Thursday, June 21, 2012
Use of ADHD Drugs Grew By 46 Percent in Children From 2002 to 2010
By Join Together Staff | June 19, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Mental Health, Prescription Drugs, Research & Youth
Use of drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children jumped 46 percent from 2002 to 2010, according to a new report in the journal Pediatrics. Ritalin was the top drug prescribed for teenagers, with more than four million prescriptions filled in 2010.
“What the article is suggesting is that the number of children that we are treating for attention deficit disorder has gone up,” said Dr. Scott Benson, a spokesperson for the American Psychiatric Association, told Reuters. “For the most part I think the overall increase reflects a reduction in the stigma. It used to be, ‘You’re a bad parent if you can’t get your child to behave, and you’re a doubly bad parent if you put them on medicine.’”
Overall, the number of drugs prescribed to children in the United States dropped slightly from 2002 to 2010. Antibiotic use and prescription painkiller use both decreased 14 percent. Prescriptions for allergy medications, cough and cold medicines and antidepressants also dropped.
The report found 263 million prescriptions for minors were filled in 2010, down 7 percent from 2002. When population changes are taken into account, that corresponds to a 9 percent drop, the article notes. Adult prescriptions rose 11 percent during the same time period.
A recent article in The New York Times noted a growing number of high school students are using ADHD drugs, such as Adderall and Ritalin, to help them get better grades. Teens get them from friends, buy them from student dealers, or pretend to have ADHD in order to get prescriptions.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
NY Bill Prohibits Welfare Recipients From Spending Benefits on Alcohol, Cigarettes
By Join Together Staff | June 20, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol,Community Related, Legislation, Prevention & Tobacco
A bill passed by the New York Senate would prohibit welfare recipients from spending their benefits on alcohol and cigarettes. The bill, which passed 56-3, also bans spending of benefits on gambling and strip clubs.
In February, President Obama signed a law that requires states to restrict how the cash portion of social services is spent, or else they will lose 5 percent of funding for the welfare program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. In 2013, New York will risk losing $125 million, The Wall Street Journal reports. Republican Senator Thomas Libous, sponsor of the bill, said the state must restrict spending by welfare recipients whose benefits are linked to debit cards, in order to conform with the new federal law.
The “Public Assistance Integrity Act” also would ban the withdrawal of cash from Electronic Benefits Transfer cards at automatic teller machines (ATMs) in casinos, liquor stores and adult entertainment clubs and bars. The article notes that prohibiting the purchase of tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets would be difficult to enforce. The ban on cash withdrawals would be easier to enforce because of its paper trail.
Senator Bill Perkins, one of the few senators to vote against the measure, said it unfairly targets the poor. “It’s a prejudice, I think, about poor people that we are seeing represented more than any statistical or study of behavior,” he said. “If they have evidence that there’s a rash of that, I’d like to see it.” He said the bill wouldn’t allow a poor mother to withdraw money to buy milk if she used an ATM in a banned establishment.
Other states have banned welfare recipients’ spending on certain items, including alcohol, tobacco, guns, gambling, lottery tickets and adult entertainment.
The bill now goes to the state Assembly.
THE BRIDGE GROUP!
James Russell
The Bridge Group of Narcotics Anonymous provides a teleconference meeting seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year, to carry the message of hope and the promise of freedom to addicts who are, for whatever reason, isolated from the message of recovery.
Members of our home group have included addicts who are hospitalized, home-bound due to ill-health or the failing health of a family member, new or expectant mothers, addicts who are prevented from regularly attending face-to-face Narcotics Anonymous meetings due to geographical distance, lack of transportation, or suspended driving privileges, shift workers and truckers who cannot make regular meeting times, addicts in hospice, and others who simply wish to participate in this lifesaving venture and benefit from our meetings as a supplement to their own personal recoveries.
It is not our intention or belief that The Bridge should or could replace face-to-face meetings (since nothing can replace the magic of the Narcotics Anonymous fellowship on such a personal level) but rather simply to reach those who would otherwise be unable to attend meetings. We are working, in our own small way, to ensure that no addict need ever be isolated from the message of Narcotics Anonymous and consequently die from the horrors of active addiction.
You are being contacted – in the hope that you will share this information, and keep it handy, in case you hear of someone in Narcotics Anonymous who is isolated from NA meetings for any reason. We are truly committed. We want to know about their problem and how we can help!
We are an autonomous home group of Narcotics Anonymous, registered with Narcotics Anonymous World Services, currently in our fourth year of successfully carrying the message through this new venue. Members and attendees have called in from all over the world to participate and benefit from our meetings.
In order to attend our meetings, an addict only needs a phone and the ability to dial long distance.
Our meeting schedule is available on our website –http://www.thebridgena.org/ . Please feel free to share our website address,, or meeting schedule in whatever Narcotics Anonymous gathering that seems appropriate to you, or to include this information on any area or regional website or meeting schedule.
We also maintain a presence on Facebook, and Twitter. For more information about accessing our information there, or any other questions you may have, please don’t hesitated to contact us
218 339-2626 (acess #387870)Our schedule all times eastern
Sun 8pm
Mon 9pm
Tues 3pm
Wed 9pm
Thur 10pm
Fri 11 pm
Sat 11 pm
The Bridge NAthebridgena.org
The Bridge Group of Narcotics Anonymous provides a teleconference meeting seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year, to carry the message of hope and the promise of freedom to addicts who are, for whatever reason, isolated from the message of recovery.
Members of our home group have included addicts who are hospitalized, home-bound due to ill-health or the failing health of a family member, new or expectant mothers, addicts who are prevented from regularly attending face-to-face Narcotics Anonymous meetings due to geographical distance, lack of transportation, or suspended driving privileges, shift workers and truckers who cannot make regular meeting times, addicts in hospice, and others who simply wish to participate in this lifesaving venture and benefit from our meetings as a supplement to their own personal recoveries.
It is not our intention or belief that The Bridge should or could replace face-to-face meetings (since nothing can replace the magic of the Narcotics Anonymous fellowship on such a personal level) but rather simply to reach those who would otherwise be unable to attend meetings. We are working, in our own small way, to ensure that no addict need ever be isolated from the message of Narcotics Anonymous and consequently die from the horrors of active addiction.
You are being contacted – in the hope that you will share this information, and keep it handy, in case you hear of someone in Narcotics Anonymous who is isolated from NA meetings for any reason. We are truly committed. We want to know about their problem and how we can help!
We are an autonomous home group of Narcotics Anonymous, registered with Narcotics Anonymous World Services, currently in our fourth year of successfully carrying the message through this new venue. Members and attendees have called in from all over the world to participate and benefit from our meetings.
In order to attend our meetings, an addict only needs a phone and the ability to dial long distance.
Our meeting schedule is available on our website –http://www.thebridgena.org/ . Please feel free to share our website address,, or meeting schedule in whatever Narcotics Anonymous gathering that seems appropriate to you, or to include this information on any area or regional website or meeting schedule.
We also maintain a presence on Facebook, and Twitter. For more information about accessing our information there, or any other questions you may have, please don’t hesitated to contact us
218 339-2626 (acess #387870)Our schedule all times easternSun 8pm
Mon 9pm
Tues 3pm
Wed 9pm
Thur 10pm
Fri 11 pm
Sat 11 pm
The Bridge NAthebridgena.org
Opium Study Raises Questions About Opium-Derived Painkillers
By Join Together Staff | April 19, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs,Prescription Drugs & Research
A new study that links opium use with serious health problems, including cancer, circulatory diseases and respiratory problems, has implications for opium-derived painkillers such as morphine and codeine, CNN reports.
The study of more than 50,000 people in Iran found an 86 percent increased likelihood of death from major causes among those who used opium, even at modest levels. The researchers took into account factors such as poverty and cigarette smoking, which could affect the outcome. The article notes the study does not prove opium causes the increased risk of death, since it did not randomly assign participants to use opium or not.
Most opium users in the study did not begin taking the drug because of a pre-existing illness, the researchers reported in the British Medical Journal.
In an accompanying editorial, Irfan Dhalla, of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, noted other research has supported the conclusion that there is an increased risk of death from opioids apart from the chance of an accidental overdose. “For the management of chronic non-cancer pain, a better prescription may be caution,” Dhalla wrote.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
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.
Do you think prescription drug monitoring databases will curb abuse?
Parents Find Talking With Kids About Drugs Complicated by Legalization Measures
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.”
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