The 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference abstracts are now published! The title of the conference was “Building Connections and Bridging Interdisciplinary Leadership in Addictions: 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference and a Thank You to Reviewers”, and the abstracts reflect the breadth of leading scholarship that AMERSA members disseminate. This conference was particularly unique as it was located in San Fransisco California, a remote location than Washington, DC locations of prior AMERSA’s annual conferences.

From the article: “One of AMERSA’s goals is to “promote cultural competence and inclusiveness among healthcare professionals in their work with individuals affected by substance-related problems.” In 2014, the Editorial Team at Substance Abuse advocated for the use of nonpejorative language that respects the personhood of those who use substances, both in writing and in clinical practice. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] Additionally, inclusiveness is critically important for vulnerable individuals who use substances, and the research career of AMERSA’s 2014 Betty Ford Awardee, Tonda L. Hughes, PhD, RN, FAAN, serves as an excellent example of this area of focus. Dr. Hughes’ plenary discussed her research on stigmatized and marginalized groups, her advocacy for rigorous studies to inform health care policy for these populations, and the various challenges inherent in pursuing controversial topics. Her remarks have been preserved as a commentary in this issue of Substance Abuse.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed]”

The issue also provided a means to thank our peer reviewers over the last year. In the editorial we recognized the 299 peer reviewers who provided a total of 438 reviews between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. In addition, we acknowledge the 2014 best peer reviewer (Dr. Jennifer McNeely) and the best we recognized our “Most Downloaded Manuscript” (Broyles LM, Binswanger IA, Jenkins JA, et al. Confronting inadvertent stigma and pejorative language in addiction scholarship: a recognition and response. Subst Abus. 2014;35:217–221.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]) and our “2014 Best Manuscript.” (Woolsey CL, Barnes LB, Jacobson BH, et al. Frequency of energy drink use predicts illicit prescription stimulant use. Subst Abus. 2014;35:96–103. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®].

We look forward to advancing the mission of AMERSA and to dissiminate many of the works of AMERSA members in our journal’s pages.

AMERSA has a long history of collaboration with the International Society of Addiction Medicine. In this article, we disseminate abstracts from a recent ISAM conference.

From thearticle: “International communication and collaboration via organized societies allow for advocacy and dissemination of research across borders, providing an opportunity to improve addiction treatment care processes and engagement. Towards that aim, Substance Abuse maintains a long-standing relationship with the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and joined the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) in 2013. Additionally, as part of its ongoing mission to publish high-quality scholarship in addiction science, Substance Abuse welcomes international submissions, as demonstrated in a recent special section on international addiction topics (Gordon AJ, Galanter M, Khalsa JH. Addressing addiction across borders: an international perspective on policies, scholarship, and collaboration. Subst Abus. 2014;35:290–291. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]). Researchers and clinicians around the world are working to address the global public health threat of addiction, and we all benefit from the broad dissemination of various approaches to substance use disorder treatment.”

This editorial introduces the new issue of SAj 2015 Volume 26, issue 2, a special issue on “Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: the Role of Pharmacotherapies. This issue, supported by funding from  This issue, sponsored by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) in collaboration with AMERSA, disseminates scholarship regarding the important role that pharmacotherapy plays in treating addiction to opioids.

New e-publications ahead of print were posted today on our publisher’s website. Read about the significance of each manuscript in the authors’ own words.

Do Alcohol Advertisements for Brands Popular among Underage Drinkers Have Greater Appeal among Youth and Young Adults?

Authors: Michael Siegel MPH MD, William DeJong PhD, Daryl Cioffi BA, Lucero Leon-Chi BS, Timothy S. Naimi MPH MD, Alisa A. Padon PhD, David H. Jernigan PhD & Ziming Xuan ScD MS MA

“This study is the first to compare the extent of youth appeal of alcohol advertisements for brands popular among underage drinkers vs. brands unpopular among underage drinkers. We found that the advertisements for more popular brands were significantly more likely to be perceived as appealing to youth. This research is important for two reasons. First, it informs the debate about whether alcohol companies are targeting youth with their advertising. If youth-oriented brands are more likely to contain youth-oriented content, this could be an indication that the companies are preferentially trying to reach underage youth. Second, the research may help shed light on the debate about whether alcohol advertising is effective in influencing youth drinking behavior. If brands whose alcohol ads appeal more heavily to youth turn out to be the same brands that are popular among youth, this could be an indication that the advertising is influencing youth brand choices.” – M. Siegel

Oxford Recovery Housing: Length of stay correlated with improved outcomes for women previously involved with the criminal justice system

Authors: Leonard A. Jason PhD, Doreen Salina PhD & Daphna Ram PhD

“This study examined the influence of recovery homes on a sample of former substance using women with criminal justice involvement. Findings suggest that length of stay of 6 or more months is critical for those in recovery homes. This highlights the importance of promoting longer lengths of stay for individuals in recovery, and the importance of understanding the processes through which longer stays influence better outcomes.” – D. Ram

Congratulations to Substance Abuse journal’s 2014 award winners! Awards were announced and presented at the AMERSA 2014 national conference in San Francisco, CA.

2014 Awards & Recipients

Best Peer Review: Jennifer McNeely, MD, MS

Our electronic platform allows us to rate peer reviewers on a scale from 1 to 3 for both timeliness and relevance of the review. We seek to recognize reviews that were thorough, that considered the article within the context of current addiction literature, and provided specific recommendations for improvement or clarification to authors. Reviews receiving a perfect score (i.e., 3) are considered for this award. The quality of the article reviewed does not directly affect this score.

Best Manuscript: Conrad L. Woolsey, PhD, CHES, CC-AASP for “Frequency of Energy Drink Use Predicts Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use”

The “best” manuscripts are those that clearly articulate research or policies designed to advance the identification and treatment of substance use disorders and/or the training of addiction care providers. The number of views and citations a manuscript has received also factor into the nomination process.

Most Downloaded Manuscript: Lauren Matukaitis Broyles, PhD, RN for “Confronting Inadvertent Stigma and Pejorative Language in Addiction Scholarship: A Recognition and Response”

This award is given to the article with the most full-text downloads within the previous two years (i.e., Vol. 33(4) – Vol. 35(3)) according to data from our publisher. Articles winning awards in previous years are not eligible.