The Latest News from Our Field

The National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse has introduced a new tool to help colleges cut down on student drinking, CNN reports. CollegeAIM includes 60 alcohol interventions, with information on their effectiveness, costs and barriers to implementation.

Many doctors are avoiding recommending medical marijuana to their patients, according to Boston.com. Some feel they don’t know enough about its effectiveness, and are worried about liability and lawsuits.

Parents are invited to an online forum, “Inside the Teen Brain: Is There an App for That?” on Tuesday, September 29 at 9:30am ET.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, September 18- Thursday, September 24, 2015.

On October 4, 2015, individuals and families impacted by the addiction crisis gripping our nation descend on Washington, D.C. for the UNITE to Face Addiction Rally, a historic gathering to end the silence.

A panel of experts has concluded there is not yet enough evidence to determine whether e-cigarettes are safe or effective in helping people quit smoking, Reuters reports.

A bill introduced this month by two U.S. representatives would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from using federal civil forfeiture funds to pay for its marijuana eradication program, according to Forbes.

Almost 75 percent of smokers in a 21-country study are not considering quitting, HealthDay reports. Most of the smokers who think about quitting don’t actively take steps to give up cigarettes, the study found.

Florida continues to be a popular state for people to base their lawsuits against the tobacco industry, according to CBS MoneyWatch. The tobacco industry faces thousands of legal challenges in the state.

The Department of Health and Human Services will remove some obstacles that limit the ability of doctors to prescribe buprenorphine for patients who are addicted to heroin or prescription painkillers, The Huffington Post reports.

A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives has introduced a bill designed to combat the increasing use of synthetic drugs, according to Roll Call. The bill would add more than 200 compounds to the list of Schedule I drugs, which are likely to be abused and have no medical uses.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration to create an investigative unit to go after sales of synthetic drugs. The unit should focus on websites that sell the drugs, and notify credit card companies and payment processors such as PayPal of the illegal activity, he said.

Oregon will fund many alternative pain treatments for patients covered by the state’s version of Medicaid starting in January, NPR reports. The state hopes to reduce the number of people who become addicted to opioids or abuse them.

New York this year has joined at least four other states in allowing public school nurses to add the opioid overdose antidote naloxone to their inventory, NPR reports. Other states with similar policies include Vermont, Massachusetts and Delaware.

A group of organizations and doctors is calling on the U.S. Senate to release records on the financial ties between opioid makers and nonprofit groups that advocated for the drugs’ use in treating pain. The records were obtained as part of an investigation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Law enforcement officials have disrupted a massive drug distribution ring involving synthetic marijuana, Time reports. The scheme allegedly involved the unlawful importation of 100 kilograms of illegal synthetic compounds, sufficient to produce about 260,000 retail drug packets worth about $30 million.

A national survey suggests use of synthetic drugs increased from 2009 to 2013. Many people who use these drugs also use other illicit drugs such as LSD, cocaine and Ecstasy, according to the researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, September 11- Thursday, September 17, 2015.

Given all the legislative focus on marijuana laws, are we now at a point where we can determine the impact of marijuana legalization on children?

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered tobacco company R.J. Reynolds to stop selling four cigarette products. It is the first time the agency has ordered a major tobacco company to stop selling products, according to NPR.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a rule this week that allows the agency to destroy poor-quality or fake drugs valued at $2,500 or less that are refused admission into the United States. Until now, only counterfeit or poor quality food or medical devices could be destroyed.

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted in favor of approving a new opioid painkiller made by Collegium Pharmaceuticals. The panel’s unanimous vote was contrary to a recommendation by FDA staff, according to Reuters.

Dealers of synthetic drugs have no trouble ordering their products online, the Miami Herald reports. All it takes is a few mouse clicks and simple money transfers to receive the drugs from China.

More Americans are using marijuana, according to a new government report. About 8.4 percent of Americans ages 12 and older were current users of marijuana last year, up from 7.5 percent in 2013. The percentage of teens ages 12 to 17 who smoke, drink or use prescription narcotics nonmedically has fallen, HealthDay reports.

Poison control centers have seen a nearly 400 percent jump in calls related to children under 12 ingesting hand sanitizer since 2010, CNN reports.