Cocaine is the popular name for the illegal, addictive chemical ethylbenzoylecgonine (known in its powdered form as cocaine hydrochloride and in its modified, rocklike form as “crack”). When inhaled nasally, smoked, eaten or injected, it produces a form of central nervous stimulation that closely resembles the central nervous system effects of legal drugs known as [...]
All the way back in 1976, a recording artist named Larry Groce released a novelty song called “Junk Food Junkie.” This catchy little tune told the Jekyll-and-Hyde-themed tale of a man who ate only healthy and wholesome foods by day, but who transformed into a junk food-craving maniac who would pig out on every sort [...]
Certain prescription medications carry a strong potential for addiction. Prescription drug abuse is on the rise, and some commonly misused medications have received a significant amount of negative coverage. Among the most commonly abused prescription medications are stimulants, painkillers, and sleeping aids.
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) is a medication approved in the United States for treatment of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy. Outside of this tightly controlled setting, the medication has gained a notorious reputation as a “date rape” drug, and it also belongs to a group of drugs known informally as “club drugs.” Inside the body, GHB [...]
The use of drugs like heroin for recreational purposes is often a topic of hot debate; but some of the horror stories hitting the news lately have forced a few pauses as well as the question: are the drugs themselves really so bad, or is it the substances employed to cut them? It seems unfathomable, [...]
When most people think about driving under the influence, they likely think about drunk driving. While drunk driving is a chronic, widespread public safety problem, it only represents part of the story regarding impaired driving. Increasingly, drug experts, law enforcement officials, and public health officials have started to focus their attention on the driving risks [...]
Alcoholic liver disease is the collective term used to describe three different liver disorders caused by alcohol intake: alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis. Together, these disorders represent a progression of ongoing liver damage. While even moderate drinkers can develop alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol-related hepatitis occurs in people who drink heavily [...]
Ecstasy is the common name for MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine), an illegal, mind-altering drug that produces some of the effects commonly associated with both hallucinogens and stimulants like amphetamines. The drug first shot to popularity in the 1990s among teens and young adults participating in all-night dance parties known as “raves”; while use of Ecstasy dropped [...]
Your immune system is a complex, interconnected network that protects your body from outside attack by bacteria, viruses, parasites and other potentially harmful or deadly microorganisms. Without the coordinated activities of this network, humans have essentially no chance of continued survival. In recent years, a wide variety of researchers have examined the changes that occur [...]
Vending machine companies in Washington and Colorado may soon have a new and more profitable product to include in their line of offerings. A California company hopes to one day get their product into vending machines to cater to a whole new vending customer – the recreational marijuana user.