Opinion | Doing Away With Needle Exchange Programs Won’t Prevent Drug Use
Assaf is an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow researching substance use, drug-related overdose, and harm reduction. A needle exchange program, also known as a syringe services program, is a harm reduction strategy that provides clean and sterile injecting equipment to those who inject drugs. At first glance, these programs may sound radical. But the reality is, […]
Americans Struggling With Addiction, Mental Health, SAMHSA Survey Shows
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the results of its 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) on Tuesday, which showed that nearly one in five Americans ages 12 and older reported having a substance use disorder in the past year, and roughly one in four adults reported having […]
Recreational Cannabis Use a Negative for Adolescent Mental Health
Cannabis use that doesn’t rise to the level of diagnosable substance abuse disorder was nonetheless associated with negative affects on mental health, national data showed. In the 2015 to 2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, 2.5% of participants ages 12-17 reported repeated past-year cannabis use to a degree that led to clinically significant […]
Opioids Most Common Substance in Young Children’s Fatal Poisonings
Opioids were the most common substance contributing to fatal poisonings among children age 5 years and younger in recent years, researchers reported. Examination of 731 poisoning-related fatalities from 2005 to 2018 in young kids reported to the National Fatality Review-Case Reporting System (NFR-CRS), showed that opioids were involved in 346 of the fatal cases (47.3%). […]
Newly identified neuromarker reveals clues about drug and food craving
Craving is known to be a key factor in substance use disorders and can increase the likelihood of future drug use or relapse. Yet its neural basis — or, how the brain gives rise to craving — is not well understood. In a new study, researchers from Yale, Dartmouth, and the French National Centre for […]
HHS Proposes Rule to Ensure Better Care Coordination for Patients With SUD
In an effort to enhance care coordination for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), HHS, acting through its Office for Civil Rights and in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, proposed changes to “Part 2” rules to better align privacy measures with those of HIPAA on Monday. If implemented, the proposed […]
Do People With Schizophrenia Have Higher Rates of Substance Abuse?
Which symptoms are shared by people with schizophrenia and substance abusers? Schizophrenia and substance abuse share similar symptoms, so they cannot be treated separately. At first glance, you may see that the two seem nothing alike, but once you look closer, you can quickly see many commonalities. The following symptoms are prevalent in both people […]
Medication treatment of pediatric psychiatric disorders reduces the later onset of substance use problems: Early and longer-lasting treatment reduces risk of substance use disorder most significantly
One half of psychiatric and substance use disorders start by the age of 18; three-quarters by age 24. While these are concerning statistics, a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds that treating psychiatric disorders with psychotropic medications in children and adolescents does not increase the risk of developing substance use, misuse, or substance […]
How Is Substance-Induced Psychosis Treated? Drug Abuse Symptoms
Substance-induced psychosis is initially treated by cessation of the substance causing psychosis and the following treatment plans. The initial treatment for substance-induced psychosis is the cessation of the substance that causes psychosis and monitoring the person in a safe and calm environment. Some of the drugs commonly prescribed for the treatment of substance-induced psychosis include: […]
Study: Drug Use a Factor in COVID Breakthrough Infections
Fully vaccinated individuals with substance use disorders were more likely to have breakthrough COVID-19 infections than those without such disorders, researchers found. Adjusted analyses found that breakthrough infections were higher in patients with all types of substance use disorder, except tobacco, and were the highest among cocaine users (HR 2.06, 95% CI 1.30-3.25) and cannabis […]