Thieves Steal Prescription Drugs From Medicine Cabinets in Open Houses

By Join Together Staff | February 1, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related & Prescription Drugs

Prescription drug thieves are stealing from medicine cabinets during open houses, ABC News reports.

Home sellers usually lock up valuables such as jewelry, electronics and personal information, but often don’t think of securing their medicine cabinets. A San Diego realtors’ group is warning homeowners about these thefts. “The take away here is common sense,” Anthony Manolatos of the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors told ABC News. “When an agent is showing your home and you’re not there, take your valuables with you or lock them in a safe.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has observed this trend. “Stealing drugs from open houses is indeed a technique drug thieves use to obtain controlled substance prescription drugs,” said the DEA’s Barbara Carreno. She said drugs stolen during open houses include opioid painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, ADHD drugs, Xanax and Valium.

DEA enforcement groups, called tactical diversion squads, have found drugs on the black market that have been stolen during open houses, Carreno added.

The Hope Share: A Live Storytelling Event

By Cassie Goldberg | January 23, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Our Blog

85 million people in the U.S. have been affected by addiction and over 20 million are in long-term recovery. Imagine if each of them came forward to share a story of recovery or a message of support.

The Hope Share, a new story-sharing portal created by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, is designed to elevate stories of recovery and inspire others to speak out and help break the stigma and discrimination surrounding addiction.

We’ve teamed up with proud partners of this project, InTheRooms.com and Faces & Voices of Recovery, to host a unique upcoming virtual experience – The Hope Share: A Live Storytelling Event.

Taking place on Wednesday, February 6th at 9 p.m. EST, participants are encouraged to share their video stories of hope using their webcam during this 90-minute LIVE event to help inspire others and spark meaningful conversation around alcohol and other drug problems and addiction.

To participate in this event, visit Meeting Room 1 here at 9:00 p.m. EST on February 6th.

The event will be moderated by InTheRooms.com and will feature Pat Taylor, Executive Director, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and Jerry Otero, a Parent Support Specialist and clinical social worker from The Partnership at Drugfee.org.

Share your powerful story and help encourage families who are struggling with a young person’s addiction, and let them know that there is hope, and that recovery is possible.

To participate in this event, visit Meeting Room 1 here at 9:00 p.m. EST on February 6th.

Gene Mutations Linked With Increased Risk of Dying From Cocaine Abuse

By Join Together Staff | January 31, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs & Research

New research suggests people with common genetic mutations have an almost eightfold increased risk of dying from cocaine abuse. The mutations affect the chemical messenger dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is vital to the functioning of the central nervous system. Cocaine blocks transporters in the brain from absorbing dopamine, HealthDay reports.

The mutations are found on two genes. The Ohio State University researchers found about one in three white people who died of cocaine abuse had these genetic mutations. A different combination of mutations affects the risk of dying from cocaine abuse in black people, the researchers noted in a news release.

The study appears in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Prepaid Card Designed to Help Those in Recovery From Addiction Manage Money

By Join Together Staff | January 31, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction & Recovery

Three men who met while in recovery have developed a prepaid card designed to help others who are recovering from addiction manage their money, the New York Daily News reports.

They have launched the Next Step Prepaid MasterCard, a reloadable card designed for people in recovery, and for those who are financially supporting them. The card gives family members and guardians control over funds, while teaching people in recovery how to manage their money, the article notes.

“When I left treatment, I spent hundreds of dollars on stupid things like Starbucks, just to fill a void,” said company co-founder Eric Dresdale, who started drinking in high school.

The primary account holder of the Next Step card is the parent or caregiver. The person in recovery receives a companion card, which can be used to make purchases. The card cannot be used at an ATM machine, or to get cash back at a store. It is not accepted at bars, casinos or liquor stores. “The truth is, if someone wants to buy drugs they will find a way,” Dresdale told the newspaper. “But we act as a hurdle from achieving that goal.”

Addiction specialist Dr. Paul Hokemeyer thinks the card can be a useful tool in recovery. “I think it’s a great tool to teach patients boundaries and limits,” he said.

The card’s activation fee is $9.95, and has a monthly maintenance fee of $14.95, compared with $3 to $5 for many other prepaid cards.

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Commentary: Rx for Understanding: Free Online Tool to Teach Students

By Nora L. Howley | January 29, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs, Young Adults & Youth

Medicine—whether over-the-counter or prescription—is an important part of a modern health care system. Who would want a world without penicillin or acetaminophen? But medicine is only effective when it is used properly, and for young people moving to adulthood, learning how to use medicine properly is a critical life skill.

Research shows that one in four teenagers report that they have taken a prescription drug not prescribed to them by a doctor at least once in their lives. Middle school is often when students start to make the wrong choice.

Recognizing the scope of the problem, the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) set out to determine what we could do to help teachers and families help students. After looking at what was available, NEA HIN created Rx for Understanding which includes 10 cross-curricular lessons for middle school students. Aligned with the National Health Education Standards and Common Core State Standards, the lessons aim to equip students with the understanding and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs.

By focusing on the three basic concepts of proper use, misuse and abuse, the lessons help to build knowledge and skills that young people need. These involve not only learning the facts about drugs, but include activities that build skills such as information gathering, advocacy for good health choices and making responsible health decisions.

Rx for Understanding was developed and pilot-tested with input from educators around the country. Users report that the lessons are “easy-to-use” and “accessible.” Because lessons are aligned to various content areas, they can be included in various parts of the middle school curriculum.

Nora L. Howley

Manager of Programs

NEA Health Information Network

Heroin Use Increasing in Minneapolis/St. Paul, While Opiate Painkiller Use Declines

By Join Together Staff | January 29, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related & Drugs

Heroin use is growing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, while abuse of opiate painkillers, such as methadone and oxycodone, may be decreasing, according to a new report.

Treatment centers in the area reported a small decrease in the number of people admitted for opiate abuse in the first half of 2012, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

“Heroin and other opiates are second only to the number of people coming into treatment for alcohol,” said Carol Falkowski, who wrote the new report. “That is a relatively new phenomena in the Twin Cities and something that we should all be concerned about.”

The report follows national trends in heroin and opiate painkiller use, the article notes. A study published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine found that as OxyContin abuse has decreased now that the painkiller has been reformulated to make it more difficult to misuse, many people have switched to heroin.

Dr. Gavin Bart, who directs the Division of Addiction Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, said Minneapolis/St. Paul is seeing an influx of the cheapest, purest heroin in the United States. “What is probably happening is there’s a marketing battle between the dealers and the people who peddle prescription opiates and the heroin traffickers,” he said. “In order to get good customers you increase the quality and decrease the price, which is what’s happened with heroin and it’s just pulling market share from the prescription opiate addicts.”

Opiate painkillers are becoming more difficult to obtain, because the state’s prescription monitoring program allows doctors to see if other physicians have written opiate prescriptions for the same patient, Bart noted. While doctors in the state are not required to use the database, more health systems are incorporating it, he added.

HELP RECOVERY CONNECTIONS REACH THE CHURCHES

Good Morning Recovery friends and Brother and sisters in CHRIST

            Recovery Connections was birthed a year ago with one purpose in mind and that is to set the captives free in other words help those struggling with addiction find there way and empower them to maintain sanity and sobriety. A year or two ago the Council of Drug Alcohol of Pennsylvania put together a training designed just for Clergy and the response was overwhelming. Most families and individuals who struggle with addiction go to local churches for help and most churches have no idea on how they can help or where they can send these folks to get help .I have done some research and there are an estimated fourteen thousand churches in Pennsylvania. That is a lot of churches and it is my personal mission to equip and educate these churches and this is where I will need your help. I cannot afford fourteen thousand stamps fourteen thousand envelopes fourteen thousand sheets of paper and a couple dozen ink cartridges. I have been in contact with two great organizations who have sent me brochures with the info the churches are going to need. I could do one letter and make copies but I feel it needs to be more personal so I did more research and I have pastors names and addresses. My intro letter with the information will be made personal and hard to disregard or ignore.We have added a Donate button on the blog and we will send a receipt for your tax purposes. A church is only as good as the the tools it has in the LORDS tool box. PLEASE GIVE TO HELP SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF RECOVERY AND HOPE.  

Address joseph-recoveryconnections.blogspot.com

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Communities Start to Organize Against Heroin

By Join Together Staff | January 28, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related & Drugs

Communities across the country are beginning to organize town hall meetings, support groups and campaigns to discourage the growing use of heroin, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Heroin, once mainly seen in poor urban areas, is now increasingly used by young people in wealthy suburbs, small cities and rural towns, according to the newspaper. “You would have to go pretty remote to find a place that didn’t have this,” Kathleen Kane-Willis of Roosevelt University in Chicago, who has tracked heroin use since 2004, told the newspaper. “It’s just everywhere.”

A study published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine found that as OxyContin abuse has decreased now that the painkiller has been reformulated to make it more difficult to misuse, many people have switched to heroin.

Parents say they are having a difficult time finding treatment for their children’s heroin addiction. They are forming support groups to help one another. Some are turning to the Internet to find support from other parents.

Advocacy groups are trying to address heroin overdoses by pushing for state laws that give people limited immunity on drug possession charges if they seek medical help for someone suffering from an overdose. Most of these Good Samaritan laws protect people from prosecution if they have small quantities of drugs and seek medical aid after an overdose. These laws are designed to limit immunity to drug possession, so that large supplies of narcotics would remain illegal. Advocates are also supporting rules that allow doctors to prescribe the overdose antidote naloxone to families of people addicted to opioids.

Many Parents Not Concerned About Children’s Misuse of Narcotic Pain Medicines

By Join Together Staff | January 28, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Parenting, Prescription Drugs & Youth

A survey of parents finds just one-third are very concerned about the misuse of prescribed narcotic pain medicine by children and teens in their community, according to HealthDay. Only one-fifth are very concerned about the misuse of these drugs in their own families.

The national survey of more than 1,300 parents with children ages 15 to 17 was conducted by the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital. According to the findings, 38 percent of black parents, 26 percent of Hispanic parents, and 13 percent of white parents are very concerned about the misuse of narcotic painkillers in their own families. Misuse of these medicines has been shown to be three times higher among white teens than black or Hispanic teens, according to the researchers.

They found 41 percent of parents favor a policy that would require a doctor’s visit to obtain refills on these medications. About half said they do not support a requirement that unused pain medicines be returned to a doctor or pharmacy.

According to the survey, 66 percent of respondents strongly support requiring parents to show identification when they pick up narcotic painkillers for their children, and 57 percent strongly support policies that would ban obtaining prescriptions for the medicines from more than one doctor.

“Recent estimates are that one in four high school seniors have ever used a narcotic pain medicine. However, parents may downplay the risks of narcotic pain medicine because they are prescribed by a doctor,” Sarah Clark, Associate Director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan, said in a news release. “However, people who misuse narcotic pain medicine are often using drugs prescribed to themselves, a friend or a relative. That ‘safe’ prescription may serve as a readily accessible supply of potentially lethal drugs for children or teens.”

FDA Panel Votes to Toughen Restrictions on Hydrocodone Combination Drugs

By Join Together Staff | January 28, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Government, Healthcare, Prescription Drugs & Prevention

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel voted Friday to strengthen restrictions on hydrocodone combination drugs, such as Vicodin. The panel recommended that the FDA make the drugs more difficult to prescribe.

Supporters of the panel’s recommendation say it could help reduce addiction to painkillers, The New York Times reports. The agency is likely to adopt the panel’s proposal, the article notes.

The panel made the recommendation in a 19-to-10 vote. Opponents were skeptical the proposal would be effective against prescription drug abuse. They also were concerned the changes would make it more difficult for patients in chronic pain to obtain relief. At the two-day FDA hearing about the proposal, opponents noted it would require frail nursing home residents to make a trip to the doctor’s office to obtain pain prescriptions.

The proposal forbids refills without a new prescription, as well as faxed prescriptions and those called in by phone. Distributors of the drugs would have to store the drugs in special vaults. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants would be banned from prescribing the drugs.

Some panelists said the proposal could have the unintended effect of increasing abuse of other drugs, such as heroin.

“Many of us are concerned that the more stringent controls will eventually lead to different problems, which may be worse,” said Dr. John Mendelson, a senior scientist at the Addiction and Pharmacology Research Laboratory at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco.

The FDA convened the panel at the request of the Drug Enforcement Administration. If the FDA accepts the panel’s recommendation, it will be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, which will make the final decision.

Living Free Every Day®

Ruled by Rage

Today's Scripture
"Discipline your son while there is hope, but do not [indulge your angry resentments by undue chastisements and] set yourself to his ruin." - Proverbs 19:18 
Thoughts for Today
This week we are looking at five types of dysfunctional families (described in The Thin Disguise by Pam Vredevelt) that can lead to the development of eating disorders. Perhaps you or someone you know has a loved one struggling with an eating disorder. Or perhaps you will identify some potentially harmful characteristic that needs to be addressed in your family.
In the "Rageaholic Family" only the parents (one or both) are allowed to express feelings. The predominant feeling is rage or anger. Unfortunately, the children are taught to believe that they are responsible for that anger. Mothers in rageaholic families may have anger and rage from their family of origin, and in some cases the daughter becomes an "emotional receptacle" for that rage. Although the mother is in actuality angry with herself and her parents, she pushes that anger onto her daughter.
Children in rageaholic families learn to repress their anger completely. This repressed anger can cause stress, bitterness and depression, leading to many types of inappropriate behavior.
(Note: We are grateful to Pam Vredevelt for her keen insights.)
Consider this …
Although there are appropriate times to discipline our children—always in love—we are not to be controlled by anger. And sometimes anger vented on children does not even relate to their behavior—it comes from a parent struggling with rage or bitterness caused by something else altogether. Today's scripture makes it clear that angry resentments and undue chastisements can lead to our child's ruin.
Prayer
Father, forgive me for sometimes taking out my anger on my children. Help me to admit when I've been wrong and allow my children to see that they are not at fault for my unfair words and actions. Help me to be sensitive to my children's honest feelings and to allow them to feel safe in expressing them. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from …
Seeing Yourself in God's Image: Overcoming Anorexia and Bulimia by Martha Homme, MA, LPC. Written by a counselor with experience helping those with eating disorders, this study is born from her own struggles in adolescence. The group challenges members to find their identity in Christ as they overcome this difficult struggle. This guide offers understanding of distorted body image, denial, and the family systems influence. It also explains how to break free of social pressures and how to restore the temple and tie the recovery process together. A companion booklet Seeing Your Loved One in God's Image, can be used as a quick reference guide dealing with issues associated with eating disorders. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.
Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More

 

 

PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to info@LivingFree.org.

Ivy League Universities Unveil New Programs to Combat Drinking

By Join Together Staff | January 25, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol, Prevention & Young Adults

This fall, seven of the eight Ivy League universities introduced new alcohol policies in an effort to combat high-risk drinking, the Yale Daily News reports.

The new policies at Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard emphasize educational programming over direct disciplinary approaches, the article notes.

“We are in a wave where many universities are trying to curb high-risk drinking,” Yale Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Melanie Boyd told the newspaper. “There is a lot of research that high-risk drinking has risen in recent years.”

Close to 40 percent of college students in the United States engage in binge drinking, and that number has remained virtually unchanged for decades. Almost 2,000 college students in the U.S. die each year from alcohol-related injuries. An estimated 600,000 students are injured while under the influence, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Administrators from Dartmouth launched the National College Health Improvement Project in 2010. This project includes 32 colleges and universities that are collecting data on the effectiveness of alcohol regulation policies on campus.

At Yale, all off-campus parties must now be registered with the Dean’s Office. Two new committees have been formed to address alcohol and drug use among students. Students at several Ivy League institutions said a number of new alcohol-related policies are aimed at fraternities and sororities. Dartmouth has instituted a ban on punch at parties held by fraternity and sorority houses, and conducts random walkthroughs at the houses by safety and security officers.

Emergency Room Visits for ADHD Drugs More Than Doubled from 2005 to 2010

By Join Together Staff | January 25, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs

Emergency room visits involving attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs more than doubled from 2005 to 2010, according to a new government report. The number of visits involving ADHD medications that were used non-medically almost tripled during this period.

The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found in 2005, there were 13,379 emergency room visits related to ADHD drugs. Such visits jumped to 31,244 in 2010, Newswise reports.

Non-medical use of ADHD medications rose from 5,212 in 2005, to 15,585 in 2010. Other pharmaceutical drugs were involved in nearly half (45 percent) of emergency room visits involving ADHD stimulant medications and about one fifth involved illicit drugs (21 percent) or alcohol (19 percent).

The report found emergency room visits for nonmedical use have not increased among children and adolescents, but they have increased among adults aged 18 or older.

“ADHD medications, when properly prescribed and used can be of enormous benefit to those suffering from ADHD, but like any other medication they can pose serious risks – particularly when they are misused,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a news release. “This study indicates that a better job has to be done alerting all segments of society – not just the young – that misuse of these medications is extremely dangerous.”

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Siberian Psychologists Whip Addicts Clean

The bizarre beating "treatment" doesn't enjoy mainstream support—but some recipients swear by it.

Natasha receives her "treatment."
Photo via

By Sarah Beller   THE FIX

01/07/13

Siberian psychologists are taking a hardline approach to helping people with addiction: literally beating it out of them. The practitioners claim that lashing addicts on the buttocks with a willow cane can help those for whom more conventional methods have failed. Practitioners Dr. German Pilipenko and Professor Marina Chukhrova say that their treatment is grounded in science: "We cane the patients on the buttocks with a clear and definite medical purpose—it is not some warped sado-masochistic activity," insists Professor Chukhrova. The pair say that addicts suffer from a lack of endorphins, and that pain can stimulate the brain to release the feel-good chemicals, "making patients feel happier in their own skins." Mainstream doctors dismiss the practice, saying that exercise, acupuncture, massage, chocolate or sex are all better at stimulating endorphin secretion. Dr. Pilipenko admits, "we get a lot of skepticism...but so do all pioneers." The Siberian Times reports that "the reaction of most people is predictable: to snigger, scoff or make jokes loaded with sexual innuendo." And one recipient of the treatment, 41-year-old recovering alcoholic Yuri, says his girlfriend accused him of simply visiting a dominatrix. But he adds that although "the first strike was sickening...Somehow I got through all 30 lashes. The next day I got up with a stinging backside but no desire at all to touch the vodka in the fridge. The bottle has stayed there now for a year."  

Natasha, a 22-year-old recovering heroin addict with several months clean, says, "I am the proof that this controversial treatment works, and I recommend it to anyone suffering from an addiction or depression. It hurts like crazy—but it's given me back my life." She receives 60 strokes of the cane per session (drug addicts get double the dose of alcoholics), at a cost of about $100. Her "therapy" is hardly for the faint-hearted: "With each lash," says Natasha, "I scream and grip tight to the end of the surgical table. It's a stinging pain, real agony, and my whole body jolts." But she also insists, "I'm not a masochist. My parents never beat me or even slapped me, so this was my first real physical pain and it was truly shocking. If people think there's anything sexual about it, then it's nonsense." Professor Chukhrova stresses that care is taken to ensure clients' safety: "The beating is really the end of the treatment. We do a lot of psychological counseling first, and also use detox. It is only after all the counseling, and heart and pain resistance checks, that we start with the beating." The doctor adds that the willow branches used are "flexible and can't be broken nor cause bleeding." And the practitioners are also at pains to deny any ulterior motives: "If any patients get sexual pleasure from the beatings, we stop immediately," says Professor Chukhrova. "This is not what our treatment is about. If they're looking for that, there are plenty of other places to go."

The 10 Best Addiction Novels | The Fix

The 10 Best Addiction Novels | The Fix

Calvary Chapel Old Bridge

Calvary Chapel Old Bridge

Addiction Recovery - "The Most Excellent Way"

Since 1986, "The Most Excellent Way" has been providing the Christian solution to chemical dependency and life-controlling problems: Jesus!

"The Most Excellent Way" is LOVE according to the Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:3-8. God Himself demonstrated His love for us by freely giving us the gift of Life, abundant Life, His Son. And, we love because He first loved us!

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived

and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.

We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that, having been justified by his grace,

we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7 NIV

"The Most Excellent Way" is a loving group of men and women affected directly or indirectly by drugs or alcohol or any addictive behavior as pornography or any anti-Biblical behavior. In the Support Meetings, we grow in our faith in Christ with the encouragement of God's Word and prayers. Thousands worldwide have been helped through attending these weekly meetings.

A person can be totally free from addiction and compulsive behavior only by the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ Jesus. Your Creator has created you and knows everything about you (everything!) and if you are one of His, He still loves you. And…there is a good purpose and a plan for your life.

Please join us on Wednesday evenings for this loving, caring support group meeting! We are here for YOU!

First Baptist Church Markham Woods contact person: Ernie Rudisill

Visit the national headquarters website at www.mostexcellentway.org

Addiction Support Group Meeting

Weekly: Wednesdays – 8:15PM

First Baptist Church Markham Woods

5400 Markham Woods Road 

Lake Mary, FL 32746

407.333.2085

Teaching Teens to Manage Personality Traits May Reduce Problem Drinking

By Join Together Staff | January 24, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Mental Health, Prevention & Youth

High school programs that teach teens to better manage their personality traits can help reduce and postpone problem drinking, a new study suggests.

“Two factors determine problem drinking: personality and peer pressure,” said study author Dr. Patricia Conrod of King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry. “Teaching young people how to better manage their personality traits or vulnerabilities helps them make the right decisions in given situations, whether it is a matter of overcoming their fears, managing thoughts that make them very emotional, controlling their compulsions, analyzing objectively the intentions of others or improving their self-perception.”

In the two-year study, high school staff in London worked with ninth-grade students, who were divided into two groups. One group participated in a personality-based intervention program run by school staff, while the second group received the standard United Kingdom drug and alcohol curriculum. All of the students’ drinking patterns were examined.

Students filled out a personality questionnaire to determine their risk of developing future alcohol dependence. Personality traits identified with a greater risk of alcohol dependence included impulsivity, hopelessness, sensation-seeking, or anxiety, Newswise reports.

School staff members trained in the personality-based program delivered group workshops targeting the different personality profiles. The workshops taught the teens to better manage their personality traits. “Our study shows that this mental health approach to alcohol prevention is much more successful in reducing drinking behavior than giving teenagers general information on the dangers of alcohol,” Dr. Conrod said in a news release.

After two years, the study found high-risk students in the intervention group had a 29 percent reduced risk of drinking, a 43 percent reduced risk of binge drinking, and a 29 percent reduced risk of problem drinking, compared with high-risk students in the standard drug and alcohol education programs. The intervention also significantly slowed the progression to more risky drinking behavior in the high-risk students over the two years.

The study appears in JAMA Psychiatry.

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Living Free Every Day®

Moving On

Today's Scripture   JANUARY 25 2013

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." - Philippians 3:12-14 NLT

Thoughts for Today

As we come to Jesus and begin to understand who we are in him, it is time to learn from the past, put it behind and move on ahead. Paul makes it clear in today's scripture that he is on a journey. He knows he is not perfect, but he determines to forget the past and reach forward—to become all Jesus wants him to be. He is moving the right direction—toward Jesus—and he is not turning back.

That's where we need to be too. On a journey to Jesus, to accomplishing his purpose for us. If we try to drag the hurts and mistakes of the past along with us on the journey, our progress will be slowed … or come to a stop altogether. We need to give all that baggage to Jesus and receive his healing and forgiveness. We need to keep our eyes on him and run forward.

Consider this …

Are you dragging baggage along as you try to move ahead with Jesus? Painful memories of abuse or other hurts. Unforgiveness. Condemnation. If you have made Jesus Lord of your life, it is time to put all those things behind. You have been made right in God's sight. You are his child. You are his masterpiece, designed for a purpose.

Join the apostle Paul in putting the past behind and moving forward along the marvelous path God has set before you. He has a good plan for you. Press on!

Prayer

Father, thank you for your healing and forgiveness. Help me to truly leave my hurts and failures in the past and keep my eyes on Jesus as I move forward along the path you have for me. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from …

Restoring Families: Overcoming Abusive Relationships through Christ by Janet M. Lerner, D.S.W. This study helps to minister to families caught in the cycle of abusive relationships. The curriculum deals with overcoming these abusive relationships through Christ and is recommended for use in support groups and Christian counseling.

• Ministers to families from abusive relationships
• Ministers to victims of family violence
• Deals with wounded emotions
• Deals with control and intimacy issues
• Presents a strong message of Christ as healer of abusive relationships

Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.

Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More

 

 

PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to info@LivingFree.org.

Navy Blood-Alcohol Tests to Start in February

By Join Together Staff | January 24, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol, Military & Prevention

The U.S. Navy will begin conducting random blood-alcohol tests on sailors in the United States in February, the Associated Press reports. The Navy will use the tests, which were announced earlier this year, to determine whether a sailor is fit for duty, or may need counseling.

Sailors whose blood-alcohol level is .04 or higher when they report for duty will not be allowed to work. A reading of .02 or higher will not be used to punish sailors, but could be used to refer them to a substance abuse treatment program.

The Navy will begin distributing hand-held alcohol detection devices (ADD) to Navy commands in February. The devices should distributed throughout the Navy by the end of May.

“Deterring irresponsible use of alcohol is essential to the readiness of our fleet and ensuring the health and safety of our service members and units,” Admiral Bill Gortney, Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, said in a statement. “Fleet Forces, in partnership with Pacific Fleet, will remain engaged in providing service members the tools and resources to make these responsible choices. The ADD is one of many tools commanders have to educate service members.”

The Marines will carry out their own random alcohol screening, according to the AP.

Missouri a National Leader in Drug Courts: State’s Top Judge

By Join Together Staff | January 24, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs, Legal & Treatment

Missouri’s drug courts have more than 12,000 graduates who have successfully completed treatment court programs, according to the state’s top judge. “Missouri has become a national leader in drug courts,” Chief Justice Richard Teitelman said in an address to the state legislature this week.

The courts were established in Missouri two decades ago, according to the Associated Press. They are designed to divert nonviolent offenders who struggle with substance abuse to judicially supervised treatment programs, instead of prisons, the article notes. Missouri has drug courts in all but two of its 45 judicial circuits.

Almost 600 drug-free babies have been born to treatment court participants, Justice Teitelman said. More than half of participants successfully complete the program.

The report states that 7.1 percent of adults who complete drug court programs commit additional crimes within the next 30 months, compared with 15 percent for those who do not go through the programs.

Dear Joseph, Did you know that over 85 million people in the U.S. say they have been affected by addiction? Whether it is family, friends, or loved ones, the impact of addiction is far-reaching. But, imagine if everyone came forward to share a story of recovery or a message of support. It would mean 85 million reasons to have hope. That's why we've launched The Hope Share. At The Partnership we believe that together we can dispel the stigma of feeling alone and helpless because of addiction, and that we can give hope by sharing the stories of others. Share your story of hope now: http://my.drugfree.org/the-hope-share The Hope Share is a campaign that lets those affected by drug and alcohol addiction know they are not alone, that there is hope and the possibility of recovery. Feeling that recovery is possible is one of the first steps for taking action and finding the way back. One story sent to us from Cathie, a loving mother, has stayed in our minds: For 10 years I was asking, "Why us?" We had tried so hard to be the best parents. ... I didn't know if I would get a call that he was in jail, in the hospital or dead. Finally he reached his bottom and it is amazing that he survived. His abuse could have so easily killed him. I have learned so much about addiction. ... In one week I am going to visit him to celebrate three years of sobriety! He tells me that it is statistically a major milestone. I am so lucky today! Share your message of hope -- or one the many other stories we've received -- and help change the ending of someone else's story: http://my.drugfree.org/the-hope-share Together we can dispel the stigma. We can give hope to the hopeless. Thank you, Steve Pasierb President and CEO The Partnership at Drugfree.org

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Proposal to Increase Restrictions on Opioid Prescribing Prompts Debate

By Join Together Staff | January 23, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Government, Prescription Drugs & Prevention

A proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to more tightly control prescriptions of drugs containing hydrocodone is prompting debate among doctors, according to NPR. A committee of the FDA will meet January 24 and 25 to consider the DEA’s request.

Emergency room visits related to hydrocodone, the key ingredient in Vicodin and other painkillers, have soared since 2000. Vicodin, which also contains acetaminophen, is subject to fewer regulations than pure hydrocodone.

For almost a decade, the DEA has called for stricter regulation of Vicodin, in order to reduce abuse of the drug. The DEA wants to change the way drugs that combine hydrocodone with other products are classified, to require patients to have more interaction with doctors in order to obtain prescriptions for them.

Andrew Kolodney, who leads Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, wants opioids to be used only for patients who really need them, such as cancer patients. “This epidemic has been fueled by overprescribing of opioids, particularly for chronic noncancer pain, whether it’s low back pain, headaches,” he told NPR. “I think that’s really created a public health crisis.”

His group wants the Food and Drug Administration to rewrite labels on opioids to state that physicians should write prescriptions only for severe pain, and at much lower doses. The group wants prescriptions for the drugs to be written for a maximum of 90 days at a time. “The way to begin to turn the epidemic around is by getting doctors to prescribe more cautiously,” Kolodney said.

Lynn Webster, President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, is concerned these changes may prevent many patients from obtaining drugs they need. “We have millions of people who are totally disabled because of their pain,” he said. “Many people who do not have access to aggressive pain management may simply not be able to survive.”

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National Rx Drug Abuse Summit

About

Operation UNITE will host the second annual National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in Orlando April 2-4. We hope you will join us! Last year we had 750 people from 47 states!

Company Overview

This must-attend National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, April 2-4, 2013, is unlike any other national conference, bringing all impacted parties together to address the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Conference programming is designed to convey a synergistic approach to include: prevention, education, treatment, law enforcement, health care providers, pharmacists, advocates, and third-party payers – among other impacted parties.

 

 

 

Contact Info

Phone	+60 6-657 3218
Email	erice@centertech.com
Website	http://nationalrxdrugabusesummit.org/

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Commentary: Time to “Make An Impact” on Rx Epidemic

By Karen Kelly | January 22, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related & Prescription Drugs

Every month approximately 1,200 calls are received from individuals in southern and eastern Kentucky seeking help with an addiction issue. Multiply this by the hundreds of regions across America and it’s easy to understand why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider prescription drug abuse a public health “epidemic.”

One accidental overdose death every 19 minutes; more than the number of deaths from car crashes. That’s a sobering statistic.

Families and communities are being torn apart, and our children are not immune to addiction’s deadly consequences.

In 2009, an estimated 28,068 visits to the emergency department misuse or abuse of drugs by children aged 12-14, according to a report by the Drug Abuse Warning Network. Half of these visits involved prescription and over-the-counter medications.

As the tide of prescription drug abuse rolled across the country, communities found themselves unprepared for the impending flood of problems and now struggle to react against the tsunami of addiction.

Recognizing that no single organization or agency could fend off this storm, UNITE launched the inaugural National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in 2012. Impacted parties came together for a holistic examination of what is being done to help solve the prescription drug problem, what could be done or done better, and to forge lasting partnerships and strategic alliances.

“Operation UNITE’s inaugural National Summit on Rx Drug Abuse was one of the most professional and well organized conferences I have ever been to,” stated Carla Saunders, NNP-BC, advance practice coordinator with Pediatrix Medical Group at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. “Power packed with excellent keynote speakers, the Summit brought hope to our team that has treated more than 400 prescription drug-exposed newborns suffering from withdrawal in the past two years.”

“We learned so much about the problem of prescription substance abuse and what can, and is, being done to combat the problem,” Saunders said. “We had incredible opportunities to ‘unite’ with others and see that there is hope. In hope there is strength, and in strength there is the power to make a difference.”
Last year’s conference sparked many on-going collaborations among stakeholders in this on-going battle. Feedback from the more than 700 participants has been used to shape discussion at the second Summit, to be held April 2-4, 2013, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Florida. Breakout and general session programs will focus on ways participants can “Make An Impact” in the fight against prescription drug abuse.

With youth experimenting with drugs at an earlier and earlier age, it is incumbent on all stakeholders to identify and collaborate on successful educational strategies that will help change behaviors.

No single entity or initiative can solve our nation’s problems alone. In addition to grassroots educational efforts, law enforcement strategies and providing appropriate treatment/recovery programs for addicts, we must look at long-term cures – and that involves effective legislation at local, state and federal levels. The Summit brought recognition to work of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse and collaboration continues on strong Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs.

“This may be the biggest challenge of our society, and the only way this destructive trend can be reversed is if everyone — I mean, everyone – gets involved,” stated U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (WV-3rd), a keynote speaker at the first Summit. “Our nation’s future – our children’s and grandchildren’s future – hangs in the balance.”

We cannot let this problem go unchecked. Prescription drug abuse is growing out-of-control, draining limited resources and devastating families. Please join this important national conversation on April 2-4, 2013, and Make An Impact! Our future is at stake.

Karen Kelly, President/CEO, Operation United

Military Deployment Increases Risk of Substance Abuse in Young Family Members

By Join Together Staff | January 22, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs, Military, Parenting, Research & Youth

Having a parent or sibling who has been deployed in the military increases the risk of drug and alcohol use among middle and high school students, a new study finds.

The study found multiple deployments by a parent or sibling was linked with an increased risk of lifetime and recent use of drugs and alcohol, MedicalXpress reports. The study found a high number of deployments was linked with a 14 percent increase in the likelihood of lifetime drug use, and an 18 percent increased risk of recent use.

The researchers at the University of Southern California School of Social Work found youth in grades 5 to 11 with a sibling in the military were more likely to use drugs than those with a parent in the military. The findings appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

“The potential for strain and the trauma associated with multiple deployments in the past 10 years of war seem to be driving this. People need to be aware that these experiences have an impact,” lead author Tamika Gilreath said in a news release. She added, “Everyone talks about the impact of parents, but no one talks about the impact of other close family members, such as siblings. There is research to suggest that the deployment of a sibling is similarly disruptive as parental deployment. Parental concern may influence their interactions with the younger sibling who is left to cope with their own sense of loss as well as their parents’.”

The researchers suggest schools with a high density of students with deployed family members should consider providing education about substance use. They also recommend that community medical providers increase substance abuse screening in these children.

Phone App Shows Effects of Drinking On Facial Appearance

By Join Together Staff | January 22, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Community Related & Prevention

A new phone app shows the effect of drinking alcohol on a person’s facial appearance. The “Drinking Mirror” is designed to make people aware of the physical toll of heavy alcohol consumption.

The app, which is free until March, is available for Android and iPhone users. People can upload or take a photo of themselves, and enter information about their drinking habits, The Washington Post reports. The app shows them how their face might age if they continue to consume alcohol at their current rate, by adding weight gain, dull skin, wrinkles and red cheeks.

The app is part of the Scottish government’s “Drop a Glass Size” campaign, launched by Health Secretary Alex Neil this month. “Evidence shows us that most people who drink alcohol, particularly at home, have no idea of how much they are actually consuming. This campaign will show people how small changes to their drinking habits can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing,” he said in a news release.