A large American trial has found that talking therapy and peer mentoring made little difference to opioid use among people taking buprenorphine. Researchers tracked whether patients kept using illicit opioids over twelve months. Adding psychosocial support for opioid recovery, whether alone or combined, did not improve outcomes. The findings appear in JAMA Network Open and...
People living with severe mental illness who depend on opioids drop out of opioid agonist treatment at much higher rates than those without the condition. That is the headline finding from a major population-based study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers followed more than 14,700 people in New South Wales, Australia, over 14 years...
New research from Hebrew University shows that collective trauma cravings are far more common than most people realise. Reminders of the October 7 attack can trigger an almost instant urge to smoke or use cannabis among regular users. The study comes from the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health. It was published in the...
Guernsey’s director of public health says the States is now investigating a sharp rise in cannabis mental health admissions to Crevichon Ward over the past four years. Cannabis Mental Health Admissions More Than Double Since 2021 The island’s annual Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy report shows that 18% of all Crevichon admissions in 2025 were...
The United States government has announced $40 million in new addiction prevention funding to strengthen behavioural health services nationwide. Eight separate grant programmes will target substance use, child trauma, suicide intervention and workforce development across communities. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services...
A major new report has found that people who use drugs across Europe are being routinely denied access to mainstream mental health services, with exclusions based on active drug use, lack of identity documents and unstable housing cutting off care for the most vulnerable. The findings come from the Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction...
Trauma and addiction recovery rarely follows a straight line. For many people, the path begins not with a deliberate choice but with crisis. Substances become the only available buffer against unbearable pain. A war correspondent’s account of addiction following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami offers a rare window into this process. It shows how catastrophic...
Years of sobriety can feel like the hard work is finally done. Yet long-term relapse in alcohol recovery is a real and underexamined risk. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have now published findings that challenge a widely held assumption: that time in recovery means safety from relapse. Their study, published in...
Teen cannabis use after legalisation is rising sharply among the most vulnerable young people. A new study found that adolescents attending a psychiatric emergency department were far more likely to test positive for cannabis once recreational sales became legal in Massachusetts. The findings raise serious questions about the unintended consequences of liberalising drug laws for...
Youth vaping in Australia has reached levels that demand urgent action. New research shows one in five young adults aged 18 to 25 now uses e-cigarettes. Those with mental health difficulties face a significantly greater risk. The findings come from the International Journal of Drug Policy. Researchers analysed data from three waves of the National...