The Log
Archive
733 stories, newest first.
May 2026
- May 21Science & Medicine
Nicotine pouches and the question we have not asked: what FDA's pending ZYN decision tells us about substance policy
A look at FDA's pending decision on ZYN's Modified Risk Tobacco Product application — what the agency has already said about the science, what the brand is asking for, and what it all might mean for nicotine recovery and tobacco harm reduction.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Compass Pathways' second Phase 3 cleared: psilocybin therapy moves closer to a real FDA decision
Compass Pathways' COMP360 (synthetic psilocybin) cleared its second Phase 3 hurdle for treatment-resistant depression. With the FDA's rolling NDA review and a Commissioner's National Priority Voucher in hand, a decision is expected by late summer or fall 2026.
- May 21Policy & Funding
The federal hemp redefinition is six months from changing the cannabinoid market — and the recovery conversation
Congress's H.R. 5371 redefines hemp using a "total THC" standard, effectively banning most intoxicating delta-8 and THCA products by November 2026. Here is what changes, when, and why it matters for people in recovery.
- May 21Arizona Watch
Arizona's harm reduction funding stack just got more brittle — and more local
SAMHSA's April 24, 2026 funding shift moves more weight onto Arizona's settlement, county, and Medicaid streams for harm-reduction supplies. We map what is funded by what, and where the gap actually lands.
- May 21Harm Reduction
More than test strips: what SAMHSA's April 24 letter signals about the next chapter of harm reduction
SAMHSA's April 24, 2026 letter restricts federal funding for fentanyl test strips, sterile syringes, overdose hotlines, and other harm reduction supplies — and adds new framing on long-term MAT. We unpack what changed, what is allowed, and what programs in Arizona and elsewhere are doing about it.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Stimulants, money, and recovery: how contingency management quietly became the most cost-effective treatment we have
A March 2026 modeling study found contingency management for methamphetamine use disorder costs roughly $9,830 per quality-adjusted life year — well inside the standard threshold. Smartphone-based delivery is the next frontier.
- May 21Harm Reduction
Federal funding pulled from fentanyl test strips: what that means on the ground
New federal guidance issued in April 2026 stopped supporting federal funds for fentanyl test strips. Drug checking still saves lives, but who pays for it is now an open question.
- May 21Science & Medicine
The benzodiazepine deprescribing paradox: when the right answer is 'don't taper'
A 2023 cohort study found higher mortality after deprescribing benzodiazepines in long-term stable patients. New 2026 reviews are pushing for individualized tapering — not blanket cessation. What the evidence actually says.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Ozempic for drinking: what the new GLP-1 + CBT trial actually means for alcohol use disorder
A new NIH-backed randomized trial combined weekly semaglutide with CBT and reduced heavy drinking days 41% in adults with alcohol use disorder. What the data show, where the limits are, and how to think about asking your clinician.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Substance Spotlight — Psychedelics & empathogens: the Compass-Lykos fork
Compass Pathways just won an FDA rolling review for psilocybin. Lykos just cut 75% of staff after MDMA was rejected. The two stories together explain where psychedelic medicine is heading.
- May 21Lived Experience & Community
The 'wounded healer paradox': what a new study tells us about peer support and relapse risk
A new study in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications identifies specific triggers that put peer supporters in recovery at heightened relapse risk — and what programs can do.
- May 21Policy & Funding
April is the deadline. May could be the rollback. SAMHSA's OTP rule and the H.R. 5629 fight, explained.
SAMHSA's 2024 OTP rule hits its first compliance deadline this month — even as a House bill (H.R. 5629) seeks to nullify the methadone and telehealth flexibilities it created.
- May 21Policy & Funding
The illegal disposable vape market is 70% of U.S. sales — and a new GAO report says enforcement isn't close to keeping up
A new GAO report finds that unauthorized disposable vapes make up roughly 70% of the U.S. e-cigarette market while federal enforcement remains largely administrative.
- May 21Science & Medicine
GLP-1s and addiction: how Ozempic, Wegovy, and the next generation could remap alcohol treatment
GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide are showing promise across alcohol, opioid, nicotine, and cannabis use disorders. Here's what the 2026 research says — and what it can't tell us yet.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Substance Spotlight: dissociatives — ketamine clinics, Spravato, and the regulatory gray zone
Spravato (esketamine) is the only FDA-approved dissociative for psychiatry. IV ketamine clinics, compounded ketamine, and racemic ketamine for SUD all operate outside that approval. A spotlight on what dissociatives are, where they fit clinically, and where the gaps are.
- May 21Harm Reduction
Naloxone vending machines and $19 OTC Narcan: the new harm-reduction infrastructure
Travis County is installing 13 new naloxone vending machines this spring. California's CalRx program is selling OTC Narcan at $19. Arizona's Hikma-settlement shipment of 13,198 doses lands in September. The harm-reduction distribution layer is being rebuilt — fast.
- May 21Policy & Funding
SAMHSA puts $45M+ into young-adult recovery housing — what it could mean for Arizona
SAMHSA awarded more than $45M in supplemental State Opioid Response funding to expand recovery housing for young adults with opioid or stimulant use disorder. Why this matters for the most-failed link in the U.S. recovery system.
- May 21Policy & Funding
Telehealth for addiction medicine, extended again: what the DEA's fourth one-year extension means in 2026
On December 31, 2025, the DEA and HHS issued the fourth straight one-year extension of telemedicine flexibilities for controlled-substance prescribing. Here's what's covered and what's still unresolved heading into 2026.
- May 21The Crisis, By the Numbers
When Narcan isn't enough: what the CDC's medetomidine advisory means for Arizona
On April 2, 2026, the CDC and ONDCP issued a rare joint Health Advisory about medetomidine — a veterinary tranquilizer now appearing in U.S. fentanyl. Naloxone reverses the opioid, but not the sedative. Here's what people in recovery, families, and Arizona providers need to know.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome: the cannabis-related condition most clinicians still miss
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) causes cyclic vomiting in long-term cannabis users, often goes misdiagnosed for years, and only resolves with cessation. New research is mapping the biology — here's where the science stands in 2026.
- May 21Arizona Watch
Arizona's next naloxone shipment: 13,198 doses headed to communities this fall
Arizona has elected to receive 6,599 units of nasal naloxone — 13,198 doses — from the Hikma settlement, with shipment scheduled for September 2026. Here's where settlement money is going.
- May 21Science & Medicine
UC Riverside hosts inaugural methamphetamine summit — a long-overdue research signal
UC Riverside's first system-wide methamphetamine summit on April 20, 2026 signals a renewed academic push on stimulant use disorder — a category that has trailed opioids in research investment despite rising overdose involvement.
- May 21Science & Medicine
FDA fast-tracks three psychedelic therapies: what it means — and what it doesn't
FDA awarded priority review vouchers to three psychedelic-therapy developers on April 24, 2026. Here's what changed, what didn't, and why the policy framing matters more than the headlines.
- May 21Science & Medicine
Daily Pulse: 42 Addiction Experts Publish Best Practices for Starting MOUD in the Hospital
A JAMA Network Open Delphi consensus from 42 hospital addiction-medicine experts lays out best practices for starting medications for opioid use disorder in patients using high-potency synthetic opioids — the patient population current bup induction protocols struggle with.