That First Drink Is a Learning Experience

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse That First Drink Is a Learning Experience

In a recent study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, a research team led by Dr. Dorit Ron at the University of California, San Francisco examined whether a single exposure to alcohol can induce memory and behavioral changes that could promote future drinking.

TSRI Scientists Create Vaccine Against Dangerous Designer Opioids

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse TSRI Scientists Create Vaccine Against Dangerous Designer Opioids

Newswise imageWith use of synthetic opioid “designer drugs” rising, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have a new strategy to curb addiction and even prevent fatal overdoses, reporting successful preclinical tests of a vaccine that prevents the synthetic opioid fentanyl from reaching the brain.

Restricting Ketamine Would Have ‘Dire Consequences’ for Surgery in Low-Resource Countries, Anesthesiologists Warn

Proposals to restrict access to ketamine by making it a “Schedule I” drug would have a major impact on the availability of anesthesia and surgery in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs)–where ketamine is often the only general anesthetic drug available, according to a series of commentaries in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

The Dose Makes the Poison: Opioid Overdose Study Supports Call for Caution in Prescription Levels

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse The Dose Makes the Poison: Opioid Overdose Study Supports Call for Caution in Prescription Levels

When it comes to prescription painkillers, the difference between controlling pain and dying from an overdose may come down to how strong a prescription the doctor wrote, according to a new study in veterans. And the threshold for safe prescribing may be lower than most people think – or than most guidelines recommend.

Violent Crime Lower Near Drug Treatment Centers Than Other Commercial Areas

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse Violent Crime Lower Near Drug Treatment Centers Than Other Commercial Areas

New Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests there may actually be less serious crime near outpatient drug treatment clinics than other community businesses.