Marijuana Can Really Mess With Your Sleep, Study Suggests

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• December 7, 2021
• Full Page

Many folks turn to pot to help them relax and get a good night's sleep, but new research finds the practice may do the exact opposite.

"I think [the results] were somewhat surprising because, in our mind, anecdotally cannabis seems to help with sleep, but … the evidenc...

'Magic Mushroom' Drug Edges Toward Mainstream Therapy

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2021
• Full Page

Tony Head was depressed and fearing death from stage 4 prostate cancer when, as part of a supervised scientific trial, he took a large dose of the psychedelic agent in "magic mushrooms," psilocybin.

Head donned a mask and headphones to shut out the world around him, and...

Wearable Device Spots, Reverses Opioid Overdoses

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• November 24, 2021
• Full Page

A wearable device that could inject a lifesaving antidote for an opioid overdose might be on the horizon.

A new study shows that the device, worn on the stomach like an insulin pump, can detect when someone stops breathing from an overdose and inject the drug naloxone to...

Addictive Opioid Painkillers Might Not Be Needed After Knee Surgery

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• November 23, 2021
• Full Page

Addictive opioid painkillers aren't the only option for patients seeking relief following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee reconstruction, researchers say.

As the United States wrestles with skyrocketing rates of opioid abuse and drug overdose deaths, the findings m...

Over 100,000 Americans Died From Drug Overdoses in One Year: Report

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• November 17, 2021
• Full Page

New government data confirms what many have suspected: The pandemic has prompted a record number of drug overdose deaths, with more than 100,000 Americans succumbing to addiction as COVID-19 raged across the country.

That figure is almost 30% higher than the previous yea...

Medicare Could Negotiate Drug Prices Under Democrat Proposal

• Robert Preidt and Robin Foster
• November 3, 2021
• Full Page

A measure designed to lower prescription drug costs for seniors has been added to President Joe Biden's social safety net and climate change bill that Democratic leaders hope to bring to a House vote this week.

For the first time, the measure would enable the federal gov...

Number of Teens Who Vape Marijuana Doubled in 7 Years

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• October 26, 2021
• Full Page

Teenagers have followed the vaping trend into marijuana use, with recent studies chronicling a boom in pot vaping among adolescents in the United States and Canada, researchers report.

The percentage of teens who've experimented with vaped pot has more than doubled in re...

Scientists Develop Quick Test for Marijuana Use

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• October 22, 2021
• Full Page

Researchers may be one step closer to developing the equivalent of a Breathalyzer for detecting marijuana use.

In an early study, scientists found that their rapid test was able to reliably detect THC in people's saliva in under 5 minutes. THC, short for tetrahydrocannab...

DEA Warns of Fentanyl in Counterfeit Opioid Pills

• Cara Murez
• September 29, 2021
• Full Page

People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week.

This was the first public safety alert the DEA has is...

Pot Use by Pregnant Women Rose During Pandemic: Study

• Cara Murez
• September 29, 2021
• Full Page

Marijuana use by mothers-to-be may have increased by as much as one-quarter during the pandemic, a new study suggests.

Researchers found a substantial increase in the number of women in Northern California using pot early in their pregnancies after the pandemic emerged c...

Opioid Use Disorder Is as Deadly as Heart Attack: Study

• Steven Reinberg
• September 20, 2021
• Full Page

Hospitalized opioid addicts die at a rate similar to people who have a heart attack after leaving the hospital.

Nearly 8% of patients addicted to opioids died within 12 months of hospital discharge, according to researchers from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)....

Half of Adults With ADHD Have Struggled With Alcohol, Drug Use

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• August 30, 2021
• Full Page

Fully half of all young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also battle alcohol or drug abuse.

And folks with ADHD who have a history of depression or anxiety are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse problems, a new study showed.

...

Fatal ODs From Illicit Tranquilizers Jumped 6-Fold During Pandemic

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 26, 2021
• Full Page

Overdose deaths linked to illicit "designer" benzodiazepines have surged in the United States, as underground labs crank out new synthetic variations on prescription tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax and Ativan.

Overdose deaths involving illicit benzos increased more than...

Rising Number of U.S. Cardiac Arrests Tied to Opioid Abuse

• Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• August 23, 2021
• Full Page

There's been a sharp rise in opioid-related cardiac arrests in the United States and they now equal those associated with other prime causes, a new study finds.

Of more than 1.4 million cardiac arrest hospitalizations nationwide between 2012 and 2018, more than 43,000 (3...

How Your Medicines Make Their Way Into Rivers, Lakes and Bays

• Robert Preidt
• August 23, 2021
• Full Page

Leaky sewer pipes are to blame for large amounts of human medicines getting into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, a new study reveals.

Researchers found that tens of thousands of doses of drugs get into Chesapeake Bay in Maryland every year due to seeping sewer p...

Two PrEP Meds Work Equally Well; One Is Much Cheaper

• Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• August 5, 2021
• Full Page

The two HIV prevention drugs available in the United States are equally safe and effective, and the biggest difference between them is price, a new study contends.

However, a sizable minority of patients have switched from the older and cheaper "preexposure prophylaxis" ...

Could Heavy Marijuana Use Be Driving Rise in Schizophrenia Cases?

• Robert Preidt and Ernie Mundell
• July 27, 2021
• Full Page

There's been a sharp rise in schizophrenia cases linked with marijuana use since the mid-1990s, a new Danish study finds.

Prior research has suggested that marijuana -- particularly very heavy use -- is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. Although s...

U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Jumped Nearly 30% During Pandemic

• Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• July 14, 2021
• Full Page

As America went into lockdown and treatment centers closed their doors, drug overdose deaths in the United States jumped by nearly a third last year, new data show.

The estimated 93,331 drug overdose deaths recorded during 2020 are a sharp increase -- a 29.4% rise -- ov...

Is Medicare Overspending? Costco Prices Much Less for Generic Drugs

• Robert Preidt
• July 7, 2021
• Full Page

Can Costco beat Medicare Part D when it comes to prescription drug prices?

Apparently so, claims a new study that found that roughly half of generic medications were cheaper when purchased from the discount retailer than from the government program.

The researchers...

Pot Use May Change the Teenage Brain, MRIs Show

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• June 17, 2021
• Full Page

Smoking pot appears to affect teens' brain development, altering it in ways that could diminish their reasoning, decision-making and memory skills as they age, a new study reports.

Brain scans of about 800 teenagers found that those who started smoking pot tended to have...

Doctors May Be Overprescribing Opioids After Surgeries

• Robert Preidt
• June 14, 2021
• Full Page

Many patients who are prescribed opioids after surgery could get the same level of pain relief with non-opioid alternatives such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen without the risk of addiction, researchers say.

"Opioids have been a routine part of postsurgical pain care for ...

Newly Approved Drug Fights Lung Cancer Tied to Certain Genes

• June 4, 2021
• Full Page

A newly approved lung cancer drug shows promise in improving survival in patients whose tumors carry a common and tough-to-treat genetic mutation, researchers say.

Sotorasib - brand name Lumakras - was approved May 28 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a targete...

There's Been a Shift in Who's Funding Alzheimer's Research

• Robert Preidt
• May 27, 2021
• Full Page

The U.S. government and nonprofits are replacing drug companies as the main drivers of Alzheimer's disease research, two new studies show.

The findings are from an analysis of national data by Jeffrey Cummings, a research professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas ...

Reviews Find No Evidence Weight-Loss Supplements Work

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 10, 2021
• Full Page

You're getting no real benefit from taking weight-loss supplements like garcinia cambogia, green tea extract, glucomannan, conjugated linoleic acid or chitosan, two new reviews show.

Most of the clinical trials studied didn't show these supplements producing any weight l...

When Drug Companies Raise Prices, Patients' Out-of-Pocket Costs Rise

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• May 6, 2021
• Full Page

When prescription drug "list" prices go up, patients often take a hit in the wallet, a new study shows.

Researchers found that while some people are buffered against drug price hikes by their health insurance plan, many are not.

Those in plans that require co-insur...

Many Older Americans Aren't Telling Their Doctors They Use Pot

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• May 3, 2021
• Full Page

Aging potheads are now past 50 and still puffing away, but new research shows that many don't disclose this to their doctors.

Folks who use marijuana for medical reasons are more likely to tell their doctors about it than recreational users. Still, just a fraction of med...

Who Is Using Herbal Kratom?

• Robert Preidt
• April 29, 2021
• Full Page

Herbal kratom is used by less than 1% of the U.S. population, but the rate is much higher among those who misuse opioid painkillers, a new study finds.

Kratom is used to manage pain and opioid withdrawal. However, it carries the risk of addiction and harmful side effects...

1 in 5 U.S. Pharmacies Blocks Access to Key Opioid Addiction Treatment

• Robert Preidt
• April 28, 2021
• Full Page

The Biden administration has eased guidelines for prescribing a crucial addiction treatment drug, just as a new study reveals one in five U.S. pharmacies refuses to dispense the medication, called buprenorphine.

"Buprenorphine is a vital, lifesaving medication for people...

'Magic Mushroom' Hallucinogen as Good as Antidepressants: Study

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• April 15, 2021
• Full Page

The magic ingredient in "magic mushrooms" may be at least as effective as standard medication for depression, an early clinical trial suggests.

The study of 59 patients with major depression tested the antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) against psilocybin, which is th...

CBD or THC? Cannabis Product Labels Often Mislead, Study Finds

• Steven Reinberg
• April 13, 2021
• Full Page

Patients, beware: You might not be able to trust the label on that medical marijuana product you just brought home.

Levels of the two active ingredients in medicinal cannabis -- THC and CBD -- can vary widely from those claimed by distributors, a new study warns.

"...

Forget the 'Lazy Stoner': Marijuana Users Don't Exercise Any Less

• Serena McNiff HealthDay Reporter
• April 5, 2021
• Full Page

The stereotypical image of pot smokers has long been one of "stoners" parked on the couch, surrounded by snacks and glued to the television, but a new study dispels that notion.

Instead, people who use marijuana may exercise just as much as other people do, and perhaps e...

Legalized Pot Tied to Rise in Young Men's Suicide Attempts

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• March 22, 2021
• Full Page

States that make marijuana a readily available retail item might see an increase in self-harm among younger men, a new study suggests.

Researchers found a correlation between U.S. states' shifting marijuana policies and rates of self-harm among men younger than 40. Those...

Certain HIV Meds Have Patients Packing on Pounds

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2021
• Full Page

A commonly prescribed component of the life-saving antiretroviral drug cocktails used to treat HIV may trigger weight gain, new research warns.

The concern stems from tracking patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Since the mid-1990s, the therapy has relied on va...

Opioid Addiction Relapse May Be Different for Men, Women

• Robert Preidt
• March 4, 2021
• Full Page

Who is more likely to relapse after opioid addiction treatment -- women or men?

A new study that followed 1,100 recovering opioid users reveals that their risks are different.

The researchers followed the men and women for one year after treatment at more than 100 ...

Choice of Brand-Name Drug Over Generics Costs Medicare Nearly $2 Billion Annually

• Robert Preidt
• March 3, 2021
• Full Page

Wider use of prescription generic drugs could save Medicare nearly $2 billion a year, researchers say.

The new analysis of Medicare Part D prescription drug claims for 2017 used a random 20% of beneficiaries, 224 drugs with one or more generic substitutes and at least 1,...

As Pot Legalization Spreads, More Teens Are Lighting Up

• Robert Preidt
• February 16, 2021
• Full Page

As pot gains in acceptance among adults, teenagers appear to be more tempted to try it, a new study out of California finds.

After the state legalized marijuana use for adults in 2016, teens' use of the drug also climbed after years of steady decline.

Research...

Drug Combo May Boost Survival for Tough-to-Treat Liver Cancers

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• February 9, 2021
• Full Page

A new drug combination for advanced liver cancer can extend people's lives substantially more than the long-standing drug of choice, new study findings confirm.

The treatment involves two drugs approved to fight various cancers: bevacizumab (Avastin) and atezolizumab (Te...

Drugged Driving a Growing Threat on America's Roads

• Cara Murez
• February 4, 2021
• Full Page

Combining drugs with driving is a potentially deadly but all too common combination in the United States, according to a new report.

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers found that almost 9% of adults reported driving under the influence of alcohol. Marijuana use ...

Nerve Drug Might Curb Spinal Cord Damage, Mouse Study Suggests

• Robert Preidt
• February 1, 2021
• Full Page

The nerve pain drug gabapentin might reduce damage after a spinal cord injury, research in mice suggests.

The drug prevented harmful structural changes in injured spinal cords, as well as cardiovascular changes and immune suppression caused by spinal cord injury, accordi...

As More Legal Pot Dispensaries Open, More Young Adults Start Using

• January 18, 2021
• Full Page

As more states legalize marijuana and more shops begin to sell it, more young adults are using pot and developing drug-use disorders, a new study finds.

For the study, researchers looked at young adults in Los Angeles County before and after retail sale of recreational m...

Will Pot or CBD Make You a Worse Driver?

• Steven Reinberg
• December 1, 2020
• Full Page

As marijuana laws relax and the popularity of CBD products explodes, more Americans may find themselves behind the wheel after taking either of these cannabis-linked substances.

Now, an on-the-road study found that the danger of driving after consuming a marijuana produc...

Yes, Pot Is Stronger Now Than in Decades Past, Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• November 20, 2020
• Full Page

Marijuana packs a lot more punch than it did 50 years ago, making it a greater threat to health, researchers say.

"As the strength of cannabis has increased, so too has the number of people entering treatment for cannabis use problems," said study co-author Tom Freeman, ...

Many Using Cannabis for Pain Take Opioids, Too

• Steven Reinberg
• October 8, 2020
• Full Page

People using cannabis for pain may still be taking opioid painkillers, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at cannabis and nonprescription opioid use among 211 individuals in the New York City area. Over 90 days, the investigators found that opioid use was at l...

Booze, Drug Use Common at Virtual Parties During Pandemic

• Robert Preidt
• August 31, 2020
• Full Page

Drug use is common among people taking part in virtual raves and happy hours during the coronavirus pandemic, a new study finds.

"We explored whether stay-at-home orders changed how people use drugs -- and it appears that drug use during virtual gatherings is somewha...

Teen Pot Use Makes a Comeback After Legalization

• Robert Preidt
• August 18, 2020
• Full Page

Steady reductions in teen marijuana use in Washington state may have been disrupted by legalization of the drug, a new study suggests.

Teens interviewed after voters approved recreational pot in 2012 were several times more likely to report past-year marijuana use. T...

Cancer Drug Might Help Curb Severe COVID-19

• Alan Mozes
• June 23, 2020
• Full Page

Could a cancer drug spare hospital patients from the ravages of severe COVID-19?

Yale doctors think it can after giving the medication, known as tocilizumab, to severely ill patients back in March.

How does tocilizumab work? It has a long history of dampeni...

FDA Pulls Emergency Approval of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

• June 15, 2020
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn its emergency authorization for the use of two malaria drugs championed by President Donald Trump in the fight against COVID-19.

The agency said in a letter Monday that the drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine,...

'Gold Standard' Clinical Trial Finds Hydroxychloroquine Won't Prevent COVID-19

• Steven Reinberg
• June 3, 2020
• Full Page

Hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug touted and reportedly used by President Donald Trump as a preventative for COVID-19, appears not to have lived up to its hype, a new study shows.

Unlike some prior studies, this new trial was a "gold standard" prospective, randomi...