The Latest News from Our Field

A study of the Army’s mental health care system identifies a number of gaps, and provides recommendations, including increasing the number of behavioral health specialists, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A task force in Colorado has issued recommendations on how to regulate marijuana, now that recreational use of the drug has been legalized.

Quitting smoking reduces the risk of heart disease, even in smokers who gain weight after they quit, a new study finds.

Enrolling in college does not lead to substance abuse problems later in life, despite high levels of binge drinking on campuses, a new study suggests.

Military researchers are studying ways to reduce substance abuse among service members, their families and veterans, a Defense Department official said this week. “We’re doing a great job with those physical wounds,” said Dr. Michael E. Kilpatrick. The military now wants to focus on the invisible wounds of war, he added.

Legislators at a hearing in California this week called on the state’s Medical Board to use a statewide database of prescriptions to help find physicians who overprescribe painkillers, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Research shows that an astonishing 31 percent of America’s service men and women smoke. David Dobbins of Legacy explains why leaders in public health are excited that America’s armed forces will now have powerful tools in their arsenal to combat one of the most lethal products available to consumers: tobacco.

The group representing the nation’s attorneys general is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to require manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription pain drugs to develop versions of their products that are resistant to tampering and abuse.

A new study finds people with mental illness who also have a substance use disorder are nine times more likely than the general population to be murdered. Overall, people with mental illness were almost five times as likely to be a murder victim, compared with those with no psychiatric diagnosis.

Supporters of a measure that would fund an increase in college financial aid in California, by raising the excise tax on cigarettes by a dollar per pack, have been given permission to start collecting signatures in an effort to get on the November ballot.

A bill that would allow college students under the legal drinking age to taste alcohol in classes was approved by the Washington State Senate, according to the Associated Press. The bill applies to culinary, beer technology and similar college programs.

Prescription painkiller abuse, which has centered on Eastern and Southern states, is now taking hold in Western states, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Mild traumatic brain injury may be linked to an increased risk of addiction, a study of military personnel suggests.

New Mexico, which has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the country, is considering a bill that would bar many convicted drunk drivers from purchasing alcohol anywhere.

Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, which have been using Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as drug-trafficking transit points, have added Costa Rica, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Recovery groups should advocate for inclusion of peer recovery support services as part of essential health benefits that will be covered under the Affordable Care Act, according to Faces & Voices of Recovery. Peer recovery support services are delivered by individuals who have “lived experience” with addiction and recovery.

Positive pre-employment urine drug screening in the United States rose 5.7 percent in the first half of 2012, compared with all of 2011, according to a survey by Quest Diagnostics, a medical lab research company.

A growing number of employers are requiring tobacco users to pay more for their health insurance if they do not participate in a smoking cessation program, a new national survey finds. Some employers are refusing to hire smokers, according to Forbes.

Random drug testing of middle-school students may help prevent substance abuse, a six-year study of New Jersey students suggests.

A bill introduced in Pennsylvania is designed to prevent people from other states from filling painkiller prescriptions there.

Scientists can use data from Internet searches to learn about unreported side effects from prescription drugs, before they are found by the Food and Drug Administration, The New York Times reports.

Addiction treatment methods in some parts of the world are harsh and unhelpful, according to a new report from the United Nations. Some practices are “tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the report states.

Exempting tobacco products from global trade agreements, and imposing higher taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, can help reduce the incidence of cancer, according to a report by cancer experts.

A bill introduced by a Nevada state senator would allow patients addicted to prescription drugs to sue the physicians who prescribed the drugs, as well as the products’ manufacturers. The measure is strongly opposed, according to the Associated Press.

Eight former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration called on the federal government Tuesday to challenge laws in Colorado and Washington state that legalize the recreational use of marijuana, The Wall Street Journal reports. On the same day, a United Nations agency said the state laws violate international narcotics conventions.