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Prevention and early intervention programs work, so what is your community doing? Get educated and get involved to make sure that your community is doing all it should to increase awareness; strengthen families; empower youth; establish pro-social activities; provide free drug and alcohol screenings; teach resilience and life skills for youth; etc. 
Listen to Clean & Sober, a weekly radio program devoted to paths to recovery, broadcast locally on WWDB - AM (Talk 860), Fridays
disorders and recovery support services an essential health benefit. However, primary care and emergency room physicians are not prepared for the front lines of addiction prevention and early intervention. Treatment Research Institute (Tom McLellan) is engaged in an initiative to educate "the next generation of physicians on how to identify and treat emerging substance use disorders." For more information 
Our communities' nurses deserve special recognition for all their efforts in leading the way in caring for their patients and improving our healthcare system. Thank you! For more information, please 
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Thursday, May 8, 2014
Paving The Way to Change for Adolescent Substance Abuse
By Kathleen Meyers, PhD | May 7, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction,Healthcare, Prevention, Research & Treatment
Recent media reports of young people dying from overdoses calls attention to the devastating effects of addiction – which has reached epidemic proportions. After years of decline, the current increasing incidence and prevalence of substance use among American adolescents is distressing as youth are five times more likely to develop a substance use disorder compared to adults. And unfortunately, this disease can (and frequently does) follow them for life: only about 10 percent of substance dependence cases occur after adolescence.
Thus, successful efforts to prevent, delay or minimize substance use during adolescence are sorely needed. They are the most economical and enduring way to reduce the many public health, safety, and economical threats associated with addiction. And yet, as a country, we pay little attention to prevention, early intervention, effective treatment or continuing care for this age group. We pay little attention to these issues for our kids. The imperative to do better is clear, and the pathway to change has never been more possible.
As a result of significant legislative and scientific advances, and a growing public understanding about addiction and its devastating effects, the substance abuse field is poised for positive transformation. The necessary elements for change are now in place, and with proper alignment and leveraging of forces, there is an enormous opportunity to have a significant impact on the way in which substance use disorders are perceived and managed in our society – especially among our kids.
Such systemic change can only be achieved through coordinated and multifaceted efforts. As we have learned from other previously stigmatized diseases, the role of advocacy in driving change is critical. By outlining the current state of our adolescent substance abuse treatment system, we can lay the framework for what needs to be done, and how we can come together as a community to address this growing crisis.
Paving the Way to Change: Advancing Quality Interventions for Adolescents Who Use, Abuse or Who are Dependent Upon Alcohol or Other Drugs, provides insight into the individual, societal and financial consequences of adolescent alcohol, drug use and other substance use disorders. It provides an overview of the current treatment system and an explanation of why it’s failing our kids. It provides a new opportunity and a clearer lens for viewing and ultimately treating adolescents, as well as how to approach financing the system.
Paving the Way to Change outlines the challenges that our field and our community must address to quell the tide of adolescent substance abuse in this country. The changes that are needed will not be simple. They will not be quick. They will require coordinated and effective advocacy efforts. But they will be worth it. I encourage you check out this report and share it with your friends and colleagues. The role of your advocacy is critical and it can drive needed change.
We, as advocates, have varied and powerful resources to bring to bear. We are researchers, families, legislators, people in recovery, clinicians, educators and friends. Together, we can create the change that is needed, and that will lead to important and sustained changes in the way care is delivered to adolescents and young adults who are at risk for, who have abused, and who are recovering from substance use.
Please tell us what you think. Please share this with your colleagues. Please prioritize collaboration. Together, we can shape the future of adolescent substance abuse prevention and treatment. Join our efforts.
Learn more about the Treatment Research Institute.
Kathleen Meyers, Ph.D. has more than 25 years of clinical research experience. She is a recognized leader in the assessment and treatment of adolescent substance use disorders (SUD), delinquency and co-morbidity and is the author of the Comprehensive Adolescent Severity Inventory (CASI), a multidimensional assessment instrument for youth with co-morbidity that is widely used throughout the United States, Canada and abroad. She has served on numerous expert panels sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), as well as on peer review, institutional review and editorial review boards. Dr. Meyers has published extensively, including as first author of an invited chapter for the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative’s Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don’t Know (named the best book in clinical medicine by the Association of American Publishers). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology & Statistics from Rutgers University, a Master of Science in Evaluation and Applied Research from Hahnemann University and a Doctorate degree in Educational Psychology from Temple University.
Privacy Being Tightened for Prescription Drug Monitoring Databases
By Join Together Staff | May 7, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Legal,Legislation, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
The privacy of information contained in prescription drug monitoring databases is being tightened, The Wall Street Journal reports. Privacy advocates hail the trend, while law enforcement officials say it is hampering their attempts to curb prescription drug abuse.
Some courts and lawmakers are beginning to restrict access to the databases, citing a violation of privacy rights. A U.S. court in Oregon ruled in February that federal agents needed a warrant to search the state’s database. Rhode Island has made it more difficult for law enforcement to search its database. In Florida and Pennsylvania, lawmakers are considering measures that would limit access to its prescription drug data.
“The public and lawmakers are really starting to understand what kinds of threats to privacy come when we start centralizing great quantities of our sensitive personal information in giant electronic databases,” said Nathan Wessler, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. The group represented patients and a doctor who challenged the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Oregon case.
Forty-eight states have prescription monitoring databases for drugs that have a high potential for abuse. Law enforcement officials in 17 states must have court approval before they search their state database. While Vermont does not allow law enforcement access to its database, other states generally make it fairly easy for investigators to access the data.
The number of law enforcement searches of Utah’s database increased from 2,288 in 2007, to more than 19,000 last year. Police must show they have a reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime in order to gain a search warrant.
Daily Quote
"When someone is suffering deeply within themselves, their suffering spills over and they start making others suffer as well. What they truly need is our help, not punishment." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Today's Online Meetings
AA Meeting - 8:00 pm CST: "Face to Face"
Guest Speaker - 1:00 pm CST: "Mike J and the Big Book"
Copyright 2011 Community of Recovering People LLC
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10 Percent of Older Teens Had Major Depressive Episode in Past Year: Report
By Join Together Staff | May 7, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol,Drugs, Mental Health & Treatment
A new government report finds 10 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds had a major depressive episode in the past year. Almost 20 percent of young adults, ages 18 to 25, had any mental illness in the past year.
Four percent of young adults had a serious mental illness, according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report also found 3 percent of older teens had both a major depressive episode and a substance use disorder; 6.4 percent had any mental illness and a substance use disorder; and 1.6 percent had a serious mental illness and a substance use disorder.
Older teens and young adults with emotional and behavioral health problems are much more likely to have significant problems with school, employment and housing, the report found. Almost 8 percent of older teens who suffer from depression and have a substance use disorder do not have a stable place to live. They moved an average of three or more times in the past year. Among older teens with depression and a substance use disorder who were enrolled in school, 13.5 percent struggled academically, with a “D” or lower average.
Young adults with a serious mental illness and a substance use disorder are less likely to graduate high school, compared with those without both disorders. They are also 1.4 times more likely to be unemployed. Young adults with a serious mental illness who receive treatment are more likely to graduate high school than those who do not receive any treatment.
“This new report demonstrates the critical need for treatment and other services that focus on older adolescents and young adults with mental and substance use disorders,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a news release.
Less Than Half of College Students Say Misuse of Prescription Stimulants is “Cheating”
By Join Together Staff | May 7, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs, Young Adults & Youth
Only 41 percent of college students say misusing prescription stimulants for academic purposes should be considered cheating, according to a survey at an unnamed Ivy League institution. The survey found 18 percent of students said they misused stimulant drugs in an attempt to gain an academic advantage at least once in college.
Of students who used stimulant drugs, 24 percent said they had done so eight or more times, Inside Higher Ed reports. While 33 percent of students did not think using drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin was cheating, 25 percent were unsure, and 41 percent considered it cheating.
“While many colleges address alcohol and illicit drug abuse in their health and wellness campaigns, most have not addressed prescription stimulant misuse for academic purposes,” researcher Andrew Adesman of Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, said in a news release. “Because many students are misusing prescription stimulants for academic, not recreational purposes, colleges must develop specific programs to address this issue.”
The study included 616 college students without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who completed an anonymous online questionnaire. More students who played a varsity sport and were affiliated with a Greek house said they misused stimulants, compared with students affiliated with only one or neither.
The findings were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
MAY 7 v 24 v 25 v 26 v 27 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
So listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to my words.
Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.
Her house is the road to the grave.
Her bedroom is the den of death.
STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
The proverb is talking about an adulterous woman but when I read the verses all I can think is this describes addiction to a T .There is not much more , I can say , except there is hope and you don't have to die to get sober . The next person who reaches out to you to help accept it . God always sends us help but we are so busy doing for us that we miss his voice in every situation . God has a plan , and you dieing a premature death is not it .
Matthew 11 :29 - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
and pay attention to my words.
Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.
Her house is the road to the grave.
Her bedroom is the den of death.
STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
The proverb is talking about an adulterous woman but when I read the verses all I can think is this describes addiction to a T .There is not much more , I can say , except there is hope and you don't have to die to get sober . The next person who reaches out to you to help accept it . God always sends us help but we are so busy doing for us that we miss his voice in every situation . God has a plan , and you dieing a premature death is not it .
Matthew 11 :29 - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
By :Joseph Dickerson
FDA Should Block Approval of Powdered Alcohol: NY Senator
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Government, Marketing And Media, Prevention & Youth
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York is asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent federal approval of the powdered alcohol product called Palcohol. He said it could become “the Kool-Aid of teen binge drinking,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved labels for Palcohol last month, but then said the approval was a mistake. Lipsmark, the company that makes Palcohol, says it will resubmit an application. Legislators in Minnesota and Vermont have introduced measures that would ban powdered alcohol.
Lipsmark, the company that makes Palcohol, says it plans to offer powdered alcohol in six varieties, including rum, vodka, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Powderita and Lemon Drop. According to the company, a package of Palcohol weighs about an ounce and can fit into a pocket. It warns people not to snort the powder.
The FDA has the power to overrule the TTB in regulating alcohol products when there are significant health concerns, Schumer said. “Palcohol can be easily concealed and brought into concerts, school dances and sporting events, it can be sprinkled on food and can even be snorted,” he said in a news release. “Given that the federal TTB can only judge and approve new alcohol products based on labeling and taxation, it’s clear the FDA must utilize their authority to intervene when alcohol products create significant health risks — as they did with Four Loko — and stop this potentially deadly product in its tracks.”
In 2010, the FDA notified four companies — Charge Beverages Corporation, New Century Brewing, Phusion Projects Inc., and United Brands Company, Inc. — that the addition of caffeine to their alcohol drinks was unapproved and unsafe, effectively making the manufacture and distribution of caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko illegal.
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Government, Marketing And Media, Prevention & Youth
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York is asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent federal approval of the powdered alcohol product called Palcohol. He said it could become “the Kool-Aid of teen binge drinking,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved labels for Palcohol last month, but then said the approval was a mistake. Lipsmark, the company that makes Palcohol, says it will resubmit an application. Legislators in Minnesota and Vermont have introduced measures that would ban powdered alcohol.
Lipsmark, the company that makes Palcohol, says it plans to offer powdered alcohol in six varieties, including rum, vodka, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Powderita and Lemon Drop. According to the company, a package of Palcohol weighs about an ounce and can fit into a pocket. It warns people not to snort the powder.
The FDA has the power to overrule the TTB in regulating alcohol products when there are significant health concerns, Schumer said. “Palcohol can be easily concealed and brought into concerts, school dances and sporting events, it can be sprinkled on food and can even be snorted,” he said in a news release. “Given that the federal TTB can only judge and approve new alcohol products based on labeling and taxation, it’s clear the FDA must utilize their authority to intervene when alcohol products create significant health risks — as they did with Four Loko — and stop this potentially deadly product in its tracks.”
In 2010, the FDA notified four companies — Charge Beverages Corporation, New Century Brewing, Phusion Projects Inc., and United Brands Company, Inc. — that the addition of caffeine to their alcohol drinks was unapproved and unsafe, effectively making the manufacture and distribution of caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko illegal.
Campaign Aims to Alert Dentists to “Meth Mouth”
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Drugs, Healthcare & Prevention
Dentists can be an important tool in the fight against methamphetamine addiction, according to an official at Tufts School of Dental Medicine in Massachusetts. Jennifer Towers, the school’s director of research affairs, has designed a campaign to alert dentists to the signs of “meth mouth.”
Meth use can cause intense teeth gnashing that leads to cracked enamel and advanced tooth decay. The drug also causes sugar cravings, which leads people to drink large quantities of sugar-laden soda or sports drinks. “Meth mouth really dovetails well with drug prevention efforts because it’s so startling,” Towers told The Boston Globe.
By the time a person stops using meth, often the only option to treat meth mouth is pulling teeth, according to Tufts Dental Medicine.
Towers created a screensavers of meth mouth images, which dentists can play in their exam room. The campaign also includes a graphic novel for preteens, and software that shows how a mouth deteriorates over time, to simulate the effects of using meth. Her goal is to scare teens into staying away from meth. “I got a group of 14-year-old girls to be very silent when I showed them the before and after pictures [of meth addicts]. Especially in mid-teen range, they’re pretty concerned about their appearance,” she said.
She tested her campaign in Idaho, where meth use is high in rural areas. Tufts Dental Medicine notes about 80 percent of children in Idaho’s foster-care system are there because of their parents’ meth use, and more than half of the inmates in the state’s prison system are there on meth-related charges. Almost three-quarters of women in Idaho’s jails are addicted to meth.
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Drugs, Healthcare & Prevention
Dentists can be an important tool in the fight against methamphetamine addiction, according to an official at Tufts School of Dental Medicine in Massachusetts. Jennifer Towers, the school’s director of research affairs, has designed a campaign to alert dentists to the signs of “meth mouth.”
Meth use can cause intense teeth gnashing that leads to cracked enamel and advanced tooth decay. The drug also causes sugar cravings, which leads people to drink large quantities of sugar-laden soda or sports drinks. “Meth mouth really dovetails well with drug prevention efforts because it’s so startling,” Towers told The Boston Globe.
By the time a person stops using meth, often the only option to treat meth mouth is pulling teeth, according to Tufts Dental Medicine.
Towers created a screensavers of meth mouth images, which dentists can play in their exam room. The campaign also includes a graphic novel for preteens, and software that shows how a mouth deteriorates over time, to simulate the effects of using meth. Her goal is to scare teens into staying away from meth. “I got a group of 14-year-old girls to be very silent when I showed them the before and after pictures [of meth addicts]. Especially in mid-teen range, they’re pretty concerned about their appearance,” she said.
She tested her campaign in Idaho, where meth use is high in rural areas. Tufts Dental Medicine notes about 80 percent of children in Idaho’s foster-care system are there because of their parents’ meth use, and more than half of the inmates in the state’s prison system are there on meth-related charges. Almost three-quarters of women in Idaho’s jails are addicted to meth.
Call for Nominations for 2014 Ramstad-Kennedy Award
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs & Recovery
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2014 Ramstad-Kennedy Annual Award for Outstanding Leadership by a Single State Authority (SSA). The deadline is this Friday, May 9.
The Ramstad-Kennedy award was established to recognize a SSA Director who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in support of recovery and Recovery Month and to acknowledge Congressmen Jim Ramstad and Patrick Kennedy for their commitment to recovery and recovery-oriented policies.
The award will be presented at the Awards Luncheon during the annual conference of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Directors (NASADAD) in Omaha, Nebraska on June 4. To nominate an SSA director, complete and return this form.
By Join Together Staff | May 6, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs & Recovery
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2014 Ramstad-Kennedy Annual Award for Outstanding Leadership by a Single State Authority (SSA). The deadline is this Friday, May 9.
The Ramstad-Kennedy award was established to recognize a SSA Director who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in support of recovery and Recovery Month and to acknowledge Congressmen Jim Ramstad and Patrick Kennedy for their commitment to recovery and recovery-oriented policies.
The award will be presented at the Awards Luncheon during the annual conference of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Directors (NASADAD) in Omaha, Nebraska on June 4. To nominate an SSA director, complete and return this form.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Daily Quote
"Is sobriety all that we are to expect of a spiritual awakening?
No, sobriety is only a bare beginning; it is only the first gift of the
first
awakening. If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on.
As it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life -
the
one that did not work - for a new life that can and does work under any
conditions whatever." - Bill W.
Today's Online Meetings
AA Meeting - 8:00 pm CST: "Face to Face"
Copyright 2011 Community of Recovering People LLC
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If you no longer wish to receive My Recovery emails, click here: Place my email on the "No eMail" list
Free Community Seminar
Presented by
Livengrin's Family Services Department
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Monday, May 12, 2014: Relapse Prevention
By Shane Moes, MA, CAADC
From 6-8 pm
Livengrin Counseling Center -- Oxford Valley
195 Bristol-Oxford Valley Road
Langhorne, PA 19047
Seating is limited -- these sessions often fill up so please register as soon as possible.
To register for the sessions or for more information,
call Dana Cohen, Family Therapist -- 215.638.5200 x162
Ample free parking!
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STAY CONNECTED:
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Please Help!
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Recovery is possible.
In 2013, COA conducted over 500 interventions and worked with more than 700 families.
But we are getting more and more calls from people without health insurance.
We think Recovery
should be available to everyone. It shouldn't only be for those with the
best insurance. So we will work with anyone who reaches out to us,
regardless of their treatment history, insurance status or other
details.
In the 15 months from
January 2013 to March 2014, COA paid more than $27,150 for over 50 young
people to receive medical care, enter sober living and/or begin long
term treatment for addiction. Many of them have now begun to help others
find Recovery.
To keep providing services to this important group of people, COA is launching our first-ever major fundraiser: a Recovery Walk on September 14, 2014 in Mercer County Park.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 that will be used entirely to support scholarships for people hungry for Recovery but otherwise unable to get treatment.
Please click here for details and help us if you can. Make a donation, register to walk or run, share this link, and/or volunteer.
This
will be an uplifting event with live music, vendors, food, testimonials
from recoverees, live broadcast on COA Recovery Radio (www.coaradio.com) and much, much more!
------------------------------
City of
Angels NJ, Inc. is a non-profit, 501c3 organization run entirely by
volunteers. Although most of our staff has fulltime jobs, and some are
employed in the treatment industry, none receive any compensation from
COA. The organization is funded entirely by donations and sponsorships.
COA receives no fees in return for referrals to treatment and therefore
can make entirely objective decisions based upon individual client
needs. If you need help with an addiction - or know someone who does -
please contact COA at 609-910-4942 or visit www.CityofAngelsNJ.org.
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Monday, May 5, 2014
MAY 5 v 12 v 22 v 23 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
For the Lord sees clearly what a man does,
examining every path he takes.
An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
they are ropes that catch and hold him.
He will die for lack of self-control;
he will be lost because of his great foolishness.
examining every path he takes.
An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
they are ropes that catch and hold him.
He will die for lack of self-control;
he will be lost because of his great foolishness.
STEP 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
The last two verses of the Proverb for me describe addiction . The first line and the step are letting us know that God will not be mocked and a man will reap what he sows. Honesty with God first yourself and others will start the healing (recovery) process. The bible teaches us that the issues of life flow from our hearts . If our hearts are full of pain , sadness , anger , regret , guilt , and the list goes on and on . I have always said addiction is not the problem . Addiction is the by-product of a broken heart ,fix the heart and addiction will go away. This is why it is so important to work the steps especially step five but you must be honest , most folks and most importantly God knows what you have done they are just waiting for you to take responsibility for behavior . When you can honestly admit your mistakes (sins) they will immediately lose their power in keeping you stuck in the sea of useless emotions .
JAMES 5 : 16 - Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much.
By :Joseph Dickerson
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