According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States (though it is now legal on the state level in the majority of states) – with 48.2 million people, or 18% of Americans, reportedly using it at least…
Nicotine-containing products, alongside caffeinated beverages like coffee, are some of the most commonly used psychoactive substances in the U.S.—though we rarely think of them as drugs. Even though tobacco and nicotine use has steadily dropped in the U.S. since 2005, many of us know someone who smokes, chews, or uses…
Q: How can I cope with my spouse who has an alcohol abuse problem? It is hard seeing it every day and not knowing if he will ever seek help. A: Hi there, We’re so sorry to hear that you’re struggling — we know it’s so difficult to cope with…
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the current diagnosis for what may also be called chronic alcoholism, alcohol addiction, alcohol abuse, dipsomania, and alcohol dependence. We can define unhealthy drinking behaviors in a variety of ways, but problems are the common denominator. That is, our friend/enemy/frenemy alcohol (technically ethanol) is a…
In my experience, online dating in NYC was mostly a matter of meeting at the right bar. The bar couldn’t be your local. You wanted to keep your local to yourself in case the date went sour. But the bar couldn’t be far away either because you didn’t want to…
According to a 2022 report from the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, nearly 10 million people over the age of 18 in the United States have substance use disorder (SUD). That’s almost 4% of the entire population. Yet, despite the prevalence of addiction, a profound stigma surrounding addiction persists,…
For many undergraduate college students (as well as those who’ve since graduated), drinking alcohol seems synonymous with the university experience. It can be a way to celebrate getting through final exams or winning a home football game. Most notoriously, a drink in hand can also loosen our social inhibitions, to…
So you’re thinking about getting sober. Maybe your body can no longer rebound from red wine hangovers. Maybe the wellness industry has finally hammered home the contradiction in eating quinoa for lunch, then drinking a bottle of toxins at night. Maybe you’re worried about your liver health, or premature aging,…
A new study says that using cannabis as a teen or adolescent can have negative impacts on cognitive functioning, especially verbal memory. Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine tested and analyzed siblings (unlike other similar studies) to rule out familial factors. The study used interviews and neuropsychological…
A new study says binge drinking rates among college students are dropping significantly in states where marijuana is legalized. Researchers looked at data from seven different states and 135 colleges where marijuana was legalized by the year 2018 as well as 41 states and 454 colleges where recreational marijuana use…
New research says that construction workers are more likely to use cocaine and opioids than workers in other industries; they are the second most likely to use marijuana. Researchers used the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to analyze a dataset of 293,492 adults, including 16,610 construction workers, from…
New research suggests that handgun purchasers with a previous DUI conviction are more likely to commit violence crimes than handgun purchasers without a DUI record. Researchers identified every individual between 21 and 49 years old who legally purchased a handgun in California in 2001; researchers then identified any violent crime…