The Latest News from Our Field

A new study suggests that abuse of prescription opioids may be a first step on the path toward misuse of heroin and other injected drugs.

A Food and Drug Administration panel said Friday it needs more information about the marketing of the smokeless tobacco product called snus, before it can make recommendations about new dissolvable tobacco products.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a law designed to reduce preventable overdose deaths by encouraging people to call 911 if they witness a drug overdose, without fear of being arrested for drug possession.

Ohio, a state hit particularly hard by opioid abuse, is beginning to show early signs of success in fighting the problem, The Columbus Dispatch reports. But many problems remain.

Frank Vocci, PhD, President of Friends Research Institute, discusses the importance of treating drug-dependent prisoners in the criminal justice system, current barriers to treatment, and what changes are needed in the United States in order for these prisoners to receive the treatment they need.

As a new smokeless tobacco product is tested in two U.S. cities, public health officials are expressing concerns about the safety of this and other similar products. They say the products are especially attractive to teens.

New recommendations issued by the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecology call for annual alcohol screening for women, and screening in the first trimester of pregnancy.

A new study finds that borrowing medication prescribed to someone else is not more common in low-income, urban populations, compared with the general population.

Some Connecticut universities and colleges are considering easing their marijuana policies in light of a new state decriminalization law.

Almost one-quarter of Americans age 12 or older say they participated in binge drinking in the previous month, according to a government survey.

A new vaccine shows promise in heroin addiction treatment, a study in rats suggests.

Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” are crude drug delivery systems for refined nicotine that pose unknown risks, two experts write in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Seattle’s City Council voted this week to establish a system for licensing and regulating medical marijuana distribution under a new Washington state law.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to hearing loss in teenagers, who often don’t realize they have hearing difficulties, a new study suggests.

Actor Martin Sheen returned to Congress this week to testify in favor of authorizing drug court funding for veterans in 2012.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has given approval to the state’s medical marijuana program. He says he believes the state’s narrowly focused program will not be subject to federal prosecution.

Health care providers in Ohio are reporting cases of people abusing a type of incense sold under the brand name “Mad Hatter.”

A growing body of research is showing that when it comes to treatments for alcohol use disorders, women’s needs are different from men’s. Scientists who recently presented studies at the Research Society on Alcoholism are exploring gender differences in alcohol treatment and moving beyond a one-size-fits-all strategy.

Researchers are asking the federal government for approval to study the effects of marijuana on veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder who have not responded to other treatment.

The blood pressure drug propranolol may help treat cocaine addiction, a new animal study suggests.

Women who are suffering from a major depressive episode when they enter drug court are at substantially greater risk of using crack cocaine within four months, compared with women who are not currently depressed, according to a new study.

A new Gallup poll finds that 59 percent of Americans support a public ban on smoking. Only 19 percent say that cigarette smoking should be illegal in the United States.

Emergency rooms are seeing a growing number of people high on “bath salts,” new stimulant drugs that can cause long-lasting and dangerous effects. The New York Times reports that doctors are trying to determine the best way to treat people high on these synthetic drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration is considering banning menthol cigarettes following a recent report, from its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, that the cigarettes are extremely popular among African Americans, the poor and young.

Girls appear to be especially vulnerable to the effects of binge drinking on the brain, a new study suggests.