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One in 12 Americans Admit Driving While Possibly Drunk

More than 30 million Americans will hit the road this Labor Day weekend for one last summer road trip. But a new survey indicates many of those drivers admit they may be driving while under the influence of alcohol.

One in 12 American adults admit they may have driven while drunk within the last year, according to a new survey by FindLaw.com (http://www.findlaw.com/), the most popular legal information website. The survey found that 7 percent of American adults say they have driven within the last 12 months even though they thought they may have been over the legal blood alcohol limit for drinking and driving in their state.

Problem parents -- those who fail to monitor their children's school night activities, safeguard their prescription drugs, address the problem of drugs in their children's schools, and set good examples -- increase the risk that their 12- to 17-year-old children will smoke, drink, and use illegal and prescription drugs, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIII: Teens and Parents, the 13th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

"This year's survey reveals that too many mothers and fathers are problem parents who fail to take essential steps to prevent their kids from smoking, drinking or using drugs. By their actions -- and inactions -- by failing to become part of the solution, these parents become part of the problem of teen alcohol and drug abuse," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Indeed, these problem parents enable -- some even encourage -- their 12- to 17-year-olds to use and abuse tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs."

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Too Much Cannabis Increases Pain

News Briefs - News Briefs

Friday, 26 October 2007

The pain-relieving attributes of cannabis have long been praised, and several countries have made it available for medicinal purposes. But moderation is the key, according to a study in the journal Anesthesiology.

University of California researchers found that limited use of cannabis had the greatest impact on pain in 15 volunteers, while large doses actually made pain worse. The team recruited 15 healthy volunteers, in whom pain was induced by injecting capsaicin—the "hot" chemical found in chili peppers—under their skin.

They were then given cannabis to smoke. The strength of the dose was determined by the tetrahydrocannabinol content, which is the main active chemical in cannabis. Other volunteers were given a placebo.

Five minutes after taking the drug, none of the doses had any effect on the pain felt. But 45 minutes later, those who had smoked the moderate dose said their pain was much better, while those who consumed high doses said it had gotten worse.

Dr. Mark Wallace, the lead researcher, said the findings could have implications for the way medicinal cannabis was offered, both in pure and drug form.

Some experts, however, are concerned that results on healthy volunteers may not be translated accurately into how cannabis works in the bodies of those with cancer or multiple sclerosis, for whom the drug is increasingly seen as a potential form of pain relief.

Dr Laura Bell, of the MS Society, said, "Many people with MS report benefits to symptoms such as pain from taking cannabis, however, studies to date on the effects of cannabis on pain are small and difficult to draw firm conclusions from. We would be interested to see the results from larger scale studies focused on people with MS."

-- BBC News