The U.S. opioid abuse epidemic wages on, and overdose deaths continue to rise, yet just 1 in 5 people receives potentially lifesaving medication such as methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone to treat their addiction, a new study finds.

“These medications are effective for prescription opioids like hydrocodone [Vicodin] and oxycodone [OxyContin] and all those medications we rely on for ...

J.D. Butler was planning a future with his girlfriend at his favorite New York City restaurant when that future came to a sudden, crushing halt.

“They were planning on when she was moving in and arranging floor plans on the table, with where the furniture was going to go,” said his mother, Karen Butler, a lifelong New York resident. “And he had a grand mal seizure, and then his hear...

New research shows that an experimental drug fine-tuned to a specific pain pathway can ease post-surgery aches, a finding that may eventually offer an alternative to highly addictive opioids.

The pill, known for now as VX-548, targets a particular sodium channel that is active only in the body's peripheral sensory nerves, where it helps transmit pain signals to the brain. The idea is that...

After their U.S. states legalize marijuana, young adults who aren't in college are more likely than college kids to use the drug and progress to cannabis use disorder, a new study finds.

Prior to legalization, 23% of non-college young adults reported using cannabis in the past month, and after legalization it went up to 28%, researchers found. Among U.S. college students in the same ...

It's well known that smoking in pregnancy can harm a developing baby's growth.

Now, a new study suggests that using e-cigarettes may be more effective that traditional nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, in helping pregnant women kick the habit and reduce the risk of low birthweight.

“E-cigarettes seem more effective than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women...

A fentanyl dealer has been found guilty of second-degree murder in what authorities believe is the first-ever murder conviction for dealing the dangerous drug.

The conviction happened in Placer County, Calif., in a case involving the fatal overdose last summer of a 15-year-old girl in Roseville, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento, ABC News reported.

"This conviction cou...

Stimulant medications like Ritalin are commonly prescribed to help treat the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but there have been concerns the drugs may lay the groundwork for later substance abuse.

New research may now set those worries at ease.

Children who take prescription stimulants for ADHD do not have more substance use disorders as teens or young adults...

Dr. Richard Stumacher's coworker at Northwell Health in New York City used to smoke to curb her severe anxiety, and tried multiple times to stop.

“She went through the program and she would quit, and then she would fall off, and we would always support her...

Medical marijuana is touted as a pain reliever, but in U.S. states where it's legal, prescriptions for opioid or non-opioid painkillers haven't decreased, a new study finds.

According to researchers, this means that people aren't switching to cannabis for pain relief in huge numbers even when it's legally available, so it's unlikely to ease the nation's opioid overdose epidemic.
...

It's an image you see everywhere on social media and television: Groups of 30-something women, glistening glasses of chardonnay or cabernet in their hands as they let loose with their friends.

But a new study digs into the downside of "booze bonding" — these women are 60% more likely to engage in excessive drinking than their peers were some 25 years earlier.

The investigators al...

Despite a federal ban that has removed many flavored vapes from the U.S. market, monthly e-cigarette sales jumped 47% in the first two years of the pandemic, a new government study shows.

"The surge in total e-cigarette sales during 2020-2022 was driven by non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette sales, such as menthol, which dominates the prefilled cartridge market, and fruit and candy flavors, ...

Many doctors have stopped giving opioids for pain, even during surgery, because of the opioid addiction crisis in the United States. But a new study questions the wisdom of this approach.

Restricting the drugs during surgery may do more harm than good, researchers report.

“The opioid crisis is a major motivator for mitigating the risks of opioid usage,” said study co-author

Could popular TV medical dramas jump-start a discussion about vaping among teens and almost teens?

A recent experiment using clips from "Grey's Anatomy,” “New Amsterdam” and “Chicago Med” suggests the answer is yes. Watching the clips appeared to help kids open up and talk about the health impacts of using electronic cigarettes.

Along the way, researchers learned more abou...

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are experiencing more mental health and substance use issues than their heterosexual peers, researchers say.

According to a new government report released Tuesday, this includes major depressive episodes, serious thoughts of suicide,...

The medication buprenorphine normalizes brain function in people addicted to opioids, but teens rarely receive it at U.S. treatment centers, a new study finds.

Only one in four adolescent residential treatment centers in the United States uses the medication to treat opioid use disorder, according to research out of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

“These residential tre...

Many Americans who inject illicit drugs are unknowingly getting fentanyl mixed in with their heroin, which can increase their risk for overdose and perhaps their tolerance for the drug.

About 80% of injection drug users in New York City test positive for fentanyl, but only 18% intended to use that drug, according to research from NYU School of Global Public Hea...

Seizures of illicit ketamine by drug enforcement agents have surged throughout the United States, growing 349% from 2017 through 2022, a new study finds.

Rising use of ketamine could increase the likelihood that people who use the drug recreationally may instead get a potentially harmful version of the substance, researchers say.

“This dramatic rise in ketamine seizures by l...

When Medicare expanded coverage for methadone, more people used this treatment for opioid use disorder, a new study shows.

Use rose sharply but did not displace other opioid treatments such as buprenorphine, according to researchers.

Much of the rise in methadone use was among Medicare Advantage enrollees under age 65. It was especially true among those who qualified for both Medic...

It's important to ask questions when your doctor or dentist writes you a new prescription.

This is especially true for opioid pain medications, such as hydrocodone, oxycodone or morphine.

While these drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for acute and chronic pain, they can have serious side effects, including addiction and even death.

Misuse of opioids ...

Medications that treat opioid addiction and prevent overdose deaths are drastically under-prescribed in the United States, particularly for Black patients, a new study has found.

Disabled people on Medicare are not likely to be prescribed either buprenorphine -- the best medication for treating opioid addiction -- or naloxone (Narcan), a drug that can reverse a life-threatening overdose, ...

When people receive methadone treatment for opioid use disorder, their use of the dangerous drugs heroin and fentanyl significantly declines, a new study shows.

But decreases in cocaine or methamphetamine use were not seen in a year of treatment, researchers report.

“Methadone treatment can have tremendous success reducing fentanyl and heroin use in individuals, but this study sh...

While public health officials have expressed concerns about teens vaping, a new study suggests getting more to quit may be simple.

Eliminating flavored e-cigarettes may reduce the use of vapes altogether in teens and young adults, the research found.

“The restriction of the availability for certain e-cigarette e-liquid flavors has been considered by various regulatory agencies,”...

The U.S. opioid crisis led to changes that make it easier for people struggling with addiction to get medication from a health care provider to help them quit.

But researchers found that for some reason, rates of medication use haven't budged.

Numbers of Americans who started buprenorphine were flat between 2019 and 2022, after rising from January 2016 to September 2018.

Those...

America's teens are still not alright.

Instead, many continue to engage in risky behaviors, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

Top among these is an increase in suicidal thoughts and suicide planning and attempts among teen girls, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, rates among teen boys stayed stable.

Meanwhile, LG...

Exercise might help people who are battling addiction stay on the straight and narrow, a new research review finds.

Investigators who analyzed 43 studies from around the world found a link between physical activity and reduced substance use among people in treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.

The idea for the study review “came to me when I was working as a kinesiologist in ...

The United States is in the middle of an opioid crisis, yet new research shows that only about 7% of Americans on Medicaid who have opioid use disorder receive residential treatment.

This means that many people who could potentially benefit from what is more commonly known as "rehab" aren't getting the care they need to help them with their addiction.

“We know residential care is...

Over the past few years the escalating opioid crisis has touched off a complex debate about how best to reign in suicide risk among patients who are prescribed the addictive painkillers.

The question: Could rapidly cutting back on legal opioid prescriptions help, or might patients' desperation over lack of access inadvertently drive up suicide risk?

Now