Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Commentary: Peer Recovery Coaches: Expanding the Career Ladder
By Mary Jo Mather | June 5, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Research
In a coffee shop. In a treatment center. At the library. At a sober living home. These are all settings where peer recovery services take place. Whether volunteers or staff, the role of a Peer Recovery Coach (PRC) is a legitimate and important one within the continuum of care, and IC&RC is proud to be developing the first, international credential for PRCs.
In recent years, a rapidly growing segment of the addiction recovery workforce has been made up of PRCs, who use their personal experiences of recovery to facilitate it and build resilience of persons with addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring substance and mental disorders. Many PRCs provide these valuable services as volunteers and in community settings, but seek the objective verification that certification provides.
A 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment wrote:
“Recovery support services are non-clinical services. Many recovery community organizations have established recovery community centers where educational, advocacy and sober social activities are organized. Peer recovery support services are also offered in churches and other faith-based institutions, recovery homes/sober housing.”
Wherever they are, PRCs form the connecting tissue between professional systems of care and indigenous communities of recovery. They are specifically trained to assist people in accessing a broad range of support services including education, employment, health care, housing, day care, transportation and counseling for co-occurring problems.
Unlike a sponsor, the PRC usually works – as a volunteer or staff member – within a formal organization that is bound by accreditation, licensing and funding guidelines. Another distinction is that PRCs start coaching clients before they have formally entered recovery, continue the relationship even in the face of relapse and check-in with clients after they have disengaged from active participation in mutual aid groups.
Responding to demand in their jurisdictions, several IC&RC Member Boards – Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania – developed Peer Recovery credentials, and it soon became clear that there is a growing need for a credentialing process at the reciprocal level.
An IC&RC Task Force, headed by Kristie Schmiege of Michigan, explored and recommended standards for two levels of PRC, which were adopted by board vote in October, 2011. The organization is in the process of developing the formal job task analysis and written examination for the credential.
The 2008 report emphasized that “maintaining the peer-ness of peer recovery support services and resisting the pressure to professionalize these services is a key challenge.” As we developed the standards for the first-ever international PRC credential, IC&RC believes we have met this challenge.
Mary Jo Mather is the Executive Director of IC&RC, the largest addiction and prevention credentialing organization in the world. Today, IC&RC represents 78 member boards and 45,000 professionals from 25 countries and 47 U.S. states and territories. IC&RC’s seven credentials include counselors, clinical supervisors, prevention specialists, criminal justice and co-occurring disorders professionals.
Help support PRO-ACT!
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Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Workplace Insurers Spend More Than $1 Billion on Narcotic Painkillers
By Join Together Staff | June 4, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Insurance &Prescription Drugs
Costs related to narcotic painkillers are growing for workplace insurers, which are currently spending an estimated $1.4 billion on the drugs, The New York Times reports. The companies are facing payouts to workers with injuries who are being treated with opioids, including many who do not return to work for months—or who don’t return at all.
Opioids can increase disability payouts and medical expenses by delaying employees’ return to work, if the drugs are used too often, too early in treatment, or for too long. A study by the California Workers Compensation Institute conducted in 2008 found workers taking high doses of opioids to treat injuries, such as back strain, were out of work three times longer, compared to those with similar injuries who took lower doses of medication.
A 2010 study by the insurer Accident Fund Holdings found that when disability payments and medical care are combined, the cost of a workplace injury is nine times higher when a strong painkiller such as OxyContin is used, compared to when an opioid is not used, the article notes.
“What we see is an association between the greater use of opioids and delayed recovery from workplace injuries,” Alex Swedlow, the head of research at the California Workers Compensation Institute, told the newspaper.
Although there is little evidence that opioids provide long-term benefits in treating common workplace injuries such as back pain, these drugs are widely prescribed for these problems.
Insurance industry data shows that between 2001 and 2008, opioid prescriptions as a percentage of all drugs used to treat workplace injuries rose 63 percent. Costs have also increased. To reverse this trend, some states have issued new pain treatment guidelines, or are expected to do so.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Get State Certified in Pennsylvania
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
'Bath salts': Officials say the synthetic drug in disguise was behind recent ‘cannibal’ attack
Dangerous drug mimics the effects of cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine
Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 3:12 PMBY MEGHAN NEAL / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/bath-salts-officials-synthetic-drug-disguise-behind-cannibal-attack-article-1.1086791#ixzz1wRQdJR8u
Containers of ‘bath salts,’ a dangerous synthetic drug sold under names like ‘Ivory Wave’ and ‘Vanilla Sky.’
MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPT/AP
This combo photo shows Rudy Eugene, 31, left, who police shot and killed as he ate the face of Ronald Poppo, 65, right, during a horrific attack in Miami Saturday.
The “cannibal” attacker who chewed off another man’s face in a gruesome crime in Miami Saturday is suspected to have been under the influence of a dangerous drug sold under the innocuous name “bath salts.”
The victim of the attack, a homeless Miami man, was in critical condition Monday after 75% to 80% of his face was chewed off, CNN reports. Police said the attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, exhibited “insane” behavior similar to other violent incidences linked to bath salts.
Eugene was shot and killed by police during the attack.
Bath salts, also known by street names like “Ivory Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Bliss,” and “Purple Rain”, made headlines last year after a rush of emergency room visits, thousands of calls to poison centers and several deaths. The man-made, synthetic drug is made from amphetamine-like chemicals and causes a unique combination of effects on the brain.
“If you take the worst attributes of meth, coke, PCP, LSD and Ecstasy and put them together, that’s what we’re seeing sometimes,” Mark Ryan, the director of the Louisiana Poison Center, told the New York Times.
The powdery substance comes in a small packet, and can be inhaled, swallowed or injected, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health.
The drug is manufactured by street chemists and sold in convenience stores or online, often legally. Sellers were able to sell the drug legally since its emergence in 2009 by marketing the substance as either bath salts or “plant food” or “insect repellant,” and stipulating “not for human consumption” on the label.
A 50-milligram packet usually sells for $25 to $50, reports say.
Use skyrocketed throughout last year, mostly by teens and young adults, until in October the DEA banned three chemicals used to make the drug.
Several states have issued a ban on the drug but no federal ban exists.
Users experience a mix of physical and psychological symptoms. The stimulant can cause excited delirium and severe hallucinations. Users can become violent and suicidal. People often experience a super-human strength, and long-lasting euphoria or paranoia, reports say.
The health consequences, like high blood pressure and rapid heart rate, can be fatal.
Because of the nature of the symptoms the drug has been linked to many violent and crazed crimes and deaths like the recent “zombie” attack.
Last year, a man in Indiana climbed a flagpole on the side of a road and jumped into traffic. Another man in Pennsylvania broke into a monastery and stabbed a priest, and a woman in West Virginia scratched herself 'to pieces' because she thought there was something under her skin, the New York Times reported.
Nudity is common because the drug causes body temperature to rise so fast and so high people feel like they're burning up and take off their clothes, reported the Daily Beast.
The powerful stimulant can cause super strength and in many cases hospital officials or police say it takes several people to hold down a user, the Times reported. The person often won’t respond to a stun gun or taser, the paper said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has classified bath salts as a Schedule 1 drug, labeling it as highly addictive and illegal. The agency banned mephedrone, MDPV and methoyne, the common ingredients in the drug.
The ban is in place for a year while the DEA studies whether it should be made permanently illegal.
However, banning synthetic drugs if often ineffective, experts say. Bath salts are a designer drug, meaning the chemical concoction can be tweaked slightly and classified as a new drug, making it easy to skirt around the law.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Video Game Trains Doctors to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
By Join Together Staff | May 29, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inHealthcare, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
A new video game helps doctors learn how to determine if patients asking for painkillers truly need them. The game is part of an effort at Northwestern University in Chicago to help physicians fight prescription drug abuse.
The game trains doctors to identify deceptive behavior by patients who are likely to abuse prescription painkillers, according to The New York Times. The technology is similar to what the FBI uses to train agents in interrogation tactics, the article notes.
Doctors are taught to look for warning signs of drug abuse, such as a history of family problems. They also learn to observe signs of nervousness, such as fidgeting, finger-tapping and breaking eye contact.
The game is in its final phase of testing. It is designed for primary care and family doctors, who often are not comfortable evaluating patients’ need for painkillers, according to the newspaper.
“This isn’t something medical students have traditionally been trained for,” said Dr. Michael F. Fleming, whose research was used to design the game. “These are hard conversations to have.”
The game will soon be available online to medical schools and health care providers, for a fee. The game includes about 2,000 statements by a patient. Doctors can select from more than a thousand possible responses. The dialogue is based on interviews with more than 1,000 patients who received opioids for pain.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: Stop Encouraging Kids to Huff Helium
By Join Together Staff | March 16, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Advocacy,Parenting, Prevention & Youth
Huffing helium is not safe, and adults must stop encouraging children to do it, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC), a group that promotes awareness and recognition of inhalant use.
“Unknowing adults demonstrate and often provide helium to kids at parties, or science teachers use it in classes to demonstrate the effects of a gas on vocal cords,” Harvey Weiss, Executive Director of NIPC, said in a news release. “For years I have heard ‘everybody does it,’ and sure enough parents do it as well as Scout leaders, science teachers and even youth pastors. This normalizing of huffing needs to stop and all of us can play a role in that. We must be advocates for children.”
Weiss spoke about the dangers of helium at a press conference in advance of the 20th Annual National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, which runs March 18-24, 2012.
Helium can displace the oxygen in the lungs, leading to oxygen deprivation, according to The Washington Times. This can cause symptoms that range from dizziness to blacking out to cardiac arrest.
Weiss said retailers can reduce helium abuse by placing tanks of the gas higher up on shelves, so they are out of the reach of children. He also called on adults to be more aware of the dangers of huffing helium.
Brian Dyak, President of Entertainment Industries Council Inc., which encourages the media to address social and health issues, called on the entertainment and news industries to educate people about inhalant abuse. The group says inhalant abuse should not be portrayed as glamorous or socially acceptable.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Driving Loaded? There’s an App for That
Senators were shocked to learn that dozens of applications allow the intoxicated smartphone owner to avoid user-reported speed traps and radar-equipped patrol cars.
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Think what Hunter Thompson could have done with one of these babies. There’s an app for mixing cocktails, and an app for finding bars on the road, so it’s not surprising to discover there’s an app for intoxicated drivers. Four U.S. Senators--Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Schumer (D-NY),Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tom Udall [D-NM--have all expressed concern over smartphone applications that allow drivers to avoid DUI checkpoints, and have called for their removal from app stores. The indignant senators sent letters to the head of Apple's iPhone software group, Scott Forstall; Google's CEO Eric Schmidt; and Research in Motion's (RIM) co-CEOs, James Balsillie and Michael Lazaridis, Computerworld reports. The senators identified only one application by name—PhantomALERT--butComputerworld says there are dozens of apps designed to warn drivers of user-reported speed traps, roving radar-equipped patrol cars, and accidents. Many integrate the smartphone's integrated GPS feature to display police and accident locations. "Giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern," the senators said in a letter to the executives. "We hope that you will give our request to remove these applications from your store immediate consideration." In 2010 alone, 10,839 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, and over a quarter of a million people are injured in drunk-driving accidents each year.
Caron Werner Pennsylvania!
Caron Pennsylvania 3 stars
Caron's hilltop HQ treats teens and adults in a New England boarding school atmosphere—discipline included. But if evangelical rallying cries and impromptu stage shows prove too much, a free cocktail is just a stroll away.
Caron Treatment Center Pennsylvania
For those wanting a traditional 12-step approach to recovery in a strictly controlled environment,Caron Pennsylvania, a venerable 110-acre institution that’s been around for over 60 years, provides a firm but caring framework for recovery. The stately old Keystone State campus—where the ambiance is decidedly “New England boarding school”—occupies an historic resort in the rolling hills of rural Wernersville, and the architecture is symbolic of the center’s time-tested approach to recovery. (Caron’s young adult program serves 18-to-25-year-olds who, says one grad, “in spite of their trust funds, all seem to want to be rappers.”)
The Caron rehab facilityenforces a rigid separation of genders, and insists on a no-nonsense treatment regimen. Caffeine and non-recovery related books are banned as well, and smokers can puff only at designated times. Caron’s time-tested treatment plan generally eschews trendy fads like yoga, art, and equine therapy that pervade more recent rehabs. Clients cough up cell phones and MP3 players immediately upon check-in, and use of the landline requires a “phone pass” reluctantly doled out by a counselor.
Life at Caron starts early and is highly structured—clients are up by 6 am and engaged in treatmentprograms until 10 pm—and there’s little autonomy (everyone must traverse the campus in groups of threes). The stiff institutional atmosphere makes the Caron rehab facility feel “like a cross between a dormitory and a hospital,” says one grad. “They want you to feel like you're in treatment—not at a luxury resort.” While some alumni rave about the staff, others complain. “It doesn’t seem like they get rock star techs and doctors,” notes one grad. “It’s a lot of church lady women that have been there for 30 years.”
The Caron treatment center facility is clean and attractive, but not overly grand. Residents are required to do their own laundry and make their beds every morning, which might not exactly come as second nature to the majority of the clientele—largely white, upper-middle and upper class patients that include hedge-funders, politicians, and occasional celebs (Liza Minnelli and Steven Tyler among them).
Adults dig into a buffet offering standard fare—meat and potatoes, a vegetable, and a salad bar. The on-site adolescent unit—catering to youngsters aged 13–19, complete with its own grownup-free group meetings —serves clients in a separate dining facility with a more restricted (i.e., sugar-free) menu.
During their limited free time, clients have the option to pump iron at the gym, shoot hoops, or run on the treadmill. Less athletic sorts can stroll around the scenic campus or make jewelry. Those in the adolescent unit take retreats off campus, go camping, and watch a steady stream of PG movies.
A mandatory campus ritual is the Sunday morning “chapel” meeting led by a quirky Catholic priest and former army chaplain named Father Bill Hultberg, who serves as Caron's in-house "spiritual advisor." “Father Bill does this same schpiel week after week,” says one alum. “It’s kind of like an evangelical rally—he preaches passionately about God and recovery. Then he plays rap music and Britney Spears.” At the conclusion of every performance, Father Bill invites select clients to join him on stage before the 400-person campus and perform a song, play the guitar or express their gratitude to the Caron staff. Most are happy to indulge him—including Tyler and Minnelli, who reportedly entertained their peers with a few tunes.
But Caron offers far more than just music and the facility’s rigid structure often serves as an effective antidote to the freewheeling lifestyle many of its clients indulge in until they arrive. “They really helped me pull myself together," says one enthusiastic alum. "I needed the discipline and their firm hand. I would definitely go back if I relapsed.” The Caron rehab center actually boasts a specialized relapse program where people that have already endured the initial 28-day program—and memorized all the talking points on addiction and recovery—can pick up where they left off; an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms of relapse is an integral (read: mandatory) aspect of the relapse program.
And the special few who can't make it through the program receive a kind of booby prize upon their departure: a bar at the base of the mountain-top drug rehab facility in Pennsylvania offers relapsing clients a free cocktail in exchange for their Caron sobriety chip.
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Commentary: Breaking the Cycle of Drugs, Alcohol and Crime
By Susan Richardson | May 4, 2012 | 4 Comments | Filed in Community Related,Drugs, Legal, Recovery, Treatment & Youth
Almost two million American youth need treatment for alcohol and other drug use or abuse. But only 1 in 20 will receive treatment.
Research shows that teens with substance abuse problems are more likely to break the law, behave violently or drop out of school. In fact, 4 out of 5 young people in the juvenile justice system commit crimes while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Young people need to be held accountable when they break the law. Unless they receive treatment for a substance abuse problem that helped them get in trouble in the first place, they will often find themselves back in juvenile court again and again.
That’s where Reclaiming Futures comes in. By connecting juvenile courts with treatment providers and community members, we help teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime.
We accomplish this by creating teams of juvenile court judges, probation officers, substance abuse treatment professionals and community members. Using an evidence-based six-step model, the team works together to ensure that teens get the treatment and services they need, while tracking their progress and identifying service gaps.
So how does the model work?
Step 1: Initial Screening: As soon as possible after being referred to the juvenile justice system, youth are screened for possible substance abuse problems.
Step 2: Initial Assessment: Teens with possible substance abuse problems are assessed using a reputable tool to measure their use of alcohol and other drugs, individual and family risks, needs and strengths. This allows the team to measure the severity of the problem, which informs the treatment plan.
Step 3: Service Coordination: The team designs and coordinates an intervention plan that is family driven, spans agency boundaries and draws upon community-based resources.
Step 4: Initiation: Treatment begins.
Step 5: Engagement: The team engages both the teens and their families and follows up with them during treatment.
Step 6: Transition: Teens transition out of agency-based treatment services. The team makes sure that kids and their families have community resources and support in place, in order to lower the risk of relapse and recidivism.
It’s essential for the family and community to be involved throughout the process because almost every young person who appears in juvenile court eventually returns home. In order to stay drug and crime free, teens need positive mentors and caring adults in their lives. They also need help with completing school and finding a job, which is why Step 6 is so important – troubled young people need help transitioning from the juvenile system to a happy and productive adult life.
We’re not the only ones who understand the importance of connecting teens with quality treatment and care. The ObamaAdministration’s 2012 National Drug Control Strategy prioritizes treatment and coordinated care to people struggling with addiction. As part of the Strategy, we are working with the Administration to spread our model throughout the United States to improve treatment for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. We believe we are a solution for the entire nation.
To learn more about Reclaiming Futures, please visitwww.reclaimingfutures.org.
Susan Richardson, National Executive Director for Reclaiming Futures
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Beware of Drunk Drivers on Memorial Day Weekend
By Join Together Staff | May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol &Prevention
Drunk drivers are a threat on the road during Memorial Day weekend, warns Fox Business. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 397 people died over the three-day weekend in 2010, the latest year for which data is available. Of those crashes, 40 percent were alcohol-related.
In 2010, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes—one every 51 minutes, notes the NHTSA. The agency has found fatal crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver are more likely on weekends and at night, the article notes.
Alcohol interferes with a person’s coordination, driving skills and judgment. Drinking can cause people to lose control and become aggressive, which can in turn affect driving skills.
Drinking can affect the brain for hours, and may even influence a person’s driving the next morning, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Caffeine won’t help to reduce the effects of alcohol on the body.
The NIAAA pamphlet, “Rethinking Holiday Drinking,” recommends that people who do decide to drink should not have more than one drink per hour. Make every other drink a nonalcoholic one, and pick a designated driver to get you home safely. A designated driver should be someone who has not had anything to drink, not just the person in your group who had the least to drink.
U.S. Looks to Other Nations for Addiction Treatment Ideas: Kerlikowske
By Join Together Staff | May 23, 2012 | 5 Comments | Filed in Addiction,Drugs, Government & Treatment
The United States is looking to other nations for ideas on how to treat addiction as a disease, the U.S. Director of National Drug Control Policy said Tuesday. Gil Kerlikowske, who spoke during a visit to London, said the Obama Administration wants to speak to drug addiction experts in other countries to learn whether elements of their programs could work in the United States, according toReuters.
Kerlikowske has visited Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Colombia and other South American countries to see different types of drug treatment programs, the article notes. He said the approach to drug addiction in Portugal was somewhat successful. Since 2001, authorities in that country have focused their efforts on prevention messages and treatment, and stopped arrests, trials and imprisonment of people who carry a personal supply of drugs.
He said the U.S. is taking a more balanced approach to substance use, with an emphasis on treatment instead of law enforcement. He urged the international community to work together on substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, to stop the cycle of drug use, criminal acts, imprisonment, release, and re-arrest.
Last week, the Office of National Drug Control Policy released a report that it said showed the importance of addressing the nation’s drug problem not just as a criminal justice issue, but as a public health issue.
The report showed a decline in cocaine use since 2003, which indicates that law enforcement efforts and public educationcampaigns may be having an effect. Illegal drug use overall has decreased about 30 percent since 1979.
An average of 71 percent of men arrested in 10 U.S. metropolitan areas in 2011 tested positive for an illegal substance when they were taken into custody, the study found. The rates ranged from 64 percent in Atlanta, to 81 percent in Sacramento, California. These rates were higher for almost half of the collection sites since 2007.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Never Fear, the New D.S.M. Won’t “Create More Addicts”
Last week’s New York Times article, “Addiction Diagnoses May Rise Under Guideline Changes,” offers a sadly pejorative take on the proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M.—the go-to manual for mental health (including substance use disorder) diagnoses. The reporter writes that the rewritten D.S.M. “could result in millions more people being diagnosed as addicts.”
There are a couple of problems with this speculation. First, people are not diagnosed “as addicts.” This is because there is no diagnosis of “addiction”—not in the current DSM or the revised version. To characterize the diagnosis of substance use disorders this way simply shows the extent to which stigma and depreciatory attitudes about this illness remain.
Second, the new D.S.M. would do one important and enormously beneficial thing: it would allow problematic and/or harmful drug use to be identified and diagnosed earlier. This is the first time Medicaid/Medicare have reimbursed effective services for people who misuse substances—not just for folks who qualify as chemically dependent. This is where programs like Phoenix House’s SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) come in. These programs, along with the new D.S.M., will help us catch and treat substance use problems before they become life-threatening—and before they require the expensive treatments that the Times article references. The fact that SBIRT is now available and funded is no small feat; to quote Dr. Keith Humphreys, former drug control policy adviser to the White House, this is in fact “the single biggest expansion in the quality and quantity of addiction treatment this country has seen in 40 years.”
Third, the article paints a ridiculous picture of the guys who wrote the new D.S.M. They aren’t money-grubbing evil scientists who take money from pharmaceutical companies to support an elaborate research ruse. I know many of these researchers—they’re passionate about the cause, and the D.S.M. is their labor of love. They put in a great deal of work with their efforts to better characterize the DSM categories, which will allow more people to get help. Why would The New York Times be so one-sided in criticizing these efforts? In reality, these researchers are the ones who want to help people the most.
So never fear, the new D.S.M. will not cause more people to be diagnosed with addiction. Instead, more people who may not yet be addicted (but whose drug use is nonetheless problematic and unhealthy) will be able to access very inexpensive but proven effective treatment earlier and easier. Treating these folks is no different from treating those in the early stages ofdiabetes—it requires minimal professional help, some education, and simple lifestyle changes. We wouldn’t wait until a pre-diabetic started experiencing the symptoms of full-blown diabetes before we offered him or her help. Instead, we would intervene early in hopes of preventing such a difficult future. The same should apply for those with early substance misuse.
Deni Carise, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer
Phoenix House
Recovery Advocates to Be Recognized at National Event
By Join Together Staff | May 17, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction& Recovery
Four activists and a grassroots community organization will be recognized for their work as recovery advocates by Faces & Voices of Recovery. The addiction recovery advocacy organization will present the awards Wednesday, June 27 in Washington, D.C.
The awards honor the recipients’ contributions to advocating for the rights of people and their families in or seeking recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.
Recipients of the award are Rev. Dr. Robert Gilmore, Sr., of Real Urban Ministry in Houston; Walter Ginter of the National Alliance for Medication-Assisted Recovery in New York; Rosemary Tisch of Celebrating Families in Saratoga, California, Jeff Blodget of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery in Boston.
To read more about the awardees and the event, visit the Faces & Voices of Recovery website.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Commentary: 6 Tips to Protect Your Child From Online Drug Threats
By David Festinger, PhD | April 17, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs,Parenting, Young Adults & Youth
Many people in Philadelphia were stunned by a recent report thatstudents in one community had been depicted on YouTube drinking and taking other drugs.
It’s not entirely clear what people were most shocked by – the realization that kids abuse drugs and alcohol, that videos glorifying the use of drugs and alcohol appear on the Internet or simply the fact that this was done by local students.
The fact that kids abuse dangerous substances is definitely not new. Findings from the Monitoring the Future Study (2010) indicated that in the prior year alone, 1.8 million kids under the age of 18 reported using drugs for the first time – that’s almost 5,000 kids each day. In addition, 48 percent used illicit drugs. What’s more staggering is that these estimates do not include alcohol.
The existence of online media that promote drug and alcohol use is also not a recent phenomenon. Research conducted by our team at the Treatment Research Institute has catalogued hundreds of YouTube videos, chat rooms, social networking venues and other online sites that extol the virtues of drugs, provide information about how to use drugs “safely” and even teach kids how to manufacture and sell drugs.
Although most of us are aware of the influence that friends, peers, television and movies may have on our children’s perceptions of drug and alcohol use, many people are not aware of the incredible prevalence of pro-drug use propaganda and misinformation available on the Internet.
The fact that this happened in someone’s backyard may have been the thing that caught local attention, but the prevalence of these online drug threats are the issues – at the local level and nationally – that we should be most concerned about. Similar to strategies taken to safeguard our children against online predation, there are many ways to protect them from these pro-drug and alcohol use influences.
The Treatment Research Institute has developed a training program for parents that provides practical recommendations to help them defend their children from these online drug threats. Some of the most basic recommendations include:
• Setting limits on Internet use and availability depending on the age and maturity of the child. (These limits need to be discussed with the child – see below.)
• Monitoring your child’s Internet use and making use of commercially available parent controls. Placing the computer in a central area of your home can make this easier.
• Having a formal or informal contract with children about the proper use of the Internet and making clear the consequences for misuse. (Be sure to follow through with those consequences when misuse occurs.)
• Having children walk parents through the places they go online, and who they communicate with (their contacts).
• Discussing your house rules related to Internet use with the parents of the friends your child visits. Make sure that your child is not able to engage in unmonitored or inappropriate Internet use while at their friends’ homes.
• Remaining calm and having a plan as to what to do if you discover inappropriate use. (Keep in mind that children are naturally curious and there can be many reasons why they happen upon a particular website. Don’t overreact!)
Technology has made many things possible. While the Internet serves as an amazing tool that can greatly benefit our children, we must also be conscious of its potential dangers.
The writer is a Senior Scientist at the Treatment Research Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to science-driven transformation of treatment, other practice and policy in substance use and abuse.
Monday, May 21, 2012
New Steps Pediatricians Can Take to Reduce Teen Substance Use
By Celia Vimont | May 18, 2012 | 2 Comments | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs,Healthcare, Prevention, Young Adults & Youth
Teens who complete a five-minute computer screening program that includes six questions about alcohol and drug use, and who talk with their pediatrician briefly about the results, reduce their risk of drinking up to one year later, according to a new study.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital studied more than 2,000 teens from New England and the Czech Republic. The teens completed the screening program, which asks six questions about alcohol and drug use, and then presents a score and risk level. The teens read through 10 pages with facts and stories that illustrate the serious health effects of substance use.
The teens’ doctors receive a report with the results, and a list of talking points for a two- to three- minute conversation about the risks involved in alcohol and drug use. They tell the teens it would be best for their health not to use alcohol or drugs at all.
The study found that after using the program, teens’ risk of drinking dropped almost in half for three months, and by about one-quarter one year after the doctor’s visit, the researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
Screening and brief intervention has been shown to be effective in emergency departments and college campuses, but this is the first study published in an English language journal to demonstrate it is effective in adolescent primary care settings, according to senior author Dr. John R. Knight, Director of the Center for AdolescentSubstance Abuse Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. “It’s important to get pediatricians involved, because we know 70 percent of high school seniors have started to drink, and almost 60 percent have started to use drugs, but there are few specialists available to deal with early intervention with teens,” he said.
Dr. Knight noted that teens generally see their primary care physician for a yearly physical. “Kids know they can tell the truth to their doctor, and it won’t get back to their parents. They really listen to their doctors’ advice,” he said. “Since substance abuse kills more teenagers than infectious disease, parents should view this screening as another important vaccination.”
Two key factors may prevent a teen’s doctor from asking about drug and alcohol use, and this program addresses both, Dr. Knight says. One is time constraints. “Doctors are pressed for time, and they have a lot of things they need to screen patients for,” he says. By having patients complete the screening before the visit, doctors have more time to interpret the results and discuss them.
The second factor is that doctors who do screen teens for substance use don’t always know what to say to those who admit to using drugs or alcohol.
The screening program is based on the CRAFFT test, a behavioral health screening tool for use with children under the age of 21 that is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Substance Abuse for use with adolescents.
Last fall, the AAP and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism unveiled a new tool designed to help pediatricians talk to teenagers about alcohol use. The “Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner’s Guide” provides doctors with basic questions about whether and how much a patient drinks, and how much their friends drink.
“Our program takes a similar approach, but by using a computer, we are saving the doctor time,” observes Dr. Knight.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
As Summer Approaches, Experts Warn Alcohol is a Key Factor in Boating Accidents
By Join Together Staff | May 18, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol &Community Related
Intoxication is a key factor in many boating accidents, experts say, as boating season gets underway. In Texas, almost 100 people died in boating accidents over the last three years, and alcohol use was the leading contributor, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Not wearing a life jacket also plays a role in many boating-related deaths, the article notes.
“It’s unfortunate that there’s probably a boating culture out there … a little bit different from driving your car. When you get into the boat, you’re going to have fun,” Game Warden Capt. Ron VanderRoest told the newspaper. “Not being able to drink or having to wear life jackets are not the most fun thing to do, but it’s a whole lot better than someone losing their lives.” The article notes 820 Texans were citing for boating while intoxicated from 2009 to 2011.
The Coast Guard announced the start of National Safe Boating Week, May 19 to 25, reminding the public that boating under the influence (BUI) or boating while intoxicated (BWI) is just as deadly as drinking and driving.
In a news release, the Coast Guard states, “It is illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in every state. Penalties for violating BUI and BWI laws can include large fines, suspension or revocation of boat operator privileges and jail terms.”
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