September 2024 Newsletter
Prepared by Van Scoyoc Associates 

Youth E-Cigarette Use Drops to Lowest Level in a Decade
According to new data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) released September 6^th by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teenagers’ e-cigarette use in the US dropped by two-thirds over the past five years as health regulators cracked down on illegal sales and distribution of the products. Read more here.

Study: Cannabis Laws and Utilization of Medications for the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, legal cannabis is associated with significant decreases in the use of benzodiazepines and increases in the use of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Read more here.

Congressional Research Service Report Says Marijuana Rescheduling Unhelpful
Rescheduling will not make marijuana research any easier, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Read more here.

Study Shows No Cognitive Impact from Adult Cannabis Consumption
According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, patients who used medical cannabis for one year did not see an impact on cognitive processes like memory, reward processing and impulse control, areas of cognition that are associated with cannabis use. Read more here. 

Provisional CDC Data Shows U.S. Overdose Deaths Falling
According to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths fell by 10 percent from April 2023 to April 2024. Read more here.

FDA and NIH Joint Public Meeting on Advancing Smoking Cessation Priorities
On Monday, October 21, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a joint public meeting entitled, “Advancing Smoking Cessation: FDA and NIH Priorities.” Read more here.

Higher Doses of Buprenorphine May Improve Treatment Outcomes for People With OUD
A new NIH-funded study suggests higher doses of buprenorphine were associated with lower rates of future behavioral health-related emergency department and inpatient care. Read more here.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Report Released
According to a report issued on September 26 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the lack of coherent federal government guidance on cannabis policy has exacerbated public health risks as marijuana legalization has spread rapidly across the country. Read more here.

Congress Averts Shutdown, Leaves until Lame Duck Session
With less than a week to go before the end of the fiscal year, Congress reached a deal and quickly passed a “clean continuing resolution (CR)” to avert a shutdown, then promptly recessed until after the general elections on November 5^th.  Read more here.

SAMHSA Announces State and Tribal Opioid Response Grants
On September 26, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced more than $1.5 billion in awards for Fiscal Year 2024 State Opioid Response (SOR), Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) and SOR/TOR Technical Assistance grants. A state-by-state breakdown of the $1.49 billion awards in SOR grants is available here. A breakdown of the $63 million in TOR funds is available here.

Departments Release Final Rules Implementing Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
On September 9, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL) and Treasury released a final parity rule. A fact sheet can be found here.

HHS Releases Research Integrity Rule
On September 12^th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final rule updating a 2005 rule covering aspects of HHS-funded research integrity.  Read more here.