The Latest News from Our Field

A new study suggests teens who consume high-caffeine energy drinks such as Monster or Red Bull may be more likely to use alcohol, drugs or cigarettes.

People whose view of religion changes over time are at increased risk of using drugs, alcohol or tobacco, a new study suggests.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 7- Thursday, February 13, 2014.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s tragic death has focused attention on heroin addiction. Unfortunately, heroin addiction is on the rise from teens to older adults, says Dr. Barbara Krantz of the Hanley Center.

Government officials Tuesday urged first responders to increase their use of the drug naloxone to reverse overdoses of heroin and prescription opioids.

Large drug companies are helping officials at the Winter Olympics with anti-doping efforts, the Associated Press reports.

People are buying more alcohol for use at home, according to new figures from a market research firm. Spending on alcohol grew during every quarter over the last four years, indicating increased alcohol sales are not a weather-related trend.

Marijuana delivery services are springing up in Washington state, where recreational marijuana for adults is now legal, but state-run stores won’t start selling the drug for non-medical purposes until later this year.

A growing number of people switch back and forth between prescription painkillers and heroin, experts tell The New York Times. They call prescription opiates “heroin lite.”

Eight U.S. senators are urging other major drug store chains to follow the example of CVS, which announced last week it will no longer sell tobacco products by October.

A number of trends could combine to lower U.S. smoking rates from the current 18 percent, to 10 percent or less, health officials predict. Cigarette taxes, bans on smoking in public places and regulations on cigarette advertising could influence people’s perceptions of smoking, according to the Associated Press.

California has approved the merger of the Hazelden Foundation and the Betty Ford Center, the Star Tribune reports. The new organization will be called the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. It will be the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment organization.

The heroin overdose antidote naloxone is becoming more widely available nationwide, the Los Angeles Times reports. California greatly expanded availability of the treatment as of January 1.

Heroin laced with the synthetic opiate fentanyl is suspected in at least 50 recent fatal overdoses in three states, according to law enforcement officials. In Pennsylvania, the drug combination is suspected in at least 17 deaths. Officials in Maryland and Michigan are also investigating deaths linked to the drug mix.

Maine Governor Paul R. LePage this week said the births of 927 babies born to mothers addicted to drugs last year in the state is a “troubling epidemic.” The babies represented more than 7 percent of all births in the state, The New York Times reports.

A Florida congressman this week called the Obama Administration’s policy on marijuana “schizophrenic,” according to CBS News.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 31- Thursday, February 6, 2014.

Technology is the driving force behind the Treatment Research Institute’s latest project: implementing and evaluating Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in New York high schools later this year.

CVS Caremark announced Wednesday it will stop selling tobacco products by October 1, the Los Angeles Times reports. CVS, the nation’s second-largest drugstore chain, will be the first national pharmacy company to stop selling tobacco.

The addiction treatment medication buprenorphine was found in actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s apartment, along with 50 bags of heroin and a variety of prescription drugs, according to New York City detectives.

Fatal car crashes that involved marijuana tripled in the past decade, a new study concludes. One in nine drivers involved in a fatal crash tests positive for marijuana, according to the Columbia University researchers.

Low-level drug criminals with long mandatory sentences should ask President Obama for early release from prison, the Justice Department advises.

Cheap heroin is easy to find in New York City, according to law enforcement officials who spoke after actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead with dozens of packages of heroin in his apartment.

A new government report finds fewer teens are abusing prescription painkillers or smoking.

Parents, schools and some doctors are voicing concern about children’s access to marijuana-laced snacks, which are becoming increasingly popular in states where recreational or medical marijuana is legal.