The Latest News from Our Field

Researchers at the University of Michigan will try to document the impact of medical marijuana, with a $2.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Depictions of drinking alcohol in movies increased between 1996 and 2009, while smoking scenes decreased, according to a new study.

Altria is a leading manufacturer of a product that causes over 400,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and close to six million deaths every year worldwide, and Corporate Responsibility Magazine has once again ranked Altria as one of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens.”

Almost one-quarter of parents do not think they can influence their teens’ use of alcohol, drugs or tobacco, according to a new government report. Nine percent of parents say they did not talk to their teens about the dangers of substance abuse in the past year.

A new study finds little evidence that mothers’ use of cocaine during pregnancy in the 1980s led to a proliferation of “crack babies,” the Associated Press reports.

A study of men arrested in five major U.S. cities finds more than 60 percent use illegal drugs, but most do not receive treatment.

Children who accidentally eat food such as cookies made with marijuana can get sick, according to a new study. Researchers at Colorado Children’s Hospital report they treated 14 children who ingested the drug, half of whom ate marijuana-laced foods.

More than half of internal medicine residents at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston say they were not adequately trained in addiction and other substance use disorders, according to a new survey.

On Wednesday 23 attorneys general sent a letter to Urban Outfitters CEO and Chairman Richard A. Hayne, urging him to remove products promoting prescription drug abuse from the stores’ shelves.

A new campaign launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages smokers to talk with their physician about quitting. The “Talk With Your Doctor” campaign also provides materials for physicians to help their patients give up cigarettes.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified a compound that stopped mice addicted to cocaine from wanting the drug. The compound has been proven safe for humans and is undergoing further animal testing, in preparation for possible clinical trials for people addicted to cocaine.

The newly released update to psychiatry’s diagnostic manual combines problem drinking and alcoholism into a single condition known as “alcohol use disorder,” which some experts say could lead binge drinkers to be mislabeled as alcoholics.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds an increase in the percentage of adults who had five or more drinks in one day at least once in the past year. The prevalence of adult smoking remained unchanged in most age groups, but declined among young adults.

The average marijuana smoker in Colorado will pay about $650 for the drug next year, according to Time.com. The estimate is based on a study by researchers at Colorado State University, who wanted to determine how much the state will collect in marijuana-related tax revenue.

Some Minnesota physicians say they are sometimes unfairly blamed for patients’ prescription drug abuse, the Associated Press reports. At a Minnesota Medical Association forum, doctors said they feel caught between trying to help patients in pain and attempting to curb abuse.

The first nationwide survey of people in recovery from addiction to alcohol and drugs finds their lives steadily improve in areas from employment to family life to community involvement. The online survey, released by the advocacy group Faces & Voices of Recovery, attempts to measure and quantify the effects of recovery over time.

Only 1 percent of parents believe their teens have used attention-deficit hyperactivity drugs to help them study, but 10 percent of high school students have done so, a new nationwide poll suggests.

The earlier a person starts drinking, the greater the chance he or she will consume more alcohol later in life, according to a new study of humans and rats. People who start drinking during puberty consume more alcohol later in life than those who start drinking later.

A report released by the Organization of American States calls for a discussion on legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, the Associated Press reports.

Health experts gathered this week in Kentucky to discuss how to deal with the problem of babies born to drug-dependent mothers, according to The Courier-Journal. Hospitalizations for newborns in the state with neonatal abstinence syndrome climbed from 29 in 2000, to 730 in 2011.

Lawmakers in Washington state, where recreational marijuana use is now legal, are trying to determine how police officers can identify drivers impaired by marijuana use, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Female college students are more likely than their male peers to drink more alcohol than is recommended by government guidelines, Harvard University researchers have found.

People who drink heavily and smoke may have more signs of early aging of the brain, including problems with memory, quick thinking and problem solving, compared with heavy drinkers who are nonsmokers.

Schools, parents and civic organizations around the country are trying to attract high school students to alcohol-free supervised events after their prom, Reuters reports. Some are offering expensive door prizes including iPads and even cars.

Drug courts represent a criminal justice approach that takes into account the need to ensure public safety through close supervision, and public health through the delivery of community-based treatment, say scientists from the Treatment Research Institute.