While cocaine first became popular in pop culture around the 1970’s, it is one of the oldest drugs in the world, as the leaves from the coca plant have been chewed for thousands of years. Originating in South America, the Erythroxylon coca plant was used as a stimulating medicinal product; elevating mood, aiding in digestion [...]
https://youtu.be/lpjHhv7_4QA While the news headlines are dominated by the opioid epidemic ravaging the United States, crystal meth is making a relatively silent, but deadly return. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of overdose deaths for methamphetamine more than tripled from 2011 to 2016 and that number keeps growing to this [...]
https://youtu.be/LsyTaDfex2Y Drug abuse is a common occurrence across all types of sports, at all competitive levels. Besides just performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids and stimulants, many athletes feel compelled to abuse drugs and alcohol for a variety of other reasons. The intense pressure to perform, coupled with a possible underlying mental health disorder [...]
The US Department of Health and Human Services notes that, mental health and substance use disorders may share similar, underlying causes for their development. These include changes in brain chemistry, genetic vulnerabilities and childhood exposure to extreme stress or trauma. These problems are further compounded when the person begins using drugs or alcohol to hide their symptoms. Studies have shown that people who struggle with anxiety or mood disorders are almost twice as likely to struggle with addiction than the average person is.
