The Latest News from Our Field

A new study finds premature death rates in the United States have risen among whites and American Indians/Alaskan Natives. A significant jump in drug overdoses is the primary reason for the increase, HealthDay reports.

The discovery of a gene variant associated with opioid addiction in African Americans may lead to personalized methadone treatment, according to HealthDay.

A growing number of hospitals across the country are rewriting protocols and retraining staff in an effort to minimize opioid prescriptions, PBS NewsHour reports.

More people with substance use disorders and mental illness had insurance coverage in 2014 because of the expansion of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a new study finds. Many barriers to treatment remain, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Twenty-eight percent of American adults, and 9 percent of teens, use tobacco products, according to a new survey. Researchers found 40 percent of people who use tobacco say they use more than one product. Cigarettes and e-cigarettes are the most common combination.

A new review of studies from around the world finds young people who have greater exposure to alcohol marketing appear to be more likely subsequently to initiate alcohol use and engage in binge and hazardous drinking.

Addiction treatment advocates are trying to convince Republican legislators in states greatly impacted by the opioid epidemic to protect insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

Police organizations promoting an approach to opioids that emphasizes treatment over jail are concerned the incoming Trump Administration may focus on prosecution rather than treatment, Scientific American reports.

President Obama on Tuesday announced he was reducing or eliminating the sentences for hundreds more nonviolent drug offenders, CNN reports. He has now reduced the sentences for 1,385 people, most of whom are serving time for crimes related to producing or distributing narcotics.

The Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association is warning its members that some people are taking pain medicine prescribed to pets, according to The Boston Globe.

A new government report finds a dramatic increase in the proportion of babies born dependent on opioid drugs, such as heroin or prescription pain relievers. Between 2000 and 2009 the number of infants born to women who had used opioids increased nearly fivefold annually--from 1.19 to 5.63 per 1,000 hospital births.

People with addiction and mental health disorders and their treatment providers are worried that repealing the Affordable Care Act could reduce insurance coverage for these disorders, USA Today reports.

A new study adds to the growing body of research indicating that nonmedical use of prescription stimulants for students without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder likely provides no academic benefits.

A new study finds ignition interlocks, devices that prevent a person from starting a car if their blood alcohol level is too high, prevents deadly accidents.

The percentage of Americans who view e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking tobacco is dropping, a new study suggests. Researchers found 43 percent of those surveyed in 2014 said they thought e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, compared with half of those surveyed in 2012.

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is visiting China this week to discuss combating sales of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl, CNN reports. Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg will also discuss new psychoactive substances and money-laundering activities when he meets with Chinese officials.

Setting new household rules for teens in treatment for a substance use disorder can be challenging for parents. But it is important because research shows that teens do take their parents’ attitudes, opinions and beliefs into account when they make choices about substance use, says Christopher Hammond, MD, of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

A new survey finds more than half of U.S. doctors are reducing the number of opioid prescriptions they write. Almost 10 percent have stopped prescribing opioids altogether, The Boston Globe reports.

A growing number of people are dying from cocaine-related overdoses because they are mixing the drug with opioids such as heroin and fentanyl, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The Food and Drug Administration will hold a workshop in April to consider the hazards of exploding batteries in e-cigarettes, HealthDay reports.

Fewer Americans said they drove under the influence of alcohol in 2014 compared with 2002, according to a new government report.

Teen use of marijuana rose in Washington state after the drug was legalized for adults 21 and older, a new study finds. In Colorado, legalization had no impact on marijuana use by teens, CBS News reports.

In the past year, federal and state policymakers have taken a number of steps to combat synthetic drugs, also known as “novel psychoactive substances,” according to Jonathan Woodruff, Senior Legislative Attorney at the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

Heroin was the drug most often involved in overdose deaths between 2010 and 2014, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other drugs commonly involved in overdoses included oxycodone, methadone, morphine, morphine, hydrocodone, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium).

Drug deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids rose 72 percent from 2014 to 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.