A British company is conducting advanced clinical trials of the first drug developed from raw marijuana. The drug is a mouth spray designed to treat cancer-related pain. The company hopes to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of 2013.

New research helps explain how the active ingredient in the psychedelic drug “magic mushrooms,” psilocybin, affects the brain. The findings may help scientists develop treatments for depression, the researchers say.

Alcohol abuse related to domestic violence is an increasing problem in the U.S. Army, according to a new study that also found the suicide rate among active-duty soldiers reached an all-time high last year.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has published a free guide to choosing a drug abuse treatment program.

Methamphetamine use, which was on the decline until recently, appears to be increasing due to Mexican drug cartels and small U.S. drug producers, the Evansville Courier and Press reports.

A Florida doctor has sued CVS for not filling his prescriptions, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Late last year, the company sent letters to a small number of doctors in Florida telling them it would no longer fill prescriptions they wrote for oxycodone and other Schedule II narcotic drugs.

A substantial minority of patients with lung or colon cancer continue to smoke after they have received their diagnosis, a new study finds.

Alcohol policy expert James F. Mosher, JD, discusses his new study, “Joe Camel in a Bottle: Diageo, the Smirnoff Brand, and the Transformation of the Youth Alcohol Market.” He explores why underage drinkers have made a dramatic shift in the last decade from beer to distilled spirits.

The pipeline of prescription painkillers from Florida to Kentucky has started to close off, the attorneys general of both states announced this week. They attributed the slowdown in illegal pill trafficking to new rules and programs in Florida, coupled with increased enforcement in both states.

The 23 marijuana dispensaries located near schools in Colorado that received warning letters last week telling them they must shut down should take the warning seriously, according to Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh.