Society

© Your Pal Dave

Two Indiana State University professors say that the more alcohol outlets you find in any given urban area, the greater the numbers of simple and aggravated assaults - and that carry out alcohol outlets (such as licensed convenience stores) are responsible for 1 in every 4 assaults.

© Keith Allan

NFL players are 19 times more likely to suffer early Alzheimer’s - Can the NFL protect its players from concussion through rule changes?

© Photo Credit: Funky64

Pair spends a week behind bars after police find a bag of candy – and think they’ve found crack cocaine.

• Crack Cocaine: Congress Votes Down Crack Cocaine Sentencing Laws
• Prescriptions: Michael Jackson Doctors Investigated
• Mexican Cartel Leader Threatens Violence against Law Enforcement

© Photo Credit: Superbomba

Therapists say they’re seeing more cases of environmental relationship strain – difficulties that occur when one member of a relationship becomes far more environmentally active than another.

• Environment: Smog Linked to Depression and Cognitive Declines
• Troubled Relationships: Alcoholics Marry Later - More Likely to Get Divorced
• Depression: Magnetic Stimulation Is Proven to help People with Severe Depression

© Photo Credit: Desirée Delgado

For some people, experiencing the immersive alien world of Pandora makes real life hard to take by comparison.

• Social Contagion: Study: Depression Risk Is Contagious
• Depression Research: Diet Soda Drinkers More Prone to Depression
• Depression: Researchers Say Nature Eases Depression

© Photo Credit: Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer

SAMSHA says that if baby boomers keep at it, the need for older adult drug treatment programs is going to double by 2020.

• Seniors: Medicare Now Covers Alcohol Counseling
• Addiction: Native Canadians Offered Addiction Treatment or Eviction!
• Indoor Tanning: Indoor Tanning Proved Addictive

© Photo Credit: Spentyouth

Although a BAC of 0.35 or greater can, in some cases, be fatal; Marguerite Engle of South Dakota managed to get behind the wheel with a BAC of 0.708.

• "Top Gear" Rapped for Filming Drinking and Driving During Episode
• Drunken Babysitter Drives Kids to School with a 0.46 Blood Alcohol Level
• Smoking Bans Linked to Increase in Alcohol Related Traffic Deaths

© Photo Credit: Chuckumentary

A bumbling man in a Santa suit approached and hugged a group of children in Wisconsin, wanting to know where his reindeer were. Santa got cited for alcohol but the children say they knew he wasn’t the real Santa, because “Santa doesn’t drink alcohol”.

© Photo Credit: Valentin.Ottone

American teens are smoking and drinking less than teens from just about every other developed country – they remain the most obese, however.

• Quitting Smoking: Even in Your 80s, It’s Never Too Late to Quit
• Nicotine Addiction: Still Smoking? Your Brain May Be Defective
• Tobacco: Cigarette Filters Use Pig's Blood

A Canadian women who had been receiving disability checks for serious depression was told to get back to work because of pictures on her facebook page that show her smiling and laughing.

• College Drinking: Facebook Used to Spot College Alcoholics
• Facebook: Teen Facebook Users More Likely to Drink, Use Drugs
• Social Networking: Facebook Linked to Eating Disorders

© Photo Credit : Gaspi *Your Guide

Elderly people taking certain medications, like antidepressants or benzodiazepines, are more likely to suffer injuries or deaths from falling.

• Prescription Opiates: 4 Months of Opiate Use Increases Risk of Impotence by 50%
• Teenagers: Dangers of the Family Medicine Cabinet
• Eminem: Eminem Says His Kids Keep Him Sober

© Photo Credit: Michel Filion

Swansea police were forced to wait and watch as a determined drug dealer held heroin in his stomach for an astonishing 16 days, while refusing to go to the toilet.

• Research Breakthrough: Scientists Produce Non-Addictive Opiates
• Heroin : The Addiction Treatment Lessons of Vietnam
• Drug Treatments: Heroin Vaccine Shows Promise

© Photo Credit:Luis Carlos Cobo

Wisconsin man blames steak sauce, eaten the night before, after failing breathalyzer test.

© Photo Credit: Sanberdoo

An Aloha Oregon man, who delayed getting his unresponsive housemate medical care so that authorities would not visit his drug filled house, has been indicted on manslaughter charges.

• Amy WInehouse: Alcohol OD Killed Amy Winehouse
• Anthrax Tainted Heroin Kills 3 in Scotland
• Opiate Overdoses Up Dramatically in Canada

© Photo Credit: Cayusa

Ritalin, Adderall and Modafinil are increasingly abused on college campuses to boost academic performance. Some say that these smart drugs give users an unfair competitive advantage and that drug testing before exams may be an option worth considering.

• Drug Testing: Only 2% Fail Florida Welfare Drug Tests
• Too Much Virtual Play May Affect Real World Performance
• College Class to Study Only Alcoholic Writers