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.

Nonprofit groups that advocate treating pain with medications have received $65 million since 1997 from opioid manufacturers, according to a bipartisan congressional investigation.
Teens’ rate of vaping nicotine and marijuana leveled off this year, but rates remain high, according to the most recent figures from the annual Monitoring the Future survey.
A new survey finds college students who moved home due to the COVID-19 pandemic are drinking less alcohol, HealthDay reports.
Consulting firm McKinsey & Company issued an apology this week for its work with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, The New York Times reports.
The House passed a bill that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The Senate is unlikely to pass the measure, CBS News reports.
A new survey has found vaping rates among teens and young adults have dropped significantly during the pandemic.
Non-fatal drug overdoses increased for children under the age of 15 between 2016 and 2019, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
The World Health Organization announced a year-long campaign, “Commit to Quit,” to help 100 million people quit tobacco worldwide.
Feverpitched/Getty Images
The consulting firm McKinsey & Company advised members of the Sackler family, the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, to consider giving the company’s distributors a rebate for every overdose attributable to the pills they sold, according to documents released in a federal bankruptcy court.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges related to the marketing and distribution of its opioid painkiller OxyContin, The New York Times reports.
miralex / Getty Images
The United Nations this week voted to remove marijuana from its list of the world’s most dangerous drugs.
One-fifth of U.S. adults — 50.6 million people — used tobacco products in 2019, according to a new government report.
Virtual sessions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which have become common during the pandemic, are likely to become a permanent part of recovery, according to participants and addiction treatment providers.
This week a federal bankruptcy judge authorized a settlement valued at $8.3 billion between OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the Department of Justice, NPR reports.
Supervising drug consumption at a needle exchange program in Boston would save three to four lives a year, and more than $4 million, according to a new report.
A new study finds fentanyl deaths have increased in states west of the Mississippi River, according to NPR.
A recent Gallup poll and the passage of state marijuana legalization measures indicate that bipartisan support for legalization is growing, AP reports.
After New York State implemented an excise tax on many opioids in July 2019, some patients have had difficulty filling opioid prescriptions, Kaiser Health News reports.
A large drug company and three major drug distributors have proposed a $26 billion deal with state and local governments that sued them for their role in the opioid crisis. If the deal is finalized, the companies would be shielded from future opioid-related lawsuits from these governments, The New York Times reports.
The U.S. House will vote next month on a measure to remove federal penalties on marijuana, Politico reports.
A new study finds “diseases of despair,” including alcohol and drug misuse and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, rose dramatically in the United States between 2009 and 2018.
A group of Democratic senators is urging the Justice Department to drop its efforts to convert OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma into a public asset, The Wall Street Journal reports.
One-third of people who use e-cigarettes report having one or more symptoms of vaping-related lung injury, according to a new study.
Oregon has become the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, CBS News reports.
Shapecharge / Getty Images
Evidence is mounting that the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the opioid epidemic, according to the American Medical Association.
1 35 36 37 38 39 364