Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Some Question Fairness of New Jersey Drug Treatment Plan
By Join Together Staff | May 15, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction,Community Related, Drugs, Funding, Government & Treatment
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s plan for mandatory treatment for all low-level drug offenders could reduce treatment slots for people who seek treatment voluntarily, but don’t have the money to pay for it, critics say.
The governor’s plan, which would make New Jersey the first state to require treatment for nonviolent offenders who are addicted to drugs, has been praised by addiction experts, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Some providers point out that the plan would give priority to criminals, some of whom do not want treatment. Providers say that their centers often have waiting lists, and state money to pay for those who cannot afford treatment sometimes runs out before the end of the year, or is frozen.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Governor Christie, disputed the claim that the governor’s plan takes away services from others. “What we’re attempting to do is to address a very serious societal problem,” he said. “In doing that, we are not diminishing the addiction services outside the criminal justice system.”
The system that would require drug treatment for low-level offenders, called drug court, could cost up to $35 million, the article notes. The mandatory program would double the court’s current 4,000 participants. Governor Christie has proposed spending $2.5 million for fiscal 2013 to create the mandatory program.
Binge Drinking Can Complicate Recovery from Burn Injuries, Study Finds
By Join Together Staff | April 30, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol &Research
Binge drinking may complicate recovery from burn injuries, according to a study presented at the American Burn Association Annual Meeting.
The study compared burn patients who were intoxicated above the legal limit, with burn patients who did not have any alcohol in their blood, according to Medical News Today. The researchers, from Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, found that although binge drinkers’ injuries were much less severe than other burn patients, they experienced similar rates of sepsis, a life-threatening bloodstream infection, as well as pneumonia. Both groups of patients spent similar amounts of time on a ventilator, in the intensive care unit, and in the hospital.
The median hospitalization cost for binge drinkers who were burned was $221,000, almost as high as the cost for non-drinkers who had much worse burns.
“Among binge drinkers, even relatively minor injuries can result in serious complications and prolonged hospital stays,” study author Elizabeth J. Kovacs, PhD, said in a news release.
Study co-author Christopher S. Davis, MD, MPH, said there are several likely reasons why binge drinkers may have difficult recoveries from burns, even though their injuries may be relatively minor. Intoxication weakens the immune system, which slows healing and makes patients more at risk of infection, he said.
Davis also pointed out carbon monoxide poisoning levels in burned binge drinkers were more than four times higher than the levels in burn patients who did not drink, probably because it took binge drinkers a longer time to escape the fire. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause effects including brain damage, which can complicate recovery, he said.
Revised Definition of Addiction Could Lead to Millions More Being Diagnosed
By Join Together Staff | May 14, 2012 | 2 Comments | Filed in Addiction &Mental Health
A proposed revision to the definition of addiction by mental health specialists could lead to millions of additional people receiving an addiction diagnosis, The New York Times reports. The changes could lead to big consequences for both health insurers and taxpayers, according to the newspaper.
The revisions are being proposed for the new edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), scheduled for release in May 2013. The manual would enlarge the list of recognized symptoms for drug and alcohol addiction, and reduce the number of symptoms needed for a diagnosis.
The new manual would include gambling as an addiction for the first time, and may introduce a category called “behavioral addiction—not otherwise specified,” that some public health experts say might be used too often to diagnose various addictions, including shopping, video games, sex or the Internet.
The DSM is important because it determines whether insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, will pay for treatment, and whether schools will finance specific special-education services. The court system uses the DSM to evaluate whether criminal defendants are mentally impaired. Drug manufacturers rely on the manual when making decisions about research.
Some economists predict the new definition of addiction could add 20 million people, leading to additional costs running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The chances of getting a diagnosis are going to be much greater, and this will artificially inflate the statistics considerably,” Thomas F. Babor, an editor of the journal Addiction, told the newspaper. He said many people receiving a diagnosis of addiction under the new guidelines would have only a mild problem, siphoning off scarce drug treatment resources in schools, prisons and health care settings.
While the American Psychiatric Association scientific review panel has asked for more evidence to support the revisions on addiction, several researchers involved with the manual noted the panel is unlikely to significantly alter the proposed revisions.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
12 STEPPING TO RECOVERY DAILY THOUGHT!
STEP 2
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity!
Scripture from (BIBLE) to back this up!
GOD is working in you ,giving you the desire to do what pleases HIM!(Phillipians 2:13 see also
Romans 4:6-8 , Ephesians 1:6-8 ,Colosians 1:21-22 ; Hebrews 11 :1-10)
We were given from our creator a 2,000 page plus instruction manual for living. Imagine putting together an entertainment center , you open the box and before you is a pile of parts as you look through the parts you realize there are no instructions for assembly. The smart thing to do is put parts back in the box and return it to the store. Most of us including myself will attempt to piece it together , and after many frustrating hours ,I just give up.Sounds like a life in addiction.We fumble through life and no matter how hard we try to put our lives together we stumble fall and give up.Without the instruction book (BIBLE) , we will wind up like that pile of parts with no idea on how to get it together . That's why step 2 is so important! Life without GOD is frustrating painful messy and impossible.My advice , Surrender and ask GODS only son JESUS to come into your heart and life! JESUS was sent to help all of us , HE lived and died for you!He is waiting for you to ask HIM for help!
I invited JESUS in and my life is not perfect but I am 8 years clean went from living under a bridge to living in a home with a brand new family!With JESUS there's hope!With JESUS it is , I can , and I will make it!
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity!
Scripture from (BIBLE) to back this up!
GOD is working in you ,giving you the desire to do what pleases HIM!(Phillipians 2:13 see also
Romans 4:6-8 , Ephesians 1:6-8 ,Colosians 1:21-22 ; Hebrews 11 :1-10)
We were given from our creator a 2,000 page plus instruction manual for living. Imagine putting together an entertainment center , you open the box and before you is a pile of parts as you look through the parts you realize there are no instructions for assembly. The smart thing to do is put parts back in the box and return it to the store. Most of us including myself will attempt to piece it together , and after many frustrating hours ,I just give up.Sounds like a life in addiction.We fumble through life and no matter how hard we try to put our lives together we stumble fall and give up.Without the instruction book (BIBLE) , we will wind up like that pile of parts with no idea on how to get it together . That's why step 2 is so important! Life without GOD is frustrating painful messy and impossible.My advice , Surrender and ask GODS only son JESUS to come into your heart and life! JESUS was sent to help all of us , HE lived and died for you!He is waiting for you to ask HIM for help!
I invited JESUS in and my life is not perfect but I am 8 years clean went from living under a bridge to living in a home with a brand new family!With JESUS there's hope!With JESUS it is , I can , and I will make it!
Rockers In Recovery 2nd Annual Memorial Day Concert and Picnic
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Friday, May 11, 2012
New Type of “Bath Salts” Reported in Virginia
By Join Together Staff | May 8, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related & Drugs
A new type of “bath salts” called “Amped” is being used in Virginia, poison control officials there report. The drug, sold as a ladybug attractant, is likely also being used in other parts of the country, according to ABC News.
Dr. Rutherford Rose, Director of the Virginia Poison Center, said at least six cases of people ingesting Amped have been reported in the state.
Amped and other bath salts have amphetamine-like qualities. Common effects are teeth grinding, jerking eye movements, profuse sweating, high blood pressure, high body temperature, fast heart rate, anorexia, diminished thirst, paranoia, hallucinations, seizures, significant violent outbursts, self-injurious behaviors and suicidal thoughts and acts. Deaths have been reported as the direct result of the abuse of these drugs.
“Despite laws that have outlawed certain chemicals within these drugs, chemists easily change a chemical or molecule within the compound to give it a similar or more potent property, and, because it is a different chemical entity, it is no longer illegal,” Dr. Rose said. “These drugs are a time bomb. It’s like playing Russian Roulette.”
The drugs carry labels warning against human consumption. TheAmerican Association of Poison Control Centers reports that in 2011, there were 6,138 calls regarding bath salts, up from 304 in 2010. As of March 31, poison control centers received 722 calls about bath salts so far this year.
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