The Latest News from Our Field

The World Health Organization says movies that contain smoking scenes or tobacco imagery should receive an adult rating, in an effort to prevent young people from starting to smoke.

Although synthetic marijuana is illegal under federal law, the National Football League has not added the drug to its list of banned substances, USA Today reports.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act will “make a real difference for families and communities” struggling with drug addiction, U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said Saturday. He spoke about the bill, which has bipartisan support, in the Republican Weekly Address.

Family members of people who have died from opioid painkiller overdoses are calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish guidelines designed to reduce prescriptions of the drugs, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Sales of legal marijuana jumped 17 percent to reach $5.4 billion last year, according to a new report. Sales could grow 25 percent this year, to $6.7 billion, according to the marijuana industry investment and research firm ArcView Market Research.

Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia have seen a large increase in hepatitis B that is related to injection drug use in the region, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More funding and stronger measures are needed to fight opioid addiction, officials said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. They called for greater access to addiction treatment and more stringent rules for painkiller prescribing.

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.