August 20th, 2010 by Steven Roy Daviss, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
No Comments »
By ClinkShrink
There’s always something new, even in the world of substance abuse. Lately I’ve been reading a lot in the media about K2, a synthetic cannabinoid that’s being sold (and outlawed) in many states. It’s commonly mixed with herbal incense and smoked. Nicknamed “spice,” it was originally created by scientists and called JWH-018.
Apparently some states’ poison control centers have been getting calls about it due to the physical symptoms it can cause, specifically palpitations and GI problems. The part of the story that I thought was interesting was the fact that originally only 250 milligrams of the stuff was created, in an “official” research lab, but that home chemists quickly took up the experiment and it’s now a part of our national drug culture. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
July 10th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research, True Stories
No Comments »
Toxicity reports are re-emerging in southern California this week after a dozen hospitalizations of kids using teas made from a fragrant flowering plant called Angel’s Trumpet.
A tea made from the plant is used to produce hallucinations, but they can progress to extremely unpleasant experiences. Moreover, Angel’s Trumpet can be deadly, accelerating the heart rate and causing fatal cardiac rhythmic disturbances and bronchoconstriction that can trigger asthma attacks in sensitive individuals. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
May 6th, 2010 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
No Comments »
A number of colleagues recently mentioned to me that they’ve heard that new smokeless tobacco products are very dangerous because they cause a lot of poisonings to children.
When I checked the Internet, sure enough — there were plenty of news headlines along the lines of “Tobacco mints tied to poisoning in kids” and “Tobacco candy poisoning kids, study shows.” I thought this looked interesting, particularly as I was unaware of any “tobacco candy.” Read more »
This post, Why Tobacco Should Be Childproof, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
April 27th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
No Comments »
Now that Google has become a near-universal information provider for many people, it’s finding itself answering questions that need a little more of a nuanced approach.
Apparently prodded by a mother who was looking for poison control contacts in an emergency, Google is now providing relevant phone numbers at the top of search results for a few specific queries. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
