Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist or visit scheduler.drugfree.org
Helpline
Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist

The Latest News from Our Field

We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation has teamed up with a state school athletic group to launch an interactive alcohol education website aimed at student athletes - but with a twist on typical teen anti-drinking messages.

Do you find yourself drinking more heavily when you are out with friends? There may be a gene for that.
The head of Colorado's medical-marijuana enforcement effort promises a comprehensive plan that other states could adopt as a model.

Faye J. Calhoun has been named the board chairman of the National Association of Children of Alcoholics (NACoA), stepping up from her role as a board member since 2006. She replaces Carol B. Cisco, Ph.D., who will remain on the NACoA board.

The state of Washington plans to impose tough new rules on doctors who want to prescribe opiate painkillers to patients, including mandatory third-party evaluation of patients who request higher doses of the drug but don???t show signs of improvement.

Impaired driving by people using legal prescription drugs is hard to detect and prosecute, experts say ... Most doctors say they don’t report colleagues they know are impaired by alcohol or other drugs ... A U.S. ban on sales of clove cigarettes could be undone by international trade agreements ...

As new laws against labeling cigarettes as "light" and "mild" go into effect, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enlisting the support of prevention groups and others in getting the word out that there’s no such thing as a "safe" or "safer" cigarette.

More than half a million "stop and frisks" by police each year have led to 46,000 annual marijuana arrests in New York City -- mostly among blacks and Latinos -- writes Drug Policy Alliance director Ethan Nadelmann.

An FDA advisory panel says doctors should be required to get training on misuse of prescription drugs and rejected a plan that called for voluntary training ... The VA is now allowing veterans to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal ... Moonshine is cheap and cool again, explaining why producing illegal booze is more popular during the recession ...

Veterans in states with medical-marijuana laws will be allowed to use the drug without losing their access to pain medication under a new policy announced by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Diana Sylvestre, M.D., an Oakland, Calif., physician and Harvard Medical School grad, has devoted her practice to treating drug addicts, former addicts and others who have been infected with Hepatitis C.

Timothy P. Condon, Ph.D., the current assistant director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), moved this week to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to take on the role of science policy advisor. Condon has been NIDA’s deputy director since 2004 and had worked at NIDA since 1992, previously serving as chief of the agency’s science policy branch and as NIDA’s first associate director for science policy.

You can lead colleges to evidence-based programs, but you can’t make them adopt measures that stop kids from drinking ... Virginia’s governor wants the state out of the alcohol retail business ... Four big farms could legally supply Oakland’s medical-marijuana users, the city says ... Despite declining smoking rates and ongoing litigation, the tobacco industry continues to pull in big profits ...