<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!-- generator="WordPress/2.9.2" -->
<rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<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>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:22:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	
	<item>
		<title>Marijuana Smoking Is Associated With a Spectrum</title>
		<description><![CDATA[



Two NIDA-funded studies identify health risks that  underscore the importance of curbing marijuana abuse.
BY PATRICK ZICKLER, NIDA Notes Contributing Writer                              
A large new epidemiological study suggests that marijuana smoke can cause the same types of respiratory damage as tobacco smoke. Significant associations between marijuana smoking and a variety of respiratory diseases also have been confirmed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/marijuana-smoking-is-associated-with-a-spectrum/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Deaths related to drug poisoning</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
 
There were 897 deaths involving heroin or morphine in 2008, an 8 per cent rise compared with 2007 and the highest number since 2001. The number of deaths involving methadone rose throughout 2004 to 2008, to 378 in the latest year, an increase of 16 per cent compared with 2007 (and 73 per cent higher [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/deaths-related-to-drug-poisoning/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Canada  to look at drug policies</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Last week, it was announced that the Conservative government will soon unveil a new national anti-drug strategy. The plan is said to feature a get-tough approach to illegal drugs, including a crackdown on grow-ops and drug gangs. And while it will also (wisely) include tens of millions for rehabilitation of addicts and for a national [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/canada-to-look-at-drug-policies/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Research Triangle International – A Prevention Science Approach</title>
		<description><![CDATA[My first appointment was with Dr Diana Fishbein, a Senior Fellow in behavioral neuroscience at the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) which is an international not-for-profit research organisation .
Diana is the Director of the Transdisciplinary Behavioural Science Program at RTI. In this role she focuses on bringing interdisciplinary teams of researchers together to try to answer [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/research-triangle-international-%e2%80%93-a-prevention-science-approach/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Mothers’ methadone use  in pregnancy may lead to visual problems for babies</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
BABIES born to mothers who take methadone during pregnancy have developed a range of visual problems, according to a report by medical experts in Glasgow.

The study discovered that the mothers of all 20 infants referred to a specialist clinic for vision defects had taken opiates during pregnancy.  The problems included blurred vision, nystagmus (rapid and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/mothers%e2%80%99-methadone-use-in-pregnancy-may-lead-to-visual-problems-for-babies/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drug-misusing offenders: results from the 2008 cohort for England and Wales</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
●● At the national level, 20,934 Class A drug-misusing individuals in England and Wales were identified between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2008 to form the national cohort.
 
●● During the 12 months following identification, individuals in the cohort were
convicted of a total of 54,462 proven offences. This equates to a baseline rate of
offending of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/drug-misusing-offenders-results-from-the-2008-cohort-for-england-and-wales/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Study: Parents&#8217; Expectations Can Influence Risky Teen Behavior</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research Summary 
The more parents expect their teens to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking and using drugs, the more likely their teens are to follow through with those behaviors, Reuters reported Oct. 16.
Researchers found that adolescents with mothers who expected them to be more rebellious and take greater risks reported higher levels of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/study-parents-expectations-can-influence-risky-teen-behavior/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>&#8216;Truth&#8217; Campaign Can Save Half a Million Lives, Billions of Dollars</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The truth youth anti-smoking campaign has the power to save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars in smoking related health care costs and productivity losses, according to the Citizens&#8217; Commission to Protect the Truth, a group composed of every former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and Health and Human Services [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/truth-campaign-can-save-half-a-million-lives-billions-of-dollars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Rise witnessed in child cocaine treatment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
According to details given by the NHS, there has been a 65 per cent increase in people receiving treatment for cocaine addiction in UK. These are teenagers which is cause of concern.
These figures correspond to the announcement by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) earlier.  It was found by an NHS [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/rise-witnessed-in-child-cocaine-treatment/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Recreational Cocaine Use May Impair Inhibitory Control</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The recreational use of cocaine has rapidly increased in many European countries over the past few years. One cause of this is the fall in the price of the drug on the street from 100 Euros for one gram (about 5 lines) in 2000 to 50 Euros in the Netherlands today. One line of cocaine [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/recreational-cocaine-use-may-impair-inhibitory-control/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Ecstasy Can Harm The Brains Of First-Time Users</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers have discovered that even a small amount of MDMA, better known as ecstasy, can be harmful to the brain, according to the first study to look at the neurotoxic effects of low doses of the recreational drug in new ecstasy users. The findings were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/ecstasy-can-harm-the-brains-of-first-time-users/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Fatality Rates Among Young Drug Users A Cause For Concern</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Professor Fabrizio Schifano at the University&#8217;s School of Pharmacy, is lead author of the paper which will be published online in Neuropsychobiology.
Professor Schifano and his colleagues at St George&#8217;s, University of London&#8217;s International Centre for Drug Policy, which runs the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD), reviewed stimulant-related deaths from the np-SAD database and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/fatality-rates-among-young-drug-users-a-cause-for-concern/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Teen cocaine use on the rise as more seek treatment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to a new report from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), people aged 18 to 24 now account for a third of all those in England seeking treatment for cocaine addiction.
Last year, over 3,000 18 to 24-year-olds sought treatment for cocaine use, with another 745 users under the age of 18.
This is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/teen-cocaine-use-on-the-rise-as-more-seek-treatment/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Teens smoking marijuana at increased schizophrenia risk</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Teens who smoke marijuana are at a greater risk of developing schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms in the future, a new study has found.
After observing more than 3800 youngsters, researchers learnt that people who used the drug for six or more years were twice as likely to suffer from delusional disorders than those who never used [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/teens-smoking-marijuana-at-increased-schizophrenia-risk/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Parental monitoring can reduce teens’ marijuana use</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new American study suggests that parental monitoring can help bring down the cases of marijuana use by adolescents.
Psychologists Andrew Lac and William Crano of the Claremont Graduate University examined various studies to find the connection between parental monitoring (when parents know where their children are, what company are they in and what they are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/parental-monitoring-can-reduce-teens%e2%80%99-marijuana-use/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Parents encourage youngsters to drink, finds Oz study</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new Australian study suggests that parental encouragement leads to alcoholism in teenagers.    The latest MBF Healthwatch survey found that 63percent of Aussies in the higher income bracket approve of alcohol consumption by 15 to 17 year olds at home under the eyes of parents.
“Our survey suggests many Australians believe it’s acceptable [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/parents-encourage-youngsters-to-drink-finds-oz-study/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Kids who drink with parents ‘develop alcohol problems’</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Children, whose parents allow them to have alcohol at home in a bid to teach responsible drinking, drink even more outside of home, a new study claims.
A study of 428 Dutch families has found that teens who drank under their parents’ watch or on their own were at a greater risk of developing alcohol-related problems. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/kids-who-drink-with-parents-%e2%80%98develop-alcohol-problems%e2%80%99/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Heavy Marijuana Use Damages Young Minds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Teens and young adults who are heavy marijuana users are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study that appeared last month in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/heavy-marijuana-use-damages-young-minds/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Everyday and prospective memory deficits in ecstasy/polydrug users</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Abstract
The impact of ecstasy/polydrug use on real-world memory (i.e. everyday memory, cognitive failures and prospective memory [PM]) was investigated in a
sample of 42 ecstasy/polydrug users and 31 non-ecstasy users. Laboratory-based PM tasks were administered along with self-reported measures of PM to
test whether any ecstasy/polydrug-related impairment on the different aspects of PM was present. Self-reported measures [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/everyday-and-prospective-memory-deficits-in-ecstasypolydrug-users/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Death Rates from Alcohol Escalate</title>
		<description><![CDATA[

                Alcohol-related death rates by sex, United Kingdom, 1991-2008
The number of alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom has consistently increased since the early 1990s, rising from the lowest figure of 4,023 (6.7 per 100,000) in 1992 to the highest of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/death-rates-from-alcohol-escalate/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Legal Stimulant Mephedrone Gains Popularity as Club Drug in U.K.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mephedrone &#8212; a stimulant that is currently legal in both the U.K. and the U.S. &#8212; has gained recent and surprising popularity among club-goers in the U.K., according to Britain&#8217;s National Addiction Center.
The BBC reported Jan. 14 that the drug, also known as meph, 4-MMC, MCAT, Drone, Meow or Bubbles, was the fourth-most popular drug [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/legal-stimulant-mephedrone-gains-popularity-as-club-drug-in-uk-2/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Methadone withdrawal</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Methadone withdrawal helps many people to withdraw from damaging heroin use. Methadone maintenance however keeps a person addicted …
I’ve been told that methampethamine addicts who binge use the drug can go on a tweaking stage and its dangerous. Can some explain this “tweaking phase” or provide a nice reference site that discusses this.
Response:   [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/methadone-withdrawal-helps-many-people-to-withdraw-from-damaging-heroin-use-methadone-maintenance-however-keeps-a-person-addicted-%e2%80%a6/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Surfing the recovery wave</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What does it take to get a wave of energy to a point where it takes on its own momentum, swelling and ploughing across a rough ocean, gathering dynamism and visibility? I’m thinking the recovery movement here and I’m watching the wave as it grows. My surfboard is getting a dusting down.
‘Tipping points’ are, according [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/community-blog/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Unborn are paying heavy price for damage done by alcohol</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The truly alarming statistic that at least 900 children in Scotland are suffering severe damage caused to the brain and organs before birth by foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and that thousands of others have learning and behavioural difficulties as a result of their mothers’ drinking during pregnancy must concern us all.
The report by Dr Jonathan [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/unborn-are-paying-heavy-price-for-damage-done-by-alcohol/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dangerous Legal High &#8211; Mephedrone</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Teachers UK-wide given emergency training after some as young as 12 fall victim to £3-a-go &#8216;plant food&#8217; drug linked to two deaths
Teachers are dealing with the behavioural consequences in their classrooms of a new &#8220;legal high&#8221; &#8211; known as &#8220;meow meow&#8221; or &#8220;plant food&#8221; &#8211; which is being taken by pupils as young as 12 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/03/dangerous-legal-high-mephedrone/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Theresa H M Moore, Stanley Zammit, Anne Lingford-Hughes, Thomas R E Barnes, Peter B Jones, Margaret Burke, Glyn Lewis
Summary
Background &#8211; Whether cannabis can cause psychotic or affective symptoms that persist beyond transient intoxication is unclear. We systematically reviewed the evidence pertaining to cannabis use and occurrence of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes.
Methods &#8211; We [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/cannabis-use-and-risk-of-psychotic-or-affective-mental-health/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Common Gene Variant May Offer Protection Against Marijuana Dependence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[New research shows that specific variations in the cannabis receptor gene (CB1) may be associated with the development of one or more symptoms of marijuana dependence in adolescents. This is one of the first studies looking specifically at the link between marijuana dependence and CB1 variations.
Background: Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal substance among [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/common-gene-variant-may-offer-protection-against-marijuana-dependence/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>School-Based Drug Abuse Prevention Program Also Works Against Violence and Delinquency</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Background: Prevention interventions that focus on the impact of social influences, making healthy choices, and promoting anti-substance abusing norms have proven effective in reducing adolescent drug use. The school-based drug abuse prevention program Life Skills Training (LST) teaches a variety of cognitive-behavioral skills for problem-solving and decisionmaking, resisting media influences, managing stress and anxiety, communicating [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/school-based-drug-abuse-prevention-program-also-works-against-violence-and-delinquency/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Chronic Abuse of Different Drugs Causes Similar Brain Changes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The results of this study suggest that many drug abusers may experience similar changes in the patterns of global gene expression in their brains, irrespective of their drug of choice. Whether longtime drug abusers favor cocaine, marijuana, or PCP, their autopsied brains showed a number of common gene changes consistent with diminished brain plasticity— i.e., [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/chronic-abuse-of-different-drugs-causes-similar-brain-changes/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>New Tool Is Available for Characterizing Nicotine Receptors in the Brain</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nicotine addiction relies on brain receptors that have been difficult to fully study and characterize. Scientists at the University of Colorado in Boulder have demonstrated that an immunolabeling technique can effectively analyze receptor subunits.
Background: Nicotine’s effects on the brain are triggered upon its binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, each of which consists of five subunits: [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/new-tool-is-available-for-characterizing-nicotine-receptors-in-the-brain/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NIDA Researchers Identify 89 Genes Implicated in Addiction––At Least 21 Are Likely to Affect Brain’s Memory Processes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An analysis that compared the DNA of drug abusers with that of non-abusing controls has identified 89 genes that are likely to contain variants that contribute to addiction vulnerability.
Background: Vulnerability to addiction is a complex trait with strong genetic influences. Since the mid-1990s, scientists have been developing methods and tools to identify and evaluate the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/nida-researchers-identify-89-genes-implicated-in-addiction%e2%80%93%e2%80%93at-least-21-are-likely-to-affect-brain%e2%80%99s-memory-processes/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>How does THC work?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Marijuana and its main psychoactive component, THC, exert a plethora of behavioral and autonomic effects on humans and animals.
Some of these effects are the cause of the widespread illicit use of marijuana, while others might be involved in the potential therapeutic use of this drug for the treatment of several neuronal disorders. The great majority [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/how-does-thc-work/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Binge drinking soars among under-14s</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Oct 8, 2007 in alcohol, hospital
Tags: risky drinking, teenage binge drinking
The Telegraph:
One in seven people taken to hospital for drinking too much in the past year was under 14 years old, according to new figures.
A total of 2,239 under-14s were given treatment in A&#038;E suffering from the effects of alcohol over the past 12 months, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/binge-drinking-soars-among-under-14s/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Emphysema and secondary pneumothorax in young adults smoking cannabis.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Beshay M, Kaiser H, Niedhart D, Reymond MA, Schmid RA.
Division of General Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital Berne, Switzerland.
Background: We observed a remarkable increase in the number of young patients who presented with lung emphysema and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) at our institution for over a period of 30 months; most of them have a common [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/emphysema-and-secondary-pneumothorax-in-young-adults-smoking-cannabis/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Affects Attention in Early School Years</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By Randy Dotinga, Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service 
Adding to the evidence that maternal drug use can have lasting effects, a new study finds that young schoolchildren of cocaine-using moms scored more poorly on attention tests. 
Researchers looked at test scores of 415 African-American children who took tests at age 5 or 7 (now 14 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/prenatal-cocaine-exposure-affects-attention-in-early-school-years/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Club Drugs Inflict Damage Similar To Traumatic Brain Injury</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What do suffering a traumatic brain injury and using club drugs have in common? University of Florida researchers say both may trigger a similar chemical chain reaction in the brain, leading to cell death, memory loss and potentially
irreversible brain damage. 
A series of studies at UF over the past five years has shown using the
popular [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/club-drugs-inflict-damage-similar-to-traumatic-brain-injury/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cannabis and Related Disorders</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cannabis use has been found to co-exist with a range of mental health symptoms and disorders (a concurrence referred to hereafter as co-morbidity). Large-scale epidemiological surveys have found higher rates of psychotic, affective, anxiety, and behavioural disorders among individuals with substance use disorders than in the general population (Degenhardt, Hall &#038; Lynskey, 2001; Farrell et [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/cannabis-and-related-disorders/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Ecstasy Especially Deadly for Young Users, Study Finds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research Summary
Ecstasy is a stimulant like various classes of amphetamines, but the popular club drug is more likely to kill young and otherwise healthy users, Reuters reported Jan. 29.
U.K. researchers who studied ecstasy and amphetamine related deaths found that ecstasy-related deaths were more common among &#8220;victims who were young, healthy, and less likely to be [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/ecstasy-especially-deadly-for-young-users-study-finds/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Ecstasy Can Quickly Hurt Brain, Researchers Say</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Research Summary 
Human brain cells can be altered and damaged by low doses of ecstasy, leading to reduced blood flow to the brain, researchers say.
Bloomberg News reported Nov. 27 that a new study finds that even first-time users of ecstasy experience a decrease in verbal memory, and that taking just a few doses of the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/ecstasy-can-quickly-hurt-brain-researchers-say/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Re: Establishment of Needle and Syringe Programs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D., Commissioner,
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
August 2007
Dear Dr. Jacobs,
Re: Establishment of Needle and Syringe Programs
I understand that the state of New Jersey is considering a needle and syringe “exchange” program.  I am also advised that New Jersey is a liberal democratic society whose members for the most [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/re-establishment-of-needle-and-syringe-programs/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Minnesota County Attorneys Association</title>
		<description><![CDATA[MINNESOTA COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION
POLICY POSITION
OPPOSING THE MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA IN MINNESOTA
Adopted February 16, 2007
******************************
The Minnesota County Attorneys Association (hereafter MCAA) strongly opposes any efforts to use marijuana for medical purposes within the State of Minnesota currently under consideration in the Minnesota Legislature in Senate File No. 345 and House File No. 655 (hereafter S.F. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/minnesota-county-attorneys-association/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>New Perspectives on Marijuana and Youth</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Abstainers Are Not Maladjusted, but Lone Users Face Difficulties 
Key findings:
•    Although some consider experimenting with marijuana normal behavior for adolescents, those adolescents who abstain are not maladjusted as others have reported.
•    Young abstainers do better than experimenters into young adulthood.
•    Even strict abstainers — youth [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/new-perspectives-on-marijuana-and-youth/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Effects of Cannabis on Pulmonary Structure</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Functions and Symptoms
This study has identified the nature and magnitude of the
effects of cannabis smoking on respiratory structure, function
and symptoms. There was a dose-response relationship of
cannabis smoking with airflow obstruction, impaired large
airways function and hyperinflation. For measures of airflow
obstruction, one joint of cannabis had a similar effect to that of
2.5–5 tobacco cigarettes. In contrast, cannabis [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/the-effects-of-cannabis-on-pulmonary-structure/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Adolescent Brain Development</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The human brain is also a system of subsystems and there is now overwhelming evidence that the development of the human brain continues well into adolescence up to age 20. We know that the brain is vulnerable to toxic substances that can cause cognitive dysfunctions in adults. There is substantial literature on the consequences of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/adolescent-brain-development/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Injection drug use, low baseline CD4 counts continue to predict poorer HAART response after six years</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A large multi-cohort analysis has investigated factors affecting long-term response to potent antiretroviral therapy. Four to six years after starting anti-HIV treatment, higher rates of AIDS and mortality were seen in injection drug users and in those who had had AIDS-defining events or CD4 cell counts less than 25 cells/mm3 before starting therapy. The study, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/injection-drug-use-low-baseline-cd4-counts-continue-to-predict-poorer-haart-response-after-six-years/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>New H.I.V. Cases Drop but Rise in Young Gay Men</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For years he had numbed his pain and fear with drugs, alcohol and anonymous sex. But in a flash of clarity one day, when the crystal meth was wearing off, Javier Arriola dragged himself to a clinic to get an H.I.V. test, years after he stopped using condoms.  He knew the answer before he [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/new-hiv-cases-drop-but-rise-in-young-gay-men/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Not Safe at any Dose: Marijuana and Non-medical Use of Prescription Drugs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bertha K. Madras, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy
This is the second in a series of articles on how specific drugs affect the brain and body.
The brain drain
Myths that downplay the risks associated with drug use permeate youth culture and are embraced to rationalize experimentation with addictive drugs. Scientific evidence [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/not-safe-at-any-dose-marijuana-and-non-medical-use-of-prescription-drugs/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>How to Implement a Model to Get Youth off Drugs and Out of Crime</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In this national fellowship report, project directors from the first 10 Reclaiming Futures sites share the lessons they learned in creating and implementing a model for helping teens in trouble overcome drugs, alcohol and crime. 
The directors offer specific steps for planning and instigating the changes, provide real-life examples from diverse communities across the nation, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/how-to-implement-a-model-to-get-youth-off-drugs-and-out-of-crime-2/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Shooting Up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Infections among injecting drug users
Key Messages
1. Needle and syringe sharing has declined in recent years, however with around a quarter of injecting drug users continuing to share the level remains higher than in the mid-1990s.
2. Injecting into the groin and the injection of crack cocaine, which are associated with higher levels of
infection and risky injecting, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/shooting-up/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings May Reduce Depression Symptoms</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of many reasons that attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings helps people with alcohol use disorders stay sober appears to be alleviation of depression. A team of researchers has found that study participants who attended AA meetings more frequently had fewer symptoms of depression &#8211; along with less drinking &#8211; than did those with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/alcoholics-anonymous-meetings-may-reduce-depression-symptoms/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>&#8220;Addiction is a disease&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[“Drug [including alcohol] addictions are medical diseases which deserve parity in national healthcare programmes&#8230;” states scientist and professor Carlton Erickson, as he reveals the neurobiological research.
Although this article was first printed in Addiction Today journal in 2002, the vast majority of alcohol and drug workers remain unaware of these vital facts.  Read on&#8230;
Public and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/addiction-is-a-disease-2/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Research Shows Parenting Can Prevent Drug Use, Aid Brain Development, NIDA Chief Says</title>
		<description><![CDATA[From the founding of National Families in Action during the height of the War on Drugs to Joseph A. Califano&#8217;s book, How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid, parents and communities have been touted as the keys to preventing alcohol and other drug problems among youth, and research now shows that environmental and genetic risk factors [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/research-shows-parenting-can-prevent-drug-use-aid-brain-development-nida-chief-says/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Impact On Children Whose Parents Are Alcoholics Or Drug Addicts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Children in families experiencing alcohol or drug abuse need attention, guidance and support. They may be growing up in homes in which the problems are either denied or covered up. These children need to have their experiences validated. They also need safe, reliable adults in whom to confide and who will support them, reassure them, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/the-impact-on-children-who-parents-are-alcoholics-or-drug-addicts/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Teens Who Drink With Parents May Still Develop Alcohol Problems</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 
In a study of 428 Dutch families, researchers found that the more [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/teens-who-drink-with-parents-may-still-develop-alcohol-problems/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cocaine in half of all schools in Rotterdam</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Amsterdam: &#8211; The alderman of Rotterdam, responsible for education, Leonard Geluk wants that all middle schools are going to perform drug tests among their students in order to track down traces of use. Geluk responded to the outcome of a test, done by the topicality show Netwerk on 12 different schools in Rotterdam. At half [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/cocaine-on-half-of-all-schools-in-rotterdam/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Federal anti-drug campaign will educate youth on &#8216;harms of illicit drug use&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[OTTAWA &#8212; A new national program designed to prevent youth from using drugs received $10 million from the federal government Wednesday.
The money is slated to go toward the Drug Prevention Strategy for Youth, a new five-year plan led by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the government-supported national agency for substance abuse.  The strategy [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/federal-anti-drug-campaign-will-educate-youth-on-harms-of-illicit-drug-use/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Plea deal for Canada&#8217;s &#8220;Prince of Pot&#8221; falls apart</title>
		<description><![CDATA[VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) &#8211; Canada&#8217;s &#8220;Prince of Pot&#8221; believes the Canadian government wants to punish him by blocking a plea deal with U.S. authorities, who want him to face charges of selling marijuana seeds from his Vancouver store to American customers.
Canada refused to go along with Marc Emery&#8217;s deal with U.S. prosecutors to plead [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/plea-deal-for-canadas-prince-of-pot-falls-apart/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Scotsman exclusive: Growth industry Scots don&#8217;t need</title>
		<description><![CDATA[POLICE have raided 100 cannabis factories capable of producing more than £60m worth of the drug for home and export. More than 100 cannabis factories capable of producing nearly £60 million of a super-strong variety of the drug every year have been found in Scotland.
The Scotsman can reveal the alarming scale of cannabis cultivation in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/scotsman-exclusive-growth-industry-scots-dont-need/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Smoking, drinking and illicit drugs are costing the Australian economy $56 billion a year.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Australia&#8217;s drinking, smoking and drug-taking caused a lot of sickness, disease, premature death, reduced productivity, crime and accidents in the year to July 2005. The report shows costs were up to $56 billion, from about $34 billion when the estimate was last made in the late 1990s.
The latest estimate puts the cost of alcohol-associated problems [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/smoking-drinking-and-illicit-drugs-are-costing-the-australian-economy-56-billion-a-year/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dutch plan to shift coffeeshops worries neighbors</title>
		<description><![CDATA[MAASTRICHT, Netherlands (Reuters) &#8211; Sitting among the mellow smokers in a coffeeshop in Maastricht it is easy to forget that a plan to relocate half of the cannabis-selling outlets to the city limits has aroused fury.  The southern Dutch city has been trying for five years to push seven shops to three new &#8220;coffee [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/dutch-plan-to-shift-coffeeshops-worries-neighbors/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Opposition is not just &#8216;ideology&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Re: Take ideology out of decisions, by Keith Baldrey, In My Opinion, Burnaby NOW, May 7.
Mr. Baldrey makes a number of misleading statements about me and about opponents of Insite in general. I am the author of the &#8220;flawed and questionable report&#8221; criticizing the Insite evaluations that Mr. Baldrey referred to. Mr. Baldrey and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/opposition-is-not-just-ideology/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Worrying side effects attached to mephedrone</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In different forms it&#8217;s been sold as plant food, but little is known about a new recreational drug hitting Australian streets, other than it prompts acts of horrendous self-mutilation by some users.   Within the past few months in Sydney there have been reports one user tried to castrate himself while under the influence [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/worrying-side-effects-attached-to-mephedrone/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Taxing Marijuana</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Can your state afford to gamble on legalizing marijuana?	
California is capturing national media coverage as the state debates the issue of legalizing and taxing marijuana. A legislative bill (AB 390) and three potential ballot initiatives propose different strategies to allegedly profit financially from marijuana. Promotion of those measures rely on a biased study. The study [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/taxing-marijuana-2/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Personal and Financial costs of INSITE in Vancouver, Canada</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have read with interest the article in &#8220;The Province&#8221; Newspaper from British Columbia dated February 16th, 2009 entitled &#8220;Huge Price Tag Leads to Call for Audit, and then the articles in the Ottawa Citizen recommended an injection site in Ottawa of Intravenous Drug users.
The newspaper investigated the cost of funding the &#8220;Downtown Eastside&#8221; in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/the-personal-and-financial-costs-of-insite-in-vancouver-canada/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>More good news on teen smoking in USA: Rates at or near record lows</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cigarette smoking rates among American teens in 2008 are at the lowest
levels since at least as far back as the early 1990s, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study based at the University of Michigan, which has been surveying national samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students each year since 1991.
MTF tracks tobacco use [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/more-good-news-on-teen-smoking-in-usa-rates-at-or-near-record-lows/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>L.A. Medical-Pot Shops Peddle to LAUSD Pupils</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As kids flood weed outlets, Ramon Cortines admits there&#8217;s no plan
Los Angeles City Hall is thrashing around as the City Council and mayor belatedly try to control a pot-shop explosion they ignited, which has spawned dozens of freewheeling weed emporiums near public schools. The Los Angeles school board’s response? Nada.
That’s what the Los Angeles Unified [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/la-medical-pot-shops-peddle-to-lausd-pupils/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A wave of heroin has hit Victoria, causing the highest statewide death toll by the devastating drug in nearly a decade.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Exclusive data reveals 134 people died of heroin-caused deaths in Victoria last year &#8211; the most annual fatalities since 2000 when the drug rivalled the road toll.  Already this year, 59 heroin deaths have been verified &#8211; taking the total to almost 200 in less than two years &#8211; with 2009&#8217;s figure expected [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/a-wave-of-heroin-has-hit-victoria-causing-the-highest-statewide-death-toll-by-the-devastating-drug-in-nearly-a-decade/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Self-Esteem and Trait Anxiety in Relation to Drug Misuse in Kuwait</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This study was designed to document knowledge about Kuwaiti drug users and to investigate whether or not there is an association between their poor self-concept and high level of anxiety. One hundred and seven incarcerated drug users, 107 individuals serving prison terms for offenses other than drug use, and 107 “normal” individuals were included in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/self-esteem-and-trait-anxiety-in-relation-to-drug-misuse-in-kuwait/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Seeing Through the Haze: The Impact of Drug Legalization in America</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ “ I would  establish a strictly controlled distribution network through which I would  make most drugs, excluding the most dangerous ones like crack, legally available.” &#8211; George Soros 
Source:  Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve.
Published :New York John Wiley &#038; Sons 1995  
Decades of painful experience dealing with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/seeing-through-the-haze-the-impact-of-drug-legalization-in-america/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>More than 100 young Australians died after taking the recreational drug ecstasy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A ground-breaking report into the use of the stimulant MDMA has revealed it claimed 82 Australians over five years from 2000 &#8211; and the number fatalities is increasing.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre&#8217;s study into MDMA-related deaths is the most comprehensive examination to date, and has prompted calls for more research.  Last year, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/more-than-100-young-australians-died-after-taking-the-recreational-drug-ecstasy-in-the-eight-years-to-2008-the-sunday-times-can-reveal/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Smoke and mirrors: Colorado teenagers and marijuana</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Smoke and mirrors: Colorado teenagers and marijuana
By Christian Thurstone
Colorado&#8217;s public policies regarding the use of medical marijuana are a complete mess — and as the medical director of a busy adolescent substance abuse treatment program in Denver, I get to contend with this mess every day.
Take, for example, the 19-year-old whom I have treated for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/smoke-and-mirrors-colorado-teenagers-and-marijuana/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Decriminalization of drugs in Portugal – The real facts!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Decriminalization of drugs in Portugal – The real facts!
The national press, and especially the foreign, has referred with outlandish insistence, on the eve of two important elections in Portugal, the &#8220;resounding success&#8221; of the decriminalization of drugs launched in 2001 by the Socialist Government, neglecting all other European countries and in prejudice of the guidelines [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/decriminalization-of-drugs-in-portugal-%e2%80%93-the-real-facts/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Reclassification of cannabis &#8216;fuels youth crime wave&#8217;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cannabis use among Britain&#8217;s young offenders is &#8220;out of control&#8221;, up by 75 per cent in some areas and fuelling a crime epidemic, with youngsters stealing to fund their addictions, according to two studies.
A national survey of Youth Offending Teams indicates that two-thirds of them have seen an increase in cannabis use of between 25 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/reclassification-of-cannabis-fuels-youth-crime-wave/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drug addicts get cold turkey compensation</title>
		<description><![CDATA[THOUSANDS of pounds is being paid out in compensation to drug addict prisoners being forced to go cold turkey in Welsh jails, a Wales on Sunday investigation has revealed.
While many victims of crime receive paltry sums in compensation after the turmoil they have been through, the Prison Service is being forced to pay out to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/drug-addicts-get-cold-turkey-compensation/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cannabis experts lash out at ministers for ignoring advice</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An angry row has blown up over proposals to upgrade cannabis to a class B drug, with leading experts from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) accusing the Government of a &#8220;deliberate leak&#8221; of its plans.
Ignoring a directive not to speak to journalists about reports that the Government has already made its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/cannabis-experts-lash-out-at-ministers-for-ignoring-advice/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Shock rise in drug crime as offences soar by 21 per cent</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Gun crime has risen by four per cent, according to government statistics Drug offences have leapt by 21 per cent in just one year, latest figures showed yesterday, piling more pressure on Gordon Brown to reverse the Government&#8217;s &#8220;softly-softly&#8221; stance on cannabis. 
The number of drugs crimes recorded by police has now leapt by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/shock-rise-in-drug-crime-as-offences-soar-by-21-per-cent/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>British Crime Survey</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The UK has third highest teenage cannabis use in OECD.   A report by UNICEF into child poverty in 21 industrialised countries found that the UK was third highest in terms of the proportion of 11, 13 and 15 year- olds who said they had taken cannabis in the last 12 months.  The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/british-crime-survey/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dealers of class-A drugs to be freed sooner</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Pushers caught with up to £100,000 of cocaine or heroin face downgraded sentences.
Mark Macaskill 
DRUG dealers caught with heroin and cocaine worth up to £100,000 could be jailed for as little as 15 months under new guidelines issued by the Crown Office.  Senior prosecutors have been ordered to ignore existing rules that state anyone [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/dealers-of-class-a-drugs-to-be-freed-sooner/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Marijuana In The UK And The Advisory Council On The Misuse Of Drugs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[“There are few substances which are surrounded by more controversy, and which have at the same time such important and potentially far-reaching public health implications”, the late Professor Henry wrote.
The ACMD, the body tasked to adjudicate the evidence on cannabis, never shared this view and as a result fell foul of the debate.  It [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/marijuana-in-the-uk-and-the-advisory-council-on-the-misuse-of-drugs/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>No Reason to be Sanguine About Teenage Drug Use</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This month, the National Treatment Agency published the staggering figure of nearly 25,000 young people under 18 getting &#8220;treatment&#8221; for their drugs and alcohol problems.[1] 10 years ago, the thought of so many young teenagers using drugs to this degree was unimaginable, writes Kathy Gyngell, chair of the Prisons and Addiction forum at the Centre [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/no-reason-to-be-sanguine-about-teenage-drug-use/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE Scottish Government is to spend £4.5million over three years on needles and other drug equipment to give to addicts.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Hospitals and prisons will be supplied with syringes, swabs, citric acid and even spoons.  The Government says the aim is to cut the numbers of addicts getting hepatitis C through sharing needles.   But drug expert Professor Neil McKeganey said they should concentrate on getting addicts OFF drugs, rather than help to feed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/02/the-scottish-government-is-to-spend-45million-over-three-years-on-needles-and-other-drug-equipment-to-give-to-addicts/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NHS  Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2009.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The following extracts are taken from the NHS  Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2009.  It is quite difficult to compare many of the statistics from the body of the report – some relate to age groups 16-59, others to 16-24 year olds, others to 11-15 year olds.  Some give information from l996, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/nhs-statistics-on-drug-misuse-england-2009/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Neurofeedback in Treatment of Substance Abuse</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a two-part series on Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Substance Abuse. This article presents evidence of the neurological basis, specifically EEG dysfunction, underlying addiction that makes it such a complicated condition to treat, and explains how neurofeedback addresses cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms. The second part of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/neurofeedback-in-treatment-of-substance-abuse/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The DEA Position On Marijuana (2006)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The campaign to legitimize what is called &#8220;medical&#8221; marijuana is based on two propositions: that science views marijuana as medicine, and that DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. Neither proposition is true. Smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science &#8211; it is not medicine and it is not safe. DEA [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/the-dea-position-on-marijuana-2006/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Motivational interviewing</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Motivational interviewing can yield excellent results and the basic skills and techniques are easy to learn. Dr Malcolm Thomas sets out the basics of promoting behaviour change
Helping patients or clients to change their behaviour can be frustrating. As professionals, we can get into a cycle of giving advice and making suggestions, only to feel that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/motivational-interviewing-can-yield-excellent-results-and-the-basic-skills-and-techniques-are-easy-to-learn-dr-malcolm-thomas-sets-out-the-basics-of-promoting-behaviour-change/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Legally High  &#8211;  Internet Drugs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The last few months have seen a dramatic increase in use of –
and media interest in – ‘legal highs’, especially mephedrone or ‘miaow/meow’.
David Gilliver takes a look at a legislative minefield
When the government announced its intention last year to ban a range
of ‘legal highs’ and make them class C drugs, Release accused it of
‘chasing its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/legally-high-internet-drugs/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>What is miaow drug?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What is miaow drug?
A 14 year old girl, Gabi Price, has died after apparently taking a new drug, known as miaow. 
Gabi Price died after apparently taking a new drug, known as miaow &#8220;Miaow&#8221; is sold as plant food on the internet where it is described as being not for human consumption. 
It was made [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/what-is-miaow-drug/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Taxing Marijuana</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
California is capturing national media coverage as the state debates the issue of legalizing and taxing marijuana. A legislative bill (AB 390) and three potential ballot initiatives propose different strategies to allegedly profit financially from marijuana. Promotion of those measures rely on a biased study. The study suggesting potential revenue gains is not only questionable, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/taxing-marijuana/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Alcohol death toll to reach 9,080 a year, study predicts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Experts call for urgent action to reduce &#8216;unacceptably high&#8217; death toll from diseases directly linked to drinking
Alcohol will claim more than 90,000 lives over the next decade without urgent action to tackle the country&#8217;s increasingly ruinous relationship with drinking, experts warn today.
They predict that 90,800 people will be killed by diseases directly linked to drinking, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/alcohol-death-toll-to-reach-9080-a-year-study-predicts/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The genetics of addiction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the challenges about addiction is the difficulty we have in putting it into a particular “box”. Is it a learned behaviour? is it down to environmental and social influences? Is it a disease?
I am most comfortable with calling addiction a bio-psycho-social condition and taking the complexities on the chin.
The genetics of addiction are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/the-genetics-of-addiction/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A clear danger from cannabis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By Robin Murray
Classification isn&#8217;t all-important. What&#8217;s crucial is that we recognise cannabis does increase the risk of schizophrenia.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), on which Professor David Nutt sits, has an unfortunate history in relation to cannabis. In 2002, it boobed by advising David Blunkett, then home secretary, that there were no [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/a-clear-danger-from-cannabis/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Radical scheme using ex-offenders to help prisoners is huge success</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A radical pilot scheme that uses ex-offenders to rehabilitate prisoners has almost trebled the rate of those going into work or training on release.
The first evaluation of the Scottish Government-supported scheme revealed that more than 2000 prisoners signed up to the pilot project, which uses reformed inmates to provide advice and support and ensure prisoners [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/radical-scheme-using-ex-offenders-to-help-prisoners-is-huge-success/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Legal Stimulant Mephedrone Gains Popularity as Club Drug in U.K.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Mephedrone &#8212; a stimulant that is currently legal in both the U.K. and the U.S. &#8212; has gained recent and surprising popularity among club-goers in the U.K., according to Britain&#8217;s National Addiction Center.
The BBC reported Jan. 14 that the drug, also known as meph, 4-MMC, MCAT, Drone, Meow or Bubbles, was the fourth-most popular drug [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/legal-stimulant-mephedrone-gains-popularity-as-club-drug-in-uk/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Genetic Risk for Cocaine Addiction Identified</title>
		<description><![CDATA[People with a certain gene variant appear to be at higher risk of cocaine addiction, according to researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry.
Medical News Today reported March 13 that some people have a gene that stops the production of DAT, which regulates removal of extra dopamine in the brain. Cocaine works by limiting DAT, overloading [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/genetic-risk-for-cocaine-addiction-identified/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Study Shows Gene Changes in Brain Caused by Cocaine</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Long-term cocaine use can alter the function of genes in the brain, leaving &#8220;pleasure circuits&#8221; stuck in the open position and increasing craving for the drug, according to a new animal study conducted by researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Reuters reported Jan. 9 that researcher Ian Maze and colleagues found that the gene [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/study-shows-gene-changes-in-brain-caused-by-cocaine/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NIAAA Identifies Five Subtypes of Alcohol Dependence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For the first time, federal researchers have broken down the disease of alcoholism into five distinct subtypes, which experts say should help provide more targeted treatment for problem drinkers.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reported June 28 that the five new subtypes include &#8220;Young Adult,&#8221; &#8220;Young Antisocial,&#8221; &#8220;Functional,&#8221; &#8220;Intermediate Familial,&#8221; and &#8220;Chronic [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/niaaa-identifies-five-subtypes-of-alcohol-dependence/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Second hand Smoke a Killer, Institute of Medicine Report Says</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research Summary 
There is compelling evidence that second hand smoke can trigger heart attacks, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and people with heart conditions are urged to avoid exposure to tobacco smoke, the Associated Press reported Oct. 15.
The report, requested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/second-hand-smoke-a-killer-institute-of-medicine-report-says/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Secondhand Smoke May Cause Liver Disease</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Research Summary
A recent University of California at Riverside study found that second hand smoke from tobacco can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can cause fat to accumulate in the liver of people even if they drink moderately or don&#8217;t drink alcohol at all.
Researchers studied mice exposed to second hand smoke for a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/secondhand-smoke-may-cause-liver-disease/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Video Case Studies: Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much</title>
		<description><![CDATA[These video case studies are part of a free online course from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) that demonstrates quick and effective strategies for screening patients for heavy drinking and helping them to cut down or quit.
Based on the NIAAA Clinician&#8217;s Guide, the course features four 10-minute video case scenarios, each [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://drugprevent.org.uk/ppp/2010/01/video-case-studies-helping-patients-who-drink-too-much/</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>
