What types of public messages will most likely deter drug and alcohol abuse or dissuade people from engaging in risky behavior? Negatively framed messages may not be…

Fewer than five percent of patients prescribed narcotics to treat chronic pain become addicted to the drugs, according to a new analysis of past research.

The finding suggests that concerns…

Vanderbilt researchers are reporting today that a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes could be just as effective in treating addiction to drugs,…

Opioid abuse continues to rise, but more patients may be receiving drug treatment for their condition, researchers said.

Ambulatory visits for opioid use disorders rose six-fold between 2001-2003 and 2007-2009 (P=0.004),…

Possibly driven by a surge in painkiller abuse, the number of drug and alcohol problems diagnosed by U.S. doctors increased by 70 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to new research.

Chronic alcohol abuse can severely damage the nervous system, particularly cognitive functions, cerebral metabolism, and brain morphology. Building upon previous findings that alcoholics can experience…

State physician health programs (PHPs) play a key role in helping doctors with substance abuse problems. But the current PHP system is inconsistent and prone to potential conflicts…

An Indiana University study has provided preliminary evidence that by measuring brain activity through the use of neuroimaging, researchers can predict who is likely to have an…

Some people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may be at increased risk of problem drinking—though much may depend on race and gender, according to a new study in the…

Teens who smoke marijuana frequently are more likely to experience a long-term drop in their IQ, according to a new study.

That could be…

They grow in a secret location in northern Israel. A tall fence, security cameras and an armed guard protect them from criminals. A hint of their sweet-scented blossom carries…

A fresh blight is poised to hit Afghanistan’s poppy fields this year, driving up opium prices and threatening to fuel a shift to potentially lethal heroin substitutes like…

The respiratory depression and nausea often experienced by patients on opioid therapy appears to have some genetic component, researchers found.

In a twin study, genetic effects accounted for almost…

While marijuana use by teens has been increasing since 2005, an analysis of data from 1993 through 2009 by economists at three universities has found no evidence…

Even indulging in just a few drinks a week raises a woman’s risk of breast cancer, according to a large Harvard study released Tuesday.

The analysis…

It’s a drug with a harmless-sounding name, but a Nova Scotia man knows the horrors of bath salts first-hand.

Bath salts are not Epsom salts and have nothing to…

The United States sees drug abuse as a public health problem as much as a crime issue and is seeking to learn from countries in Europe and elsewhere…

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has joined critics of the Obama administration’s campaign against medical marijuana suppliers in California, saying the government is endangering patients and undermining its own proclaimed policy…

The rate of American babies being born with symptoms of opiate withdrawal, typically caused by maternal drug abuse, tripled from 2000 to 2009, according to a study that underscores…

New research from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reveals that repeated exposure to cocaine decreases the activity of a protein necessary…

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that an injectable solution can protect mice from an otherwise lethal overdose of cocaine. The findings could lead to human…

Tweaking memories related to drug abuse may keep addicts from relapsing, a new study published Friday in Science journal reported.

A group of Chinese scientists found that memories…

Two events this week at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law examine the timely issue of medicinal use of marijuana.

On Thursday, April 12, medical…

The 15 percent of U.S. high school seniors who abuse alcohol and drugs first began using them at age 14 or 15, according to a study…

A new survey of U.S. teenagers finds that most have used alcohol and drugs by the time they reach adulthood, and researchers say that could be setting up…