CA Doctor Ordered to Stand Trial for Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths

By Join Together Staff | June 27, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inCommunity Related, Legal & Prescription Drugs

A physician accused of prescribing drugs to three young men who died of overdoses was ordered to stand trial for second-degree murder, the Associated Press reports.

Dr. Hsui-Ying “Lisa” Tseng is one of only a few physicians nationwide to be charged with murder related to prescription drugs, the article notes.

The decision to order Tseng to stand trial came after a three-week preliminary hearing. Young men testified they saw Tseng after using up prescriptions written by other doctors. While there was testimony about 12 of her patients who died of drug overdoses, prosecutors charged her with three of the deaths, which they said were caused solely by her prescriptions.

Some patients who testified said they used illegal drugs, such as heroin, that they did not obtain from Tseng. She was accused of prescribing drugs including oxycodone, methadone, Xanax and Soma, according to the AP.

Tseng and her husband operated a storefront medical clinic in suburban Los Angeles. Authorities allege she wrote more than 27,000 prescriptions in a three-year period. Tseng pleaded not guilty to 24 felony counts. She could face 45 years to life in prison if she is convicted on all charges. Her bail was set at $3 million. The judge denied a defense request to have bail lowered to $1 million.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Pilot Program Launched in Two States

By Join Together Staff | June 22, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inCommunity Related, Government, Prescription Drugs & Prevention


A pilot program to expand and improve access to prescription drug records for physicians, pharmacists and emergency departments is being launched in Ohio and Indiana, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. The program aims to reduce prescription drug abuse.

The program, launched by the HHS Health IT Division, is designed to make it easier for physicians to use prescription drug monitoring databases, Reuters reports. While 49 states have authorized theprograms, many doctors avoid using them because they are difficult to navigate, the article notes. Doctors also say the data is often old by the time it becomes available in the system, making it less useful when they are deciding whether to write a prescription. The new system will provide real-time information.

Government data will be merged with the electronic health recordssystems used in doctors’ offices and pharmacies, according to Marty Allain, a senior director at the Indiana Board of Pharmacy, who worked with HHS to design the pilot program.

In Indiana, emergency department staff will be encouraged to access patients’ prescription histories through a database already used in hospitals in the state. The Ohio project will test a new drug risk indicator in the electronic health record, and will determine how that affects doctors’ decisionmaking.

“Technology plays a critical role in our comprehensive efforts to address our nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic,” Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, said in a news release. “Together with education, proper disposal practices, and enforcement, improving existing prescription monitoring programs is a priority for this administration.”

Chronic Cocaine Use May Hasten Aging of the Brain

By Join Together Staff | April 25, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs &Research

Chronic cocaine use may accelerate aging of the brain, a new studysuggests. The study found people with cocaine dependence have greater levels of age-related loss of nerve tissue in the brain called gray matter.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge compared brain scans of 60 people with cocaine dependence with those of 60 people with no history of substance abuse. People who used cocaine lost about 3.08 milliliters of brain volume a year, nearly double the rate of healthy people, HealthDay reports.

The decline in brain volume in cocaine users was most pronounced in the areas of the brain associated with attention, decision-making, memory and self-regulation, the researchers noted.

“As we age, we all lose gray matter. However, what we have seen is that chronic cocaine users lose gray matter at a significantly faster rate, which could be a sign of premature aging. Our findings therefore provide new insight into why the [mental] deficits typically seen in old age have frequently been observed in middle-aged chronic users of cocaine,” researcher Dr. Karen Ersche said in anews release.

She noted the findings highlight the importance of educating young people, who take cocaine, about the long-term risk of aging prematurely. She added the study also shows that accelerated aging from cocaine use also affects older adults. “Our findings shed light on the largely neglected problem of the growing number of older drug users, whose needs are not so well catered for in drug treatment services. It is timely for health care providers to understand and recognize the needs of older drug users in order to design and administer age-appropriate treatments,” she said.

The study appears in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Simonsen Road Farm Recovery Center Oregon!

Holistic, Alternative Addiction Recovery


"Simonsen Road Farm Recovery Center was a life saver for me. After literally being locked away in detox for 5 days to come to a beautiful home in a pastoral setting where I felt welcome and able to relax with absolutely no triggers to make me want to use again was exactly what I needed." Debbie (April 2012)

Simonsen Road Farm Recovery Center is a 25 acre private country sanctuary for persons overcoming the crippling effects of alcohol and or drug addiction. Located 20 minutes S.W. of Eugene, Oregon in the beautiful Lorane Valley of the Pacific Northwest, Simonsen Road Farm offers the safety and sanity of a drug and alcohol free environment and the structure of a holistic 12 Step - based program of recovery.

Our program is 30 days residential treatment. We attend daily AA/NA meetings in town and residents are encouraged to share. Additional meetings with certified treatment specialists and persons in recovery take place throughout the week at the farm.

We have our own Equine Based Therapy Program in which residents are encouraged to bond with our horses. In our small private facility residents are able to discover for themselves that a fulfilling life without the use of drugs/alcohol is possible and attainable on a daily basis.

Personal growth is promoted through a self-help whole recovery approach with emphasis on healing of the body, mind and spirit. This is a non-judgemental environment. Everyone is equally important here. At Simonsen Road Farm we speak the language of Recovery.

Special Thanks to Caleb Garvin at: www.naturalimagesphoto.net


Address: 82912 Simonsen Road, Eugene, Oregon
Phone: 541 344 1735 or 323 404 6981

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How to set boundaries with an alcoholic or addict! BY:Addition Blog .ORG

How to set boundaries with an alcoholic or addict
June 3, 2012
By Lisa Espich


What Happens When You Don’t Have Boundaries

Throughout the first sixteen years of my marriage my husband, Dean, struggled with his addiction to alcohol, prescription pain pills, and crack cocaine. As his addiction continued to get worse, my ability to set healthy boundaries failed. This didn’t happen overnight – it was a gradual process that eventually left me feeling powerless. And I had a hard time trying to stop being codependent.

In the beginning of our relationship, I was a confident young woman. Unfortunately, I had failed to recognize the signs of Dean’s addiction until we were married and I was pregnant with our son. As Dean began to take on addictive behaviors, I attempted to ‘lay down the law’. I would make threats to leave if he didn’t change his ways – and he would make empty promises that helped me feel better in the moment.

Each time I allowed Dean to pass a boundary – rather than standing my ground – I would allow my boundary to get pushed further. I was stuck in a cycle of making threats even when I knew I didn’t have the courage to follow through. Dean quickly learned that my boundaries didn’t really exist, and, as a result, my self-esteem was slowly chipped away. But codependency addiction recovery is possible when you learn to set healthy boundaries. But what are boundaries?
What Is A Boundary?

A boundary is your own limit – an invisible line that you will not allow others to cross. If it is crossed, you take action in order to protect your boundary. For example: you may have a boundary that you will not allow others to put you down. If somebody crosses that boundary, you respond by letting them know you will not tolerate being put down, and then you get up and leave the room.

In my own experience, I attempted to set many boundaries, but my failure came at taking action when those boundaries were crossed. Until I could find the courage needed to stand by my words, I would continue to have others take advantage and disrespect my boundaries.
What Do You Do When People Do Not Respect Your Boundaries?

1. Respect you own boundaries. If people are not respecting your boundaries, it is because you are allowing it. In my relationship I told my husband over and over again what actions I would take if he crossed my boundaries. But over and over again, I failed to follow through. I was teaching him to disrespect my boundaries, because I did not respect them myself.

2. Don’t make threats you aren’t prepared to follow through on. Many times I threatened divorce, threatened to leave, threatened to call the police, but I never made good on those threats. I knew in my gut, even when making those statements, that I wasn’t really going to follow though — I just wanted to scare my husband into believing it. It didn’t take him long to figure out my game. I had to learn to stop making those threats unless I was prepared to keep my word.

3. Work on building up your self-esteem. The courage needed to protect your own boundaries comes from a healthy self-esteem. So how do you build up your self-esteem? This was my biggest challenge. My plan included exercise, journaling, meditation and visualization. As I began to turn my focus inward, I grew more and more confident. Eventually, I was able to stand by my boundaries, and Dean slowly learned that he could no longer disrespect the boundaries I set.

4. Reach out for help. Turn to the people who care about you. Remember that you don’t have to do this on your own. When you’re lacking strength you can borrow it. Pick up the phone and reach out to a friend. Join a family recovery group such as Al-Anon. There you can find a sponsor to help give you the courage needed to stand by your boundaries.

By learning to set healthy boundaries – and stand by them – positive changes began to happen in my marriage. My husband noticed the changes, and I sensed a new found respect from him. He grew receptive to accepting help, and eventually admitted himself into treatment. He became open to honesty in drug recovery, a parallel path to my own recovery from codependency. He has now been clean for over six years, and we are enjoying a healthy marriage. Learning to stand by my boundaries was the first step toward healing in our marriage.

You Dont Want To Miss This One!

Dear Joseph,

Last July, fans, friends and family mourned the loss of the talented singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse after years of her very public battle with drugs and alcohol.


This summer, Amy’s father, Mitch Winehouse, offers his personal view of his daughter’s life and takes readers on an emotional journey into her music, family and her addiction in his new book, Amy, My Daughter.

From his account of Amy singing Frank Sinatra songs as a little girl to the details of how she created her iconic and unforgettable look, Amy’s father tells the tale of the real woman behind the headlines in his compelling collection of memories and stories.

The Partnership at Drugfree.org is honored that Mitch Winehouse will host the next "Meet The Parents Hour" – a live Facebook Q&A chat – to talk about substance abuse and how it affected Amy’s life on Wednesday, June 27 at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. PDT.

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


Submit your question to Mitch Winehouse now.

An extremely gifted singer, songwriter and five-time Grammy award winner, Amy Winehouse's tragic death was followed by a public tabloid frenzy. Today, Mitch aims to not only tell his daughter’s story, but to help educate and influence the conversation around addiction with his new book.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to chat live with Mitch Winehouse.

Submit your question now and then visit our Facebook timeline on June 27 to take part in the real-time conversation.

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.

P.S.S. Text DRUGFREE to 50555 and reply YES to make a $10 donation to The Partnership at Drugfree.org. Your gift will help to continue important programs like "Meet The Parents Hour".

Message & data rates may apply. Full Terms at mGive.org/T