Marijuana

The Revere Journal newspaper in Massachusetts recently covered the toll that a two-year-old Massachusetts marijuana decriminalization law has taken on their community, especially their youth, and consulted with coalition experts from RevereCARES, a CADCA-member community coalition.

Drug and alcohol problems have long been a problem in all corners of the nation's capital, from drug deals on street corners to binge drinking on college campuses -- even former first lady Betty Ford admitted to a long battle with drinking and painkiller addiction after she left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. CADCA’s Chairman and CEO, Gen. Arthur Dean, and Vice-President of Development and Youth Programs, Kareemah Abdullah, were interviewed on these “local” trends as well as substance abuse issues affecting coalitions nationally in a radio interview on 89.3 WPFW, Pacifica Radio Network, Monday.

Emerging drugs under the guise of everyday products like “bath salts,” “glass cleaner,” “plant food,” “jewelry cleaner,” and “spice” have caused a public health concern during the past few years. Use of these drugs that are absorbed by the body like marijuana and cocaine has skyrocketed all over the country, especially by youth, who find this new class of drugs easily accessible in many stores and online.

This week, The Fix, a website about addiction, recovery and the drug war, published Former Obama Administration drug policy advisor Kevin A. Sabet’s commentary discussing a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that claims occasional marijuana use doesn’t harm the lungs.

Emerging drugs under the guise of everyday products like “bath salts,” “glass cleaner,” “plant food,” “jewelry cleaner,” and “spice” have caused a public health concern during the past few years. Use of these drugs that are absorbed by the body like marijuana and cocaine has skyrocketed all over the country, especially by youth, who find this new class of drugs easily accessible in many stores and online.

Two ingredients in marijuana have opposite effects on certain regions of the brain, according to a new study published online in MyHealthNewsDaily.

New research by scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicates that, just like MDMA (Ecstasy), the active compounds in “bath salts” — mephedrone and methylone — bind to monoamine transporters on the surface of some neurons. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the brain chemicals serotonin, and, to a lesser extent dopamine, suggesting a mechanism that could underlie the addictive potential of these compounds. The study was published last week in Neuropsychopharmacology.

Emerging drugs under the guise of everyday products like “bath salts,” “glass cleaner,” “plant food,” “jewelry cleaner,” and “spice” have caused a public health concern during the past few years. Use of these drugs that are absorbed by the body like marijuana and cocaine has skyrocketed all over the country, especially by youth, who find this new class of drugs easily accessible in many stores and online.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the White House turned down all eight e-petitions to legalize and/or regulate marijuana, almost a week before deadline.