Two experts explain why we must view addiction as a health condition, not a moral failure.
Articles on Drug dependence
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If approved, mirtazapine would be the first prescription medicine for people with methamphetamine dependency.
Surgical patients are opting out of opioids due to concerns about side effects and addiction. Combining methods to manage pain can take these fears into account without compromising on care.
Clonazepam is twenty times more potent than Valium, and the effects last a lot longer.
Many countries have banned over-the-counter sale of codeine. The UK is not one of them.
Antidepressants have been prescribed to millions of people with little thought about how those people will come off them.
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.
Some people seek out the herbal drug Kamini to stay awake – but it contains up to 21% morphine so doesn’t have that effect. And dependency can escalate quickly.
We might think we know a lot about drug and alcohol treatment, as it’s so often depicted on the silver screen. But there’s a lot film and TV get wrong.
Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous have been a mainstay of drug and alcohol treatment since the 1930s. But is there actually any evidence for their effectiveness?
A new Nice guidance suggests exercise, talk therapy and acupuncture to treat chronic pain. Where does this leave those dependent on painkillers?
Continued drug dependence treatment for people locked down in housing estates is important. But people not currently in treatment also need support.
One in ten cannabis users are dependent on the drug, according to some estimates.
Quetiapine is an antipsychotic drug to treat severe mental illness, but it makes people feel sleepy, so has also been used as a sleeping pill – by prescription and illicitly.
A new study has found more than half of those in drug treatment have cognitive impairments – meaning treatment won’t work for them.
A new study has looked at why some ice users suffer psychosis and others don’t.
Benzodiazepines are used by many people despite their associated risks and harms.
West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan said his state has the “worst rate of methamphetamine usage in the country”. We asked the experts to check the evidence.
Without doubt, crystal methamphetamine, like many drugs (including alcohol) is capable of causing immense harm. But when facts are distorted to create fear and stigma it helps no one.
Regardless of how they are consumed, alcohol and other drugs eventually make their way into the brain via the bloodstream. Once there, they affect how messages are sent through the brain.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University
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Addiction Psychiatrist, Associate Professor, Monash University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
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Professor of General Practice, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry, UCL
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Visiting Clinical Research Fellow in Psychiatry, UCL
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Professor of Forensic Science, Anglia Ruskin University
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Sessional psychology lecturer, Australian Catholic University
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Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh
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Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
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Lead Coordinator for the Opioid Free Pathway, University of Pittsburgh
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Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW