The Log
Archive
733 stories, newest first.
May 2026
- May 26Science & Medicine
Semaglutide Cuts Heavy Drinking by 41%: What The Lancet RCT Means for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment
A Lancet RCT found once-weekly semaglutide reduced heavy drinking days by 41.1 percentage points versus 26.4 for placebo in adults with AUD and comorbid obesity. NNT 4.3 vs 7+ for currently approved AUD medications.
- May 26Harm Reduction
SAMHSA Bars Fentanyl Test Strips and Syringes From Federal Block Grant Spending
SAMHSA's April 2026 Dear Colleague letter removes federal funding eligibility for fentanyl test strips, sterile syringes, and safer smoking supplies. Naloxone and wound care remain covered. At least $257M in OD prevention programs have been cut.
- May 26Policy & Funding
FDA's Surprise Vaping Pivot: Unauthorized Flavored Products Can Now Stay on Shelves
The FDA issued guidance placing unauthorized e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches under enforcement discretion, allowing flavored products onto the market without the agency's traditional premarket review. FDA staff say they were blindsided.
- May 26Science & Medicine
The Meth Treatment Gap: Why Stimulant Use Disorder Remains Hard to Treat — And What's Finally Changing
Methamphetamine use disorder has no FDA-approved medications, and contingency management remains underused due to policy barriers. Here is what the evidence says about what actually works — and what is changing in 2026.
- May 25Treatment & Recovery
SAMHSA's New Advisory Tells Doctors: Cannabis Use Disorder Is Real, and You Need to Screen for It
SAMHSA's May 2026 advisory PEP26-07-003 provides the first federal clinical guidance specifically on Cannabis Use Disorder across the lifespan — with screening tools, treatment guidance, and a critical distinction between medical marijuana use and disorder.
- May 25Arizona Watch
Maricopa County Brings Opioid Medication Into Its Jails
Maricopa County is deploying Arizona opioid settlement funds to expand MOUD in county jails, starting treatment during incarceration and bridging to community providers on release.
- May 25Policy & Funding
FDA Fast-Tracks Psilocybin and Methylone With Priority Review Vouchers
The FDA issued National Priority Review Vouchers to three companies developing psilocybin and methylone therapies in April 2026, accelerating a regulatory timeline with major implications for addiction treatment.
- May 25Science & Medicine
Semaglutide Cuts Heavy Drinking in Landmark Lancet Trial
A 26-week Lancet randomized trial published May 2, 2026 found that once-weekly semaglutide significantly reduced heavy drinking days in adults with alcohol use disorder and obesity.
- May 25Lived Experience & Community
No Pill for This: The Lived Reality of Cocaine and Meth Recovery
For the 2.5 million Americans with cocaine or methamphetamine use disorders, there is no FDA-approved medication to ease the path. Here's who fills the gap — and what the evidence says about how.
- May 24Science & Medicine
Substance Spotlight: Benzodiazepines — The Overlooked Crisis, and a First Glimpse of a Pharmacological Solution
A Translational Psychiatry study identifies TPA023B as the first credible pharmacological candidate for benzodiazepine use disorder — blocking benzo self-administration in primates without precipitating withdrawal, using receptor selectivity that sidesteps the addiction-driving alpha-1 subunit.
- May 24The Crisis, By the Numbers
The Stimulant Treatment Gap: NIDA 2026 Update on a Crisis With No Approved Cure
No FDA-approved medications for cocaine or methamphetamine use disorder. Stimulant deaths still rising, with 70% involving fentanyl co-occurrence. NIDA 2026 update on what the pipeline holds and what contingency management can do right now.
- May 24Arizona Watch
Arizona Deploys Settlement Funds: MOUD in Jails, New Residential Beds on the Way
Maricopa County is deploying opioid settlement funds for MOUD in jails and community provider connections at release. AHCCCS issued an RFP for secure behavioral health residential facilities — two concrete steps as Arizona deploys $1.2B in settlement money.
- May 24Science & Medicine
FDA Fast-Tracks Psilocybin and Methylone With New Priority Review Vouchers
Three companies — Usona, Helus Pharma, and Transcend Therapeutics — received FDA National Priority Vouchers for psilocybin and methylone therapies after a White House executive order cut review timelines to 1-2 months.
- May 24Science & Medicine
The Lancet RCT: Semaglutide Reduces Heavy Drinking in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder
A May 2026 Lancet RCT confirms once-weekly semaglutide + CBT outperforms CBT alone for reducing heavy drinking in adults with AUD and comorbid obesity — the strongest clinical trial signal yet for GLP-1 in addiction medicine.
- May 24Policy & Funding
Two Policies, One Moment: The White House Says Test Strips Work — Then Blocks the Money to Buy Them
The ONDCP 2026 National Drug Control Strategy and HHS now hold directly contradictory positions on fentanyl test strips — and the gap between these two documents will determine whether community organizations can protect a 27% drop in overdose deaths.
- May 23Treatment & Recovery
The Medication Nobody's Taking: AUD Has Three FDA-Approved Treatments. Fewer Than 3% of People With the Disorder Receive Any of Them.
More than 29.5 million Americans have alcohol use disorder, but fewer than 3% receive medication — despite three FDA-approved options. New brain research shows recovery works on a longer timeline than assumed.
- May 23Science & Medicine
San Francisco Launches First Human Trial of Semaglutide for Methamphetamine Use Disorder
San Francisco's Department of Public Health is running the first human clinical trial of semaglutide for methamphetamine addiction. There are currently zero FDA-approved medications for meth use disorder.
- May 23Policy & Funding
FDA Moves to Schedule Kratom's Most Potent Compound as Opioid Risk Concerns Grow
The FDA is recommending DEA add 7-OH, kratom's most opioid-active alkaloid, to Schedule I. California removed 3,300+ products. What this means for people using kratom in recovery.
- May 23Science & Medicine
Compass Pathways Eyes Q4 FDA Filing After Two Positive Phase 3 Trials for Psilocybin in Treatment-Resistant Depression
Compass Pathways is filing its psilocybin NDA in Q4 2026 after two positive Phase 3 trials in treatment-resistant depression. FDA has awarded a Priority Voucher. What this means for addiction treatment.
- May 23Harm Reduction
The Harm Reduction Rollback: How SAMHSA's New Directives Are Cutting Off Xylazine Wound Care
SAMHSA's April 2026 ban on federal funding for xylazine test strips and wound care supplies leaves communities without tools to manage xylazine's distinctive, treatment-resistant injuries. Here's what changed and why it matters.
- May 22Treatment & Recovery
Stimulants 2026: Why Cocaine and Meth Deaths Keep Rising While Opioid Deaths Fall — and What Treatment Looks Like Without a Medication
Stimulant use disorder affects millions and lacks FDA-approved pharmacotherapy. This 2026 spotlight covers the treatment gap, contingency management, and an emerging drug pipeline.
- May 22Research Roundup
CDC 2025 Overdose Data: 69,973 Deaths, Down 14% — The Numbers Behind the Headline and the Outliers That Demand Attention
CDC NCHS released 2025 provisional overdose death counts on May 13: 69,973 deaths, down 13.9% — the biggest single-year decline in the modern crisis era. But state-level variation tells a more complicated story.
- May 22Daily Pulse
SAMHSA $1.5B State Opioid Response Program Is Being Absorbed Into a Block Grant. Here Is What States Stand to Lose.
The FY2026 SAMHSA budget proposes folding the $1.5B State Opioid Response grant into a new block grant with 15% less total funding. State addiction programs built around SOR flexibility are at risk.
- May 22Daily Pulse
Arizona Drug Deaths Rose 17% in 2025 While the Rest of America Improved
CDC provisional data released May 13 shows Arizona drug deaths rose 17.31% in 2025 — a stark outlier as national deaths fell 14% to the lowest level since 2019.