NARCONON BLOG

DRUG INFORMATION

Cocaine and Opioid Abuse Connected to Potentially Fatal Heart Disease

A recent NIDA press release shows how it’s not just opioid addiction that is connected to endocarditis, but new studies show cocaine addiction increases the risk for potentially fatal heart disease too. These findings highlight how it’s not just the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alarming Increase in California Fentanyl Busts Shed Light on How Accessible Fentanyl Is

California recently conducted a statewide crackdown on fentanyl, seizing over 28,000 pounds of the highly potent opioid in the past year, a nearly six-fold increase over the previous year. Given the exponential increase in the prevalence of fentanyl in...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Addiction Is a Serious Problem for Teens and Senior Citizens Too

People often think of drug addiction as primarily a problem for adults, especially adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. However, three recently published studies highlight how the addiction epidemic is expanding to include age demographics that previously...

DRUG INFORMATION

More Evidence Suggests Drinking Leads to Accidents, Hospitalization, and Death

A recent study produced an alarming finding: People who get injured while intoxicated to the point where they require hospital treatment are five times more likely to die in the coming year. That critical data point suggests that just one alcohol-related...

DRUG INFORMATION

Alcohol Abuse Increases Cancer Risk

A recent scientific study and population survey found that some Americans erroneously believe alcohol helps prevent cancer. Yet the opposite is true. This article briefly comments on the study’s findings while highlighting the different types of cancer...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Fentanyl Vaccine Won’t Address Underlying Reasons Why Addicts Use Drugs

Researchers have reported they’ve created a vaccine to help fight the opioid epidemic that claims tens of thousands of lives every year. While the medication is being hailed as a breakthrough (and it indeed will help save lives), the only way to truly...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

America’s Pregnant Women at Increasing Risk for Drug Overdoses

One could say that the most important mandate for the human species is to protect the future of the species. So when new research shows an alarming increase in fatal drug overdoses for pregnant and postpartum women, it serves as a warning sign that fast...

DRUG INFORMATION

Meth Abuse and Resulting Heart Failure are on the Rise Around the World

A recent study published in the journal Heart provided a worldwide examination of meth abuse, addiction trends, and the cardiovascular implications of meth addiction. The researchers found that no matter which country they examined, meth abuse was on the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Fatal Heart Infections Linked to Opioid Addiction Soar Among Youth

Scientific researchers are finding a grim answer to why growing numbers of young Americans are dying from the effects of heart failure, endocarditis, strokes, and leaking heart valves. Researchers have determined that opioid abuse among young people is...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How One Police Chief Is Changing the Conversation Around Addiction

A 30-year law enforcement veteran from Newtown, Ohio, Police Chief Tom Synan has stepped up and launched the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition, a partnership between law enforcement and behavioral health programs. The coalition’s goal is to...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Digital Currency and Fentanyl, New Elements of 21st-Century Drug Trafficking

“Two Dutch nationals, an Englishman, and nine companies have been targeted for sanctions by the U.S. government for allegedly operating an illegal fentanyl ring that generated millions of dollars in virtual currency.” That is the opening line from...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Research Suggests a Link Between Pandemic Drinking and Alcohol-Related Deaths

A unique drug, alcohol is known to be an unhealthy substance that carries both short-term and long-term harm, yet the substance is socially accepted and normalized within American society. New research shows how alcohol-related deaths spiked 26% during...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Study Finds Alarming Surge in Negative Alcohol Experiences During College

While it is no mystery that drinking alcohol during one’s young adult and college years carries harm, it isn’t always understood the extent of that harm, the frequency of it, and the long-term unwanted effects that result from it. A recent study that...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol Is the Cause of One in Five Young Adult Deaths

An alarming new study shows that not only do more Americans lose their lives from alcohol-related causes each year than drug-related causes, but an increasing number of those who die are young-to-middle-aged adults. These findings suggest that the American...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New York Next in Line to Settle Opioid Case with Big Pharma

Over the past few years, dozens of lawsuits have culminated in major pharmaceutical companies being held at least somewhat accountable for creating America’s crippling opioid addiction epidemic. Most recently, New York State settled a $524 million lawsuit...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Health Experts Sound the Alarm Over Allergy Meds Found in Street Opioids

Newly published research has produced evidence of yet another drug risk, i.e., allergy medications being added to illicit street opioids. This development poses an increased risk to users, as antihistamines have a drowsiness effect, which, when coupled...

ADDICTION

Talking to Loved Ones About Drugs Saves Lives

With numerous factors like the spread of fentanyl into the drug supply, soaring overdose deaths, increasing normalization of drug use, and greater access to drugs, it seems as though drug abuse is becoming more likely and more dangerous. In this landscape,...

DRUG INFORMATION

Nitazenes, A New Drug with Fentanyl–Like Potency Hits the Streets

In Tennessee, four times as many fatalities were recorded for nitazene overdoses in 2021 than in 2020, with some experts saying nitazenes are as potent or more potent than fentanyl. Further, naloxone does not always work to counteract the effects of nitazene...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Study Shows Doctors Prescribing Lower Dosage Opioids

A study out of Canada shows that many doctors are now prescribing less potent doses of opioid pain relievers for post-surgery pain. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, advocates say doctors should also recommend nonopioid pain relief...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Recent Overdoses in New York Show How Drug Abuse can Harm People of All Backgrounds

When three New Yorkers of remarkably different backgrounds overdosed and died on the same day, many believed their deaths were coincidental. But investigators later began to see a pattern when they discovered that all three users had ordered drugs from...