The Latest News from Our Field

A new study finds teenagers are less likely to drink at parties if their community has strong social hosting laws. These laws hold adults responsible if teens drink on their property, even if the adults claim they were unaware that underage drinking was taking place.

More than one-fourth of fatally injured bicyclists ages 16 and older had a blood alcohol concentration of at least .08 percent, according to a new report. The legal limit is below .08 in all states.

Officials in San Francisco have introduced a bill that would require drug manufacturers to fund and manage a take-back program for prescription drugs. The move follows a decision earlier this month by a federal appeals court that forces drug makers to pay to dispose of unused and unexpired medications in Alameda County, California.

Teens who play high-contact sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse or wrestling are more likely than those who play noncontact sports to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or marijuana, a new study suggests.

The National Institutes of Health will fund researchers who are studying the use of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to prevent and treat substance use and addiction.

Employees of Reynolds American, the nation’s second-largest tobacco manufacturer, will no longer be able to smoke cigarettes in the company’s buildings and offices starting in 2015. Use of e-cigarettes will continue to be permitted, the Associated Press reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, October 17 to Thursday, October 23.

Even though the disease of addiction affects every community, families facing this disease often feel completely isolated. A new resource, The Support Group Project, has been designed to do just that – connect parents and family members with a community support group.

Almost 700,000 children younger than 6 received the wrong medication or dose at home between 2002 and 2012, a new study finds. Just over one-fourth of these mistakes involved a child receiving the prescribed dose twice.

Teenagers who harm themselves are more likely to develop substance use problems later in life, compared with their peers who do not engage in self-harm, according to a new study.

Dietary supplements containing banned drugs often remain on sale long after they have been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration, doctors at Harvard Medical School have found.

A new study finds it is unlikely that a person exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke will test positive for marijuana themselves.

A new government report finds emergency rooms visits related to synthetic marijuana more than doubled between 2010 and 2011, HealthDay reports.

Buprenorphine maintenance therapy is more effective than detoxification for patients being treated for prescription opioid dependence, a new study finds. The researchers, from Yale University, said primary care doctors do not have evidence-based guidelines to decide between the two treatments.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved new labeling for the opioid painkiller Embeda that states the drug has abuse-deterrent features, the Associated Press reports.

CVS, which stopped selling tobacco products in September, is taking steps to pressure other pharmacies to do the same, according to The Washington Post.

Psychedelic drugs including Ecstasy, LSD and “magic mushrooms” have potential for treating a variety of ailments including addiction and anxiety, according to scientists who met this past weekend to talk about the latest research.

The risks of heavy consumption of energy drinks among young people could soon become a significant public health problem, according to a new report. Adverse health effects from consuming energy drinks with alcohol are a special concern, Time reports.

Pipe smoking is becoming increasingly popular among young adults, ABC News reports.

More than 55 universities and colleges have joined a program designed to help schools prevent the two leading causes of death in young adults—accidents, including those caused by prescription drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning, and suicide.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, October 10 to Thursday, October 16.

Prescription painkiller deaths are on the decline, while deaths from heroin are increasing, according to a new government report. The findings suggest some people may have switched from prescription medications to illicit drugs in response to laws aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse, USA Today reports.

A survey of doctors in Oregon who are registered to use their state prescription drug monitoring database finds 95 percent say they consult it when they suspect a patient is abusing or diverting medication. The survey found 54 percent of doctors registered to use the database report they have made mental health or substance abuse referrals after consulting it.

A new study finds children are 30 percent more likely to take drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during the school year than in the summer.

Sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado continued to climb this summer, according to data from the state’s Department of Revenue. Sales reached $34.1 million in August, up from $29.3 million in July.