The Latest News from Our Field

An estimated 23,000 emergency department visits in the United States every year are caused by adverse events related to dietary supplements, according to a new government study.

Two studies suggest that targeting the dopamine system in the brain could help treat alcohol dependence by reducing cravings, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One-third of children receiving outpatient care for mental health conditions only received care from their primary care physician, a new study finds. Only 26 percent saw a psychiatrist.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, October 9- Thursday, October 14, 2015.

Students who are emotionally unprepared for college have lower grades, are more likely to use drugs and alcohol and are more likely to consider transferring to a different school, compared with their peers who are more emotionally prepared, a new poll finds.

A new study finds 80 percent of people with an opioid addiction are not receiving treatment. The study examined addiction treatment rates over the past decade, when heroin overdose deaths quadrupled.

Bernie Sanders indicated he would support the legalization of recreational marijuana at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate. His answer marked the first time a 2016 candidate has openly supported legalizing recreational marijuana, according to The Washington Post.

A teen’s family structure influences whether allowing them to drink at home leads to alcohol problems later on, a new study suggests.

The Michigan House of Representatives approved a bill to ban the sale, distribution and possession of powdered alcohol. If the bill is signed by Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan would become the 27th state to ban powdered alcohol, Reuters reports.

A new survey finds 58 percent of Americans say opioid painkiller abuse is either a very serious or extremely serious health issue, on par with public health problems such as gun violence or tobacco use.

Few pharmacies have set up programs to accept and destroy unwanted prescription drugs, despite a push by the Drug Enforcement Administration to encourage drug disposal programs, The New York Times reports.

Critics of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve use of OxyContin in certain children as young as 11 say the move could increase painkiller abuse, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Officials in states hit hard by heroin use, such as Ohio, say the drug is a major reason for the increasing number of children being placed in foster care.

A growing number of colleges are starting to allow alcohol sales at football games, The New York Times reports. West Virginia, Texas, Maryland, Minnesota, Colorado, Wake Forest, Miami, Syracuse and Louisville now sell beer at games.

A new study suggests quitting smoking may help people with a history of alcohol problems to stay sober, HealthDay reports. The study of recovering alcoholics found smokers were two times more likely than nonsmokers to start drinking again three years later.

A syringe-exchange program started in Indiana in response to an HIV outbreak has led to a significant drop in needle sharing among intravenous drug users, a new government study has found.

A year after Tennessee began its welfare drug-testing program, only 55 recipients tested positive for drugs, according to the state’s Department of Human Services. The results are similar to those of other states that have implemented drug-testing programs for people receiving government benefits, according to The Huffington Post.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, October 2- Thursday, October 8, 2015.

Many teens who use abuse prescription drugs are not trying to get high, but are using them to help them deal with an underlying problem such as anxiety, a newly published survey suggests.

The Justice Department has announced it will release about 6,000 nonviolent drug offenders from federal prisons starting at the end of October. The government hopes to ease prison overcrowding and roll back stiff penalties given to nonviolent drug offenders in the 1980s and 1990s, The New York Times reports.

Hundreds of people in Massachusetts who are addicted to opioids are being treated with medical marijuana, according to the Boston Herald.

Babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome are more than twice as likely to be readmitted to the hospital within a month after birth, compared with full-term infants born with no complications, a new study concludes.

Naloxone saved dozens of lives in Chicago last week, after more than 80 people overdosed on heroin suspected of being laced with the painkiller fentanyl, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the problem of addiction drew thousands of people Sunday, The Washington Post reports. The event, called UNITE to Face Addiction, included government officials and celebrities.

Buying illegal drugs online remains easy two years after the illegal online marketplace Silk Road was shut down by the federal government, experts say.