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Americans are now more likely to die by accidental opioid overdose than by a car crash. Source: TODAY On May 31, 2019, my life swerved off track, fell down the side of a cliff and came crashing down. On that Friday morning, my 21-year-old brother Matt, my best friend and confidant, died. His life was…

Effective treatment needs to include both the substance use disorder and the co-occurring disorder in an integrated approach because the two conditions build on each other. Thirty-three percent of people with mental illness also have a substance use disorder (SUD); that number rises to 50 percent for severe mental illness. Fifty-one percent of people with…

Plaintiffs are seeking billions of dollars in restitution. Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid are among the superstores and chain drugstores named in what will be a major trial regarding corporate complicity in the opioid epidemic. As reported by the New York Times, the lawsuit filed in federal court last Friday seeks billions of dollars…

Fears of a jump in U.S. high school students using marijuana in states where recreational cannabis has been legalized appears to be contradicted by a new study. Weed consumption among high school teenagers has actually declined in states where pot is legal, the study published this week in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics concludes. “Consistent…

After a breakup in 2008, a cousin gave Ashlee Krichmar, then 20, a Percocet. She’d never much liked them in the past — they made her sick — but that day the college student majoring in business management took the pill. “It numbed all the emotions I was having at the time, so I didn’t…

Too much Fortnite could be an actual problem. The World Health Organization approved its new version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems Saturday, ratifying the industry standard for diagnosing “diseases disorders, injuries” and other health issues. Among the changes is the addition of the so-called “gaming disorder,” which falls under…

Much of the talk about legalizing marijuana seems to happen in an information vacuum. Today I’d like to talk facts about marijuana. Marijuana has been accepted as medicinal, when there isn’t hard, scientific evidence to support that idea. It’s been positioned as safe, when research shows that it has profound impact on the brain development…

If alcohol is affecting your life and relationships — you find it’s hard to control how much you drink or you depend on alcohol to get through the day — you may be among the 17.6 million adult Americans, 1 of 12, who have an alcohol-use disorder, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug…

With roughly 23.5 million Americans addicted to drugs or alcohol, and another 22 million in recovery, substance abuse happens often happens on the job. “It rarely goes unnoticed,” says Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer for  American Addiction Centers. ”People just don’t know what to do.” Here are signs a co-worker might be struggling with alcohol or…

Detoxing off heroin or opioids without medication is sheer hell. I should know. For many users, full-blown withdrawal is often foreshadowed by a yawn, or perhaps a runny nose, a sore back, sensitive skin or a restless leg. For me, the telltale sign that the heroin was wearing off was a slight tingling sensation when…