Latest reporting
Cocaine Got $300 More Expensive an Ounce. Nobody's Demand Went Anywhere — It Went Shopping.
DEA agents in Palm Beach County say they've never seen this much meth. The reason isn't a new addiction — it's a $300-an-ounce price gap with cocaine. What the switch reveals about how dependency actually works.
In Phoenix, July Doesn't Just Feel Deadlier for Meth Use. The Numbers Say It Actually Is.
Maricopa County's deadliest overdose month is consistently July, driven by methamphetamine's effect on the body's ability to regulate heat. Here's the mechanism and what actually helps.
A Cocaine Batch Laced With Fentanyl Just Killed Someone on the Wisconsin-Michigan Border. It Won't Stay There.
A cocaine batch tied to overnight overdoses and one death on the Wisconsin-Michigan border is contaminated with fentanyl — part of a national pattern that's quadrupled cocaine-involved deaths since 2015.
Through eight lenses
Science
Monoamine release/reuptake (DA, NE, serotonin) — cocaine blocks; meth releases.
Biology
Hyperthermia, cardiac strain, neurotoxicity (dopamine terminals with chronic high-dose meth), dental effects ("meth mouth" from dry-mouth + acidic diet, not the drug directly).
One Dose of Cocaine Rewrites How a Brain Cell's DNA Is Folded. That Word 'Recreational' Just Got Harder to Use.
Jul 24Arizona's Meth Deaths Spike Every July. The State Still Hasn't Applied for the Treatment That Works.
Jul 21There's Still No Pill for Meth Addiction. There's a Gift Card, and It's Working.
Jul 11
Psychology
The "euphoria gap" after the acute phase, stimulant psychosis in heavy meth use, ADHD/stimulant diagnosis intersection.
Policy
Schedule II (meth, cocaine, Rx stimulants); DEA production quotas; Adderall shortage backstory.
Trends
Stimulant-involved deaths hit 57,500 in 2022, ~70% co-involving fentanyl — the fourth wave.
A Cocaine Batch Laced With Fentanyl Just Killed Someone on the Wisconsin-Michigan Border. It Won't Stay There.
Jul 29Cocaine Just Passed Fentanyl as Cuyahoga County's Top Overdose Killer. That's Not the Relief It Sounds Like.
Jul 24Cocaine Is Cheaper and Purer Than It's Been in Decades. That's the Bad News.
Jul 18
Treatment
NO FDA-approved medication for stimulant UD; contingency management has the strongest evidence (RCTs 2–4× retention); CBT, community reinforcement, matrix model.
Harm Reduction
Sleep, hydration, avoiding mixing with depressants, safer-use supplies, drug checking.