Drug Abuse News and Research

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NOTA questions FDA's attempted regulation of on-site tests

The National On-site Testing Associates, Inc. (NOTA) has been revived in response to an attempt by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate on-site, or point of collection, oral fluids drug and alcohol tests used by many small employers for non-medical purposes. NOTA is an association of manufacturers, users, and distributors of on-site drugs of abuse tests. These tests are sold throughout the world for use in workplace, sports, school, insurance, and criminal justice settings and numerous other non-medical applications. These tests are safe, accurate, cost effective, and easy to use.

9 Jan 2010

Researchers identify key epigenetic mechanism that helps explain cocaine's addictiveness

Researchers have identified a key epigenetic mechanism in the brain that helps explain cocaine's addictiveness, according to research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

8 Jan 2010

Ongoing state budget cuts continue to impact health care services in California

Ongoing state budget cuts continue to negatively impact health care services in California. The latest round of budget cuts has eliminated additional health-services programs, including a prominent program for incarcerated women who suffer from drug and alcohol abuse.

8 Jan 2010

Rx Locker device to secure prescription medications

Due to the rising statistics about teens and prescription drug abuse, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of Celebrity Rehab and Loveline, recently debuted the Rx Locker, a device designed to secure prescription medications within the home to restrict unauthorized access and prevent abuse.

7 Jan 2010

Apoteket and Medco Health Solutions develop centralized prescription safety program

Apoteket, Sweden's largest pharmacy chain, and Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced that it has developed one of the first national centralized drug utilization review (DUR) programs outside of the United States to improve prescription safety by reducing adverse drug events and thereby reducing the risk of costly hospitalizations.

7 Jan 2010

Physicians fail to provide pain treatment for fear of prescription drug abuse

Millions of Americans with significant or chronic pain associated with their medical problems are being under-treated as physicians increasingly fail to provide comprehensive pain treatment - either due to inadequate training, personal biases or fear of prescription drug abuse.

5 Jan 2010

Rally for passage of the Alcohol-Related Services Act

To advocate for the passage of AB 1019, the Alcohol-Related Services Act - Authored by Assembly Member Jim Beall (D-San Jose), the bill creates the Alcohol-Related Services Program within the California Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs.

4 Jan 2010

Bacterial enzyme decreases cocaine desire

A recent study shows that a bacterial protein may help cocaine addicts break the habit.

3 Jan 2010

New study indicates growing number of people are abusing prescription painkillers

This entire year was marked by an abundance of media coverage and attention surrounding prescription painkillers, largely the result of widespread misuse throughout Hollywood.

24 Dec 2009

CHPA comments on NIDA's Monitoring the Future survey

Following is a statement by Linda A. Suydam, D.P.A., president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), regarding today's release of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Monitoring the Future survey:

15 Dec 2009

Drug abuse continues to be a pervasive problem

The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study (MTF) -- the largest survey on teen drug abuse tracking over 46,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders -- underscores that teens' intentional abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines continues to be a cause for concern, with an alarming number of young people abusing medicines they obtain from friends and relatives.

15 Dec 2009

Decline in reducing youth smoking and increase in smokeless tobacco use

The 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey released today by the National Institute of Drug Abuse shows that the nation continues to make gradual progress in reducing youth smoking, but declines have slowed significantly compared to the dramatic gains early in the decade. In especially troubling news, the survey also finds that smokeless tobacco use has increased among 10th and 12th graders in recent years, a period during which tobacco companies have introduced a slew of new smokeless tobacco products and significantly increased marketing for smokeless tobacco.

15 Dec 2009

New biosensors show how schizophrenia drugs alter brain chemistry

Scientists have resolved a question about how a popular class of drugs used to treat schizophrenia works using biosensors that reveal previously hidden components of chemical communication in the brain.

14 Dec 2009

Study provides new insight on teens’ addiction to drug abuse

It is common knowledge that smoking is a health risk but why do teens become addicted to smoking more easily than adults? In an evaluation for Faculty of 1000 Biology, Neil Grunberg looks into why adolescents are more prone to substance abuse.

14 Dec 2009

RetireSafe urges vote against Senator Dorgan's drug importation amendment

Today, the senior advocacy group RetireSafe notified the Senate in letter that they will key vote Senator Dorgan's Importation Amendment SA 2793.

11 Dec 2009

HHS joins with Ad Council to launch new nationwide PSA campaign

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is joining with the Ad Council to launch a new nationwide public service advertising (PSA) campaign called “Together We Can All Fight the Flu.”

7 Dec 2009

RetireSafe calls for the Senate to oppose the Dorgan Importation plan

Today, the senior advocacy group RetireSafe urged the Senate to defeat the Dorgan Importation plan encompassed in SA 2793. RetireSafe President Thair Phillips said, "Senator Dorgan's importation amendment is poised to open our borders, allowing our safe, closed drug system to be breached, and our health to be endangered. We could soon be getting drugs that were stored in tin containers and car trunks. This could literally be a 'killer' amendment, it puts all Americans and especially seniors at risk, and it should be soundly defeated."

5 Dec 2009

Women and men are more stressed about the 2009 holiday season than last year, finds new study

From family conflict to anxiety about not being able to buy gifts for everyone on their list, women and men are more stressed about the 2009 holiday season than last year, according to a new study commissioned by Breakthrough at Caron, a five-and-a-half day intensive wellness program designed for adults seeking to break unhealthy life patterns. Breakthrough at Caron is part of Caron Treatment Centers, a 52-year-old nonprofit addiction treatment center located in Pennsylvania.

4 Dec 2009

Fruit flies are valid models for studying drug addiction in humans, says scientists

Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects - already used to study dozens of human disease - could claim that role. Scientists are reporting that fruit flies can be used as a simpler and more convenient animal model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on the brain.

3 Dec 2009

NIDA funds proposed 'seek and treat' strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS

Dr. Julio Montaner - Director, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), and President, International AIDS Society - congratulated Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for taking a leadership role in the evaluation of the "Seek and Treat" strategy originally developed at the BC-CfE.

3 Dec 2009