The Latest News from Our Field

A federal judge has ruled that a medical marijuana dispensary in northern California can remain open, despite efforts by federal prosecutors to close it.

Tobacco manufacturers are moving into the manufacture and sale of electronic cigarettes, according to CNBC. The business, which brought in $400 million to $500 million in sales in 2012, is expected to at least double this year, one expert predicts.

Advocates for two competing medical marijuana measures in Los Angeles have gathered enough signatures to have the initiatives appear on the May ballot. Both measures aim to manage growth of medical marijuana shops, according to NBC News.

New Mexico’s largest jail will no longer use methadone to treat inmates who are addicted to drugs, The New York Times reports. The jail’s warden cited cost concerns. He also questioned the program’s effectiveness.

Drug use among Ohio inmates is the highest it has been in more than a decade, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Most of the inmates who tested positive for drugs in 2012 used marijuana.

As smoke-free housing policies gain momentum, we should ensure populations that are disproportionately impacted by tobacco use are considered, says David Dobbins of Legacy.

Smoking cessation product sales reached $1 billion last year in the United States, according to the market research firm Mintel. Sales are expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2017, according to CSPnet.com.

People who are dependent on opioids and are being treated with buprenorphine do not receive additional benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, a new study finds.

A California-based company hopes to sell marijuana in vending machines in Colorado and Washington, which have legalized recreational use of the drug, NBC News reports.

Middle and high school students are invited to participate in Drug Free Action Alliance’s “Big Bowl Vote 2013,” a student questionnaire about alcohol advertising given the morning after the Super Bowl.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed new regulations to give the public more options for disposing of unwanted prescription drugs, such as painkillers and sedatives.

The U.S. Navy has released a video that demonstrates the disturbing effects of bath salts, ABC News reports. The video is the latest weapon in the Navy’s effort to combat synthetic drug use.

Registration is open for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)’s 23rd annual National Leadership Forum, to be held February 4-7 in National Harbor, Maryland. The CADCA Forum is the nation’s largest training conference for community prevention and treatment professionals and researchers.

As opioids become more difficult and expensive to abuse, heroin use is on the rise in Florida, according to law enforcement officials.

The opioid-overdose antidote naloxone can save lives and money when distributed to heroin users, a new study finds.

Drug companies that manufacture the painkillers OxyContin and Opana are trying to block generic drug makers’ efforts to produce cheaper versions of the drugs. They argue these newer drugs will not have the tamper-resistant designs used in making the brand-name pills, according to The New York Times.

Some people in Colorado celebrated New Year’s Eve in private marijuana clubs, which were allowed for the first time under the state’s new recreational marijuana law.

Energy drinks, under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration after reports of deaths and serious injuries, offer little or no benefit to consumers, experts say.

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Almost one-quarter of the nation’s high school seniors say they have smoked marijuana in the past month, and just over 36 percent admit to using the drug in the past year, according to the 2012 Monitoring the Future Survey.

For some, the holidays are the happiest time of year, however it can also be a challenging time for those in recovery worried about relapse, explains Marvin D. Seppala, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Hazelden.

People who use marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, which have legalized the recreational use of the drug, should not be a top priority for federal law enforcement officials, President Obama told ABC News’ Barbara Walters.

Treatment admissions for people addicted to both benzodiazepines and narcotic pain relievers jumped 569.7 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to a new government report. Overall, substance abuse treatment admissions increased 4 percent over the same period.

More than 86,000 children in Kentucky are being raised by someone other than a biological parent, and prescription drug abuse is largely to blame, community leaders say.

Walgreens has been ordered to pay $16.5 million in damages, to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of illegally dumping pharmaceutical and biohazardous waste in California.