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.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Thursday called for reducing e-cigarette use among young people, Reuters reports. He said young people are more vulnerable than adults to the negative consequences of nicotine exposure.
The government should call on manufacturers of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone to reduce the cost of the life-saving drug, experts write in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has received more than 22,000 comments about its plan to temporarily ban the drug kratom, according to The Washington Post.
Prescribers have a vital role to play in reducing Americans’ misuse of prescription medications, especially opioids, which is why the resources provided via “Search and Rescue” are such an important part of a comprehensive solution.
The U.S. House on Wednesday approved the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes $1 billion in new funding for the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has added another fentanyl-related drug, known as furanyl fentanyl, to its list of banned substances, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that smoking will be banned in public housing. Local housing agencies will have 18 months to implement the ban, HealthDay reports.
The multibillion-dollar marijuana industry is concerned about Donald Trump’s choice for Attorney General, Senator Jeff Sessions, according to NPR. Sessions has made comments indicating he is not in favor of marijuana legalization.
The world’s biggest brewing companies are expanding their line of nonalcoholic products. The Wall Street Journal reports the companies are responding to stricter alcohol regulations and a desire by consumers for healthier beverages.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a report Thursday that calls for increasing access to addiction treatment. According to Reuters, the report calls drug and alcohol addiction a public health crisis.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has temporarily banned the synthetic drug Pink under federal law, according to NBC News. The agency has received reports of at least 46 confirmed deaths associated with the drug.
Many schools around the country are trying to prevent opioid use through education campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reports that last year, CVS pharmacists made almost 3,000 presentations to school children about the dangers of misusing prescription painkillers.
A new injectable treatment for opioid addiction showed promise in a late-stage study, according to The Wall Street Journal. The study involved weekly and monthly injections of buprenorphine for the treatment of moderate to severe opioid use disorder.
Some people addicted to heroin are asking judges to lock them up so they can get access to treatment for opioid addiction, NPR reports.
Recreational marijuana initiatives passed in California, Massachusetts and Nevada on Tuesday night, The Washington Post reports. Voters in Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota approved medical marijuana initiatives.
A new study finds teens who often use e-cigarettes are more likely to become regular smokers and to smoke many cigarettes a day.
Young men with alcohol dependence are more likely to have health problems later in life, compared with their peers who do not drink, a new study suggests.
Requiring cigarette labels that graphically depict the health consequences of smoking could save more than 650,000 lives in the United States in the next 50 years, according to a new study. The labels also could prevent tens of thousands of preterm births and low birth-weight babies, the researchers said.
Almost two dozen people were treated for synthetic drug overdoses in downtown St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday, KTVI reports. Most of the overdoses were linked to K2.
A new study finds the number of young children and teens hospitalized for opioid painkiller overdoses has almost tripled in recent years.
A presidential task force has made recommendations to ensure people with addiction and mental illness do not face discrimination in treatment, according to NPR.
A synthetic opioid known as “pink” is legal in most states, even though it is almost eight times stronger than morphine, CNN reports.
Some state Medicaid programs are beginning to pay addiction treatment centers for as much counseling and related medical services as are needed for patients. The move is intended to encourage centers to offer more counseling, according to Stateline.
Sales of e-cigarettes have slowed, in part due to warnings by public health experts that the devices may be dangerous. The New York Times reports a growing number of scientists and policy makers say 40 million American smokers could benefit from the devices.
A new program in Pennsylvania called “warm handoff” directly transfers overdose survivors from the hospital emergency department to a drug treatment provider. The program, developed by the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), is designed to avoid merely giving survivors a phone number to call or setting up a subsequent appointment a day or two later.
Get Support
