New Technology Aims to Prevent Drunk Driving

New Technology Aims to Prevent Drunk Driving
By Join Together Staff | April 4, 2012 | 3 Comments | Filed in Alcohol &Research


Cars and trucks one day may have built-in blood alcohol detectors,The Wall Street Journal reports. Research on the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) is progressing more quickly than expected, and could be available within eight to 10 years, experts say.

The technology could be built into a vehicle’s dashboard or controls. It would check a driver’s blood alcohol level, and would not start if the level were above the legal limit. Researchers developing the system are working with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The next goal would be to develop a commercially produced vehicle that could drive a drunk owner home, the article notes.

About one-third of drivers killed in car crashes have blood alcohol levels of 0.08 or higher, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Devices called alcohol interlocks are already available to disable a car if the driver is intoxicated. They are primarily used for people who have been caught with blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. About 16 states require people convicted of drunk driving to install these devices in their vehicles. Drivers must blow into a tube to verify they are sober before they can start the car.

The new technology being developed would not require blowing into a tube. It could be embedded in a starter button or shift lever.

A proposed federal transportation bill would give the NHTSA’s alcohol detector program $24 million over two years. The fundingwould allow the agency to equip 100 or more cars with prototypes of the new alcohol detection devices. One device would measure alcohol in the driver’s breath, while the other would take a reading from the driver’s skin.

Scam Artists Sell Prescription Drugs Online, Then Use Information for Blackmail

By Join Together Staff | April 13, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Marketing And Media & Prescription Drugs

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials say criminal scam artists are selling prescription drugs online, then using customers’ personal information to blackmail them.

The scam artists pose as federal drug enforcement agents. They use DEA agents’ real names to call customers, telling them they can pay up and their name will be cleared, or else they will be charged as suspects in a criminal investigation and face jail time, according toABC News.

The victims say the calls sound authentic, because the person calling has their personal information. In one case in Fort Worth, Texas, fake DEA agents showed up at a victim’s house.

Thousands of people have called the DEA hotline for help, many of whom have paid the scammers. The DEA believes the operation is being run out of the Dominican Republic. The agency is working with the Dominican government to have 11 suspects extradited to the United States.

The DEA warned Americans to be wary of online pharmacies. “I think that’s one of the takeaways for people to understand, that buying over the Internet for controlled substances is highly suspicious, and they should be very cautious about trying to do that,” DEA agent Gary Boggs told ABC News.

Scientists Work to Make Prescription Painkillers “Unabusable”

By Join Together Staff | April 13, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inPrescription Drugs & Prevention


Scientists are working to make prescription painkillers and other commonly misused drugs “unabusable” by reformulating them, according to Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Pharmaceutical companies have an important role to play in fighting prescription drug abuse, by reformulating commonly abused drugs, she said at the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in Orlando, Florida.

Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, released a new version of the drug two years ago that is resistant to crushing and cutting, common ways in which the drug was tampered with to enhance its effect. It is now much more difficult to prepare for snorting or injecting, a company spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel.

Acura Pharmaceuticals has developed two methods to prevent tampering with pills, according to CEO Bob Jones. The company has incorporated a substance in pills that turns them into a gel when someone tries to dissolve the drug to inject, so that it will not go through a needle.

The company also has formulated pills so that they create intense nasal irritation when they are crushed and snorted. This formulation is incorporated into the drug Oxecta, an immediate-release oxycodone product, the article notes. Acura plans to use the formulation in other painkillers, Jones said.

Acura has developed technology that limits how much of the key ingredient in methamphetamine a person can extract from the nasal decongestant pseudoephedrine. The technology, which is not yet commercially available, cuts the yield in half.

Drug companies also are creating pills with the consistency of gummy bears, which are too soft to crush. Some drugs in development won’t work unless they come into contact with the stomach’s digestive enzymes, making them useless if they are snorted or injected.

'Tweaking memories' could help addicts avoid relapsing

'Tweaking memories' could help addicts avoid relapsingBy James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News
Can memories of drug use be rewritten?
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Manipulating memories of drug use may help reformed addicts avoid a return to a life of drug abuse, according to scientists in China.

They said memories linking "cues" - such as needles or cigarettes - and the pleasurable effects of drugs caused cravings and relapsing.

Authors of the study, published in the journal Science, "rewrote" those memories to reduce cravings.

Experts said targeting memories could become a new avenue for treatment.

Repeatedly showing people drug cues without actually giving patients the drug is a part of some therapies for addicts. It can break the link between cue and craving in the clinic. But this does not always translate to real life.

The researchers at Peking University tried to rewrite the original memory so that it would be as if the link between cue and the craving never existed.Flexible memories

The work relies on the idea that a memory can become malleable after it is accessed, creating a brief window during which the memory can be "rewritten".
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote


I'm quite excited by this research... It could be really important for treatment of addiction”Dr Amy MiltonUniversity of Cambridge

Twenty-two heroin addicts who had not taken the drug for - on average - 11 years, took part in the study.

They were initially shown a brief video to remind them of taking drugs - opening the memory window. Ten minutes later they watched more videos and looked at pictures of heroin drug use.

Other addicts were shown an initial video of the countryside, which would not open the window.

Tests 180 days later showed that levels of cravings were lower in those treated during the 'memory window' than in the other groups. These experiments were backed up by further tests on "addicted" rats.

The authors wrote: "The [memory] procedure decreased cue-induced drug craving and perhaps could reduce the likelihood of cue-induced relapse during prolonged abstinence periods."

Dr Amy Milton, who researches memory and addiction at the University of Cambridge, said: "I'm quite excited by this research."

She said it was "such a minor" difference from current therapies which "tapped into an entirely different memory process" and the reconstruction of the original memory.

"Full clinical studies are needed, but it could be really important for treatment of addiction," she said.

Dr Milton added: "There is no theoretical reason it couldn't apply to other addictions such as alcohol. That's obviously very exciting."

Submit your question to Chris Herren now.

Dear Joseph,

Inspirational, motivational, educational.

These are just a few words that could describe the amazing work by former professional basketball player and father Chris Herren, celebrating three and a half years in recovery from a drug and alcohol addiction.

The Partnership at Drugfree.org is honored that Chris will host the next "Meet The Parents Hour" -- a live Facebook Q&A chat -- to talk about substance abuse recovery on Monday, April 16 at 12 p.m. EDT/9 a.m. PDT.

To make sure everyone has the chance to ask his or her question, submit yours in advance, and Chris will do his best to get to it during the session.

Submit your question to Chris Herren now.

Chris struggled with drug addiction for much of his basketball career and ultimately realized his dreams by playing for the Boston Celtics in the NBA, only to lose it all to substance abuse.

But since losing one dream, he has been able to rise again with a new one; a life of sobriety.

Drug- and alcohol-free since 2008, Chris now travels the country sharing his story and the experiences that led him to recovery with the hopes of reaching one person or assisting a family who may be facing a loved one's addiction. He also runs The Herren Project, a nonprofit foundation established in 2011 that assists individuals and families struggling with addiction.

Don't miss out on this special opportunity to chat live with Chris Herren and hear his story. Submit your questions now and then visit our Facebook timeline on April 16 to take part in the live chat:

http://my.drugfree.org/questions-for-chris

We look forward to seeing you at our next "Meet The Parents Hour."

Thank you,

Tom Hedrick
Parent Support Leader
The Partnership at Drugfree.org

P.S. If you haven't Liked us yet on Facebook, do it now so you can participate in the live chat session.

ROCKERS IN RECOVERY

Dear RIR Friends,


"RIR Band members Ricky Byrd, Liberty DeVitto, and Christine Ohlman are off to Cleveland to prepare for the April 13 Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame Pre-Induction Gala.


Ricky and Christine will also join Paul Shaffer and Carole King in inducting Don Kirshner at the April 14 induction ceremony, filmed for May 5 premier on HBO.


Watch for more information on the May 5 premier on HBO:

http://www.hbo.com/the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-2012-induction-ceremony/about/index.html



Ricky Byrd, Liberty DeVitto, and Christine Ohlman along with the rest of the RIR Band looks forward to seeing everyone May 26, 2012 for the RIR 2nd Annual Concert and Picnic. Venue 1St Step Sober House of Pompano Beach. This concert and picnic is sponsored by Treatment Solutions Network and Miami Subs and Grill.



Meet The RIR Band: http://www.rirconcerts.com/rir-all-star-band/


Love & Peace,


John Hollis




RIR CONCERTS


If your interested in becoming a sponsor for the May 26 concert, please call John Hollis at 954-826-4920 or Email john@rockersinrecovery.com no later then May 1,2012.