By Join Together Staff | February 27, 2012 | 4 Comments | Filed in Community Related, Drugs, Government, Legislation & Prevention
Almost two dozen states are considering measures that would require welfare recipients to undergo drug testing, the Associated Press reports.
Although the measures are popular because of a perception that people on public assistance are using state funds to buy drugs, statistics have largely shown that to be untrue, the AP notes.
Critics of the bills point out that courts have struck down similar programs on the grounds they amount to an unconstitutional search.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he supports drug testing of welfare recipients. Fellow candidate Newt Gingrich has said he considers testing as a way to curb drug use and lower related costs to public programs.
The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found an estimated 22.6 million Americans aged 12 or older—8.9 percent of the population—were current illicit drug users. A random drug testing program in Michigan showed a similar percentage of its public assistance applicants tested positive.
In September 2011, Florida found its welfare applicants were less likely than Americans in general to use drugs. The state compiled the figures as part of a state law that required drug tests for welfare applicants. In October, a federal judge halted the Florida law, ruling it may violate the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Friday, September 28, 2012 at 1:00pm until Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 11:30pm
The New York City REEL Recovery Film Festival is a 7-day multi-media event showcasing first-time filmmakers and experienced professionals who make films about addiction, treatment, recovery and sobriety. Also presenting live comedy and panel discussions.
Our audience is treatment professionals, people in recovery, members of the entertainment industry, media representatives, educated moviegoers, and the general public. Certain television shows have brought individuals’ incomprehensible demoralizing moments (i.e., “bottoms”) to viewers everywhere. We honor the men and women who have passed through the eye of the needle and exemplify the gifts of a valuable and productive sobriety.
This yearly international festival is unique in its focus on drug addiction, alcoholism and recovery. The realistic portrayal of these issues in cinema can be a catalyst for honest conversation and personal transformation
I would like to apologize to my fellow Americans and especially those of you on Facebook! I know I am bombarding you with my message of recovery and addiction but I can't seem to help myself. Many of my close friends have been buried due to addiction and some are rotting away in prison cells. Addiction is the number one disease in our nation and around the world. Everywhere I look someone is burying someone or bailing them out of jail for the tenth time. No longer can I remain silent. It is my duty and a passion of mine to educate and liberate those who find themselves in the chains of addiction. My hope and prayer is that my message finds those who are getting close to falling off the cliff of no return, and for those who are wondering if there is anyone out there who cares about them and there struggle. Unfortunately addiction has became a way of life, and recovery is the answer, we as a nation must come together to overcome this evil force before it annihilates us.
By Join Together Staff | February 24, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inAddiction, Community Related & Drugs
The number of methamphetamine lab seizures in the United States rose again last year, according to an Associated Press survey of the nation’s top meth-producing states.
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive and dangerous drug that maintained a tight grip in states like Missouri, with 2,096 lab seizures in 2011, followed by Tennessee with 1,687, Indiana with 1,437, Kentucky with 1,188 and Oklahoma with 902.
For all but Missouri, the AP survey shows that numbers are higher than the federal data. The Drug Enforcement Administration numbers say that meth lab seizures remained about even during the past two years.
The combined data suggest that nationwide meth lab seizures were up at least 8.3 percent in 2011 compared with 2010.
Some attribute the continued increase on the addictiveness of methamphetamine and the growing popularity of “shake-and-bake,” a meth-making shortcut where the drug is created quickly in a soda bottle. The result is smaller labs, but more of them.
By Carmen A. Catizone | February 24, 2012 | 3 Comments | Filed in Addiction,Healthcare & Prescription Drugs
Addressing the national prescription drug abuse epidemic, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) PMP InterConnectSM enhances the ability of prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) to prevent the diversion of controlled substance drugs by facilitating the transfer of PMP data across state lines to authorized PMP users in participating states.
With an estimated seven million Americans abusing prescription drugs, and 1.2 million emergency department visits related to misuse or abuse of prescription drugs in 2009 alone, the implementation of state PMPs, by targeting doctor shopping and pill mills, is one of many strategies to help fight this public health threat.
Doctor shopping, moving from doctor to doctor in an effort to obtain multiple prescriptions for a drug, is one means to obtain drugs used by those misusing prescription drugs or suffering from pill addiction. Illegally operating pain clinics, commonly known as “pill mills,” exacerbate this situation by issuing invalid prescriptions that are often filled on site, or by referring customers to a pharmacy operating in cooperation with the clinic. Further, many doctor shoppers will travel hundreds of miles, often across state lines, in attempts to obtain prescription drugs.
Many states have implemented a PMP, a secure database maintained by a state agency that stores information on prescriptions for controlled substance medications or drugs of concern.
Depending upon state laws, certain authorized users, such as doctors and pharmacists, may view PMP data so that they have complete information on a patient’s controlled substance medication history. Thus, PMPs can help prescribers make better informed treatment decisions and help pharmacists make appropriate dispensing decisions. PMPs can also assist both prescribers and pharmacists in identifying patients who may be doctor shopping and in need of treatment for addiction.
In response to a need expressed by state PMP administrators and regulators, the NABP InterConnect was developed and now provides a way for state PMPs to share data. Authorized PMP users can potentially access complete controlled substance patient data from all states where the patient has had these prescriptions filled. For example, if a patient in Ohio travels to Indiana and needs to have a prescription for a controlled substance medication filled, the pharmacist in Indiana can see records from both states by using the NABP InterConnect. The information reported back from both states can help that pharmacist make decisions about dispensing that are in the best interest of the patient’s health and safety. The NABP InterConnect is a highly secure communications exchange platform that conforms to all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations.
NABP InterConnect enhances the ability of state PMPs to prevent the illegal obtainment of controlled substance prescription drugs via doctor shopping, and to alert health care providers to patients in need of addiction treatment.
PMPs in five states have deployed NABP InterConnect and 10 additional states have signed memorandums of understanding to participate. Additional information about NABP InterConnect and state PMP participation is available in the Programs section of the NABP website.
Carmen A. Catizone, MS, RPh, DPh
Executive Director/Secretary, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
www.nabp.net
