Bright colors, fruit imagery, and labels like “locally made” or “vegan” might seem harmless—but when used on cannabis edibles, they can send misleading messages to teens. That’s according to a new Washington State University-led study examining how adolescents perceive the packaging of cannabis-infused products such as gummies, chocolates and sodas. Despite regulations barring packaging that targets youth, many teens in …
Smoking weed and consuming THC-laced edibles linked to early heart disease, study finds
Healthy people who regularly smoked marijuana or consumed THC-laced edibles showed signs of early cardiovascular disease similar to tobacco smokers, a new small study found. “To my knowledge, it’s the first study looking at THC’s impact on vascular function in humans,” said senior study author Matthew Springer, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “We’re looking at a window in …
Marijuana and the Mentally Ill
America’s ongoing marijuana-legalization experiment will have many consequences. That goes especially for the seriously mentally ill, a sliver of the adult population but overrepresented among the ranks of compulsive pot users. Treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is never easy; even when treatment is available, the seriously mentally ill often fail to comply. A schizophrenic who spends most of his days …
What Parents Should Know About Nicotine Pouches
Just as the use of vaping (e-cigarette) devices among young people began to decline—eliciting a collective sigh of relief from public health officials—a new, potentially worrisome product is gaining popularity among youth: nicotine pouches. Unlike cigarettes and vaping devices, which produce smoke and vapor, nicotine pouches are more discreet and, therefore, harder for parents to notice. They are tucked in between a …
DEA Releases 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the release of the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), DEA’s comprehensive review of the threats posed to the United States by deadly illicit drugs and the violent domestic and international drug trafficking organizations responsible for producing and trafficking the drugs poisoning our communities. For more than a decade, DEA’s NDTA has been …
8 things to know about the drug known as ‘gas station heroin’
Decades before it became known as “gas station heroin,” tianeptine was prescribed to treat depression in dozens of countries. Now, U.S. poison control centers are reporting a dramatic spike in cases involving tianeptine — a drug that isn’t FDA approved, and one that authorities warn poses overdose and dependency risks. Tianeptine inhabits a murky space in U.S. drug regulation. It’s …
AI screening for opioid use disorder associated with fewer hospital readmissions
An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool, developed by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team, successfully identified hospitalized adults at risk for opioid use disorder and recommended referral to inpatient addiction specialists. The AI-based method was just as effective as a health provider-only approach in initiating addiction specialist consultations and recommending monitoring of opioid withdrawal. Compared to patients who …
Predictive Models Show Promise in Preventing Suicide
Over 40% of people who die by suicide visit a health care provider in the month before their death, underscoring the critical role of health care settings in suicide prevention. Researchers have been trying to find better ways of quickly and accurately detecting suicide risk in these settings. One tactic that has shown promise is analyzing electronic health records (EHRs) to quickly …
NET Device
The NET DeviceTM reduces opioid withdrawal symptoms in 24 hours without the use of medication, making long-term recovery more attainable for Kentuckians Isaiah House, Kentucky’s largest community-focused nonprofit addiction treatment organization, is proud to announce its groundbreaking partnership with NET Recovery to offer NET Recovery’s proprietary neurostimulation therapy (NET®) in the Commonwealth.
Emerging Drug: Medetomidine
Animal Sedative aka Rhino Tranq Silently has become the dominant additive to Fentanyl, first appearing in May 2024. As of January 2025, more frequently detected in fentanyl than xylazine, Medetomidine is now found in 87% of Philadelphia drug samples. Medetomidine is 200 times more potent than xylazine (DEA). Major ramifications is worsening and more severe withdrawal symptoms to include intractable …