Ozzy Says He Now Believes Pot Leads To Other Addictions

Ozzy Osbourne may have weathered the lowest lows that drug addiction has to offer, but the news that his son Jack was seeking treatment for substance abuse taught him a lesson that his own decades of addiction never did.
“I used to think they should legalize pot, but you know what? They should ban the lot,” Osbourne told MTV News, addressing Jack’s battle for the first time. “One thing leads to another. Coffee leads to Red Bull, Red Bull leads to crank.“When I found out the full depth of him getting into OxyContin. which is like hillbilly heroin, I was shocked and stunned,” Osbourne continued. ‘The thing that’s amazing was how rapidly he went from smoking pot to doing hillbilly heroin.”
Ozzy’s son entered a California rehabilitation facility in April to battle what was later revealed to be an addiction to the prescription painkiller OxyContin. Jack also said that he was drinking and using a variety of substances — including Vicodin, Valium, Xajiax, Dilaudid, Lorcet, Lortab, Percocet and marijuana — before his trip to rehab.Jack’s laundry list of controlled substances made his father painfully aware of just how readily available drugs are. “When I started doing drugs years ago, they were hard to get, but today it’s everywhere,” Osbourne said. ‘It’s not just Beverly Hills. It’s not just downtown New York. It’s not just London. It’s all over the world’ .This relatively easy access to allegedly ‘controlled’ substances is especially hard for Ozzy to swallow given his firsthand experience with the damage that drugs can do.
“I’m 55 years old, and I didn’t get off scot-free,” Osbourne explained. “I have to take medication for the rest of my life because I’ve done so much neurological damage to my body,” Osbourne said.

Religious Beliefs Linked to Decreased Drug Use

New research shows that adolescents with strong religious beliefs are less likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or use marijuana.
For the study, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine interviewed 1,182 adolescents from a metropolitan area. The teens were surveyed four different times from 7th grade to 10th grade.The researchers found that adolescents who considered religion a meaningful part of their life and a way to cope with stress were half as likely to use drugs as those who didn’t find religion important.
“Besides offering coping techniques, being involved with religion can also create more healthy social networks than adolescents would have if they got involved with drugs to find social outlets, said Ashby Wills, Ph.D., one of three co-authors of the study.

Cannabinoid  has no impact on spasticity associated with MS

In a report published in the scientific journal Movement Disorders, Vol. 17, No. 1.2002, Fox and associates.A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled crossover study designed to see whether Nabilone would be effective in the treatment of muscle spasm (dystonia) associated with multiple sclerosis found no significant reduction in dystonia following treatment with nabilone”
Though the researchers seemed to have expected more favorable results, these results are consistent with a controlled, double-blind study done in 1995 on balance and coordination of MS patients, using smoked Marijuana Although the participants claimed to have relief from symptoms, high tech monitoring equipment showed that smoking marijuana actually made it worse.

Study shows MS patients further impaired by smoking Low-THC marijuana

‘Greenburg et al, in their paper in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Vol. 55:324-328,1994, performed a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled study of inhaled marijuana smoke on balance and coordination responses in ten adult patients with spastic multiple sclerosis, and normal volunteers who were matched for age, sex, and weight. A sophisticated computer-controlled video system was used to identiFY responses. The study showed that marijuana smoking enhanced the abnormalities already present in MS patients and that smoking just one marijuana cigarette containing 1.5% delta-9 THC increased the objective errors in these responses. The authors concluded that marijuana smoking impairs coordination and balance in patients with spastic MS.

What Americans need to know about Marijuana

•Of the 7.1 million Americans suffering from ilegal drug dependence or abuse, 60 percent abuse or are dependent on marijuana.
•Of all youth age 12-17 in drug treatment in 2000, nearly 62 percent had a primary marijuana diagnosis. Approximately half were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system and half through other sources, including self-referral.
•The average age of initiation for marijuana use generally has been getting younger.
•More young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined.
•Among 10th graders, past-year and past-month use of marijuana or hashish decreased from 2001 to 2002, as did daily use in the past month.
•There has been slow but steady progress toward reduced marijuana use rates among 8th graders. Their past-year marijuana-use rate of 14.6 percent in 2002 is the lowest since 1994, and well below their recent peak of 18.3 percent in 1996.
•At 30.3 percent for past-year marijuana use, 10th graders are at their lowest level since 1995 and somewhat below their recent peak of 34.8 percent in 1997. The past-year use rate for 12th graders is down, albeit only modestly, from 38.5 percent in their recent peak year (1997) to 36.2 percent in 2002.

Source:Monitoring the Future, National Survey Results on Drug Use,1975-2002

Snippets from SAMHSA

In 2000, an estimated 4.7 million people aged 12 or older (2.1 percent of the  total population) needed treatment for an illicit drug abuse problem.
16.6 percent of the people who needed treatment in 2000, received Priority treatment services at a specialty facility.
Among Hispanic male admissions in 1999, alcohol was the most common primary substance of abuse(39%), followed by opiates (32%) and marijuana(14%).
In 1999, the most common primary substance of abuse among Hispanic female admissions was opiates (34%), followed by alcohol (26°/o) and cocaine (16%).
In 1999, opiates were the most common substance of abuse for Hispanic admissions aged 25-44, while alcohol was the most common substance of abuse for non-Hispanic admissions in the 25-44 age group.

Report Shows Parents Unaware of Children’s Ecstasy Use

While nearly 3 million teenagers in America have already tried the club drug Ecstasy, only one percent of parents believe their son or daughter is among them – and half of all parents are unclear about the effects of the so-called ‘love drug,’ according to a national survey by the Partnership for Drug-Free America (PDFA).
The 2001-2002 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) surveyed 1,219 parents across the country from December 2001 to January 2002. (Margin of error + / -2.8 percent. Data are nationally projectable.) This is the 14th installment of parents data fielded for the PATS study since
1987. Top line findings include the following:

• Spreading the word: 92 percent of all parents have heard about Ecstasy. Parents of children in grades 7 to 12 are more likely to have heard about Ecstasy (93 percent) than parents of younger children in grades 4 to 6 (89 percent).
• Instilling the meaning: One of every two parents in America (49 percent) is unclear about Ecstasy’s effects on users. Some 60 percent of all parents are unsure of what is in the drug.
• Not acknowledging the risk to their children: With 12 percent of teenagers in the country (2.8 million teens) reporting use of Ecstasy, the study released today shows that only one percent of parents believe their teen might have tried the drug. (Teen use of Ecstasy has jumped 71 percent since 1999- and is now equal to or greater than adolescent consumption of cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD and metbampheta mine.)
• Parent & teen perceptions far apart: Parents underestimate the availability of Ecstasy to teenagers, and overestimate the degree of risk teens associate with the drug. Almost three out of four parents (72 percent) believe their teen sees great risk in using Ecstasy once or twice. (Just 42 percent of teens agree.) Some 41 percent of parents think Ecstasy would be very or fairly difficult for their teen to get. (Just 26 percent of teens agree.)
• More reminders, more talks: Exposure to anti-drug ads correlate with frequent parent-child communication about drugs. Among parents who reported seeing or hearing an anti-drug message every day or more, 55 percent talk frequently. Among parents exposed to fewer messages, 44 percent talk frequently.
• Ecstasy-specific talks: Among the drugs parents talk ‘a lot’ about with teenagers, parents were more likely to discuss inhalants (36 percent)
• cocaine/crack (48 percent); marijuana (60 percent) and alcohol (70 percent) than Ecstasy (29 percent).

‘Kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are less likely to try drugs’ Pasierb said. “Yet millions of parents sincerely don’t believe that their kids are the ones experimenting with drugs like Ecstasy. It’s these assumptions that enable drug use to go undetected. rf you’re a parent hearing this, the question we beg you to consider is ‘Could this be me?”
Ecstasy–chemically known as 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA – is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. Taken orally in pill form, Ecstasy can be extremely dangerous, especially in high doses. Ecstasy accelerates the release of serotonin in the brain, producing an intense high, often characterized by extreme feelings of love and acceptance – ‘the very emotions teens crave the most,” Pasierb said. Ecstasy can cause dramatic increases in body temperature and can lead to muscle breakdown, as well as kidney and cardiovascular system failure, as reported in some fatalities. A growing body of research has found Ecstasy to be neurotoxic. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, MDMA can damage the neurons that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons.
As reported by the Partnership’s research and other studies, Ecstasy use has increased significantly across the country. Partnership research indicates that older teens (16-17) are more likely to experiment with Ecstasy than are younger teens (13-15); most users are boys, but by a slim margin. Unlike methamphetamine and other drugs that are more regional in nature, Ecstasy is a drug that has been found in major cities and small towns throughout America, with noteworthy emergence in locations as diverse as Baltimore, Maryland and Billings, Montana. (See “Pulse Check” findings.) Emergency room mentions related to Ecstasy increased nearly 13-fold from 421 in 1995 to 5,542 in 2000.

Methadone substitution has long been used as a treatment for heroin addiction. But a new 33-year follow-up study has found that equally satisfactory results are possible without recourse to long-term prescribing of opioids.

Until now there has been no long-term study of people addicted to injected heroin who have been treated without the prescribing of methadone substitute.

This study set out to look at the outcome for patients treated for injected heroin 33 years after they were first seen, and 26 years after they were first followed up. Measures included sustained abstinence from heroin, continued maintenance on methadone and deaths.

86 people with heroin addiction first seen in 1966-67 in a small town in the south-east of England were studied. At the time of diagnosis the patients were aged between 16 and 20, were single and living at home with their parents. They all injected heroin.

All the patients were treated in the local general psychiatric service, which differed from most other UK services for heroin addiction in that it did not prescribe methadone substitute for 23 years after recruitment of the patient group (i.e. until 1989).

The main provisions of the service were immediate help in times of crisis; personal counselling; regular follow-up; an ongoing relapse prevention group; and symptomatic relief with drugs other than methadone.

The first follow-up took place after six years. At that assessment 13% of the patient group were judged to have stopped using any illegal drugs, 51% were still injecting, 6% had died and 12% had experienced alcohol-related problems.

For this follow-up study, 45 of the original patient group were located and their clinical state assessed using multiple sources, including personal interviews with some of them.

It was found that 42% of the group had been abstinent for at least 10 years. 10% were taking methadone and were classified as addicted. 22% had died. 8% of the group could not be located.

The authors of this study compared their results with three other British studies. They found the death rates comparable (15%-20%), but the rates of abstinence and methadone dependency differed.

The researchers comment that it is encouraging that trend studies show agreement that the proportion of people maintaining sustained abstinence rises with time, whilst the proportion of those still addicted declines.

One worrying feature, however, is the high proportion of premature deaths, mainly due to overdoses. As overdose with opioid drugs is often mentioned as a cause of death, there is a need for closer monitoring of these drugs, and regular health screening and intervention to reduce premature deaths.

The advantages of long-term substitute prescribing of methadone are obvious in terms of increased social stability and reduction of crime. However, the researchers were struck not only by the number of premature deaths in people taking methadone, but also by the negative perceptions of life among those who are currently prescribed this opioid.

The findings of this study highlight the need to compare outcomes between people prescribed substitute drugs for addictions, and those who are not.

Reference Nehkant H, Rathod R, Addenbrooke WM and Rosenbach AF (2005) Heroin Dependence
in an English town: 33-year follow-up. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 421-425

The number of smokers in England and Wales has hit a record low, with levels now plummeting by 170000 people each year, according to Cancer Research UK.A huge drop over the past few years puts the current level of those who smoke at one out of four people, outstripping government targets for 2005 of 26 per cent. This means that half a million fewer people are indulging in the habit than in 2000.
The study, which looks at data fromthe General Household Survey (GHS) and the Omnibus survey, shows the lowest percentage of people smoking since figures using the GHS  began in the early Seventies.The new figures have delighted anti-smoking groups, who feared that the situation in the Nineties – where the rate stopped declining and there was a persistently high level of smoking – was irreversible.
Martin Jarvis, the author of the study from the charitys Health Behaviour Unit, said: “There have been actions on a lot of fronts, and when Labour came in they gave a high priority to this. The study shows a clear decline, and this sort of change in smoking is what drives a decline in cancer.’
Ash, the anti-smoking group, welcomed the news. Its chief executive Donal Reid, said: In 1997 the Government pretty well promised all the things we asked for and most have been put into place – we are very pleased. We will continue to push for a ban in all workplaces. That includes bars and restaurants.’
The Cancer Research UK figures will come as a relief to the Government, which considers smoking to be ‘the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK’.

Recent findings by a group of researchers from Trintity College in Dublin Ireland affirms the findings of Gabrial Nahas, MD, PhD, that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, induces cell death (apoptosis) prematurely in the brain and reproductive cells as well as in macrophages and cortical neurories, and suggests that this phenomenon may underlie abnormalities seen in the central nervous systems of infants exposed to marijuana n the womb.
The proclivity of cannabinoid receptors to induce apoptos in neonatal neurones may reflect the role of endogenous cannabinoids in development of the CNS 22 [ nervous system] and may also underlie the central nervous system abnormalities that occur in infants exposed to marijuana inutero.22

Crack cocaine has replaced ecstasy and heroin as the drug of choice among many young adults in the United Kingdom. In particular the use of crack cocaine has increased among ravers and prostitutes, the Observer reported Dec. 29.
“Tackling Crack’ a new report from Britain’s Home Office, shows that the use of crack cocaine has grown more than 200 percent over the past three years. The biggest increase has been within the sex industry.
In addition, DrugScope, an anti-drug group, reports that many club goers have switched to crack over fears of the effects of ecstasy use.
“There is growing evidence that clubbers are under the mistaken belief that cocaine is a safer option,” said a spokesman for the charity. “Because they haven’t seen scare stories about cocaine or crack, they believe that it is a better option than ecstasy.”
In Scotland, police said that crack cocaine is the drug of choice for middle class club-going teenagers. According to Tom Wood, deputy chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police, there has been a 200% increase in the use of the drug.
Crack cocaine is an emerging threat,” said Wood. He added that dealers sell young people smaller ‘clubbing rocks.’
U.K. drug officials said the spread of crack cocaine is a result of Jamaican dealers who have introduced the drug in London and other major cities.

Smoking Marijuana More Harmful than Tobacco

A study by the British Lung Foundation determined that smoking marijuana is more harmful to the lungs than smoking cigarettes.According to the study, smoking three marijuana  cigarettes a day can cause the same damage as 20 cigarettes. And those who smoke both marijuana and cigarettes are further increasing their risk of lung damage.
Dr. Mark Britton, chairman of the foundation, said that tar from cannabis cigarettes contains 50 percent more carcinogens than tobacco.” Since marijuana smokers tend to inhale up to four times more deeply than tobacco users, more poisonous carbon monoxide and tar enter the lungs, he added.These statistics will come as a surprise to many people, especially those who choose to smoke cannabis rather than tobacco in the belief it is safer for them said Britton. It is vital that people are fully aware of the dangers so they can make an educated decision and know the damage they may be causing.”
As a result of the studys findings, the group is urging the British government to implement a public-health education campaign on the health risks of marijuana smoking.

Addiction Code in Brain

Addiction researchers who met this summer to study treatment methods are close to crafting a new approach to preventing relapse,
“The goal is to crack the addiction code — and the code lies in the basic working of the brain,” said Dr. George Augustine, a researcher at Duke University Medical Center. “We don’t know how addiction happens. It’s been a complete black box until recently. Now, there’s a crack of light.”
Researchers said treatment success lies in a targeted approach. For instance, cocaine addiction could be treated with customized psychotropic drugs targeting specific areas of the brain. “Our objective is to revolutionize drug development and provide a completely new view of psychiatry,” said Dr. Hans Breiter, a psychiatrist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Breiter, an expert on brain imaging, and his research partner, Dr. Greg Gasic, recently received a $7.9 million federal grant for an imaging and DNA study. The clinical trial will include a total of 900 cocaine-addicted individuals, depressed individuals, and a control group of people neither addicted nor depressed. The purpose of the study is to identify brain patterns that may reveal individuals who are susceptible to addiction. Researchers want to link genetic similarities and brain circuitry to depression and drug use to create an individualized approach to treatment.
“The issue is not to develop medication that changes the genes,” said Breiter, “but to move addicts back to a place where their genes are in balance.”
Additional researchers also are examining the links between psychiatric disease and addiction. “People with psychiatric disorders have a much higher propensity to use drugs,” said Dr. Bertha Madras, a professor and researcher who works with non-human primates at Harvard Medical School. “Between 55 percent and 75 percent of cocaine users have psychiatric problems at birth.” Since addictive drugs cause molecular changes in the reward circuitry of the brain, researchers also want to pinpoint which molecules have been altered by drug use and find ways to reverse the effects.
“A major cause of relapse is the long-lasting adaptations that have occurred in the brain in response to drugs of abuse,” said Stanford University psychiatrist Dr. Robert Malenka. “What commonly happens is that someone who has a problem with addiction is abstinent, but will be exposed to some environment where they used the drug or some person they’ve used the substance with. Then, they get these overwhelming memories we call cravings that become so powerful they have to start using drugs again.”

UK DRUG DEATHS SOAR

LONDON: British deaths from ecstasy, cocaine and amphetamines have rocketed 47 per cent in the past year.The toll topped 1500 for the first time, fuelled by a rise in so-called “recreational hard drugs taken by weekend users.
Ecstasy, cocaine and speed are increasingly used by young people who take cocktails of drugs every weekend.The findings emerged in a study of coroners reports which suggested stronger tablets, easier availability, falling prices and the growing popularity of drug cocktails were behind the rising death toll.
Dr Fabrizio Schifano, who led the research at the European Centre for Addiction Studies at St George’s Hospital Medical School in South London, said recreational users did not see themselves as addicts or considered they were at risk of dying’  Schifana said.
Many weekend users took a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in sessions of up to 12  hours.In dozens of fatal cases, the victims also smoked cannabis.Cocaine was involved in 147 deaths lost year, a 47 per cent rise on 2001, Amphetamines were linked to 53 deaths, a 60 per cent rise. There were 64 ecstasy-related deaths, up 34 per cent.
Dr Schifono so that even a small amount of a drug could kill a hardened user who had built up a tolerance over months or years. In a process called “reverse tolerance”, the user suddenly become acutely sensitive and died.The first death in Britain from a new synthetic form of morphine called Oxycontin was recorded ast year.Called “hillbilly heroin” it has killed hundreds in the US.Overal drug-related deaths rose by about 6 per cent on 2001 last year – from 1495 to 1583, About 45 per cent were due to heroin, morphine and other drugs.The greatest increase in drug-related deaths were in West London. Brcdgend and Glamorgan Volleys, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, North Northumberland and East Lancashire.

Smoking can double risk of MS

Smokers are 181 times more likely to develop multiple sclerosis than non smokers according to Dr Trond Riise.
Scientists found that smokers in their forties were almost twice as likely as non-smokers to develop Ms in later life, with male smokers having 2.7 times the risk.The study examined 87 Ms patients in a sample of 22312 people between the ages of 40 and 47 in the Norwegian country of Hordaland, in order to identify the environmental factors that increase the chances of developing the disease.
Professor Riise said: “This is the first time that smoking has been established as a risk factor.., hopefully these results will help us learn more about what causes Ms by looking at how smoking affects the onset of the disease.

Cannabis doubles the risk of schizophrenia and other psyciatric conditions
Harald Wychgel,an expert at the Trimbos addiction Institute claimed that cannabis use leads to 200 additional cases of schizophrenia each year in the Netherlands. He said that about 400,000 young Dutch people regularly smoke cannabis and of these 400 fall victim to psychiatric difficulties or schizophrenia.About half of young Dutch mules come into contact with cannabis as do about 30 percent of young women, This group more frequently suffers from mental conditions due to daily cannabis use,Wychgel claimed

Source:Expatica news Oct 2003

British Medical Association Annual Conference rejects legalised cannabis motion

Doctors rejected calls for cannabis to be legalised so that it could be used by Multiple Sclerosis sufferers. They also voted against a proposal to legalise and tax other drugs which had pain relief or other health benefits. Both of Dr Connie Fozzard’s drug reform motions were heavily defeated.

Yale Study Terms Addiction a Developmental Disorder

Because drugs affect the brains circuitry, Yale University School of Medicine researchers say adolescent drug addiction should be considered a developmental disorder. As adolescents develop, the researchers said, the changing motivational circuitry of their brain makes them vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and other addictive drugs. For the research, lead author Dr. R. Andrew Chambers analyzed three factors of teen behavior and their relationship to brain functioning. They included attraction to novelty, less-than-adult levels of judgment, and an overriding interest in sex.

According to Chambers, the brain’s complex motivational circuitry consists of chemical reactions that make certain experiences more enjoyable than others. At the center of this circuitry is the chemical dopamine, which has been linked to the addictive effects of drugs.In a teenagers brain, Chambers said, the circuitry that releases chemicals associated with new experiences and the motivation to repeat them develops much faster than the brain mechanism that restrains urges and impulses.You have a situation where the motivational brain areas are particularly active, Chambers said, and the part of the brain that is supposed to inhibit impulses is not working well, because it is sort of under construction.
As a result, Chambers said, teenagers are more likely to try drugs than other groups. Furthermore, experimenting with drugs during adolescence has more of an impact on the brain.