| Doctors and Drug Abuse: Why Addictions Can Be So Difficult |
| LOS ANGELES TIMES (07/24) - Allegations that Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito used methamphetamine and ecstasy while he was dean of USC’s medical school have opened a window into the pervasiveness of drug use and addiction among physicians and the challenges they face when confronting it. Experts say physicians become substance abusers at about the same rate as the general population. But they are often reluctant to seek treatment out of fear of losing their medical licenses and livelihoods. Read more |
|
|
|
| FDA Targets Cigarettes in Broadening of Fight Against Addiction |
| BLOOMBERG (07/29) - On Friday, the FDA announced it would take advantage of powers in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act -- a law enacted under a Democratic Congress and then-President Obama -- to cut the level of nicotine in cigarettes to nonaddictive levels... The move shocked Washington and Wall Street, sending tobacco stocks reeling. Read more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| How a Reddit Forum Has Become a Lifeline to Opioid Addicts in the US |
| THE GUARDIAN (07/19) - Reddit is a modern-day canary in the coal mine for the people of Appalachia – a region of the United States disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic. Since the presidential election, a Reddit forum called r/opiates has transformed into a lifesaving map for addicts navigating a minefield frequently filled with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid nearly 100 times more potent than morphine. Read more |
|
|
|
| Costs and Outcomes of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in the US |
| JAMA (08/01) - ...Nearly 18% of adults reported having a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in 2015, including more than 1 in 5 women. Furthermore, nearly 3% of people aged 12 years or older reported addiction to or misuse of an illicit drug in 2015, including more than 7% of people aged 18 to 25 years. However, 1 in 5 people say they or a family member had to forego needed mental health services because they couldn’t afford the cost, their insurance wouldn’t cover it, they were afraid or embarrassed, or they didn’t know where to go. Read more |
|
|
|
| Marijuana Justice Act Would End Weed Prohibition Throughout The Land |
| FORBES (08/01) - Presented today, a new congressional bill aims to get government and cannabis on the same side of the law by ending a decades-long federal ban on the plant. Introduced by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, the "Marijuana Justice Act of 2017" seeks to end federal prohibition of cannabis and address the impacts that such prohibition continues to have on both government and individuals. Read more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| This Is Your Brain On Drugs: How Science Explains Addiction |
| VPR (07/25) - We've learned a lot about how devastating opiate addiction is for families and communities but on the next Vermont Edition, we're taking the conversation about addiction to the cellular level. We'll learn what is actually happening in our brains and bodies that triggers an addiction, whether to heroin, alcohol or even to certain behaviors. Read more |
|
|
|
| Team-Based Model Reduces Prescription Opioid Use Among Patients with Chronic Pain by 40 Percent |
| SCIENCE DAILY (07/17) - A new, team-based, primary care model is decreasing prescription opioid use among patients with chronic pain by 40 percent, according to a new study out of Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine, which is published online ahead of print in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more |
|
|
|
| Recovery Coaches at ERs Try to Help Opioid Addicts Avoid Another Overdose |
| THE WASHINGTON POST (07/22) - ...Arafat’s mission — and that of other recovery coaches, as they are called — is not to persuade overdose survivors to get into treatment but to offer advice on how to get started once they’ve decided they’re ready to quit. If they’re not interested when he meets them in the emergency room, he’ll follow up with phone calls after they leave the hospital. He’ll also advise them on how to use drugs more safely, if that’s what they choose to do. Read more |
|
 | New Adult SASSI-4: Exciting Features |
|
 | |
| Rx scale that accurately identifies individuals likely to be abusing prescription medications. Screens for multiple levels of SUD severity. Enhanced SUD identification through subtle items added. Distinguishes likely SUD from other psychological disorders. Additional face valid items to identify symptoms represented in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. TRAINING AVAILABLE - NAADAC CEUs |
|
|
|
|
| Dual Regimen Aims To Shorten Medication-Assisted Therapy |
| NIDA (05/10) - Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, and colleagues were prompted to develop the regimen by concerns about the practicality and safety of treating young adults with buprenorphine. Although Bp/Nx is a widely used and highly effective treatment for opioid addiction, many young adults require repeated or long-term treatment to avoid relapse. Read more |
|
|
|
| Poor Medication Adherence and Risk of Relapse Associated with Continued Cannabis Use in Patients with First-Episode Psychosis: a Prospective Analysis |
| THE LANCET (07/10) - Cannabis use following the onset of first-episode psychosis has been linked to both increased risk of relapse and non-adherence with antipsychotic medication. Whether poor outcome associated with cannabis use is mediated through an adverse effect of cannabis on medication adherence is unclear. Read more |
|
|
|
| Trump's FDA Chief Takes Wide Aim at Opioid Addiction Crisis |
| BLOOMBERG POLITICS (07/24) - The Food and Drug Administration, as part of a sweeping overhaul in how it regulates opioid painkillers, plans to look to some unusual allies to limit the flood of the addictive pills -- health insurers and companies that manage prescription drug benefits. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb plans to meet in September with the benefit payers and insurance administrators, groups the FDA hasn’t typically worked with in its role as a drug regulator. Read more |
|
|
|
| Treating Alcohol Use Disorder with Motivational Interviewing in Active-Duty Army Soldiers |
| CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE (07/26) - Over time, more active duty soldiers have reported heavy alcohol use and prescription drug misuse. Some of these soldiers will require professional treatment. Even though treatment options exist, a very small number of soldiers actually receive treatment for substance use problems. Read more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| U.S. Called for New Marijuana Research Bids--But Granted No Approvals |
| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (07/24) - Almost a year after the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would consider granting additional licenses to cultivate cannabis for research purposes—and despite drawing 25 applicants so far—the agency has yet to greenlight a new grow operation. The DEA says it does not have a timeline to approve or deny applications and noted that it is dealing with a new review process. Read more |
|
|
|
| Incorporating 12-Step Program Elements Improves Youth Substance-Use Disorder Treatment |
| MEDICAL XPRESS (06/26) - A treatment program for adolescents with substance-use disorder that incorporates the practices and philosophy of 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) produced even better results than the current state-of-the art treatment approach in a nine-month, randomized trial. The results of the study, led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) psychologist, are being published online in the journal Addiction. Read more |
|
| Up to 50% Off |
|
|
|
|
| How Safe Is America's Hottest Heroin Addiction Treatment? |
| VICE (07/26) - Vivitrol is all the rage amid a brutal opioid epidemic. But it may also make it almost impossible to feel pleasure—and raise the risk of fatal overdose after relapse. Read more |
|
|
|
| Why Do Adults Misuse Prescription Drugs? |
| SAMHSA (07/27) - Prescription drug misuse is second only to marijuana use as the nation's most commonly used illicit drug. Although prescription drug misuse is common in the United States, the majority of people (87.2 percent) who take prescription pain relievers do not misuse them. Understanding the prevalence of and reasons for prescription drug misuse has major public health implications. Policymakers can use this type of information to help inform their assessments of substance use prevention and treatment needs in their communities. Read more |
|
_CB.jpg)
