Category Archives: Peer reviewed research

Imaging the brain on psychedelics – Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Caspar

Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris is one of the first researchers in 40 years to be allowed to investigate the effects of psychedelic drugs. He used a FMI brain imager to study the resting state activation in the brains of volunteers how … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain, Cognition, Peer reviewed research, Psychopharmacology, Trips, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Medical marijuana prevents road traffic deaths [indirectly].

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Caspar

A friend who is a Justice of the Peace tells me that in 20 years sitting in court he has never once had to deal with a driver who has caused an accident under the influence of marijuana. He sentences … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Marijuana, Peer reviewed research, USA, War on drugs | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tobacco IS a gateway drug – Nature News

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Caspar

Evidence has finally arrived to show that smoking tobacco can promote the desire for other drugs, specifically cocaine. Denise Kandel has been searching for 35 years for evidence that tobacco really is the ‘gateway drug’ it appears to be. Now, … Continue reading →

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Breaking news: Student drinkers can’t tell how drunk they are.

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Caspar

Okay, so that is hardly news. But it may surprise you to find that researchers are still discovering new ways in which alcohol makes us stupid. What’s more they’ve found your vodka Red Bull or Irish Coffee more dangerous than … Continue reading →

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CLEAR ask Baroness Browning to legalise cannabis

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Caspar

The United Kingdom have a new Drugs minister, Baroness Browning. Peter Reynolds from CLEAR, the Cannabis Legal Reform group has written her an open letter urging a change of direction. He couches it in language the conservatives will understand: Prohibition … Continue reading →

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Doctors happier to prescribe sex drugs than smart drugs

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Caspar

A new survey of family doctors in North America has found that they are more comfortable prescribing viagra than modafinil or ritalin. The new study in PLoS ONE was conducted by Opeyemi Banjo, Roland Nadler and Peter Reiner, three neuroethicists at … Continue reading →

Posted in Peer reviewed research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Life in the moment is happier but less imaginative. Just ask your iphone.

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Caspar

This Science Brevia article is the first published example I’ve seen using smartphone technologies to collect psychological data. It comes from Dan Gilbert’s ever inventive lab. They used an iphone application to run an experience sampling study. The article is … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Emotion, Peer reviewed research, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alcohol is most harmful but most other illegal drugs are misclassified too.

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Caspar

As has been covered extensively elsewhere, David Nutt and his colleagues at the newly formed Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs have reported their assessment of the harm of 19 common drugs. (See figure) The report in the Lancet created weighted … Continue reading →

Posted in Peer reviewed research, Science, UK | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments