An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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Marijuana doubles risk of car crash: study
14th February 2012
People who use marijuana before driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a car crash as those not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a Canadian analysis of previous studies. Experts at Dalhousie University in Canada reviewed nine studies of more than 49,000 people involved in accidents on public roads involving one or more motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles. Marijuana use was confirmed by blood tests or self-reporting. Researchers found drivers who had used marijuana within three hours of beginning to drive had nearly double the risk of causing a collision, especially those that were fatal.
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Teens mimic depression to get prescription drugs
14th February 2012
Teenagers feigning depression in order to be prescribed antidepressants, in the false belief the drugs will cause weight loss, improve sexual performance and speed up alcohol intoxication. In 2010, more than 1700 children aged 10-14 were written prescriptions for antidepressant medications compared with 1506 patients of the same age in 2006. Youths aged 15-18 had more than 8300 prescriptions for antidepressant medications written in 2010, compared with 7163 four years earlier. Even children younger than 10 are being prescribed antidepressant medication, although often this can be for issues such as bed wetting, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.
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Cycling: Armstrong case slams door on costly probes
9th February 2012
Now that the US federal government has closed its investigation of Lance Armstrong, some legal experts are wondering whether the effort to prosecute superstar athletes over doping claims is worth it. On Friday, the US Attorney in Los Angeles said Armstrong would not be charged after a two-year probe into accusations that the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates systematically used performance-enhancing drugs to prepare for races. "This is an example where prosecutors are out scouring the countryside to bring charges against a high-profile athlete," said defence attorney Mark Werksman, a former federal prosecutor. "It's disturbing that they contort and stretch to find a crime. It's an abuse of federal power. It's wrong.
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Cycling: Contador stripped of Tour de France, banned
8th February 2012
The decision to strip Alberto Contador of his Tour de France title and ban him for two years for doping is another blow to the sport, cycling great Eddy Merckx has said. Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour title on Monday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected his claim that his positive doping test was caused by eating contaminated meat. The Spaniard, who also won cycling's premier race in 2007 and 2009, joined Floyd Landis as the only riders to lose a Tour title.
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Cycling: Landis calls for legalised doping
8th February 2012
Disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has suggested drugs should be legalised in cycling. The 2006 Tour de France champion, who was stripped of his title after testing positive for testosterone, says legalising doping is the only solution because testers will always struggle to uncover drugs cheats. Landis says the fight against doping cannot be won. "You've got to legalise doping. They (the testers) are so far behind in the testing organisations that there's no way to change it now," Landis told Cyclingnews website on Wednesday.
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Addiction could be hereditary: study
7th February 2012
The human brain may be "wired up" for addictive behaviour according to a study that shows how some people are more likely than others to become addicted to crack cocaine. Scientists have found specific abnormalities in the brains of regular cocaine users which are likely to have been present in early childhood rather than coming about as a result of the drug misuse. The researchers also found similar abnormalities in the brothers and sisters of cocaine addicts - even though the siblings were not themselves drug users - but did not find the same brain patterns in the general population.
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Two glasses of wine a day triples risk of mouth cancer (+video)
7th February 2012
A new government campaign in the UK will warn drinkers that consuming two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triples their risk of developing mouth cancer. New ads aim to show that even drinking just over the recommended daily limit for alcohol increases the risk of serious health problems.
The National Health Service recommendations are that men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day, and women not more than two to three. Ads will run under the Change4Life banner and people will be able to access a new online calculator to work out how much they are drinking. Two million leaflets will also be made available to Change4Life supporters and health professionals across England.
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Drug test work cheats using bleach
2nd February 2012
Workers are using bleach in a bid to beat drug tests at Bay of Plenty businesses. Latest figures from the New Zealand Drug Detection Agency reveal the number of workplace tests in the region has more than doubled in the last year. There were 4458 in 2011, compared with 1711 in 2010, with 8.5 per cent positive. The agency's Bay of Plenty general manager Leigh Sefton said the increase could be down to a rise in testing rather than offending.
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Big boozing women seek fast solution
1st February 2012
THE dominant participants in Febfast, the campaign that encourages people to abstain from alcohol in February, are heavy-drinking professional women in their 30s, 40s and 50s. VicHealth research released to coincide with the start of the 2012 campaign shows that women represented 75 per cent of last year's participants, many of them tertiary-educated and earning high incomes. Outside of Febfast, participants tended to drink more often, and more on each occasion, compared to a sample of Australians who had consumed alcohol in the past year.
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James Paterson handed four-month drugs ban USA Rugby admits medical blunder
1st February 2012
Leading New Zealand winger James Paterson has been banned from rugby for four months for using a banned substance. The International Rugby Board said Paterson, who played for the United States at last year's Rugby World Cup, had tested positive for the painkiller oxycodone during the tournament in New Zealand. Oxycodone is classified by world doping body WADA as a narcotic and is prohibited in competition only. Paterson provisional ban began on October 13 last year and he can return to rugby on February 13. The 24-year-old, who has represented both the Crusaders and Highlanders at Super Rugby level, along with Canterbury and Southland domestically, disclosed the medication he was on when he underwent drug testing following the RWC test against Italy in Nelson on September 27.
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