The Latest News from Our Field

A report by a nonprofit group concludes communities across Massachusetts are struggling with an epidemic of substance abuse. The report notes the Boston area has had a particularly high number of emergency department visits involving illicit drugs.

Several entrepreneurs in New Mexico have created products with a methamphetamine theme, to cash in on the popularity of the TV hit “Breaking Bad,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

Laws prohibiting bars and restaurants from serving intoxicated people can be an effective way to reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and violence, but the provisions in most states are poorly drafted and rarely enforced, according to two experts on alcohol policy.

A new study finds a majority of parents who smoke expose their children to tobacco smoke in their cars. Many of these parents have smoke-free policies at home, CBS News reports.

Experts say the federal government is unlikely to target individual marijuana users, as it responds to new laws in Colorado and Washington state that legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Kentucky has increased funding to treat prisoners with addictions, to $7 million, up from $1.1 million six years ago. While 30 percent of the state’s inmates with substance abuse problems return to jail, that number drops to 20 percent among those who receive treatment for their addiction, The Courier-Journal reports.

Painkiller abuse is the biggest emerging substance abuse threat in Iowa, according to a report by the state’s Office of Drug Control Policy.

Officials at universities in Colorado and Washington state say they do not expect to change their marijuana policies, in light of voters’ approval of laws that legalize recreational marijuana in those two states.

A small number of doctors are linked to a large percentage of prescription drug-related deaths in Southern California, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.

College women who act impulsively when they are in distress are at higher risk for alcohol dependence, a new study suggests.

The World Health Organization announced Monday that global health officials agreed to a deal to combat tobacco smuggling. Member governments will have to license manufacturers, and tobacco packages will be marked so products can be tracked, according to Reuters.

Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are seeing an increase in heroin use as pain clinics known as “pill mills” have begun to shut down, making prescription opiates more difficult to obtain. Ann Barnum, Senior Program Officer, Substance Use Disorders at The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, says several communities in the Ohio River Valley are taking steps to fight opiate abuse.

The smoking rate of American adults, which declined slightly between 2005 and 2011, held steady at 19 percent between 2010 and 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week.

College students who drink alcohol before going out to a bar, club or sporting event are more likely than their peers who don’t “pre-drink” to experience blackouts, hangovers, alcohol poisoning or absence from work or school, a new study finds.

A new study suggests drinking too much alcohol can interfere with men’s feelings of empathy and understanding of irony. Chronic heavy drinking may damage parts of the brain involved in deciphering emotions and processing humor, the researchers say.

Parents who closely monitor their teens’ behavior and friends can help counteract their children’s genetic predisposition to an alcohol use disorder, a new study indicates.

Officials in Colorado and Washington state are seeking guidance from the federal government in the wake of those states’ approval of recreational marijuana laws, The Washington Post reports.

Although Arkansas voters rejected a medical marijuana initiative on Tuesday, supporters of the measure say they will modify it and try again. If the measure had passed, it would have been the first medical marijuana law to be approved in a southern state, according to the Associated Press.

Opponents of the Massachusetts medical marijuana law passed Tuesday say they are concerned about how the drug’s distribution will be regulated, and whether the state can prevent abuses.

Smokers leave a chemical marker of their addiction in their DNA, a new study finds. These markers could help measure smokers’ risk of cancer, according to Medical News Today.

Voters in Colorado and Washington approved measures to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use, becoming the first U.S. states to do so. A similar measure in Oregon was defeated, Reuters reports.

Liquor prices tend to be higher in states with a monopoly over liquor sales compared with states without control over alcohol prices, a new study finds.

A new study presented at the American Heart Association annual meeting suggests people who use cocaine may have stiffer arteries, higher blood pressure and thicker heart muscles, all of which can lead to a heart attack.

Voters in Missouri rejected a measure that would have raised the state’s tobacco tax, which is the lowest in the United States. The proposal would have increased the tax from 17 cents to 90 cents per pack.

Foundations can play a vital role in battling the epidemic of opiate overdoses. In addition to funding, some foundations have the expertise to provide technical assistance and can bring together communities and policymakers to devise solutions to this devastating public health problem, says Ann Barnum of The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.