The Latest News from Our Field

California physician Dr. Nazar Al Bussam is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday for writing tens of thousands of prescriptions for narcotic drugs and other painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose.

While the toll that a parent’s addiction takes on children is well documented, much is still not known about how loved ones’ recovery affects children, according to the National Director of Children’s Programs at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA.

Medicare has been slow to react to the prescription drug abuse problem sweeping the nation, according to a new report.

College students who post photos to Facebook showing themselves getting drunk are at higher risk of alcohol dependence and abuse, compared with their classmates with no references to drinking on their pages.

Dr. Kim Janda, who is working on creating vaccines to treat addiction, finds a growing number of people in the scientific community are interested in his work. He attributes the attention to a change in the way people view addiction.

Smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to suffer a stroke, a new study finds. Smokers are also likely to have a stroke almost 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.

The manufacturer of the sweet-flavored “alcopop” Four Loko has agreed to change the labels of the cans so that they state the drinks contain as much alcohol as four to five cans of beer.

The arrest of 37 people on drug charges at a Boeing aircraft plant last week puts the spotlight on the increasing problem of prescription drug abuse in the workplace, according to experts.

A drug that helps prevent intoxication has shown promise in a study of mice. When the animals took the drug and then were given a large amount of alcohol, they didn’t show signs of being drunk, the New York Daily News reports.

Maine is considering composting unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The Morning Sentinel reports the state hopes composting will be an inexpensive solution to disposing of medications.

Substance abuse treatment providers must start making changes now so they are ready when the Affordable Care Act is implemented in 2014, says Dr. Thomas Freese.

Almost one-third of workers in mining, construction, and the accommodation and food service industries smoke, compared with about 20 percent of the general U.S. adult population, according to a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How much the friends of a teenager’s boyfriend or girlfriend drink can have more influence on the teen’s drinking habits than their own friends or romantic partner, a new study suggests.

Tobacco companies were aware of the dangers of a radioactive substance in cigarettes as early as 1959, but hid this knowledge from the public, according to a new study.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has told all federally licensed firearms dealers that anyone who uses marijuana, including medical marijuana, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Local governments in southern states are starting to look to alcohol sales as a way to boost revenues.

Welfare applicants in Florida are less likely than Americans in general to use drugs. The state compiled the figures as part of a new state law that requires drug tests for welfare applicants.

Four Americans are receiving marijuana from the federal government, the result of a 1976 court settlement, according to the Associated Press.

Police and medical professionals in Maine say use of “bath salts” is becoming an epidemic. They have witnessed a growing number of people acting strangely—and dangerously—while under the influence of the synthetic drugs.

A review of studies looking at newer antipsychotic drugs prescribed “off-label” for conditions including substance use and eating disorders finds they are not effective in treating these conditions.

Naltrexone, approved by the Food and Drug Administration as treatment for alcohol dependence, may be especially effective in people of Asian descent, a new study suggests.

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are slowly becoming more popular with retailers, Convenience Store News reports. Many retailers continue to take a “wait and see” approach to the products, before deciding whether to assign them shelf space.

Sales of tobacco to minors in California have dropped to 5.6 percent, the lowest rate since the state started keeping track of the sales in 1995, the state’s Department of Public Health announced.

The 11th Tradition of AA and NA states, "Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films." So how does anonymity factor into recovery in the age of social networks asks Ken Pomerance, COO of InTheRooms.com.

Several restaurant chains that recently added alcohol to their menus have decided it causes more problems than it’s worth. Customers aren’t buying as many drinks as expected, and selling alcohol is causing many logistical problems.