The Latest News from Our Field

An Ohio law that recently went into effect in Ohio allows families to seek involuntary addiction treatment for a loved one—if the family agrees to pay for it.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced a plan to fight prescription drug thefts in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month on the Affordable Care Act is a victory for people with substance use disorder and mental health needs, according to the Legal Action Center, an advocacy group that provides legal assistance to people in recovery or still suffering from addiction. But much work remains to be done at the state level to assure adequate coverage, the group says.

Physicians and other prescribers will not be required to take educational courses under a new government plan aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse. The Wall Street Journal reports the plan does compel the makers of extended-release painkillers to fund courses for doctors and provide safety information to patients.

President Obama on Monday signed legislation that bans synthetic drugs. The law also expedites the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of new drugs and medical devices.

Concerns over alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and deaths are spurring some local efforts to ban drive-up or drive-through liquor sales, USA Today reports.

Children ages 10 to 14 who view many movies with characters who smoke are more likely to try cigarettes themselves, a new study suggests.

The number of states enacting or considering laws that bar welfare recipients from using their benefits on liquor or cigarettes is growing, USA Today reports. Many of the measures also bar spending on gambling, guns or strip clubs.

The maker of OxyContin has announced it will study the safety of the painkiller in children, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Methadone causes 30 percent of prescription painkiller overdose deaths, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some doctors are now prescribing methadone to treat chronic problems such as back pain, which is making the drug more widely available.

Teenagers are more likely to start smoking cigarettes or marijuana in June or July than in any other month, according to a new government study.

Three-quarters of teenage patients in substance abuse treatment programs in Denver, Colorado said they used someone else’s medical marijuana, according to a new study.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is extremely uplifting for the substance abuse field, according to A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, CEO of the Treatment Research Institute and former Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Three current members of the U.S. House, joined by two former members, argued this week that health insurers are trying to take advantage of customers by decreasing coverage of mental health and addiction treatment.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill outlawing synthetic drugs this week, and awaits President Obama’s signature, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the New York Police Department policy of administering a breathalyzer test to any officer whose use of a weapon results in injury or death is constitutional.

The Supreme Court on Thursday largely upheld the constitutionality of the Obama Administration’s health care law. The mandate was upheld as a tax, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The manufacturer of the painkiller OxyContin is trying to extend its exclusive rights to the drug, which is set to go off patent in 2013, The Wall Street Journal reports. Purdue Pharma LP says a reformulated version of the drug may substantially decrease abuse of the opioid.

A new vaccine successfully blocks nicotine addiction in mice, CBS News reports.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced the state is suing 14 drug wholesalers, in an effort to block distribution routes for “pill mills.”

Drug abuse kills about 200,000 people worldwide each year, according to a new United Nations (UN) report. Global treatment for drug abuse would cost $250 billion per year if everyone who needed help received proper care, according to the UN.

Lung cancer deaths are rising among women born after 1950 in the South and Midwest, according to a new study. Cigarette advertising aimed at women in the 1960s and 1970s may have contributed to the increase, the researchers say.

A new study finds a link between DNA changes in the sperm of male smokers and genetic changes in their newborn children. The research suggests that these changes may increase children’s risk of developing genetic diseases.

A physician accused of prescribing drugs to three young men who died of overdoses was ordered to stand trial for second-degree murder, the Associated Press reports.

Recent findings indicate that students who smoke marijuana during college may be risking longer-term health says Amelia Arria, PhD, scientific director of the Parents Translational Research Center.