The Latest News from Our Field

Rejection by family members may increase the risk of substance abuse and suicide attempts in transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, a new study suggests.

A new report finds 1.2 million full-time college students drank alcohol on an average day last year, while more than 700,000 students smoked marijuana, according to USA Today.

West Virginia is suing McKesson Corporation, the country’s biggest drug supplier, alleging the company distributes painkillers irresponsibly and incentivizes sales of the drugs.

Doctors in Philadelphia are reporting cases of heroin overdoses they suspect involve the synthetic opioid W-18. The drug, which can be added to heroin without the user’s knowledge, may be too strong for the overdose antidote naloxone to reverse, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As Vermont focuses its law enforcement efforts on heroin, use of crack cocaine is surging, Vermont Public Radio reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 20- Thursday, May 26, 2016.

While it’s true that smoking has dropped overall in the United States, smoking rates are significantly higher among people with mental illness than in the general population. Because so many people with mental illness smoke, many of them will get sick from tobacco-related diseases, explains Amy Taylor of Truth Initiative.

A survey of college students finds almost 8 percent say they have had drugs put into their drinks, known as “drink spiking.”

A new online poll finds about 10 percent of adults say they use e-cigarettes, the same percentage as in a similar poll last year. A growing number of adults have negative attitudes toward e-cigarettes, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday would place a 1-cent fee on each milligram of opioid-based prescription drugs. The proceeds would be used to fund addiction recovery facilities, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Medical and addiction groups have formed a coalition to advocate for legislation and policies to address the nation’s opioid epidemic, MedPageToday reports.

The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers is declining in the United States, a sign that the opioid epidemic may be peaking, The New York Times reports.

The increase in heroin use has led to a growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren, according to The New York Times. The parents of these children are dead, in jail, in rehab, or are otherwise unable to care for their own children.

Alabama recently became the sixth state to ban the herbal supplement kratom over concerns about its potential for addiction. Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana and Arkansas have also banned the supplement.

Last year 15 percent of American adults smoked, down from 17 percent in 2014, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Congress is focusing on expanding treatment for opioid addiction instead of restricting access to painkillers in its efforts to address the opioid epidemic, The New York Times reports.

A New Jersey program immediately connects people to treatment after they have been revived from an opioid overdose with naloxone. Recovery specialists are contacted by hospitals participating in the program once an opioid overdose call has been dispatched.

Some Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate are basing part of their re-election strategies on bills aimed at helping people addicted to opioids, according to The New York Times.

Sales of alcohol decreased worldwide in 2015 for the first time since the market research firm Euromonitor International began tracking sales in 2001, CNN reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 13- Thursday, May 19, 2016.

Employers across the country face the emerging issue of how they are allowed to manage the medicinal use of marijuana by their employees.

Opioid addiction treatment experts say although the evidence is clear that medication-assisted treatment is the best way to tackle the nation’s opioid epidemic, there is still a stigma attached to using these medications.

The U.S. House, after overwhelmingly approving 18 bills last week aimed at addressing the nation’s opioid crisis, will work with the Senate to craft compromise legislation, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona is calling for a Senate hearing on the link between professional sports and prescription drug abuse, ABC News reports.

Medical experts are concerned about marijuana “dabbing,” a potentially dangerous way of using the drug. Dabbing appears to be increasingly popular among young people in New York City, according to The New York Times.