The Latest News from Our Field

A team of scientists at the University of Michigan say they have identified a new approach to pain therapy that could lead to lower-dose painkillers, which may reduce the risk of dependence.

Tobacco companies are expected to spend millions of dollars on e-cigarette advertising this year, Ad Age reports. The U.S. market for e-cigarettes is projected to double this year, to about $1 billion.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will promote a broad approach to fighting drug-related violence in Central America at a meeting of the Organization of the American States this week, according to Reuters.

A new law that sets legal limits on marijuana levels in the bloodstream took effect in Colorado on May 28. Under the new law, drivers are assumed to be impaired if their blood test shows a level of THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—of five or more nanograms per milliliter.

A new study of designated drivers finds 35 percent of them drink. Many imbibing designated drivers have blood-alcohol levels high enough to impair their driving, researchers from the University of Florida report.

A smartphone app designed by the National Cancer Institute texts teens to help them quit smoking, Politico reports.

Law enforcement officials in charge of K-9 units in Washington state and Colorado, where recreational marijuana is now legal, are no longer training drug-sniffing dogs to detect the drug, according to Fox News. Dogs already trained to detect marijuana are being forced into early retirement.

Dr. Stuart Gitlow, President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, argues DSM-5 changes the terminology of addiction, but the disease remains unchanged.

New research suggests playing with dogs can improve the mood of teens being treated for drug or alcohol abuse in a residential treatment center. Dog therapy may help stimulate the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine in the brain, the researchers say.

Low doses of the active ingredient in marijuana appear to stop some forms of brain damage in mice, an Israeli researcher has found.

The new head of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products said he will soon start ruling on whether the agency will approve 4,000 new and existing products.

Teens who are cyberbullied are more likely than their peers who are not harassed online or through cell phone messages to develop symptoms of substance abuse, depression and Internet addiction, a new study concludes.

Sales of Monster Energy rose 9 percent in April and May compared with a year ago, despite recent headlines questioning the drink’s safety, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Two-thirds of pharmacists and 90 percent of doctors in Florida are not using the state’s prescription drug database, according to federal officials. A bill that would have required both professions to use the database failed to pass during this year’s session.

Massachusetts is likely to become the first state to require retailers to display graphic cigarette warnings at tobacco sales racks and next to cash registers, The Boston Globe reports.

Major League Baseball wants to suspend about 20 players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, ESPN reports. The players include the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun.

A bill designed to increase the security of the prescription drug supply chain, to prevent stolen or counterfeit drugs, passed the U.S. House this week.

The boards of the Betty Ford Center and the Hazelden Foundation, two of the nation’s biggest addiction treatment providers, are considering a formal alliance, the Pioneer Press reports.

Almost two-thirds of wealthy British women consume more than three small glasses of wine daily, which is greater than the recommended health limit, a new survey suggests.

Although they make up only a small percentage of 12-step program membership, teens and young adults can benefit greatly from attending meetings for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), according to an expert from Harvard University.

The smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) shows promise in treating alcohol dependence, a new study suggests.

Employers pay almost $6,000 more annually for workers who smoke, compared with their nonsmoking colleagues, a new study finds.

A new study concludes black Americans were almost four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2010, according to The New York Times. Blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, the study notes.

President Obama on Monday said it is time to bring mental illness “out of the shadows.” At the National Conference on Mental Health, sponsored by the White House, Obama spoke about the stigma associated with mental illness.

A growing number of children and teenagers are being accidentally poisoned by opioids and medications for adult chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, according to a new study.