Some Doctors Object to Prescription Drug Monitoring Databases

By Join Together Staff | May 31, 2012 | 8 Comments | Filed in Healthcare,Legislation, Prescription Drugs & Prevention

As a growing number of states implement prescription drug monitoring databases to curb “doctor shopping” for painkillers, some physicians say they object to aspects of the programs.

The databases are designed to alert prescribers that a patient may be abusing drugs, or diverting them for illegal sale, according toReuters. Currently, 43 states have the databases, and another five states have passed laws to create them.

Pharmacists enter prescriptions for controlled substances, so doctors can see if a patient is attempting to obtain drugs from more than one location.

Sherry Green, CEO of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, told Reuters that some doctors are concerned that the database programs could breach patient confidentiality, and interfere with needed pain treatment. They also worry that the databases could be used against doctors who need to prescribe high amounts of painkillers.

Some doctors object to being required to consult the database every time they prescribe potentially addictive medication, and say it should be left to their discretion, according to Green. They also say using the database is time-consuming. States are trying to increase the speed of the database so that doctors can access information while patients are still in the office. Some states allow doctors to authorize another staff member to use the database on their behalf.

The article notes some doctors see laws requiring mandatory use of the databases as putting law enforcement above health care. The Kentucky Medical Association was able to fight a provision that would have moved the state’s database to the Attorney General’s office.

Many prescription monitoring databases allow doctors and pharmacists to access information from neighboring states, which helps cut down on people driving across state lines to find more prescriptions.

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Parents Find Talking With Kids About Drugs Complicated by Legalization Measures

By Join Together Staff | June 18, 2012 | 5 Comments | Filed in Drugs,Legislation, Parenting, Prevention & Youth

Parents are finding it more difficult to have discussions with their children about why they shouldn’t use drugs, as a growing number of states are allowing medical marijuana, or considering legalizing recreational use of the drug, the Associated Press reports.

Colorado and Washington state will vote on legalizing recreational use of marijuana for adults on November 6. Currently, 17 states have legalized medical marijuana. More than a dozen states, and many cities, no longer have criminal penalties for small-scale possession of marijuana, or have made it a low-priority crime for law enforcement.

Parent-child conversations about marijuana “have become extraordinarily complicated,” said Stephen Pasierb, President of The Partnership at Drugfree.org, a national non-profit organization helping parents and families solve the problem of teen substance abuse. Legalization and medical use of marijuana have “created a perception among kids that this is no big deal,” Pasierb said. “You need a calm, rational conversation, not yelling and screaming, and you need the discipline to listen to your child.”

Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes marijuana legalization, said that since today’s parents are more likely than in the past to have tried the drug themselves, they are finding conversations with their children “are becoming a lot more real.” He told the AP, “Parents know a lot more about what they’re talking about, and kids probably suspect that their parents did this when they were younger and didn’t get in trouble with drugs. There’s still hypocrisy, but the level of honesty and frankness in the parent-child dialogue about marijuana is increasing every year.”

A survey released last month by The Partnership at Drugfree.org suggests teen marijuana use has become a normalized behavior. Only 26 percent agree with the statement, “In my school, most teens don’t smoke marijuana,” down from 37 percent in 2008.

Judge Sides with DEA in Case Involving Oxycodone Sales at Two CVS Stores

By Join Together Staff | March 14, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inCommunity Related, Legal & Prescription Drugs

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) acted appropriately in suspending the controlled-substances licenses of two CVS stores in Florida. The DEA charged the stores had failed to closely monitor sales of oxycodone.

Judge Reggie Walton delayed his ruling until Wednesday morning, in order to give CVS time to appeal, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In February, the DEA moved to suspend the licenses of the stores because of what the agency called suspiciously high volumes of oxycodone sales. Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., then granted CVS a temporary restraining order, to allow the company to continue to sell controlled prescription drugs at the two pharmacies.

The DEA said the two pharmacies were “filling prescriptions far in excess of the legitimate needs of its customers.” While the averagepharmacy in the United States in 2011 ordered approximately 69,000 oxycodone dosage units, these two pharmacies, located about 5.5 miles apart, together ordered more than three million dosage units during the same year, according to the DEA.

CVS said it would suffer irreparable harm if it were forced to stop filling prescriptions at the pharmacies. The company has already agreed to stop selling oxycodone and other Schedule II drugs at these pharmacies while the case is under review. The DEA suspension would prevent the pharmacies from filling prescriptions for any controlled substance, including painkillers, stimulants and tranquilizers.

A CVS spokesperson said the company had taken steps, with the DEA’s knowledge, to stop filling prescriptions from physicians thought to be prescribing controlled narcotics improperly.

Earlier this month, Judge Walton ruled that drug distribution companies must “self-police” to track unusually big drug shipments that might be used improperly. The ruling allows the DEA to halt shipments of oxycodone and other controlled medications from a Cardinal Health distribution facility in Florida. Cardinal said it will appeal the decision.

Team Captain Meeting Kickoff!

PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2012

Penns Landing, Philadelphia

Saturday, September 22, 2012



Team Captain Kick-Off Meetings

Get personal direction on forming or leading a team!


        PRO-ACT has scheduled several Team Captain Meetings in various locations so that you can find one convenient to you. Register now to attend a meeting listed below and you will learn how to sign up your team online, raise funds effectively, receive tips on how to organize your team, order team t-shirts if you want to, and how to identify a meeting place for your team on September 22. We will have handouts of many tools we developed and refined over the years and will be available to answer your questions.

        In the meantime, continue to ask your associates, family members, and friends to join your team and to learn more about why we walk. Spread the word that recovery is real and alive! Do your part to fight the stigma! Recovery Walks! 2012 is the Pennsylvania area's largest National Recovery Month event with lots of support from New Jersey and other nearby areas. Show up and be counted because, as SAMHSA says,

It's Worth It!

Kick-Off Meetings

Philadelphia Recovery Training Center (PRTC)

Location: 444 N. 3rd Street, Suite 307, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Dates: June 19 from 12:00-1:30 pm or June 27 from 5:30-7:00 pm

To register: Call Kim Doughty (215-923-1661) or e-mail



Philadelphia Recovery Community Center (PRCC)

Location: 1701 W. Lehigh Avenue, #6, Philadelphia, PA 19132

Dates: July 21 from 10:00-11:30 am or July 24 from 6:00-8:00pm

To register: Call Sean Brinda (215-223-7700, x105) or e-mail OR

Cheryl Poccia (215-223-7700, x106) or e-mail



Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center (SBRCC)

Location: 1286 New Rogers Road (Veterans Highway), Unit D-6, Bristol, PA 19007

Dates: June 28 from 5:00-6:00 pm or July 24 from 12:00-1:00 pm

To register: Call Martin Woodward (215-788-3738, x110) or e-mail



Central Bucks Recovery Resource Center (CBRRC)

Location: 252 W. Swamp Road, Bailiwick Unit 12, Doylestown, PA 18901

Date: June 26 from 12:00-1:30 pm

To register: Call Jessica Schwartz (215-345-6644, x3122) or e-mail



Women's Recovery Community Center (WRCC)

Location: 25 Beulah Road, New Britain, PA 18901

Date: July 12 from 7:00-8:30 pm

To register: Call Jessica Schwartz (215-345-6644, x3122) or e-mail

Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners for their support!

We couldn't do it without you



                                                                                    www.councilsepa.org

2012 New England School of Addiction Studies and Prevention Studies

2012 New England School of Addiction Studies and Prevention Studies
June 18 – 21, 2012, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
About the Event


DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED FROM original May 7, 2012 deadline!
However, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure course choices and lodging availablilty.



The 43rd Annual New England School of Addiction Studies will take place from June 18 -21, 2012 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Summer School is a four-day intensive experience for participants to further their knowledge, skills, and experience in the field of addiction services through in-depth coursework.

The Summer School is appropriate for anyone who recognizes the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on individuals, families, and communities. Each year, participants from many disciplines come together to form a unique and diverse community. The School’s comprehensive curriculum offers a wide variety of best practice courses in the field of addiction services. The School’s nationally and regionally recognized faculty includes instructors who are respected for their accomplishments in the behavioral health field, and also recognized for their training expertise.

The School of Addiction Studies originated 43 years ago by the six New England state substance abuse agencies, the New England Institute continues to work with the six state agencies to provide trainingopportunities needed to support substance abuse service system development and workforce development in our region.

The 12th Annual School of Prevention Studies is designed for prevention professionals from various settings to combine intensive study in an area of special interest with the opportunity to network. The School features keynote addresses and a variety of workshops to choose from delivered by nationally and regionally recognized speakers. The workshops incorporate a variety of current and emerging research based prevention programming, from core through more advanced skills. This event is a collaborative effort of the New England and New York state substance abuse agencies and several other organizations. We invite you to join us for intensive and stimulating studies and networking.

Over the years, New England Institute summer programs have been developed to respond to specific needs in our regional workforce. The 12th Annual New England School of Prevention Studies will again be co-located with this year’s program. Participants have the opportunity to attend offerings from both programs, and co-locating the schools offers wonderful networking and combined learning opportunities for participants working in different areas of the behavioral health services continuum.

We welcome you to be part of our community. If you work in treatment, prevention, recovery services, other social services, or a related field, please join us for new knowledge, skills, and networking in June! WELCOME!


Program Goals

The four-day addiction program provides attendees with an opportunity to:
Participate in intensive training delivered by leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across the continuum of substance abuse services;
Acquire knowledge and specific skills in best practices to apply to their work; and
Network with colleagues from across New England and beyond.

The prevention school goals are to provide participants with an opportunity to:
Learn from leaders, researchers, and practitioners in the field of prevention;
Acquire knowledge and specific skills in evidence based prevention to apply to their prevention programs; and
Network with other prevention professionals and state agency representatives from across New England.

The four-day program is a combination of major presentations, courses, and facilitated forums. Courses provide intensive, skill based training in research-based programming for all students.


Target Audience

The School’s target audience includes persons from all disciplines who are concerned with alcohol, tobacco and other drug related issues, persons new to the field, and persons in behavioral health and allied human services whose activities require a general knowledge of substance abuse.

Some of the many professions represented include:
Substance abuse counselors;
Clinicians from a variety of treatment modalities
Prevention specialists;
Mental health professionals;
Other counselors;
Drug court professionals;
Educators;
EAP professionals;
Student assistance professionals;
Social workers;
Community organizers;
Recovery support staff;
Recovery coaches;
Recovery community support organization staff and volunteers;
Access to Recovery (ATR) staff;
Family service professionals;
Clergy;
Corrections professionals;
Opioid addiction treatment professionals;
Law enforcement professionals;
Housing managers;
Nurses;
Physicians;
And professionals and volunteers from many other disciplines who are interested in continuing to learn about addiction treatment and recovery.

The School of Prevention Studies is designed for the following adult professionals:
Counselors
Community Task Force & Coalition Coordinators
Prevention Practitioners
Student Assistance Professionals
Safe and Drug Free Schools Personnel
Program Managers & Administrators
State Agency Prevention Staff
Volunteers and Task Force Members
Others who deliver prevention services, work in related fields, or are interested in learning more about prevention


Co-Sponsors

New England Institute of Addiction Studies, Inc.

The State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Agencies of
Connecticut,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
New Hampshire,
Rhode Island &
Vermont
AdCare Educational Institute, Inc.
The New Hampshire Training Institute on Addictive Disorders
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association of Rhode Island
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England at Brown University, and its funder, The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) for their support of selected courses.
The Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies,Northeast Region Expert Team, and its funder, The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
School Location


Bowdoin College is a vibrant residential college nestled in a small, active New England town, but that is just the beginning. The location places a wealth of landscapes and environments at your fingertips: To the south we have easy access to city life in Portland and Boston; to the north is the rich tradition of communities who have lived off the land for generations; to the west is the playground of lakes, rivers, and mountains; and to the east is the coastline representing so much that is central to the world’s issues today, from global warming and the health of our oceans to honoring and preserving the world’s beautiful landscapes.

Contrary to popular notion, you CAN get there from here. Brunswick has plenty to offer for a quick diversion — great restaurants, record and CD stores, two movie theaters, art galleries, golf courses, bowling alleys and more. Midcoast Maine offers outlet shopping in Freeport and great seacoast beaches. Portland, a vibrant city with a small-town feel, has museums to explore, Old Port shops to browse, and concerts, clubs and pubs to check out. And a couple of hours in a car will put you in Boston, Acadia National Park, or some of Maine’s best recreational areas.
Housing on Campus

Housing is in single bedrooms, charged at the single room rate. Double rooms are available. NEIAS will NOT match participants in double bedrooms unless they have requested each other. You and your roommate must indicate mutual roommate preference and roommate name on each of your registration forms.

You, the participant, will be responsible to pay the difference between the amount of a scholarship that is based on the double room rate and the cost of a single room in the event you do not have a roommate.

Housing on campus will be in traditional basic dormitory rooms. Shared restrooms with multiple bathroom and shower stalls will be located on each hallway. Due to the nature of the dorms, and in an effort to be respectful to ALL participants, males and females will NOT be assigned to the same dorm room, even if requested. There are a limited number of rooms available on campus, which will be assigned by processed application date. Participants may reside on campus, or commute from a local hotel or from home. If you would be more comfortable with the kind of privacy or amenities a hotel room provides, we encourage you to make alternate arrangements. Click here to to download a local hotel list.


Special Accommodations for Participants with Disabilities

The New England Institute of Addiction Studies is committed to providing accommodations so students with disabilities can participate in the NESAS Program. Sign Language Interpreters and Assistive Listening Devices or other accommodations are available on request. The program site has wheelchair accessible space available, including a limited number of ADA accessible residence hall rooms. Please note your accommodation requests, such as ASL interpreter, accessible rooms, etc. on the online registration form or on the second page of the hard copy registration form.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you require a Sign Language Interpreter or CART service, your application must be received at the NEIAS office by April 23, 2012 so the appropriate arrangements can be made.
Continuing Education Units

All students completing the full program will receive a certificate of completion from the New England Institute of Addiction Studies. 2.5 Continuing Education Units (25 contact hours) will be awarded by the New England Institute. Those attending part of the program will receive contact hours for those hours attended.


PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

The New England Institute of Addiction Studies, Inc. is an Approved NAADACEducation Provider. Through the NH Training Institute on Addictive Disorders, a co-sponsor, this program is pre-approved by the NH Board of Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Professional Practice for CEU Performance Domains and Categories of Competence. This program has been approved for 25.0 Continuing Education contact hours for relicensure, in accordance with 258 CMR. The New England Institute is a recognized Sponsor of Continuing Education Activities by the Maine State Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors. Attendance at NESAS will help toward counselor and other professional certification in most states, depending on your state’s requirements. Application has been made to several professional organizations to accept New England Institute CEUs, including those certifying social workers.

AdCare Educational Institute, Inc., a co-sponsor, will provide contact hours for Nurses (LPN/RNs) through the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. Nurses from outside Massachusetts should check with their state and professional associations to verify reciprocity or acceptance. For Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs), AdCare Educational Institute, Inc. is recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors to offer continuing education for National Certified Counselors (NCCs). AdCare adheres to NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines. To ensure state credentialing, contact your local board of certification.

New York participants: The New England Institute of Addiction Studies, Inc. is a New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Education and Training Provider, Provider Number 0456. Application is being made to NYS OASAS for this school to meet all or part of the CASAC/CPP/CPS education and training requirements.


Academic Credit

In a collaborative effort with NESAS, Johnson State College offers undergraduate and graduate level academic credit at the Summer School for some courses for an additional fee of $250 per credit hour. Click here for a fact sheet for further information about this program.

In addition, some colleges and universities have approved the NESAS program for undergraduate credit as an independent study for students enrolled in their institutions. Check with your faculty advisor.
Other New England Institute Programs

20th Anniversary New England School of Best Practices in Addiction Treatment
September 10 – 13, 2012 at the Waterville Valley Conference Center and Resort in Waterville Valley, NH. Course tracks will be offered in: advanced clinical practices, clinical supervision, advanced prevention, and addiction medicine. Catalogs and a website will be available in the later spring.

Email us to join our email list to receive information about upcoming events!

You are cordially invited to exhibit at the New England School of Addiction Studies & New England School of Prevention Studies. Contact the New England Institute for further information about exhibiting.

New Studies Shed Much-Needed Light on Alcohol-Induced Memory Blackouts

By Celia Vimont | June 15, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol & Young Adults


National survey studies suggest that roughly one in four college students who drink will experience a blackout in a given year, making blackouts a surprisingly common outcome of excessive drinking.

Blackouts are periods of amnesia, caused by excessive consumption of alcohol, during which a person actively engages in behaviors but the brain is unable to create memories for what transpires. This leaves holes in a person’s memory that can range from spotty recall for the events of the previous night (known as fragmentary blackouts) to the utter absence of memory for large portions of an evening (known as en bloc blackouts).

Blackouts are very different from passing out, when a person falls asleep or is rendered unconscious from drinking too much. During blackouts, people can participate in events ranging from the mundane, like eating food, to the emotionally charged, like fights or intercourse, with little or no recall. According to Dr. Aaron White, Program Director for Underage and College Drinking Prevention Research at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism(NIAAA), “It can be quite difficult for an outside observer to tell if someone is in a blackout. The person could seem aware and articulate, but without any memory being recorded.”

Dr. White found in a study he conducted in 2002 that half of the 800 college students surveyed experienced at least one alcohol-induced blackout, 40 percent experienced one in the previous year and nine percent reported a blackout in previous two weeks. In a 2009 study of 4,500 students about to enter their freshman year of college, Dr. White found 12 percent of males and females who drank in the previous two weeks experienced a blackout during that time.

In the first few months of 2012, three new studies were published about blackouts among college students. According to Dr. White, “We know that alcohol is capable of causing episodes of amnesia, but what takes place during those episodes, the consequences that follow and why some people are more susceptible to them than others are still unclear. That is why these recent studies are so important.”

Dr. Marlon Mundt and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health recently published two papers on blackouts. In the first study, they observed that college students who black out are more likely to experience alcohol-related injuries than those who do not. Those reporting a history of six or more blackouts at the beginning of the study were more than 2.5 times more likely to be injured in an alcohol-related event over the next two years. The second study estimated that emergency department costs due to injuries sustained during blackouts could total $500,000 or more per year on large campuses.

A study by Dr. Reagan Weatherill at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues from the University of Texas, Austin, provides important insight into why some people are more likely to experience blackouts than others. Compared to subjects without a history of blackouts, those with a history of blackouts exhibited a significant decline in activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, measured using fMRI, during the completion of a memory task while intoxicated. The findings suggest that some people are more likely to experience alcohol-induced blackouts than others due to the way alcohol affects brain activity in areas involved in attention and memory. Dr. White adds that studies of twins have pointed to a genetic vulnerability to blackouts–if one twin tends to black out, so does the other one.

The way college students drink increases the odds of blackouts, says Dr. White. “Alcohol is more likely to cause a blackout when it gets into your body, and therefore your brain, fast. It catches the memory circuits off guard and shuts them down. Doing shots or chugging beer, and doing it on an empty stomach, gets the alcohol into your bloodstream quickly.”

He also notes that females are at particular risk for blackouts. They tend to weigh less than males and have less water in their bodies for the alcohol to get diluted into, which leads to higher levels of alcohol in the brain, he explains. They also have less of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase in the gut that breaks down a small percentage of alcohol before it even gets into body. Females also are more likely to skip meals to save calories when they drink, so there is less food in the stomach to help absorb the alcohol. They are also more likely to drink beverages with higher alcohol concentrations, like wine and mixed drinks rather than beer.

In order to avoid blackouts, Dr. White advises drinkers not only to limit the total amount they consume, but to pace themselves, add in non-alcoholic beverages and eat food while they’re drinking. For more about safe drinking limits he refers readers to the NIAAA website, Rethinking Drinking.