Last month, amid a presidential election that sucked up the vast majority of news coverage, you’d be forgiven for missing the important shifts in drug legislation that took place in many states across America. Six US states advanced North America’s move towards drug decriminalisation and legalisation with Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota all voting to legalise cannabis, while Mississippi approved the use of medical cannabis. The most significant change, however, came from Oregon, w

Currently, there is very little tangible evidence referring to CBD drug interactions due to the limited number of clinical studies. On the flip side, several small studies have looked into how CBD is thought to metabolise in the body. So what drugs should not be taken with CBD? One study looked into interactions between CBD and commonly used antiepileptic drugs, resulting in raised levels of these drugs in the body. Also finding elevated Liver Function Test markers (LFT), which in some cases ca

The way we see, and use, psychedelics is changing. Last month, Imperial College London opened the Centre for Psychedelic Research, a new facility dedicated to further exploration of these drugs. The centre will focus on two main areas: the action of psychedelics in the brain, and their clinical utility. In regards to the latter, researchers are keen to study psychedelics as aides to psychotherapy, with a particular focus on depression. This work will build on recent decades of exciting – albeit

This month sees the reclassification of prescription drugs gabapentin and pregabalin into Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act. The tightening of regulations around these drugs comes in response to concern over the increased death rate associated with the medication, 190 deaths were recorded in England and Wales alone in 2017, compared with just 51 deaths in 2014.

Honest and open discussions around mental health have been among the most valuable and necessary progressions made by us as a society this decade. We now have an expanding volume of information available to us, helping us to understand the signs, causes and traditional treatments of mental health conditions, allowing us to start the journey towards overcoming our issues. The next challenge facing our healthcare systems, communities and ourselves will be a move towards well-rounded, diverse and a

Last week, the UK staggered to its feet and commenced its wobbly-kneed ascent into the world of medical-cannabis, allowing cannabis-based medicines to become available on the NHS for the first time in half a century. It hasn’t been an easy ride: the UK government has been sceptical about the positive effects of cannabis since the early 1900s. However, a few months ago the cards were effectively snatched out of home secretary Sajid Javid’s hands, as both rising international acceptance and press

It’s a popular modern-day conception that illegal drugs are criminalised to prevent addiction, to promote good health and help strive towards a civil society. Although, barring the past 100 years or so, drugs were once legal and saw very little restrictions on their sale. Recreational cocaine, cannabis and opiate use was not as widespread as it is today. This was restricted to small artistic circles and bohemians, with the fabled antics of opium dens permeating through fictitious tales from the

If you were like me, growing up in an uninspiring corner of England within a school rare to reward creative thought, you’re probably no stranger to the educational system’s failings. For many of us, the first 21 years of our lives are spent grappling with the expectations of a society that reductively ranks its young people on a results basis: grades, numbers, distinctions and the lazy use of the descending alphabet. Kids that find it difficult to conform to such an educational structure often

Starting an antidepressant course for your depression or anxiety can be a weird and daunting prospect; kinda like jumping into a portal to an alternative self. Visions of disturbing side effects, loss of character and medical dependency may be bombarding your psyche, and worsening your angst ten-fold. Will my precious baby-making tools rot and fall off? Will I be numb to the world? Will people still recognise me after I’ve gained five stone and cultivated a continuous film of sweat? Many patie