Two-Thirds of ER Visits for Opioid Overdoses Involve Prescription Drugs

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 28th, 2014/

More than two-thirds of emergency department visits for opioid overdoses involve prescription drugs, a new study finds.

Researchers from Stanford University analyzed tens of thousands of reports of opioid overdoses nationwide from 2010, HealthDay reports. Approximately 68 percent involved prescription drugs, the researchers write in JAMA Internal Medicine. The number may be even higher, since 13 percent of cases did not specify the drugs involved. In 3 percent of cases, multiple narcotics were involved. Heroin alone was involved in 16 percent of overdose cases.

“Opioid overdose exacts a significant financial and health care utilization burden on the U.S. health care system,” the researchers wrote. “Most patients in our sample overdosed on prescription opioids, suggesting that further efforts to stem the prescription opioid overdose epidemic are urgently needed.”

The study found 84 percent of prescription opioid overdoses occurred in urban areas, and 40 percent took place in the South. Women accounted for 53 percent of prescription opioid overdoses.

Many patients who came to the hospital for overdoses had other illnesses, such as chronic mental health problems, or circulatory or respiratory diseases. About half of the patients who were rushed to the ER for opioid overdoses were admitted to the hospital.

Internet Administrator Criticized for Not Cracking Down on Illegal Online Pharmacies

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 28th, 2014/

Critics charge the Internet’s central administrator is not doing enough to crack down on illegal online pharmacies, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) says its powers are limited.

This summer, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) worked with Interpol and many other countries to try to close down more than 1,300 websites suspected of selling drugs without a prescription. Officials sent a list of the websites to the Chinese company that registered them, the article notes. The company said it could not take action against the sites.

The officials then asked ICANN to act. The organization is continuing to investigate the matter, ICANN said earlier this month. Since February, 4,700 suspicious drug-selling websites have been reported to the group, and about 4,000 are still online, according to LegitScript, which tracks online pharmacies.

ICANN could help crack down on illicit Internet operators, according to regulators and law-enforcement agencies. The organization manages technical functions and oversees registrars that sell Web addresses.

ICANN’s Chief Executive, Fadi Chehadé, says critics do not understand the group’s role and what it can do. He compared ICANN to a motor-vehicle department. “We authorize a group of license plates to registrars to do business,” he told the newspaper. “I’m not responsible for what happens in the car.”

According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, thousands of complaints about online pharmacies and other sites piled up for months because ICANN stopped maintaining one of its computer systems in 2012.

Axelle Lemaire, France’s Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, says the organization’s “lack of transparency is very worrying. When it comes to selling illegal drugs online, it’s the health of world-wide citizens at stake.”

Daniel Burke, a special agent in the FDA’s cybercrime investigations unit, said ICANN “closes complaints, and they don’t say why, and the websites are still operating. It’s really quite frustrating.”

Teens Less Likely to Drink if Their Communities Have Strong Social Hosting Laws

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 28th, 2014/

A new study finds teenagers are less likely to drink at parties if their community has strong social hosting laws. These laws hold adults responsible if teens drink on their property, even if the adults claim they were unaware that underage drinking was taking place.

The researchers looked at 50 communities in California, half of which had social hosting laws, Business Standard reports. Teens were less likely to say they drank at parties if they lived in communities with especially strong social hosting laws.

“It does look like there is less-frequent drinking among teenagers in cities with stringent social host laws, even when other city and youth characteristics that are related to underage drinking are controlled for,” lead researcher Mallie Paschall of the Prevention Research Center in Oakland, California said in a news release. “So these laws might be an effective strategy for reducing hazardous drinking.” He noted, “Most kids get alcohol from social sources, not commercial ones.”

The findings are published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Strong social hosting laws specifically target underage drinking. They include a civil penalty, such as a large fine, that is quickly administered, Paschall said. Strong social hosting laws also hold property owners responsible, even if they say they didn’t know underage drinking occurred. He said police in some communities don’t enforce these laws, possibly because of a lack of support from the public or the local prosecutor’s office.

The researchers plan to study rates of teen drinking before and after social hosting laws are passed, to better measure their impact. They also want to assess the laws’ effect on problems related to teen drinking, such as drunk driving.

28 Percent of Fatally Injured Bicyclists Have High Blood Alcohol Levels

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 28th, 2014/

More than one-fourth of fatally injured bicyclists ages 16 and older had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least .08 percent, according to a new report. The legal limit is below .08 in all states.

The report, released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, found bicycle deaths rose 16 percent between 2010 and 2012, while the number of drivers killed increased 1 percent, CBS News reports.

“The percentage of fatally injured bicyclists with high BACs has remained relatively constant since the early 1980s and did not mirror the sharp drop in alcohol-impaired driving that occurred among passenger vehicle drivers in the 1980s and early 1990s,” the report’s author, Dr. Allan Williams, said in a news release.

In 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended states lower allowable blood-alcohol levels for drivers, from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. The NTSB said thousands of people are killed or injured each year by drivers who are not legally drunk, but who are still impaired. Currently about 10,000 people die in alcohol-related car crashes each year.

A person with a blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent is 38 percent more likely to be involved in a crash, compared with someone who has not been drinking, according to the NTSB. A person with a 0.08 blood-alcohol level is 169 percent more likely to be involved in an accident.

Greetings,

Please see the attached PRO-ACT Philadelphia Calendar for November. Also attached are flyers of our special programming. Please attention to our Stress Reduction and Relaxation program where you can earn a certificate for attending 9 sessions.

Certificate Program

STRESS REDUCTION AND RELAXATION

Part of Your Recovery

What do you do when you feel anxious or stressed?

Learn simple practices of breathing and relaxing mind and body.

You can use them any time, to calm and center yourself.

Tuesdays, 1:30 - 3:00

November 4 to December 30

9-week class

Certificate for those who attend at least 7 sessions (make-ups available)

Register at PRO-ACT, 1701 W. Lehigh Ave., Unit 6, 215-223-7700

The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.                                                   and           Pennsylvania Recovery Organization --      Achieving Community Together (PRO-ACT)  Recovery in Our Communities October 28, 2014      Like us on Facebook                                   www.councilsepa.org                       Follow us on Twitter Information and Recovery Support Line 24/7: 800-221-6333 HALT Series: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired:  Coping with LONELY Moments in Recovery        When I started my journey of alcohol and other drug addiction recovery, I learned an easy-to-use guide to help steer me away from danger and keep me on my positive path. I was told to NEVER allow myself to get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. These feelings and biological experiences may lead a person to use a substance to help them cope with those uncomfortable feelings. I learned to HALT whenever I had these feelings and stop and think before acting and choose a more positive means to cope. It is an effective tool and twenty-two years later, I am still using it! Continuing our HALT series, we are focusing on LONELY (the forgotten middle child of HALT). While it may be relatively easy to identify when you are hungry, angry, or tired because of the observable physiological identifiers, loneliness is trickier. Loneliness can creep up on you and before you realize it, you are sinking in a bog of depression that is hard to escape. Loneliness is difficult to describe, very subjective, and differs from person to person. You may have heard people say that they can feel lonely in a room full of people. We all have felt lonely at times. For me, it takes the form of isolation.    (Continue reading)     UPCOMING COMMUNITY PROGRAMS ON OPIATES   TONIGHT!  Overdose Education Advisory Board, October 28, 5-7 pm, Bailiwick Unit 12, 252 W Swamp Road, Doylestown, PA. Click here for more information.  Town Hall Meeting "Heroin & Opiates" October 30, 7:00 pm at Morning Star Fellowship Church, 429 S 9th St, Quakertown, PA  "Opiates and Youth: A Comprehensive View" November 19, 8 am - 4:45 pm at Spring Mill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Road, Ivyland, PA Click here for more information on these programs or email David with questions.  "I recently joined the ranks of the unemployed a couple weeks ago.  It is a sudden change after five and a half years of steady work.  To be able to walk back in to PRO-ACT and be treated so kindly and professionally as I scramble to get my resume together has been a much appreciated comfort. I have learned a lot of useful information, especially in the "Gateway to Work" seminar, and truly appreciate the attention afforded me upon my follow up visit!"  - John Danks  AT OUR CENTERS Gateway to Work  Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 am at SBRCC, 1286, Veterans Highway, Unit D-6, Bristol; 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 1:00 pm at CBRRC, 252 W Swamp Road, Doylestown. Get help with resume building, barriers to employment and motivation. Contact Rick at 215-345-6644 or email for more information.   Fun Friday at PRCC, 1701 W Lehigh Ave., Unit 6, Philadelphia; Join us from 5 - 7:30 pm for our Halloween Party!  Prize for the best costume!  Call 215-223-7700 for more information.      "Fed Up," Movie, November 7, 6 - 9 pm, Bailiwick Unit 12, 252 West Swamp Road, Doylestown. A movie that will change the way people think about eating. Bring a dish, Pot Luck Dinner. Register with Rick, 215-345-6644, or email Rick. "Minute For Moms" at SBRCC, 1286 Veterans Highway, Unit D-6, Bristol Support group for Moms and Moms to Be discussing parenting, healthy relationships and support networks. 2nd Wednesday of every month. Next meeting is November 12 at 6 pm. Call 215-788-3738 X100 or email Karen for more information. "A Sugar Seminar" at CBRRC, November 19, 9 am - 12 noon, Bailiwick Unit 12, 252 W Swamp Road, Doylestown.  Learn how sugar affects your recovery and relapse potential.  Click here for more information.  WAYS TO GET INVOLVED WITH PRO-ACT Committee Meetings All Volunteer Meeting, at PRTC, October 30 and November 20, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Volunteer Orientation, at PRTC, November 4, 10 am - 1 pm Bucks Chapter, at CBRCC, Unit 33, November 4, at 6:00 pm Amends in Action, at PRTC, November 12, 3 - 4 pm Recreation Celebration, at PRCC, November 14, 3 - 4 pm Young People in Recovery, at PRTC, November 17, 7:30 - 8:30 pm Educating the Community, at PRCC, November 21, 3 - 4 pm. Recovery Walks 2015 Planning Committee, at PRTC, December 1, 6 - 7:30 pm Employment Opportunities: Click here

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