Dementia is now the leading cause of death, overtaking heart disease. The Conversation’s experts explain how Australians’ health has changed – both good and bad.
- Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
For the first time, people aged 50–59 years make up the highest proportion of unintentional drug overdose deaths. But these aren’t just from illicit drugs.
Wastewater data can only measure the volume of drugs consumed, not the number of people using them or the level of harm they experience.
You don’t have to rely on willpower alone.
After a day, you’ll feel less dehydrated. After a week, your mood and sleep improves – and the benefits keep going.
Perte de mémoire, dépendance, voire une dépression respiratoire pouvant entraîner la mort dans les cas extrêmes… les risques liés aux usages détournés de benzodiazépines sont sérieux.
Strict sobriety goals can backfire and lead to guilt and binge drinking when people feel they’ve failed.
Some illegally obtained benzodiazepines look like prescription medicines but are counterfeits that may contain fentanyl.
Captagon was once a pharmaceutical drug but it’s now made illicitly, generating billions of dollars for the Syrian economy.
Cocaine and other illicit drugs have been found to be contain nitazenes, a dangerous class of synthetic opioids.
The traction drug checking is gaining in Australia reflects local and international evidence showing these services reduce harm for people who use illicit drugs.
One report says methamphetamine use is rising. Another says it’s falling. So what’s going on?
Negative attitudes lead to stigma, which sees people who use drugs isolated and marginalised.
The good news is most teenagers don’t use illicit drugs, and the majority of those who do only do so occasionally and don’t come to serious harm.
Needle spiking is when a person is injected with a drug without their consent. Reports started to emerge in the UK in 2021 but this has now been reported around the world, including in Australia.
Testing workers for drug and alcohol use can reduce injuries but is less effective than a comprehensive approach to improving staff health.
Overdose deaths did go up in Oregon after drug decriminalisation, but they were already increasing, as they were in nearby states.
Adele is really saying alcohol is have too much of a negative impact on her life, and like many others has decided to do something positive about it by taking a break.
Victoria has just announced a new sobering-up centre, bringing it in line with other states. Here’s a look at what goes on inside them.
A new review has examined the research on vaping. It found Australia is in need of a pragmatic harm reduction approach.
The best treatment for heroin dependence is opioid agonist treatment, where a similar but longer-acting opioid is provided in a regular dose, often with counselling or other support.
If governments want to tackle drug use, targeting those at most risk is a better strategy than mass campaigns.
It’s common to hear ex-lovers or friends and politicians described as ‘narcissists’. But what does this really mean and when it is a problem?
There’s a lot of bad advice out there for families struggling with the alcohol or other drug dependence of a loved one. Here’s what works, and what doesn’t.
Despite decades of research, no-one has been able to identify a set of personality traits or a personality type that can predict whether someone will have problems with alcohol or other drugs.
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