Drugs & Alcohol

Stop alcohol-fuelled violence – it’s killing our youth

Ninety deaths have been attributed to single-punch assaults around Australia since 2000. Too many young lives are being cut short by these senseless acts of violence. Alarmingly, this figure is likely to be an underestimation of the true number of single-punch deaths. As well, there are the numerous other types of assaults involving multiple hits [...]

Petition Launched to Reverse Alcohol and Other Drugs Council Funding Cut

Friends of ADCA, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, has launched a petition http://chn.ge/1b9KBCx to the Prime Minister to reinstate the organisation's funding. ADCA, the national peak body representing organisations and workers in the sector for nearly half a century, learned in late November that the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Fiona Nash had cut [...]

Drugs and alcohol: the secret life of us

Scores of middle-class Australians are drinking at dangerous levels and ending up in emergency departments with alcohol-related problems, the largest survey of Australians' present drug and alcohol use has found. Addiction medicine specialists say the Global Drug Survey of 22,000 people worldwide has identified a largely invisible group of professional Australians who are drinking excessively, [...]

Drugs, depression and dealing with embarrassing parents: Girlfriend November 2013

Melinda Tankard Reist Girlfriend and Dolly can be commended this year for taking strong stands on alcohol and drugs. This issue of GF is no exception, with ‘The High Life’ exploring the harms of smoking marijuana. When celebs boast about it – such as Miley Cyrus posting a photo of herself smoking pot with the [...]

New Silk Road online drug bazaar opens

A new anonymous internet marketplace for illegal drugs has debuted with the same name and appearance as the Silk Road website shut down by US law enforcement a month ago. Like its predecessor, the new Silk Road listed hundreds of advertisements for marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and other illegal drugs available for purchase from independent sellers [...]

What’s the point of running an education campaign?

Some commentators have suggested that mass media campaigns are more likely to be effective when they are: - well-resourced and enduring - target a clearly defined audience - are based on advanced marketing strategies that effectively target, communicate with, and have relevance for, and credibility with, the audience - provide a credible message to which [...]

Perception of marijuana as a ‘safe drug’ is scientifically inaccurate

The nature of the teenage brain makes users of cannabis amongst this population particularly at risk of developing addictive behaviors and suffering other long-term negative effects via Perception of marijuana as a 'safe drug' is scientifically inaccurate.

Parents furious over Cricket Australia sponsorship decision

GrogWatch is outraged that Cricket Australia has censored the messages of the WACA sponsor Healthway to ensure alcohol sponsors aren’t upset, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. Not only is the alcohol industry failing to self-regulate its own ads, but its now managing to squash health messages. This is not going unnoticed and concerned parents are hitting [...]

Mental illness and substance abuse top global causes of disability

Mental health problems and substance abuse cause the most disability and poor health across the world, according to a report published in The Lancet. A team of researchers looked at the premature mortality and the years lived with a disability for more than 200 diseases in 187 countries. Professor Harvey Whiteford, from the University of [...]

Adolescence: When drinking, genes may collide

Many negative effects of drinking, such as transitioning into heavy alcohol use, often take place during adolescence and can contribute to long-term negative health outcomes as well as the development of alcohol use disorders. A new study of adolescent drinking and its genetic and environmental influences has found that different trajectories of adolescent drinking are [...]

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