A state-of-the-art fingerprint detection technology can identify traces of heroin on human skin, even after someone has washed their hands — and it is also smart enough to tell whether an individual has used the drug or shaken hands with someone who has handled it. In a paper published by The…
Meth Causes More Overdoses Than Any Other Drug in Western States
Methamphetamine caused more overdose deaths than any other drug in western states in 2017, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nationwide, fentanyl remains the most common cause of drug overdoses, The Wall Street Journal reports. Meth was the fourth-leading cause of drug overdoses nationally.…
Teens abusing painkillers are more likely to later use heroin
A USC study in the July 8 issue of JAMA Pediatrics shows that teens who use prescription opioids to get high are more likely to start using heroin by high school graduation. “Prescription opioids and heroin activate the brain’s pleasure circuit in similar ways,” said senior author Adam Leventhal, a professor of…
Crack Cocaine Increasingly Laced With Fentanyl
A Philadelphia hospital is reporting a spike in the number of patients who are being treated in the emergency room for overdoses from crack cocaine laced with fentanyl. Experts say fentanyl is being mixed with a number of drugs, including heroin, cocaine and ketamine. In a recent four-day period, the…
Drug overdose epidemic has been growing exponentially for decades
Death rates from drug overdoses in the U.S. have been on an exponential growth curve that began at least 15 years before the mid-1990s surge in opioid prescribing, suggesting that overdose death rates may continue along this same historical growth trajectory for years to come, according to a University of…