Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance (drug) that is not considered dependent. Substance abuse/drug abuse is not limited to mood-altering or psycho-active drugs. Activity is also considered substance abuse when inappropriately used (as in steroids for performance enhancement in sports). Therefore, mood-altering and psychoactive substances are not the only drugs of abuse. Substance abuse often includes problems with impulse control and impulsivity. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts. The terms have a huge range of definitions related to taking a psychoactive drug or performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect. All of these definitions imply a negative judgment of the drug use in question (compare with the term responsible drug use for alternative views). Some of the drugs most often associated with this term include alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines (particularly temazepam, nimetazepam, and flunitrazepam), cocaine, methaqualone, and opioids. Use of these drugs may lead to criminal penalty in addition
Researchers from the University of California San Diego have revealed new trends in drug consumption that shed light on how people are adapting to the evolving risks associated with unregulated drug use in the United States. ...
Apr 30, 2024
0
0
A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led research team has added to evidence that a chemical found naturally in cannabis (also known as marijuana) can—in the right amounts—lessen the anxiety-inducing effects of tetrahydrocannabinol ...
Apr 10, 2024
0
28
Take a puff of nicotine for the first time, and your DNA plays an important role, alongside social and environmental factors, in shaping what happens next.
Mar 27, 2024
0
1
In cases of opioid use disorder, short-term medically managed withdrawal (commonly known as detox) and long-term rehabilitation treatments that don't incorporate continued use of buprenorphine or methadone are no more effective ...
Dec 19, 2023
0
4
A study by a team of researchers across the country, including two from the University of Kentucky, is the first to demonstrate a connection between the characteristics of patients receiving buprenorphine for opioid use disorder ...
Nov 3, 2023
0
0
Pregnant and recently postpartum women who suffer with mental health disorders may be vulnerable to using cannabis to self-medicate, according to a Rutgers-led study.
Aug 25, 2023
0
1
Rather than turn to vices such as alcohol and drugs, many people turned to new pursuits to cope with pandemic-related stresses, according to a Rutgers study.
Jul 20, 2023
0
2
Interventions to address stimulant and opioid use that consider race and gender may prove more effective at preventing overdose deaths than current methods, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers who studied how ...
Jun 26, 2023
0
17
Almost two-thirds (62%) of people aged 15–30 in the U.K. who have never used e-cigarettes may be susceptible to taking up vaping in the future, according to results of an international survey by The George Institute for ...
Jun 13, 2023
0
37
A multidisciplinary team led by a University at Buffalo social work researcher has developed and tested a new assessment tool that has the potential to help people recover from alcohol and drug addiction.
May 11, 2023
0
10
