The Latest News from Our Field

Fewer long-term nursing home residents are taking antipsychotic medications, compared with 2011, according to a new government report. The decrease came after a campaign that targeted overprescribing, according to The Hill.

More than 4 million Americans admit they have driven while intoxicated at least once in the past month, a new government study finds. The typical drunk driver is a young male with a history of binge drinking.

A national group representing state legislatures is calling on Congress to allow states to set their own policies on marijuana and hemp. The National Conference of State Legislatures urged the Obama Administration not to interfere with state marijuana and hemp policies.

Online support groups are not as effective as face-to-face meetings in helping people stay sober, a new study concludes. Participants said they were less likely to be dishonest in face-to-face meetings, according to HealthDay.

A group of Cincinnati hospitals has announced it will test all mothers or their babies for opiates. It is the first program of its kind in the nation, Reuters reports.

Some patients with chronic pain say they are having increasing trouble obtaining prescription painkillers. This trend may be an unintended consequence of the government’s attempts to reduce illicit use of prescription drugs, PBS NewsHour reports.

At least 22 states considered bills this year that would allow alcohol makers to circumvent alcohol distributors and allow them to sell their products directly to consumers, Time reports.

A bill introduced Wednesday in Ohio’s state legislature would require people applying for welfare to undergo drug screening. If the screening suggested drug use, they would have to take a drug test, ABC News reports.

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. has announced the deadline to submit applications for the 2015 Exemplary Awards for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies is Friday, September 4.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 31- Thursday, August 6, 2015.

Colleges can reduce excessive drinking and intoxication at off-campus parties, as well as nearby bars and restaurants, with a comprehensive prevention program that includes the surrounding community, new research confirms.

Officials in cities across the United States are reporting a rise in overdoses related to synthetic marijuana, CNN reports. Police chiefs meeting in Washington this week said they need field tests to help them quickly determine whether suspects have taken the drug.

Drones are being used to smuggle drugs and other contraband into prisons, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Last week, inmates started fighting at a correctional facility in Ohio after a drone dropped more than seven ounces of heroin, marijuana and tobacco into the prison yard.

Electronic programs designed to curb drinking do not reduce alcohol use in the long term, a new study finds. These programs may produce small reductions in alcohol consumption in the first six months, but there is little evidence for longer-term, clinically significant effects, the researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Results of blood tests of track and field athletes reveal that doping is a widespread problem in the sport, according to NPR.

Needle exchanges are gaining wider acceptance in areas of the country where HIV and hepatitis C are spreading through injection drug use, Reuters reports.

Older adults are prescribed mental health drugs at more than twice the rate of younger adults, but are much less likely to see a psychiatrist, according to a new study.

A branch of the Federal Reserve has turned down a request by a credit union that wants to serve the growing marijuana industry in Colorado. In response, the credit union filed a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve, demanding “equal access” to the financial system.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee recently banned smokeless tobacco from all public athletic fields in the city, including AT&T Park, home of the Giants. The ban, which starts next January, is part of a growing movement to rid Major League Baseball of smokeless tobacco.

A group of 27 major medication organizations has formed a task force to reduce opioid abuse. The groups are urging physicians to register for and use state-based prescription drug monitoring programs when considering whether to prescribe opioids to patients.

The stress hormone cortisol may be useful in treating heroin cravings, a new study suggests. Swiss researchers found cortisol decreased cravings in heroin patients by up to 25 percent.

An experimental performance-enhancing drug is available online, before it has been approved for human consumption, The New York Times reports. Two cyclists recently tested positive for the drug, FG-4592.

A growing number of medical marijuana users are choosing to use vaping devices rather than smoking the drug, Reuters reports. Some people believe vaporized marijuana is safer. Several states, including New York and Minnesota, do not allow people to smoke medical marijuana.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 24- Thursday, July 30, 2015.

A state-by-state analysis of 2011 state funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there remains a yawning gap between state investments in tobacco prevention and control and CDC’s best practices recommendations.