Students used to take drugs to get high. Now they take them to get higher grades

The use of ‘smart drugs’ to boost mental performance is rife in British universities. So can we all benefit from ‘having an edge’, or is it just another form of cheating?

Can painkillers make you homophobic or racist?

The ex-Ukip candidate Kerry Smith claimed that he made offensive remarks due to stress and the fact that he was taking strong sedatives. So should pharmaceutical companies issue new side-effects warnings, asks Emine Saner

Just a spoonful of water: doctors find best method for swallowing pills

Researchers recommend tablespoon full of water and either ‘pop bottle method’ or ‘lean forward’ technique, depending on the pill

Should I stop smoking cannabis?

A review of 20 years of cannabis studies has resulted in apocalyptic headlines about the harm caused by the drug. Is it really more dangerous than previously thought? Luisa Dillner reports

Medicinal cannabis and the caregiving community giving it away for free

Sarah Whitehead: Marijuana legislation is being relaxed all over the world – but not in the UK, where the most unlikely of horticulturalists are taking the law into their own hands

Women are second-class citizens when pregnancy makes us potential criminals

Jessica Valenti: A world in which all women of child-bearing age are considered 'pre-pregnant' is the stuff of nightmares

If doctors fear being sued, taking away that fear might help patients

Richard P Grant: A bill being considered by the Department of Health might make it easier, when all else has failed, to get the treatment you need

We should all be thankful that Rob Ford went to rehab – and hope he stays

Bill Clegg: Yes, as the Toronto mayor finally admits, rehab is amazing. But you have to cross the invisible threshold alone

Psychiatric drugs are doing us more harm than good

Peter Gøtzsche: As with benzodiazepines in the 1980s, the UK is prescribing SSRI antidepressants at a staggering rate – and to no good effect

DNP: the return of a deadly weight-loss drug

Philip Strange: How could a chemical used a century ago in explosives come to be used by bodybuilders to lose weight? The story of dinitrophenol illustrates the fatal allure of slimming drugs

Recovering addicts: tell us about your experience with heroin addiction

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death Sunday brought heroin back into the spotlight. Heroin use is growing more common in the US. We want to hear from those who have experienced it firsthand

Sharing NHS medical records will be vital for improving healthcare

Dr John Parkinson: Research using anonymised medical records will help ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs, vaccines and medical devices

A safe, effective diet pill – the elusive holy grail

Trade in illegal, ineffective drugs flourishes as pharmaceutical industry repeatedly fails to produce successful pill

DNP victims’ families lead fight to have fat-burning drug classified

More than 60 deaths attributed to metabolism-boosting chemical fertiliser, which is marketed online as a diet pill

Iran sees dramatic rise in HIV infections

Health minister says taboo surrounding disease is preventing effective treatment, and 70% do not know they are infected