USA Today (6/24, Hughes) reports in continuing coverage on a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence on June 23 where researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse measured how “combined alcohol and marijuana use impairs drivers more than consuming just one or the other.” The study “examined drivers’ ability to stay within their lane after smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol and smoking and drinking in combination.”

The study “found that people with of 13.1 nanograms per liter of THC” had “similar driving impairment to someone with a .08 blood-alcohol level.” The article adds, “this study for the first time measures precisely how impaired users become when they smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, said co-author Marilyn Huestis, chief of chemistry and drug metabolism at the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.”

Related Links:

— “Study analyzes how much pot impairs drivers,” Trevor Hughes, USA Today, June 23, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (6/24, Kaplan) reports in “Science Now” that researchers reviewed studies testing the effectiveness of medical marijuana on 10 different conditions and concluded that “there’s very little reliable evidence to support the drug’s use,” according to a review published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

While the review found “moderate-quality evidence” for the use of medical marijuana to treat “chronic neuropathic pain or cancer pain,” it also found that “trials testing the pain-relieving effects of medical marijuana in people with fibromyalgia, HIV-associated sensory neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other conditions did not show that it worked,” only “low-quality evidence” that medical marijuana could “relieve nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy, that it could stimulate appetite in people with HIV to help them gain weight, that it could help people with insomnia and other sleep disorders get more rest, and that it could reduce the severity of tics in people with Tourette syndrome,” and no reliable evidence that medical marijuana was useful to treat depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, or to reduce eye pressure for patients with glaucoma.

According to CBS News (6/23, Welch), the JAMA study also found “an increased risk of adverse side effects, including dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, fatigue, somnolence, euphoria, vomiting, disorientation, drowsiness, confusion, loss of balance, and hallucination.”

Related Links:

— “Most uses of medical marijuana wouldn’t pass FDA review, study finds,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2015.

Reuters (6/23, Rapaport) reports that adolescents with psychiatric disorders appear to have a decreased likelihood of finishing high school or college, or of establishing lucrative careers, according to a review of 27 studies published online June 22 in Pediatrics.

MedPage Today (6/23) reports that the review defined “mental health disorders…as depressive disorders, AD/HD, anxiety disorders, conduct disorders, and undiagnosed psychiatric conditions.” The review found “the most significant association between adolescent mental health and education” to be the “failure to complete secondary school.” HealthDay (6/23, Haelle) and LiveScience (6/23, Nierenberg) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “Mentally ill teens struggle with school and work as adults,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, June 22 2015.

Reuters (6/22, Seaman) reports that approximately 23 percent teens may be cyberbullied through social media, according to a review published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers came to that conclusion after examining 36 studies.

HealthDay (6/23, Dotinga) reports that in addition, the review “found an association between depression and cyberbullying.”

MedPage Today (6/23, Walker) reports that the “association with suicidal thoughts or anxiety was inconsistent,” however. The review also revealed that “the most common forms of cyberbullying were name-calling or insults, gossip or rumors, and circulating pictures.”

Related Links:

— “Social-media cyberbullying not uncommon among youths,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, June 22, 2015.

The Wall Street Journal (6/23, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine suggests that women may not develop signs of postpartum depression until months after an initial screening. Data from 1,432 women in 16 US states also found that women that appeared to have the lowest likelihood of developing depression were at highest risk.

Related Links:

— “Signs of Postpartum Depression May Appear Months After Initial Screening,” Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2015.

In The Hill (6/19) “Congress Blog,” Stephanie Parker, PhD, a public voices fellow with The OpEd project, and Rosi Andrade, PhD, an associate research professor at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women, observe that people with “serious” mental illnesses “have been swept into our nation’s jails and prisons along with those without mental illness, disregarding their mental illness and discounting their need for mental health treatment.” After pointing out that “twenty percent of inmates in jails and 15 percent of inmates in state prisons are estimated to have a serious mental illness,” Parker and Andrade call for a paradigm shift “from incarceration and punishment” to treatment.

Related Links:

— “Silent epidemic: The incarceration of the seriously mentally ill,” Stephanie Parker and Rosi Andrade, The Hill, June 18, 2015.

Reuters (6/18, Gaitan) reports that Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) has produced a series of short, free animation videos available online that provide useful advice to communities throughout the world. Animations address a wide variety of subjects, including on how to handle depression. The animations are narrated in over 50 languages and are available on SAWBO’s YouTube Channel.

Related Links:

— “Free animations spread lifesaving tips via smartphones,” Daniel Gaitan, Reuters, June 17, 2015.

The AP (6/18) reports that the New York “Senate has followed the Assembly and voted for a new tax check-off intended to help end the stigma around mental illness.” The bill “would establish a gift check-off” on state income tax forms “to a special fund that would be used by the state Office of Mental Health to provide grants to organizations dedicated to eliminating the stigma.” The measure now heads to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for his consideration.

Related Links:

— “New York Senate approves mental health tax check-off,” Associated Press via Washington Times, June 17, 2015.

HealthDay (6/18, Preidt) reports that research suggests that individuals “who have a relative with Tourette syndrome or a tic disorder are at increased risk for the same condition.” The study suggests that “the highest risk is among first-degree relatives, such as siblings, parents and children.” Investigators came to these conclusions after analyzing “data from more than 4,800 people in Sweden diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder between 1969 and 2009.”

Related Links:

— “Tourette Risk Seems to Be Driven by Genetics,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 17, 2015.

The Congressional Quarterly (6/17, Attias, Subscription Publication) reports that the “revised version” of HR 2646, “a wide-reaching mental health bill by Rep. Tim Murphy [R-PA], appears to have picked up the tentative support of” Mental Health America, “a group that endorsed a rival measure last year, but Democrats still have concerns about Murphy’s effort.” For example, at yesterday’s Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing, “some witnesses and panel Democrats aired concerns…including how the bill addresses a protection and advocacy program and court-ordered treatment for certain individuals with serious mental illness in a community.” At the hearing, “subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts, R-Pa., said the panel would act on the legislation.”

Related Links:

— Congressional quarterly (requires login and subscription)