Effective treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) can include counseling and other psychosocial approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Contingency Management (CM). These therapies can help people build coping skills, manage cravings, strengthen relationships, and work toward their own recovery goals. A systematic review published in Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy examined 64 randomized controlled trials published between 2021 and 2025. The studies

Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist widely used to treat obesity, has shown promise in treating Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Researchers in Copenhagen, Denmark, conducted a study with individuals seeking treatment for AUD who also had comorbid obesity. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either semaglutide or a placebo, alongside cognitive behavioral therapy. Those who received semaglutide achieved a 41% reduction in heavy drinking days—an outcome nearly 14% great

Developing effective pain-relieving medication with a low risk of addiction has long been a significant challenge in medical research. This year, a team of researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified a novel, highly potent synthetic opioid compound that demonstrates substantial pain reduction without the classic hallmarks of addiction. The research team, led by scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), revisited an understudied class of

A large body of research identifies the insula as a critical brain region involved in maintaining tobacco use disorder (TUD). The insula integrates emotion, cognition, and distress identification, linking distress awareness to cognitive control networks. Among daily smokers, distress triggers cravings and decreases the capacity to tolerate negative emotions, a key predictor of long-term cessation success. In this study, researchers investigated whether individual differences

Most people with a substance use disorder concurrently use multiple drugs. Prior research estimates that approximately a quarter of individuals with an opioid use disorder (OUD) also use cannabis. While both buprenorphine and naltrexone are FDA-approved medications for the treatment of OUD, their specific impact on cannabis use has historically remained unknown. To explore this relationship, researchers sought to determine whether either extended-release naltrexone or subling

Rural and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities continue to experience some of the most severe impacts of the overdose crisis. During the fourth wave of the U.S. overdose crisis beginning in 2022, AI/AN youth and young adults—particularly those aged 15 to 34—experienced the highest overdose death rates of any racial or ethnic group. These disparities underscore the urgent need for prevention strategies that are both effective and responsive to community context. F

The vagus nerve is a massive, two-way superhighway connecting your brain to all your major internal organs. It controls the body’s automatic (parasympathetic) nervous system, tracking breathing, heart rate, pain, temperature, and organ health. The brain then uses this data to regulate stress levels, mood, and inflammation. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a treatment that sends mild electrical signals up the vagus nerve. By stimulating this pathway, VNS directly alters the br

A new multi-hospital study shows that a flexible, symptom-based approach helps newborns recovering from prenatal opioid exposure go home sooner. When babies are exposed to opioids in the womb, they are at high risk for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). These infants usually experience sharp withdrawal symptoms during their first week of life. While nonpharmacological care and comfort measures—such as quiet rooms and swaddling—are typically the first line of defense,

As cannabis laws continue to change across the United States, researchers are working to understand how these changes may shape young people’s beliefs about cannabis. This study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, looked at whether early adolescents—about 12 years old on average—had different expectations about cannabis depending on whether they lived in a state with no cannabis legalization, medical cannabis legalization, or recreational cannabis legalization. The res

This article explains that drug overdose deaths in the United States began to fall steadily around August 2023 after many years of increases, especially during the fentanyl era. This is encouraging news, but the decline has not happened evenly across the country, across all drug types, or across all groups of people. In the study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers examined 800,645 drug overdose deaths between January 2015 and October 2024 using data from the Nationa

A recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a comprehensive look at substance use disorder (SUD) treatment across the United States, including who is entering treatment, what substances are most commonly involved, and what services are being utilized. Drawing on data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), the annual report captures admissions and discharges among individuals ages 12 and older receiving treatment a

In a study published in JAMA Cardiology , researchers found chronic cannabis use—whether through smoking or THC-infused edibles—is associated with impaired vascular function, even among young and otherwise healthy adults. Healthy vascular function allows blood vessels to dilate properly, deliver oxygen efficiently, and help regulate key processes within the circulatory system. When vascular function is impaired, blood vessels are less able to expand, which can reduce blood fl

Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) continues to pose a growing public health challenge in the United States. Despite rising rates of use and overdose deaths, there are currently no FDA-approved medications for treating MUD. Prior studies have shown that naltrexone (used to treat opioid and alcohol use disorders) and bupropion (an antidepressant) have independently been effective in MUD treatment. In a 2021 landmark clinical trial (ADAPT-2), researchers found that combining t

A new study published in JAMA Health Forum found that adolescent cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of developing psychotic, bipolar, depressive, and anxiety disorders by young adulthood. The study included over 400,000 adolescents ages 13 to 17 who were universally screened for past-year cannabis use during routine pediatric visits between 2016 and 2023. Participants were followed through age 25, and researchers examined clinician-diagnosed psychiatric disor

Despite growth in the use of medications used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) – including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone – most people with OUD in the United States still do not receive medication. National estimates show only 25% of individuals with OUD receive medications for OUD (MOUD), underscoring a persistent gap between need and access. Research published in JAMA Health Forum found methadone treatment among Medicaid enrollees increased substantially ove

Sleep disturbance is a common, yet often overlooked, part of substance use disorders (SUDs). During withdrawal, many people report difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and sleep disturbance may persist during long-term recovery. The severity of sleep disturbances have also shown to be a predictor of relapse and later substance use (Gyawali & James, 2023 ). With alcohol use disorder (AUD) specifically, insomnia is frequently reported, and untreated insomnia has been i

Findings from a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study show that quitting cigarette smoking is associated with improved recovery outcomes from other substance use disorders. Using data from more than 2,600 adults participating in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a nationally representative study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, researchers examined changes in smoking status and re

Source: University of Michigan The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the University of Michigan published new data from the Monitoring the Future Study, an annual survey of drug use behaviors and attitudes among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders that has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 51 years. The latest findings show that adolescent substance use in the United States remains at historically low levels. The 2025 survey included 23,726 s

Addiction remains one of the most pressing health challenges. Across the world, researchers are advancing how we address substance use disorders by understanding risk factors and patterns of use, diagnosing them early with more precision, considering comorbidities, and treating them more effectively. Together, these developments are reshaping community responses and clinical practices by informing evidence-based approaches targeting prevention, treatment, recovery, and policy

While medications for addiction treatment (MAT) and behavioral therapies are the primary treatment options for substance use disorders (SUDs), neuromodulation interventions have emerged as promising new treatments. These non-invasive therapies use electrical, magnetic, or soundwave stimulation to alter the activity of neural circuits in the brain involved in reward and motivation and implicated in addiction (Oesterle et al., 2025). The goal is to directly influence brain func