TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Molecular Psychiatry found that CB-1 receptor blockade and cannabidiol reduced alcohol intake in animal models, but human alcohol-use-disorder evidence remained inconsistent and too thin to support a treatment claim. Key Findings 63 studies reviewed: Researchers synthesized 44 preclinical studies and 19 clinical or human experimental studies of …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Pain Medicine found that Medicaid enrollment and preoperative benzodiazepine use had the largest pooled associations with new persistent opioid use after surgery among opioid-naive US adults. Key Findings 27 cohort studies: The review included US adult surgical studies that separated opioid-naive patients from those using opioids before …
TL;DR: A 2026 secondary analysis in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found 4 cannabis craving trajectories during treatment, with the high-craving group showing more positive urine cannabinoid tests and higher baseline anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive cannabis-use symptoms. Key Findings Trial reanalysis: Researchers reanalyzed a 12-week multisite cannabis use disorder trial of 302 adults assigned to N-acetylcysteine …
TL;DR: A 2026 mouse study in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that chronic intermittent ethanol plus repeated forced-swim stress left mice drinking more alcohol months later and impaired reversal learning in midlife, alongside locus coeruleus signs of oxidative stress and weaker adrenergic autoregulation. Key Findings Persistent effects reached midlife: The experiment followed 55 C57BL/6J …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Implementation Science Communications found that high-performing HEALing Communities Study coalitions used representative membership, shared goals, data support, and communications campaigns to strengthen opioid-use-disorder service implementation. Key Findings 8 communities studied: Researchers selected the top-performing urban and rural waitlist-control communities from each of four HEALing Communities Study sites. 41 interviews analyzed: …
TL;DR: A 2026 Journal of Global Health analysis of Global Burden of Disease 2021 data estimated that 162.86 million people had substance use disorders in 2021, with age-standardized rates down since 1990 but major inequality across sex, age, region, and development level. Key Findings 162.86 million cases: Global Burden of Disease 2021 estimates put worldwide …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Behavior Genetics found that combining major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder polygenic scores improved prediction of their comorbidity in 7,965 Add Health participants, but added little for either condition alone. Key Findings Add Health dataset anchored the analysis: The study used 7,965 European, African, and Admixed American ancestry participants …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in Preventive Medicine Reports found limited but suggestive randomized-trial evidence that smoking-cessation medications can help Indigenous adults quit, especially when paired with supportive or culturally tailored care. Key Findings 5 RCTs: The review found only 5 randomized controlled trials, totaling 1,633 participants, in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Maori adult …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Drug and Alcohol Review found that laypeople reported more and better-developed cues for alcohol intoxication than cannabis intoxication, even though most coded cues for both substances were accurate. Key Findings Intoxication-cue sample: The survey sample was 77.7% female, with an average age of 20.5 years, and came from undergraduate psychology …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Psychopharmacology found that low oral THC doses did not meaningfully reduce most subjective or physiological responses when healthy adults retrieved memories of a prior social stress task. Key Findings Low-dose THC groups: Participants aged 18-35 were assigned to placebo, 5 mg THC, or 10 mg THC groups, with 12 people …
