NHS opens specialist clubbing drugs clinic in treatment

To help baffled GP's who lack the knowledge to help their patients the NHS in London has opened a new clinic specialising in the treatment of the former legal high clubbing drugs like mephedrone, GHB and Ketamine which are believed to become ever more popular at the expensive of traditional recreational drugs like Cocaine and Heroin which traditional centres have been used to treating.

"Bowden-Jones said those who take club drugs tend to be younger, employed and sometimes affluent. They are often in relationships and don't necessarily identify themselves as addicts.".

Apparently there have been over 70 referrals to the new "Legal Highs" Centre before it had even opened its doors.

In our opinion spending money on treatment certainly makes much more sense than spending vast amounts catching people and locking them up. A good progress move.

Banned drugs deaths fall in the last years according to government figures.

The number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales has fallen slightly, according to the latest government figures. Those who had died specifically from the misuse of banned drugs, with 1,876 in 2009 compared with 1,784 in 2010.

The statistics show opiates were the substances most commonly associated with drug deaths last year with 791 people dying from heroin or morphine poisoning.

Although men made up 70% of drug-related deaths, the 2010 figures show a 10% decrease in male fatalities and a corresponding rise of 10% in female deaths.

Apparently all you need to get high now is your mobile phone??

A new Application has been released for smart phones claiming that it is the new drug for the rave scene.

A British hypnotherapist has claimed to have created an App that causes you to experience a high due to Hypnosis.

“Get "High" without drugs - hypnosis session App helps former drug users,” the marketing blurb for Hypno High™ declared, “No more drugs needed - just the memory of a "high" is enough to revive it.”

I am Sceptical about this one what do you guys think? love to hear your comments

Watch our for your heart if you are a cocaine user

Its always been talked about, the risk of taking cocaine causing a heart attack.  Now it official.  0.9% of all heart attacks were caused by cocaine use.   On an individual basis, taking cocaine was shown to raise a person’s risk of having a heart attack 23-fold, according to the  study, led by Dr Tim Nawrot, from Hasselt University in Belgium.

In comparison, air pollution led to a  5 per cent extra risk, but since far more people are exposed to traffic fumes and factory emissions than cocaine, the danger posed by Cocaine use is in reality much higher.

Traffic exposure was blamed for 7.4 per cent of heart attacks, followed by physical exertion with 6.2 per cent.

Overall air pollution triggered between  5 per cent and 7 per cent of heart attacks, while drinking alcohol or coffee accounted for 5 per cent.

Other risk factors included negative emotions (3.9 per cent), anger (3.1 per cent), eating a heavy meal (2.7 per cent), positive emotions (2.4 per cent) and sexual activity (2.2 per cent). Cocaine was to blame for 0.9 per cent of heart attacks, but this was because of limited exposure to the drug among the population.

MDMA ‘Doesn’t Cause Brain Damage'

A new huge US study of the effects of MDMA ‘specifically designed to minimize the methodological flaws in earlier studies . . . found no ominous, concerning risks to cognitive performance’, US scientists announced this week.

Study chief Doctor John Halpern MD said ‘ecstasy users in the new study showed no signs of cognitive impairment attributable to drug use’ adding ‘ecstasy use did not decrease mental ability.’

The drug expert carried out the research for America’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and ‘eliminated several sources of potential error in previous studies’ they explained in a report published in medical journal Addiction.

“As well as the actual pill-poppers, the non-using control group were also apparently "members of the 'rave' subculture,’ the statement said, “And thus repeatedly exposed to sleep and fluid deprivation from all-night dancing - factors that themselves can produce long-lasting cognitive effects".

Instead Doctor Halpern blamed the dangers associated with ecstasy on its illegality and warned that using it currently remains potentially risky.

“Illegally-made pills can contain harmful contaminants,” the Dr pointed out, “There are no warning labels, there is no medical supervision, and in rare cases people are physically harmed and even die from overdosing. It is important for drug-abuse information to be accurate.”

The most notorious inaccurate ecstasy research was published by US ‘scientist’ George Ricaurte in 2002, when he announced that ecstasy users risked developing Parkinson’s Disease from one night of E-fueled raving, as well as a one in five change of death.

His findings were immediately leapt on by ‘Just say no’ zero tolerance campaigners who were far less vocal when six months later he was forced to admit he’d tested the wrong drug- ultra-strong methamphetamine- by mistake.

"I'm surprised that senior researchers could make an error like that," British drug expert Dr John Henry told New Scientist following Ricaurte’s retraction.

"They should have known from the general background of their work that this was extremely unusual,” the Doctor noted.