On our blog we discuss teenage “binge drinking” quite often, as the behavior is associated with early onset substance use disorders and a number of other health consequences. Binge drinking is when someone drinks as much alcohol as they can, as fast as they can; a practice which is typically defined as men having 5...Read More

The teenage years are typically a time for making new friends, stepping outside of one’s elementary school comfort zone. Trying to find out where you fit in the social hierarchy of life can be a real challenge, especially when you consider that at the same time one is changing both physically and mentally. When you...Read More

Just a few decades ago it was practically unheard of to require both employees and potential employees to submit to drug testing, even for government jobs. Today, it is the polar opposite, with drug testing requirements in practically every field, especially those involving salary pay or working with heavy machinery. It is quite common for...Read More

Marijuana has long been considered by many, right or wrongly, the “gateway drug;” the drug first used that leads to the use of other mind altering substances. While that may be true in some cases, research tells us that true gateway drugs are alcohol, followed by tobacco. Marijuana is actually comes in third when it...Read More

With November around the corner, it is highly likely that more states will vote in favor of legalizing marijuana. There are currently four states that allow adult recreational marijuana use, 23 states with medical marijuana programs and D.C. allows limited possession and cultivation of marijuana by adults who are 21 or older. Many teenagers and...Read More

Next week marks the beginning of the seventh annual National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), where the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) brings together students with scientists and other experts. The goal, according to the NIDA for Teens website, is to break the...Read More

Humans have been brewing and distilling alcoholic beverages for  millennia, on top of being used for entertainment, it is used in many religious ceremonies. Worldwide, no other mind altering substance is used more than alcohol. The reasons for alcohol’s popularity are varied, but perhaps the greatest cause of use (in developed nations) is the fact...Read More

With more states adopting relaxed marijuana laws, it probably comes as little surprise that teenage use of the drug is on the rise. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that teen tobacco use has dropped by 64 percent, but teen marijuana use has doubled, HealthDay reports. Teen...Read More

Teenage substance abuse is a major concern in the United States, minimizing adolescent exposure to mind altering substances that can disrupt the course of one’s life is of the greatest importance. As the nation continues the fight against the opioid epidemic in America and comes to terms with the growing marijuana tolerance in several states,...Read More

While the amount of research on marijuana continues to grow, there has been little research on the effects of the drug when mixed with other substances – despite the fact that many marijuana users drink alcohol and/or smoke cigarettes. It is worth noting that with the rise of relaxed views on the drug, there has...Read More