News by Subject Social & Behavior

New research published online in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found that Canadians with a history of drug dependence are much less likely to have flourishing mental health and are more likely to have mental illness.

Substance abuse has long been viewed as the top factor in parents neglecting children. But a new study has found that presence of clinical depression and social supports, when compared with substance use, are also key in predicting neglect; should be part of social services, researcher argues.

States that legalize recreational marijuana experience a short-term decline in opioid-related emergency department visits, particularly among 25- to 44-year-olds and men, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The study shows that even after the temporary decline wears off, recreational cannabis laws are not associated with increases in opioid-related emergency department visits.

Researchers observed participants over Zoom as they used high-potency cannabis they purchased themselves from dispensaries in Washington state, where recreational cannabis is legal. After administering cognitive tests, researchers found no impact on users' performance on decision-making tests in comparison to a sober group but did find memory impairments related to free recall, source memory and false memories. This study is one of the few to investigate cannabis flower and concentrates containing more than 10% THC.

Opioid prescribing preferences and practices among surgical residents and faculty differ, according to a new study published in the journal Surgery by CU Department of Surgery researchers.

While autistic individuals are less likely to use substances, those who do so are more likely to self-medicate for their mental health symptoms, according to new research from the University of Cambridge and published today in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Significantly higher rates of child intensive care admissions for unintentional cannabis poisonings have been seen following legalization of the drug in Canada.

What The Study Did: The rates, duration and dosages of opioids prescribed to children, adolescents and young adults from 2006 to 2018 were examined in this study.

Despite research showing associations between anabolic steroid use and criminal offending, the possibility of a similar association between legal performance-enhancing substance use, such as creatine, and criminal offending remained unknown. A new study published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence now shows that both forms of performance-enhancing substance use is longitudinally associated with criminal offending among US adults.

Adolescent marijuana use and binge drinking did not significantly change during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite record decreases in the substances' perceived availability, according to a survey of 12th graders in the United States. The study's findings, which appeared on June 24, 2021, in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, challenge the idea that reducing adolescent use of drugs can be achieved solely by limiting their supply.