General

• 'A concise guide to mind-altering drugs', New Scientist, 2004, vol. 184, no. 2473, 13 November, pp. 40-1.
  Brief accounts of the effects of a number of popular intoxicating substances, ranging from caffeine and alcohol to dissociatives and ecstasy. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Banta, Carolyn 2005, 'Trading for a high', Time Australia, no. 30, 1 August, p. 32.
  The United States National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse recently reported that the incidence of abuse of prescription drugs by 12-17 year olds has jumped dramatically in recent years - the article discusses this growing trend. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'Drug users - every age, race and class', Understanding Global Issues, 2005, no. 135, pp. 4-5.
  According to the UN there are about 200 million users of illegal drugs worldwide, about 3.5% of total population. Cannabis is used by about 160 million people, easily the biggest group of illicit users. [Abstract from article]
• Lumby, Catharine 2003, 'The truth drug', The Bulletin, vol. 121, no. 6362, 4 March, p. 29.
  An examination of popular perceptions of youth drug use in contemporary Australian society which argues for a more open acceptance of drug use as well as more widely available information on the health effects of drugs. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Phillips, Helen; Lawton, Graham 2004, 'The intoxication instinct', New Scientist, vol. 184, no. 2473, 13 November, pp. 32-9.
  Humans have been taking, and experimenting with, mind-altering substances for thousands of years - this article discusses various theories concerning the attraction humans have for intoxication, ranging from alcohol and coffee to hard, mind-bending drugs such as LSD. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'The social history of drugs', Understanding Global Issues, 2002, no. 108, pp. 2-3.
  Factors affecting drug use include culture, social class, religion, war, fashion and genetic differences. Attitudes to different drugs vary with culture and period. [Abstract from article]
• 'Taking drugs - a universal social habit', Understanding Global Issues, 2005, no. 135, p. 1.
  When people talk about the 'drugs problem', they usually mean illicit drugs deriving from the cannabis plant, the coca leaf, the opium poppy or synthetic manufacture. Alcohol, tobacco and even prescription drugs also cause concern but are tolerated by society. [Abstract from article]
• 'Why people take drugs', Understanding Global Issues, 2002, no. 108, p. 1.
  Almost everyone takes drugs of some kind. The main reason is 'to feel better' - by enhancing pleasure, improving persormance or easing an ailment. [Abstract from article]

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Addiction

• 'Brainwashing', The Economist, 2005, vol. 376, no. 8444, 17-23 September, p. 78.
  There are subtle, long-term modifications in the brain of drug users which turn them into addicts, some to the drug itself, others to the circumstances in which the drug is taken. Now, as described here, research with rats has found ways to impair the brain's memory of such associations. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Crumley, Bruce 2001, 'Racing demons', Time Australia, no. 10, 12 March, pp. 48-9.
  Research in France indicates that high-level athletes who have used performance-enhancing drugs run a higher risk of becoming addicted to narcotics once they stop competing. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Nash, J. Madeleine 1997, 'Addicted', Time Australia, no. 18, 5 May, pp. 52-8.
  Research in the United States into the nature of addiction from drugs such as heroin, nicotine, alcohol and marijuana suggests a substance in the brain called dopamine plays a major role in creating the 'high'. The research has major implications for America's policy on drugs, and suggests drug addiction has a biological basis. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'New drugs for old habits', The Economist, 1999, vol. 351, no. 8115, 17-23 April, pp. 93-4.
  Advances in understanding addiction at a cellular and molecular level, such as how nicotine, cocaine or alcohol affects the brain, are leading to the development of new drugs to treat substance abuse. The article describes a handful of these new drug treatments and discusses the growing knowledge about the science of addiction. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'Smoke and fire', The Economist, 2004, vol. 373, no. 8403, 27 November-3 December, p. 90.
  A genetic study utilising the Netherlands Twin Register conducted by a researcher from the Free University of Amsterdam has suggested that addiction to nicotine may be genetically based. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Wilson, Clare 2002, 'Fixed up', New Scientist, vol. 173, no. 2336, 30 March, pp. 34-7.
  The principle method of treating heroin abuse, the substitution of methadone for heroin, not only has its own dangers but does not work with a majority of patients. There is now considerable evidence, discussed here, that prescribing such addicts free heroin under medical supervision can successfully treat the addiction. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Young, Ross; Lawford, Bruce; Feeney, Gerald 2005, 'How drugs hijack the brain', Australasian Science, vol. 26, no. 2, March, pp. 34-7.
  This article discusses in some detail what is known now about the biological basis of drug addiction and argues that this knowledge must be taken into account in the criminal justice responses to those with addiction problems. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Alcohol abuse

• Bagnall, Diana 2003, 'What's driving our kids to drink', The Bulletin, vol. 121, no. 6389, 9 September, pp. 20-6.
  New research suggests a high percentage of Australian adolescents are already consuming alcohol at risk levels, driven by a culture that encourages high consumption, lax law enforcement and strong government interest in maintaining high alcohol tax revenue. This article looks in depth at the problem, examining case studies and medical research. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Lawrence, Andrew 2004, 'Clues to alcohol-seeking behaviour', Australasian Science, vol. 25, no. 1, January-February, pp. 37-8.
  Alcoholism is a complex disorder for which there is no single causative factor and there is need for extensive research to find these factors and for improved therapeutics for the disorder. The article discusses current research in Melbourne to determine which parts of the brain are associated with alcoholism. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Lehrman, Sally 2004, 'Sobering shift', Scientific American, vol. 290, no. 4, April, p. 11.
  Research into alcoholic addiction has recently moved away from the search for the so-called alcoholism gene and the sequence of genes believed to predispose people to alcoholism, towards investigating the intoxicating effects of alcohol and why these differ among people. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Martin, Brett 1997, 'Drowning by numbers', The Bulletin, vol. 116, no. 6101, 9 December, pp. 22-5.
  The political and media hype over illicit drugs such as heroin obscures the fact that an array of statistics show alcohol is a major cause of teenage death. Low self-esteem, desire for peer approval, and Australia's drinking culture are given as reasons for teenage drinking, usually to excess. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Motluk, Alison 2004, 'Intemperate society', New Scientist, vol. 183, no. 2461, 21 August, pp. 28-33.
  Although by no means new, research in many nations suggests that binge drinking has become far more prevalent over the past decade - in discussing this, the article looks at why binge drinking is on the rise, what constitutes binge drinking and what measures governments could take to decrease this form of behaviour. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Signy, Helen 2005, 'Let's get smashed', The Reader's Digest, vol. 167, no. 1004, December, pp. 56-63.
  Recent surveys on binge drinking patterns among youth are sobering. In high schools across the country, 31% of 15 year olds and 44% of 17 year olds have had at least one binge drinking episode in the past week, according to the 2002 Australian Secondary School Student's Use of Alcohol Study. [Abstract from author]
• Wuethrich, Bernice 2001, 'Getting stupid', Discover, vol. 22, no. 3, March, pp. 56-63.
  Research, discussed and analysed here, has indicated that binge drinking by adolescents has a detrimental effect which could damage their brains permanently by interrupting the development of neurological pathways not yet fully formed. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Young, Emma 2006, 'Inside the brain of an alcoholic', New Scientist, vol. 189, no. 2537, 4 February, p. 18.
  Research by an Australian team has found that alcohol dampens down the expression of hundreds of genes in the amygdala, a region of the brain that regulates emotion and behaviour. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Health effects

• Cameron, Alison 2005, 'Stoned cold killers', The Bulletin, vol. 123, no. 6465, 12 April, p. 68.
  The increasing evidence of a link between marijuana and mental illness, in particular pyschotic episodes and schizophrenia, has already led to a number of court cases in which cannabis has been held responsible for inducing violent crimes: the use of such a defence is expected to continue to rise. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Cloud, John 2002, 'Is pot good for you?', Time Australia, no. 43, 4 November, pp. 60-4.
  The article looks at the available evidence concerning the health effects of smoking cannabis. Issues such as carcinogenic effect, addiction, brain damage, fertility, and its curing effects are explored. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Concar, David 2002, 'Ecstasy on the brain', New Scientist, vol. 174, no. 2339, 20 April, pp. 26-33.
  A detailed examination of the debate about the effects of ecstasy which looks at how governments around the world have eagerly pushed and publicised the highly dangerous nature of the illicit drug, despite the fact that some drug experts and neurologists maintain that the evidence of the drug's harmful effects have been overblown. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Concar, David 1997, 'A dangerous pathway', New Scientist, vol. 155, no. 2089, 5 July, p. 4.
  Research shows that cannabis as well as heroin can provoke a surge of dopamine in the brain. Neuropharmacologists are divided about a conclusion that this suggests marijuana smoking can lead to heroin use, with some suggesting that dopamine release is merely a pleasure response. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Day, Michael 2000, 'Straight to the heart', New Scientist, vol. 165, no. 2222, 22 January, p. 14.
  Important research suggests that cocaine, long considered a 'recreational' drug with few side-effects, activates the immune system, turning it against healthy cardiac tissue. The findings provide an explanation for the fact that cocaine is known to cause coronary arterial spasms. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Freeman, Peter 2001, 'Pleasure and brain', The Bulletin, vol. 119, no. 6274, 15 May, p. 53.
  This article, drawing in part from a recent book by United States academics Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan, entitled 'Mean Genes', describes the neurological effects of a variety of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, caffeine and alcohol, and explains why taking these drugs induces feelings of pleasure and well-being. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Godrej, Dinyar 2004, 'Smoke gets in your eyes', New Internationalist, no. 369, July, pp. 9-12.
  The tobacco industry in the West is beleagued and damaged, now that it has been revealed how much about the ill-effects of smoking they concealed for years, but the industry has moved into the East, particularly China, and the dangers of addiction and to health continue. Without a change of habit, tobacco is expected to be the largest cause of death by 2020. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Grim, Pamela 1999, 'Runaway heart', Discover, vol. 20, no. 4, April, pp. 40-2.
  The late teens patient dropped at the emergency room doorstep was hallucinating and had a range of other symptoms which suggested some form of drug overdose. Because he was seeing leprechauns a drug specialist was able to diagnose him as having eaten a plant, jimsonweed, containing a particular psychoactive substance. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Kluger, Jeffrey; Ressner, Jeffrey 2006, 'Balding, wrinkled and stoned', Time Australia, no. 3, 23 January, pp. 38-40.
  There is today an estimated 1.7 million Americans over fifty with drug addictions established in their early adult years and this number is expected to grow to 4.4 million by 2020. This discussion of the problem also looks at the probable long-term effects of the four most notorious drugs - marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine and heroin. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Lawton, Graham 2005, 'Too much, too young', New Scientist, vol. 185, no. 2492, 26 March, pp. 44-7.
  There is growing evidence that for some teenagers smoking cannabis can lead to serious mental health problems, including schizophrenia. The article looks at aspects of this evidence and the debate within marijuana research circles over whether use of the drug has long-term mental health consequences, especially in relation to adolescents. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Lumby, Catherine 2000, 'The quit quotient', The Bulletin, vol. 118, no. 6221, 25 April, pp. 48-50.
  A look at a number of drugs being prepared for commercial release that have been developed to help people end their addictions to alcohol or cigarettes. The new treatments have widespread support from Australia's health professionals although some critics believe there are many other social and psychological factors that cannot be addressed with drugs. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Melton, Lisa 2004, 'Dream drug or demon brew?', New Scientist, vol. 182, no. 2453, 26 June, pp. 42-3.
  Ayahuasca (also known as hoasca) is a mind-altering substance concocted from plants which some Amazonian peoples have used for centuries. The article reports on research into this substance which has unearthed new insights into the mind-altering compound dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, and its possible connection with schizophrenia in some people. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Muir, Hazel 2001, 'Slow down', New Scientist, vol. 169, no. 2281, 10 March, p. 16.
  A new study has found that methamphetamine, or speed, is more toxic to the brain than either heroin or cocaine and puts users at a high risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Nestler, Eric; Malenka, Robert 2004, 'The addicted brain', Scientific American, vol. 290, no. 3, March, pp. 50-7.
  Repeated exposure to drugs of abuse affects the brain's natural reward centres, producing long-lasting adaptations in the brain's chemistry and architecture and altering the way neurons in the reward centres interact. Further understanding of these changes could lead to more effective ways to treat drug addiction. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Recreational drugs

• 'Accepted social drugs', Understanding Global Issues, 2002, no. 108, pp. 6-7.
  Tobacco has killed millions. Alcohol consumption is closely associated with road accidents and domestic violence. Yet nicotine and alcohol are legal. [Abstract from article]
• Cloud, John 2001, 'The future of drugs: recreational pharmaceuticals', Time Australia, no. 2, 15 January, p. 76.
  While most recreational drugs are derived from medicinal herbs, some are synthetic compounds which were first discovered or developed for medical purposes and have since become popular as recreational drugs because of their mind-altering effects. It appears that most such substances have now been found, and that new recreational drugs will be rare. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Cloud, John 2000, 'The lure of ecstasy', Time Australia, no. 22, 5 June, pp. 46-52.
  The use of the illicit dance-party drug ecstasy is booming in the United States - the drug appears to be moving out of fringe dance-club and gay circles and into the mainstream. This article explains how the drug affects the brain, looks at ecstasy's history and retells accounts of the drug's effects. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'Illicit social drugs', Understanding Global Issues, 2002, no. 108, pp. 10-11.
  While opiates, cocaine and cannabis dominate the black market, a host of other substances, many of them synthetic, have come on the scene. [Abstract from article]
• Lumby, Catherine 2000, 'Anti-drugs rationale gone to pot', The Bulletin, vol. 118, no. 6214, 7 March, p. 47.
  The author condemns the characterisation of drug users in the mainstream press as either evil pushers or innocent victims, when there are many well-informed professionals, including journalists, who take recreational drugs because they are fun. The demonising of drug use excludes young users and mutes any reasonable debate. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Shand, Adam 2005, 'Razor's edge', The Bulletin, vol. 123, no. 6489, 27 September, pp. 22-6.
  An account of cocaine use and addiction in Australia examining how cocaine is a leisure drug for many cashed-up Generation X-ers. [Abstract from Austguide]

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