The Latest News from Our Field

Talk about return on investment: A new report from the Marin Institute says that the alcohol industry parlayed $3 million in California political donations into the defeat of $2 billion in proposed alcohol taxes and mitigation fees. The industry watchdog drew a direct connection between industry donations to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Budget Reform Now poliical-action committee and the withdrawal of the governor’s $751-million alcohol tax proposal.

"We found Big Alcohol standing over the smoldering ruins of a failed state budget," said Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director of the Marin Institute.

The full report is available on the Marin website.

The ACLU has sued Wal-Mart over its firing of an employee who legally used medical marijuana under Michigan state law ... A proposed San Francisco alcohol tax would be used to pay for addiction treatment and other services ... Arizona’s governor claims that most illegal immigrants from Mexico are involved in drug smuggling ... The FDA’s tobacco center had a busy first year and has a full plate for year two, as well ...

The fate of the Insite safe-injection program for heroin users is now in the hands of Canada’s Supreme Court ... NYC’s top drug prosecutor is no fan of the state’s reform of its Rockefeller-era drug laws ... Heavy drinking has caused an epidemic of high blood pressure in the U.K. ... Driving or not, young drivers in Illinois can lose their licenses if found drinking, the state’s highest court says ...

Chicago-area FASTeam is sponsoring a 150-mile charity motorcycle ride on Aug. 15 to raise money for research and awareness about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The 2010 F.A.S.T Ride, which will be aided by local police who will provide traffic control, is the 6th annual charity event by FASTeam, founded by husband and wife Walt and Kathy Teichen.

A tea that can ferment in the bottle could face regulation as an alcoholic beverage ... Peru may be out of the World Cup, but the Andean nation is tops in another category: it now produces more coca than any other country on Earth ... The cannabis-based drug Sativex has been approved for use in the U.K. to treat MS symptoms ... Cigarette butts are the biggest source of trash on Texas roadways, with an estimated 400 million tossed by drivers annually ...

The Lorillard tobacco company -- which makes Newport cigarettes -- wants it known that there’s nothing wrong with menthol cigarettes -- well, nothing more than the death and disease associated with other cigarettes -- and says it has the website to prove it.

The company’s Understanding Menthol website -- amusingly unveiled on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the tobacco industry as the nation’s most deadly liars -- can be best viewed as an attempt to sway public opinion ahead of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel’s decision on if and how menthol should be regulated, restricted or banned like other cigarette flavorings.

Tobacco companies are liars, but shouldn’t have to pay for their sins: that’s the bottom-line message from the U.S. Supreme Court this week ... Few addiction treatment programs offer specialized services for gays and lesbians, a SAMHSA study finds ... Rolling the vice: Mass. lawmakers not only want to legalize gambling but exempt casinos from the state’s indoor-smoking ban, as well ... The federal government could spend $60 million on developing technology to prevent cars from starting if drivers have been drinking -- even though such devices already are in use in many states ...

Alcoholics Anonymous is the most effective addiction intervention in history -- in fact, it may well be the most successful self-help program ever. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, and even after more than seven decades and countless studies, researchers still don’t know why the 12 Steps are Gospel for some and nonsense for others.