The Latest News from Our Field

A drug prescribed for both epilepsy and weight loss may help reduce cocaine use in people addicted to cocaine and alcohol, a new study suggests.

Addiction should be treated as a public health issue, National Drug Control Policy Director R. Gil Kerlikowske told participants of a conference on prescription drug abuse Thursday.

Drug users who have been victims of severe childhood abuse are at increased risk for suicide attempts, a new study concludes. Less severe abuse, or physical or emotional neglect, does not appear to increase the risk.

Smaller cities and towns throughout New England are seeing an alarming rise in heroin use and deaths, The New York Times reports.

People who “doctor shop” bought an estimated 4.3 million prescriptions for opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin in 2008, a new study finds.

Most women who drink before becoming pregnant continue consuming alcohol throughout their pregnancy, Australian researchers have found.

College students who hear warnings about binge drinking from family or friends are more likely to be concerned about their own alcohol use, compared with their classmates who don’t hear such advice, a new study suggests.

Three-quarters of homeless people smoke, a rate that is four times higher than the general population, according to Harvard University researchers. This population of smokers needs better access to smoking cessation help, they write in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

A new survey finds many parents favor either legalizing marijuana for recreational use, or decriminalizing the drug, while 70 percent support legalizing medical marijuana. Most parents say the legal age for marijuana use should be 21, USA Today reports.

The “Above the Influence” drug and alcohol prevention campaign, formerly funded through federal money, will shift from expensive television ads to lower-cost digital and social media campaigns, The New York Times reports. The campaign will concentrate on reaching teens where they spend time, such as Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook.

The Obama Administration has embraced the concept of drug courts, which provide nonviolent drug offenders with treatment instead of incarceration. But critics of the system say the courts could end up costing more money and lead to longer sentences for some offenders, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Under the Affordable Care Act, smokers can be charged a higher premium than nonsmokers. Smokers who obtain their insurance through an individual plan will not benefit from a provision in the law that allows smokers in small group plans to avoid the higher premiums if they participate in a smoking cessation program, NPR reports.

Majorities of voters in both Colorado and Washington State passed ballot initiatives approving marijuana for recreational use this past November, and in each state, lawmakers have struggled to implement a post-legalization regulatory framework that makes sense, and that protects children and teens.

Boys who are exposed to family violence become more aggressive toward their classmates, and this behavior is linked with greater levels of substance abuse over time, according to a new study.

People who cut back on the number of cigarettes they smoke, instead of quitting entirely, won’t lengthen their life, a new study finds.

A report by Wisconsin’s State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse urges lawmakers to pass a Good Samaritan Law to reduce opioid overdose deaths. The law would allow a person with a prescription for the opioid overdose antidote naloxone to use it on a friend.

Addiction treatment providers in northern California are finding it difficult to treat the many meth users seeking help, at a time when their resources are shrinking, The Fresno Bee reports.

A child’s personality traits before age 5 may help predict whether they will use alcohol in adolescence, a new study suggests.

Substance abuse experts are concerned that the new recreational marijuana law in Washington state will allow the sale of hash, a strong and potentially dangerous marijuana extract, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy announced there has been a 41 percent decrease in worldwide cocaine production since 2001, and a 10 percent drop from the previous year.

A four-week stress-reduction program that includes yoga-based breathing techniques can help teens gain better control of their impulsive behavior, a new study suggests. The researchers say lack of impulsivity control in teens is associated with substance abuse and other risky behaviors.

The Affordable Care Act will provide many new opportunities for peer recovery support services, according to Faces & Voices of Recovery, which advocates for people in recovery from addiction.

The Justice Department is asking for changes to sentencing guidelines that would provide reduced or alternative sentences for less serious drug crimes, USA Today reports.

People who are both smokers and heavy drinkers have a faster decline in brain function, compared with those who don’t smoke and who drink moderately, a new study suggests. Smoking and heavy drinking is associated with a 36 percent quicker decline in cognitive function.

Smoking rates among teens are the lowest they have been since the U.S. government began keeping track, according to a new report. Just 5 percent of high school sophomores said they smoked cigarettes every day in the previous month, compared with 18 percent at one point in the 1990s.