News & Views
Vaping linked to increased risk of tobacco use
If there's anything we should know by now, it's that sellers of addictive substances are continually and intently focused on the development of new products that create lifelong customers. So, there is very good reason to be skeptical of claims that e-cigarette use --...
Study reinforces link between adolescent marijuana use, psychosis
Researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have found that both adolescent cannabis use and cigarette use are associated with increased risk of psychosis. The association was greater for cannabis, according to their study,...
Federal Study: Colorado’s mixed bag of pot
The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health contains good, bad and ugly news. I'll take it from the top -- and focus on youth marijuana use in Colorado, where I serve as medical director of one of the state's largest adolescent addiction-treatment programs and...
White House addresses national ‘crisis of drug use, addiction and drug deaths’
The United States' rates of drug use, abuse and addiction have become a "national public health emergency" that the country can overcome with the combined efforts of more Americans who are determined to prevent and end the scourge, President Donald J. Trump announced...
Study: Little to no evidence cannabis alleviates chronic pain
A new review of nearly 14,000 research articles and studies has found there is little to no evidence that cannabis alleviates chronic pain in adults. The full report, funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Enhancement Research Initiative and...
Past-month, adolescent marijuana use: CO v. U.S.
To learn more about the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, click here and here.
Ultra Potent Pot: Growing risks and impacts
Smart Colorado, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting youth from the harmful effects of marijuana use and legalization, has produced a video featuring perspectives that often don't make it into news coverage. In Colorado, marijuana use among adolescents has...
Meet the Natural High 2017 Video and Essay winner, finalists
We're big fans of Natural High, a California-based nonprofit organization that is rooted in sound prevention science and provides free resources to help guide youth "to reach their fullest potential and say no to drugs." Through the powerful and personal storytelling...
Patrick Kennedy: ‘Mental health the Civil Right issue of our time’
Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy knows well the damage that can come from harboring family secrets about mental illness and addiction. Son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and his first wife, Joan; nephew of President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy,...
NIDA: ‘Insufficient evidence’ that marijuana lessens opiate use, death
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that there is insufficient evidence to support claims that marijuana use will reduce opioid use and overdose deaths. The federal agency wrote: Some preliminary studies have suggested that medical marijuana...
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.