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A record number of high school teens died of drug overdoses in 2022 in an alarming trend driven primarily by fentanyl poisonings from counterfeit pills, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Boston researchers found that an average of 22 adolescents ages 14 to 18 years old died each week in the U.S. from drug overdoses in 2022. (Llenas, 1/11)

Jelly Roll brought up his past demons in front of Congress Thursday, when he gave a powerful speech against the deadly use of fentanyl in America. The rapper and country music star, whom won the new artist of the year award at the 2023 CMA Awards, addressed the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and urged legislators to establish a bill to combat the supply and distribution of the synthetic opioid in the U.S. at a hearing on “stopping the flow of fentanyl.” Jelly Roll, 39, whose real name is Jason DeFord, was candid about his past run-ins with the law, multiple arrests and serving jail time for drug charges and aggravated robbery. “I brought my community down. I hurt people,” he continued. “I believed when I sold drugs genuinely that selling drugs was a victimless crime. I truly believed that.” (Daniel, 1/11)

Fairfax County Public Schools officials are warning parents and students about the threat of opioids, particularly fentanyl, which has fueled youth overdoses around the D.C. region. More than 200 parents, students and community members gathered at Thomas A. Edison High School in Alexandria on Wednesday to hear from Superintendent Michelle Reid, Fairfax Chief of Police Kevin Davis and high school principals from across the county about the challenges they’re seeing with the drug. (Elwood, 1/11)

A study conducted by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has found that prescribing medical-grade opioids dramatically reduced the rates of deaths and overdoses for drug users living in B.C. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, is described as "the first known instance of a North American province or state providing clinical guidance to physicians and nurse practitioners for prescribing pharmaceutical alternatives to patients at risk of death from the toxic drug supply." (Ghoussoub, 1/11)

People can live healthier lives if they wean themselves off drugs, a new study shows. The study published Wednesday in the academic journal Addiction builds on growing evidence that addiction is a chronic disease, akin to diabetes or high blood pressure. People addicted to cocaine and methamphetamine saw improved health and recovery even with reduced use of the drug, researchers found. The study contrasts hardline approaches focused on complete abstinence, moving instead toward modern ideas on risk reduction to tamp down addiction. (Cuevas, 1/11)

Thousands of teenagers and young adults have developed delusions and paranoia after using cannabis. Legalization efforts have made cannabis more readily available in much of the country. More frequent use of marijuana that is many times as potent as strains common three decades ago is leading to more psychotic episodes, according to doctors and recent research. “This isn’t the cannabis of 20, 30 years ago,” said Dr. Deepali Gershan, an addiction psychiatrist at Compass Health Center in Northbrook, Ill. Up to 20% of her caseload is patients for whom she suspects cannabis use triggered a psychotic episode. (Wernau, 1/10)

The local American Civil Liberties Union says at least five Rhode Island communities are considering, or have already approved, ordinances that ban marijuana use in public places that exceed what state law allows. The 2022 state law that legalized recreational marijuana gave communities authority to only ban “the smoking or vaporizing of cannabis in public places,” the ACLU says. But ordinances in at least Providence, Westerly, Cranston, Narragansett and Burrillville include such phrases as “any and all” cannabis use, which would also include the common practices of ingesting cannabis-laced gummies and drinks. (Mooney, 1/12)

Cannabis users are often stereotyped as lazy couch potatoes satisfying their munchies with junk food. But a new study from the University of Colorado pushes back against that generalization, highlighting how marijuana plays an important role in fitness for some and how the substance even can be used as a motivational tool for exercise.The study, published last month in Sports Medicine, evaluated 42 runners and compared data points from their experiences exercising both sober and after smoking a joint. (Ricciardi, 1/11)