Opioid Prescribing and Suicide Risk in the US

Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality

Genetic Liability for Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Problems and Suicide Attempts

Genetic Loci Underlying Multiple Substance Use Disorders

Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI

Fatal Poisonings Among Infants and Young Children in the United States

Synthesising evidence of the effects of COVID-19 regulatory changes on methadone treatment

Not all vaping is the same: differential pulmonary effects of vaping cannabidiol versus nicotine

The Howard Street Method

The Use of Opioids in the Management of Chronic Pain.

State Cannabis Legalization and Psychosis.

Buprenorphine Dispensing Among Youth Aged ≤19 Years in the United States.

A patient recently said to me, “At this point in my life, recovery is not only how I live, it’s who I am.” Although I realize – and have helped him understand – that recurrences can occur in the course of the chronic disease that is addiction, I was able to celebrate with him that he is now “right where he needs to be.”

According to results from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 1 in 3 adults in America had either a substance use disorder (SUD) or any mental illness (AMI) in the past year, almost half of all young adults had either a SUD or AMI, and for many with either (SUD or AMI) the COVID pandemic was a global stressor (NSDUH). Not often captured by NSDUH surveys, incarcerated individuals represent a broad population at high risk for opioid use disorder (OUD) and opioid-overdose deaths.

Pain and addiction have a close relationship. For example, research has shown that three days of opioids prescribed for acute postoperative pain can increase the chances of chronic opioid use.

Recent years in addiction medicine have been transformative, and this year was exceptional. The opioid crisis and the COVID pandemic, being front-of-mind for many, created a sense of awareness in Washington D.C. that we must continue to capitolize on (spelling pun intended) (NPR, NBC).

Defining and diagnosing addiction has evolved over the years with cravings becoming a core component in the conceptualization. As we move forward, machine learning is enabling scientists to identify stable brain patterns that can function as a neuromarker for cravings (food and drugs) and potentially be used in diagnosis and treatment response.

To borrow from a conceptualization about human behavior — a good way to predict future news is to look at past news. This week we present to you the most read news publications of 2022.

Treatments for alcohol withdrawal continue to resonate, particularly updates with benzodiazepine-sparing protocols (JAMA Network Open). Research is identifying cannabis as a possible risk factor for dementia (American Journal of Psychiatry) and concern continues to grow around psychotic disorders and potency (The Lancet Psychiatry).