Outlook in 2019

Ideally, opioid addiction could be prevented altogether. But failing that, strategies to make drug use safer can curb opioid-related death.

Highlights from laboratory studies and clinical trials on opioids.

US efforts to control opioid prescriptions are having unintended effects on people with chronic pain.

The opioid crisis is now an epidemic that involves both prescribed and illicit drugs. Tackling it is more urgent than ever.

The opioid crisis is driving a rethink of pain relief in surgery.

A harrowing medical experience gave Travis N. Rieder more insight than he would have wished for into how people end up hooked on opioids.

Fresh strategies and targets for chronic pain could deliver much needed replacements for opioid-based painkillers.

To help solve the opioid epidemic, researchers must understand what makes dependence on these drugs so deadly.

A field in flux.

As interest builds in the potential health benefits from the plant, accumulating evidence confirms that taking the drug also carries risks.

With its demand for water, land and artificial lighting, cannabis growing can leave a large environmental footprint. But heightened awareness could make cultivation more benign.

Scientists investigate the counter-intuitive connections between exercise and cannabis.

The cannabis compound known as CBD is being touted as a treatment for a variety of conditions. But the substance’s uncertain legal status is stalling serious investigation.

Policy changes are needed to support crucial work in the United States, says Jahan Marcu.

As the wave of legalization advances, a budding industry is adopting the high standards of consumer-product makers to meet regulatory requirements.

Genetic modification could enable industrial-scale production of cannabinoids that have pharmaceutical potential.

Highlights from laboratory studies and clinical trials.

The notion of an ‘entourage effect’ that magnifies the drug’s effects is intriguing but lacks solid evidence.

This supremely complex organ is slowly giving up its valuable secrets.

Bringing together artificial intelligence and neuroscience promises to yield benefits for both fields.