The Latest News from Our Field

Some Massachusetts physicians have resigned from marijuana companies after being told by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigators they must do so or be faced with relinquishing federal licenses to prescribe certain medications, The Boston Globe reports.

Federal officials want to ease restrictions on sharing substance abuse treatment records among healthcare providers, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move concerns some privacy advocates.

Marijuana is linked to several significant adverse health effects, and can be addictive, National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow writes in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Federal officials announced this week that Georgia cannot implement a new law that would require some food stamp applicants and recipients to undergo drug testing.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam this week announced a plan designed to stop prescription drug abuse in the state.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 30- Thursday, June 5, 2014.

Substance use remains highly prevalent on college campuses, which may lead young people in recovery to either defer or postpone college, or increase the risk of relapse if they do attend. But as substance use on college campuses became increasingly recognized as a public health issue, experts have called for campus-based services for recovering students.

A lawsuit filed by the city of Chicago against five drug companies alleges they contributed to the nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic through deceptive marketing of their opioid painkillers.

Federal authorities are debating whether health insurance companies can charge e-cigarette users more under the Affordable Care Act, as they are allowed to do for smokers of traditional cigarettes, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Teens ages 12 to 17 were exposed to many new e-cigarette television ads between 2011 and 2013, a new study finds. Young people in this age group experienced a 256 percent jump in exposure to the ads during those years, according to NBC News.

A measure passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week would end federal interference in state medical marijuana laws.

Diversion of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone concerns some experts, who say in some cases it may be a gateway drug to heroin or opioid use, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Devices called vaporizers, which resemble large fountain pens, are quickly becoming a popular item among people using e-cigarettes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A new program at the Betty Ford Center will provide addiction treatment designed for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning people.

Law enforcement and health officials in Colorado are seeing a variety of problems stemming from the legalization of recreational marijuana. They range from poisonings from edible marijuana to drugged driving.

Heroin users are much more likely to be older, whiter and suburban compared with 50 years ago, a new study concludes. They are almost evenly split between men and women, The Washington Post reports.

An international group of scientists is asking the World Health Organization not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, according to Reuters. The 53 scientists say the devices can help reduce smoking.

Monthly injections of the anti-abuse drug naltrexone, coupled with counseling, can help homeless alcoholics reduce their drinking, a new study suggests.

A former Hershey chocolate production plant in Ontario, Canada has become home to a marijuana production facility, The New York Times reports. The facility houses 50,000 marijuana plants.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 23- Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Despite a government panel’s conclusion that there isn’t enough evidence about the best way for doctors to persuade children and teens not to use drugs, a leading expert on teen substance abuse says pediatricians should continue to talk to their patients about drug and alcohol use.

Marijuana from Colorado is flowing into neighboring states, according to law enforcement officials. In those states, drug arrests in counties near the Colorado border are on the rise, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Increasing tobacco taxes by 50 percent would reduce the number of smokers by 49 million in the next three years, and save 11 million lives, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

Methods for destroying drug evidence vary across the country, according to The Wall Street Journal. Law enforcement officials use facilities including hospital incinerators, foundries and crematories.

Some e-cigarette manufacturers are moving production facilities from China to the United States because of concerns over quality of the products.