The Latest News from Our Field

The Affordable Care Act will revolutionize the field of substance abuse treatment, according to A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, CEO and co-founder of the Treatment Research Institute.

A bipartisan group of 13 House members has introduced a federal bill that would allow medical marijuana patients and businesses that are complying with state law to access and distribute marijuana without federal interference.

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who fought the tobacco industry, died at the age of 96. He issued the first government warning about secondhand tobacco smoke, Bloomberg reports.

A new study links the number of sex partners young adults have with their subsequent risk of developing alcohol or marijuana dependence disorders. The study found young women who had more than two or three sex partners when they were 18 to 20 years old were nearly 10 times more likely than those with one or no sexual partner to develop a substance dependence problem at age 21.

The Chinese movement exercise known as qigong may help control cocaine craving early in recovery, a new study suggests.

A new study finds 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women are heavy drinkers, according to government guidelines. On any given day, 18 percent of men and 11 percent of women drink more alcohol than advised by federal dietary guidelines, Reuters reports.

Entrepreneurs in the medical marijuana industry can be hit with a federal income tax rate as high as 75 percent, CNN reports. The high tax rate is due to a 1982 tax code provision aimed at drug runners.

The Food and Drug Administration informed the maker of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone that it has approved two generic versions of the drug, according to Reuters. The company, Reckitt Benckiser, had asked the agency to block the generic products because of concerns over pediatric poisonings.

The new head of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products is a longtime critic of the tobacco industry, The Wall Street Journal reports. Mitch Zeller’s appointment may signal stricter oversight of cigarette manufacturers, according to the newspaper.

CADCA's Mary Elizabeth Elliott gives her perspective on their recent National Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., where 2,600 community and state leaders formed new partnerships and learned current strategies in the art and science of effective coalition building.

Middle school students are less likely to think using drugs is bad if their parents told them about their own past substance use, a new study finds.

Older smokers who quit can see health benefits within five years, according to a new study. The study of 8,807 people ages 50 to 74 found a person can reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke by more than 40 percent within the first five years after they stop smoking.

The case of a Florida man arrested as part of nationwide synthetic drug sweep could have implications across the country, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

A task force in Colorado will be making recommendations on how to regulate marijuana, now that recreational use of the drug has been legalized. The group is suggesting rules for everything from “pot tourism” to whether people can smoke marijuana on their backyard patios.

The federal government on Wednesday issued a final rule on “essential health benefits” that most health insurance plans must offer next year, including treatment of drug addiction and alcohol abuse.

An international survey has found 80 percent of people who use e-cigarettes do so because they consider the products less harmful than traditional cigarettes. The researchers say e-cigarettes may have the potential to help smokers quit, Medical News Today reports.

A growing number of people are becoming addicted to heroin in New York state, according to drug treatment counselors and police. They say many people have switched to heroin from prescription painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Massachusetts officials are struggling to figure out how the state’s new medical marijuana law will impact health care professionals. Because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, health workers who use medical marijuana may endanger their licenses, according to WBUR.

The number of deadly drug overdoses in the United States increased for the 11th consecutive year, according to new government data. More than 22,000 people died of overdoses involving prescription drugs in 2010.

Mapping the location of alcohol outlets, drug activity and violent crimes could help police prevent violence, a new study suggests.

The Supreme Court ruled police do not have to extensively document a drug-sniffing dog’s expertise to justify relying on the canine to search a vehicle, according to The Washington Post. The unanimous ruling overturned a Florida Supreme Court decision.

The risk of dying before age 55 is increased in teens and young adults who smoke, are obese and have high blood sugar levels, a new study suggests.

The second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, to be held April 2-4, 2013, will bring together top leaders from many disciplines, and provide all stakeholders timely, relevant and evidence-based information to help put an end to prescription drug abuse, explains Karen Kelly of Operation Unite.

A bipartisan group of legislators from around the country has introduced a bill designed to reduce methamphetamine addiction.

Substance abuse prevention programs that begin in middle school may help deter prescription drug abuse in later years, new research suggests.