The Latest News from Our Field

Needle exchanges are gaining wider acceptance in areas of the country where HIV and hepatitis C are spreading through injection drug use, Reuters reports.

Older adults are prescribed mental health drugs at more than twice the rate of younger adults, but are much less likely to see a psychiatrist, according to a new study.

A branch of the Federal Reserve has turned down a request by a credit union that wants to serve the growing marijuana industry in Colorado. In response, the credit union filed a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve, demanding “equal access” to the financial system.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee recently banned smokeless tobacco from all public athletic fields in the city, including AT&T Park, home of the Giants. The ban, which starts next January, is part of a growing movement to rid Major League Baseball of smokeless tobacco.

A group of 27 major medication organizations has formed a task force to reduce opioid abuse. The groups are urging physicians to register for and use state-based prescription drug monitoring programs when considering whether to prescribe opioids to patients.

The stress hormone cortisol may be useful in treating heroin cravings, a new study suggests. Swiss researchers found cortisol decreased cravings in heroin patients by up to 25 percent.

An experimental performance-enhancing drug is available online, before it has been approved for human consumption, The New York Times reports. Two cyclists recently tested positive for the drug, FG-4592.

A growing number of medical marijuana users are choosing to use vaping devices rather than smoking the drug, Reuters reports. Some people believe vaporized marijuana is safer. Several states, including New York and Minnesota, do not allow people to smoke medical marijuana.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 24- Thursday, July 30, 2015.

A state-by-state analysis of 2011 state funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there remains a yawning gap between state investments in tobacco prevention and control and CDC’s best practices recommendations.

Federal legislators and officials say there is an alarming increase in the amount of heroin being brought into the United States, The Washington Times reports. At a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, legislators called for solutions to this public health crisis.

Teens’ perceptions of e-cigarettes are influenced by friends and family, a new study concludes. If friends and family view the devices as cool or acceptable, a teen is more likely to use them.

Some strategies college students use to help protect them against drinking too much may backfire, a new study suggests. Some of these strategies are associated with greater alcohol use and an increased number of consequences, the researchers tell Reuters.

Oregon residents age 21 and older will be able to legally buy recreational marijuana starting on October 1, instead of late 2016 as had been expected, The Huffington Post reports.

The Obama Administration will spend an additional $100 million to fight drug abuse, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced. A major focus of the funding will be medication-assisted treatment.

E-cigarettes may be as addictive as regular cigarettes, a new study suggests. Researchers tested samples of e-liquids and found that much of the nicotine in e-cigarettes is the addictive form of the compound.

Hepatitis C is spreading quickly among people injecting drugs in Appalachia, The New York Times reports. The disease can lead to liver failure, cancer and sometimes death.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York this week called for increased federal funding for technology designed to stop drunk driving. The technology, called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, prevents drivers with high blood-alcohol levels from starting a car.

A growing number of teens are smoking marijuana, a new study shows. The increase is greatest among black teens. Use of alcohol and cigarettes among this age group is declining, HealthDay reports.

A new Gallup poll finds 44 percent of American adults say they have tried marijuana. This is the largest percentage since Gallup began asking the question in 1969.

Some retirees are choosing to move to states where marijuana is legal, according to Reuters.

Child advocates in Massachusetts are calling for all public school students in the state to be screened for substance use, WBUR reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 17- Thursday, July 23, 2015.

Doctors at Stanford University are trying to help people dependent on opioid painkillers break the vicious cycle in which physical pain and emotional distress exacerbate one another.

The Bureau of Prisons, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, is proposing revisions to residential drug abuse treatment program regulations to allow greater inmate participation in the program, The Hill reports.