"Health & Medical News"

In the year after Major League Baseball banned the use of amphetamines, the number of players claiming they needed stimulant drugs to control attention-deficit disorder rose from 28 to 103, the New York Times reported Jan. 16.

During this week’s Congressional hearings on the use of performance-enchancing drugs in professional baseball, lawmakers questioned baseball commissioner Bud Selig over the rising use of drugs like Ritalin and Adderall between 2006 and 2007. Rep. John F. Tierney (D-Mass.), noted that use of such stimulants last year was about eight times higher among ballplayers than among the general public.

Popularity: unranked [?]

An alcohol-industry group has banned a group of cannabis-flavored alcoholic beverages, the trade publication Off License News reported Dec. 5.

The Portman Group, an industry-sponsored watchdog, called the products a “blatant breach” of good marketing practices, and retailers promised to pull the flavored vodka, gin, and rum from store shelves. The drinks were made by the Spanish company Beveland.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Dutch officials continue to tighten the nation’s traditionally liberal drug laws, announcing last week a ban on the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The Associated Press reported Oct. 12 that the ban was announced in the wake of the suicide of Gaelle Caroff, 17, who jumped to her death from a building in March after eating so-called “magic” mushrooms. Caroff had a history of mental-health problems.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Americans appear to have struck an odd compromise on marijuana, with most believing the drug should remain illegal but wanting prohibitions against its use lightly enforced, the Denver Post reported Sept. 18.

Producing and distributing marijuana still carries big penalties, but a number of U.S. communities have limited police authority to prosecute minor marijuana offenses, and even more have legalized medical use of marijuana. Denver residents will go to the polls in November to vote on whether to make marijuana possession the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority.

Popularity: 4% [?]