Healio (9/5, Bascom) reports, “In the United States, the prevalence of adolescents vaping CBD has risen in recent years, highlighting the need for educating youth about the potential harms,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 28,291-participant cross-sectional study published online in JAMA Network Open. The study reveals that the “prevalence of youth vaping CBD among U.S. adolescents” appears “high, with nearly 800,000 U.S. middle and high school students reporting past-month vaping CBD.” It also “raises concern that a notable proportion of adolescents are uncertain about whether they have engaged in vaping CBD or not,” perhaps because of the “lack of consistent quality assurance standards and the mislabeling of CBD products in the market.”

Related Links:

— “Some teens do not know if they have vaped CBD,”Emma Bascom, Healio , September 5, 2023

Healio (9/6, Welsh) reports, “Use of postnatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs) “was associated with reduced risks for maternal depression and unfavorable outcomes associated with postnatal depression, researchers reported in” the findings of a “large prospective cohort study of 61,081 mother-child groups using longitudinal data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study” published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “SSRIs may lower risk for postnatal depression-associated outcomes for mother and child,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio , September 6, 2023

HealthDay (9/5, Mundell) reports, “Suicides by Americans aged 10 to 24 are continuing to climb and guns are increasingly the method of choice in these tragedies,” according to a study that examined “U.S. federal data on all suicide deaths among people ages 10 through 24 from 2013 to the end of 2020.” The study encompassed “a total of more than 49,500 suicides…recorded during that time for this age group.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Gun Suicides Keep Rising Among U.S. Youth,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, September 5, 2023

NBC News (9/5, Lovelace) reports, “Patients could save millions of dollars by buying prescription drugs through online pharmacy discount programs instead of through traditional insurance plans, a study published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine finds.” Researchers “looked at 20 commonly prescribed generic drugs, including statins, heart failure medications and antidepressants,” and “found that at least 1 out of 5 prescriptions were cheaper through the Amazon or GoodRx discount card programs compared to what patients actually paid out of pocket for the drugs.”

Related Links:

— “Online pharmacy programs can save patients millions in prescription drug costs, study finds,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, September 5, 2023

CNN (9/4, Bonifield) reported on how medication shortages for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are affecting high school and college students as this year’s school season begins. Currently, 11 pharmaceutical makers “are listed as making Adderall” (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine salts) “or its generic versions on the FDA’s shortages website, and while some say the medicine is available, others don’t foresee an end to the shortage until December.” Consequently, “‘a lot of the young people that I’ve been treating have had difficulties getting their medications month to month,’ said…Warren Ng,” MD, “a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center who also serves as president for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.” If they cannot get medication, many young people with ADHD “fail classes, are held back from going to the next grade, get sent to the principal’s office and have trouble doing homework, Ng said.”

Related Links:

— “ADHD drug shortage stresses families during back-to-school season,”Meg Tirrell and Amanda Sealy, CNN, September 4, 2023

Psychiatric News (9/1) reported, “The percentage of overdose deaths involving counterfeit” medications “in the United States more than doubled between late 2019 and late 2021, according to findings (8/31)” published online Sept. 1 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study team came to this conclusion after calculating “quarterly percentages of overdose deaths with evidence of counterfeit pill use from July 2019 to December 2021 based on information provided by officials from 29 states and the District of Columbia,” then “also examined information about the demographics of the people who died by overdose, the circumstances of the death, and the” counterfeit pills involved.

Related Links:

— “Counterfeit Pills Increasingly Involved in U.S. Overdose Deaths, Psychiatric News, September 1, 2023

NBC News (8/31, Edwards) reports, “The number of people who have overdosed and died from fake prescription pills has more than doubled in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.” The report by the CDC, “released to coincide with International Overdose Awareness Day, found that from mid-2019 to the end of 2021, overdose deaths involving counterfeit drugs more than doubled, from 2% to 4.7%.” Among deaths involving fake pills, “illicit fentanyl was detected in 93%,” and “more than half of the deaths – 57.1% – occurred among people younger than 35.”

The Hill (8/31, Sforza) reports, “In total, there were more than 54,000 overdose deaths with evidence of counterfeit pill use.” The report “found that more than half of the deaths with evidence of fake pill use were related to counterfeit oxycodone or with counterfeit alprazolam, which is more commonly sold under the brand name Xanax.”

CNN (8/31, McPhillips) reports, “Methamphetamine was detected in about a quarter of deaths where counterfeit pills were involved, while cocaine and benzodiazepines were present in more than one in eight cases.”

Related Links:

— “Overdose deaths from fake pills are rising, especially among younger adults,” Erika Edwards, NBC News, August 31, 2023

Bloomberg (8/31, Beckwith, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Biden administration announced a $450 million effort to fight overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids amid a nationwide surge that has become a 2024 campaign issue.” In a briefing Thursday, “White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said…the money would be spent on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, as well as cracking down on drug trafficking.”

The Hill (8/31, Gangitano) reports, “The investment on Thursday also includes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarding more than $57.6 million to connect Americans to substance use treatment and recovery support services.” And the CDC “will award $279 million in Overdose Data to Action grants to states and localities to expand harm reduction strategies.”

Related Links:

— “Biden administration announces $450M in funding to beat overdose epidemic,”Alex Gangitano, Bloomberg, August 31, 2023

CBS News (8/31, Saint Louis) publishes a KFF article that reports, “Since the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned a year ago to the three-digit crisis phone number 988, there has been a 33% increase in the number of calls, chats, and texts to the hotline.” But “even with that early sign of success, the program’s financial future is shaky.” Although “the federal government has provided about $1 billion…to launch the number,” after that, “it’s up to states to foot the bill for their call centers.”

Related Links:

— “Most states have yet to permanently fund 988 Lifeline despite early successes,”Christina Saint Louis, CBS News, August 31, 2023

Healio (8/31, Weldon) reports, “Depression among children did not increase substantially between 2004 and 2019, according to the” findings of a 41-study systematic review and meta-analysis published online Aug. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Study: Depression among children ‘uncommon’ in years before pandemic,”Rose Weldon, Healio, August 31, 2023