Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist or visit scheduler.drugfree.org
Helpline
Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist

The Latest News from Our Field

We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.

A new study finds high school students who use alcohol, marijuana or nicotine are more likely than their peers who don’t use these substances to have suicidal thoughts.
Pharmaceutical company Vertex this week said it has developed an experimental medication that relieves moderate to severe pain while avoiding the potential for addiction that comes with opioids, The New York Times reports.
Senate Democrats are urging the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on marijuana, NBC News reports.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including White House officials discussing plans to provide prison populations with necessary tools to treat substance use disorder.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including an assessment of kratom use among adults in the United States.
A proposed federal measure introduced in the House this month is designed to ensure that $50 billion in opioid settlement funds that state and local governments receive are used to fight the opioid epidemic, NPR reports.
Five members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter urging the Food and Drug Administration to take action to address use of tianeptine, known as “gas station heroin.”
A new bill unveiled by Democratic legislators in Oregon would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation substance decriminalization law, the Associated Press reports.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including the announcement of a new behavioral health integration model by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a study on the lifetime use of alcohol and cannabis among U.S. adolescents and patterns of use associated with sex and race/ethnicity.
Federal researchers say that marijuana is less risky and prone to misuse than other tightly controlled substances, and has potential medical benefits, according to a scientific review posted online last week. The researchers recommend that marijuana be removed from the most restrictive category of substances, known as Schedule I.
Sixty years after the U.S. surgeon general released a report on the dangers of smoking cigarettes, some public health experts are calling for a similar report on vaping, AP reports.
A new study finds marijuana use does not lead to use of illicit opioids, but also is not helpful in treating opioid use disorder.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including likely regulatory changes related to addiction happening this year.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including the potential association between legal recreational cannabis and cannabis use during pregnancy.
A new study finds access to residential treatment centers caring for teens under 18 with substance use disorder is limited and costly in the United States.
An average of 22 U.S. teens die each week from overdoses, driven largely by fentanyl in counterfeit pills, according to a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Congress must reauthorize and expand the SUPPORT Act, which establishes vital infrastructure for communities across the country for substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) writes this week in STAT.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including a recent study finding residential substance use disorder treatment for teens is limited and expensive.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including the design of a text message library for tobacco risk prevention among adolescents.
McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay $78 million to resolve claims by insurance companies and health care funds that the consulting company helped fuel the opioid addiction epidemic through its work with pharmaceutical companies including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, the Associated Press reports.
A new study finds an increasing number of patients with opioid use disorder are leaving the hospital before finishing treatment, against medical advice.
As a growing number of older Americans use marijuana to treat pain and insomnia, experts are urging caution, The Washington Post reports.
Find more of our must-reads in policy news, including potential changes to methadone access, harm reduction and telehealth policies in the coming year.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a study investigating the prevalence of recovery status among adolescents.