The Latest News from Our Field

CVS has sent letters to some physicians in Florida informing them the pharmacy chain will not fill prescriptions they write for oxycodone and other Schedule II narcotic drugs, Reuters reports.

The Obama Administration has appealed a ruling by a U.S. judge that tobacco companies do not have to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packages to show the dangers of smoking.

Researchers are studying hallucinogens and other illicit drugs as possible treatments for conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, addiction and depression, the Los Angeles Times reports.

States have reduced funding for tobacco prevention programs this year to the lowest levels since 1999, a new report by public health groups finds.

A growing number of young people being booked into jail in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis, are using painkillers, according to KARE11.

As addiction treatment providers become integrated into the larger health care system as part of health care reform, it will become especially important for addiction professionals to understand issues of patient confidentiality in this new environment, says Cynthia Tuohy of NAADAC, the Association of Addiction Professionals.

A new study finds a majority of doctors who are treated for addiction return to work within a few years of treatment. Surgeons have similar success rates compared with other types of physicians.

Treating smoking like a chronic disease helps smokers quit, a new study suggests. Providing long-term assistance to smokers, similar to the approach used in treating high blood pressure and diabetes, increases smoking cessation rates, the study found.

The Supreme Court will hear two cases involving people who committed cocaine-related crimes before the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 took effect, but who were not sentenced until afterwards. The Fair Sentencing Act reduced the disparity of sentences between people who sell crack cocaine and those who sell the powder form of the drug.

A man who was on the liver transplant list at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has been removed because he was using medical marijuana and did not show up for a drug test.

College administrators say they are concerned about an increase in prescription stimulant abuse among students, The Washington Post reports.

The American Medical Association’s policy-making body has called on the organization to promote doctor training on the correct use of controlled substances, in an effort to reduce prescription drug abuse.

Rappers are increasingly promoting alcoholic drinks in which they have financial stakes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A new labor deal between Major League Baseball and the players union limits the use of smokeless tobacco by players, but does not ban it during games.

Interest is growing in Good Samaritan laws aimed at saving lives by encouraging people who witness drug overdoses to call 911. But much is not yet known about the laws’ impact on drug users, bystanders, paramedics and police.

A study of twins suggests genetics may play a role in smoking, and in people’s ability to quit.

Chemical changes caused by cocaine may be passed on to the next generation, a new study of rats suggests. The changes cause male offspring to find the drug less rewarding.

Attorneys General in 35 states and the San Francisco City Attorney have asked the Federal Trade Commission to limit the amount of alcohol sold in a single-serving can. The move is aimed at reducing the amount of alcohol in Four Loko, the Des Moines Register reports.

California’s prescription drug monitoring database may become useless if proposed budget cuts go through, according to the Associated Press.

President Obama criticized tobacco companies for opposing new cigarette warning labels in a video that marks the American Cancer Society’s 36th annual “Great American Smokeout” on Thursday.

While alcohol consumption is on the rise in the United States, drinking preferences vary by region of the country, according to USA Today.

A growing number of employers are requiring workers who smoke to pay more for their health care costs, The New York Times reports.

The number of people in Maryland who are receiving substance abuse treatment through Medicaid has more than doubled in less than three years.

Women who became adults when 18 was the legal drinking age in the United States are at higher long-term risk for homicide and suicide, than women who grew up after the legal drinking age became 21, a new study finds.

A judge has extended a ban on a mandatory drug-testing program for students at a technical college in Missouri until at least February.