Use Your Brain on Drugs

The powerful hallucinogen LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) has potential as a treatment for alcoholism, according to a retrospective analysis of studies published in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The study, by neuroscientist Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, is the first-ever quantitative meta-analysis of LSD-alcoholism clinical trials. The researchers sifted through thousands of records to collect data from randomized, double-blind trials that compared one dose of LSD to a placebo.

Tell me what type of mother is worse: The wine drinker or the pot smoker? This parallels to the ol’ chicken versus egg debate. In a time where alcohol goes unscathed and profits are exponential – medical marijuana is being maliciously targeted, darting through the dark allies of prohibition slowly waiting for marijuana laws to be updated.

In the national eye, you see ‘ real housewives’ casually knocking back some pinot gris or chardonnay, with little repercussions from the public. There are marijuana toking moms who stick by their blunts and bongs defending that marijuana use is no worse than wine — maybe even better – however they are judged and stoned for their vices. Is there no double standard?

Thank you! My mother smokes pot and I was always so nervous telling any of my friends in case they judged or told their parents who would judge even more. I’ve had friends whose parents would chug back a case of beer a day and no one would blink an eye at that, but whenever someone found out I smoked pot with my mom it was such a big deal. Hey, at least my mom provided me with a safe place to smoke pot, especially for my first time. :)

stfuconservatives:

A researcher has proved what stoners have known for a long time: alcohol is more likely to lead to hard drug use than marijuana. The idea that marijuana is a “gateway drug” is a myth that harkens back to the “Reefer Madness” era, which itself was a direct result of William Randolph Hearst’s efforts to get hemp banned to eliminate competition for his paper mills.

(via popular-slut-club-deactivated20)

Dopamine appeared very early in the course of evolution and is involved in many functions that are essential for survival of the organism, such as motricity, attentiveness, motivation, learning, and memorization. But most of all, dopamine is a key element in identifying natural rewards for the organism. These natural stimuli such as food and water cause individuals to engage in approach behaviours. Dopamine is also involved in unconscious memorization of signs associated with these rewards.

It has now been established that all substances that trigger dependencies in human beings increase the release of a neuromediator, dopamine, in a specific area of the brain: the nucleus accumbens.

But not all drugs increase dopamine levels in the brain in the same way.

• Some substances imitate natural neuromediators and take their place on their receptors. Morphine, for example, binds to the receptors for endorphin (a natural “morphine” produced by the brain), while nicotine binds to the receptors for acetylcholine.

• Other substances increase the secretion of natural neuromediators. Cocaine, for example, mainly increases the amount of dopamine in the synapses, while ecstasy mainly increases the amount of serotonin.

• Still other substances block a natural neuromediator. Alcohol, for example, blocks the NMDA receptors.

Click on the names of each of the following drugs to read about how they work and what effects they have.

rua-robot:

B.C.’s tough drunk driving penalties have been amended to ensure all drivers that blow above the warning level will be given a second breathalyzer test, starting Friday.

Last year a judge ruled sections of the law were unconstitutional because they allow police to issue criminal-like penalties without a proper appeal process. The judge gave the government six months to change the law.

The government amended the law in May so that police must now advise drivers of their right to take a second breath test on a second machine. The lower of the two readings will then prevail.

Drivers can also challenge the reliability of the results through an administrative review, and police must provide more documentation for each roadside suspension and the accuracy of breathalyzers.

Everyone who drinks too much knows the unpleasant flip side of a night on the tiles – the dreaded hangover.

That horrible morning-after feeling can range in strength and intensity and vary from person to person, but it usually involves a banging headache, sickness, dizziness, dehydration, mild diarrhoea, tiredness and weakness.

A hangover can also leave you struggling to concentrate, irritable and sensitive to light for a prolonged period after your last drink – not a good combination if you want to enjoy the next day and not spend it suffering in bed.

When you organise a dinner party for your friends, do you focus more on the wine than the food? Does dinner now mean a bottle of wine per guest (plus a whiskey after dessert) when once a bottle for the table would have hit the mark?

Everybody changes over time – and your drinking patterns probably have too. Once, you might have drunk alcohol while out on the town. Now, because of the demands of a career and maybe a family, you could be spending more time at home. But even though you’re going out less – you still may be drinking over the government’s daily unit guidelines. The government advises that people should not regularly drink more than the daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and 2-3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a 175 ml glass of wine). ‘Regularly’ means drinking every day or most days of the week.

As 5:00 p.m. rolls around my interior clock starts chiming. I’ll have an ice-cold, bone-dry martini, thank you. Jalapeno olives and a twist. If the occasion calls for it (temperatures in the twenties, a hot political debate on the tube) I may substitute two fingers of Kentucky sour mash. Four-twenty? Doesn’t resonate. But with April 20 approaching and Waldos of the world gearing up to celebrate their favorite day of the year, it’s not a bad time to consider, yet again, the pluses and minuses of alcohol vs. cannabis.

First, a disclaimer: I am a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, but I don’t officially represent the organization in this forum. That said, I can’t very well check my affiliation, or beliefs, at the keyboard when I sit down to blog for HuffPost. We at LEAP are current and former cops and other criminal justice practitioners who have witnessed firsthand the futility and manifold injustices of the drug war. Our professional experiences have led us to conclude that the more dangerous an illicit substance—from crack to krank—the greater the justification for its legalization, regulation, and control. It is the prohibition of drugs that leads inexorably to high rates of death, disease, crime, and addiction.