The Latest News from Our Field

We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction. Sign up here to receive weekly updates straight to your inbox.

The government has been shut down for a week and a half, with no signs of an agreement coming soon.
Trump notified Congress that he has "determined" that the U.S. in engaged in a formal "armed conflict" with drug cartels. Experts are skeptical the strikes are legal.
FDA launched a campaign to educate retailers about which tobacco/nicotine products are legal to sell in hopes of increasing voluntary compliance.
Indivior has discontinued promotion of overdose-reversal medication Opvee amid criticism that it is no more effective than naloxone but is more expensive and carries additional risk.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a study showing how flavored marijuana vaping is on the rise among U.S. teenagers, a trend that goes against the general decline in adolescent drug use since the pandemic began. Flavored marijuana vaping has become the dominant method for teens who use marijuana.
At the UN meeting last week, the U.S. rejected a declaration pushing for reductions in tobacco/alcohol use and expanded mental health care access, while touting its aggressive approach to drug enforcement.
The government shut down after Congress failed to reach a deal on a spending bill, with health care at the center of the debate.
The reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act is headed to President Trump's desk for enactment.
Former Fox News journalist Sara Carter went before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing to become ONDCP director.
A recent executive order will reinforce an existing local shift away from harm reduction and toward forced treatment, despite evidence showing the harm of such approaches.
With a government shutdown looming at the end of the month, Congress is debating whether to include health care protections in a stopgap spending bill.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a list of public datasets on youth mental health and school policies compiled from national surveys by agencies like the NIH, CDC, and SAMHSA. Also included are data on state and school health policies, as well as data repositories like ICPSR, Data.gov, and Healthdata.gov. Having a centralized list of these public datasets is crucial for improving youth mental health research and for creating effective, evidence-based policies and interventions.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a recent study highlighting the increasing impact of alcohol consumption on cancer rates, particularly in the United States. Esophageal cancer showed the strongest link to alcohol consumption. Among women an estimated 18,463 new breast cancer cases in the U.S. will be caused by alcohol. While higher daily consumption contributed the most to cancer cases, even low levels of alcohol intake were shown to increase cancer risk. The findings suggest that public health efforts to reduce alcohol consumption could play a significant role in lowering cancer rates.
A study found that individuals who receive MOUD while incarcerated are more likely to continue treatment after release and have a lower risk of overdose, death, and reincarceration.
SAMHSA released its priorities for the administration's work to advance behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.
The MAHA Commission released its strategy on how to address childhood chronic disease, which includes substance use awareness campaigns, addressing youth screentime, and efforts to limit "overmedicalization" of youth mental health conditions.
Reuters reported that FDA plans to fast-track reviews of nicotine pouches amid pressure from the administration to speed up approvals.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including a survey of Midwestern college students that links difficult childhood experiences to substance use. The survey identified parental divorce as the most common difficult experience and found that students with more adverse childhood events were more likely to have used substances at some point in their lives.
The House Appropriations Committee voted to send to the House floor an HHS budget bill proposing a 6% cut.
HHS Secretary Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to discuss the administration's FY 2026 health care agenda.
In an escalation of the administration's drug war, the U.S. struck a ship near Venezuela reportedly transporting drugs to the U.S.
Legal Action Center released a report on strategies to protect Medicaid coverage for people with SUD as the budget law’s new work requirements are implemented.
View our curated digest of the latest research news, including how infants with prenatal co-exposure to multiple substances have a higher risk of poor physical development, birth defects, and issues with emotional regulation and physiological outcomes compared to infants exposed to a single substance.
Susan Monarez is out as CDC director, and four other senior CDC leaders resigned, including one instrumental to the agency's overdose response.
A New York Times editorial outlines how the Medicaid cuts in the budget law will threaten the progress made in reducing overdose deaths.
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