Addiction

Reports of synthetic opioids contaminating Australia’s drug supply highlight the concerning pace at which they are entering the country. The Australian Federal Police recently raised concerns after detecting nitazenes in counterfeit pharmaceutical products seized at Australian borders.

In 2023, nearly 19 million children in the United States were estimated to be living in a household with at least one parent or primary caregiver with a substance-use disorder (SUD), according to a research letter published online May 12 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Most convenience stores feature rows of colorful vapes promising tastes of cotton candy or iced mango, but none of them should be there.

Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are gaining increasing attention in psychiatry. Studies suggest they may offer therapeutic benefits for conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder, eating disorders and addiction.

Cigarette smoke has a greater impact on airway health than marijuana smoke or vaping, according to new research by UC Davis.

An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool successfully identified hospitalized adults at risk for opioid use disorder and recommended referral to inpatient addiction specialists.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Prevencasa free clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, have confirmed the presence of xylazine in the illicit drug supply at the U.S.–Mexico border. While xylazine remains less common in the Western U.S., border cities serve as key trafficking hubs and may have higher rates of emerging substances.

A paper in Nicotine & Tobacco Research indicates that different nicotine pouches, which have become very popular in recent years, particularly among young people, may influence user preferences very differently. An investigation using rats finds some flavors lead to much more nicotine consumption than others.

As health complications and deaths from alcohol use disorder (AUD) increase in the United States, it is critical that people who could benefit from medications have access to the drugs that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved to treat AUD. Yet, for individuals who have alcohol use disorder and are covered by Medicaid, accessing these medications is difficult; past research indicates that only about 1 in 20 Medicaid enrollees with alcohol use disorder receive these drugs.

Thousands of injured Victorian employees are receiving high-risk opioid prescriptions, Monash University-led research has found.