The Latest News from Our Field

Some college students are experimenting with inhaling alcohol by pouring it over dry ice and “smoking” the vapors, according to an expert who says the practice is dangerous.

Taking medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood does not affect the risk of substance abuse later in life, according to a new study. Earlier research indicated children who took ADHD drugs had a reduced risk of substance abuse, The New York Times reports.

A poll of doctors finds 76 percent say they would approve of the use of medical marijuana to treat pain in an older woman with advanced breast cancer.

Last year 73 new synthetic drugs were detected in Europe, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Of these drugs, 30 were variations of synthetic marijuana.

Thank you for supporting our effort to have products that promote prescription drug abuse removed from Urban Outfitters (UO) stores and website. UO has yet to respond to our demands, so we invite you to join us for a phone campaign to Urban Outfitters CEO & Chairman to request that the merchandise be removed immediately.

Strong connections with parents who advise against drug use reduce teens’ risk of abusing prescription drugs, a new study finds.

A Kentucky law allows parents to petition the court to order involuntary drug treatment for their adult children, USA Today reports. Other concerned people may also file a petition under Casey’s Law.

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.