Abstract: Marktregulierung statt Verbote: Die Schweizer Alkoholpolitik geht auf die Frühzeit des Bundesstaates zurück. Sie diente von Anfang an stets auch der Lenkung und Senkung des Alkoholkonsums. Auch das Spannungsfeld zwischen Gesundheitsschutz und Marktliberalismus ist so alt wie die Alkoholpolitik selbst. Ein Blick zurück und ein Blick nach vorn.

Abstract: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug, however its effects on cognitive functions underling safe driving remain mostly unexplored. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of cannabis on the driving ability of occasional smokers, by investigating changes in the brain network involved in a tracking task. The subject characteristics, the percentage of D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in the joint, and the inhaled dose were in accordance with real-life conditions. Thirty-one male volunteers were enrolled in this study that includes clinical and toxicological aspects together with functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and measurements of psychomotor skills. The fMRI paradigm was based on a visuo-motor tracking task, alternating active tracking blocks with passive tracking viewing and rest condition. We show that cannabis smoking, even at low D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol blood concentrations, decreases psychomotor skills and alters the activity of the brain networks involved in cognition. The relative decrease of Blood Oxygen Level Dependent response (BOLD) after cannabis smoking in the anterior insula, dorsomedial thalamus, and striatum compared to placebo smoking suggests an alteration of the network involved in saliency detection. In addition, the decrease of BOLD response in the right superior parietal cortex and in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex indicates the involvement of the Control Executive network known to operate once the saliencies are identified. Furthermore, cannabis increases activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, suggesting an increase in self-oriented mental activity. Subjects are more attracted by intrapersonal stimuli (“self”) and fail to attend to task performance, leading to an insufficient allocation of task-orientedre sources and to sub-optimal performance. These effects correlate with the subjective feeling of confusion rather than with the blood level of D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol. These findings bolster the zero-tolerance policy adopted in several countries that prohibits the presence of any amount of drugs in blood while driving.

Abstract: Many of the accidents and deaths that occur on European roads are caused by drivers whose performance is impaired by a psychoactive substance. alcohol alone is estimated to account for up to 10 000 road deaths a year in the European Union, one quarter of all road deaths. No comparable figures are available for road accidents related to illicit drugs and psychoactive medicines, though these have been receiving increasing attention over the past decade.

Abstract: Many of the accidents and deaths that occur on European roads are caused by drivers whose performance is impaired by a psychoactive substance. alcohol alone is estimated to account for up to 10 000 road deaths a year in the European Union, one quarter of all road deaths. No comparable figures are available for road accidents related to illicit drugs and psychoactive medicines, though these have been receiving increasing attention over the past decade.

Abstract: Many illicit drug markets have reached global dimensions and require control strategies on a comparable scale. In that context, there is a need to better understand these transnational markets and the manner in which they operate. The yearly World Drug Report is a contribution towards that objective. This year’s edition starts with an overview of the illicit drug situation worldwide and regionally, followed by more comprehensive discussions and statistical trends for the key transnational drug markets, namely opium/heroin, coca/cocaine, amphetamine-type stimulants and cannabis.