Drug Facts

Fentanyl's rise as the dominant opioid stems from its low cost, potency, synthetic formula, and deceptive tactics by traffickers. Now tied to 75% of overdose deaths, its prevalence highlights the urgent need for action to save any person who might encounter this drug.

How long does it take to become addicted? It can happen in just days with substances like opioids and methamphetamine, while others like alcohol or marijuana may take years. Early use, especially in adolescence, dramatically increases the risk. Understanding how addiction forms is crucial, and seeking rehab immediately is vital for recovery.

Fentanyl’s extreme potency, widespread use in counterfeit pills, and presence in other drugs make it the leading cause of drug deaths in the U.S. Its addictive nature and overdose risks demand urgent action and effective rehabilitation efforts.

Methamphetamine, though less lethal than fentanyl, is wreaking havoc across the U.S. Highly potent P2P meth triggers fast, intense addiction while creating mental illness and homelessness, as evidenced in locations like Los Angeles and Oregon. While overdose deaths are lower, meth’s broader impact on families, health, and communities is severe.

This article discusses the dangerous combination of alcohol and marijuana on the ability to drive safely. Used together, the danger of accident and injury can be greatly increased. This hazard was illustrated by the case of Donald Andrews, Jr., who drove his Tesla off an overpass in Upstate New York while impaired by both substances.

Discover the addictive risks of seemingly innocuous medications, from prescription drugs like gabapentin and pregabalin to over-the-counter remedies like loperamide and dextromethorphan. Find out what effects misusers are seeking and what the effects of improper use are, including addiction.

What are amphetamines? This article examines amphetamines, their history, what they’re used for, the harmful effects users may experience, and what to do when someone cannot stop using amphetamines on their own.

While inhalant substances do not make the news in the same way that opioids or meth do, millions of teens huff the fumes of various chemicals, thinners, gases, lacquers, paint sprays, and aerosols each year. Some reports suggest that 335,000 Americans are addicted to such substances.

Oxycodone is one of the most common yet one of the least understood prescription opioids. What is oxycodone? How is it different from OxyContin and other opioids? What is the scope of its use? And perhaps most importantly, what can be done for those who are addicted to oxycodone, including those who have legitimate prescriptions for the drug?

Tianeptine, an antidepressant that can have similar effects on the body as opioids, is sold as a dietary supplement at gas stations and convenience stores across the country. It’s often marketed as an “alternative medicine” that can relieve pain, reduce depression symptoms, and address anxiety. While not approved for medical use in the United States, it is approved in some European, Asian, and Latin American countries.

Alcohol addiction is one of America’s worst health problems, yet it receives a fraction of the national attention that drug addiction gets. Because alcohol consumption is normalized as acceptable social behavior, the dire complications of consuming alcohol to excess often go unaddressed or are considered a marginal concern. The result? All levels and forms of drinking have worsened across America in recent years, placing alcohol consumption in line to be the nation’s next major public health crisis.

Illicit drugs may pose far greater risks to your lung health than you realize, triggering conditions like pneumonia, emphysema, and even asphyxia. From alcohol to heroin, the ten substances discussed in this article impair breathing, set the stage for infection and dysfunction, and can easily turn deadly. Seeking help is crucial for those affected by addiction.

Sometimes, people adopt the concept that if a drug is a legal prescription medication, that means it can’t be harmful. Sadly, this is far from the truth. Some of the most commonly used prescription stimulants like Ritalin, Adderall, and others come with many risk factors, addiction included. People need to understand what these drugs are, the risks they pose, and what effects people can expect from using them, even if they use them as prescribed.

This article defines the emerging drug trend that is kratom experimentation, showing the effects of the drug and digging into the controversy surrounding it.

A recent report broke the news that alcohol-related liver disease is rising among young Americans. The findings are a surprise because alcohol-related liver problems used to be unheard of among this age group.

A paper published by the European Society of Cardiology found a connection between drug use and serious heart complications requiring intensive cardiac care unit treatment. Further, the research indicated addicts might experience long-term health complications even after ceasing drug use.

Alcohol is a mind-altering substance that affects those who consume it in myriad ways. Because alcohol’s effects differ from person to person, it can be challenging to predict or isolate how alcohol will impact those who consume it. However, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have found a direct relationship between alcohol and self-control.

The idea that “you’re not yourself when you drink” has been around for decades. Alcohol is a mind-altering substance; when people drink it, it changes them mentally, emotionally, and physically. Alcohol affects everyone differently, and its effects become dramatically worse the more someone drinks and the more often they drink.

There are many aspects connected to alcohol consumption that may cause people to behave poorly. Alcohol is a mind-altering substance, and it affects people in different ways. However, new data shows alcohol consumption may affect all drinkers in at least one way that is the same for everyone, i.e., by significantly inhibiting areas of the brain responsible for maintaining attention.

A new set of research data sheds doubt on the old narrative that moderate alcohol consumption may help some people guard themselves against experiencing diabetes or obesity. According to growing evidence, no amount of alcohol consumption provides drinkers with any health benefit or a net health gain.

The article explores the widespread use of Narcan (naloxone) to reverse opioid overdoses, covering its history, availability, and brand names. A little-known concern about the use of Narcan is that its effects are short-lived, potentially allowing overdose symptoms to return.

Cannabis is often labeled by its supporters as a health solution. However, the negative physical and mental effects of cannabis are not often discussed by advocates pushing for its legalization. It’s important to consider the many well-documented negative short-term and long-term health effects of using cannabis products.

Most people understand that alcohol consumption harms critical organs in the human body. People understand that excessive drinking can damage the liver, kidneys, and heart. However, very few people know what alcohol does to the body’s immune system.

A recently published scientific paper highlighted how alcohol contributes to chronic pain. Contrary to the commonly held view that alcohol numbs or dulls pain, researchers found that chronic alcohol consumption makes people more susceptible to pain sensitivity.

Tens of thousands of American medical practitioners are licensed to dispense buprenorphine formulas to those in addiction recovery. But is providing this medication enough? Shouldn’t there be solutions for the loss of emotional, thinking, and social skills? We take a thorough look at this important topic.

As the opioid epidemic continues to spread across the U.S., Americans face a new threat, the risk of the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl being mixed into non-opioid drugs like meth. Given the changing drug landscape, becoming educated about opioids and avoiding them is no longer enough to keep one safe.

Cocaine addiction is on the rise, as are cocaine-related deaths. Cocaine has also made headlines recently, given that fentanyl is increasingly mixed into cocaine batches and sold to addicts without them knowing. The result? Across the nation, people are being exposed to readily available fentanyl-tainted cocaine...

A recent study published in Psychological Medicine found that people with cannabis addiction have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia and other mental health crises.

A new study shows that, for people already at risk for Alzheimer’s disease or who are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, alcohol consumption may worsen symptoms and speed up the onset of the disease. These findings are another clear indicator of why people should not consume alcohol.

A research paper published in September 2022 showed that even one alcoholic drink has the effect of “priming the brain” for addiction. While the biological side of alcohol dependence is just one contributing factor to addiction, it’s worth noting the effect that one alcoholic beverage has on brain chemistry.

For decades, American medical institutions held that one to two alcoholic drinks per day for men and one per day for women was okay. It was perceived that risks associated with alcohol did not set in until an individual exceeded that level of “moderate” consumption.

Reports of drug-facilitated sexual assaults are being received by law enforcement all over the country. To keep themselves safe, women and men should know what drugs are being used and how they are administered, both on college campuses and in cities.

New synthetic drugs are the wave of the future—and the present. Every year, a long list of new drugs is detected by law enforcement. Buyers may not even know what they are getting as these new substances may be camouflaged. This ignorance can result in their death.

Across the country, teens and young adults are adding illicit drugs to their vaping devices because they can use them without being detected, often right in front of parents or teachers.

With the holidays around the corner, people should familiarize themselves with the signs of substance abuse. Most Americans will spend quality time with family members in the coming weeks, potentially with loved ones they don’t see often. Given those unique circumstances, the holidays present an opportune moment to intervene with loved ones if they misuse drugs and alcohol. But first, people must be educated on the signs and symptoms of substance abuse.

A recent study found that 75% of people who come forward and seek addiction treatment are hooked on more than one drug at the time of entry into a treatment facility. Given that most addicts use more than one drug, an effective public health response may be to shift away from focusing on the types of drugs being used and instead focus on the people using them.

Most Americans don’t see any harm in binge drinking occasionally, maybe just a couple of weekends a year. However, this behavior is quite harmful. A new study shows that people who binge drink at all, even if just once every few months or on holidays, are at several times more risk of developing alcohol addiction than those who do not binge drink at all.

Speedballing is not a new trend, but it is a trend that is changing and becoming more dangerous. Unfortunately, as more people seek to mix stimulant drugs with opioids or “speedball,” more people will die from overdoses caused by such lethal cocktails. And with the ever-expanding addition of fentanyl into the drug supply, addicts are at even greater risk.

One of the crucial components in reducing drug experimentation and addiction is ensuring people do not have easy access to drugs. To that point, prescription drug take-back programs may be one of America's best efforts for reducing youth exposure to addictive pharmaceuticals.

A common narrative heard circulating amongst the proponents of cannabis legalization is that cannabis is not dangerous and therefore should be legal. This narrative is not just misleading; it’s largely untrue. As cannabis research continues, scientists and researchers are finding many dangerous health complications intimately connected to cannabis.

A recent study seems to dispel the age-old belief that just a little bit of alcohol has heart health benefits. Contrary to that belief, rather than being beneficial, any alleged “benefits” once observed in people who drank alcohol in moderation were likely caused by other factors, like an active lifestyle. Alcohol consumption, even when done in moderation, poses a severe risk of harming one’s health, not benefiting it.

The consumption of alcohol is so ingrained in many cultures that it is accepted without question. What may go unnoticed is the millions of deaths it causes every year around the world. The deadly character of alcohol should be understood by everyone.

While the number of cases of synthetic marijuana are declining, this drug isn't any less dangerous. Synthetic marijuana is a volatile and unpredictable drug.

When prescription drug abuse really began to take off in the U.S., causing unprecedented deaths and destruction, many Americans chose to blame the pharmaceutical companies which made the drugs. And this was the right place to lay the blame, or at least most of it.

Depicted in movies and popular music and pop culture as a way to “Expand Your Mind”, hallucinogens have been circulating in modern society for over fifty years and doing a lot of damage along the way. Some of the names are, shrooms, angel dust, hell’s bells, and acid. Acid, also known as LSD, is the granddaddy of these drugs in terms of strength and unpredictability.

Nitazenes are a new type of opioid drug said to be 800 times more potent than morphine and 40 times more potent than fentanyl. This drug has not yet been approved for human consumption in the U.S., and it is not FDA approved. But could nitazenes become the next “super opioid” to hit the streets?

Tianeptine is a relatively new pharmaceutical drug that is being misused for its mind-altering properties, leading to overdoses and harsh consequences. Given the harmful nature of drug abuse and the growing addiction crisis across America, it’s important to stay on top of emerging drug trends like tianeptine abuse and addiction.

There is no doubt that drinking to excess creates harm and risk, both for the person consuming alcohol and for those around him or her. Unfortunately, young people are not only drinking more alcohol, but they’re also consuming alcohol at a younger age.

The drug is not too common in the U.S. (although that is difficult to determine because the U.S. does not record statistics on khat usage). However, about 20 million people worldwide use khat for its stimulant-like and mind-altering properties.