"When we began writing this textbook, the United States was in the grips of an opioid epidemic in which overdose deaths have been ever-increasing, and perhaps amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the opioid epidemic took center stage in the media, there were also surges in cocaine and methamphetamine use and related deaths, as well as increases in cannabis vaping especially among adolescents and young adults. Additionally, behavioral addictions such as sex and pornography addiction, internet gaming addiction, and ...
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"When we began writing this textbook, the United States was in the grips of an opioid epidemic in which overdose deaths have been ever-increasing, and perhaps amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the opioid epidemic took center stage in the media, there were also surges in cocaine and methamphetamine use and related deaths, as well as increases in cannabis vaping especially among adolescents and young adults. Additionally, behavioral addictions such as sex and pornography addiction, internet gaming addiction, and gambling continued to impact individuals and communities across the globe. History provides us with several lessons, one of those lessons is that substance use trends wax and wane over decades. For example, many say the "Summer of Love" of the late 1960's in which hallucinogens played a key role, ended when amphetamines surged in popularity bringing with it a whole new set of problems and deaths. Cocaine epidemics existed in the 1920's, coinciding with alcohol prohibition, only to resurface again in the 1980's. Morphine addiction was prevalent following the Civil War, especially among wounded soldiers and opioid addiction again surged in the past five years. Therefore, it is imperative that each new generation of mental health professionals are equipped to recognize and respond to addiction"--
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