The Latest News from Our Field

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act are tremendous steps toward ensuring that all individuals can access substance abuse treatment. But the laws are not silver bullets that will close the treatment gap or help every individual who needs treatment.

More than 40 addiction treatment, health care and consumer groups are urging the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its decision to approve the prescription painkiller Zohydro ER (extended release), CNN reports.

A survey of high school seniors suggests marijuana legalization will lead to increased use of the drug among teens. The survey found 10 percent of seniors who said they don’t currently use marijuana said they would try it if the drug were legal.

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta is encouraging the public to text or call them to report suspicious activity that may indicate prescription drug abuse, according to CNN.

The arrest on Saturday of the head of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán Loera, will likely be only a minor setback for the operation, experts tell The New York Times.

At least six states are considering joining the 17 states that have passed “Good Samaritan” laws, designed to prevent drug overdose deaths. The laws grant limited immunity to people who seek help for someone who has overdosed, USA Today reports.

The Department of Defense needs to do more to prevent prescription drug abuse among members of the military, according to a new government report. Some branches of the military are doing a better job than others in medication management policies, the report concluded.

Raising the minimum drinking age to 21 has been associated with a reduced rate of drunk driving crashes among young Americans, according to a new review of studies.

Two high-profile public health experts disagree about the impact of e-cigarettes, and whether they will promote smoking cessation, or encourage people to take up regular cigarettes.

A new study found that about one-third of Medicare patients who get prescriptions for painkillers receive them from multiple doctors, which raises their risk for hospitalization, HealthDay reports.

Advocates say the need to curb the abuse of prescription (Rx) opiates is more urgent than ever, due to a growing epidemic of Rx overdoses from pain medication in Massachusetts and across the country, according The Boston Globe.

New research shows that an anti-epilepsy drug may help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol consumption.

A new study from Washington University concludes that people can improve their mental health when they quit smoking.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 14- Thursday, February 20, 2014.

Kentucky’s law designed to reduce prescription drug abuse has raised awareness about the problem, but has had some unintended consequences, according to an addiction medicine specialist in the state.

Colorado’s liberal marijuana laws and its market for a strain of marijuana called “Charlotte’s Web” has made it a destination for families whose children suffer with severe epilepsy.

Health officials, led by acting U.S. Surgeon General Boris Lushniak, are confidently looking toward a “tobacco-free generation.”

As heroin and prescription drug abuse rises in New Hampshire, doctors are seeing more babies born addicted to opioids, a condition known as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, reports the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Members of The La Crosse County Heroin Task Force in Wisconsin have run into roadblocks while developing a plan to dispose of prescription medicines in drop boxes, reports the Associated Press.

One of the most compelling ways to prevent youth tobacco use may be through their teeth.

Generic drug makers are fighting proposed FDA regulation that would require them to warn patients of each drug’s health risks.

As heroin use escalates across the U.S., addicts and their loved ones who are seeking treatment face a lack of services and strict constraints placed by insurance companies, according to health care and addiction professionals.

The Obama administration has provided banks with federal guidelines for conducting banking transactions with legal marijuana sellers, enabling a legalized marijuana industry to operate in states that approve it.

Homeowners associations in states where medical marijuana is legal are wrestling with the issue of whether to prohibit use of the drug, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

An Internet drinking game called “Neknomination” reportedly led to the death of two young men in Britain this week, according to ABC News. In the game, a person quickly drinks a concoction of alcohol, sometimes mixed with other ingredients, then nominates two other people to do something even more outrageous. The results are posted online.