National Drug Facts Week to Promote Conversation About Drugs With Teens

By Join Together Staff | January 21, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs,Prevention & Youth

During National Drug Facts Week, January 27 to February 2, communities and schools around the country will host events to allow teens to learn how drugs affect the brain, body and behavior.

National Drug Facts Week, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), is designed to counter the myths about drugs that teens get online and from TV, movies, music and friends, by presenting them with scientific facts about drug abuse and addiction. Teens and experts will come together in school assemblies, after school clubs, athletic events, book clubs and other venues.

According to NIDA, about one-third of high school seniors report using an illicit drug sometime in the past year. More than 10 percent report nonmedical use of potentially addictive prescription painkillers, and more than 20 percent say they have smoked marijuana in the past month.

NIDA notes that many teens are not aware of the risks that drugs present to their health and to their success in school, and of the dangers while driving under the influence. “When teens are given the scientific facts about drugs, they can be better prepared to make good decisions for themselves and they can share this information with others,” according to a Drug Facts Week fact sheet.

For more information about events, materials and experts, visit theNational Drug Facts Week website.

Combating Substance Use Disorders in the Armed Forces

By David C. Lewis, MD | January 22, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed inAddiction, Military & Prescription Drugs


The United State Congress was worried. The public was worried. They worried about an opioid prescription drug epidemic and widespread binge drinking in the military and the number of suicide deaths that exceeded battle fatalities. They worried about alcohol and drug problems that impaired both combat readiness and, with multiple deployments, the functioning of a growing number of troops with PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Congress acted by turning to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to analyze the problems and recommend solutions. The IOM Committee report “Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces” was delivered to Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) in September 2012.

The IOM conducted a comprehensive analysis of the substance use disorder (SUD) problems by reviewing Department of Defense policies and practices and by hearing from both the military commanders and the troops themselves at bases throughout the USA. It found that identifying the problems was relatively easy. Solving them is not.

Much of military culture is built around the goal of fitness and combat readiness. Soldiers with SUD problems present a clear risk to this goal.

The approaches to SUDs in the civilian world – screening and diagnosis followed by referral to treatment programs – have not been common in the military. Confidentiality is hard to come by. The military relies almost exclusively on drug testing as a deterrent. Seeking help voluntarily is discouraged by a system in which behavioral diagnoses are routinely reported to the commanders who then frequently take disciplinary action. When service members’ problems become known, there is a good chance that their military careers are over. A lot of energy by our armed forces is going into not getting caught.

Short term treatment is the rule. The fact that longer-term addiction treatment such as opioid maintenance is generally unavailable creates a mismatch with the chronic nature of addictive disorders.

The IOM recommended that addiction screening, diagnosis and initial treatment for SUDS be integrated with care for mental health conditions and with ongoing medical care, particularly primary care. The IOM recommendation that each service branch needs to provide options for the confidential treatment of alcohol use disorders focuses solely on alcohol for two reasons. First, some alcohol use is permitted under military policy and a limited confidential counseling pilot program for alcohol problems already existed in the army. Second, the military’s zero tolerance drug policy suppresses even a confidential disclosure of unapproved drug use. Zero tolerance and confidentiality don’t mix well.

In general, the military system would do well to institute reforms to achieve closer compliance with current civilian clinical practices. These are spelled out in the Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Substance Use Disorders which was developed jointly with the DoD and the VA. The IOM detailed what needed to be changed to adhere more closely to the Guideline.

The DoD is taking the IOM report seriously and has issued a separate report with a point-by-point discussion of its plans in response to the IOM recommendations.

One hopeful sign is that in the fall of 2013 the DoD issued new regulations, agreeing with one forceful IOM recommendation, to remove a decades long policy restricting TRICARE insurance coverage of pharmacotherapy (methadone, buprenorphine) for opioid maintenance treatment.

The military leadership has acknowledged that SUD problems can be prevented and they can be treated when detected early addressed with interventions that allow some degree of confidentiality and are delivered in a consistent evidence based way. The proof of progress awaits the implementation of reforms.

David C. Lewis, MD
Professor Emeritus of Community Health and Medicine
Donald G. Millar Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Alcohol and Addiction
Studies
Brown University
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies

Denver County Jail Substance Abuse Treatment Program Uses Peer Recovery Model

By Join Together Staff | January 22, 2014 | 3 Comments | Filed in Alcohol,Community Related, Drugs, Recovery & Treatment

The Denver County Jail uses a peer recovery model to help inmates take a more active role in their substance abuse treatment, The Denver Post reports. Participants in the program work together, along with clinicians, in day-long sessions to hold one another accountable for their choices. The program runs six days a week, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The jail is the only one in the state, and one of only a few in the nation, to use the Recovery in a Safe Environment program, the article notes. It has been running since 2011. Some inmates join voluntarily, while others are required to participate as part of their sentence. Last year, 208 men and 128 women participated in the program.

“The majority of the programming is run by inmates, which makes them more invested in the process and gives them an opportunity to take a more active role in their recovery,” Jamie Jackson, Program Administrator for the Denver County Jail, told the newspaper. “It really is a unique environment. Generally when you come to jail, you don’t ever want to show any type of weakness, but these men and women are letting their guard down.”

Even Low Blood Alcohol Levels Can Increase Risk of Car Crashes: Study

By Join Together Staff | January 22, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol& Research


Drivers with blood alcohol levels well under the legal limit are more likely to be at fault for accidents, compared with the non-drinking drivers they hit, according to a new study.

The researchers from the University of California, San Diego analyzed data on more than 570,000 fatal auto accidents between 1994 and 2011, and concluded there appears to be no safe blood alcohol content (BAC) for drivers, Reuters reports. They looked at drivers’ blood alcohol levels, as well as indicators of which driver was to blame, such as who drove in the wrong lane or ran a red light.

The study, published in Injury Prevention, found drivers with a BAC of .01 percent were 46 percent more likely to be fully responsible for the crash than a sober driver. The legal driving limit in the United States is .08 percent. An adult man could generate a .01 percent BAC reading just by drinking half of one 12-ounce beer, the article notes. The more a person’s BAC increased, the greater their risk of being responsible for an accident, the study found.

In many European countries, the legal BAC is .05. The limits in Japan and Sweden are even lower.

In a news release, Phillips said, “We find no safe combination of drinking and driving – no point at which it is harmless to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car. Our data support both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s campaign that ‘Buzzed driving is drunk driving’ and the recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board, to reduce the legal limit to BAC .05 percent. In fact, our data provide support for yet greater reductions in the legal BAC.”

Black Media Groups Argue They Should Run Tobacco Company Corrective Ads

By Join Together Staff | January 22, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Legal,Marketing And Media, Prevention & Tobacco

Two organizations representing black media outlets say tobacco company ads about the dangers of smoking, ordered by a federal judge, should run in their newspapers, and on their TV stations and websites.

The “corrective statements” will say the companies lied about the health effects of cigarettes. Earlier this month, tobacco companies and the federal government reached an agreement on the statements, which will disclose the health effects of smoking, including the fact that cigarettes kill an average of 1,200 people a day. Each tobacco company must publish a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of 35 newspapers, and on the papers’ websites. The ads also must air prime-time television spots on CBS, ABC or NBC five times a week for a year.

The Associated Press reports the National Newspaper Publishers Association and National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters filed a brief in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ahead of a Wednesday hearing on the case. They argue that the ads should run in their news outlets because the black community has been disproportionally targeted by tobacco companies and harmed by smoking.

The associations, which represent more than 120 publications and more than 200 radio and TV stations, said the list included in the judge’s order does not include media outlets in areas with very large black populations. The brief states these populations are “not only more susceptible to harm from tobacco usage, but were also intentionally and systematically targeted by (the tobacco companies) to be recipients of their illegal marketing campaigns.”

The tobacco companies said the request from the black media associations comes too late, because it has been more than seven years since the court ordered which newspapers and TV networks would be included in the order. The companies said they would consider the list of black media outlets if replacement newspapers are needed when the ads are set to run, the AP noted.

January 20 v 15 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

STEP 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs. Galatians 6:1-2 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

This one is for all those who spend each and everyday giving back. Step twelve is I think my favorite because their is not a drug in the world that can match the feeling you get when you know you helped someone find God and sobriety. For those of you in recovery who give back , according to the Proverb you are just that a rare jewel , and for those of you still using if you find that rare jewel hold on tight , listen and work hard they will lead you into the promise land. Thank you to all my Brothers and Sisters who work tirelessly on themselves and others you are the true WINNERS in the game of life.