Good morning everyone, this Friday evening will be a special night at road to recovery with a concert from the band Grandeur coming through all the way from Missouri. Starting at 7pm www.grandeurband.com They will also be playing the following night at Souled Out coffeehouse in the Northeast.. please invite some friends out for this Halloween alternative event. I will be sharing a message from Matthew chapter 11 verse 28 to 30 "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." See you there!! Bring some goodies!!

San Francisco Bill Would Require Drug Makers to Fund Take-Back Program

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 23rd, 2014/

Officials in San Francisco have introduced a bill that would require drug manufacturers to fund and manage a take-back program for prescription drugs. The move follows a decision earlier this month by a federal appeals court that forces drug makers to pay to dispose of unused and unexpired medications in Alameda County, California.

San Francisco has a pilot drug take-back program, The Wall Street Journal reports. The pharmaceutical industry provides about 40 percent of the funding for the program. The bill would expand the number of drop-off sites from 13 to as many as 60.

“There has been great demand for a permanent solution to this environmental, public health and public safety issue. We all have unused and leftover drugs in our homes, but not all of us have a reasonable means to properly discard them,” San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu said in a statement.

Alameda County passed an ordinance in 2012 to establish a drug take-back program. The county said the measure is the first in the nation to require drug makers to set up a program to dispose of expired and unused medications. County officials said the annual cost of the program will be about $330,000. The industry trade group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, estimates the program would cost drug makers about $1.2 million.

The county wants to reduce contaminants in drinking water by giving people an alternative to flushing their medications down the toilet. Officials also hope the measure will reduce prescription drug abuse by reducing the amount of medication in home medicine cabinets.

The pharmaceutical industry filed a lawsuit that claimed the measure violates the Constitution by interfering with interstate commerce. The suit argued safe disposal of unused medications should be a shared responsibility, and that requiring drug companies to pay for the entire cost would ultimately result in increased prices for consumers.

Participation in High-Contact Sports Increases Teens’ Risk of Substance Use: Study

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 23rd, 2014/

Teens who play high-contact sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse or wrestling are more likely than those who play noncontact sports to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or marijuana, a new study suggests.

Playing noncontact sports such as tennis, swimming, track and gymnastics reduced the risk of substance use, Medical Xpress reports.

“Competitive sports participation can either inhibit or amplify substance use. It just depends upon which type of sport adolescents are involved with,” researcher Philip Veliz of the University of Michigan said in a news release.

Veliz said teens who play high-contact sports see their body as an instrument that can be easily gambled with. Those who play sports involving minimal or no contact are focused on maintaining their fitness, he added. The findings cast doubt on the belief that participating in any type of competitive sport will discourage teens from engaging in risky behaviors like substance use, Veliz noted.

The researchers used data from the annual Monitoring the Future survey, which asks teens about a range of topics including substance use, academic performance and participation in competitive sports. More than 21,000 teens were asked about substance and illicit drug use during a 30-day period, the article notes. The findings appear in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

NIH Provides Grants to Explore Use of Social Media to Prevent, Treat Substance Use

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 23rd, 2014/

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund researchers who are studying the use of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to prevent and treat substance use and addiction.

The NIH announced it will provide grants totaling more than $11 million over three years, according to Medical Daily. “We hope to learn more about how changing technologies affect interpersonal communications and factual knowledge about tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs, including the nonmedical use of prescription drugs,” Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a news release.

Scientists can use social media to identify current attitudes and myths about alcohol, drugs and tobacco, the article notes. They can also use social media to convey accurate information to the public, and to learn about patterns of use, risk factors and behaviors associated with substance use.

Grant recipients include Dr. Sean Young of the University of California, Los Angeles, who will use his NIH award to study the feasibility of using social media to reduce prescription drug abuse among patients with chronic pain. Dr. Yong Ge of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will use data mining techniques to extract tweets related to substance use. Dr. Warren Bickel of Virginia Tech will investigate whether social networks can support continued recovery

CALENDAR LISTING: 

“Expanding Your Recovery Toolkit” Workshop Nov. 18 in Doylestown

Free monthly workshop series for individuals and families with a current or pastdrug/alcohol addiction issue. Next session meets Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., 252 W. Swamp Rd., Unit 12, Doylestown, Pa. Featuring presentations by speakers in recovery, plus a group discussion period. Refreshments. To register, call 215-345-6644, ext. 3151 or email RPetrolawicz@councilsepa.org.

October 27 Chp 64 v 8 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALM

Their own tongues will ruin them ,and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

Scorn-the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable; contempt.

Step 8- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

The only one in this world who can truly understand scorn is someone who struggles with addiction .We don't wake up one day and say when I grow up I want to be an addict . Addiction is slow and subtle . Pain caused by our self medicating ways is in no way meant to be personal .The wreckage of my life is and was not pre-meditated . I have hurt you deeply and you feel like I hate you ! What can I say to explain my actions , I am liar and you cant trust me. When I was an addict scorn is the way I feel and your hate will not help me overcome or get out of my prison. Look pass the pain I am causing and please forgive me ! Jesus teaches Love tears down all strongholds but if you hold onto the scorn love cant get through and neither will you .

1 Corinthians 13 4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

By Joseph Dickerson