Another study finds that alcoholism appears to damage a region of the brain that is heavily involved in decision-making processes and emotional and motivational behavior.

A new study finds alcohol's harms underreported:While alcohol is linked to 34 percent of motor vehicle accidents, only 12.8 percent of television stories, 19.2 percent of newspaper articles, and 22.2 percent of magazine articles about such accidents mentioned the use of alcohol, the study revealed. For stories about fatal accidents not involving motor vehicles, alcohol … Continue reading Media Rarely Notes When Alcohol Plays Role In Violent Crimes And Accidents

As founder and medical director emeritus of Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Twerski spoke last month at the center's Recovery Breakfast, on the topic 'Will Chemical Blockers Eliminate the Need for AA?' Here are his comments.

A British health authority is to become the first to penalize smokers by taking them off waiting lists for surgery. The Independent reports.

Four recent news items about pot:Colorado has a ballot proposition to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. An editorial page makes a case against it.A medical marijuana advocate talks about medical marijuana's use in California where it has been legal for 10 years.A British columnist argues that pot is more dangerous than … Continue reading Pot News

Cholesterol fighting drugs may decrease smokers decline in lung function. But they do not prevent lung cancer.

Is there going to be a new surge in cocaine use? The description gives the impression that , much like the late 1970s and early 1980s, there's a surge in powder cocaine use among some affluent groups.

I've heard of putting alcohol in some dark places, but this is the first I've heard of vodka snorting.

A new study concludes that early exposure to nicotine may cause brain changes that increase the likelihood of becoming addicted later in life.There have been a growing number of studies with similar findings, mostly coming out of NIDA. It makes sense and the science seems pretty good, but I have a nagging feeling that this … Continue reading Early Use Of Nicotine Could Increase Susceptibility For Life-long Addiction

A new study identifies a possible neurological mechanism to explain cocaine addiction's power to interfere with rational decision making. Anecdotally, I don't hear stories about heroin addicts giving their car to the dopeman, the way you do about cocaine addicts....in one study, subjects were given a monetary reward for their performance on an attention task. … Continue reading Altered Perception Of Reward In Human Cocaine Addiction