The Latest News from Our Field

New York State’s highest court this week heard arguments from lawyers of three drivers who claimed they were too drunk to understand what they were doing or the threat they posed to others. The judges will decide whether drivers can be considered too drunk to be found guilty.

The legacy of substance abuse is a combination of BOTH nature AND nurture. No one can change their DNA, so that leaves us examining the environment provided by parents in recovery to their children, says Phyllis Gardner of IC&RC.

A new report finds many states do not have effective strategies in place to fight prescription drug abuse, CNN reports. The report found 28 states and Washington, D.C. scored six or less out of 10 possible indicators of promising strategies.

Transportation Safety Administration security officers are not searching airline passengers’ luggage for marijuana, the Daily News reports.

A new study of mice helps explain why binge drinking may interfere with bone healing. The study shows how alcohol slows healing on the cellular and molecular levels.

Ohio Governor John Kasich on Monday announced the state is adopting new opioid prescribing guidelines for treating patients with chronic non-terminal pain. The guidelines are designed to curb prescription drug abuse, the Associated Press reports.

Makes of e-cigarettes are lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to regulate their products less strictly than traditional cigarettes, The Washington Post reports. The agency has said it will start regulating the e-cigarette industry later this month.

Doctors who self-medicate with prescription drugs often do so to relieve physical or emotional pain, or to relieve stress, according to a survey of doctors in recovery.

College freshmen’s drinking habits are often formed during the first six weeks of school, according to an expert from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

A newly released survey indicates far fewer Kentucky teens abused prescription drugs last year, compared with four years ago.

According to a recent report, Hispanic teens are more likely to abuse illegal and legal drugs than their black or white peers. ¡Celebrando Familias! was developed specifically for Spanish-speaking families affected by substance use disorders, say experts from the National Association for Children of Alcoholics.

Other illegal websites remain in business, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this week shut down Silk Road, an online marketplace that sold illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine, opioid pills, Ecstasy and LSD.

The death rate from opiate overdoses among Veterans Affairs patients is almost double the national average, according to a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Prescriptions for hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone and morphine have jumped 270 percent in the past 12 years among VA patients, the report found.

People who use cocaine may be more vulnerable to HIV, a new study suggests. Cocaine may inactivate immune cells called CD4 T-cells, which normally fight off HIV, according to CBS News.

More cocaine is being smuggled through the Caribbean in 2013 compared with last year, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has shut down Silk Road, an online marketplace that sold illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine, opioid pills, Ecstasy and LSD. They arrested the operator in San Francisco, according to The New York Times.

Administrators at some colleges are debating the usefulness of drug testing, according to USA Today. Last month, a federal judge ruled a Missouri technical college’s mandatory drug testing policy is unconstitutional when it is applied to most students.

Public health officials are trying to figure out how to target their anti-smoking ads to young and old people alike, as some cities experience a rise in the number of children and senior citizens, The Atlantic reports.

Officials in New York City are considering whether to allow the Electric Zoo electronic dance music festival to return to a city park next year, after two festival attendees died this August from drug overdoses.

The newest users of Molly are middle-aged professionals, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

A new study suggests people undergoing weight-loss surgery who were chronic users of opioid painkillers before the procedure increase their drug intake afterwards. The findings surprised the researchers, who said they thought the dramatic weight loss that generally follows the surgery would alleviate patients’ pain.

The amount of wine you drink is influenced by the shape of the glass, and whether you are holding the glass when you pour it, a new study suggests.

Dartmouth College is starting the school year with a new president, as the Ivy League school faces troublesome questions about binge drinking and other issues, The New York Times reports.

For some people in recovery, SMART Recovery groups are a valuable alternative or addition to traditional 12-step groups, according to a researcher at Penn State University.

Efforts to control the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing, a new study concludes. The price of marijuana, heroin and cocaine is dropping, while the drugs’ purity has increased, a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers found.