addiction

The holiday season can be a difficult time to avoid alcohol.

Health & Safety

Eat, Don't Drink And Still Be Merry: Staying Sober Through The Holidays

2:39pm December 12, 2016

by Sarah Hepola

Before she stopped drinking, Sarah Hepola relied on alcohol to get her through the holiday season. "What nobody mentions about all the holiday spirit is how much booze it requires," she says.

Addiction to opioids and heroin is a major public health problem, but so is alcohol abuse.

Surgeon General Murthy Wants America To Face Up To Addiction

2:03pm November 17, 2016

by NPR Staff

More people struggle with alcohol or drugs than have cancer, and 1 in 5 Americans binge drink. It all costs the nation $420 billion a year. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says we know how to help.

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After a string of inpatient rehabilitation stays, Louis Casanova, who lives near Philadelphia, says he is still trying to break his addiction.

How We Got Here: Treating Addiction In 28 Days

8:28am October 01, 2016

by Ben Allen

Decades ago, a researcher came up with 28 days as the ideal length of stay for inpatient alcoholism rehab, despite lack of evidence that it worked. That model is now being used for opioid addiction.

Public health officials want doctors to consider treating alcohol abuse with medications that have a track record of success.

Medications Can Help People Stop Abusing Alcohol, But Many Don't Know That

4:23pm September 26, 2016

by Emma Yasinski

It is still rare for a person struggling with alcohol abuse to be prescribed naltrexone or acamprosate, two medications that have been proven to help. Efforts are underway to change that.

Health care providers have to have permission from the federal government to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction.

Doctors Who Treat Opioid Addiction Often See Very Few Patients

11:59am September 20, 2016

by Nancy Shute

It can be very hard to find medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, but most doctors who provide it do so for just a small number of patients, a study finds.

Science

The Ups And Downs Of Dopamine

1:00pm September 16, 2016

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

The human body, engineered over billions of years by evolutionary experiments in adaptation, owes its survival as a species to the experiences of pleasure, which is enacted by brain chemistry. Yet this is also the source of addictive behavior. A local scientist is working to change that.

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Lisa Olson, of Mesa, Ariz., uses marijuana to ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Marijuana's Mainstream Move Triggers Different Kinds Of Family Talks

4:29pm September 05, 2016

This fall, five states may legalize marijuana for recreational use. The change means parents and kids talk about marijuana in a whole new light.

A Small Town Struggles With A Boom In Sober Living Homes

11:53am August 22, 2016

by Will Stone

Prescott, Ariz., has become a destination of choice for people trying to get sober, with growing numbers of group homes for recovering addicts. Some residents are calling for regulation of the homes.

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Prescribing of oxycodone and other opioid pain pills rose sharply after 2000.

Many More People Seek Medical Help For Opioid Abuse

12:56pm August 01, 2016

by Julie Appleby

Insurance claims for medical services related to opioid dependence rose more than 3,000 percent between 2007 and 2014, a study finds, suggesting that opioid problems have gone mainstream.

Dr. Michael Frost demonstrates use of Probuphine, an implant that dispenses medication to treat opioid addiction.

Doctors Need A New Skill Set For This Opioid Abuse Treatment

12:58pm July 28, 2016

by Karen Shakerdge

Practicing surgery on a piece of pork — that's how some doctors are learning to implant a new drug that curbs opioid cravings. It's not a skill set typically used in addiction medicine.