MARCH 12 v 27 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch,
but the diligent make use of everything they find.

STEP 11 - We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out. Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly. (Colossians 3:16)

Thats right work thats what it is gonna take ! Almost every morning , I get up at 5:30 am and work on this devotional for myself and all of you ! I pray ,read the bible then read the steps and pray some more and then write . If I did not then I would stay right where I am and not move any further. If you have the tools for a successful recovery and don't use them then you only have yourself to blame. Talk to anyone with multiple years sober time and I guarantee you that they have put together their own personal Recovery action Plan. I work long hours during the week so making meetings is too difficult . Thankfully I have this devotional and all of you ! Idle time is the devils playground so quit whining and complaining about your awful terrible addicted life get off your A... and WORK IT !  

Matthew chp 10 v 38 - Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my STEPS are not fit to be my disciples  .

Free Community Seminars

Presented by 

Livengrin's Family Services Department

Continue learning and being part of recovery by attending free monthly seminars held this Spring:

Livengrin Counseling Center -- Oxford Valley

195 Bristol-Oxford Valley Road

Langhorne, PA 19047

*Each Seminar is 6-8 pm*

 

Monday, April 7, 2014: Co-Occurring Disroders, 

by Tina Rowan, MA, CAADC, LPC

 

Monday, May 12, 2014: Relapse Prevention, 

by Shane Moes, MA, CAADC

 

Monday, June 9, 2014: Brain Chemistry: Addiction & Recovery, 

by William Lorman, PhD, MSN

 

 

Seating is limited -- these sessions often fill up so please register as soon as possible. 

 

To register for the sessions or for more information, 

call Dana Cohen, Family Therapist -- 215.638.5200 x162 

 

Ample free parking!

Attorney General Calls Attention to Heroin Overdose Crisis

By Join Together Staff | March 11, 2014 | 3 Comments | Filed in Drugs, Government, Prevention & Treatment

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday called the increase in heroin overdoses “an urgent and growing public health crisis,” The Washington Post reports.

Holder, who spoke in a video message on the Justice Department’s website, said the government is encouraging emergency personnel to carry the overdose antidote naloxone. The government is also targeting violent drug traffickers who bring heroin into the United States, Holder stated. He noted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has opened more than 4,500 heroin-related investigations since 2011.

“Confronting this crisis will require a combination of enforcement and treatment. The Justice Department is committed to both,” he said in the video.

Naloxone is becoming more widely available nationwide. California greatly expanded availability of the treatment as of January 1. Currently 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws allowing family and friends of people who are addicted to heroin or prescription opioids to have the antidote.

The treatment, sold under the brand name Narcan, has been used for many years by paramedics and doctors in emergency rooms. It is administered by nasal spray. The medication blocks the ability of heroin or opioid painkillers to attach to brain cells. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy says it is encouraging police departments to carry Narcan.

In his statement, Holder said the DEA is trying to reduce the supply of heroin “at all levels of the supply chain.” Officials are also working with law enforcement, physicians and others to increase prevention and treatment programs for heroin and prescription opioids. “It’s clear that opiate addiction is an urgent — and growing — public health crisis,” he said.

Substance Abuse Treatment Centers Report Problems With Insurance Coverage

By Join Together Staff | March 11, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Insurance, Legislation & Treatment

Substance abuse treatment providers say patients are having problems getting their care covered, even though such treatment is now considered an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires larger employer-based insurance plans to cover psychiatric illnesses and substance use disorders in the same way they do illnesses such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. The law was passed in 2008 and went into effect for most plans in 2010.

USA Today reports as of January 1, the Affordable Care Act added mental health and substance abuse treatment to its list of essential health benefits that must be covered in individual and small business health insurance plans. Coverage of this treatment cannot be any more restrictive than medical coverage, the article notes.

“Many providers … report less days and more difficulty with reimbursement since the final rules were established,” Michael Walsh, CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Professionals (NAATP), told the newspaper. He said many providers and insurers disagree “as to what the practical implementation of the rules should be and what should be covered.”

A survey by the NAATP shows 63 percent of denials for substance abuse treatment coverage since last July have involved disagreement over what qualifies as a medical necessity. “There’s a lot of confusion within the industry on how health care reform is going to be enforced,” said Nate Kasper, a Kansas treatment facility executive who heads the NAATP study.

Ben Brafman, CEO of Destination Hope treatment center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said that since the new essential benefits rule has been in effect, insurance companies have become more strict about what they will allow. In many cases where his center says patients need 30 days of in-patient treatment, insurance companies are only approving up to five days.

Americans’ Use of Cocaine Drops, While Marijuana Use Increases: Report

By Join Together Staff | March 11, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs

Americans’ cocaine use fell by about half from 2006 to 2010, while their use of marijuana jumped by more than 30 percent, a new report concludes.

The report, by the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, estimated Americans spent $100 billion annually on cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine between 2000 and 2010, according to HealthDay. During the decade studied, heroin use remained fairly stable. Use of methamphetamine increased sharply during the first half of the decade, and then decreased.

In 2000, Americans spent much more on cocaine than on marijuana, but that spending pattern had reversed by 2010, the article notes. The report does not cover the recent increases in heroin use, or the effects of laws in Colorado and Washington state that have legalized recreational use of marijuana.

“Our analysis shows that Americans likely spent more than one trillion dollars on cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine between 2000 and 2010,” lead researcher Beau Kilmer said in a news release. He noted the increase in marijuana use appears to be related to a rise in the number of people who said they use the drug every day or almost every day.

The figures for marijuana use come from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, while estimates for use of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine are largely based on information from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM). The federal government recently stopped funding for ADAM, the researchers note. They say it will be much more difficult to track the abuse of these drugs in the future.