The Latest News from Our Field

Authorities in Iowa say heroin is making a comeback in the state. The Associated Press reports people have switched to heroin from OxyContin, which is now difficult to obtain.

As “pill mills” close in Florida due to increased law enforcement, the sale of opioids is booming online, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Following the success of a coalition of public health organizations, government agencies and health experts in forcing the alcohol industry to remove caffeine from alcoholic beverages, a new public health threat is emerging: supersized alcopops.

The number of emergency room visits related to energy drinks jumped from 2005 to 2009, according to a new government report.

Local and national authorities are playing catch-up with synthetic drug makers, who are constantly changing the chemical makeup of their products to avoid breaking the law.

The health insurance company Wellpoint announced it will cover lung CT scans for certain current and former heavy smokers, after a government-funded study found that the screening test was associated with a 20 percent decrease in lung cancer deaths.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency criticized the NFL Players Association for opposing testing of its players for human growth hormone.

A new study finds medical marijuana laws are associated with a reduction in traffic deaths. The most likely reason for the decrease is that some people in states with the laws use marijuana instead of alcohol, the researchers say.

The governors of Rhode Island and Washington have asked the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses.

The New Jersey Legislature is considering a bill that would allow syringes to be sold without a prescription. Currently only New Jersey and Delaware require a prescription for syringes.

CVS has sent letters to some physicians in Florida informing them the pharmacy chain will not fill prescriptions they write for oxycodone and other Schedule II narcotic drugs, Reuters reports.

The Obama Administration has appealed a ruling by a U.S. judge that tobacco companies do not have to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packages to show the dangers of smoking.

Researchers are studying hallucinogens and other illicit drugs as possible treatments for conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, addiction and depression, the Los Angeles Times reports.

States have reduced funding for tobacco prevention programs this year to the lowest levels since 1999, a new report by public health groups finds.

A growing number of young people being booked into jail in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis, are using painkillers, according to KARE11.

As addiction treatment providers become integrated into the larger health care system as part of health care reform, it will become especially important for addiction professionals to understand issues of patient confidentiality in this new environment, says Cynthia Tuohy of NAADAC, the Association of Addiction Professionals.

A new study finds a majority of doctors who are treated for addiction return to work within a few years of treatment. Surgeons have similar success rates compared with other types of physicians.

Treating smoking like a chronic disease helps smokers quit, a new study suggests. Providing long-term assistance to smokers, similar to the approach used in treating high blood pressure and diabetes, increases smoking cessation rates, the study found.

The Supreme Court will hear two cases involving people who committed cocaine-related crimes before the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 took effect, but who were not sentenced until afterwards. The Fair Sentencing Act reduced the disparity of sentences between people who sell crack cocaine and those who sell the powder form of the drug.

A man who was on the liver transplant list at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has been removed because he was using medical marijuana and did not show up for a drug test.

College administrators say they are concerned about an increase in prescription stimulant abuse among students, The Washington Post reports.

The American Medical Association’s policy-making body has called on the organization to promote doctor training on the correct use of controlled substances, in an effort to reduce prescription drug abuse.

Rappers are increasingly promoting alcoholic drinks in which they have financial stakes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A new labor deal between Major League Baseball and the players union limits the use of smokeless tobacco by players, but does not ban it during games.

Interest is growing in Good Samaritan laws aimed at saving lives by encouraging people who witness drug overdoses to call 911. But much is not yet known about the laws’ impact on drug users, bystanders, paramedics and police.