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An optimist is the human personification of spring. ~Susan J. Bissonette

Forgetting to mail an important letter. Or forgetting an important appointment. A new study from British researchers suggests that for people who regularly use ecstasy or other illicit drugs, this simple memory lapse is common.

This research uncovered links between memory deficits and cocaine for the first time. It appears in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The researchers wanted to explore the link between deficits in prospective memory and drug use. The research expands on previous studies, which have proved that ecstasy or multi-drug users are impaired in performing many cognitive tasks, including verbal and spatial exercises.

Prospective memory tasks can be either based in time or an event, which means that the external trigger to remember could be in response to an event, or because it is time to do something. This distinction is important because these memory jobs use somewhat different brain functions.

The researchers studied 42 users of ecstasy or other drugs (14 males, 28 females) and 31 non-users (5 males, 26 females) for the study. The results showed that recreational drugs, like ecstasy, or the regular use of several drugs, affect users’ memory functions, even when tests are controlled for marijuana or alcohol use.

The results of the study also suggested that users “possess some self-awareness of their memory lapses.” The researchers say that although this awareness exists, drug users may not know which drug is the culprit of the memory problems. “The present results suggest that these deficits are likely to be real rather than imagined and are evident in both time- and event-based prospective memory contexts,” said John Fisk, one of the researchers.

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How do we know that the sky is not green and we are all colour-blind? ~Author Unknown
A new research study suggest that heart health benefits disappear when drinkers add the occasional binge to the mix. Researchers found that people who drank heavily at times were 45 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

About 8 percent of Americans have heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Occasional heavy drinking was defined as consuming five or more drinks in a day, at least twelve times a year. “Regular” heavy drinkers were excluded from the study. The findings suggest that bingeing, even at irregular times, may erase any heart benefits of lighter drinking.

Regular heavy drinking may raise blood pressure, promote blood clotting and cause disruptions in heart rhythms. The study reinforces the message that “not all alcohol consumption is good for health,” said lead researcher Michael Roerecke, of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

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The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
Robert Green Ingersoll

New Hampshire ranks fourth in the country for deadly methadone overdoses, and health professionals and law enforcement officials are fighting to keep it and other prescription drugs out of the wrong hands.

“Fifty million Americans have admitted to misusing prescription opiates – one in five,” said Dr. P.K. Suchdev of Pain Solutions in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

In 2007, 168 people in New Hampshire died from drug overdoses, most of them from prescription drugs. For the first time in years, that figure was higher than fatal car accidents.

“I’m starting to hear about what’s called ‘pharm parties’ as in pharmacy or skittle parties, where the young kids will take whatever is in their medicine cabinet and dump these pills into a big bowl, and kids will take turns taking handfuls and taking pills, having no idea what they’re taking,” said Seabrook Lt. Michael Gallagher.

Dr. Suchdev said that in most cases the prescription medications provide pain relief for people. The challenge for physicians is deciding whose pain is legitimate, who has the chance to become addicted and who’s coming to the doctor just for the next fix.

“One of the hardest things to do as a doctor is to say ‘No’,” Suchdev said. “Sometimes that is tough medicine, but sometimes it’s the right medicine.”

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A genius is one who shoots at something no one else can see – and hits it. ~Author Unknown

More alcohol sales locations in a neighborhood equals more violence and the highest assault rates are associated with stores selling alcohol for off-site consumption. The new research from two professors at Indiana University collected crime statistics and alcohol licensing data from Cincinnati. The goal was to examine the spatial relationship between the density of stores selling alcohol and assaults.

Department of Criminal Justice professor William Alex Pridemore and Department of Geography professor Tony Grubesic discovered that these stores seemed to be responsible for about one in four simple assaults and one in three aggravated assaults.

“A higher density of alcohol sales outlets in an area means closer proximity and easier availability to an intoxicating substance for residents,” Pridemore said. “Perhaps just as importantly, alcohol outlets provide a greater number of potentially deviant places. Convenience stores licensed to sell alcohol may be especially troublesome in this regard, as they often serve not only as sources of alcohol but also as local gathering places with little formal social control.”

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. ~Lillian Dickson

A book targeted at helping children of parents struggling with an alcohol or drug addiction is now available in Northern Ireland. The book, called “Rory” tells the story of a dog who cannot understand why his owner is acting in a certain way, until it is explained this is because he has a problem with alcohol.

It is estimated that one in eleven children in Northern Ireland live with a parent who has an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Cathy Mullan, interim lead for Alcohol and Drugs at the Public Health Agency in Belfast, said the book was “an excellent resource for young children where alcohol is having a negative impact on their lives.”

“The plan aims to raise awareness of the impact of drugs and alcohol on families and to increase the range of support services available to them,” said Mullan.

The book has been warmly received, according to Ed Sipler of the South Eastern Trust.

“Your parent’s drinking is not your fault, you are not alone and it’s okay to talk about it,” said Sipler. “These are messages children living in these circumstances need to hear often.”

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When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion. ~Dale Carnegie

About 8 percent of Americans between the ages of 50 and 59 have used an illicit drug in the past year. This is according to a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Marijuana was the most commonly used drug. Prescription drug abuse was a significant problem among those in this demographic.

The percentage of drug abusers in this group increased by more than 50 percent between 2002 and 2008, as more baby boomers celebrated their 50th birthdays. Researchers are worried that high rates of lifetime drug use among baby boomers – the generation born between 1946 and 1964 – is poised to create health problems for millions of aging Americans and overwhelm drug treatment programs.

“We are projecting that by the year 2020, we will probably have enough people in the 50 to 59 age group needing [substance abuse] treatment that we will probably need to double the number of treatment facilities,” said Peter Delaney, the substance abuse agency’s director of the Office of Applied Studies. Delaney said that illegal drugs may cause greater impairment as users get older.

“We do know that physiology slows down as you age, so the stuff processed out of your body faster when you were younger won’t be processed out so quickly when you are older,” said Delaney.

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We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller

Former Oklahoma State University men’s basketball coach Sean Sutton was charged with four drug-related felonies this week. Sutton however, was not in court to hear the charges. Sutton was in treatment at a drug rehabilitation center in Tulsa. Sutton’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.

“This is a dark day for our community and for Oklahoma State University and the Sutton family,” said Payne County District Attorney Robert Hudson, who is prosecuting the case. The charges come from Sutton’s attempt last week to get drugs mailed to him by a woman in Seattle that he met in rehab last year.

Three of the charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The fourth charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Sutton, 41, told Oklahoma drug enforcement agents that he is fighting an addiction to painkillers. Sutton told the agents he was using the pharmaceutical drugs to help him stop using the illegal drugs. Sutton posted the $10,000 bail and was released with the caveat that he stays in treatment.

Sutton’s problem with substance abuse and addiction were not known until his arrest. His father, Eddie Sutton, is a former Oklahoma State University coach who has battled alcoholism over the years.

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Time is what prevents everything from happening at once. ~John Archibald Wheeler

Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi signed a bill that restricts sales of over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine, which is used to make methamphetamine. Before buying these medications, people will need a doctor’s prescription and identification.

Methamphetamine has high potential for abuse, activating the physiological reward system by increasing levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. The move is intended to reduce drug abuse stemming from these over-the-counter drugs. The bill received support in the state legislature and was approved within a week. The bill will be effective on July 1.

Mississippi is the second state in the country to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine. Oregon passed a similar law about three years ago.

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The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

Robert Green Ingersoll

The Army needs to double its staff of substance abuse counselor to deal with the increasing numbers of soldiers requiring treatment for alcohol addiction. General Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, said that about 300 more counselors are needed to meet the demand. This would include offering counseling services at night and on the weekends.

In 2009, 9,199 soldiers enrolled in treatment for alcohol addiction. This was a 56 percent increase from 2003 when the war in Iraq started. According to data from the Army, 16,388 soldiers received counseling last year. In 2003, 5,873 soldiers received treatment and 11, 309 received counseling.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that since 2001 and being involved in two wars…that we probably have a higher incidence of alcohol abuse,” Chiarelli said.

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I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. ~Albert Einstein

A new study from the University of Wisconsin will test how effectively Mindfulness Meditation – the calm awareness of one’s body and its functions – can be used to treat alcoholism and drug addiction. The need for more treatments is evidenced by the fact that 60 percent of people who conquer their addictions relapse within a year.

“Clearly, there is a need for development of new therapies to help improve outcomes in alcohol dependence and other addictive disorders,” said lead researcher Aleksandra Zgierska.

Zgierska said meditation seems like a perfect therapy to fill this need, especially because similar treatments are proven to be effective in countering the triggers of addiction relapse.
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