News & Views
Prospective longitudinal study of Conduct Disorder and initiation of Substance Use
These research outcomes were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in May 2014. Title: Conduct Disorder and Initiation of Substance Use: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Authors: Dr. Christian Hopfer, M.D., Dr. Stacy...
Another marijuana study and day of spin
Another study, another day -- OK, make that months -- of misleading news reports about what it means. This time, the study is published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. While many news organizations are beginning to pick it up, I'll focus on coverage by reporter...
Casual pot use linked to big brain changes
A groundbreaking, new study, published April 16 in the Journal of Neuroscience, is consistent with research showing that the more marijuana people use, and the earlier they start using the drug, the more likely they are to harm what one researcher said is "part of the...
The better high is the natural one
For every natural high, like running, there’s a drug out there being abused to achieve the same feelings. Join the movement showing young people how and why to choose natural highs over chemical ones.
‘Your country has an impact on mine’
George Ochieng Odalo directs the Slum Child Foundation, a Kenyan nonprofit organization working with children and youth in the slums and streets of Nairobi. Within hours of news stories first reporting President Obama's remarks about marijuana to The New Yorker, Mr....
‘People are voting without knowledge’
There is no debate: marijuana is addictive and harmful to brain development, and current trends showing increased use among adolescents are profoundly troubling, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told thousands of people gathered last...
Obama’s ‘dangerous’ comparison
The United States need look no further than its profound problems with alcohol and tobacco to understand why marijuana legalization is a very bad idea for the country and the world, Sven-Olov Carlsson, international president of IOGT International, writes in this open...
Obama on marijuana: where’s the full story?
News coverage about marijuana legalization is fairly predictable. If there's even a toehold to support driving this addictive substance into the country, count on splashy headlines. Today's breathless summaries of President Barack Obama's remarks on the subject to The...
When journalists hide marijuana use
I'm just adding this internal memo, sent to The Denver Post's staff Dec. 31 by Linda Shapley, director of newsroom operations, to our files. Earlier the same day, The New York Daily News called, asking if I could file a story about the opening of Colorado's new head...
We need ‘health-first’ approach to pot
When it comes to marijuana policy, we have better choices than status quo or legalization.
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.