All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

Focuses on several factors that are necessary for substance abuse & addiction to occur, including an examination of the biological research regarding the phenomenon of addiction to a variety of substances. Describes individual risk & protection factors that contribute to the abuse, & addiction to alcohol & drugs. Looks at how risk & protection factors play out in subcultures & in major activity settings including the home, school, workplace & recreation settings. Addresses a range of legislative options for Congress. History of drug control policy in the U.S.

Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse, Volume One: Foundations of Understanding, Tobacco, Alcohol, Cannabinoids, Opioids and Emerging Addictions provides the latest research in an area that shows that the neuropathological features of one addiction are often applicable to those of others. The book also details how a further understanding of these commonalties can provide a platform for the study of specific addictions in greater depth, all in an effort to create new modes of understanding, causation, prevention, and treatment. The three volumes in this series address new research and challenges, offering comprehensive coverage on the adverse consequences of the most common drugs of abuse, with each volume serving to update the reader's knowledge on the broader field of addiction, while also deepening our understanding of specific addictive substances. Volume One addresses tobacco, alcohol, cannabinoids, and opioids, with each section providing data on the general, molecular/cellular, and structural/functional neurological aspects of a given substance, along with a focus on the adverse consequences of addictions. - Provides a modern approach on the pathology of substances of abuse, offering an evidence based ethos for understanding the neurology of addictions - Fills an existing gap in the literature by proving a one-stop-shopping synopsis of everything to do with the neuropathology of drugs of addiction and substance misuse - Includes a list of abbreviations, abstracts, applications to other addictions and substance misuse, mini-dictionary of terms, summary points, 6+ figures and tables, and full references in each chapter - Offers coverage of preclinical, clinical, and population studies, from the cell to whole organs, and the genome to whole body

Every year about half a million men, women, and children in the United States die from the effects of using nicotine, alcohol, and illegal drugs: one of every four American deaths. Yet research to solve this terrible problem is often perceived as less important than other types of biomedical investigation. Focusing on four major classes of drugs with the greatest social and economic impactâ€"nicotine, alcohol, opioids, and stimulantsâ€"Dispelling the Myths About Addiction examines what is known about addiction and what is needed to develop a talented cadre of investigators and to educate the public about addiction research. The committee explores these areas: Economic costs of addiction. What has been learned about addiction from research into basic neurobiology and the brain, psychosocial and behavioral factors, and epidemiology. Education and training of researchers and the research infrastructure. Public perceptions and their impact on public policy in this field. This volume outlines the challenges and opportunities in addiction research today and makes recommendations to educators, treatment professionals, public and private institutions, and others for how to build support for addiction research and treatment.

New and improved therapies to treat and protect against drug dependence and abuse are urgently needed. In the United States alone about 50 million people regularly smoke tobacco and another 5 million are addicted to other drugs. In a given year, millions of these individuals attemptâ€"with or without medical assistanceâ€"to quit using drugs, though relapse remains the norm. Furthermore, each year several million teenagers start smoking and nearly as many take illicit drugs for the first time. Research is advancing on promising new means of treating drug addiction using immunotherapies and sustained-release (depot) medications. The aim of this research is to develop medications that can block or significantly attenuate the psychoactive effects of such drugs as cocaine, nicotine, heroin, phencyclidine, and methamphetamine for weeks or months at a time. This represents a fundamentally new therapeutic approach that shows promise for treating drug addiction problems that were difficult to treat in the past. Despite their potential benefits, however, several characteristics of these new methods pose distinct behavioral, ethical, legal, and social challenges that require careful scrutiny. Such issues can be considered unique aspects of safety and efficacy that are fundamentally related to the distinct nature and properties of these new types of medications.

Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.

This wide-ranging handbook brings together experts in the sociology of drug abuse prevention. Providing a comprehensive overview of the accumulated knowledge on prevention theory, intervention design, and development and prevention research methodology, this work also promotes prevention science as an evolving field in the practice and policy of drug abuse prevention.