The Latest News from Our Field

Treating teenagers for major depression can reduce the odds they will develop a drug use disorder, a new study suggests.

Coors Light and other alcohol brands are testing an age-checking tool on Twitter, Ad Age reports.

A measure on the Colorado ballot in November about marijuana legalization could have an effect on the presidential election, the Associated Press reports.

A new study challenges the widely held belief that men find it easier than women to quit smoking.

A recent bizarre incident in Miami, in which a man stripped naked and ate the face of another man, while allegedly high on “bath salts,” has renewed calls for banning synthetic drugs. U.S. News & World Report notes that both the House and Senate have passed bills banning the drugs, but so far have not been able to pass an identical bill.

Costs related to narcotic painkillers are growing for workplace insurers, which are currently spending an estimated $1.4 billion on the drugs, The New York Times reports.

Penalties for college athletes who test positive for marijuana differ between the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Associated Press reports.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will ask the state legislature on Monday to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view, according to The New York Times.

Twelve-step programs can be extremely helpful for teens who are struggling with addiction or who are on the road to becoming addicted, but they are more useful if they are adapted to the particular needs of adolescents, according to an expert on teenage addiction.

Two emergency medicine experts have proposed what they call “ideal” prescription drug monitoring software, in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Family dinners, long considered to be a way to reduce the odds of teen substance abuse, may not be as effective as previously thought, a new study suggests.

A new poll suggests shrinking support for a California ballot measure that would add a $1 tax to each pack of cigarettes. Voters will decide the outcome on Tuesday.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed into law a measure that makes it illegal to sell or possess synthetic drugs, including “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana.

A new study finds that World No Tobacco Day, on May 31, promotes awareness and interest in quitting smoking. The study of seven Latin American countries found on that day, news coverage of smoking cessation increased by as much as 83 percent, and Internet searches about the topic jumped by up to 84 percent, compared with other days.

As a growing number of states implement prescription drug monitoring databases to curb “doctor shopping” for painkillers, some physicians say they object to aspects of the programs.

People who carry a specific high-risk variation in a cluster of nicotine receptor genes are more likely to find success in quitting smoking using smoking cessation medication, a new study suggests.

A new poll finds 46 percent of California voters say they favor legalization of marijuana for general or recreational use by adults. Eighty percent support doctor-recommended use for severe illness, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A counterfeit form of the drug Adderall is being sold online, the Food and Drug Administration warned this week. Adderall, prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, also is used illicitly to increase attention and get high, the Los Angeles Times reports.

People who receive a lung transplanted from a smoker live longer than people who need a transplant and don’t receive one, a new study finds.

In Michigan, 44 residents younger than 18 have a medical marijuana card, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The number of visits to New York public hospital emergency rooms that are related to drinking shot up from almost 8,000 to 15,620 in five years, the New York Daily News reports.

Ken Winters, PhD, of the Treatment Research Institute sees two problems with the proposed DSM revisions.

The U.S. Senate last week passed a bill that would prohibit the sale of synthetic drugs. The bill had been held up in the Senate for months by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

A new video game helps doctors learn how to determine if patients asking for painkillers truly need them. The game is part of an effort at Northwestern University in Chicago to help physicians fight prescription drug abuse.

Only a small fraction of revenues that states collect from the sale of tobacco products goes toward smoking prevention programs, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.