The Latest News from Our Field

Employees who work more than 48 hours a week are almost 13 percent more likely to engage in risky drinking, compared with those who work less, a new study suggests.

Heroin overdose deaths increased 39 percent from 2012 to 2013, a new government report finds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced 8,257 Americans died of a heroin overdose in 2013, according to The Huffington Post.

Healthcare providers in the United States are poorly prepared to manage pain, according to a new report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Some doctors stigmatize patients who seek pain relief, the NIH says.

A new device known as an “e-joint” brings together marijuana and an e-cigarette, The New York Times reports.

Raising alcohol taxes may help reduce the binge drinking rate, according to researchers at Boston University. They found a 1 percent increase in alcohol prices due to taxes was associated with a 1.4 percent decrease in binge drinking.

Drug overdose deaths may peak in 2017, experts at Columbia University predict. By 2034 the overdose rate could fall back to rates last seen in the early 1980s, they say.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are using a replica of a fully stocked bar to test an experimental treatment for alcohol use disorders, ABC News reports.

Teens with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder are at increased risk of starting to smoke or drink, a new study suggests. The more symptoms of these disorders they have, the greater their risk.

Vermont has responded to the state’s opiate addiction problem by expanding treatment, but many people are still waiting to receive help, according to NPR.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, December 19, 2014- Thursday, January 8, 2015.

American Indians report the highest smoking rates of any U.S. subpopulation. Health surveillance and monitoring is integral to improve the health and prevent disease of these individuals, explains Favian Kennedy, MSW, Executive Director of the Health Education and Promotion Council.

Six Americans die from alcohol poisoning each day, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The death rate from alcohol poisoning is highest among men ages 45 to 54.

Counties that ban alcohol sales have more meth lab seizures per capita, compared with counties where liquor sales are legal, a new study suggests.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has added three new strains of synthetic marijuana to its list of banned substances.

Stress associated with retirement, caused by factors such as loneliness and financial pressures, may be associated with an increased risk of substance abuse, a new study suggests.

From the DEA cracking down on a potent form of marijuana to fingernail drug testing, Join Together kept their readers on top of the news making an impact in their community, work and life.

Methamphetamine seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents surged in 2014, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. A crackdown on meth ingredients in the United States has pushed the drug’s manufacture to Mexico.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about powdered pure caffeine, following the deaths of at least two young men who used the product.

Marijuana use in all age groups in Colorado and Washington State, where recreational marijuana is legal, has exceeded the national average during the past year, according to a new report by the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new non-opioid painkiller that is delivered by injection, Reuters reports. The painkiller, Dyloject, is designed to provide fast relief to patients suffering moderate to severe pain.

This year Medicare has started examining prescribing data to identify physicians who write large numbers of prescriptions for narcotic painkillers and stimulants. Next year Medicare will be able to kick doctors out of the program if they are found to be prescribing in abusive ways.

A group of senators working to reduce the toll of prescription drug abuse sent letters to government officials and health groups this week, urging them to continue fighting what they called a national epidemic.

The Colorado Board of Health announced it will fund grants totaling more than $8 million for studies examining the potential medical benefits of marijuana. The studies will examine marijuana’s effects on epilepsy, pain relief, brain tumors and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A survey of college students finds the most common reason for experimenting with synthetic marijuana is curiosity, HealthDay reports.