Recent published research by Davidson College Associate Professor Mark Smith shows that exercise can help prevent drug addiction. According to recent statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 20 million Americans age 12 and older (about 8.3 percent of the population) have used an illicit drug in the past month. The institute has committed $4 million for studies about the effect of exercise on drug use. Smith, a neuroscientist, worked for about two years on the study with three Davidson student research assistants: Karl Schmidt, Jordan Iordanou and Martina Mustroph.

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