Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct a national survey of practicing dentists to assess their current knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors related to substance use screening among their adult patients. The secondary objective was to identify practitioner- and practice-level facilitators and barriers to substance use screening. Method: This cross-sectional study consisted of an electronic survey disseminated to practicing dentists who were active members of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (n = 790; 61% male). Results: The majority of dentists reported some level of screening for nicotine (95.7%), alcohol (87.2%), cannabis (83.9%), and illicit drug (87.7%) use among their adult patients. More than 2 in 5 dentists reported never counseling patients regarding problematic use of alcohol, cannabis, and illicit drugs. Higher screening frequency was associated with higher counseling frequency and lower endorsement of two barrier factors: beliefs regarding responsibility, relevance, and effectiveness, and lack of training and/or resources. Higher frequency of counseling was associated with higher frequency of referral behavior and lower endorsement of three barrier factors: concerns regarding patient truthfulness/ discomfort; beliefs regarding responsibility, relevance, and effectiveness; and lack of training and/or resources. Conclusions: Results indicate a high level of willingness to screen, counsel, and refer patients for substance use among a majority of dentists, although current practice behaviors lag willingness. Findings regarding barriers and facilitators can guide efforts to develop, disseminate, and implement screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment training, initiatives, and tools that are inclusive of or specifically target dental providers.

W.B. Kagan

Field test looks for active ingredients to see if driver is under the influence at the time of the stop. Taking the test is voluntary.

Objective: Alcohol use disorder is highly prevalent with known associations to poor health and memory. Diet interventions are a useful tool that have the potential to help many, as they are relatively non-invasive and accessible. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that has been used for decades to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy. In the current study, the effects of 3 weeks of KD on alcohol use and anxiety, and post-alcohol anxiety, sociability and memory were assessed in C57BL/6J mice. Method: In Experiment 1 and 1a, mice were allowed to drink alcohol for 8 weeks using the intermittent drinking in the dark paradigm. Across the last 3 weeks of drinking, mice were fed either KD or a standard chow diet and tested for performance in a Barnes maze. In Experiment 2, mice were fed either KD or standard diet for 3 weeks and observed for anxiety and social behaviors, and memory. Experiment 2a extended this work using a small number of male mice that were injected with alcohol for 1 week prior to behavioral assessment. Results: Overall, our findings suggest a therapeutic effect of KD on alcohol consumption and post-alcohol deficits. Conclusions: Benefits were independent of effects on generalized anxiety yet support a more specific effect of KD to increase exploration and reduce behavioral inhibition. This study did not investigate the neurobiology mediating these effects and future research for this is now needed.

Objective: There is no externally validated instrument for predicting which children will show frequent substance use (SU) in young adulthood. This study evaluated whether an instrument previously shown to predict SU outcomes in mid-adolescence could also predict SU outcomes in young adulthood, comparing performance across ages and demographics. Method: The Loeber Risk Score (LRS) is a 5-item, parent-completed screener indexing risk of future SU in children. We evaluated the predictive performance of the LRS in a nationally representative longitudinal birth cohort (N = 4,898, 48% female). Parents completed the LRS when the child was ∼5 and ∼9 years old. Subsequently, youth reported their SU at age ∼22 years old. Results: The LRS at age 9 predicted several outcomes at age 22 better than chance (ps<0.05): daily cigarette use (AUROCs=0.71-0.75), cannabis use ≥3x week (AUROC=0.59), vaping ≥3x week (AUROC=0.55), and receipt of treatment for an alcohol/drug problem (AUROC=0.60). Performance was no better than chance for alcohol outcomes (AUROCs=0.47-0.50). Children with LRS scores ≥2 were 1.3-2.0 times more likely to display frequent substance use outcomes. There were no consistent performance differences when the LRS was measured at age 5 vs. age 9 or by child’s sex, race, or ethnicity. Conclusion: The LRS would be an improvement over random or ad hoc selection, but screening accuracy is generally low. Much more accurate screeners are needed.

Objective: Cannabis use has increased among older adults, yet the neurocognitive effects in this demographic remain unclear. Prior work has suggested cannabis may increase brain volume in areas rich in cannabinoid (CB1) receptors, though negative effects are often reported in adolescents. This study sought to clarify the relationship between cannabis use and brain health among middle-aged and older adults. Method: Using data from the UK Biobank, which includes health information from over 500,000 adults, associations between cannabis use, regional brain volume, and cognition in participants aged 40–70 years (mean age = 54.5) were evaluated. Results: Lifetime cannabis use was positively associated with regional brain volume in CB1-rich regions, including the caudate, putamen, hippocampus, and amygdala. Greater lifetime use was also linked to better performance in learning, processing speed, and short-term memory. Individuals reporting use limited to adolescence also showed larger regional volumes and better cognitive performance than non-users. Sex differences in cannabis effects on brain volume and cognition were also observed. Conclusions: Results highlight that cannabis may influence brain health differently across the lifespan, potentially offering protective effects in older age while posing risks earlier in development. Protective effects may result from endocannabinoid-mediated modulation of inflammation, immune function, and neurodegeneration. Observed sex differences likely reflect variation in the endocannabinoid system and underscore the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in studies of cannabis and brain health.

Marijuana is prescribed to help ease chronic pain and control nausea in cancer patients, but legal red tape has made more comprehensive research difficult.

Objective: Reduction in alcohol craving has often been specified as an outcome for alcohol use disorder (AUD) interventions. This study evaluated changes in multiple craving measures from a randomized double-blind clinical trial (RCT) evaluating the efficacy of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, for treatment of AUD. We predicted Veterans in AUD residential treatment, that received active iTBS (Active; n=22), show greater reductions than sham iTBS (Sham; n=22). Method: Twenty iTBS sessions (1200 pulses/session) were delivered over 2 weeks. Craving measures were administered prior to iTBS sessions (Baseline) and following completion of sessions (Post-Assessment). Craving measures administered were the Alcohol Craving Questionnaire Short Form-Revised Total Score, Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASE) Tempted Cravings and Urges subscale, and Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS). Results: All craving measures showed reductions in scores (time main effect), collapsed across Active and Sham groups; however, the absence of significant group x time interactions indicated active iTBS did not produce statistically greater reductions than sham. Exploratory post-hoc simple effects analyses were conducted to further examine the significant main effect of time; Active participants showed reductions on the AASE Tempted Cravings-Urges and all OCDS measures; Sham group showed no significant changes on any measure. Conclusions: Active iTBS did not produce a statistically greater reduction in craving symptomatology than sham, given the absence of significant group by time interactions. However, the exploratory post-hoc results can guide future larger scale transcranial magnetic stimulation RCTs for AUD on the utility of the acquired craving measures.

Objective: The opioid crisis remains a critical public health concern, with non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) playing a significant role. However, limited evidence exists on how adults e...

Objective: Driving while intoxicated (DWI) remains a preventable source of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Ignition Interlock Devices (IID) are used to prevent DWI offenders from driving...

Objective: The burden of alcohol-related disease is substantial and varies across regions, age and sexes. The study used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 data to estimate the burden, emphasizin...

Objective: The public health impact of substance use (SU) is substantial, with tobacco use and excessive drinking leading as causes of death in the USA. To address this growing epidemic, governments h...

Background: Prolonged alcohol consumption is associated with immune system alterations, high blood pressure, and neurotoxicity. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating disease worldwide that leads...

Objective Theories posit that acute alcohol responses predict development of future heavy alcohol use and alcohol related problems. The most prominent of these theories is the low-level response theor...

Objective: The California (US) Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training Act mandated training for all alcohol servers by 2023 giving us a rare opportunity to see how a statewide initiative might in...

Objective: Using peer-driven sampling of young adult social networks, this study examined whether elevated drinking risks among individual participants (“egos”) were associated with behavioral economi...

Objective: We investigated risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorder (DUD) in offspring of parents with major depression (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD), including how parent and offspr...

Objective: Assumptions about alcohol's health benefits profoundly influence global disease burden estimates and drinking guidelines. Using theory and evidence, we identify and test study characteristi...

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 86(6), 1002–1009 (2025). http://dx.doi.org/10.15288/jsad.24-00402 -->