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Forensic pathologists have shown that over three per cent of all sudden deaths in south-west Spain are related to the use of cocaine. They believe their findings can be extrapolated to much of the rest of Europe, indicating that cocaine use is a growing public health problem in Europe and that there is no such thing as “safe” recreational use of small amounts of the drug.

New research unravels the brain mechanisms that underlie the ability of a standard drug treatment for Parkinson’s to elicit compulsive behaviors in some patients with the disease. The study provides fascinating new insight into the brain mechanisms that underlie a predisposition to behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling and shopping.

Europeans belong to the largest consumers of illicit drugs, absorbing about one fifth of the global heroin, cocaine and cannabis supply, as well as one third of ecstasy production (UNODC World Drug report, 2008). However, the vast majority of Europeans have never tried any illicit substance.

Ecstasy-related death rates in young users is a cause for concern, researchers report.

Our need for stimulation and dopamine’s action upon the brain are connected, which explains why people who constantly crave stimulation are in danger of addictive behavior such as drug abuse and gambling.

Exposure to ecstasy or cocaine during adolescence increases the “reinforcing effects” that make people vulnerable to developing an addiction. This is the main conclusion of a research team that has shown for the first time how these changes persist into adulthood.

The brain’s innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to new research. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.

People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new study suggests that there are internal rewards as well. Researchers found that increased social status and increased social support correlated with the density of dopamine D2/D3 receptors in the striatum, a region of the brain that plays a central role in reward and motivation, where dopamine plays a critical role in both of these behavioral processes.

Researchers in California have found “reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment” for some specific, pain-related medical conditions.

Have you ever forgotten to post an important letter or let an appointment slip your mind? A new study from UK researchers suggests that for those who regularly use ecstasy or other recreational drugs, this kind of memory lapse is more common. Their research uncovered potential links between memory deficits and cocaine for the first time.

Researchers hope they have begun paving a new pathway in the fight against drug dependence. Their hypothesis — that increasing the normally occurring process of making nerve cells might prevent addiction — is based on a rodent study demonstrating that blocking new growth of specific brain nerve cells increases vulnerability for cocaine addiction and relapse.

Children exposed to cocaine in the womb face serious consequences from the drug, but surprisingly not in certain critical physical and cognitive areas such as growth, IQ, academic achievement and learning ability, according to a new comprehensive review of research. The review found that cocaine-exposed, school-aged children suffered deficits in more subtle areas such as sustained attention and self-regulated behavior.

Young adults who have used cannabis or marijuana for a longer period of time appear more likely to have hallucinations or delusions or to meet criteria for psychosis, according to a new study.

Researchers in the United States have discovered that accidental overdose deaths involving cocaine rise when the average weekly ambient temperature passes 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit).

In the last month, a professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University has seen nearly 30 cases involving teenagers who were experiencing hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures. All of these teens had smoked a dangerous, yet legal substance known as K2 or “fake weed.”

More 12 year olds have used potentially lethal inhalants than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, according to new data.

Chemicals found in cannabis could prove an effective treatment for the inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, say scientists. Laboratory tests have shown that two compounds found in the cannabis plant – the cannabinoids THC and cannabidiol – interact with the body’s system that controls gut function.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Roughly eight to 12 percent of marijuana users are considered “dependent” and, just like alcohol, the severity of symptoms increases with heavier use. A new study has found that use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana are influenced by a common set of genes.

Teens who frequently listen to music that contains references to marijuana are more likely to use the drug than their counterparts with less exposure to such lyrics, according to a new study.

Researchers have identified a key epigenetic mechanism in the brain that helps explain cocaine’s addictiveness.

A drug being tested to treat cancer could also help patients suffering from asthma, research has suggested. Scientists found that the drug — R-roscovitine — helps to kill certain immune cells which can exacerbate symptoms associated with asthma.

Psychologists in Spain have just concluded a study regarding the use of addictive substances by young university students and the manifestation of impulsive behavior in the same group of people, on a cognitive and psychomotor level. The findings suggest that regular consumers of cannabis and alcohol are more impulsive than non-users. However, there is no evidence of the differences between both of these consumer groups, which makes these experts believe that “consuming these substances, whatever their nature, is related to impulsivity.”

Recent research into the availability of ‘Spice’ drugs online raises new concerns about its mood altering effects.

Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects — already used to study dozens of human disease — could claim that role. Scientists are reporting that fruit flies can be used as a simpler and more convenient animal model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on the brain.

Repeated use of the drug popularly known as “ecstasy” significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study suggests. The finding is the latest highlighting the potential dangers of the amphetamine-style chemical, currently used illegally by millions of people in the United States.

Substituting cannabis in place of more harmful drugs may be a winning strategy in the fight against substance misuse. New research features a poll of 350 cannabis users, finding that 40 percent used cannabis to control their alcohol cravings, 66 percent as a replacement for prescription drugs and 26 percent for other, more potent, illegal drugs.

Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients. A systematic review found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spasticity and an improvement in mobility.

A new brain-imaging study shows that active cocaine abusers can suppress drug craving, suggesting new ways to help them quit and avoid relapse.

Drug users are well informed about the harms associated with the drugs they use, and perceive alcohol and tobacco to be amongst the most dangerous substances, according to a new survey.

College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research.

College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research.

Athletes who use anabolic steroids may gain muscle mass and strength, but they can also destroy their kidney function, according to a new article. The findings indicate that the habitual use of steroids has serious harmful effects on the kidneys that were not previously recognized.

Stress-evoked changes in circuits that regulate serotonin in certain parts of the brain can precipitate a low mood and a relapse of cocaine-seeking, based on mouse studies.

Last year the UK government reclassified cannabis from a class C to a class B drug, partly out of concerns that cannabis, especially the more potent varieties, may increase the risk of schizophrenia in young people. But the evidence for the relationship between cannabis and schizophrenia or psychosis remains controversial. A new study has determined that it may be necessary to stop thousands of cannabis users in order to prevent a single case of schizophrenia.

New animal studies suggest that memory and other cognitive problems experienced by cocaine-addicted people can result directly from the cocaine abuse in addition to pre-existing traits or lifestyle factors.

A new study in rats has found that N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a commonly available and generally nontoxic amino acid derivative, reverses changes in the brain’s circuitry associated with cocaine addiction. The reversal appears to lessen the cravings associated with cocaine, thus providing protection against relapse.

Adult male monkeys exposed to cocaine while in the womb have poor impulse control and may be more vulnerable to drug abuse than female monkeys, even a decade or more after the exposure, according to a new study. The findings could lead to a better understanding of human drug abuse. The study was presented yesterday at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.

A vaccine to treat cocaine dependence appears to reduce use of the drug in a subgroup of individuals who attain high anti-cocaine antibody levels in response, according to a new report. However, only 38 percent of vaccinated individuals produced high enough antibody levels and those who did maintained them for only two months.

New research looks at the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink and use marijuana in combination.

The increased risk of persons with schizophrenia committing violent crime may be largely mediated by co-existing substance abuse problems, according to a new study.

A new brain-imaging study reveals differences in cocaine users’ ability to monitor their behavior and emotions in comparison to healthy control subjects. Such impairments may underlie vulnerability to drugs and suggest new targets for treatment.

Cocaine and heroin increase permeability of the placenta. Researchers have shown that exposure to the drugs causes an increase in the passage of some chemicals into the fetus.

Using a highly sensitive new test, scientists are reporting “convincing evidence” that marijuana smoke damages the genetic material DNA in ways that could increase the risk of cancer.

A variation in a gene that is active in the central nervous system is associated with increased risk for obesity, according to a new study. The research adds to evidence that genes influence appetite and that the brain plays a key role in obesity.

Some Northern Ireland teenagers are experimenting with cocaine. Researchers found that 7.5% of young people who took part in the Belfast Youth Development Survey had tried cocaine at least once by the age of 16.

Researchers report that it takes at least a year for former methamphetamine users to regain impulse control. The results tell recovering substance abusers, their families and drug-treatment specialists that it can take an extended period of time for the brain functions critical to recovery to improve.

Injections of THC, the active principle of cannabis, eliminate dependence on opiates (morphine, heroin) in rats deprived of their mothers at birth. The findings could lead to therapeutic alternatives to existing substitution treatments.

A team of researchers has mapped patterns of illicit drug use across the state of Oregon using a method of sampling municipal wastewater before it is treated. Their findings provide a one-day snapshot of drug excretion that can be used to better understand patterns of drug use in multiple municipalities over time.

The effects of amphetamines on gene expression in zebrafish have been uncovered. A new study provides clues to the genetics that underlie susceptibility to addiction by describing the nad zebrafish mutant, which does not feel the rewarding effects of the drugs.

Memory loss associated with marijuana use is caused by the drug’s interference with the brain’s natural protein synthesis machinery, according to a new study by European researchers.