Cocaine News

March 21, 2026

Top Headlines

Huge Study Finds No Evidence Cannabis Helps Anxiety, Depression, or PTSD

Mar. 20, 2026 The largest review of medicinal cannabis to date found it doesn’t effectively treat anxiety, depression, or PTSD—despite millions using it for those reasons. Researchers warn it could even make mental health worse, raising risks like psychosis ...

Scientists Discover the Brain Protein That Drives Cocaine Relapse

Mar. 6, 2026 Cocaine addiction isn’t simply a failure of willpower — it’s the result of lasting biological changes in the brain. Researchers at Michigan State University discovered that repeated cocaine use rewires communication between the brain’s ...

Her Food Cravings Vanished on Mounjaro Then Roared Back

Dec. 8, 2025 Deep-brain recordings showed that Mounjaro and Zepbound briefly shut down the craving circuits linked to food noise in a patient with severe obesity. Her obsessive thoughts about food disappeared as the medication quieted the nucleus accumbens, the ...

How to Keep Ozempic/Wegovy Weight Loss Without the Nausea

Nov. 18, 2025 Scientists are uncovering how GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy act on brain regions that control hunger, nausea, pleasure-based eating, and thirst. These discoveries may help create treatments that keep the benefits of weight loss while reducing ...

Weight-loss Drugs Like Ozempic May Also Curb Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Oct. 26, 2025 GLP-1 drugs, originally developed for diabetes and obesity, may also curb addictive behaviors by acting on reward circuits in the brain. Early trials show reductions in alcohol intake, opioid seeking, and nicotine use. Though more research is ...

Scientists Find Brain Circuit That Traps Alcohol Users in the Vicious Cycle of Addiction

Oct. 7, 2025 Addiction often isn’t about chasing pleasure—it’s about escaping pain. Researchers at Scripps Research have discovered that a tiny brain region called the paraventricular nucleus of the ...

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro Makes Food Taste Sweeter and Saltier, and That May Quiet Cravings

Sep. 16, 2025 Some people taking Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro notice that food suddenly tastes sweeter or saltier, and this subtle shift in flavor perception appears tied to reduced appetite and stronger feelings ...

Cannabis for Coping? Why It May Trigger Paranoia

Aug. 28, 2025 Using cannabis to self-medicate comes with hidden dangers—new research shows these users face higher paranoia and consume more THC. Childhood trauma further amplifies the risks, especially emotional abuse, which strongly predicts ...

Physical and Psychological Symptoms of Ketamine Abuse Revealed in Research

May 4, 2025 Ketamine addiction is linked to high levels of physical health problems and psychological consequences, with nearly half of those affected not seeking support or treatment, new research has ...

Mindfulness Therapy Reduces Opioid Craving and Addiction, Study Finds

May 2, 2025 Researchers found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can help rewire the brain's response to natural healthy pleasure, leading to reduced opioid cravings. The findings suggest that MORE could be a promising tool in the fight ...

Brain Study Increases Understanding of What Triggers Drug Use Relapse

Apr. 14, 2025 Research on the biological basis of addiction has found that the critical epigenetic enzyme histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) limits the expression of the gene Scn4b, regulating neuronal activity and thereby the formation of strong drug-related ...

A New Path to Recovery: Scientists Uncover Key Brain Circuit in the Fight Against Cocaine Use Disorder

Feb. 27, 2025 Imagine a future where the grip of cocaine use disorder can be loosened, where cravings fade, and the risk of relapse diminishes. A new study brings this vision closer to reality. The research has ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:58am EDT

New Research Reveals How Everyday Cues Secretly Shape Your Habits

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers uncovered how shifting levels of a brain protein called KCC2 can reshape the way cues become linked with rewards, sometimes making habits form more quickly or more powerfully than ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

Study Identifies Shisa7 Gene as Key Driver in Heroin Addiction

Mar. 27, 2025 Researchers have found a unique molecular signature and genes in the orbitofrontal cortex associated with heroin-seeking behavior. A preclinical rodent model implicated a gene called Shisa7 as the ...

Carbohydrate Cravings in Depression

Feb. 5, 2025 Depression affects 280 million people worldwide. The mental illness has been proven to lead to changes in eating behavior. Researchers have discovered that although patients with depression generally ...

Researchers 'See' Vulnerability to Gaming Addiction in the Adolescent Brain

Dec. 9, 2024 Researchers found that adolescents with more symptoms of gaming addiction showed lower brain activity in the region involved in decision-making and reward processing; this blunted response to reward ...

Reducing Risk of Opioid Addiction While Alleviating Pain

Dec. 9, 2024 Increasing the levels of chemicals naturally produced in the body called endocannabinoids may thwart the highly addictive nature of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone while maintaining the drugs' ...

Rats on Cocaine: When Aversion Is Not Enough

Dec. 3, 2024 Propensity to addiction starts with the very first drug use experience, a new study ...

Dopamine and Serotonin Work in Opposition to Shape Learning

Nov. 26, 2024 Research shows that reward-based learning requires the two neuromodulators to balance one another's influence -- like the accelerator and brakes on a ...

Exposure to Marijuana in the Womb May Increase Risk of Addiction to Opioids Later in Life, Study Finds

Nov. 15, 2024 Evidence has been growing to suggest that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, poses risks to the developing ...

Ultra-Low-Dose Ketamine Can Curb Opioid Withdrawal

Sep. 17, 2024 A pilot study showed that a small amount of ketamine can reduce or eliminate the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting ...

An Individual's Reward-Seeking Strategy Reflects Responses to Nicotine

Oct. 24, 2024 Individualistic reward-seeking strategies predict responses to nicotine among mice living in a micro-society, according to a new ...

Compound in Rosemary Extract Can Reduce Cocaine Sensitivity

Aug. 20, 2024 A team of researchers has discovered that an antioxidant found in rosemary extract can reduce volitional intakes of cocaine by moderating the brain's reward response, offering a new therapeutic ...

Cocaine Discovery Could Pave Way for Treatment for Substance Abuse

Aug. 7, 2024 Cocaine binds to a specific transporter in the brain that is responsible for regulating dopamine levels. Researchers have studied and described the process, producing new knowledge that may bring us ...

Study Finds Gaps in Mental Health Care for People With Chronic Pain

July 29, 2024 A new study found that adults with chronic pain are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression than people without chronic pain, yet they access mental health care at lower rates ...

Research Shows Protein Isoform Inhibitors May Hold the Key to Making Opioids Safer

July 16, 2024 Researchers have identified a new way to make opioids safer, increasing the pain-relieving properties of opioids while decreasing unwanted side effects through the spinal inhibition of a Heat shock ...

Brain Neurotransmitter Receptor Antagonist Found to Prevent Opioid Addiction in Mice

July 9, 2024 New research has found a drug that treats insomnia works to prevent the addictive effects of the morphine opioids in mice while still providing effective pain ...

Unregulated Sales of a Toxic and Hallucinogenic Mushroom Endanger Public Health

June 10, 2024 Americans' interest in a potentially harmful 'magic mushroom' is soaring, according to a new study. The scientists suggest that the growing market for Amanita muscaria may be sparked ...

Myelination in the Brain May Be Key to 'Learning' Opioid Addiction

June 5, 2024 Scientists have found that the process of adaptive myelination, which helps the brain learn new skills, can also promote addiction to ...

Internet Addiction Affects the Behavior and Development of Adolescents

June 4, 2024 Adolescents with an internet addiction undergo changes in the brain that could lead to additional addictive behavior and tendencies, finds a new ...

Hitting the Target With Non-Invasive Deep Brain Stimulation: Potential Therapy for Addiction, Depression, and OCD

May 29, 2024 Researchers have successfully tested a novel technique for probing deep into the human brain, without surgery, for potential therapeutic purposes. In the rapidly evolving field of neuroscience, ...

Exercise Spurs Neuron Growth and Rewires the Brain, Helping Mice Forget Traumatic and Addictive Memories

May 20, 2024 Researchers have found that increased neuron formation and the subsequent rewiring of neural circuits in the hippocampus through exercise or genetic manipulation helps mice forget traumatic or ...

Researchers Say Future Is Bright for Treating Substance Abuse Through Mobile Health Technologies

May 8, 2024 Despite the high prevalence of substance abuse and its often devastating outcomes, especially among disadvantaged populations, few Americans receive treatment for substance use disorders. However, ...

Faster Approach for Starting Extended-Release Naltrexone to Treat Opioid Use Disorder Shown Effective

May 8, 2024 Starting people with opioid use disorder on extended-release, injectable naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) within five to seven days of seeking treatment is more effective than the standard treatment method ...

A Common Pathway in the Brain That Enables Addictive Drugs to Hijack Natural Reward Processing

Apr. 18, 2024 Researchers have uncovered a mechanism in the brain that allows cocaine and morphine to take over natural reward processing ...

Economic Burden of Childhood Verbal Abuse by Adults Estimated at $300 Billion Globally

Apr. 11, 2024 Childhood verbal abuse by adults costs society an estimated $300 billion a year globally, show recent ...

Feeding the Lonely Brain

Apr. 4, 2024 A new study has found that women who perceive themselves to be lonely exhibited activity in regions of the brain associated with cravings and motivation towards eating especially when shown pictures ...

New Study May Broaden the Picture of the Consequences of Childhood Adversity

Mar. 6, 2024 A research team has examined the link between adverse childhood experiences and the risk of mental health problems later in life. The researchers have found that the risk of suffering from mental ...

Continued Cocaine Use Disrupts Communication Between Major Brain Networks

Feb. 28, 2024 New research provides new insights into the brain processes underlying cocaine addiction. The findings are crucial for developing new therapeutics and identifying an imaging marker for cocaine use ...

Supportive, Stable Caregiving in Childhood Protects Heart Health in Adulthood

Jan. 23, 2024 Previous research has established that childhood experience with abuse, neglect, and substance use in the home can worsen a person's heart health throughout their life. New research, however, ...

Reduced Drug Use Is a Meaningful Treatment Outcome for People With Stimulant Use Disorders, Study Shows

Jan. 10, 2024 Reducing stimulant use was associated with significant improvement in measures of health and recovery among people with stimulant use disorder, even if they did not achieve total abstinence. This ...