Cocaine And Methamphetamine Dependence

This volume provides a summary of the most current information about stimulant dependence and its treatment. In addition, it sheds light on how the epidemiology of cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse and dependence have substantial differences in geographic distribution, and how treatments are evolving to help these complex patients benefit from emerging pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Also, the editors provide literature that discusses, among many topics: the recent shift to more humane responses within the criminal justice system that is useful in obtaining treatment for the estimated 1.6 million cocaine and half-million methamphetamine users who abuse these drugs each day in the U.S., and also key treatment considerations, such as HIV comorbidity and polydrug abuse.

While the APA's Textbook of Addiction Psychiatry covers material that a general psychiatrist or primary care physician needs for the appropriate referral and initial management of stimulant dependence, Cocaine and Methamphetamine Dependence: Advances in Treatment goes beyond this basic knowledge and addresses the rapid evolution of both the understanding and the treatment of stimulant abusers. It also sheds light on how the epidemiology of cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse and dependence have substantial differences in geographic distribution both here and abroad, and how treatments are evolving to help these complex patients benefit from emerging pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Cocaine dependence complications account for one out of every three drug-related emergency room visits. Coroners' reports relate stimulants to the direct cause of death in 25% of cocaine overdoses and 68% of methamphetamine overdoses or as antecedents causing cardiovascular or medical problems leading to death in 20% of these abusers. Additionally, cocaine and methamphetamine abuse and dependence frequently co-occur with other major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. This makes a greater understanding of stimulant dependence among the psychiatric community an integral part of providing effective evaluation and treatment. Cocaine and Methamphetamine Dependence provides: An introduction of the DSM-5 plan to drop the distinction between abuse and dependence and add craving as a criterion. An overview of how the epidemiology of stimulant abuse is changing and pharmaceutical abuse is rising due to factors such as greater availability through family and friends who are increasingly being prescribed stimulants for conditions like weight loss or attention deficit disorder. The insight that even after long abstinence, stimulant users may remain vulnerable to amphetamine-induced psychosis, with delusions, paranoia and compulsive behavior. The insight that a comprehensive assessment of the patient involves the management of aberrant behaviors such as intoxication, violence, suicide, impaired cognitive function, and uncontrolled affective displays. A focus on treatment, emphasizing that the most important component of stimulant treatment involves behavioral therapies, often in combination with adjunctive medications. A review of the criminal justice system's shift away from punitive action and towards more human treatment, including the far-reaching benefits of medical management and treatment. Fortunately, our understanding of stimulant abuse and dependence is growing at a time when a steady stream of new users and casualties is still accumulating. Constant vigilance regarding changes in epidemiology, fluctuations in drug availability, and changes in drug trafficking patterns are essential to recognition of new drug abuse patterns and their identification and treatment. Cocaine and Methamphetamine Dependence should be on the bookshelf of residents, physicians and psychiatrists who are highly likely to come into contact with one of the millions using and abusing stimulants today.

A practical guide to understanding and overcoming addiction to cocaine and meth.

Basic knowledge about the nature and treatment of stimulant use disorders. Reviews what is currently known about treating the med., psychiatric, and substance abuse-dependence problems assoc. with the use of 2 high-profile stimulants: cocaine and methamphetamine (MA). The info. is understandable and relevant for clinicians and other "front line" substance use disorder treat. providers. Offers recomm. on treat. approaches, recomm. to maximize treat. engagement, strategies for planning and initiating treat., and strategies for initiating and maintaining abstinence. Includes recomm. for the med. mgmt. of stimulant users and recomm. regarding special groups and settings.

Thoroughly updated and expanded, the book focuses on the clinical implications of beginning substance use and the pathways to substance use disorders (SUDs) and coexisting disorders among adolescents and college-age emerging adults (ages 12--25 years). This new manual not only captures the advances made in the youth substance use and SUD domains covered in the previous manual, but also includes new and critically important topics that have emerged.

The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.

Crystal meth and other amphetamines are illegal synthetic drugs that are cheap to produce and very damaging. These stimulants are highly aggressive and gradually destroy the body of a user. This book will guide readers through the warning signs of possible crystal meth abuse and suggest potential interventions and ways to seek treatment. Personal narratives, sidebars, and organizations that treat crystal meth addiction are also included to instill hope in readers seeking help for themselves or loved ones.

A fast-paced, highly original history that uncovers the full extent of drug use in Nazi Germany--from Hitler's all-consuming reliance on a slew of substances, to the drugs that permeated the regime and played an integral role in Germany's military performance and ultimate downfall in World War II