Efforts to prevent and curb substance use in schools through public health engagement (PHE) appear to be effective where use of cigarettes and cannabis is high but had the opposite impact in where use of alcohol and cannabis is low, according to a cross-sectional study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. The study … Read more
Drinking alone in youth is a strong predictor of problematic alcohol use in later life, new research suggests. In a large longitudinal study that followed a national sample of US high school students for 17 years, solitary drinking in adolescence and young adulthood was associated with binge drinking — and prospectively predicted alcohol use disorder … Read more
In a bid to stop abuse and diversion of the anticonvulsant gabapentin, a watchdog group is petitioning federal regulators to make the drug a controlled substance. The nonprofit group Public Citizen has filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arguing that medication’s risks additional safeguards. … Read more
A psychotherapeutic intervention that unites mindfulness training, “third wave” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and positive psychology significantly reduces chronic pain and opioid misuse, new research suggests. In a randomized clinical trial, 250 adults with both opioid misuse and chronic pain received either the intervention, called mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement (MORE), or supportive psychotherapy. Results showed the … Read more
Medicinal and recreational marijuana use has become common across the country, warranting greater awareness among clinicians about any potential adverse effects of marijuana on brain health, a new American Heart Association (AHA) scientific conclusions. The existing evidence base of preclinical and clinical research suggests that marijuana use may have a harmful effect on the brain, … Read more
