Raise Awareness This Earth Day About The Environmental Impact of Drugs
Globally, the natural environment faces serious challenges and degradation on a scale never before seen in human history. Illicit drug crop cultivation, drug production, trafficking, and drug use all contribute to this degradation by accelerating loss of biodiversity, destroying sensitive natural habitats, and creating pollution.
Marijuana use associated with non-medical opioid use
Based on the results of limited data from ecological studies, some researchers have suggested that marijuana may be a viable alternative to opioid pain relievers and a possible solution to the opioid crisis. New research, however, found that marijuana use actually increased non-medical opioid use. In a study of 211 patients from the greater New York area, subjects using marijuana were 86% more likely to engage in non-medical opioid use (ie took more than prescribed or used illicit opioids). This relationship persisted after investigators controlled for demographic characteristics and did not differ according to pain level. In other words, the...
NEW!! Alternatives to Incarceration Video
With an estimated 35 million people suffering from substance use disorders globally, which experts consider to be a chronic disease, drug abuse may lead to other crimes and it's often better addressed with rehabilitation rather than incarceration.
DIVISIONS
