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Reported Use of Most Drugs Among Adolescents Remained Low in 2024
New NIH-funded data show lower use of most substances continues following the COVID-19 pandemic. After declining significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use among adolescents has continued to hold steady at lowered levels for the fourth year in a row, according to the latest...
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Implantable Device Reverses Opioid Overdose in Animals
An implantable device detected opioid overdose and automatically administered naloxone, saving lives in rat and pig models. The device hasn’t yet been tested in people. If successful, it might also be adapted to treat other emergencies, such as life-threatening allergic...
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Biden-Harris Administration Awards $45.1 Million to Expand Mental Health and Substance Use Services Across the Lifespan
On Wednesday, July 24, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced grant awards totaling $45.1 million, of which $15.3 million will fund services specifically for children and youth. This funding...
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More Than 321,000 US Children Lost a Parent to Drug Overdose From 2011 to 2021
An estimated 321,566 children in the United States lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry. The rate of children who experienced this loss more than doubled during this period, from approximately 27 to 63 children per 100,000. The...
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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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Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Associated With Mental Disorders in Children That Persist Into Early Adolescence
Prenatal cannabis exposure following the middle of the first trimester – generally after five to six weeks of fetal development – is associated with attention, social, and behavioral problems that persist as the affected children progress into early adolescence (11 and 12 years of age),...
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Time to Start Talking About Pre-Addiction
By the time someone reaches out for addiction care, they may have already suffered numerous painful losses in their lives. Addiction can steal a person’s happiness, job, friends and family, and can erode their freedom. Far too often, the expectation is that someone must hit “rock...
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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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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...
