The Latest News from Our Field

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.

The growing population of older adults who are taking many medications prescribed by different doctors, combined with the growing opioid epidemic, is contributing to the increasing problem of drug misuse among the elderly, according to Harry Hanoutunian, MD, Director of the Professional Program at the Betty Ford Center.

A new study finds teenage girls start drinking before their male peers, even though most strategies to reduce underage drinking are aimed at boys.

Even light hookah smoking can cause changes in airway cells, a new study suggests.

An analysis of sports supplements that claim to burn fat or improve your workout may contain a stimulant drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Researchers from Harvard Medical School say the stimulant may pose health risks.

In Missouri, the only state without a prescription drug monitoring program, the state senator blocking approval of the program argues it represents an invasion of privacy, NPR reports.

The U.S. Surgeon General will release a report this fall on substance use, addiction and health, according to Medscape. It will be the first such report since U.S. surgeons began issuing them in 1964.

The business of addiction treatment is attracting a growing number of private equity investors, NPR reports. The treatment business is estimated to be worth $35 billion.

Some cities are using Medicaid funds to provide addiction treatment for repeat low-level drug offenders, the Associated Press reports. Many are mentally ill or homeless and have never had coverage for addiction treatment before.

A new study suggests smokers remain unemployed longer than nonsmokers. Researchers at Stanford University found when smokers do find jobs, they earn much less than nonsmokers, according to CBS News.

The opioid epidemic is leading to an increase in the number of “sober homes,” a form of housing where people in recovery live together in a supervised, substance-free setting. Most of these homes have little or no government oversight, the Associated Press reports.

A new study suggests the opioid painkiller hydromorphone may help treat people with heroin addiction.

One question about drinking frequency in the past year can help doctors identify which teens are at risk for alcohol problems, a new study concludes. Teens ages 12 to 17 who report having at least one drink on three or more days in the past year are most at risk for alcohol problems.

Europeans spend more than $27 billion annually on illicit drugs, according to a new report by the European Union. Marijuana accounts $10.6 billion, while heroin accounts for $7.7 billion, Reuters reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 1- Thursday, April 7, 2016.

Several local governments have started to include synthetic cannabinoids in their criminal justice drug monitoring programs in an effort to deter their use, after it became clear many people were using the drugs because they knew tests wouldn’t detect them, according to the Director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR).

Teens with severe drug and alcohol problems often have a low regard for others, a new study suggests. They have higher rates of driving under the influence and having unprotected sex with a history of sexually transmitted disease, The Huffington Post reports.

A new study suggests addiction may be linked with the high use of social media in people with depression. People who check social media most frequently throughout the week were 2.7 times more likely to be depressed than those who check it least often, the study found.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said this week it will decide in the first half of 2016 whether marijuana should be reclassified under federal law. The agency gave no indication what its decision will be, according to The Huffington Post.