The Latest News from Our Field

For every person who died of a prescription painkiller overdose in 1999, nearly four died in 2008. We are in the midst of an epidemic, says Grant Baldwin of the CDC.

Nicotine appears to be a “gateway” drug that primes the brain to be susceptible to cocaine, according to a new study in mice.

A growing number of people are ending up in the emergency room after abusing the muscle relaxant carisoprodol. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says the number of such ER visits doubled, from 15,830 in 2004 to 31,763 in 2009.

The Senate has approved an appropriation of $5 million for research into alcohol-detection devices called interlocks, which prevent drivers under the influence of alcohol from driving.

A petition drive in Kern County, California, seeks to challenge a recent law that would close down medical marijuana clinics in the area.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will spend about $600 million over five years on a campaign to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco, the Associated Press reports.

Women who have three to six alcoholic drinks a week are at slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who don’t drink at all, a new study has found.

Teenagers in Rhode Island did not use more marijuana after the state implemented its medical marijuana law in 2006, according to a new study.

Two congressmen have asked Major League Baseball and the players union to test for human growth hormone and to ban chewing tobacco. They made their requests a month before the players union contract is set to expire.

The number of Americans who died from overdoses of prescription painkillers more than tripled in the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More people now die from painkillers than from heroin and cocaine combined.

Methamphetamine is increasingly being made in the United States in small labs that are easy to move and hide, The Wall Street Journal reports.

More than 1,800 prisoners are eligible for immediate release under new sentencing rules for drug crimes. The rules aim to reduce the disparity between sentences for crimes involving crack cocaine and those involving the drug in powdered form.

A Kentucky cancer center is advising smokers to switch to smokeless tobacco. Its “Switch and Quit” campaign is creating controversy in the state and beyond.

Images can be especially effective tools when they are harnessed to change social norms and prevent youth from never starting to smoke, explains Eric Asche, Chief Marketing Officer of Legacy®.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors should routinely screen their teenage patients for drug and alcohol use at every visit, and look for signs of dependence or addiction.

A growing body of research indicates even moderate drinking can increase a person’s risk of cancer, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The White House turned down a petition with 75,000 signatures that asked for marijuana to be legalized and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol.

Ohio officials say they are making progress in the fight against prescription drug abuse. The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services says about one million fewer prescription pain pills will be dispensed in two Ohio counties this year compared with 2010.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has purchased nine million cigarettes made of tobacco that are genetically altered to reduce the nicotine content by 97 percent, The New York Times reports. The NIH is looking for ways to regulate cigarettes so they are not addictive.

More companies are raising health insurance rates for smokers, according to Reuters. Companies are taking a more punitive approach after finding not enough employees signed up for classes to quit smoking, and those who did weren’t showing enough improvement.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Tampa, Florida to announce the arrest of 22 people in Central Florida on charges of illegal prescription drug distribution.

The Foundation for Recovery’s Conference on Addiction, Research, Recovery and Education (CARRE) will take place at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas on December 1-2, 2011.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse interacts with a variety of audiences, including scientists, prevention and treatment specialists and the general public. But one particularly important audience (and often the most difficult to reach) is the American teenager, explains Dr. Nora Volkow of NIDA.

The National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse has given the University of Buffalo a $900,000 grant to develop graduate medical education programs in addiction medicine.

A proposed Massachusetts bill would require doctors to participate in a prescription drug monitoring program. Currently participation in the program is voluntary.