The Hope Share: A Live Storytelling Event

By Cassie Goldberg | January 23, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Our Blog

85 million people in the U.S. have been affected by addiction and over 20 million are in long-term recovery. Imagine if each of them came forward to share a story of recovery or a message of support.

The Hope Share, a new story-sharing portal created by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, is designed to elevate stories of recovery and inspire others to speak out and help break the stigma and discrimination surrounding addiction.

We’ve teamed up with proud partners of this project, InTheRooms.com and Faces & Voices of Recovery, to host a unique upcoming virtual experience – The Hope Share: A Live Storytelling Event.

Taking place on Wednesday, February 6th at 9 p.m. EST, participants are encouraged to share their video stories of hope using their webcam during this 90-minute LIVE event to help inspire others and spark meaningful conversation around alcohol and other drug problems and addiction.

To participate in this event, visit Meeting Room 1 here at 9:00 p.m. EST on February 6th.

The event will be moderated by InTheRooms.com and will feature Pat Taylor, Executive Director, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and Jerry Otero, a Parent Support Specialist and clinical social worker from The Partnership at Drugfee.org.

Share your powerful story and help encourage families who are struggling with a young person’s addiction, and let them know that there is hope, and that recovery is possible.

To participate in this event, visit Meeting Room 1 here at 9:00 p.m. EST on February 6th.

Gene Mutations Linked With Increased Risk of Dying From Cocaine Abuse

By Join Together Staff | January 31, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs & Research

New research suggests people with common genetic mutations have an almost eightfold increased risk of dying from cocaine abuse. The mutations affect the chemical messenger dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is vital to the functioning of the central nervous system. Cocaine blocks transporters in the brain from absorbing dopamine, HealthDay reports.

The mutations are found on two genes. The Ohio State University researchers found about one in three white people who died of cocaine abuse had these genetic mutations. A different combination of mutations affects the risk of dying from cocaine abuse in black people, the researchers noted in a news release.

The study appears in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Prepaid Card Designed to Help Those in Recovery From Addiction Manage Money

By Join Together Staff | January 31, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction & Recovery

Three men who met while in recovery have developed a prepaid card designed to help others who are recovering from addiction manage their money, the New York Daily News reports.

They have launched the Next Step Prepaid MasterCard, a reloadable card designed for people in recovery, and for those who are financially supporting them. The card gives family members and guardians control over funds, while teaching people in recovery how to manage their money, the article notes.

“When I left treatment, I spent hundreds of dollars on stupid things like Starbucks, just to fill a void,” said company co-founder Eric Dresdale, who started drinking in high school.

The primary account holder of the Next Step card is the parent or caregiver. The person in recovery receives a companion card, which can be used to make purchases. The card cannot be used at an ATM machine, or to get cash back at a store. It is not accepted at bars, casinos or liquor stores. “The truth is, if someone wants to buy drugs they will find a way,” Dresdale told the newspaper. “But we act as a hurdle from achieving that goal.”

Addiction specialist Dr. Paul Hokemeyer thinks the card can be a useful tool in recovery. “I think it’s a great tool to teach patients boundaries and limits,” he said.

The card’s activation fee is $9.95, and has a monthly maintenance fee of $14.95, compared with $3 to $5 for many other prepaid cards.

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Commentary: Rx for Understanding: Free Online Tool to Teach Students

By Nora L. Howley | January 29, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs, Young Adults & Youth

Medicine—whether over-the-counter or prescription—is an important part of a modern health care system. Who would want a world without penicillin or acetaminophen? But medicine is only effective when it is used properly, and for young people moving to adulthood, learning how to use medicine properly is a critical life skill.

Research shows that one in four teenagers report that they have taken a prescription drug not prescribed to them by a doctor at least once in their lives. Middle school is often when students start to make the wrong choice.

Recognizing the scope of the problem, the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) set out to determine what we could do to help teachers and families help students. After looking at what was available, NEA HIN created Rx for Understanding which includes 10 cross-curricular lessons for middle school students. Aligned with the National Health Education Standards and Common Core State Standards, the lessons aim to equip students with the understanding and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs.

By focusing on the three basic concepts of proper use, misuse and abuse, the lessons help to build knowledge and skills that young people need. These involve not only learning the facts about drugs, but include activities that build skills such as information gathering, advocacy for good health choices and making responsible health decisions.

Rx for Understanding was developed and pilot-tested with input from educators around the country. Users report that the lessons are “easy-to-use” and “accessible.” Because lessons are aligned to various content areas, they can be included in various parts of the middle school curriculum.

Nora L. Howley

Manager of Programs

NEA Health Information Network

Heroin Use Increasing in Minneapolis/St. Paul, While Opiate Painkiller Use Declines

By Join Together Staff | January 29, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related & Drugs

Heroin use is growing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, while abuse of opiate painkillers, such as methadone and oxycodone, may be decreasing, according to a new report.

Treatment centers in the area reported a small decrease in the number of people admitted for opiate abuse in the first half of 2012, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

“Heroin and other opiates are second only to the number of people coming into treatment for alcohol,” said Carol Falkowski, who wrote the new report. “That is a relatively new phenomena in the Twin Cities and something that we should all be concerned about.”

The report follows national trends in heroin and opiate painkiller use, the article notes. A study published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine found that as OxyContin abuse has decreased now that the painkiller has been reformulated to make it more difficult to misuse, many people have switched to heroin.

Dr. Gavin Bart, who directs the Division of Addiction Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, said Minneapolis/St. Paul is seeing an influx of the cheapest, purest heroin in the United States. “What is probably happening is there’s a marketing battle between the dealers and the people who peddle prescription opiates and the heroin traffickers,” he said. “In order to get good customers you increase the quality and decrease the price, which is what’s happened with heroin and it’s just pulling market share from the prescription opiate addicts.”

Opiate painkillers are becoming more difficult to obtain, because the state’s prescription monitoring program allows doctors to see if other physicians have written opiate prescriptions for the same patient, Bart noted. While doctors in the state are not required to use the database, more health systems are incorporating it, he added.