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Marijuana and Hallucinogen Use, Binge Drinking Reached Historic Highs Among Adults 35 to 50
Past-year use of marijuana and hallucinogen use by adults 35 to 50 years old continued a long-term upward trajectory to reach all-time highs in 2022, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study, an annual survey of substance use behaviors and attitudes of adults 19 to 60 years old....
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Higher Buprenorphine Doses Associated With Improved Retention in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Individuals with opioid use disorder who were prescribed a lower buprenorphine dose were 20% more likely to discontinue treatment than those on a higher dose, according to a study of patients prescribed buprenorphine in Rhode Island from 2016 to 2020, as fentanyl became widely available. The...
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Reported Drug Use Among Adolescents Continued to Hold Below Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2023
The percentage of adolescents reporting they used any illicit substances in 2023 continued to hold steady below the pre-pandemic levels reported in 2020, with 10.9% of eighth graders, 19.8% of 10th graders, and 31.2% of 12th graders reporting any illicit drug use in the past year, according...
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Men Died of Overdose at 2-3 Times Greater a Rate Than Women in the U.S. In 2020-2021
Men were significantly more vulnerable than women to overdose deaths involving opioid and stimulant drugs in 2020-2021, according to a new study analyzing death records data from across the United States. The study found that men had a 2–3 times greater rate of overdose mortality from opioids...
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Only 1 in 4 Adolescent Treatment Facilities Offer Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder
Only 1 in 4 residential addiction treatment facilities caring for U.S. adolescents under 18 years old offer buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, according to a new study. Only 1 in 8 offer buprenorphine for ongoing treatment. These findings highlight a significant gap in...
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Still Reaching: The Syndemics that Complicate and Characterize How Drugs and HIV Intersect in People’s Lives
Nearly 42 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rare pneumonia in five gay men, marking the recognized start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While we often hear about those men’s sexuality, we hear less often about their substamce use. As the 1981 report notes,...
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Increased Use of Telehealth for OUD Services During COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Reduced Risk of Overdose
The expansion of telehealth services for opioid use disorder (OUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with individuals staying in treatment longer and reducing their risk of medically treated overdose, according to a new study. Published today in JAMA Psychiatry, this study was a...
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Young Men at Highest Risk of Schizophrenia Linked with Cannabis Use Disorder
Young men with cannabis (marijuana) use disorder have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a study led by researchers at the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. The...
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SAMHSA Proposes Update to Federal Rules to Expand Access to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Help Close Gap in Care
Changes would make permanent COVID-timed medication flexibilities, and update decades-old definitions and standards for opioid treatment programs at a time when fewer than 1 out 10 Americans can access treatment for substance use disorder. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...
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Five Areas Where “More Research” Isn’t Needed to Curb the Overdose Crisis
“…but more research is needed.” That’s often the refrain in science, and it includes addiction research. As the addiction epidemic and overdose crisis continue to claim an unprecedented number of lives and to fray communities, science is an essential part of the solution. In the...
