Toenne et al. 40,41 have shown that alcohol increased half-life and decreased blood concentrations of cannabis but did not affect concentrations of its metabolites such as 11-OH- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 11-nor-9-carboxy THC. Hartman et al. 42 and Lukas et al. 43 reported significant increases in THC and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations, while two studies found no change. New synthetic drugs often appear on the market faster than laws can be updated to ban them, creating a constant game of catch-up for governments and law enforcement.
The effects of cannabis include relaxation, euphoria, and altered sensory perception, such as enhanced taste, sound, and color. It can also impair short-term memory and cognitive functions, making it difficult for users to concentrate or react quickly. While many people use cannabis recreationally without major issues, there are potential risks. Heavy or prolonged use can lead to dependency, and in some cases, cannabis use may trigger anxiety, paranoia, or even psychosis, especially in individuals predisposed to mental health disorders.
Global Variation in Legal Status
Cocaine and alcohol co-exposure also has deleterious effects on cardiovascular and endocrine systems as evidenced by an increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, cortisol, and prolactin concentrations, and cerebral blood perfusion 100. It has been shown that cerebral hypo-perfusion was more common among individuals taking cocaine and alcohol together compared to individuals taking cocaine or alcohol alone 101,102. These observations suggest that acute and chronic alcohol exposure may target different sets of the CNS NTs and, therefore, differently modulate the effects of excitatory and inhibitory drug. Acute alcohol exposure, due to its depressive effects, may augment the effects of neuro-inhibitory drugs (cannabis or GHBA), but suppress the effects of neuro-stimulatory drugs (cocaine, METH and nicotine). However, chronic alcohol exposure may augment the neuro-stimulatory drugs but suppressing neuro-inhibitory Drugs.
People can die directly or indirectly from drug use
This chapter summarizes current research evidence on the association between cannabis use and the potential for abusing other substances. Several important research conclusions were reached (see Box 14-1); however, it is important that these conclusions be interpreted within the context of the limitations discussed in the Discussion of Findings sections above. LHDs/HN site investigators emailed eligible staff weekly with invitations to participate in the study, providing links to the participant opioids, cocaine, cannabis, and other illicit drugs information sheet (PIS), electronic informed consent, and the online survey, for six weeks in March and April 2023.
Adverse Health Effects of MDMA
Blomqvist et al. 134,135 have proposed that alcohol modulates the reinforcing effects of nicotine by directly interacting with the nAChRs, β2 and β4 136,137. Lüscher and Malenka 138 have shown that chronic nicotine exposure triggers a conformational change in β4 nAChRs that initiates various forms of synaptic plasticity and modify the VTA-DA neuron’s responses to alcohol and alcohol drinking behaviors. Norbinaltorphamine (norBNI), a KOR antagonist, robustly increased alcohol and nicotine self-administration in adult male rats but not in female rats 139,140. Taken together, these findings suggest that nicotine, from either tobacco or e-cigarette use, may increase the vulnerability of teenage boys to alcohol abuse. Parker and Laizurs 32 studied effects of alcohol on pharmacokinetics of cocaine administered via oral and intravenous (i.v.) administration (Table 1). They showed cocaine area under the curve (AUC0–∞) and benzoylecgonine (BE) AUC0–∞ values were approximately 5.5-fold and 2-fold, respectively, higher after i.v.
1. Pharmacokinetic Mechanisms of Alcohol-Drug Interactions
We identified considerable variability among clinicians regarding their beliefs concerning the presence of evidence for the safety and efficacy of THC and CBD-based medicines to treat various conditions. For example, 33% and 41% of respondents believed there was sufficient evidence to support the use of THC-based medicine and CBD for treating cannabis dependence, 14% felt the evidence was insufficient for both, 28% and 22% found the evidence equivocal for THC-based medicine and CBD, respectively. Previous systematic reviews also demonstrated mixed results for the efficacy of CBD or THC-based medicine for the treatment of cannabis dependency (Bahji and Mazhar 2016; Nielsen et al. 2019), and opiate withdrawal (Babalonis and Walsh 2020). Clinicians reported a similar level of agreement for the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis in treating PTSD. This entry gives information on the five categories of illicit drugs – narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside of medical channels.
Some Texas lawmakers are blaming synthetic THC-derived products like delta-8 for hurting young children and are now attempting to ban all types of THC as a result. Similar to kratom, delta-8 is a naturally occurring compound found in cannabinoids, but can be chemically boosted for greater potency. This ensures natural kratom is still available to the public but removes the chemically boosted products from the shelves. Those in the kratom industry have suggested adopting stricter regulations similar to what California has in place, which limits 7-OH content to 1% in kratom products, and doesn’t allow for the amount of chemicals in the products to go above the amount that naturally occurs in the plant.
- Rapid detoxification under sedation was the most cost-effective method of detoxification (US$2,355 for one week of abstinence) and conventional outpatient detoxification the least cost-effective (US$12,031).
- Three studies of different types of cancer have reported an association with maternal cannabis use during pregnancy (W. Hall and MacPhee 2002).
- Their unpredictable effects can lead to severe reactions, including overdose, organ failure, and death.
- More recently, a study in Brazil found that 20 percent of users had experienced an overdose, with 50 percent knowing someone who had died from an overdose (Mesquita and others 2001).
- Deficits in memory and attention have been attributed to amphetamine use (McKetin and Mattick 1997, 1998).
Separately on Wednesday, the Albuquerque Police Department announced murder charges against three teenagers — including two juveniles — in the July 2 shooting death of a homeless man in Albuquerque who was chased from a bus stop in the predawn hours. A 15-year-old boy is accused of being the shooter in the killing of 45-year-old Frank Howard, police department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said. The tribal governor of Santa Clara Pueblo on the edge of Española urged the state to address a growing public safety crisis stemming from the use and abuse of fentanyl and alcohol in the community at large. “The surge in criminal activity has contributed to increased homelessness, family instability and fatal drug overdoses, placing extraordinary strain on local governments and police departments that have requested immediate state assistance,” said Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, in a statement. The vast amounts of land in the state, the business-friendly environment, the large population, and the large number of veterans and first responders who work here could all contribute, experts say. This led to a spree of overdose incidents, from Amarillo to Austin over the years, with people suffering permanent injuries and even death.
Petry and others (2004) suggested that contingency management was effective in reducing cocaine use in a community-based treatment setting. They found that the benefits of treatment depended on the magnitude of reward, with those earning up to US$240 obtaining better results than those earning up to US$80. They suggested that this form of intervention may work best for people with more severe dependence on cocaine. The reported prevalence of cocaine use in other developed societies is much lower than that in the United States.
There is a strong relation between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis, though the direction of causality is debated. Physical effects include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy; short-term side effects may also include dry mouth and red eyes. Long-term adverse effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started regular use as adolescents,4 chronic coughing, susceptibility to respiratory infections, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.
In 2017, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public emergency.
- Shepard and others (forthcoming) use these data to estimate the cost-effectiveness of involvement in mutual self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, in sustaining abstinence for up to 24 months after treatment.
- These findings build on our previous study on clinicians’ perspectives about cannabis use in OTP clients attending NSW public outpatient OTP services (Parvaresh et al. 2024).
- The short-term consequences of DXM abuse might range from modest stimulation to drunkenness similar to that of alcohol or marijuana.
- Even so, they probably underestimate the disease burden attributable to illicit opioids, because they omit differences across subregions in the quality of data on causes of mortality and estimates of mortality and morbidity attributable to hepatitis and violence (Degenhardt, Hall, and others 2004).
It is most often provided as an alternative to imprisonment, under the threat of imprisonment if the person fails to comply with the treatment (W. Hall 1997; Manski, Pepper, and Petrie 2001; Spooner, Hall, and Mattick 2001). Its major justification is that it is an effective way of treating offenders’ drug dependence that reduces the likelihood of their offending again (Gerstein and Harwood 1990). A consensus view prepared for the World Health Organization (WHO) (Porter, Arif, and Curran 1986) was that compulsory treatment was legally and ethically justified only if the rights of the individuals were protected by due process and if the treatment provided was effective and humane.
The conditions that clinicians most indicated that ‘evidence for efficacy was not clear or equivocal’ – indicated by the proportion of ‘Neutral’ responses—were depression (38.8%, 38/98), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (34.7%, 34/98), and anxiety (29.6%, 29/98). The condition that clinicians were most commonly ‘unsure about, the presence of any evidence for THC/THC-CBD medicinal cannabis efficacy’, was the treatment of opiate withdrawal (29.6%, 29/98). Approximately a third (32.6%) of clinicians agreed that there was sufficient evidence for THC-based medicines to treat cannabis dependence, with only 14.3% disagreeing and 27.5% unsure. The misuse of prescription drugs is a growing concern, particularly with opioids, stimulants, and sedatives. Opioids, such as oxycodone, are often prescribed for pain management but can lead to addiction and overdose when overused. Similarly, stimulants like Adderall, prescribed for ADHD, are sometimes misused to enhance focus or energy levels, especially among students.