News
The ASAM Weekly for June 9, 2026
This Week in the ASAM Weekly
It's been just under a year since the ASAM Weekly rounded out our co-editorial team of four, and it has been less than six months since we announced applications for the next editor in chief, wrapped in acknowledgment for the legacy that came before.
And now that legacy continues:
(drumroll, please)
On behalf of the ASAM Weekly, I am proud to introduce our next editor in chief, Dr. Smita Das.
Dr. Das is a board-certified psychiatrist, an addiction psychiatrist, and an addiction medicine physician; a clinical professor at Stanford University School of Medicine; and a national leader at the intersection of addiction, psychiatry, public health, and clinical innovation.
She has held numerous leadership roles including serving as the chair of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Addiction Psychiatry, director of Addiction Treatment Services at the Palo Alto VA, and vice president of Psychiatry and Complex Care at Lyra Health.
With over twenty years of experience in research and clinical medicine, she has maintained a deep commitment to advancing evidence-based care and translating complex research into actionable insights for the medical community. This, along with her exceptional leadership acumen will serve to elevate the legacy of the next EIC.
Congratulations Dr. Das. We are excited to have you lead the ASAM Weekly.
…but wait, there's more!
(drumroll, please continue)
On behalf of the ASAM Weekly, I am proud to introduce our first contributing editor, Dr. Jessica Gregg.
Dr. Gregg's career has spanned academic medicine, health services research, clinical leadership, and frontline addiction care in both urban safety-net systems and rural communities. Most recently, her clinical work has focused on delivering addiction care in rural New Mexico, complementing many years of practice and system-building in Portland, Oregon.
She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, and the Journal of Addiction Medicine, as well as in public and literary outlets such as Time, The Washington Post, The American Scholar, and Huff Post. She is particularly drawn to work that translates complex science into humane, clinically useful narratives.
In this new role as contributing editor, Dr. Gregg will publish original editorial content for the ASAM Weekly and assist Dr. Das in expanding the newsletter's publication of guest editorials.
Congratulations Dr. Gregg. We are excited for the narrative spirit that you'll bring to the ASAM Weekly.
…
The end of one era introduces another:
Dr. Das will start on July 7th, and Dr. Gregg will be publishing her first guest editorial on June 23rd.
Thanks for reading,
Nicholas Athanasiou, MD, MBA, DFASAM
Editor in Chief
with Co-Editors: Brandon Aden, MD, MPH, FASAM · John A. Fromson, MD · Sarah Messmer, MD, FASAM · Jack Woodside, MD
Lead Story
American Journal of Public Health
Tobacco firms began acquiring US food companies in the 1960s-1990s to increase revenues and leverage research and development across holdings in tobacco, alcohol, and ultraprocessed foods (UPF) subsidiaries. In this case study, the authors examine the development of Lunchables® following the Philip Morris (PMC) acquisition of Kraft and General Foods (KGF). PMC applied a "consumer-driven product development" strategy, previously used for tobacco, in the development process to maximize consumer appeal. PMC also used technologies from KGF to make lower-nicotine cigarettes and then low-fat versions of Lunchables®, in a "better-for-you" strategy to preserve market share in the face of health concerns about both products. The authors suggest public health strategies and policies used to address tobacco could be expanded to UPFs to reduce harm to children.
Research and Science
Addiction
This population-based study of national death records aims to characterize decreases in overdose death rates in the United States between 2023 and 2024 by race/ethnicity and substance involvement. Researchers found that all four previously defined waves of the US overdose crisis appear to be in decline, as deaths involving illicit fentanyl, with and without stimulants, dropped sharply between 2023 and 2024. Concurrently, the fraction of overdose deaths involving stimulants without fentanyl and those involving xylazine continued to increase. While racial disparities in drug overdose death rates narrowed slightly during this period, large gaps remain, with the highest overdose death rates among American Indian, Alaska Native, and Black individuals.
Addiction
This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2022-2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to estimate the association between modes of cannabis use and past-year cannabis use disorder (CUD). Of all respondents who reported past-year cannabis use, 53.9% reported multi-modal cannabis use (at least two modes of use). The overall prevalence of CUD was 30.3%; however, this varied by mode of use. Respondents who reported oral/mucosal-only cannabis use had a CUD rate of 4.4% compared to 40.5% with multi-modal use, 24.3% with smoke-only use, and 28.9% with dab-only use. The highest CUD odds were among those using smoke + vape + oral/mucosal + dab, compared to oral/mucosal + topical use (AOR = 19.74, 95% CI: 9.11-42.75).
Substance Use & Addiction Journal
Methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD) is limited to opioid treatment programs (OTP), which can in turn limit access in much of the country. Proposals to expand access have included a federal law allowing prescribing by addiction specialists, but these proposals have not advanced. State regulations in North Carolina would allow pharmacies to act as medication units functioning as satellite sites for OTPs. The authors conducted qualitative research among OTP staff to ascertain perceptions about an OTP-pharmacy collaboration. While OTP staff identified increased access as a benefit and were generally supportive, they also raised concerns about potential stigma in pharmacies and loss of access to counseling and other services offered in OTPs. The staff also noted potential facilitators for implementation include telehealth, reimbursement changes, and communication between OTPs and pharmacies.
Naloxone and clinical outcomes in suspected opioid-associated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests 🔓
JAMA Network Open
Recent studies estimate 17% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) involve drug overdose. Data were obtained from a California EMS database for 2021-2022. Standard criteria indicating opioid-associated OHCA were found in 3,811 patients, and 33% of these received naloxone. Patients who received naloxone, compared to those who did not, had higher probability of survival to hospital discharge (8.1% vs 4.4%), favorable neurologic outcome at discharge (7.4% vs 3.3%), and return of spontaneous circulation (14.1% vs 9.6%). Similar favorable results were found in the group who received naloxone because EMS suspected opioid involvement. Naloxone even improved outcomes in the entire group of OHCA. However, in OHCA where epinephrine was administered naloxone provided no benefit. The authors suggest a randomized trial of naloxone in opioid-suspected OHCA.
Learn More
Journal of Addiction Medicine
Employees with OUD in safety-sensitive jobs (pilots, health care, et al) may be prohibited from MOUD treatment with methadone or buprenorphine. Most studies with methadone show some cognitive impairment. This study assessed the cognitive effects of buprenorphine by comparing cognitive test scores for patients receiving sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone (BUP-NX) with long-acting naltrexone (XR-NTX). Data were obtained from the X:BOT study where two cognitive tests (measuring attention, working memory, and executive function) were administered at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 16, and 24. On the trail-making test the scores were XR-NTX: 37.53, BUP-NX: 37.89, difference 0.26, p=.87. On the Stroop word-color test the scores were XR-NTX: 56.54, BUP-NX: 56.22, difference 0.33, p=.65. The authors suggest that BUP-NX has no significant effect on cognition and may be acceptable in safety-sensitive jobs.
Translational Psychiatry
Alcohol use disorder (AUD), which affects 29.1% of individuals over a lifetime in the US, is linked to impairments in visuospatial working memory, executive function, and motor control. This study used a data-driven deep learning approach to distinguish individuals with AUD from controls by integrating resting-state functional MRI connectivity data with cognitive and motor performance measures. The model identified 16 brain networks mapped to neuropsychological functions and grouped them into 14 functional units. The Temporal Attention Network (TAN) fully mediated the impact of AUD on spatial working memory, attention, set-shifting, and motor performance, while the Sensorimotor Network (SMN) additionally mediated motor-related deficits. These findings demonstrate distinct brain-behavior relationships underlying AUD-related impairments and were replicated in an independent cohort, supporting their robustness.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the impacts of methadone and buprenorphine on neonatal health outcomes, particularly preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age, stillbirth, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) diagnosis, and NOWS treatment. A total of 27 studies were included, with 22 observational studies, 4 randomized clinical trials (RCTs), and 1 RCT/observational study. Within these studies, there were a total of 14,978 individuals exposed to buprenorphine and 8,358 exposed to methadone. Buprenorphine was associated with lower risk of preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age, and NOWS treatment. There were no differences in NOWS diagnosis or stillbirth between groups. The study was limited due to lack of adjustment for potential confounding or timing, duration, and dosage of exposure to each regimen in the majority of the included studies.
In the News
- Opinion | It's never been easier in America to get buzzedThe New York Times
- One in 11 US adults still smoke as cigarette use declines, survey finds 🔓The Associated Press
- Fentanyl test strips save lives. Trump wants to end funding | Opinion 🔓USA Today
- Why aren't we studying what works in addiction treatment? 🔓Times Colonist
- Meet America's first low-alcohol craft brewery 🔓Food & Wine
- Cychlorphine is not the problem 🔓Filter
- Good Samaritan laws' unexpected benefit: Scaring off drug dealers 🔓Governing