Alcohol & Drugs

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…

I have been sober for over four years. I am in amazement as I type that, but I also reflect on the terribly long and hard road it took me to get to where I am today. I used to be known as a “chronic relapser.” In other words, I…

Substance abuse is a serious disease that plagues the lives of both men and women. It is characterized by problems controlling use of a substance (alcohol or drugs), failure to quit even when it affects important areas of life, and the development of cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal when use of…

Alcohol use disorder or AUD diminishes men’s ability to process their emotions. This effect isn’t as significant in women. Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine used MRIs to analyze brain activity in individuals with AUD. They found that the experiences and mechanisms of AUD are different for the two…

Steroid use could increase the risk of cocaine use and addiction among teens. This, from researchers at the University of Puerto Rico who studied female rats. The team first exposed half of the rats to nandrolone, a performance-enhancing steroid commonly used by teens. After ten days, they split all of…

Do you know someone who becomes increasingly aggressive when they drink? I do. A friend from college was always a loose cannon at the bars. The night would start out tame enough—we’d camp out at a table, typically in the corner, and chat over a couple drinks. But after John…

Quick Summary A new study “Adolescent alcohol exposure epigenetically suppresses amygdala arc enhancer RNA expression to confer adult anxiety susceptibility” from the University of Illinois at Chicago says that binge drinking in adolescence can lead to anxiety in adulthood. This still holds true for individuals who stop binge drinking while…

People remember more while still intoxicated than they do a week later. A University of Gothenburg study recruited 136 participants and divided them into twogroups. One group drank vodka, while the other drank juice. Participants then watched ashort film that depicted a verbal and physical altercation. Half of the participants…

While many know that drugs and alcohol play a significant role in mental health, it isn’t as clear what that role is: can drug and alcohol use cause mental illness? Or does persistent drug/alcohol use merely signify a mental illness. As it turns out, the answer isn’t so black and…

It might already be universally understood that using alcohol and/or drugs to cope with mental illness is a bad idea, but the “whys” of it might be less clear. It’s a big topic and there’s a lot of information out there, especially with all the discussions around legalization. Coping or…

If you drink alcohol from time to time—even a couple glasses of wine or a few beers every so often—you’ve probably experienced its effects on your sleep patterns. Whether you just couldn’t fall asleep, you found yourself tossing and turning throughout the night, or you had some pretty frightening dreams….