Addiction & Substance Use

The overprescription of opioid analgesics has resulted in the growing use of heroin. Right?

It's not about the specifics of preliminary studies about psilocybin. It's about the validation of research using psychedelic drugs in modern psychiatry.

A patient is brought to the emergency department by her daughter for bizarre behavior and symptoms of mania after gambling from the casino for 48 continuous hours.

Two recent clinical trials of opioid medication for depression and suicidality highlight the role of brain opioid systems in depression.

New research over the past decade has suggested that links between media violence and child aggression are less clear than previously thought. How has our understanding of media violence effects changed?

“Election addiction disorder, undifferentiated, DSM-5A-177.6x” is characterized by an overwhelming need to watch anything and everything related to the current race for the White House, no matter how microscopic. Clinical details and prognosis are examined here.

A growing body of scientific literature associates psychiatric symptoms with man-made toxic substances and environmental exposure. Practical implications for psychiatrists are discussed in this Special Report collection.

What are the manifestations of methamphetamine toxicity?

John Hinckley's release after a 35-year stint in a psychiatric facility, legalized heroin, older patients facing depression alone. These stories and more in this month's roundup.

Here: devastating short- and long-term behavioral and physiological effects of methamphetamine neurotoxicity and the implications for treatment.

The abuse of this dangerous designer drug that can be purchased online is rapidly on the rise in the US.

What do we know about the health and drug consumption habits of the Nazi leader of the German people from 1933 to 1945?

Here are a few things that make me glad I'm a psychiatrist.

There are no FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for cocaine use disorder. Here: a review of the off-label use of promising medications for this addiction.

Do you know the 7 criteria that can help identify those at risk for unhealthy online gaming?

Clinicians have a powerful voice that can be used to address cyberbullying, improve campus climate, and support a positive undergraduate experience.

Clinical traditions are important, but they can become ossified as the “right way to treat addiction.” So, we need to turn a sharp, skeptical eye on treatment models.

For too long the treatment needs of the seriously mentally ill have been ignored by SAMSHA, and this needs to change, says this psychiatrist.

Editors' choices of noteworthy psychiatry stories from around the Web: genetics of schizophrenia, Alzheimer disease, the perils of mixing prescription and over-the-counter medications, new guidelines for treating pain with opioids, and other topics.

The involvement of a psychiatrist early in the care of patients addicted to opioids may prevent further abuse. Here's why.

A review of a compelling documentary on the spectacular rise and catastrophic fall of British singer Amy Winehouse, a star with an old voice in a young body.

What are some of the most commonly abused drugs among college students?

Many college students who engage in binge drinking, experiment with illicit drugs, and/or misuse pharmaceuticals will go through this rite of passage relatively unscathed. However, others will not.

For all its popular appeal, the science that has emerged on cannabis use does not look good--especially for the teenage brain.

Acute intoxication is the most likely culprit for an increased risk of violence or agitation, but personality, psychosis, and cognitive problems can all play a role. A skilled clinician can glean a great deal of information in a short period of time.