The Latest News from Our Field

Police in Edmonton, Canada are reporting the seizure of a large amount of a synthetic drug, W-18, which they say is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, according to Fox News.

There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink before people put themselves at risk of blacking out, a review of studies concludes. Individual biological differences, not just alcohol consumption, influence the risk of blackouts, Medical Daily reports.

The suicide rate in the United States rose 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers say increasing drug use may be one of the contributing factors.

A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday presented 15 bills aimed at fighting opioid addiction, according to The Hill.

The United Nations’ three-day special session to address global drug policy ended last week without a major shift in approach, The Wall Street Journal reports. It was the first special session to address the topic in almost 20 years.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has given approval for a study that will evaluate the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to The Denver Post.

As the heroin crisis continues to escalate in the United States, interest is growing in the experience of North America’s only facility allowed to prescribe diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, the active ingredient in heroin. The facility, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been successful in keeping participants out of jail and away from emergency rooms, The New York Times reports.

At this week’s three-day special session to address global drug policy, nations’ widely varying approach to drug policy is striking, the Associated Press reports. It is the first special session to address the topic in almost 20 years.

A group of scientists in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia is warning about the potential mental health consequences of marijuana use, The Guardian reports. They say frequent use of marijuana increases the risk of psychotic disorders in vulnerable people.

A single 30-minute session with a trained therapist during an emergency room visit can motivate people who misuse prescription opioid painkillers to reduce their use, a new study concludes.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 15- Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Join Together spoke with Kelly J. Clark, MD, MBA, FASAM, DFAPA, President-elect, American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), about the opioid addiction medication buprenorphine.

Opioid abuse could be costing U.S. employers up to $8 billion annually, according to a report by the benefits firm Castlight Health. Employees who abuse opioids cost employers almost twice as much in healthcare expenses on average, compared with workers who don’t abuse opioids, the report found.

Efforts to legalize marijuana in New England are stalling in the face of the region’s opioid epidemic, The New York Times reports.

A new government report finds there was a slight decline in the life expectancy of white Americans in 2014. Drug overdoses, liver disease and suicide were the main factors in the decrease, according to the lead researcher from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The synthetic drug flakka, which caused numerous hospitalizations in South Florida in 2014 and 2015, appears to have disappeared, CNN reports.

E-cigarettes are now the most widely used tobacco product among teens, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E-cigarette use rose among middle school and high school students from 2011 to 2015, the report found.

The United Nations starts a three-day special session Tuesday to address global drug policy, the Associated Press reports. It is the first special session to address the topic in almost 20 years.

More than 50 doctors, including a former U.S. Surgeon General, have formed a group promoting the legalization and regulation of marijuana, The Washington Post reports. Doctors for Cannabis Regulation endorses the legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use.

The definition of a standard alcoholic drink varies greatly from country to country, according to a new study. The definition of unhealthy drinking also differs, CNN reports.

A group of state health officials, doctors and consumer advocates is asking the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for changes to pain treatment guidelines to reduce the use of opioid painkillers.

A new study finds people who become addicted to drugs later in life are more likely to relapse during treatment, compared with those whose addictions started earlier.

College students’ drinking drops during the summer, but spikes during the return to school in the fall semester, and during spring break, a new study shows.

Thirty health groups are urging President Obama to issue a final rule that would let the Food and Drug Administration regulate all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, The Hill reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 8- Thursday, April 14, 2016.