Only a fraction of drug users will ever translate from drug use to drug dependence, yet substance abuse is a great burden, both on the individual and society. Unfortunately, our thinking about addiction is much more shaped by political ideologies than by scientific facts. Addiction is often portrayed as a molecular disease which the individual cannot control by his actions, while conservative narratives often depict it as merely the consequence of an individual’s poor decisions. Neither of these simplistic views covers the whole picture; addiction is a complex phenomenon which has biolo…

Every cannabis smoker knows that the major psychoactive ingredient of the plant is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but there is also a range of other chemicals in marijuana smoke. One of the other significant components is cannabidiol (CBD). Anecdotal evidence suggests that CBD can inhibit some negative side effects associated with marijuana, but does this claim stand up to scientific scrutiny?

The research with psychedelic drugs can change our understanding of the human mind. Watch our video report from the International Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research! Watch some of the key presentations too!

Leading national and international experts and activists discussed barriers and opportunities at the first conference on medical cannabis in Hungary.  

This month, we are going to talk about the world’s most used and abused drug, alcohol. Alcohol is so much a part of life in the Western world, that people often do not even notice that it is a drug. Given that alcohol is one of the most abused drugs in the world, it is of great importance to understand how it affects the brain. In this Dose of Science we are taking a look at alcohol’s effect on monkey brains.

Medical cannabis activists formed an alliance with a political party, in order to contest the parliamentary elections in Serbia. Read Irena Molnar’s report from Belgrade, and watch the video!

In this edition of Dose of Science, we are going to take a look at a meta-analysis of using LSD therapy to treat alcoholism [1]. ‘Meta-analysis’ means that the study pools together data derived from multiple trials and re-analyses the combined evidence. The advantage is that the combined evidence reduces the statistical uncertainties, and permits more robust conclusions than any of the individual studies in isolation.

A surprise decision from the otherwise super-conservative Polish government: it improves access to cannabis for medical purposes.

The ‘cognitive impairment theory’ proposes that cannabis causes cognitive decline. The hypothesis has gained some support from a 2012 study, but a recent paper with twin participants strongly argued against the theory. Both studies agree on the association between smoking and cognitive decline. Where they disagree is whether the relationship is causal or merely correlation. In this Dose of Science we take a close look at the question. 

MDMA’s neurotoxicity is the topic of this and many future editions of Dose of Science. The question is not whether MDMA is neurotoxic in an absolute sense, but rather, what is the extent of the damage at various dosing regimens. Stephen Kish’s study [1] from 2010 aims to clarify the picture by employing a range of neuroimaging techniques and cognitive tests on a large sample while controlling for many potential confounding factors.