Drug Addiction

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is releasing new resources to help parents, health care providers and substance abuse treatment specialists treat teens who are struggling with drug abuse. The resources also provide advice on identifying and interacting with teens who may be at risk.

During National Drug Facts Week, January 27 to February 2, communities and schools around the country will host events to allow teens to learn how drugs affect the brain, body and behavior.

Mothers who consume a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may be more likely to have children with an increased vulnerability to drug or alcohol abuse, a study of rats suggests.

Law enforcement officers in one West Virginia county will start using a database this week to track children who may be at risk of drug-related abuse, according to the Associated Press.

A Kentucky law allows parents to petition the court to order involuntary drug treatment for their adult children, USA Today reports. Other concerned people may also file a petition under Casey’s Law.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania say MRI scans may be able to predict which patients will succeed with certain addiction treatments, and which ones will relapse, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

A new study suggests substance abuse impairs sexual performance in men, even after they stop using drugs or alcohol. Earlier studies suggested men spontaneously recover their normal sexual performance several weeks after they end substance abuse.

Sending substance-abusing state prisoners to community-based treatment programs instead of prisons could reduce crime and save billions of dollars, a new study concludes.

A survey of addiction counselors finds almost half say it is acceptable for at least some of their patients to drink from time to time. The survey included 913 members of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors.

Substance use disorders are common five years after juveniles are released from detention, a new study finds. Males are two to three times more likely to use alcohol and drugs compared with females, HealthDay reports.

Many California inmates imprisoned under the state’s “three strikes” laws are much more likely than the general prison population to be addicted to drugs and alcohol, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

For more than one-third of Texas’ Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who died after leaving the military, the cause was a drug overdose, a deadly combination of drugs, or suicide, according to an investigation by the Austin American-Statesman.

A growing number of Amtrak employees have been testing positive for drugs and alcohol, increasing the risk of a serious railroad accident, according to a new report.

Minnesota unveiled a statewide plan this week to tackle drug abuse, in response to the rising abuse of prescription opioids, and the increasing purity of heroin on the streets.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is sponsoring the first National “Above the Influence” Day on October 18 to celebrate youth who avoid pressure to use drugs and alcohol.

More than 20,000 U.S. veterans have left military service during the past four years with an other-than-honorable discharge, which can restrict their disability and veterans health care benefits, The Seattle Times reports. Many of these men and women are struggling with drug abuse and/or post-traumatic stress disorder.

New Mexico is facing a widespread drug problem that includes prescription drug abuse, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, according to the Associated Press.

Community-based residential rehabilitation programs are only helpful in the short term for methamphetamine users, a new study suggests. Shorter detoxification programs are even less successful, Reuters reports.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Thursday signed a measure that requires treatment for low-level drug offenders who otherwise would go to prison, according to The Star-Ledger.

Drug abuse kills about 200,000 people worldwide each year, according to a new United Nations (UN) report. Global treatment for drug abuse would cost $250 billion per year if everyone who needed help received proper care, according to the UN.

Nearly one in 10 teenagers are smoking marijuana at least 20 or more times a month, a new survey finds. The Associated Press reports that the survey, released Wednesday by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, found past-month use of marijuana rose from 19 percent in 2008, to 27 percent last year.

Contrary to concerns that methadone treatment clinics attract crime to the surrounding area, a new study finds there is no evidence this occurs.

Chronic cocaine use may accelerate aging of the brain, a new study suggests. The study found people with cocaine dependence have greater levels of age-related loss of nerve tissue in the brain called gray matter.

The Obama Administration’s 2012 Drug Control Strategy, released Tuesday, advocates diverting non-violent drug offenders into treatment.

Teenagers who play a risky activity called the “choking game” to get high are more likely to engage in other kinds of high-risk behavior, such as drug abuse and sex, than their peers who do not play the game, a new study suggests.