The Latest News from Our Field

Systematic efforts may help lower the level of opioids that patients use, a new study concludes. These steps include educating prescribers and limiting doses for patients prescribed chronic opioid therapy.

Drug traffickers are moving to Colorado to grow marijuana and ship it to other states, the Associated Press reports. Their findings come from interviews with law enforcement officials and a review of court records.

Mailing free nicotine replacement patches to smokers who are interested in giving up cigarettes can help some of them quit, a new study finds.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 22- Thursday, January 28, 2016.

A new study finds marijuana use in the first year of college can lead to students missing classes. The more frequently a student uses marijuana, the more they tend to skip class, earn lower grades, and graduate later.

Using opioid painkillers for more than one month may increase the risk of depression, a new study suggests. People who take opioids and feel depressed should be aware that the drugs, and not just the pain, may be a potential cause, the researchers say.

All adults should be screened for depression, according to a panel appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services. If initial screening tests indicate an increased risk of depression, health care providers are advised to conduct assessments to look for substance abuse or other medical conditions.

There were almost 45,000 arrests on college campuses in 2014 for drug- and alcohol-related offenses, according to a new report. There were also more than 250,000 disciplinary actions on campuses related to drugs and alcohol, according to U.S. News & World Report.

A new study suggests teens who try e-cigarettes are much more likely than their peers who don’t use the devices to try regular cigarettes.

The opioid overdose antidote naloxone is being offered free to high schools around the country by the drugmaker Adapt Pharma, according to U.S. News & World Report.

After the Police Chief of Gloucester, Massachusetts announced the town will connect people with treatment when they come to the police station with illegal drugs and paraphernalia, instead of arresting them, 56 police departments in 17 states have started similar programs.

One billion fewer hydrocodone combination tablets were dispensed and 26.3 million fewer prescriptions were written after the Drug Enforcement Administration enacted tighter controls on prescribing these products, a new study finds.

Several Massachusetts health insurance companies are taking aggressive steps to combat opioid addiction, NPR reports. These steps include assigning social workers to some patients.

Many presidential candidates are talking about addiction, but few are offering concrete proposals to combat it, The Boston Globe reports.

A new study finds e-cigarettes are associated with significantly less quitting among smokers, CBS News reports. Adult smokers who used e-cigarettes were 28 percent less likely to stop smoking regular cigarettes, researchers found.

College students who study abroad drink more alcohol while they are away, according to a new survey by a firm that provides risk management services to Americans traveling abroad.

Vermont is starting a pilot program this month that will offer the opioid addiction treatment Vivitrol to departing inmates at one correctional facility. If it is successful, the state plans to expand it to all seven of the state’s prisons, CBS News reports.

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

A U.S. House committee is launching an inquiry into the federal government’s enforcement of a law designed to protect drug-dependent newborns.

Hookah smoking is growing increasingly popular among teens and young adults, but there are many questions still unanswered about its safety, according to an expert who is studying the issue.

Drug overdose deaths have increased in almost every U.S. county, The New York Times reports. Some of the biggest concentrations of overdose are in Appalachia and the Southwest.

Employers face a number of challenges in dealing with workers’ prescription drug abuse. Studies show people with addictions are much more likely to be sick, absent or use workers’ compensation benefits, according to NPR.

The Centers for Disease Control’s newest anti-smoking ads target current and former members of the military and people with mental health conditions, Bloomberg News reports. The ads will run in areas with the highest smoking rates.

The rising death rate of young white adults in the United States is being driven by drug overdoses, The New York Times reports.

Despite the rising rate of addiction to opioids, a relatively small number of doctors are authorized and willing to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction, according to Stateline.