government

Cocaine vaccine anyone?

Rumour has it that the first cocaine vaccine is currently under development. A clinical anti-cocaine vaccine trial study carried out by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the US National Institutes of Health, showed a reduction in cocaine use in 38 percent of vaccinated patients. The study was carried out using methadone-maintained patients who were users of smoked crack cocaine along with marijuana, alcohol and other non-prescription opioids. There were no serious adverse reactions and the vaccine was well tolerated among the patients.

The alcohol industry is not being regulated well enough

What is it that differentiates alcohol from illicit drugs? Alcohol and drugs are both psychoactive substances that alter consciousness, mood and behaviour. Both are addictive and can cause physical damage to the body. Illnesses related to alcohol abuse significantly outweigh those related to illegal drugs however, and, according to a report published in The Lancet in 2010, alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack (when all the dangers to the individual and society are taken into account).

Chinese Communist Party Secretary dies from official binge-drinking

Submitted by mej-juana on Tue, 10/11/2009 - 13:17

Today many British newspapers are reporting on the death of Shen Hao, 46, the communist Party Secretary of Fengyang county's Xiaogang village, who died on Friday after an official binge-drinking-prone banquet. Mr Shen is now the third victim of a new tradition of lush business events in which drinking heavily is the way to prove status and engage in conversation. Previous victims were Jin Guoqing, deputy director of water resources in Xinzhou district (47) and Guo Shizhong, a family planning official from Xinyang, Central China's Henan province.

Sign the petition to reinstate Professor Nutt

Petition to reinstate Professor Nutt

The decision to dismiss David Nutt over comments he made about the government’s classification system and the harmful nature of drugs is a serious blow for freedom of expression in Britain.

Two members of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs have already resigned while other members are planning collective action and have already contacted Professor Nutt to express their disapproval of Alan Johnson’s decision.

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