The Latest News from Our Field

People hospitalized for methamphetamine or marijuana use are more likely than those being treated as inpatients for other substance use disorders to develop schizophrenia, according to a new study.

Emergency rooms reported 14,270 intentional poisonings in 2009, according to a new government report. Alcohol was a factor in 60 percent of cases.

The Meth Project, a prevention program aimed at reducing teenage methamphetamine use, has expanded, adding online resources and a social media campaign.

Teens entering 12-step substance abuse programs with a background in formal religious practices have better outcomes than those without a similar experience in religion, a new study suggests.

Skipping the recommended six-month “dry out” period for alcoholics in need of a new liver, before performing a liver transplant, results in better survival rates, according to a study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

The first large-scale study of treatment for addiction to prescription opioids finds the drug Suboxone (buprenorphine plus naloxone) can be an effective therapy. The study found adding intensive counseling for opioid dependence was not helpful, however.

The antidepressant mirtazapine (Remeron) can help reduce methamphetamine dependence, a new study suggests.

Financial stress may lead older adults to drink and smoke more, according to a study of more than 2,300 adults over the age of 65. Men and people with less education appear to be most likely to drink and smoke in response to money worries.

Two teenagers who wrote a song about their experience in drug treatment have won the MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation's Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest.

Nurses have an important role in Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use disorders, according to the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA).

A judge has ruled that tobacco companies do not have to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packages to show the dangers of smoking, the Associated Press reports.

A new study finds widespread substance abuse among Native American, mixed-race and white teenagers.

The role of electronic cigarettes in helping people quit smoking is stirring debate, according to The New York Times.

Advocates for medical marijuana dispensaries have filed lawsuits in California to try to win court orders that would stop U.S. attorneys from closing them down.

An estimated 188.5 tons of unwanted or expired prescription medications were collected around the country on the third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 29, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced.

Recent veterans enrolled in college are more likely than their peers, who are not veterans, to use tobacco products, binge drink and engage in other risky behaviors, a new study suggests.

Drinking alcohol can trigger an allergic reaction or worsen existing allergies, according to the Past President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, who spoke yesterday at the group’s annual meeting.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has five commando-style squads that it has been using for the past several years to battle drug cartels in nations including Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, The New York Times reports.

For every person who died of a prescription painkiller overdose in 1999, nearly four died in 2008. We are in the midst of an epidemic, says Grant Baldwin of the CDC.

Nicotine appears to be a “gateway” drug that primes the brain to be susceptible to cocaine, according to a new study in mice.

A growing number of people are ending up in the emergency room after abusing the muscle relaxant carisoprodol. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says the number of such ER visits doubled, from 15,830 in 2004 to 31,763 in 2009.

The Senate has approved an appropriation of $5 million for research into alcohol-detection devices called interlocks, which prevent drivers under the influence of alcohol from driving.

A petition drive in Kern County, California, seeks to challenge a recent law that would close down medical marijuana clinics in the area.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will spend about $600 million over five years on a campaign to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco, the Associated Press reports.

Women who have three to six alcoholic drinks a week are at slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who don’t drink at all, a new study has found.