According to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and as reported by SmartMoney.com, there has been a rise in the number of fatal interactions with prescription pharmaceuticals lately. This should be no surprise, but for those of you who like the details, here are some big winners:

The study found the two top drugs listed in fatal reports were powerful painkillers oxycodone and fentanyl and were attributed to about 9,000 deaths. Other drugs in a list of top 15 drugs cited in death reports included anti-psychotics and acetaminophen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter pain drugs like Tylenol as well as prescription drugs.

Moore also said newer so-called biotech drugs that modify the immune system to diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease were associated with about 10,000 serious adverse reports, and accounted for about 15% of the rise in overall adverse event reports over the eight-year study period. Most of the drugs carry black-box warnings discussing serious side effects and the possibility of death.

The top two drugs with the most reports of non-fatal serious side effects were estrogen-containing products, used in birth-control pills and hormone-replacement therapy, and insulin, a drug used to treat diabetes, the study said.

So, as a warning to all of you people taking oxycodone and fentanyl, please don't mix them together!

For those of you following recent breakthroughs in cognitive science, this is not exactly news, but it does usher in a new paradigm for measuring intelligence. Yes, just as we guessed, intelligence is a function of how well we remember things, how well we put those things into words, and how quickly we can move those abstract concepts around in relation to each other. This is multi-threaded multi-object network intelligence (human intelligence), as demonstrated by what is now being called the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (or P-FIT) which uses brain scanning techniques to identify the core brain networks used in intelligent functioning. From the release at Physorg.com:

The data suggest that some of the brain areas related to intelligence are the same areas related to attention and memory and to more complex functions like language. Haier and Jung say this possible integration of cognitive functions suggests that intelligence levels might be based on how efficient the frontal-parietal networks process information.

Some scary extrapolations of this story may be that specific intelligence "traits" -- such as memory or linguistic or relational or analytical skills -- are all targeted to specific brain areas, areas that can be genetically marked, passed on, manipulated, and/or nurtured to create more intelligent people. Bandwidth between all these areas is also a key, and there are even (gasp) differences between men and women. Although it has taken a few years for science to reach consensus on this issue, it looks like there will be more to come on this soon. A team of 19 independent researchers all agreeing on something as big as this can't be too far off the mark...

For no apparent reason, please to enjoy the second exciting episode of Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show.

Unfortunately, one of the side effects of monitoring drug news is being exposed to the stupidly large number of cases where adults do something stupid, and as a result, children wind up getting accidentally dosed (in some cases, fatally). I don't bother reporting those here, because they fall under the general rubric of "most of humanity is a teeming pile of stupidity" and there's no sense beating you over the head with it. However, a recent news report caught my eye:

A nurse has been charged with felony child abuse after her 2-year-old daughter ingested Ecstasy and went into a hallucinogenic fit.

Is it just me, or does the phrase "hallucinogenic fit" really just sort of cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand up?

Via Slashfood, we learn this exciting (and not altogether surprising) bit of news: sugar is apparently more addictive than cocaine.

Researchers recently determined that refined sugar is actually more addictive than cocaine. In a recent study rats were given a choice between sugar water and cocaine, and 94% them chose sugar. Even the rats that had previously been addicted to cocaine switched to the sugar once it was a choice.

And why do you suppose that is? From the study abstract:

Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

Ah, clears that question up. Of course, whenever I come across a story like this, regardless of the scientific contribution involved, I'm always left imagining what life must be like for the rats in this study. When the researchers wanted to be sure the sugar was more appealing to the coke-addicted rats, for instance, they steadily increased the dose of cocaine. When I was a human guinea pig for drug trials at the University of Washington, I was never given the option to have my doses steadily increased just to prove a point. I mean, come on, it's just not fair.

And in the "duh!" department, a recent study purports to demonstrate an amazing fact: marijuana "tourists" have a variety of reasons for smoking marijuana while traveling. No really!

"Cannabis Use in Tourism: A Sociological Perspective" was published in the July issue of the Journal of Leisure Studies. The authors, Carla Santos of the University of Illinois, her doctoral student, Yaniv Belhassen, and Natan Uriely conducted in-depth interviews with 18 people, mostly Israeli, and observed tourist behavior in popular cannabis destinations like Amsterdam, Morocco, Jamaica and Vancouver.

They found four major groups of cannabis-consuming tourists. Travelers on short trips who experimented with drugs appear unlikely to use them at home. Other tourists use cannabis or hashish on vacation because they consider it a fun activity at home.

Another group of habitual drug users is looking for authenticity -- observing marijuana and hashish in other cultures. A fourth group travels primarily to buy drugs in places where they are legal and easy to find.

I'm sorry - "Leisure Studies"? Seriously?

Recent news from the meth capital of the world (that would be San Diego, according to folks at the North County times) tells the tale of a drug that helped fashion the look and feel of the late 20th century, including the emergence of kamikazes, beatniks, bikers, and street gangs. Yup, meth is famous! Here's a look back at its troubled infancy:

Despite signs of the drug's abuse, the military in World War II realized the potential for a pill that would help troops stay awake for days during battles and keep pilots alert on long bombing missions. American GIs may have consumed up to 200 million amphetamine tablets, including many made at a San Diego naval base, Owen wrote.

Meanwhile, German blitzkrieg strikes and suicidal Japanese kamikaze and banzai attacks may have been inspired by something more than fearless nationalism; those nations supplied their forces with Pervitin and Isophan, brand names for methamphetamine.

And it's great for truckers and parties too! Read more to see how amphetamines make our world go round. Thanks meth!

Well, as long as we're on a Kroft bonanza... While researching H.R. Pufnstuf for the Cass Elliot post, I came across this tidbit from Wikipedia:

Many viewers believe the show contains subtle drug references - for example, the title character's name "Pufnstuf" can be interpreted as a term for smoking marijuana (puffin' stuff). Although it is often said that the theme song of the show included the lyric "can't do a little, 'cause you can't do enough" which some people claim refers to the addictive nature of some drugs, the line was actually "He can't do a little, 'cause he can't do enough." Sid and Marty Krofft have both denied that there were any intentional drug references in H.R. Pufnstuf. Lennie Weinrib, the show's head writer and the voice of Pufnstuf, has said, "I think fans gave it a kind of mysterious code-like meaning, like ‘Ah, was Pufnstuf puffing stuff? Like grass?’ Was it psychedelic? Was it drug oriented? Not to us, it wasn’t." The initials H.R. stand for "Royal Highness" backwards, yet some believe that it actually stands for "Hand Rolled" referring to hand rolled marijuana. An episode involving Jimmy's birthday had Witchie-Poo arriving incognito and gassing party-goers with smoke from her saxophone, which rendered them giggly and helpless enough for her to take Freddy away without opposition (and with encouragement from Freddy and Jimmy themselves).

I should have probably waited to follow up scotto's post till tomorrow, to extend your Krofft luv, but I have the attention span of a fruit fly, so here it is. From Mr. Show - Welcome to the Altered State of Drugachusettes.

I totally missed the whole H.R. Pufnstuf phenomenon, so when I see clips like this, my brain literally quivers trying to comprehend what the flying fuck these people were thinking. In this clip from the film Pufnstuf from 1970, Cass Elliot treats us to a delightful tune about the joys of being different - but whose freakish idea was it to include a lovable Hitler mouse character in this number?

Via MilkandCookies.