Why do some people become addicted while others don’t? Family studies that include identical twins, fraternal twins, adoptees, and siblings suggest that as much as half of a person’s risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, alcohol, or other substances depends on his or her genetic makeup. Finding the biological basis for this risk is an important avenue of research for scientists trying to solve the problem of substance use. […]
Read More… from Genetics: The Blueprint of Health and Disease
Child development is marked by important transitions between developmental periods and the achievement of successive developmental milestones. How successfully or unsuccessfully a child meets the demands and challenges arising from a given transition, and whether the child meets milestones on an appropriate schedule, can affect his or her future course of development, including risk for substance use or other mental, emotional, or behavioral problems during adolescence. […]
Read More… from How Childhood Development Can Impact Substance Use in Adults
When they first use a substance, people may perceive what seem to be positive effects. They also may believe they can control their use. But substances can quickly take over a person’s life. Over time, if drug use continues, other pleasurable activities become less pleasurable, and the person has to take the substance just to feel “normal.” […]
Read More… from If Taking Substances Makes People Feel Good or Better, What’s the Problem?
The Screening and Assessment Tools Chart provides a comprehensive guide and links to evidence-based screening and assessment tools you can use with your patients from adolescence to adulthood. It is organized by substance type, patient age, and administration method to help you find the right tool for your practice. […]
While there are evidence based screening tools validated for internal medicine settings, more research is needed to determine best screening practices in patients needing pain management. Many demographic, physical, and psychosocial factors can predict opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain. […]
Read More… from Screening for Substance Use in the Pain Management Setting
Trends in Prevalence of Various Substances for 8th Graders, 10th Graders, and 12th Graders; 2017 – 2020 (in percent)* […]
Read More… from Monitoring the Future Study: Trends in Prevalence of Various Substances
Most substances affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. A properly functioning reward system motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy behaviors like taking substances, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again. […]
Read More… from What Happens to the Brain When a Person Uses Substances?
For much of the past century, scientists studying drugs and drug use labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When scientists began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people with an addiction were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower. […]
Read More… from How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Substance Addiction
Naloxone is available at many pharmacies with no Dr. visits required. Naloxone is recommended for anyone with opioids in their home. If you have opioids, you should also have Naloxone.
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The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) compiles client-level data for substance use treatment admissions from State Agency data systems. State data systems collect data from facilities about their admissions to treatment and discharges from treatment. TEDS is an admissions based system, but it does not include all admissions. […]
Child development is marked by important transitions between developmental periods and the achievement of successive developmental milestones. How successfully or unsuccessfully a child meets the demands and challenges arising from a given transition, and whether the child meets milestones on an appropriate schedule, can affect his or her future course of development, including risk for substance use or other mental, emotional, or behavioral problems during adolescence. […]
Anyone can become addicted to opioids, even when prescribed by a doctor. Talk to your healthcare provider about ways to manage pain that don’t involve opioids. If opioids are prescribed, talk to your doctor about the risks. Consider using a conversation checklist. […]
