Insufficient local staffing may limit the time a clinical pharmacist has to address both chronic disease and opioid management.
While any opioid prescription carries some risk, a subset of prescriptions is particularly risky: identifying potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) through state-level online prescription monitoring programs could help reduce PIP.
Sensation seeking is a major risk risk factor associated with binge drinking and marijuana use for women but not men.
This survey of 273 homeless youth indicates that, despite one-third meeting criteria for behavioral health problems such as PTSD, depression, or substance use problems, only about half of those meeting criteria reported a need for services.
The number of Medicaid recipients receiving medication to treat opioid abuse increased sharply in the years after approval of a new drug, but the increase was smaller in poorer counties and areas with larger populations of black and Hispanic residents.
Regulations on medical marijuana (MM) advertising—similar to those for tobacco and alcohol—may mitigate negative consequences of MM on adolescents.
To date, the stigma associated with opioid dependence has had the untoward effect of discouraging treatment-seeking behavior before the occurrence of an adverse event.
Youths in this study (ages 11–14) were exposed to an average of three alcohol ads per day; black and Hispanic youths' exposure was roughly double that of white youths. Exposure to alcohol ads led youths to view alcohol and drinking more positively.
Online personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions for alcohol use may be particularly effective for people who have recently experienced an alcohol-induced blackout.
It is feasible to deliver a web-based intervention to help concerned partners of military service members and veterans who suffer from alcohol misuse; partners found the program useful and acceptable.
Variation in associations between use and cognition (perceptions of drinking) does not account for the lower prevalence of alcohol use in African American girls as compared to white girls from ages 12-17.
Motivational interviewing is used extensively to improve health and substance use-related outcomes, but therapists may need more training in strategic use of the approach.
Homeless young adults were less likely to complete an alcohol and other drug and risky sex prevention program if they had slept outside or received the program in an urban setting.
Adolescents were who used both alcohol and marijuana or alcohol alone were more likely than others to report having both two or more sexual partners and condomless sex in the past month.
Current evidence does not support the hypothesis that US medical marijuana laws until 2014 have led to increases in adolescent marijuana use.
Taking periodic breaks from marijuana use or avoiding using marijuana before work or school may be important protective strategies for young veterans who choose to use marijuana to cope with symptoms of PTSD.
In dealing with the opioid crisis, supply-side policies that consider the full market (both prescription opioids as well as heroin and fentanyl), if coupled with effective treatment, are likely to be the most effective.
Increased documentation of elements of a Brief Intervention was not associated with decreased heavy drinking among patients 6 months after they had been identified as having unhealthy alcohol use.
Differences in epidemiological survey estimates can sometimes occur from seemingly minor method variations; these variations deserve special attention when increases or declines are seen in study populations.
Adolescents at risk for alcohol or other drug use and poor mental health are most likely to benefit from a brief intervention delivered in primary care.
Helping formerly homeless people identify members of their social network who trigger alcohol and other drug (AOD) use may motivate them to reduce high-risk AOD use in the transition to permanent housing.
States that provide legal access to marijuana through dispensaries experience lower treatment admissions for addiction to pain medication.
Among Medicaid recipients, high-risk prescribing of opioids occurred in 39.4% of episodes. Four characteristics -- older age, rural county of residence, white race, and major depression diagnosis -- were associated with higher rates of all types of high-risk prescribing.
Approximately 18.5 million Americans aged 12 or older reported buying marijuana in the past year; they were more likely to be male, report using marijuana for a greater number of days, and report dependence on marijuana.
Depression appears to reduce the effect of peer influence on marijuana use among adolescents participating in two separate studies.
