The Latest News from Our Field

Top headlines of the week from Friday, March 13 - Thursday, March 19, 2015.

In recent years and up until his last few months, while suffering the debilitating effects of a respiratory illness, Leonard Nimoy took steps to ensure that others would indeed “live long and prosper” by speaking clearly about the role that smoking played in the illness that caused his death.

A number of drug companies are trying to develop strong painkillers that don’t make people high, according to The Wall Street Journal. Such drugs would be less likely to be abused.

A marijuana legalization measure will be on the ballot in Nevada in 2016, Time.com reports. California, Massachusetts, Maine and Arizona are the states most likely to join Nevada in putting legalization measures before voters next year, advocates say.

A person’s income level may influence how much they drink, a new study suggests.

Medical marijuana would be permitted for pets under a measure introduced this week in the Nevada legislature.

A growing number of older adults are abusing drugs and dying from overdoses, The Wall Street Journal reports. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are turning to drugs as they face the challenges of aging, health officials say.

If every state were to immediately ban tobacco sales to those under 21, the smoking rate would fall 12 percent, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine. The decrease would prevent 249,000 premature deaths among the generation born between 2000 and 2019, the report concludes.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York has introduced a measure to ban the production, sale and possession of powdered alcohol, NPR reports. Schumer’s announcement came two days after a federal agency announced it had approved sale of the product, called “Palcohol.”

A measure introduced by two U.S. senators would impose harsher penalties for drug dealers who provide candy-coated or flavored drugs to minors.

Powdered alcohol was approved by a government agency on Tuesday, The Washington Post reports. The product, called “Palcohol,” could arrive in stores this summer.

Up to one-fourth of people entering drug rehabilitation programs say they have abused the newer version of OxyContin, which has been reformulated to make it harder to abuse, a new study finds.

A new Government Accountability Office report concludes the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has contributed to a shortage of prescription narcotics and stimulants. Controlled substances such as narcotics and stimulants are regulated by the DEA because of the potential for abuse and addiction.

Thousands of soldiers are turned away by Army substance abuse clinics each year, according to an investigation by USA Today.

For those who have battled the prescription drug abuse epidemic, we know it doesn’t stop when drug dealers are arrested - it doesn’t end with justice alone. It requires a holistic approach, including a variety of treatment options, as well as education in our schools and communities.

A bill introduced Tuesday by three U.S. senators would end the federal prohibition on medical marijuana, The Washington Post reports.

An estimated 17 percent of college students misuse drugs designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a new analysis of previous studies.

Swedish researchers report they have developed a breath test that could be used as an alternative to urine drug testing. The test detects many drugs including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, according to HealthDay.

Kentucky legislators are considering adopting a needle-exchange program, in an effort to reduce the spread of hepatitis C among injection drug users. The nearby city of Portsmouth, Ohio, has had some success with a similar program, USA Today reports.

A new study finds prescription painkillers are largely to blame for an increase in the death rate among white women ages 15 to 54 in the United States over the past 15 years, The Washington Post reports.

The number of babies born in Florida with neonatal abstinence syndrome soared more than 10-fold in the past 20 years, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the same period, these births increased three-fold nationally.

One-fourth of health plans sold on health insurance exchanges created through the Affordable Health Act appear to offer unequal benefits for mental and physical illness, a new study concludes. A federal “parity” law requires equal benefits for general medical and mental health care.

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, is offering a Minority Fellowship Program for Addiction Counselors. The deadline is March 15, 2015.

Brief alcohol education programs are only temporarily effective in convincing college students to reduce their drinking, a new study suggests.