The Latest News from Our Field

As new laws against labeling cigarettes as "light" and "mild" go into effect, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enlisting the support of prevention groups and others in getting the word out that there’s no such thing as a "safe" or "safer" cigarette.

More than half a million "stop and frisks" by police each year have led to 46,000 annual marijuana arrests in New York City -- mostly among blacks and Latinos -- writes Drug Policy Alliance director Ethan Nadelmann.

An FDA advisory panel says doctors should be required to get training on misuse of prescription drugs and rejected a plan that called for voluntary training ... The VA is now allowing veterans to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal ... Moonshine is cheap and cool again, explaining why producing illegal booze is more popular during the recession ...

Diana Sylvestre, M.D., an Oakland, Calif., physician and Harvard Medical School grad, has devoted her practice to treating drug addicts, former addicts and others who have been infected with Hepatitis C.

Timothy P. Condon, Ph.D., the current assistant director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), moved this week to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to take on the role of science policy advisor. Condon has been NIDA’s deputy director since 2004 and had worked at NIDA since 1992, previously serving as chief of the agency’s science policy branch and as NIDA’s first associate director for science policy.

You can lead colleges to evidence-based programs, but you can’t make them adopt measures that stop kids from drinking ... Virginia’s governor wants the state out of the alcohol retail business ... Four big farms could legally supply Oakland’s medical-marijuana users, the city says ... Despite declining smoking rates and ongoing litigation, the tobacco industry continues to pull in big profits ...

Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., the founder and former president and CEO of the Phoenix House chain of addiction treatment centers, has been named to the board of directors of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA).

Many parents joke about drugging their children to sleep, but actually doing so is a form of abuse that could harm or kill the child ... Desperate times: heroin addicts in Africa reportedly are injecting the blood of other users to stave off withdrawal ... The FDA doesn’t seem to be buying the tobacco industry’s case for keeping menthol cigarettes legal ... and researchers say that point of sale tobacco ads appeal to kids and should be banned ...

The expanded use of electronic health records -- intended to improve and streamline healthcare services -- has become a bone of contention in the addiction community, where unique privacy concerns could hamper integration with the rest of healthcare. Squabbles aside, however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pressing forward with regulations (and incentives) to promote wider adoption of electronic health records across the healthcare system.

Methadone maintenance is on the budgetary chopping block in California, but supporters -- including some prominent law-enforcement officials -- are trying to get $53 million in funding restored to the state budget.

A plan to eliminate Medi-Cal funding for methadone maintenance is "tantamount to destroying the lives of 35,000 people, as well as having them return to addiction," according to a column by Lee Baca and Charlie Beck -- the sheriff of Los Angeles County and L.A.’s police chief, respectively. The pair note that cutting the funding will actually result in a double loss as federal matching funds will be forfeited.

Will federal privacy regulations stand in the way of integrating behavioral and mainstream healthcare? ... New Mexico can’t grow enough marijuana to meet the demands of medical users ... Kansas is balking on enforcing a law that would require drink prices to be set according to alcohol content ... Unhappy hour: Your risk of stroke spikes during the hour after you drink alcohol, researchers say ... Teens who binge-drink may be more likely to suffer osteoporosis later in life ...