We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.
Researchers at the University of Washington found that fatal overdoses in the Seattle area, involving prescription-type opiates, declined for the first time in a decade, from 161 in 2009 to 130 in 2010, though they remain the most common drug type involved in overdose deaths.
A residence hall for college students in recovery that is slated to open in New York City this fall is a new twist on a model that has long been used successfully in a small but growing number of colleges across the country.
Preschool may be an effective tool in the fight against addiction, a new study suggests. The study of more than 1,500 children found those who had attended preschool were 28 percent less likely to develop substance abuse problems.
Treatment for abuse of benzodiazepines—which are used to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizure disorders—almost tripled from 1998 to 2008, according to a new national study.
A new animal study helps explain why many smokers gain weight when they quit smoking. The answer lies in nicotine’s effect on brain cells that usually tells a person to stop eating once they feel full.
Synthetic drugs known as bath salts would be banned under a bill passed by the New Jersey Senate. The bill would make it a crime to possess or sell chemicals used to make bath salts.
A sluggish economy has not stopped alcohol sales, according to industry analysts who say alcoholic beverage sales grew by nearly 10 percent from May 2010 to May 2011.
A public high school in Long Island, New York is opening an in-house drug and alcohol abuse clinic. According to Daytop Treatment Services, which will run the clinic, it is the first such facility in New York State and possibly in the United States.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has signed the “I Hate Meth Act,” which classifies preparing methamphetamine in front of a child as aggravated child endangerment.
Imaging scans of the brains of people who smoke marijuana daily show a decrease in the number of receptors involved in pleasure, appetite, pain tolerance and many other key mental and bodily functions, a new study shows.
A medical marijuana collective is operating in the middle of one of the largest U.S. retirement communities, in Southern California, reflecting a growing nationwide trend as more elderly citizens use marijuana to deal with aches and pains.
Alcohol use, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder together account for 45 percent of disabilities among young people ages 10 to 24 worldwide, about four times as much as that caused by unintentional injuries, according to a study of data from the World Health Organization.
An Illinois man who has battled addiction himself has set up a program to help addicted veterans in a recovery-home setting.
A bill under consideration by the California Senate would ban retailers from selling alcohol through self-service checkouts. The bill has already been approved by the state Assembly.
Recovery schools provide students recovering from substance abuse with a safe learning environment conducive to their situation and needs, and where the likelihood of relapse is minimized. While many recovery schools show clear success rates, each is not without its own unique challenges.
High school students who are gay, lesbian or bisexual are more likely than heterosexual students to smoke, drink, use drugs and engage in other unhealthy behaviors, according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A type of problem-solving therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy may help treat depression in people within residential treatment programs for drug and alcohol abuse, a new study suggests.
Women who smoke are at high risk for developing a condition known as peripheral artery disease, which causes reduced blood flow to the legs, a new study shows.
A new marijuana garden superstore has opened in Arizona in response to the state’s newly enacted medical marijuana law.
Two U.S. senators are calling on the federal government to shut down a website that sells illegal drugs using layers of secrecy to avoid detection. The website sells drugs including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed into law a bill designed to cut down on prescription drug abuse by controlling ‘pill mills’ in the state. The law authorizes the creation of a prescription-drug monitoring database to reduce doctor-shopping by people looking to collect multiple painkiller prescriptions.
Two popular synthetic drugs, K2 and bath salts, have been outlawed in North Carolina. The new law states that bath salts, which mimic the effects of cocaine, have a high risk of being abused, and have no currently accepted medical use in the U.S.
Support from a partner improves the chance that Latinos will successfully quit smoking, a new study suggests. This support can also help counteract the negative effect that depression can have on quitting smoking.
Utah Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, explains that prescription drug abuse is unlike any other type of drug addiction. People who wouldn’t dream of smoking marijuana or snorting cocaine can find themselves addicted to painkillers that have been prescribed by their doctor.
Alcohol dependence is four times more likely among adults with mental illness, compared with those without mental illness, according to a new government survey. The survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found the rate of alcohol dependence among adults with mental illness was 9.6 percent, compared with 2.2 percent for those without mental illness.