Drug Abuse News and Research

RSS

Punitive prenatal drug laws lead to negative health outcomes

Contrary to some claims, laws that criminalize or otherwise punish drug use during pregnancy are more likely to worsen rather than improve health outcomes, according to a paper by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

18 Mar 2024

When it comes to ketamine, Meta’s posting policy is no party to decipher

People keep talking about ketamine. The drug has become a favorite of celebrities, billionaires, and ordinary patients, many of whom view it as a potential miracle drug for depression and other mental health conditions.

7 Mar 2024

New tool can streamline the analysis of complex epigenome and epitranscriptome data

Scientists have extensively researched the structure and sequence of genetic material and its interactions with proteins in the hope of understanding how our genetics and environment interact in diseases.

28 Feb 2024

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

The United States is knee-deep in what some experts call the opioid epidemic's "fourth wave," which is not only placing drug users at greater risk but is also complicating efforts to address the nation's drug problem.

21 Feb 2024

Restoring brain pathways to fight opioid addiction

Medical University of South Carolina scientists report in Neuron that they have uncovered a way to restore an opioid-weakened brain pathway in a preclinical model.

20 Feb 2024

Study reveals racial disparities in access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Buprenorphine, a life-saving medication for opioid use disorder, is far less accessible in geographic areas of the United States with racially and ethnically diverse populations than in predominantly white areas, according to a new study of pre-pandemic data led by health policy scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health published today in Journal of Addiction Medicine.

20 Feb 2024

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year even as corrections officials touted the state's intervention methods as a model for prisons and jails across the United States.

14 Feb 2024

U.S. adults face distress, unequal mental health care access during the COVID-19 era

U.S. adults experienced considerable psychological distress and adverse mental health effects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

6 Feb 2024

Pitt secures $7.8 million grant to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy's Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) has received a five-year, $7.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder across Pennsylvania.

30 Jan 2024

Female sex hormone estradiol makes women more susceptible to cocaine addiction

Previous studies focused on cocaine use have found that women are more likely than men to develop an addiction, try cocaine at a younger age, use larger amounts of the drug, and suffer from overdose.

30 Jan 2024

Teen substance use tied to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts

High school students who reported using cannabis, alcohol, or nicotine were more likely to have thoughts about suicide, feel depressed or anxious, have unusual experiences, and exhibit inattention or hyperactivity, according to recent survey-based study conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Minnesota.

29 Jan 2024

Records show Publix opioid sales grew even as addiction crisis prompted other chains’ pullback

An executive at Teva Pharmaceuticals flagged Publix Super Markets in October 2015 after detecting what he called in an email "serious red flags" with the grocery chain's orders of powerful opioids.

29 Jan 2024

Using AI to break the opioid addiction cycle

When Ben Brown, research assistant professor of chemistry, thinks about the opioid epidemic, he views the problem on a molecular level.

19 Jan 2024

Study unveils how cannabis affects brain's feeding center

While it is well known that cannabis can cause the munchies, researchers have now revealed a mechanism in the brain that promotes appetite in a set of animal studies at Washington State University.

16 Jan 2024

Is there a neurobiological association between childhood trauma, alexithymia, and long-term nicotine smoking?

A new study published in JAMA Network Open explores the risk for smoking presented by childhood trauma with subsequent failure of emotional regulation and the neural measures that reflect these risk factors.

11 Jan 2024

Access to residential addiction treatment centers for U. S. adolescents is limited and costly

Access to residential addiction treatment centers caring for U.S. adolescents under 18 years old in the United States is limited and costly, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

9 Jan 2024

Brain's immune cells may be a key target for preventing cognitive deficits after radiation exposure

Researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester find that microglia-;the brain's immune cells-;can trigger cognitive deficits after radiation exposure and may be a key target for preventing these symptoms.

3 Jan 2024

Widespread cannabis use linked to increase in psychiatric disorders, UMSOM review finds

The widespread use of cannabis (marijuana) and its increased potency are associated with a rise in cannabis-related psychiatric conditions, according to a new University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) review article that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Dec 2023

Rising cannabis use among adults with severe psychological distress linked to increased psychiatric care

Study examines the increasing trend of cannabis use among U.S. adults with severe psychological distress (SPD) from 2009-2019, revealing a significant link to increased psychiatric hospitalizations and outpatient mental health care.

18 Dec 2023

The impact of racism on mental health disparities experienced by Black people in the United States

A series of literature reviews published online December 13 in The Lancet Psychiatry journal highlight the large body of evidence on the role played by racism in mental health disparities experienced by Black people living in the United States.

14 Dec 2023