U.S. Teen Drug, Alcohol Use Remains at Low Levels

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 18, 2024
• Full Page

Rates of vaping, drug and alcohol use among American teens plummeted during the pandemic and have remained at relatively low levels ever since, new government statistics show.

“This trend in the reduction of substance use among teenagers is unprecedented,” sa...

Recreational Drug Use Triples Odds for Repeat Heart Crises

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 28, 2024
• Full Page

Recreational drug users are three times more likely to have repeated heart health emergencies than people who don’t use, a new study has found.

About 11% of patients admitted to intensive cardiac care units have been using recreational drugs, said researcher

Fatal ODs Involving Fentanyl Plus Coke, Meth Rose 50-Fold Over a Decade

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• September 14, 2023
• Full Page

The "fourth wave" of the U.S. overdose crisis involves the use of illicit fentanyl mixed with stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine, and it's killing people in droves.

The proportion of U.S. overdose deaths involving both fentanyl and stimulants jumped by mo...

Cases of Deadly Heart Infection Tied to Opioid Abuse Rose Sharply During Pandemic

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• December 13, 2022
• Full Page

Researchers already knew that injecting drugs can lead to the dangerous and deadly heart infection called endocarditis.

Now they know that also becoming infected with COVID-19 appears to increase risk for this already vulnerable group.

"A lot of people talk about l...

Marijuana, Meth, Cocaine Use Can Help Trigger Dangerous A-Fib

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• October 20, 2022
• Full Page

Using marijuana increases the risk of developing the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (a-fib), a new study suggests.

It's been known that drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine an...

Opioids, Cocaine, Meth Are Hitting America's Black Communities Hardest

• February 10, 2022
• Full Page

Combined use of opioids and stimulant drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine can be deadly, and in the United States Black communities have been hit especially hard by this lethal combo, new research indicates.

Over a 12-year period, Black Americans have had much larger ...