Substance Abuse Treatment Much More Likely for Men: Report
 

By Join Together Staff | April 10, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs & Treatment

A new government report finds twice as many adult men as women entered substance abuse treatment facilities in 2011. The report found 1.2 million men, and 609,000 females, entered such facilities that year.

Among teens 12 to 17, the rate of substance dependence for both males and females was about 7 percent, UPI reports. The findings come from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Teenage boys were more likely to abuse marijuana, while teenage girls were more likely to abuse alcohol.

Twenty-two percent of women ages 18 to 24 said marijuana was their primary substance of abuse, compared with 3 percent of men the same age. Women 65 and older were almost three times as likely to abuse prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, compared with men of the same age.

“This report provides insight into how age and gender relate to substance abuse, SAMHSA Chief Medical Officer Elinore McCance-Katz said in a news release. “SAMHSA believes that health care professionals can use this information in designing programs that are better tailored to effectively meet the treatment needs of both genders.”

APRIL 10 v 8 TWELVE STEPPING WITH THE POWER IN THE PROVERB

 

The wise are glad to be instructed,
but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.



STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.



God knows we all need step two ! When I was lost drifting in the sea of my addiction God and friends sent me many life boats to get out of the angry sea. For some insane reason I convinced myself that I can get to shore on my own . The water was way above my head at times and it was a struggle every minute of everyday to keep from going under and drowning . Eventually I could not tread water anymore and I was left with a do or die decision . The next time a life boat comes along I will have to grab the hand that is reaching out for me. Gods hand is always reaching out you just have to grab it . God comes in the form of family friends and anyone else who wants you out of the sea safe on dry land . God and family have a better plan for your life and it is not you drowning in the sea of addiction.



JAMES 4 : 10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

By Joseph Dickerson

	COA on News 12 Last Friday, City of Angels was featured on News 12 in a special report on the new overdose prevention drug, Narcan.  To watch the show, click here. Recovery Coach Training at COA From April 26 to May 2, 2014, City of Angels NJ, Inc. will offer Recovery Coach training for anyone interested in serving as a guide or mentor to people in recovery or seeking recovery.    This week-long, 30-hour training class is invaluable for anyone living or working with addiction sufferers including counselors, health care professionals, teachers, friends and family. It can make a big difference in how you interact with, and how much you can actually help, people with addictions and upon completion, participants will be certified as Recovery Coaches.    Early registration rates will be in effect for the COA Recovery Coach Academy for the next few days ONLY, so if you are interested in this program, please register online right away. For details and to register, click here.    Questions? Contact CityofAngelsNJ@hotmail.com. New on COARR Let's Talk About Recovery!   The COARR archives have recently been expanded with show photos and links to resources. Catch up on your favorite shows and listen to episodes you missed!   COARR can be accessed via any Internet-enabled device - for the free smartphone app, visit your iphone or android store.      Tomorrow (Thursday, 4/10) at 9:00 pm, Redneck talks about prostitution & addiction   This is happening to families in Hamilton! Don't miss this important radio show in which Hamilton moms talk about how their addicted daughters were held as prostitutes in return for drugs.    This is Part II of a special series on human trafficking in Hamilton.  To listen to Part I from last week, click here.     Listen to past COARR shows any time: For "Women & Addiction" with Terri Thomas, click here. For "Hope Fiend" with Minister Rich Mollica, click here. For "Emotional Sobriety" with Andy Finley MFT, click here. For "Journey Thru the 12 Steps with the Life Recovery Bible," click here. For "Share Your Scars" with Vicki, click here. For "Wings Over Water: Creativity in Recovery" with recovery musician Kathy Moser, click here. For "Laughter & Recovery" with stand up comic Wil B. Kleen, click here. For "Relationships in Recovery" with Alexa, click here. For "Saving Lives" with COA Director of Interventions Tom Redneck Clark, click here. For "Nar-Anon Families of Addiction Information Line" click here. New on the COA YouTube This is why we don't give up This video was filmed at City of Angels in early March. It shows the power of the human spirit - that it is always possible to bring an addiction under control, even when all seems lost. To watch, click the link at right. To listen to Brett talking with COA Director of Interventions Tom Redneck Clark on his COARR show, "Saving Lives", click here. In this radio show, Brett describes how his addiction developed and ultimately took him to prison. Despite the odds, he found recovery and is now re-building his life.
	Meet the New COA Baseball Team! Spring is here and that means...baseball! This year, COA has its first-ever men's baseball team. The players are in recovery and will battle other teams in the NJ Amateur Baseball League. For updates on the team and their game schedule, check out the COA Facebook page or the COA page on the NJABL website.  For the COA Facebook page, click here. For NJABL, click here.

Daily Quote

"Acceptance is the key to my relationship with God today. I never just sit and do nothing while waiting for Him to tell me what to do. Rather, I do whatever is in front of me to be done, and I leave the results up to Him; however it turns out, that's God's will for me." - Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 420

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 Let’s Get Serious About Treating Addiction
 

By Dr. David Rosenbloom | April 9, 2014 | 3 Comments | Filed in Addiction, Drugs, Insurance, Mental Health & Treatment


Every few years the media report an epidemic of heroin overdose deaths; often after a celebrity like Phillip Seymour Hoffman dies to set off the spark. This time the spike in deaths—which is real– is being attributed to heroin mixed with fentanyl. Attention will fade but the deaths will continue. We wring our hands about overdoses, but do little to make effective treatment widely available. Our continuing refusal to prevent and treat addiction is a medical and social scandal.

Here are the policy changes I believe we must make to end this scandal:

1) Complete the transition to individual health insurance with complete coverage for addiction treatment. The bulk of addiction treatment today is provided by small free standing programs that depend on contracts with public entities for treatment “slots” or individual out of pocket payment. The programs with contracts are responsive to their funders, not to the patients who may be filling a slot at the moment. The organization and funding of our treatment system works against developing a long term relationship between patient and provider that is key to successful long-term recovery. When a patient leaves, the treatment entity has no continuing contact with that person. Obamacare can cover almost all the people with addiction in the country if states, employers and insurers implement it properly. Sadly, some existing treatment programs are dragging their heels or opposed to getting their patients covered because they find it easier to bill the state or because they cannot meet the administrative and clinical requirements for accepting insurance payments.

2) Integrate addiction, mental illness and medical treatment around individuals with severe addiction. Telling a patient who is unemployed, homeless, addicted and mentally ill to go someplace different for each service or to wait weeks for an appointment is malpractice because the providers know it will not happen. We should force consolidation of addiction treatment, mental illness and medical care providers to coordinate and take care of the most severely ill patients in one place. The few places where this kind of care is provided now get much better results for their patients.

3) Increase insurance payment rates for addiction treatment to a level that meets providers’ costs, draws in new responsible providers, and pays for the required coordination. Very low Medicaid and private insurance payment rates create and perpetuate the shortage of quality treatment. Appropriate payment rates will attract higher quality providers.

4) Reward longer stays in treatment and stop using providers that are unable to successfully retain patients in treatment long enough for it to be effective. Longer time in treatment, inpatient or outpatient, improves outcomes. Research shows that drug treatment for less than 90 days is generally not effective, but very few public or private insurance programs authorize that much treatment now. It is shocking that some treatment programs still throw a patient out if he relapses during treatment. Relapse is part of the disease and a signal for more treatment, not a reason to end it.

5) Require hospitals, health centers, HMO’s and other primary providers, as a condition of their participation in Medicaid, Medicare, and public employee health programs, to demonstrate that they diagnose all patients with alcohol and drug disease and that they have a clinically sound program that gets individuals the care they need. Today, most hospitals refuse to provide addiction treatment at any appropriate scale even though many of their patients would have better clinical outcomes if they got brief interventions or treatment.

6) Stop the revolving door at detoxification programs. Current policy and reimbursement get the patient out the door as soon as he or she is “medically stable,” whether or not the person is connected or ready to enter real addiction treatment. The vast majority of people who leave detox without directly entering and staying in treatment quickly relapse. Many think they “failed” treatment but the truth is they never had any treatment, just detoxification.

7) Stop arresting people for non-violent drug offenses. And stop putting people back in jail or prison for non-violent addiction related probation violations. Our current policies ruin thousands of young lives. Addiction is a disease, not a crime. Drug court programs are fine, but they touch only a tiny proportion of the people in the criminal justice system who need treatment.

David L. Rosenbloom, PhD, is Professor, Boston University School of Public Health and former Director of Join Together.

This feature was originally published on the BU Today website.

Largest Health Insurer in Massachusetts Has Cut Narcotic Prescriptions
 

By Join Together Staff | April 9, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related, Insurance, Prescription Drugs & Prevention


Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer, announced it has reduced prescriptions of narcotic painkillers by about 6.6 million pills in the past 18 months. The insurer limited the amount of opioids that members could obtain without prior approval of the company, WBUR reports.

Since the changes were implemented in July 2012, prescriptions for opioids including Percocet have declined by 20 percent, and those for long-lasting drugs such as OxyContin have declined by 50 percent, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President Andrew Dreyfus told The Boston Globe.

An initial review of prescription information, launched in 2011, revealed more than 30,000 of the company’s members received opioid prescriptions that lasted for more than 30 days. “What we found out is in looking at patients who deserved to get pain medications or needed pain medications, many of them were getting significantly more than they would need,” Dr. John Fallon, Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive, told WBUR.

Under the program, patients are initially given shorter-term prescriptions for opioids. Patients seeking long-term prescriptions must go through a review process. Before patients are given more medication beyond the new limits, they must be assessed for the risk of addiction, and must agree on a treatment plan with their doctor.

Patients with cancer or other terminal illnesses are exempt from the rules.

“In the past, physicians said that no one should be in pain, and people gave more prescription medication than they probably needed, and that led to supply sitting around, which was then used for inappropriate reasons,” Fallon said. “Now I think there’s an awareness in the physician community how hazardous these medications are.”