The Latest News from Our Field

A device used for medical marijuana, called the “G-Pen,” is becoming popular with teens, MyFoxNY reports.

Students at a high school in Illinois will be randomly tested for alcohol this year, according to ABC News. The test uses hair samples.

Alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be safely treated together, a new study concludes. The study addresses concerns that treating PTSD could worsen alcoholism by bringing up painful memories, Reuters reports.

Performance-enhancing drugs, which led to the suspension of 13 Major League Baseball players this week, can have severe long-term health effects, an expert tells Fox News.

Teens whose parents have ever smoked are more likely to become smokers, even if their parents quit before they were born, according to a new study. Teens with an older sibling who smokes are also more likely to start using cigarettes.

Since local and statewide bans of synthetic drug sales in Florida have taken effect, the products are no longer easy to find in gas stations and convenience stores, according to an expert who tracks emerging psychoactive drugs. Calls to poison control centers have dropped, and fewer people are being rushed to the emergency room with side effects from the drugs.

Methadone maintenance has been used in the United States for approximately 50 years as an effective treatment for opioid addiction. Yet many myths about its use persist, discouraging patients from using methadone, and leading family members to pressure patients using the treatment to stop, explains addiction expert Dr. Edwin A. Salsitz.

A new government report shows 37 percent of U.S. pedestrians killed in 2011 were drunk, USA Today reports. Thirty-five percent of those killed had blood alcohol levels that were at or above the legal limit for driving.

Many people addicted to opioids are undergoing short-term detoxification, instead of receiving long-term maintenance treatment, according to a new report. In the journal Health Affairs, eight experts write this means many people are not receiving adequate opioid addiction treatment.

Major League Baseball suspended the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and 12 other players on Monday for violating the league’s antidoping rules, according to The New York Times.

Gil Kerlikowske will leave his post as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He was nominated by President Obama on Friday to become the new U.S. Commissioner of Customs.

The chairman of the California Assembly Health Committee announced he will examine the issue of fraud in taxpayer-funded drug rehab clinics, during a hearing on the state’s Medicaid program. The problems in the clinics were uncovered through an investigation by CNN and The Center for Investigative Reporting.

Mothers who consume a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may be more likely to have children with an increased vulnerability to drug or alcohol abuse, a study of rats suggests.

Tobacco companies are using marketing tactics for their e-cigarettes that are similar to the ones they have used for regular cigarettes, including sponsoring race cars, using cab-top and bus stop displays, and buying TV ad time to tell smokers to take back their freedom, the Associated Press reports.

Alcohol plays a major role in almost 20 percent of deadly crashes that involve recreational boats, according to The Journal News.

The number of women receiving treatment for substance use disorders could rise under changes that will be implemented as part of health care reform, according to an expert at UCLA.

Legislators in the lower house of Uruguay voted to approve a bill to legalize marijuana, The New York Times reports. The country’s Senate is expected to approve the bill as well. President José Mujica supports the measure.

As a growing number of doctors use urine drug tests in an effort to detect prescription drug abuse in their patients, they face ethical questions about the tests, according to The New York Times.

The U.S. Postal Service is considering delivering alcoholic beverages as a way to raise revenue, according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. He told the Associated Press alcohol deliveries could raise as much as $50 million annually.

Quitting smoking after undergoing a balloon angioplasty procedure to improve blood flow to the heart could add an average of two years to a person’s life, a new study concludes.

The death of “Glee” star Cory Monteith from an overdose that involved heroin highlights the growing use of the drug, ABC News reports.

People seeking a doctor who will write a recommendation for medical marijuana often have a long wait. MarketWatch reports in Massachusetts, many patients have been waiting since the state’s medical marijuana law took effect in January.

A new Gallup poll finds 22 percent of Americans support a complete ban on smoking, The Huffington Post reports. Only 9 percent of smokers support a complete ban.

Law enforcement officers in one West Virginia county will start using a database this week to track children who may be at risk of drug-related abuse, according to the Associated Press.

An investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN has uncovered fraud by California rehab clinics that receive government funds to assist clients who are poor and addicted.