Recovery Research Institute

Alcohol-related content on social media overwhelmingly focuses on drinking as fun, social, and positive, while rarely mentioning known cancer risks.

Posts about alcohol commonly emphasize enjoyment and lifestyle benefits, but references to alcohol’s link with cancer are notably uncommon, despite growing public health concern.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/alcohol-content-social-media-emphasizes-positives-rarely-mentions-cancer-risk/

GLP-1 medications are drawing attention to more than weight loss.

People taking these GLP1 medications intended to address weight loss in diabetes show additional modestly lower risk of developing substance use disorders and fewer serious addiction-related harms—like overdose, hospitalization, and death—compared to those taking a different diabetes medication, suggesting they may affect brain pathways involved in craving and reward.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/can-glp-1-medications-prevent-addiction-and-reduce-its-harms/

Join us for the quarterly webinar series, sponsored by the Opioid Response Network and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, focusing on youth substance use treatment and recovery.

We’re honored to have Dr. Sarah Bagley speak Wednesday, July 8 at 12:00pm ET. She’ll discuss integrating overdose prevention and OUD treatment in pediatric primary care.

Register for free: https://buff.ly/kjJQZDY |

There’s a lot of confusion about medications for substance use disorder in youth. What’s actually approved? What’s considered off-label? Are they safe? We break it all down in this new resource, created in partnership with the Opioid Response Network

Learn more here: https://buff.ly/6zUsRSe |

Telehealth-delivered training intervention (known as CRAFT) improves outcomes for family members and friends affected by a loved one’s substance use.

Participants report better quality of life, less anxiety and depression, and greater confidence in helping their loved one. Gains, however, were modest and short-term in some cases.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/can-telehealth-delivered-craft-improve-well-being-friends-families-affected-by-addiction-rural-areas/

Adding a brief web-based intervention to standard driver education may help correct misperceptions about peer alcohol and cannabis use.

The online program gives students personalized feedback comparing their perceptions of peer substance use to actual norms, and students who received it were less likely to overestimate how much their peers drank or used cannabis - beliefs that can shape their own behavior.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/driving-under-influence-adding-web-intervention-driver-education-decreased-misperceptions-peer-alcohol-cannabis-use/

Staying in opioid use disorder treatment longer than 6 months may do more than support recovery, it may help save lives.

Mortality risk continues to decline after 6 months of treatment, suggesting the benefits of staying on medication may extend well beyond the early stages of care. However, more research is needed to determine whether current clinical guidelines should be revised.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/mortality-risk-decreases-opioid-use-disorder-treatment-duration-past-6-months-results-retrospective-cohort-study/

Not all young adults “mature out” of risky drinking as they age.

More recent generations are less likely to shift into lower-risk drinking over time and more likely to continue—or move into—higher-risk drinking patterns, suggesting this common pattern is becoming less common.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/not-all-young-adults-mature-out-risky-drinking-and-less-so-in-recent-years/

A single peer-led session that gives students personalized feedback about their drinking along with strategies to reduce risk can have lasting effects.

Students who received the brief intervention reported lower alcohol use even 12 months later, suggesting that small interventions may lead to meaningful long-term change.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/short-intervention-long-impact-outcomes-brief-alcohol-intervention-university-students/

In psychiatric emergency room patients, cannabis use rises after legalization of recreational sales in Massachusetts, but the largest changes are seen amongst adolescents rather than adults. After legalization, adolescent cannabis use increased from 5% to 17%, and cannabis-related disorders rose from 3% to 12%.

Learn more here: https://www.recoveryanswers.org/research-post/adolescents-presenting-psychiatric-emergency-departments-more-likely-test-positive-cannabis-after-legalization/