https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Slavery-Understanding-Addiction-Stopping/dp/1985750325  

 This extremely ambitious book by Dr. Robert DuPont is the first book that I know of by a leader in the drug abuse prevention and treatment field that has highlighted the message of Pope Francis:  that engaging in drug taking for experiential purposes is tantamount to allowing oneself to become enslaved.  No one would ever willingly accept such a fate. When one gives up one’s will power, the theosophists say that one gives up one’s soul power.  The Dalai Lama has said that a person who uses drugs give up his or her authentic self.  This book provides a range of significant roadmaps that have been used by a country, Sweden; and by institutions, treatment programs, families, and individual drug users and addicts, to safeguard or sustain and retain that authentic drug-free selfhood.  By bringing to light in one place, many of these roadmaps, Dr. DuPont shares insights into how that authentic self can be safeguarded from the pitfalls of drug taking behavior. He shares insights into the steps that many have taken to retain or reclaim their authentic selves, initiative, will power, brain power, judgment, creativity, and essential humanity.

Paula D. Gordon, PhD

Teens who drink more than one energy drink per day are less likely to believe drugs like cocaine and heroin are dangerous, according to new research.

University of Texas at San Antonio researcher Dr. Dylan Jackson and his team studied data from 8th and 10th graders between 2010 and 2016. Teens that drank an energy everyday are “125 percent more likely to fail to perceive any risk in trying to consume cocaine,” compared to their peers. And when it came to heroin, they were 143 percent more likely to not see the risk of trying that drug when compared to other teens. 

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"I do feel a sense of freedom from not drinking anymore, because it took up so much brain space," said Laura Willoughby at London's Mindful Drinking Festival, an event founded to suggest that you don't need to be paralytic to have a good time. "It's been the best decision of my life."

Check every alcohol statistic from the last couple of years and you'll see I'm not alone: lots of people seem to believe that regularly poisoning yourself for fun isn't such a good idea. In a survey by Drink Monitor, almost a fifth of respondents said they were changing their drinking behaviours, while at least two-fifths have utilised planning methods to cut down, with older drinkers sticking to old-fashioned restraint and millennials being more likely to avoid alcohol altogether.

In fact, there's been a sharp rise in teetotallers generally. According to the Office of National Statistics, there are over 2 million teetotal adults in London – 30 percent of the adult population – while nationwide it's 20.9 percent. This trend only seems to be catching on, as you'll know from the endless reports of Gen-Z (16 to 24-year-olds) supposedly swapping Stella for sobriety

A decade ago, an event like the Mindful Drinking Festival (MDF) might have been derided as some kind of puritanical love-in. But today, in this climate, in makes perfect sense. Run by Club Soda – which describes itself as a "mindful drinking movement" – the festival at Spitalfields Market this past weekend was busy with people trying the various alcohol-free drinks on offer.

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JULY 18, 2018 BY COREY W. HUNTER, MD, FIPP

While opioid medications may be effective for treating pain in the short-term, they have an extremely high propensity for addiction and do nothing to address the underlying cause of the pain.

The good news is that there are many alternatives to opioids that can help alleviate your son or daughter’s pain. Below, we’ve helped to spell them out for you and have provided guidance on how to ask your doctor about these alternatives.

What if My Child Has Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is defined by the CDC generally as pain that lasts more than three months. It’s a complex issue to manage successfully, but especially so in the case of someone you’re concerned about developing an addiction, or someone in recovery. The CDC actually recommends against opioids as the solution for chronic pain management, as they say the risks from opioids greatly outweigh the benefits for most people. Fortunately, there are several other methods to help manage these chronic issues that you and your child can discuss with a physician.

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All Young Cannabis Users Face Psychosis Risk  (Medscape and JAMA Psychiatry)  June 15, 2018

Cannabis use directly increases the risk for psychosis in teens, new research shows. A large prospective study of teens shows that "in adolescents, cannabis use is harmful" with respect to psychosis risk, study author Patricia J. Conrod, PhD, professor of psychiatry, University of Montreal, Canada, told Medscape Medical News.

The study included 3720 adolescents from the Co-Venture cohort, which represents 76% of all grade 7 students attending 31 secondary schools in the greater Montreal area.

Cannabis use, in any given year, predicted an increase in psychosis symptoms a year later, said Conrod. This type of analysis is more reliable than biological measures, such as blood tests, said Conrod. "Biological measures aren't sensitive enough to the infrequent and low level of use that we tend to see in young adolescents," she said.

The effect was observed for the entire cohort. This finding, said Conrod, means that all young cannabis users face psychosis risk, not just those with a family history of schizophrenia or a biological factor that increases their susceptibility to the effects of cannabis.

"The whole population is prone to have this risk," she said.

In light of these results, Conrod called for increased access by high school students to evidence-based cannabis prevention programs.

The study was published online June 6 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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