Many college students are mixing alcohol and energy drinks, as well as engaging in hazardous drinking, which puts them at risk for alcohol-related harm. But do the negative consequences that result from consuming alcohol with these energy drinks go beyond just alcohol alone?

The possibility that food can be addicting has been getting some serious attention in recent years (see for example Gearhardt AN et al, J Addict Med 2009;3(1):1–7). The idea isn’t half-baked: food and other natural rewards, like sex, activate the same brain regions that are hijacked by drugs of abuse.

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Despite a large body of evidence providing overwhelming proof that misuse of cannabis can lead to the typical problems of substance abuse, some people continue to question the entire concept of cannabis (marijuana) addiction.

A list of cannabis-related statistics.

While many people think marijuana is harmless, some people do become addicted to it. Roughly one million people receive substance abuse treatment for cannabis each year and the majority resume using marijuana following program discharge.

Separate the facts about cannabis use from the myths in an interview with Itai Danovitch, MD, director of Addiction Psychiatry Clinic Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Smoking remains a scourge despite almost universal acknowledgement of its harms. This raises a puzzling question: If smoking is so bad for you, why do people continue to smoke?

The FDA approved the use of Zubsolv on July 3. The medication contains buprenorphine and naloxone and is manufactured by Swedish drug maker Orexo AB. It comes in a once-daily tablet that dissolves under the tongue.

The FDA rejected a new medication to treat opioid addiction that would have been implanted under the skin. The implant, Probuphine, is a long-acting version of buprenophine that is implanted under the skin of the upper arm in a procedure that can be done in a physician’s office in about 10–15 minutes.