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	<title>National Drug Prevention Alliance &#38; PPP</title>
	<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp</link>
	<description>information collected by NDPA and PPP about drugs, prevention and support</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:53:32 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<language>en</language>
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		<title>Marijuana 2.0 &#8211; It is a Different Drug Now</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After alcohol, marijuana is the drug most abused by teens. In fact, marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in the United States and recent data show an uptrend in teen marijuana use during 2009. Unfortunately, it is still viewed today by many as being the same drug it was 45 years ago, despite [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2012/01/marijuana-2-0-it-is-a-different-drug-now/</link>
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		<title>Failure of Portugal&#8217;s drug legalisation experiment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Congratulations to our colleague Manuel Pinto Coelho in Portugal.  This is an enormous victory!  The very liberal drug policy of Portugal is crumbling. &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; Dear colleagues, As you can see, although in Portuguese, it is official &#8211; Portuguese IDT and all its staff including the president Goulão has been abolished. The mask fell down and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/12/failure-of-portugals-drug-legalisation-experiment/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Impaired Driving: A serious safety problem</title>
		<description><![CDATA[While “medical marijuana” and marijuana legalization are common topics in the news, little attention is given to a large and growing body of research showing that marijuana impaired driving is a major cause of crashes, injuries and deaths. The overall number of traffic fatalities has continued to decrease nationally over the past 40 years,1 reaching [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/12/marijuana-impaired-driving-a-serious-safety-problem/</link>
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		<title>Smoking and Binge Drinking Raises Oral-Cancer Risk</title>
		<description><![CDATA[New research suggests that people who smoke and drink heavily are more at risk for oral cancer, the Researchers from King&#8217;s College in London, England, found an increase in oral cancer among men and women in their 20s and 30s who smoke and binge drink. The researchers said that when tobacco smoke combines with alcohol, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/smoking-and-binge-drinking-raises-oral-cancer-risk-4/</link>
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		<title>Skunk and Mental Illness</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Record numbers of teenagers are requiring drug treatment as a result of smoking skunk, the highly potent cannabis strain that is 25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago. More than 22,000 people were treated in 2007  for cannabis addiction &#8211; and almost half of those affected were under 18. With doctors and drugs [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/skunk-and-mental-illness/</link>
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		<title>Separate Genes Responsible for Drinking, Alcoholism</title>
		<description><![CDATA[New research finds there are some genes that affect one but not the other WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDayNews) &#8212; Some people can drink a lot of alcohol without becoming addicted, and specific genes may help explain why, researchers say. In a new study of Australian twins, scientists found that separate genes appear to be responsible, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/separate-genes-responsible-for-drinking-alcoholism-4/</link>
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		<title>Research to Look at New Treatments for Heroin Addiction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A clinical trial to test better treatment options for chronic heroin addiction is expected to begin in Vancouver at the end of this year. Led by researchers from Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia, it&#8217;s the only clinical trial of its kind in North America. The Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/research-to-look-at-new-treatments-for-heroin-addiction/</link>
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		<title>CAMH study suggests increased risk of schizophrenia in heavy methamphetamine users</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Canadian scientists also confirm previous research showing possible link between cannabis dependence and schizophrenia In the first worldwide study of its kind, scientists from Toronto&#8217;s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found evidence that heavy methamphetamine users might have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. This finding was based on a large study comparing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/camh-study-suggests-increased-risk-of-schizophrenia-in-heavy-methamphetamine-users-2/</link>
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		<title>Pot Shock</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PATIENTS suffering the effects of cannabis abuse are being treated by Tasmanian public hospitals every day, says a leading health authority. People with short-term drug-induced psychosis and longer-term mental illness, compounded by pot smoking, are seeking medical help at an increasing rate.   Mental Health Services clinical statewide director Peter Norrie said the Royal Hobart Hospital [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/pot-shock-2/</link>
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		<title>Oral cannabis induces psychosis at low levels</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last Updated: 2005-04-01 9:09:08 -0400 (Reuters Health) NEW YORK (Reuters Health) &#8211; Even in clinical situations where cannabis is administered orally at low doses, psychotic reactions can occur, Swiss researchers report the current issue of BMC Psychiatry. Recreational cannabis use has been associated with psychotic reactions, but this is the first such report in closely [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/oral-cannabis-induces-psychosis-at-low-levels-2/</link>
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		<title>Myocardial Infarction Associated With Use of the Synthetic Cannabinoid K2</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Physicians who encounter myocardial infarction in teenagers should consider the possibility that the teens may have ingested K2, a form of synthetic cannabinoid, researchers said. &#8220;Although chest pain is a common presenting complaint of teenagers seen in emergency departments, chest pain from cardiac causes remains exceedingly rare,&#8221; Colin Kane, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/myocardial-infarction-associated-with-use-of-the-synthetic-cannabinoid-k2/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana and Schizophrenia</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Marijuana causes disruptions in concentration and memory similar to those that occur in people with schizophrenia, according to a new study. U.K. researchers measured the electrical activity from hundreds of neurons in the brains of rats given a drug that mimics the effects of cannabis, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana. The effects of the drug [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/marijuana-and-schizophrenia-3/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Use and Adolescents: What Clinicians Need to Know</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As marijuana use among teenagers increases and its perceived danger among this age group decreases, clinicians need to know the latest science about the harmful effects of the drug on the adolescent brain, according to a researcher at the University of Colorado, Denver. Paula Riggs, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, notes the most recent Monitoring the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/marijuana-use-and-adolescents-what-clinicians-need-to-know/</link>
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		<title>CAMH study suggests increased risk of schizophrenia in heavy methamphetamine users</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Canadian scientists also confirm previous research showing possible link between cannabis dependence and schizophrenia In the first worldwide study of its kind, scientists from Toronto&#8217;s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found evidence that heavy methamphetamine users might have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. This finding was based on a large study comparing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/camh-study-suggests-increased-risk-of-schizophrenia-in-heavy-methamphetamine-users/</link>
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		<title>Implementation of evidence-based substance use disorder continuing care interventions.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As this review comments, people treated for substance use often remain precariously balanced between recovery and relapse. Widely seen as valuable if not essential, aftercare is nevertheless more the exception than the rule. How to reverse that ratio is the issue addressed by these leading US analysts. Summary Continuing care or aftercare is the stage [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/implementation-of-evidence-based-substance-use-disorder-continuing-care-interventions/</link>
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		<title>Drugs by Numbers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[100% Three Andean countries – Colombia, Peru and Bolivia – are responsible for virtually all global coca leaf production, the raw material for cocaine. 149,100 In 2010, coca was cultivated on 149,100 hectares in the Andean countries – an area roughly one and a half times the size of Hong Kong – down from 221,300 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/drugs-by-numbers/</link>
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		<title>Clever children more likely to end up on drugs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Scientists think they do so in part as a &#8220;coping strategy&#8221; to avoid bullying from their peers, and partially because they find life boring. The effect is more pronounced in girls than boys, with those exhibiting high IQs as children more than twice as likely to have tried cocaine or cannabis by the age of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/clever-children-more-likely-to-end-up-on-drugs/</link>
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		<title>Cannabis use and risk of lung cancer: a case–control study</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to determine the risk of lung cancer associated with cannabis smoking. A case–control study of lung cancer in adults less than55 yrs of age was conducted in eight district health boards in New Zealand. Cases were identified from the New Zealand Cancer Registry and hospital databases. Controls [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/cannabis-use-and-risk-of-lung-cancer-a-case%e2%80%93control-study/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana as  Medicine ?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The attraction that the medical profession has for medical marihuana continues to mystify me. Many of the same physicians who will exercise exemplary caution in caring for their patients, will throw caution aside when it comes to pot. I know internists in private practice who refuse to accept new patients if they smoke tobacco. I [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/marijuana-as-medicine/</link>
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		<title>Methadone or Not ?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jay’s story has a familiar ring. The pre-teen experimentation with cannabis after his father walked out on the family, followed by flirtation with ecstasy and cocaine. He had smoked his first wrap of heroin before he was old enough to buy a pint of beer. But it was only when he was off the street, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/methadone-or-not/</link>
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		<title>Reliance on methadone a dangerous game for both users and the Government</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Whichever way you look at it, the Government’s increasing reliance on methadone to treat heroin addicts involves moral issues. Predominant among these is that the State is in effect cast in the role of drug dealer — conceivably for as long as the addicts live. The uneasy relationship becomes especially problematic when users die of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/reliance-on-methadone-a-dangerous-game-for-both-users-and-the-government/</link>
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		<title>Methadone: &#8216;Too many use it as part of their drugs routine&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[THE Conservative&#8217;s Holyrood justice spokesman Bill Aitken is no stranger to controversy and his plain-spoken attack on the methadone programme has re-ignited the debate about how best to tackle Scotland&#8217;s appalling epidemic of drug addiction. The debate about the effectiveness of the methadone programme has raged since its inception and there has always been opposition [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/methadone-too-many-use-it-as-part-of-their-drugs-routine/</link>
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		<title>What Mr. Barnes failed to mention</title>
		<description><![CDATA[“National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) data on treatment modalities shows that 131,110 people received substitute prescribing treatment. During the same period, 5,350 people received PTB-funded treatment in residential rehabilitation centres.” “We should be justly proud of what has been achieved in drug treatment. The sustained investment in recent years has resulted in significantly increased [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/what-mr-barnes-failed-to-mention/</link>
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		<title>The grim reality of 574 addicts&#8217; wasted lives</title>
		<description><![CDATA[EACH year the Scottish Drug Misuse Database releases statistics laying bare the grim reality of drug addiction in Scotland. For a few days politician show angst at the tragedy that lies behind the statistics but somehow attention moves on as if this problem will resolve itself. It is expected areas of high unemployment and poverty [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/the-grim-reality-of-574-addicts-wasted-lives/</link>
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		<title>Prisons keeping inmates dependent on drugs, says new report</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Almost 30,000 prisoners are being kept dependent on drugs by the prison service rather than being put through detox programmes, according to a new report. Methadone, along with similar drugs, is being prescribed too easily thanks to risk-averse clinical guidelines and inexperienced prescribers, concludes the Policy Exchange report, to be released on Monday. &#8220;Perversely, the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/prisons-keeping-inmates-dependent-on-drugs-says-new-report/</link>
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		<title>Dawn is almost here,but hope seems far away.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear  Friend, They wait to welcome their child into the world. They wait in cars after the team practice. They wait in line to buy their family’s dinner. They wait for texts to pick up their child from birthday parties, sleepovers and play dates. Others wait for thick college acceptance envelopes. But imagine this: You are one of the millions [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/dawn-is-almost-herebut-hope-seems-far-away/</link>
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		<title>Parents: Know warning signs of drug abuse</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana? A: There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:  Seem dizzy and have trouble walking; Seem silly and giggly for no reason; Save very red, bloodshot eyes; and Have a hard [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/parents-know-warning-signs-of-drug-abuse-3/</link>
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		<title>Characteristics Of Effective Prevention</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Written by Bonnie Benard, NIDA, USA.(Originally in training manuals for Project Snowball, Illinois Teen Institutes, 1987) Published in Britainin ‘Drug Prevention – Just say Now’ by Peter Stoker, pub. David Fulton Publishers,London, 1992. Programme comprehensiveness/intensity A.        Multiplicity: the causes of drug/alcohol abuse are multiple: personality, environmental, behavioural (Kandel, Logan, 1984; Hawkins et al, 1951).  Programmes [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/characteristics-of-effective-prevention/</link>
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		<title>Number of Prescription Painkiller Deaths More Than Tripled in Last 10 Years</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The number of Americans who died from overdoses of prescription painkillers more than tripled in the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More people now die from painkillers than from heroin and cocaine combined. An estimated 14,800 people died in the United States from painkiller overdoses in 2008, a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/number-of-prescription-painkiller-deaths-more-than-tripled-in-last-10-years/</link>
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		<title>Nicotine Acts as “Gateway” Drug to Cocaine, Study in Mice Finds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nicotine appears to be a “gateway” drug that primes the brain to be susceptible to cocaine, according to a new study in mice.  The researchers say if further studies show the findings apply to humans, a decrease in smoking rates in young people would be expected to lead to a decrease in cocaine addiction, the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/nicotine-acts-as-%e2%80%9cgateway%e2%80%9d-drug-to-cocaine-study-in-mice-finds/</link>
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		<title>Record high: Gallup poll shows FIFTY per cent of Americans favour legalising marijuana</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The headline below from the Daily Mail on the 18th October 2011, suggests that 50% of the population of America favour legalizing marijuana.   However  Jose Paulo Carneiro, a statistics expert from Brazil,  writes a critique of this survey and shows that the results issued by Gallup Poll are not what they seem to be suggesting. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/record-high-gallup-poll-shows-fifty-per-cent-of-americans-favour-legalising-marijuana/</link>
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		<title>Medical Marijuana May Impair Thinking of MS Patients</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Feinstein says the marijuana users performed significantly worse than the non-users on tests measuring attention, speed of thinking, visual perception, and cognition related to planning and organizing.  Scores on one test measuring speed of processing information were about a third lower among marijuana users compared to non-users.  Thirty-two percent of non-users and 64% of users [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/medical-marijuana-may-impair-thinking-of-ms-patients/</link>
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		<title>Impact On Lungs Of One Cannabis Joint Equal To Up To Five Cigarettes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A single cannabis joint has the same effect on the lungs as smoking up to five cigarettes in one go, indicates research published ahead of print in the journal Thorax. The researchers base their findings on 339 adults up to the age of 70, selected from an ongoing study of respiratory health, and categorised into [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/impact-on-lungs-of-one-cannabis-joint-equal-to-up-to-five-cigarettes/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Use and Motor Vehicle Crashes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Abstract Since 1996, 16 states and the District of Columbia in the United States have enacted legislation to decriminalize marijuana for medical use. Although marijuana is the most commonly detected non alcohol drug in drivers, its role in crash causation remains unsettled. To assess the association between marijuana use and crash risk, the authors performed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/marijuana-use-and-motor-vehicle-crashes/</link>
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		<title>Impact of cannabis use on thalamic volume in people at familial high risk of schizophrenia</title>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Killian A. Welch, MD, MRCPsych  et al  Correspondence:: kwelch1@staffmail.ed.ac.uk Background No longitudinal study has yet examined the association between substance use and brain volume changes in a population at high risk of schizophrenia. Aims To examine the effects of cannabis on longitudinal thalamus and amygdala-hippocampal complex volumes within a population at high risk of schizophrenia. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/impact-of-cannabis-use-on-thalamic-volume-in-people-at-familial-high-risk-of-schizophrenia/</link>
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		<title>Hepatitis C transmission via injecting drug use: look beyond needles and syringes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Important insights into the continued spread of hepatitis C among injecting drug users are provided by two studies published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. An international team of investigators showed that infectious quantities of hepatitis C could survive on inanimate surfaces for up to seven days. However, the virus can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/hepatitis-c-transmission-via-injecting-drug-use-look-beyond-needles-and-syringes/</link>
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		<title>Drug advisers told no chance of decriminalising possession laws</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Theresa May, the Home Secretary, issued a humiliating rebuke to her drug advisers after they called for the possession of drugs to be decriminalised. The Home Office said there was no intention to give people a &#8220;green light&#8221; to use drugs because they &#8220;destroy lives and cause untold misery&#8221;. The Advisory Council on the Misuse [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/drug-advisers-told-no-chance-of-decriminalising-possession-laws/</link>
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		<title>California Medical Association Not So Medical Says Drug Policy Experts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The California Medical Association (CMA) took a major leap lacking science and common sense. With the issuance of a White Paper calling for the legalization of marijuana for medical and non-medial purposes, they have transitioned from a medical group into a lapdog of the drug legalization lobby. “I am thoroughly appalled by the CMA’s decision [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/california-medical-association-not-so-medical-says-drug-policy-experts/</link>
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		<title>Estimated expenditure on cannabis in Australia is twice that of wine</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The price of cannabis has declined more than 40% (4.9% p.a.) in real terms during the 1990s, far greater than for most other agricultural products. Cannabis price may be declining because of increasing use of more efficient hydroponic cultivation techniques and also because decreasing law enforcement lowered the &#8216;full cost&#8217; of cannabis. The number of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/estimated-expenditure-on-cannabis-in-australia-is-twice-that-of-wine-2/</link>
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		<title>Drunk behaviour – a question of immunity</title>
		<description><![CDATA[University of Adelaide researchers have found that immune cells in your brain may contribute to how you respond to alcohol. Lead researcher Dr Mark Hutchinson, ARC Research Fellow with the University’s School of Medical Sciences, said his team’s research provided new evidence that an immune response in the brain was involved in behavioural responses to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/drunk-behaviour-%e2%80%93-a-question-of-immunity/</link>
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		<title>Do drug policies affect cannabis markets? A natural experiment in Switzerland, 2000–10.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Killias M., Isenring G.L., Gilliéron G. et al. European Journal of Criminology: 2011, 8(3), p. 171–186. Studies of a &#8216;natural experiment&#8217; in Switzerland in the 2000s suggested that the effective re-criminalisation of cannabis production and distribution did diminish availability and use of the drug. The results contradict other findings suggesting that national policies have little [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/do-drug-policies-affect-cannabis-markets-a-natural-experiment-in-switzerland-2000%e2%80%9310/</link>
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		<title>One in four at risk of cannabis psychosis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ONE in four people carries genes that increases vulnerability to psychotic illnesses if he or she smokes cannabis as a teenager, scientists have found. A common genetic profile that makes cannabis five times more likely to trigger schizophrenia and similar disorders has been identified, increasing pressure on the Government to reverse the drug’s reclassification from [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/one-in-four-at-risk-of-cannabis-psychosis-3/</link>
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		<title>&#8216;Cannabis causes chaos in the brain&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cannabis causes chaos in the brain as nerve activity becomes uncoordinated and inaccurate, a study has found. The results may help explain links between cannabis and schizophrenia, scientists believe. Researchers at the University of Bristol measured the brain responses of rats given a drug that mimics the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. They found that the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/cannabis-causes-chaos-in-the-brain/</link>
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		<title>Children of addicts &#8216;more likely to experience problems in adulthood&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Children of drug addicts are suffering in desperation as shame and secrecy shroud the substance misuse in families, it was claimed today. Youngsters whose parents take drugs are also more likely to have problems with substances, as well as their mental health, social skills and academically, a seminar heard. Joan O’Flynn, director of the National [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/children-of-addicts-more-likely-to-experience-problems-in-adulthood/</link>
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		<title>Apparent Success of Drug Treatment Aimed at Heroin is Misleading</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Irish research shows addicts on methadone programme still abusing crack cocaine and other substances. The Irish Government drugs policy needs to change There has been an apparent levelling off of the need for opiate centred drug treatment. However the researchers believe their findings show that this is misleading. Their evidence suggests that multiple drug use [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/apparent-success-of-drug-treatment-aimed-at-heroin-is-misleading/</link>
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		<title>Abolist NTA to Cut Drug Addiction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Methadone prescriptions for heroin addicts would be cut and the National Treatment Agency that runs the programme scrapped under plans from the Tories favourite think-tank,&#8221; reports Rosemary Bennett, social affairs correspondent of The Times newspaper. &#8220;The Centre for Social Justice, set up by Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said it was unacceptable [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/abolist-nta-to-cut-drug-addiction/</link>
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		<title>Experts Call New Strategies on AIDS Prevention Ineffective!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On Tuesday, July 20th 2010, internationally recognized anti-drug experts from every region of the world united to oppose a set of dangerous unproven global strategies recommended in the Vienna Declaration. The declaration is based on three false premises: 1) that the criminalization of illegal drug use fuels the HIV/AIDS epidemic, 2) that criminal justice and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/experts-call-new-strategies-on-aids-prevention-ineffective/</link>
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		<title>Joint Statement in Opposition to the Vienna Declaration Released July 20, 2010</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The criminalization of illicit drug use provides positive health and social benefits by deterring nonmedical use of substances that cause great harm to HIV/AIDS-affected individuals. Incarceration that respects human rights and provides drug treatment services can accelerate an individual’s recovery from drug dependence and prevent drug-related harms to HIV/AIDS-affected individuals and prevent further proliferation of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/joint-statement-in-opposition-to-the-vienna-declaration-released-july-20-2010/</link>
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		<title>Mexico looks to legalisation as drug war murders hit 28,000</title>
		<description><![CDATA[President joins calls for debate after figures reveal extent of violence since launch of military offensive against cartels in 2006. Murders in Mexico&#8217;s drug wars are becoming increasingly gruesome. Mexico&#8217;s president, Felipe Calderón, has joined calls for a debate on the legalisation of drugs as new figures show thousands of Mexicans every year being slaughtered [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/mexico-looks-to-legalisation-as-drug-war-murders-hit-28000-2/</link>
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		<title>NADCP and Drug Court Leaders Respond to Criticisms With the Facts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The following is an interesting article about Drug Courts in the USA and how successful they are. It is in response to criticisms by the NACDL about drug courts. Setting the Record Straight: Criticisms Answered The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) Board of Directors has unanimously approved an official position statement regarding the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/nadcp-and-drug-court-leaders-respond-to-criticisms-with-the-facts/</link>
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		<title>Can These Leopards Change Their Spots?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[RESPONSE TO THE NTA BUSINESS PLAN 2010/2011 Deirdre Boyd, CEO of the Addiction Recovery Foundation Kathy Gyngell, chair of the Centre for Policy Studies&#8217; Addictions working group With the threat of abolition hanging over its head, the National Treatment Agency has cleverly extended its longevity by promising to mend its ways. It will, it announced [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/can-these-leopards-change-their-spots/</link>
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		<title>Methadone is linked to one in three drug deaths</title>
		<description><![CDATA[CALLS have been made for a rethink on the use of methadone in Scotland after official figures revealed the number of deaths in which it was implicated reached a ten-year high last year. Amid a general fall in people being killed by drugs, fatalities in which the heroin substitute was cited as a contributory factor [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/11/methadone-is-linked-to-one-in-three-drug-deaths/</link>
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		<title>Planning Commission to consider ban on medical marijuana dispensaries</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Eric Pierce The Planning Commission will consider on Wednesday asking the City Council to revise the city charter to permanently bar medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in Downey. Citing federal law that still makes it a crime to grow, use or possess marijuana, city administrators recommend the charter be amended to prohibit the dispensaries. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/planning-commission-to-consider-ban-on-medical-marijuana-dispensaries/</link>
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		<title>Drug seizures almost treble at city prison</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Scottish Government figures show 168% increase at Craiginches since 2007 Drug seizures at Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen have nearly trebled in the last three years. Scottish Government figures show there were 134 seizures at the jail last year, a 168% increase since 2007 when there were 50. The increase was far higher than the total [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/drug-seizures-almost-treble-at-city-prison/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana and Youth – Experiences From a Practising Physician</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The impact medical marijuana has had on our adolescent substance-abuse treatment program in Denver is profound. The 2009 boom in marijuana distribution coincides with a tripling of teens referred to our program. Currently, 51 percent of our patients report getting their marijuana from someone with a medical marijuana license. Not surprisingly, patient attitudes about marijuana [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/marijuana-and-youth-%e2%80%93-experiences-from-a-practising-physician/</link>
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		<title>New habits for old</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The extension of “payment by results” to the treatment of drug addicts will test the method’s limits AT PHOENIX FUTURES in Birmingham, Karen is six weeks into a programme of group therapy sessions, life-skills training and one-on-one meetings with her keyworker, Dean. Things are looking pretty good. A former heroin user, she was on methadone [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/new-habits-for-old/</link>
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		<title>Letter &#8211; Portugal is hardly a resounding success</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Letter published in The Times April 25th 2011 Sir, Portugal is hardly the resounding success that the drugs liberalising lobby would have us believe That fewer young people are trying drugs in Portugal may be the case (“Radical drug law could be imported to Britain”, April 22). But this simply reflects a Europe-wide trend, nowhere [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/letter-portugal-is-hardly-a-resounding-success/</link>
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		<title>Radio 4 Any Questions &#8211; Drug Police Debate</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions: The drug policy debate in early June mentioned an organisation in which I am involved – the UK National Drug Prevention Alliance – many times, so we must respond. In doing so, I hope to convey proven facts about the dangers of legalising drugs. Nadine Dorries was correct that much [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/radio-4-any-questions-drug-police-debate-2/</link>
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		<title>Genetic Risk Factors for both Marijuana and Alcohol Misuse Similar</title>
		<description><![CDATA[• Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. • New research shows that the use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana are influenced by a common set of genes. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Roughly eight to 12 percent of marijuana users are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/genetic-risk-factors-for-both-marijuana-and-alcohol-misuse-similar-2/</link>
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		<title>Genes Help Determine Brain Response to Alcohol, Medication, NIAAA Says</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research Summary Alcohol consumption prompts the brain to release the pleasure chemical dopamine, but genes may influence the degree to which the brain responds to drinking and &#8212; by extension &#8212; how effective medications like naltrexone are in treating alcoholism. Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that genetic variations [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/genes-help-determine-brain-response-to-alcohol-medication-niaaa-says/</link>
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		<title>Study Finds Hospitalization Increases for Alcohol and Drug Overdoses</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Hospitalizations for alcohol and drug overdoses &#8211; alone or in combination &#8211; increased dramatically among 18- to 24-year-olds between 1999 and 2008, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Led by Aaron M. White, Ph.D. and Ralph W. Hingson, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/study-finds-hospitalization-increases-for-alcohol-and-drug-overdoses/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Under the Guise of Medicine Contributes to the Rise in Marijuana Use</title>
		<description><![CDATA[(St. Petersburg, FL) The National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and released this week shows a significant rise in marijuana use. In 2007, 4.4 million Americans 12 and older used marijuana; as of 2010 that number has risen to 17.4 million. The National [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/marijuana-under-the-guise-of-medicine-contributes-to-the-rise-in-marijuana-use/</link>
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		<title>Increase in HIV infections in Greece</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A significant increase (more than 10-fold) in the number of newly diagnosed HIV-1 infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) was observed in Greece during the first seven months of 2011. Molecular epidemiology results revealed that a large proportion (96%) of HIV-1 sequences from IDUs sampled in 2011 fall within phylogenetic clusters suggesting high levels of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/increase-in-hiv-infections-in-greece/</link>
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		<title>Plain packaging removes cigarettes&#8217; appeal</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Removing branding and wrapping cigarettes in plain packaging helps remove the appeal of smoking according to new a Cancer Research UK-funded study published in Tobacco Control. The researchers found that more women than men smoked less and found smoking less enjoyable when using the plain packs. Some smokers also claimed that they would be more [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/plain-packaging-removes-cigarettes-appeal/</link>
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		<title>Warning over &#8216;very toxic&#8217; chemical in Guernsey cocaine</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Guernsey&#8217;s Health and Social Services Department has issued a warning about the danger of a toxic chemical found locally in cocaine. The department said levamisole had been detected in recent samples of the drug. It said that some people who ingested the chemical developed agranulocytosis, a potentially fatal condition that harms the immune system. Dr [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/warning-over-very-toxic-chemical-in-guernsey-cocaine/</link>
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		<title>Heart Warning Added to Label on Popular Antipsychotic Drug (Seroquel)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[AstraZeneca is adding a new heart warning to the labels of Seroquel, a antipsychotic drug, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. The revised label, posted on the Federal Food and Drug Administration website, says Seroquel and extended-release Seroquel XR “should be avoided” in combination with at least 12 other medicines (including methadone) [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/heart-warning-added-to-label-on-popular-antipsychotic-drug-seroquel/</link>
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		<title>Glutamate dehydrogenase as a marker of alcohol dependence.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Slovenian study identifies which chemicals in the blood best identify dependent drinkers in the sense of not missing those who are dependent, confirming when they have stopped drinking, and not falsely identifying non-dependent people as dependent. Summary The aim of this study was to determine the value of biochemical tests for glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/glutamate-dehydrogenase-as-a-marker-of-alcohol-dependence/</link>
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		<title>ER admissions for Ecstasy increase 74% in just four years&#8230;and nearly 20% involve children as young as 12</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It was the party drug of the 90s. But alarmingly Ecstasy&#8217;s popularity seems to be rising again. A worrying trend is re-emerging for the illegal substance after U.S. hospital admissions involving Ecstasy leapt 74.8 per cent in just four years, according to a national study. Most of the Ecstasy-related hospital visits involved patients aged 18 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/er-admissions-for-ecstasy-increase-74-in-just-four-years-and-nearly-20-involve-children-as-young-as-12/</link>
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		<title>Substance Use amongst Children in Scotland</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WEEKLY DRINKING Weekly drinking is reported among even the youngest children in the survey. At age 11, 3% of young people report drinking alcohol every week (4% of boys and 2% of girls)). One in ten 13-year olds (10%) and more than a quarter of 15- year olds (27%) are weekly drinkers. Among 13 and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/substance-use-amongst-children-in-scotland/</link>
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		<title>Study Shows Drug-Addicted Individuals May Have Less Brain Matter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new study from the Department of Energy&#8217;s Brookhaven Natural Laboratory released this week suggests that people addicted to certain types of drugs might actually have lower density in crucial parts of their brain. This and previous studies have shown that cocaine-addicted individuals, relative to non-addicted individuals, have lower gray matter density in frontal parts [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/study-shows-drug-addicted-individuals-may-have-less-brain-matter/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Use Precedes the Onset Of Psychotic Symptoms In Youth and Young Adults</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mar 24, 2011 Marijuana use during adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of psychotic symptoms, while continued cannabis use may increase the risk for psychotic disorder in later life, concludes a new study published in the British Medical Journal. Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the world, particularly among adolescents, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/marijuana-use-precedes-the-onset-of-psychotic-symptoms-in-youth-and-young-adults/</link>
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		<title>New research ‘makes the case’ for investment in young people’s drug and alcohol treatment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[24 February 2011 DrugScope has welcomed new research demonstrating that drug treatment services for young people are extremely cost effective, with long term savings of between £5 and £8 for every pound invested. Published by the Department for Education, the report, Specialist drug and alcohol services for young people – a cost benefit analysis, finds [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/new-research-%e2%80%98makes-the-case%e2%80%99-for-investment-in-young-people%e2%80%99s-drug-and-alcohol-treatment/</link>
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		<title>Cannabis, synthetic cannabinoids, and psychosis risk: What the evidence says</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research suggests marijuana may be a ‘component cause’ of psychosis Joseph M. Pierre, MD Co-Chief, Schizophrenia Treatment Unit, VA West Los Angeles Healthcare Center, Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA Over the past 50 years, anecdotal reports linking cannabis sativa [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/cannabis-synthetic-cannabinoids-and-psychosis-risk-what-the-evidence-says/</link>
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		<title>Volatile substance abuse</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Volatile substance abuse can cause sudden death. Stephen Ream offers advice to youth workers on helping young people. What is volatile substance abuse? Volatile substances readily evaporate at room temperature, giving off a &#8220;sniffable&#8221; vapour. Volatile substance abuse (VSA) is when these substances are deliberately inhaled through the mouth and/or nose to achieve a change [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/volatile-substance-abuse/</link>
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		<title>Will the Real Drug Policy ‘Emphasis’ Please Stand Up!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A brief look at the confusing messages emerging from current ‘prevention’ application in Australian drug policy. QUIT – MODERATE – ACCOMMODATE? WHICH EMPHASIS ARE WE FOLLOWING? What is going on with Australian Drug Policy Prevention application? It appears to be struggling with, what can only be described, as a Dis-associative Identity Disorder (D.I.D). The current [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/will-the-real-drug-policy-%e2%80%98emphasis%e2%80%99-please-stand-up/</link>
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		<title>Personality-targeted interventions delay uptake of drinking and decrease risk of alcohol-related problems when delivered by teachers.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[O&#8217;Leary-Barrett M., Mackie C.J., Castellanos-Ryan N. et al. Addressing the substance use promoting tendencies of the personality traits of London secondary school pupils at particular risk of substance misuse led to fewer drinking and, among the drinkers, fewer drinking heavily. The study showed that school staff could effectively conduct the focus group interventions. Summary An [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/personality-targeted-interventions-delay-uptake-of-drinking-and-decrease-risk-of-alcohol-related-problems-when-delivered-by-teachers/</link>
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		<title>Public Policy Statement: Definition of Addiction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Addiction affects neurotransmission and interactions within reward structures of the brain, including the nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate cortex, basal forebrain and amygdala, such that motivational hierarchies are altered and addictive behaviors, which may or may not include alcohol and other drug [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/public-policy-statement-definition-of-addiction/</link>
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		<title>The Facts on Marijuana</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Several jurisdictions in the U.S. have taken steps toward decriminalizing marijuana possession for personal use or when prescribed by a physician for medicinal purposes. Other jurisdictions have pending ballot initiatives or legislative bills proposing such changes in the law. The Board of Directors of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) has determined that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/the-facts-on-marijuana/</link>
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		<title>Newly Born, and Withdrawing From Painkillers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BANGOR, Me. — The mother got the call in the middle of the night: her 3-day-old baby was going through opiate withdrawal in a hospital here and had to start taking methadone, a drug best known for treating heroin addiction, to ease his suffering. The mother had abused prescription painkillers like OxyContin for the first [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/10/newly-born-and-withdrawing-from-painkillers/</link>
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		<title>Crystal Meth Detected In Newborns&#8217; Hair</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TORONTO, Nov. 2 &#8212; Methamphetamine can be detected in the hair of newborns whose mothers used the drug during pregnancy, researchers here have found. Action Points Note that this study shows that methamphetamine used during pregnancy can be found in the hair of neonates, suggesting it crosses the placental barrier with effects that are not [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/crystal-meth-detected-in-newborns-hair/</link>
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		<title>Comprehensive gene atlas underlying drug addiction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Using an integrative meta-analysis approach, researchers from the Center for Bioinformatics at Peking University in Beijing have assembled the most comprehensive gene atlas underlying drug addiction and identified five molecular pathways common to four different addictive drugs. This novel paper appears in PLoS Computational Biology on January 4, 2008. Drug addiction is a serious worldwide [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/comprehensive-gene-atlas-underlying-drug-addiction/</link>
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		<title>Chronic cannabis abuse raises nerve growth factor serum concentrations in drug-naive schizophrenic patients</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chronic cannabis abuse raises nerve growth factor serum concentrations in drug-naive schizophrenic patients Maria C. Jockers-Schertibi, Uta Matthies. Heidi Danker-Hopfe, Undine E. Lang Richard Ivlahlberg and Rainer heliweg Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Char ftc-University Medicine Berlin Campus Benjamin F,thjkiin. Berth,. German Long-term cannabis abuse may increase the risk of schizophrenia. Nerve growth factor (NGF) [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/chronic-cannabis-abuse-raises-nerve-growth-factor-serum-concentrations-in-drug-naive-schizophrenic-patients-2/</link>
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		<title>One-Third of Fatally Injured Drivers with Known Test Results</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The percentage of fatally injured drivers testing positive for drugs increased over the last five years, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Each year between 56% and 65% of drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes were tested for the presence of drugs in their systems. In 2009, 33% of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/one-third-of-fatally-injured-drivers-with-known-test-results/</link>
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		<title>CESAR Study Finds 9 Warning Signs of Early Marijuana Use</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Vol. 13, Issue 26 Distribution: 6,606 U n i v e r s i t y o f M a r y l a n d , C o l l e g e P a r k A Weekly FAX from the Center for Substance Abuse Research Nine behaviors and attitudes differentiate students who [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/cesar-study-finds-9-warning-signs-of-early-marijuana-use-2/</link>
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		<title>CASA Columbia Releases 2011 Teen Survey: National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This week, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents. This year’s survey reveals that teens who regularly use social networking sites are at increased risk of smoking, drinking and using drugs. The survey finds that compared to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/casa-columbia-releases-2011-teen-survey-national-survey-of-american-attitudes-on-substance-abuse-xvi-teens-and-parents/</link>
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		<title>Concern over rise in deaths among addicts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BRIAN DONNELLY THE controversial heroin substitute methadone was implicated in more deaths than the drug itself in two areas of Scotland last year. The figures for the Lothians show methadone was implicated in 33 deaths, while the comparable figure for heroin was 26. In Grampian, another historical centre of drug abuse, the substitute was a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/concern-over-rise-in-deaths-among-addicts/</link>
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		<title>Drug Courts Can Reduce Substance Use and Crime, Five-Year Study Shows, But Effectiveness Hinges on the Judge</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ABSTRACT The most extensive study of drug courts—a five-year examination of 23 courts and six comparison jurisdictions in eight states—found that these court programs can significantly decrease drug use and criminal behavior, with positive outcomes ramping upward as participants sensed their judge treated them more fairly, showed greater respect and interest in them, and gave [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/drug-courts-can-reduce-substance-use-and-crime-five-year-study-shows-but-effectiveness-hinges-on-the-judge/</link>
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		<title>Long-term effects of a parent and student intervention on alcohol use in adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In this Dutch study, promoting parental rule setting and classroom alcohol education together nearly halved the proportion of adolescents who went on to drink heavily. Rarely have such strong and sustained drinking prevention impacts been recorded from these types of interventions. Summary This Dutch study tested the long-term impact of the Örebro intervention (first developed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/long-term-effects-of-a-parent-and-student-intervention-on-alcohol-use-in-adolescents-a-cluster-randomized-controlled-trial/</link>
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		<title>Study Links Smoking With Brain Changes and Memory Decline</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Smoking is an important risk factor in brain shrinkage and a decline in brain function in later years, a new study suggests. The study found smoking, along with high blood pressure, diabetes and excess weight, all contributed to potentially dangerous changes in the brain that could lead to a decline in mental functioning as soon [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/study-links-smoking-with-brain-changes-and-memory-decline/</link>
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		<title>Marijuana Linked with Testicular Cancer</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Men who use marijuana may increase their risk for developing testicular cancer. A recent study of several hundred Washington State men with testicular cancer showed an association between current marijuana use and the more aggressive of the two types of the disease. Moreover, the association was strongest among men with a long history of regular [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/marijuana-linked-with-testicular-cancer/</link>
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		<title>Tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical industries must love this campaign</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Celebrities and millionaires with no history of addiction research or helping addicts to reclaim destroyed lives campaigned globally in June to make drugs even more available – citing reasons based on theory not fact. David Raynes tells the truth COMPARE STATISTICS: HARMS OF LEGAL vs ILLEGAL DRUGS • “More deaths are caused each year by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/tobacco-alcohol-and-pharmaceutical-industries-must-love-this-campaign/</link>
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		<title>Increased risk of Parkinson’s disease in methamphetamine users, CAMH study finds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The researchers examined almost 300,000 hospital records from California covering 16 years. Patients admitted to hospital for methamphetamine or amphetamine-use disorders had [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/increased-risk-of-parkinson%e2%80%99s-disease-in-methamphetamine-users-camh-study-finds/</link>
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		<title>Heroin vaccine works for lab rats</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new study by a team of researchers in California shows it is possible to vaccinate laboratory animals against the effects of heroin. The vaccine not only blunted the painkilling action of heroin, it also prevented rats from becoming addicted to the drug. It didn&#8217;t keep the animals from gaining pain relief from many other [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/heroin-vaccine-works-for-lab-rats/</link>
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		<title>The perils of drug use in the Internet age</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The story that broke one afternoon in mid-March was startling, even to editors who have been around for a while. A 19-year-old man had died and 10 others were sickened in a mass overdose after experimenting with a synthetic drug during a party in Blaine. We have written before about the problems of designer synthetic [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/the-perils-of-drug-use-in-the-internet-age/</link>
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		<title>Prescription Drug Abuse Gateway to Injected Drugs, Study Suggests</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new study suggests that abuse of prescription opioids may be a first step on the path toward misuse of heroin and other injected drugs. Science Daily reports that the researchers found four out of five injection drug users misused an opioid drug before they injected heroin. They also found that almost one out of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/prescription-drug-abuse-gateway-to-injected-drugs-study-suggests/</link>
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		<title>Experts Question Safety of E-Cigarettes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” are crude drug delivery systems for refined nicotine that pose unknown risks, two experts write in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers from the American Legacy Foundation’s Steven A. Schroeder National Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies write that e-cigarettes have more in common with asthma inhalers than [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/experts-question-safety-of-e-cigarettes/</link>
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		<title>Smoking during pregnancy raises ‘birth defect risk&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Women who smoke while pregnant should be aware that they are increasing the chance their baby will be born malformed, say experts. The risk for having a baby with missing or deformed limbs or a cleft lip is over 25% higher for smokers, data show. Along with higher risks of miscarriage and low birth weight, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/smoking-during-pregnancy-raises-%e2%80%98birth-defect-risk/</link>
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		<title>Excess alcohol could damage our DNA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) have uncovered for the first time how excess alcohol can cause irreparable damage to our DNA. In a new study published in the journal Nature today, MRC scientists also discovered a two-tier defence system in our cells that limits the threat of permanent genetic damage. Scientists at the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/excess-alcohol-could-damage-our-dna/</link>
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		<title>Scripps Research scientists find key mechanism in transition to alcohol dependence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Finding could lead to development of drugs that decrease heavy alcohol consumption. A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has found a key biological mechanism underpinning the transition to alcohol dependence. This finding opens the door to the development of drugs to manage excessive alcohol consumption. &#8220;Our focus in this study, like much of our [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2011/09/scripps-research-scientists-find-key-mechanism-in-transition-to-alcohol-dependence/</link>
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