights for mooning your sister in law? Fast forward to 1998 when the voters of California passed “Megan’s Law” (PC 290) requiring those convicted of certain sex offences to register with the local police for the rest of their lives. Indecent Exposure (PC 314) is listed under PC 290 and is applied retroactively. Required to register under penalty of felony, combined with a taste for illicit substances, JM picked up a new state prison term.”