Hair strand tests are widely used in Family Court cases where parents might have a history of drug or alcohol abuse. They can help judges make life-changing decisions about whether it is safe for children to live with their parents.…
News Archives
Drug deaths after prison
King’s College London published Characteristics of deaths due to drug-related causes among individuals recently released from prison in the UK 1997-2025. Opioids were the most common class of drug implicated in death – in over 90% of fatalities, mainly accidental. This…
Could sunny weather make you sadder than the cold?
Therapists: if you’re wondering why your clients’ moods aren’t brightening with the sunshine – Hannah Lewis of Compare My Health Insurance could have the answer. “Bright days [can] amplify loneliness, comparison, and the sense you should be out enjoying yourself……
Is there a benefit to zebra striping?
For those who do drink alcohol, ‘zebra striping’ on a night out can help you drink less – and potentially avoid a hangover, Professor Cathy Montgomery and Abi Rose of Liverpool John Moores University claimed in The Conversation. This is…
Trump Administration is out of step with the Republican base on drug policy
Trump’s shift away from the Republican Party’s position on drugs was highlighted by the New York Times, the Washington Post, STAT and The Hill, with the latter reporting that “the Trump administration’s moves on marijuana and psychedelics signal the start of a new era in…
Opioid addiction and dementia
People addicted to opioids have a 56% higher risk of developing dementia than non-users, according to Oxford Population Health and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The researchers analysed over 220,000 health records from the US Million Veteran Program.
Addiction workers: hope carriers
Workforce attrition in addiction care is about much more than burnout. It is often more due to moral dissonance from systems that profess recovery but operationalize something far less, Bill Stauffer warned in Recovery Review. Addiction recovery workers love the…
Moms, SUDs & emotional disintegration
Addiction Research & Theory recently published an article on The unseen burden: exploring the lived experiences of mothers caring for individuals with substance use disorder. Jason Schwartz summarized the 9 themes.
Late-onset drinking problems
Late-onset drinking often begins after 50, triggered by retirement or major life transitions. High-functioning professionals are especially vulnerable but rarely fit addiction stereotypes. Aging changes alcohol metabolism, making even moderate drinking riskier. But later-life drinking problems are treatable, Arnold M Washton PhD…
Substance abuse and inflammation
Substance abuse induces neuroplastic adaptations in brain circuits, leading to behavioral and cognitive changes – it can further change the peripheral immune system, characterized by altered immune cell activations, dysregulated cytokine and chemokine signaling, compromised barriers and disruption of neuroimmune…
