The Latest News from Our Field

A survey of eighth and ninth graders prescribed medication finds 83.4 percent say they have unsupervised access to the drugs at home.

A group of entrepreneurs is looking to invest in legal marijuana companies, according to The New York Times. ArcView Investor Network recently organized a conference with 18 start-up companies that provide services to the marijuana industry.

Many baseball players are tired of seeing colleagues who are punished for using performance-enhancing drugs (PED), then receive large contracts a short time later, the Los Angeles Times reports. They are calling for tougher sanctions for players who use PEDs.

From small towns like Page, Arizona to major cities like Denver, Colorado and Brooklyn, New York, All Rise America! put a spotlight on what can be achieved when justice and treatment professionals work together to give addicted offenders the opportunity for treatment.

Some men who use the baldness drug finasteride (Propecia) report drinking less alcohol, according to a new study. The researchers say they are not sure why the medication may reduce the urge to drink, but suggest the drug may change the brain’s chemistry.

The number of tobacco ads preteens and teens are exposed to influences their risk of starting to smoke, a new study suggests. Researchers found for every 10 tobacco ads that they see, their risk of starting to smoke increases by almost 40 percent.

A new study finds states that have more restrictive rules on youth access to tobacco also have lower rates of adult smoking.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is asking colleges in his state to tighten restrictions on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs used by students to increase their focus, known as “study drugs.”

A new study finds people who inject drugs can cut their risk of developing HIV in half by taking a daily antiretroviral medication, The New York Times reports.

Outlawing psychoactive drugs such as marijuana and “magic mushrooms” impedes research and amounts to scientific censorship, according to three researchers.

Heroin use is on the rise in Washington state, particularly among young people, according to a new report. The increase can be traced to laws that have made it more difficult to obtain prescriptions for opioids such as oxycodone, the researchers say.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida this week criticized state and local officials for releasing thousands of prescription drug records. The group asked to see documents related to the data release.

Walgreens on Tuesday agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties, in order to resolve allegations by the Drug Enforcement Administration that the company violated federal rules regarding the distribution of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone.

The American Academy of Family Physicians, in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is offering its members online tools to help them care for patients and families struggling with addiction.

The three largest tobacco manufacturers announced they are increasing cigarette prices, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, along with substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals, are calling for rules that would limit youth access to marijuana in Washington state, now that the drug is legal there for adults.

A researcher at Harvard Medical School is studying which substance use disorders are more common among people with different types of mental illness, and when they tend to develop.

A team of scientists at the University of Michigan say they have identified a new approach to pain therapy that could lead to lower-dose painkillers, which may reduce the risk of dependence.

Tobacco companies are expected to spend millions of dollars on e-cigarette advertising this year, Ad Age reports. The U.S. market for e-cigarettes is projected to double this year, to about $1 billion.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will promote a broad approach to fighting drug-related violence in Central America at a meeting of the Organization of the American States this week, according to Reuters.

A new law that sets legal limits on marijuana levels in the bloodstream took effect in Colorado on May 28. Under the new law, drivers are assumed to be impaired if their blood test shows a level of THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—of five or more nanograms per milliliter.

A new study of designated drivers finds 35 percent of them drink. Many imbibing designated drivers have blood-alcohol levels high enough to impair their driving, researchers from the University of Florida report.

A smartphone app designed by the National Cancer Institute texts teens to help them quit smoking, Politico reports.

Law enforcement officials in charge of K-9 units in Washington state and Colorado, where recreational marijuana is now legal, are no longer training drug-sniffing dogs to detect the drug, according to Fox News. Dogs already trained to detect marijuana are being forced into early retirement.

Dr. Stuart Gitlow, President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, argues DSM-5 changes the terminology of addiction, but the disease remains unchanged.