Women smoking while pregnant has been an uncomfortable reality for decades. Whatever the reason – whether a lack of concern about the risk, belief it’s too hard to quit or even reports that a resultant…
Articles on Illicit drugs
Displaying 121 - 140 of 174 articles
According to the UK government’s “first evidence-based study”, released at the end of last week, tough laws for personal possession of illicit drugs fail to lower levels of their use. This is not news…
Despite the language we use about drugs, many people don’t see themselves as “drug users” but as rational adults who aren’t on a mission to seek moral disintegration and cause themselves harm. People who…
Almost half (46%) of regular cannabis users drop out of high school and just 12% become degree qualified, according to a study published today in The Lancet. Teens who smoke cannabis daily or weekly are…
Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel Trainspotting tells the fictional story of a group of disaffected, heroin-addicted young men (and one violent drunk) in Leith, Edinburgh, and the gritty, dirty, terrifying – and…
The number of new HIV diagnoses in Australia remains the highest in 20 years, according to data released today by UNSW’s Kirby Institute. While rates have remained stable over the past two years, the number…
There are stories some people might not expect to read about Iran – and its progressive drugs policy is one. As a number of countries begin to slowly reconsider their approach towards illicit drugs, following…
Two different sets of statistics on Scottish illegal drug use have been published in the past few days – the Scottish drug misuse database (SDMD) on initial assessments for specialist drug treatment; and…
Raising the legal drinking age to 21 will reduce youth alcohol and drug use and the harm it can cause, according to a Deakin…
New drug-testing technology, using mouth-swabs and fingerprint tests to identify illicit drugs in saliva and sweat molecules…
The 2012-13 Australian Crime Commission (ACC) Illicit Drug Data Report, released earlier this week, provides mounting evidence that crystal meth is becoming a large-scale problem for law enforcement and…
The past few weeks have seen something of a media feeding frenzy around the supposed massive increase in deaths from “legal highs”. Closer inspection of the facts, some of which needed to be extracted…
High-profile claims of links between elite sports and organised crime in Australia – such as those outlined in last year’s Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report – have put performance and image enhancing…
Sometimes it seems you’ve only got to turn around and there is another drug in the news. Now we are told that ketamine should be upgraded from being a Class C drug to a Class B drug. Why does this matter…
Controversy over rape, alcohol consumption, and responsibility reignited last month when US columnist Emily Yoffe penned an article provocatively titled College women: stop getting drunk. But the link…
The idea that illicit drugs could hold value in the lives of young people is bewildering to most people, who tend to assume that illicit drug use is necessarily destructive. This becomes even more distressing…
The John Maddox Prize for standing up for science is awarded to individuals who are judged to have “promoted sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest” and especially those who have faced…
The final episode of the award-winning American TV show Breaking Bad aired last night. Set against the backdrop of illicit crystal methamphetamine production, the series highlights the huge problem parts…
Legal highs that are novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have flooded Britain over the past few years and their use has increased drastically. NPS are cleverly constructed designer drugs often structurally…
Sourcing unbiased information about the health effects of using cannabis has always been difficult. Government-sponsored propaganda was evident as far back as the 1930s in the film Reefer Madness, which…
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Associate Professor, National Drug Research Institute / enAble Institute, Curtin University
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Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Professor, Deakin University
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Professor of Neuropharmacology, University of Lancashire
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Associate Professor in Criminology, Deakin University
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Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University
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Emeritus Consultant, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
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Professor in Substance Use, Liverpool John Moores University
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Hon. Professor Drug Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University