Globally, an estimated 271 million people, about 5.5% of the world population aged 15-64 used an illicit drug in 2017. The number of people who use drugs is now 30% higher that it was in 2009. Data shows a higher prevalence of the use of opioids in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America and a higher prevalence of the use of cannabis in North America, South America and Asia compared to 2009. Here is a summary of findings from the 2019 World Drug Report.
Cannabis (Marijuana) with microscope in laboratory research. © Puntasit Choksawatdikorn | 123rf.com
There seems to be a growing consensus on the medical and mental health concerns associated with smoking marijuana. Beginning in the summer of 2007, a series of research studies into the health risks of smoking marijuana began to appear in medical and research journals. Several of these are summarized here for your convenience. I will periodically update this synopsis of research findings as new studies on marijuana are made public. This was last updated in December of 2019.
This is a revised version of AWARE Questionnaire (Advance WArning of RElapse). It was originally designed as a measure of the warning signs of relapse as described by Terence Gorski. This instrument was developed through research funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, and is in the public domain. So it may be used without specific permission provided that proper acknowledgment is given to its source. See this copy for the correct citation.
It is possible to understand drug craving and to learn how to manage craving without returning to use. A model that allows people to identify set-up behaviors, trigger events, and the cycle of craving itself, and intervening upon this process has proven effective in reducing relapse among addicts.
© Ralf Conrad | 123RF.com
Methadone maintenance is a corrective treatment for the high social toll of opiate use; but it doesn’t really treat opiate addiction. It “treats” the legal, medical and interpersonal negative consequences that result from a dependency to heroin and other opiates. But the price paid by the “patient” is that they must gamble on chaining themselves to a slowly developing addiction-dragon that may be harder to get away from than the original chaos and potential death they sought to escape from in active heroin addiction.
credit: 12 Labors of Hercules | quia.com
In addition to methadone, there is another opiate replacement medication on the U.S. market, buprenorphine (as Suboxone or Subutex). This article will examine the perceived advantages and disadvantages of buprenorphine for opioid dependence treatment, assess the abuse potential of buprenorphine, and critique the supposed efficacy of maintenance treatment for opiate abuse and dependence.
Problems with the abuse of prescription drugs has been on the rise for several years. In a May 2010 study US hospital admissions due to poisoning by prescription drugs (opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers) reportedly rose from 43,000 to 71,000 between 1999 and 2006. That is a 65% increase; about double the increase observed for poisoning by other drugs and medicines. The largest increase in hospitalizations for poisonings was for methadone (400%). The abuse and trafficking of prescription drugs appears to be ready to surpass illicit drug abuse worldwide.
