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Children born to mothers who drink lightly during pregnancy - as defined as 1-2 units per week or per occasion - are not at increased risk of behavioural difficulties or cognitive deficits compared with children of abstinent mothers, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL (University College London). The research, based on data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), is published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Pediatricians may be able to provide an additional service to the children they treat, by screening their parents for alcohol use. According to a study conducted by the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research (CeASAR) at Children's hospital Boston, parents are open to alcohol screening during their child's pediatric visit and to discussing drinking habits with a pediatrician.

On the eve of Election Day, Massachusetts police and law-enforcement groups say that voters should reject a ballot item that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Qualified patients on probation have the right to use marijuana for medical purposes under Montana state law, the state's highest court has ruled.

A survey released just before Election Day finds that 61 percent of Michigan voters support a statewide medical-marijuana ballot item, with 30 percent opposing the measure.

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined four former state governors this week in calling for voters to reject Proposition 5, a ballot initiative intended to steer more drug offenders into treatment rather than prison.

The Canadian province of British Columbia is considering new strategies to encourage the "most hard-to-reach" HIV-positive people to enter treatment, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports.