Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist or visit scheduler.drugfree.org
Helpline

The Latest News from Our Field

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.

Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including meetings held at the White House to expand naloxone access.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including findings on the prevalence of co-occurring diagnoses in people exposed to alcohol prenatally.
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday rejected a proposal to use the psychedelic substance MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Associated Press reports.
A new survey finds that almost one in three adult Americans know someone who has died of an overdose, CBS News reports.
States that have legalized recreational marijuana must implement strong protections to ensure that young people are protected from exposure to marijuana and can’t access it, experts from Partnership to End Addiction write in STAT.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including an FDA advisory panel's vote that MDMA is not an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including affective themes related to parenting among mothers in treatment for opioid use disorder.
More Americans say they use marijuana daily or almost daily than those who drink alcohol at similar levels, according to a new study.
A new report from the World Health Organization says tobacco companies continue to actively target young people through social media, sports and music festivals.
Some communities around the country are pushing back on public health harm reduction initiatives aimed at people who use fentanyl, The Washington Post reports.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including pushback in several states against safe smoking supplies, despite their proven ability to reduce harm.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including changes in self‐reported cannabis use in the United States from 1979 to 2022.
The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous substance, the Associated Press reports. The department sent a proposed rule to the federal register moving marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance.
The more time spent on social media, the greater the chance that children and young adults will smoke and/or vape, according to a new study.
A government report last week showing a decline in overdose deaths last year may signal a more lasting trend, according to The New York Times. The report shows a nearly 4% decrease in deaths from opioids, largely fentanyl.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including the Department of Justice's formal motion to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule III substance.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including potential associations between college students' first semester experiences with substance use and mental health.
U.S. law enforcement seized more than 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl, compared with more than 71 million in 2022, a new study finds.
Advocates are concerned that state and local governments are not using opioid settlement funds in ways that make a significant impact on the opioid crisis, the Associated Press reports.
A growing number of companies are offering recovery-supportive workplace policies, Marketplace reports. The initiative received a recent boost from the White House.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including provisional data from the CDC that shows overdose deaths decreased, but remained high, in 2023.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a study assessing the perinatal outcomes associated with combined cannabis and nicotine exposure during pregnancy.
More than one million U.S. children lost a parent to an overdose or gun violence in the past two decades, according to a new study. Almost 100,000 children lost parents to an overdose or gun violence in 2020 alone.
Teens are less likely to use alcohol, tobacco or other substances when their parents are monitoring their activities, according to a new study.
Almost all counterfeit oxycodone pills tested by police labs in Rhode Island in 2022 contained fentanyl, HealthDay reports.