Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2013
Cheryl L Currie
19 citations
Salvia divinorum is a potent, naturally occurring hallucinogen gaining popularity as a recreational drug in North America. To date, detailed epidemiologic information about the use of this substance among adolescents living outside the United States has been limited. This study provides information on the prevalence and correlates of Salvia divinorum use among adolesecents in Canada using a...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2013
Ryan Vandrey, Maxine L Stitzer, Miriam Z Mintzer et al.
Prior studies have separately examined the effects of dronabinol (oral THC) on cannabis withdrawal, cognitive performance, and the acute effects of smoked cannabis. A single study examining these clinically relevant domains would benefit the continued evaluation of dronabinol as a potential medication for the treatment of cannabis use disorders. Thirteen daily cannabis smokers completed a...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
December 21, 2012
Hani M. Elwafi, Katie Witkiewitz, Sarah Mallik et al.
Background: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the US, while abstinence rates remain modest. Smoking has been shown to be perpetuated by operant conditioning, notably negative reinforcement (e.g., smoking to relieve negative affective states). Mindfulness training (MT) shows promise for smoking cessation, by potentially altering an individual's tendency to smoke in response to...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
December 1, 2012
Jason M Wiebelhaus, Justin L. Poklis, Alphonse Poklis et al.
Use of synthetic "marijuana" has increased in recent years, produced adverse effects and prompted the temporary DEA ban of five specific cannabinoid analogs, including JWH-018. The objectives of the current study include determining the chemical content of the herbal product, Buzz, assessing its behavioral effects upon inhalation exposure to mice, determining whether CB(1) receptors mediate its...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
November 1, 2012
Joshua A Lile, Thomas H Kelly, Lon R Hays
Our previous research with the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine suggested the involvement GABA in the interoceptive effects of Δ9-THC. The aim of the present study was to determine the potential involvement of the GABA(B) receptor subtype by assessing the separate and combined effects of the GABA(B)-selective agonist baclofen and Δ9-THC using pharmacologically specific drug-discrimination...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 1, 2012
Raimondo Bruno, Allison J Matthews, Matthew Dunn et al.
58 citations
The past decade has seen the development of an array of emerging psychoactive substances (EPS), however, there is minimal information on the extent of their use outside Europe. This study aimed to determine the extent of use of EPS from stimulant (such as mephedrone) and psychedelic classes (such as 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine [5-MeO-DMT]) among an Australian sample of regular ecstasy users...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 3, 2012
Pai-Kai Huang, Shawn. M. Aarde, D. Angrish et al.
74 citations
BACKGROUND Reports from US, UK and European drug policy entities, and ongoing media accounts, show increasing recreational use of 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC, mephedrone) and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). Severe sympathomimetic symptoms, hallucinations, psychoses, and even deaths have been reported, yet little scientific information is available on the effects of these compounds in...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 1, 2012
Matthew W Johnson, R Andrew Sewell, Roland R. Griffiths
121 citations
Psilocybin is a well-characterized classic hallucinogen (psychedelic) with a long history of religious use by indigenous cultures, and nonmedical use in modern societies. Although psilocybin is structurally related to migraine medications, and case studies suggest that psilocybin may be efficacious in treatment of cluster headache, little is known about the relationship between psilocybin and...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
April 1, 2012
Joshua A Lile, Thomas H Kelly, Lon R Hays
The involvement of non-cannabinoid neurotransmitter systems in the abuse-related behavioral effects of cannabis has not been well characterized in humans. GABAergic drugs have overlapping effects with cannabis and Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC) on certain behavioral measures, but those measures lack the specificity to draw conclusions regarding the involvement of GABA in cannabinoid...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2012
A C Parrott
To review the thermal effects of MDMA in humans, and discuss the practical implications. The literature on Ecstasy/MDMA, body temperature, and subjective thermal self-ratings was reviewed, and explanatory models for the changes in thermal homeostasis were examined and debated. In human placebo-controlled laboratory studies, the effects of MDMA were dose related. Low doses had little effect,...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
November 1, 2011
Roberta Procópio-Souza, Daniela F Fukushiro, Thaís F Trombin et al.
Behavioral sensitization in rodents is hypothesized to reflect neuronal adaptations that are related to drug addiction in humans. We evaluated the effects of group exposure on the acute hyperlocomotion and behavioral sensitization induced by four drugs of abuse in C57BL/6 mice: methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), d-amphetamine, morphine and ethanol. In the priming session, animals received an...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
October 1, 2011
R L Carhart-Harris, L A King, D J Nutt
This study sought to collect information on the former legal-high 'mephedrone' using a web-based survey targeted at mephedrone users. The survey was advertised on websites frequented by drug users. Individuals were invited to complete the survey if they had taken mephedrone on at least one occasion in the past. One thousand and six completed forms were received from declared users, making this...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
September 14, 2011
J. Grant, S. Chamberlain, Liana R. N. Schreiber et al.
Background Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance and has been associated with cognitive impairment. It is unclear whether such impairment can occur in the absence of potential confounding influences of co-morbid axis-I disorders and use of other illicit substances. Method Young adult volunteers (18–29 years) were recruited from the general community on the basis of having no axis-I...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
August 10, 2011
Ryan Vandrey, Kelly E Dunn, Jeannie A Fry et al.
Background: Synthetic cannabinoids are a rapidly emerging class of abused drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids are typically sold as "herbal blends" or "incense," commonly referred to as Spice products. No controlled human experiments have been conducted on the effects of Spice products or the synthetic cannabinoids they often contain. Methods: An internet-based survey study was conducted with adults...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 31, 2011
MDMA (Ecstasy) association with impaired fMRI BOLD thalamic coherence and functional connectivity.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 1, 2011
Frances R. Levin, John J Mariani, Daniel J Brooks et al.
Cannabis dependence is a substantial public health problem. Behavioral treatments have shown promise, but there are no effective medications for cannabis dependence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dronabinol, a synthetic form of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a naturally occurring pharmacologically active component of marijuana, in treating cannabis...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 1, 2011
Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: results from a randomized controlled trial.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 1, 2011
Joshua A Lile, Thomas H Kelly, Lon R Hays
Agonist replacement treatment is a promising strategy to manage cannabis-use disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the combined effects of the synthetic cannabinoid agonist nabilone and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) using drug-discrimination procedures, which are sensitive to drug interactions. Testing the concurrent administration of nabilone and Δ⁹-THC was also conducted to...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
May 1, 2011
Matthew W Johnson, Katherine A Maclean, Chad J Reissig et al.
134 citations
Salvinorin A is a potent, selective nonnitrogenous kappa opioid agonist and the known psychoactive constituent of Salvia divinorum, a member of the mint family that has been used for centuries by Mazatec shamans of Mexico for divination and spiritual healing. S. divinorum has over the last several years gained increased popularity as a recreational drug. This is a double-blind, placebo...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2011
Combined Goal Management Training and Mindfulness meditation improve executive functions and decision-making performance in abstinent polysubstance abusers.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
December 1, 2010
James P Zacny, Jenny M Jun
Although numerous studies have assessed subjective effects of nitrous oxide, few studies have analyzed for sex differences. Since sex differences have been reported in subjective effects of several drugs such as opioids, nicotine and alcohol, we sought to determine if sex modulates the subjective effects of the inhalant, nitrous oxide, in healthy volunteers. Thirty-eight females and seventy-two...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
November 1, 2010
Bradley Platt, Sunjeev K. Kamboj, C. Morgan et al.
BACKGROUND While heavy cannabis-users seem to show various cognitive impairments, it remains unclear whether they also experience significant deficits in affective functioning. Evidence of such deficits may contribute to our understanding of the interpersonal difficulties in cannabis-users, and the link between cannabis-use and psychological disorders (Moore et al., 2007). METHOD Emotion...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
October 28, 2010
Abnormal visual experiences in individuals with histories of hallucinogen use: a Web-based questionnaire.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
October 1, 2010
Matthew J. Baggott, Earth Erowid, Fire Erowid et al.
78 citations
There is growing use of Salvia divinorum (SD), a psychoactive plant that produces hallucinogen-like effects through a kappa opioid receptor (KOR) mechanism. Little is known about KOR agonist effects in humans and about users of SD. To characterize the reasons, methods, and reported consequences of SD use. Individuals reading SD-related pages of a drug-information website were invited to...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 17, 2010
Josep María Fábregas, Débora González, Sabela Fondevila et al.
228 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage used for magico-religious purposes in the Amazon. Recently, Brazilian syncretic churches have helped spread the ritual use of ayahuasca abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine-containing tea may lead to the medical and psychosocial problems typically associated with drugs of abuse. Here we assess potential drug...