drug use news stories on Newser

Middle-Aged Drug Users Have Sharper Minds

Rob Quinn — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:08:50 CST

Past or present drug use doesn't seem to damage middle-aged brains, a new study finds. British researchers studied the mental sharpness of thousands of 50-year-old subjects, and found that those who had used illicit drugs—mainly marijuana—actually performed better than others on tests of memory and other brain functions,...

Legalizing Medical Marijuana Doesn't Up Kids' Pot Use

Matt Cantor — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:49:05 CDT

Sobering news for those who argue that legalizing medical marijuana will lead to more stoner kids: Researchers reviewed the habits of some 25,000 youths in Massachusetts, where medical pot isn’t legal, and 13,000 in Rhode Island, where it became so in 2006. Studying data from 1997 to 2009,...

San Francisco Druggies Unionize

Harry Kimball — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:34:00 CDT

San Francisco is a union town, so why not a union for…drug users? The San Francisco Drug-Users Union has been formed with $35,000 from the Drug Policy Alliance to give the addled a say in local government, a move that has also been taken in other big cities like...

Pentagon Shooter a 'Brilliant' Engineering Student

Kevin Spak — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:55:00 CST

John Patrick Bedell, who allegedly opened fire on the Pentagon last night before being shot and killed, was a “brilliant” engineering student with a “severe pot addiction,” according to a family friend. His mother “asked me to help,” says the former teacher. But “there was denial on Patrick’s part,” and...

Teen Pot, Booze Use Rises

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:26:00 CST

Alcohol and marijuana use among teens is on the rise, ending a decade-long decline. The number of high school students who reported drinking recently rose from 35% in 2008 to 39% last year, says an annual survey out today from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. For pot, the number...

Boomers Enjoy New 'Whatever' 'Tude on Pot

Nick McMaster — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:47:53 CST

Aging baby boomers are not only boosting the ranks of older pot smokers, they're enjoying a kind of neo Age of Aquarius of relaxed attitudes toward one of their favorite habits. The number of marijuana smokers in the 50-59 age group has doubled over the past decade, according to statistics....

Baby Boomers Still Mad for the Reefer, Man

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:08:13 CDT

Some Americans haven't let go of one part of the 1960s: getting high on illicit drugs. The percentage of Americans age 50-59 who reported use of illicit drugs within a year nearly doubled from 2002-2007, from 5.1% to 9.4%, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported...

Let's Lock Up Casual Drug Users

Jason Farago — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:10:00 CDT

The head of the UN drug and crime office recommended last week that casual drug use be decriminalized and said users "need medical help, not criminal prosecution." We should certainly help addicts, but casual users of marijuana and cocaine belong in jail, George Monbiot of the Guardian writes. They abet...

15% of Teens Expect to Die Young

Jess Kilby — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:42:42 CDT

Teenagers who engage in risky behavior may do so because they believe they’re going to die young anyway, and may create a self-fulfilling prophecy with that belief, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune . A study that tracked 20,000 kids in grades 7 through 12 found that 15% thought they would...