News Releases | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Treating opioid addiction in jails improves treatment engagement, reduces overdose deaths and reincarceration

September 10, 2025 | NIH-funded study demonstrates life-saving potential of providing medications for opioid use disorder in carceral settings.

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Treating opioid addiction in jails improves treatment engagement, reduces overdose deaths and reincarceration

September 10, 2025 | NIH-funded study demonstrates life-saving potential of providing medications for opioid use disorder in carceral settings.

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Quitting smoking is associated with recovery from other addictions

August 13, 2025 | NIH-funded finding supports addressing smoking cessation during substance use treatment

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AI screening for opioid use disorder associated with fewer hospital readmissions

April 3, 2025 | NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tool as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists

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Brain structure differences are associated with early use of substances among adolescents

December 30, 2024 | Differences appeared to exist prior to substance use, pointing to the role brain structure may play in risk

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Reported use of most drugs among adolescents remained low in 2024

December 17, 2024 | New NIH-funded data show lower use of most substances continues following the COVID-19 pandemic

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NIH and FDA leaders call for innovation in development of smoking cessation treatments

October 15, 2024 | Engagement across stakeholders is critical to accelerate smoking cessation and reduce smoking-related disease and death

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Higher doses of buprenorphine may improve treatment outcomes for people with opioid use disorder

September 25, 2024 | Suggests higher doses of buprenorphine were associated with lower rates of future emergency department care

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Fewer than half of U.S. jails provide life-saving medications for opioid use disorder

| En español

September 24, 2024 | NIH findings highlight critical gaps in treatment access in correctional facilities for people with SUDs.

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Cannabis and hallucinogen use among adults remained at historic highs in 2023

| En español

August 29, 2024 | Vaping among younger adults and binge drinking among mid-life adults also maintained historically high levels

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NIH launches program to advance research led by Native American communities on substance use and pain

| En español

August 15, 2024 | Aims to elevate Indigenous knowledge and culture in research to respond to the overdose crisis

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Doctors reluctant to treat addiction most commonly report “lack of institutional support” as barrier

| En español

July 17, 2024 | Study highlights need for greater education, training, and policies to support physician intervention in addiction

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Most Americans don’t know that primary care physicians can prescribe addiction treatment

| En español

June 28, 2024 | Study shows need to increase awareness that medications for opioid use disorder can be prescribed via primary care

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Federal study examines care following nonfatal overdose among medicare beneficiaries; identifies effective interventions and gaps in care

| En español

June 17, 2024 | Receiving gold-standard care after a non-fatal overdose was associated with a decreased risk of subsequent overdose.

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NIH-funded intervention did not impact opioid-related overdose death rates over evaluation period

| En español

June 16, 2024 | COVID-19 and increasingly dangerous drugs among factors that may have contributed to diminished impact of intervention

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Over 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl seized by law enforcement in 2023

| En español

May 13, 2024 | NIH-supported study highlights increasingly dangerous illicit drug supply, risk of pills not coming from a pharmacy

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Faster approach for starting extended-release naltrexone to treat opioid use disorder shown effective

| En español

May 8, 2024 | NIH-supported clinical trial addresses important barrier to opioid use disorder treatment

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More than 321,000 U.S. children lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021

| En español

May 8, 2024 | Federal study shows overdose deaths are felt across generations, emphasizing need to support children and families

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Analysis of social media language using AI models predicts depression severity for white Americans, but not Black Americans

| En español

March 26, 2024 | Black people with depression used different language than white people to express their thoughts on Facebook

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Delta-8-THC use reported by 11% of 12th graders in 2023

| En español

March 12, 2024 | Psychoactive cannabis product use higher in states without delta-8 regulations or cannabis legalization

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Law enforcement seizures of psilocybin mushrooms rose dramatically between 2017-2022

| En español

February 6, 2024 | NIH-supported research highlights need to better understand psilocybin in context of growing psychedelic use

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Reduced drug use is a meaningful treatment outcome for people with stimulant use disorders

| En español

January 10, 2024 | NIH-supported findings suggest the need to expand definitions of addiction treatment success beyond abstinence

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Residential addiction treatment for adolescents is scarce and expensive

| En español

January 8, 2024 | Just seven states had a facility that accepted Medicaid, had a bed open the same day, and offered buprenorphine

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Semaglutide associated with lower risk of suicidal ideations compared to other treatments prescribed for obesity or type 2 diabetes

| En español

January 5, 2024 | Analysis finds patients treated with semaglutide had 49% to 73% lower risk of suicidal ideation

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Reported drug use among adolescents continued to hold below pre-pandemic levels in 2023

| En español

December 13, 2023 | New data show relatively low use of illicit substances, and yet overdose death rates among teens have risen

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Overdose deaths increased in pregnant and postpartum women from early 2018 to late 2021

| En español

November 22, 2023 | Among those aged 35 to 44, overdose mortality more than tripled during this period, NIH study reports

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Researchers identify brain network that is uniquely activated through injection vs. oral drug use

| En español

November 8, 2023 | NIH study suggests the brain’s “salience network” is important for understanding SUD, possible therapeutic target

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Telehealth supports retention in treatment for opioid use disorder

| En español

October 18, 2023 | Federally funded study provides evidence supporting expanded use of telehealth services for opioid use disorder

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Higher buprenorphine doses associated with improved retention in treatment for opioid use disorder

| En español

September 18, 2023 | NIH-funded study suggests need to reevaluate opioid addiction treatment recommendations in the era of fentanyl

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Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reached historic highs among adults 35 to 50

| En español

August 17, 2023 | For younger adults 19 to 30, marijuana, vaping, hallucinogen use are at or near historically high levels