The Latest News from Our Field

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. has announced the deadline to submit applications for the 2015 Exemplary Awards for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies is Friday, September 4.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 31- Thursday, August 6, 2015.

Colleges can reduce excessive drinking and intoxication at off-campus parties, as well as nearby bars and restaurants, with a comprehensive prevention program that includes the surrounding community, new research confirms.

Officials in cities across the United States are reporting a rise in overdoses related to synthetic marijuana, CNN reports. Police chiefs meeting in Washington this week said they need field tests to help them quickly determine whether suspects have taken the drug.

Drones are being used to smuggle drugs and other contraband into prisons, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Last week, inmates started fighting at a correctional facility in Ohio after a drone dropped more than seven ounces of heroin, marijuana and tobacco into the prison yard.

Electronic programs designed to curb drinking do not reduce alcohol use in the long term, a new study finds. These programs may produce small reductions in alcohol consumption in the first six months, but there is little evidence for longer-term, clinically significant effects, the researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Results of blood tests of track and field athletes reveal that doping is a widespread problem in the sport, according to NPR.

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.