HHS Provides $50 Million to Expand Treatment for Substance Use, Mental Health
 
By Join Together Staff | December 12, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Community Related, Drugs, Funding, Government, Mental Health & Treatment

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its plans to provide $50 million to expand treatment for substance use disorders and mental health. The funds will be used to hire staff, add services and employ team-based models of care.

The funds will go to approximately 200 community health centers, UPI reports.

“Most behavioral health conditions are treatable, yet too many Americans are not able to get needed treatment,” Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Mary K. Wakefield said in a news release. “These new Affordable Care Act funds will expand the capacity of our network of community health centers to respond to the mental health needs in their communities.”

The president’s fiscal year 2014 budget also includes $130 million to help teachers recognize signs of mental illness in students and refer them to services, and to support innovative state-based programs to improve mental health outcomes for young people. It also provides funds to train 5,000 more mental health professionals.

The number of people seeking addiction treatment could double under the Affordable Care Act. Under the new law, four million people with drug and alcohol problems will become eligible for insurance coverage. How many new patients will seek addiction treatment will depend in part on how many states decide to expand their Medicaid programs.

Attorneys General of 28 States Urge FDA to Reassess Zohydro Approval
 
By Join Together Staff | December 12, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Advocacy, Government, Prescription Drugs & Prevention


The attorneys general from 28 states are asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reassess its decision to approve Zohydro ER (extended release), a pure form of the painkiller hydrocodone. Earlier this month, four U.S. senators told the FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg they disagree with the agency’s decision to approve the drug.

In a letter to Commissioner Hamburg, the attorneys general said they believe the approval of Zohydro ER “has the potential to exacerbate our nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic because this drug will be the first hydrocodone-only opioid narcotic that is reportedly five to ten times more potent than traditional hydrocodone products, and it has no abuse-deterrent properties.”

The attorneys general said they hope the FDA either reconsiders its approval of the drug, or sets a rigorous timeline for Zohydro ER to be reformulated to be abuse-deterrent while working with other federal agencies to impose restrictions on how the drug can be marketed and prescribed.

The FDA approved Zohydro ER in October for patients with pain that requires daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment that cannot be treated with other drugs. Drugs such as Vicodin contain a combination of hydrocodone and other painkillers such as acetaminophen, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

In December 2012, a panel of experts assembled by the FDA voted against recommending approval of Zohydro ER. The panel cited concerns over the potential for addiction.

Zohydro is designed to be released over time, and can be crushed and snorted by people seeking a strong, quick high. The opioid drug OxyContin has been reformulated to make it harder to crush or dissolve, but Zohydro does not include similar tamper-resistant features.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said in a news release, “Zohydro ER has the potential to exacerbate the prescription pill epidemic and given that abuse-deterrent properties are capable of being developed and required, the FDA’s decision to approve the drug doesn’t make sense.”

An Addict In Our Son’s Bedroom: Talking to Students

An Addict In Our Son’s Bedroom: Talking to Students: Talking to students is easy. There is nothing to it when all you do is recount stories and the horrors of parenting and loving and addict. ...

 Helpful Links Go Unnoticed

Good Morning Readers,

I was taking a look at all the helpful links we have on our blog and thought how often they go unnoticed.  So I would like to take some time and give you a chance to take a look at some of these wonderful resources. Today I chose one that is close to my heart. Addictions Victorious!

Addictions Victorious helped me to grow into the person I am today.  Whether your someone in addiction, enabler or co dependent you will be welcome at their meetings. I would imagine like any meeting you may have to visit more than one to find the place you feel most comfortable, although for me the first one was perfect. I was able to heal through sharing, encouragement, support and also most important, learned that our Savior Jesus Christ loves us regardless of our past and He is waiting with open arms for us to come home. In these meetings I found so much comfort in the stories, struggles and victories of others.  I am forever thankful to AV and also to those that shared those seats with me in the room down the hall.  I ask you to Visit the Link below and learn a little more about Addictions Victorious and I couldn't end this with out giving thanks to Dan and Rosemary Gavin. Thank you for your wonderful heart of service!

http://addvicinc.org/

December 12 v 20 POWER IN THE PROVERB
Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil;
joy fills hearts that are planning peace!
STEP 5 : Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being
the exact nature of our wrongs.
Their is a peace that transcends all understanding. I have that , it is a gift from above.How did I attain it ?Working step 5 holding nothing back! Realizing that lieing only hurt me and caused all kinds of chaos in my life.There is no such thing as a little white lie it is still lieing it will still steal your peace and joy . The Truth Will Set You free !

For More Power in The Proverb and the latest recovery news and events.
Visit : www.joseph-recoveryconnections.blogspot.com

Demi Lovato Opens Up About Cocaine, Alcohol Abuse

Lovato hit bottom at 19 years old.
Photo via Shutterstock

Demi Lovato, once a child actress who appeared on Barney & Friends, has offered the first detailed look at her past with substance abuse in an exclusive interview with Access Hollywood. “I had all the help in the world, but I didn't want it," she said.

Lovato admitted for the first time her problems with alcohol and cocaine abuse in the interview, stating that drugs were “no longer fun” and became so problematic that she even hid her use from her sober living companion. "Something I've never talked about before, but with my drug use I could hide it to where I would sneak drugs,” she said. “I couldn't go without 30 minutes to an hour without cocaine and I would bring it on airplanes.”

The star also admitted to drinking Sprite bottles filled with vodka at 9 a.m. and throwing up on her way back to her sober living house in Los Angeles, one of several moments she hit on her slide to rock bottom. "I think at 19 years old, I had a moment where I was like, ‘Oh my God…that is alcoholic behavior,'” Lovato said. “[I]t was, wow, I'm one of those people…I gotta get my shit together.”

Lovato has stated in the past that she suffered from bipolar disorder, which she learned about in treatment, and admitted to cutting as a means of coping with her problems. But since completing treatment in January 2011, she has been opening up more in interviews about her past issues with mental health, eating disorders, and substance abuse, and in November she published her memoir, Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year, that alludes to her struggles.