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San Francisco wrestles with drug approach as death and chaos engulf Tenderloin

In early 2019, Tom Wolf posted a thank-you on Twitter to the cop who had arrested him the previous spring, when he was homeless and strung out in a doorway with 103 tiny bindles of heroin and cocaine in a plastic baggie at his feet.

7 Jan 2021

New report offers recommendations to address opioid epidemic during COVID-19 pandemic

A new report from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health offers recommendations aimed at federal, state, and local policymakers to address the opioid epidemic during the pandemic, which has seen sharp increases in fatal and nonfatal overdoses.

21 Dec 2020

Community-level intervention can reduce alcohol-impaired driving and consequences

New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation shows that a community-level alcohol intervention in California resulted in a 17% reduction in alcohol-involved crashes among drivers aged 15-30.

21 Dec 2020

Scientists develop new vaccine to counter the effects of synthetic cannabinoids

Made in clandestine laboratories and sold widely across the United States, the diverse class of drugs known as synthetic cannabinoids presents a growing public health threat.

17 Dec 2020

Study pinpoints predictors of timely enrollment in therapy for opioid use disorder

For people living with opioid use disorder, the path to treatment is not always clear-cut. Sometimes, there's no path at all.

16 Dec 2020

HIV/AIDS testing and treatment can be adapted to achieve similar interventions to mitigate COVID-19

A research project is exploring whether interventions that have been effective at engaging high-risk populations in HIV/AIDS testing and treatment can be adapted to achieve similar effects in mitigating COVID-19.

9 Dec 2020

Strengthening couple relationship helps improve health

For individuals looking to improve their health in 2021, strengthening your couple relationship may be part of the answer, according to findings from a recent University of Illinois study.

8 Dec 2020

Despite new CDC guidance, opioid prescription rates have not declined

Research from Saint Louis University finds that among patients at risk for opioid misuse, the odds of receiving a schedule II opioid for non-cancer pain were similar to those not at risk, despite new prescribing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

2 Dec 2020

Circadian gene mutation increases drug-taking behaviors in mice

A mutation in the gene regulating circadian rhythms increases self-administration of cocaine in mice, University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences researchers found in a paper published today in the Journal of Neuroscience.

2 Dec 2020

Amid COVID and racial unrest, Black churches put faith in mental health care

Wilma Mayfield used to visit a senior center in Durham, North Carolina, four days a week and attend Lincoln Memorial Baptist Church on Sundays, a ritual she's maintained for nearly half a century. But over the past 10 months, she's seen only the inside of her home, the grocery store and the pharmacy.

1 Dec 2020

UCLA receives seven grants totaling $6.4 million for cannabis research

UCLA has received seven grants totaling $6.4 million from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control. The awards will fund studies on topics ranging from the toxicity of inhaled and second-hand cannabis smoke to employment conditions in California's cannabis industry.

20 Nov 2020

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those with OCDs

Researchers from the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf and University Hospital, Munich in Germany, have reported their findings on the course of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

19 Nov 2020

OHIO professor's new study focuses on strategies hospitals adopt to address the opioid epidemic

While the world's attention to public health remains focused on COVID-19, Berkeley Franz, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, continues to focus her attention on one of the largest public health crises in the United States today - the opioid epidemic.

16 Nov 2020