The intersection of substance use with broader public health concerns.
Public Health
Why Are Many American Adults Misusing Prescription Painkillers?
Prescription painkillers are second only to marijuana as the United States drug of choice. Around 91.8 million Americans aged 18 and above used prescription painkillers in 2014, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health...
Preventing Marijuana Use among Youth and Young Adults
Preventing Marijuana Use among Youth and Young Adults is a new release from the US Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It provides the latest facts about marijuana use in the United States and includes information...
Effect of Marijuana Use on Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Mortality
Abstract Background Reports associate marijuana use with cardiovascular emergencies. Studies relating marijuana use to cardiovascular mortality are scarce. Recent advance towards marijuana use legalization emphasizes the importance of...
Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention: A Potential Role in Cancer Prevention for Young Adults
Excessive or risky alcohol use is a preventable cause of significant morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and worldwide. Alcohol use is a common preventable cancer risk factor among young adults; it is associated with increased risk of...
The Effects of Cannabis among Adults with Chronic Pain and an Overview of General Harms
Abstract Background: Cannabis is increasingly available for the treatment of chronic pain, yet its efficacy remains uncertain. Purpose: To review the benefits of plant-based cannabis preparations for treating chronic pain in adults and the...
Evidence Lacking on Benefits of Cannabis for Treating Chronic Pain or PTSD
By Kelly Young Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD Evidence is limited on the benefits of cannabis use for treating chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to two reviews in the Annals of...
EMCDDA Insights: Prevention of Substance Abuse
Prevention of Substance Abuse by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is a report that draws on evidence-based research to assess substance use prevention interventions, in terms of their ability to...
Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood
The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood (2017) is a special volume that supplements the organisation’s Preventing Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents, released in 2003...
Online Drinking Interventions Shown to be Effective for Armed Service Personnel
Almost two thirds of men in the UK Armed Forces are considered to drink harmful amounts of alcohol. This is compared with around one third of the average population. According to a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Army...
Heavy Drinking and the Adolescent Brain
During adolescence, the brain is still maturing. This includes not only biological, but also psychosocial behavioural development. So, what are the effects of heavy drinking on the adolescent brain? This question is the focus of a...