National Drug Abuse Summit Orlando Florida

This inaugural, must-attend National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, April 10-12, 2012, is unlike any other national conference, bringing all impacted parties together to address the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Conference programming is designed to convey a synergistic approach to include: prevention, education, treatment, law enforcement, health care providers, advocates, and human resources – among other impacted parties.

Diversion of prescription medications from their legitimate medical uses has become an epidemic that requires a coordinated national effort to find data-driven solutions. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from state and national leaders, law enforcement officials, medical professionals, community advocates, treatment experts, educators, private industry leaders, and others who are finding success in battling this epidemic. In addition, the event is intended to foster better understanding and cooperation between all groups and how that cooperation can lead to successful outcomes. Conference programming features breakout sessions impacting law enforcement, trent, health care, advocacy and prevention.

“We cannot afford to ignore the fast-growing drug problem in America. It impacts everything from medical expenses to workforce viability and it requires a multi-faceted approach with support, from not only state and national leaders, but also leaders on the ground in our rural and urban communities. This first of its kind Summit will get all parties together to address this issue.”
Congressman Hal Rogers, Chair, House Appropriations Committee

Your peers at this Summit will come from:

• Federal and state legislators and policy makers
• Federal and state executive leaders
• Healthcare practitioners with prescription privileges
• Certified substance abuse counselors and recovery specialists
• Law enforcement personnel
• Treatment facility managers
• Advocates, families, and patients working to increase awareness and effect change
• Pharmaceutical executives
• Prominent academicians and researchers
• Government officials tasked with regulatory oversight
• Insurance payers and benefits managers
• Suppliers of prescription monitoring technologies

Your presence at this national Summit signifies a firm commitment to meaningful dialogue and cooperation in addressing the prescription drug abuse epidemic in our country. Through this type of collaboration, our work can be more impactful. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

National Advisory Board

Operation UNITE has formed a National Advisory Board to guide program development and conference offerings and has partnered with Inquisit, a division of Amerinet, to identify, design and deliver cutting-edge continuing education programs for conference attendees.

Agenda & Workshops

• NEW! RxSummit Schedule of Events
• NEW! RxSummit Track Descriptions
• RxSummit Keynote Presenters

For more information contact Cathy Lenox at summit@centertech.com or 1-866-678-6483.atme

About PRO-A

Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance, Inc.

Mission:
The Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance will mobilize, educate and advocate to eliminate the stigma and discrimination toward those affected by alcoholism and other drug addiction to ensure hope, health and justice for individuals, families and those in recovery.

Vision:
As the statewide leader, PRO-A’s vision is a Pennsylvania where:
- Alcohol and other drug addiction is accepted as a treatable disease;
- Recovery is known as a gift back to society through personal, family and community healing;
- Recovering individuals and their families have a respected voice in setting public policy;
- Early and effective prevention exists to reduce the onset of this disease;
- Quality intervention, treatment and on-going support are readily available for individuals, families and those in recovery.

Goals of PRO-A:
The Board of Directors and staff of PRO-A have developed the following goals pursuant to our agency mission and objectives.

Goal # 1 – Build the capacity of the organizations to participate in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of addiction treatment policies, systems, and service for youth and adults so that they become more responsive to the needs of recovering people and their families.

Goal #2 – Improve public understanding of addiction and recovery, including the elimination of stigma and discrimination faced by those with substance use disorders.

Goal #3 – Improve public access to effective addiction treatment services, appropriate lengths of stay and continuing care support for youth and adults.

Goal #4 – Ensure long-term sustainability and development of organization by effectively utilizing resources and diversifying funding sources.

Anoymous Comment!

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services is one of the main D&A treatment facilities in McKean, Cameron, Elk and Potter county. They provide education, outpatient, intensive outpatient, inpatient (short-term) and other prevention services. They also do gambling treatment. The website is adasonline.org. They have offices in Bradford, Kane, Port, Coudy, Emporium and St Marys. on MAPLE MANOR PORT ALLEGANY PA.

HARBOR COUNSELING OF WELLSBORO

Harbor Counseling of Wellsboro, offers most D&A treatment services and now has added a Certified Recovery Specialist to their staff. The Recovery Specialist is there for you from the time you walk in the door until well after your treatment has ended.  Being in recovery myself, I know how difficult it can be trying to put your life back together again, that's where the Recovery Specialist steps in!  As you know, I am a Recovery Specialist and have had the awesome opportunity to assist many on there road to recovery.  This is a wonderful addition to the staff at Harbor, you can call Harbor at 570-724-5272 or 607-242-4830 and ask for the Recovery Specialist and they will assist you!  Harbor is located at 7095 Route 287 Wellsboro Pa. 16901

MAPLE MANOR PORT ALLEGANY PA.

Struggling with addiction!Maple manor can help,call 814-642-9522 and speak to one of our caring staff who will assist you in getting the treatment you need.They are located at 118 Chestnut St.

Study of Siblings’ Brains Provides Clues to Addiction

A new study of siblings’ brain structure and function may provide clues to addiction. Time reports that the study suggests at least some brain changes seen in addiction are a cause of excessive drug use, not the result.

The study looked at the brain structure and cognitive function of 47 people with addiction, 49 of their siblings who were not addicted, and 50 healthy people who were drug-free and not related to the others in the study. The people who were addicted had been using stimulants such as cocaine or amphetamines for an average of 16 years. A little more than half also were addicted to heroin or prescription painkillers, and one-fourth also had alcoholism. Their siblings had minimal exposure to illicit drugs.

All study participants were tested on their ability to control their impulses, which is a predictor of addiction. They were given a stop-signal task, in which they are told to respond quickly and repeatedly in a specific way, such as pushing a button, and then must suddenly stop the behavior.

The researchers report in Science that both people who were addicted and their siblings demonstrated significantly reduced performance on the task compared with the drug-free, unrelated group. The results suggest that poor impulse control is not a result of drug use, but is something people are born with.

The brain scans found the siblings had similar abnormalities in an area of the brain involved with self-control, and in regions that are involved in inhibiting impulses, the article notes.

In a commentary accompanying the study, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, noted the brain abnormalities seen in the siblings are similar to those seen in the brains of teenagers, who are well known for their impulsive behavior.

Study author Karen Ersche of the University of Cambridge said siblings of drug-addicted people may have inherited a type of protective resilience, such as an easier temperament. “The siblings may have tried drugs, but they never developed the habit,” she said.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

Adversity reveals character!  Every challenge we face in life can lift us or sink us what are you gonna do when life hits the fan?  Myself personally would find the nearest drug or bottle of booze and medicate myself into oblivion the only problem was when I came back to my senses life was worse.  So what are you gonna do today when life hits the fan! When it happens to me I like to go some place quiet and pray for peace and wisdom. Taking a time out and changing your surroundings is a great way to put a challenge in a new perspective.  We cannot continue to let adversity rule and determine how we live, but we can take rule over adversity and use it to develop a strong moral character! REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

GATEWAY TO WORK PRESENTED BY PRO-ACT

LEARN THE TOOLS AND TRAINING FOR THAT
  JOB AND HOW TO KEEP IT
                   REGISTER EARLY –LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE
                   A WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE YOUR JOB, FAMILY AND LIFE
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
“POSITIONING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW”
:
IN ONLY 42 HOURS.... IN 7 CLASSES....YOU WILL HAVE LEARNED THE FOLLOWING
AND MUCH MORE:
* RESUME WRITING                                    * INTERNET LITERACY
*COMPOSING COVER LETTERS                       * COMPUTER SKILLS
* INTERVIEW PREPARATION                     * UNDERGO MOCK INTERVIEW
* PRACTICAL LlFE SKILLS                             * JOB APPLICATION SKILLS
*PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR                            * GOVERNMENTAL INCENTIVES
FOR WORKPLACE SUCCESS                           FOR EMPLOYERS TO HIRE YOU
                             
                                                               
GAIN THE SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES TO GET AND KEEP THE JOB YOU WANT.
Classes will be on the following dates:
Tuesday, February 14, Thursday, February16, Friday, February 17,
Tuesday, February 21, Thursday, February 23, Friday, February 24,
Tuesday, February 28
                      CLASS HOURS EACH DAY FROM 9:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.
CLASS WILL BE HELD AT PRO-ACT
444 North 3rd

Street, Suite #307 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19123
To register: Call 215-923-1661 ask for SEAN or 215-680-3466 ask for Jack

Drugs and Prisons

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

© Prisoner 159753

While differences in politics or philosophy can lead to debate about the best course of action for bettering our national drug problem, no one who looks at the statistics that illustrate the consequences of drug abuse and addiction can deny the enormous monetary and human costs of drugs.

Any conversation on the social costs of drug use must surely contain at least a mention of the enormous numbers of Americans who are or have been incarcerated due to either the use or sale of illegal drugs.

Some of the facts:

• In 2008, according to the Department of Corrections, there were 7,308,200 Americans in the corrections system. On a per capita basis, America has far more of its citizens in jails than any other country in the world. Following America are Russia, Rwanda, St Kitts & Nevis and Cuba.

• In 2007, it cost a state prison an average of $67.55 per day to jail a drug offender. In 2007, state prisons held 253,300 men women and minors, which totals up to a daily cost of $17,110,415 and an annual cost of $6,245,301,475.

• In 2008, states spent $52 billion in jailing people, which is more than twice the amount that was spent on public assistance of all kinds ($25.1 billion)

• In 2006, of those held in state prisons on drug offences, Of the estimated 265,800 prisoners under state jurisdiction sentenced for drug offenses in 2006, 27.1 % were white (27.1%), 44.2% were black and 21% were Hispanic. Blacks account for just over 12% of the total American population.

• In 2000, the average drug felony offender in federal prisons had been sentenced to 75.6 months, which is just slightly less than the average sentence of 86.6 months given to federal offenders who had committed felony violent crimes. ¹

• Since 1992, more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana. In 1999 - 60 000 Americans were serving time for marijuana offenses.

• Every extra dollar that is spent by local, state or federal governments on substance abuse treatment yields an eventual social costs savings of $7.46²

Read more: Drugs and Prisons 

Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome?

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

© Banalities

Is there any truth to the stereotype of the lazy, half-witted, burnt out marijuana smoker?

Amotivational Syndrome...The Facts 

Amotivational syndrome, a collection of observable consequences of heavy marijuana use that includes apathy, lethargy, reduced concentration, lowered intelligence and a lack of desire to partake in meaningful activities of upwards mobility; has never been clinically proven as factual or real.

No Clinical Causal Link

Problematically, the difficulties inherent in proving a casual link between marijuana usage and such a wide collection of behavioral changes prohibits a clinically demonstrable relationship, and some marijuana users, even heavy smokers, do not seem to display the characteristic traits of the amotivational syndrome.

Governmental propoganda?

A fact not last to marijuana advocates who argue of governmental propaganda and the propagation of myth, something that government have in the past been guilty of, and some would argue remain guilty of to this day. This is unfortunate, as there are enough legitimate risks of marijuana usage to give weight to arguments against its use, without resorting to half truths and myth.

Some Real Statistics About the Harms of Marijuana

But although amotivational syndrome cannot be proven as a casual result of marijuana usage, there are certain statistics that do illustrate the correlation between marijuana use and lowered academic and professional success and accomplishments.

• Marijuana users are less likely to finish high school
• They get lower grades in high school and in college than do non smokers
• They perform lower on tests of intellectual capacity
• They self report a decreased ability to excel professionally
• Heavy marijuana users self report that their marijuana habit decreases their ability to perform complex work tasks well, to learn new tasks professionally and that their marijuana usage has hampered their upwards professional climb.

Marijuana and Developmental Delays in Teens

Marijuana usage is conclusively and casually linked to a reduction in ability to consolidate new memories for about 24 hours after you smoke; which for heavy or daily marijuana smokers means all the time. Essentially, marijuana can decrease your ability to learn.

Psychologists argue that when a teen starts smoking marijuana heavily, they lose the ability to consolidate the emotional and social learning necessary for a real transition out of adolescence and into adulthood. Marijuana blunts the emotional response to external stimuli, and as such when under the influence of marijuana, teens do not appropriately experience complex emotional and developmental challenges, and do not learn healthy was to navigate the emotional and psychosocial landscape of adulthood.

The earlier teens start smoking, the greater the deficit in learned social behaviors, and the greater the eventual harms.

So there is no direct evidence linking marijuana usage to amotivational syndrome, but marijuana does cause decreased academic, professional and general life performance. It does lessen the ability to learn, and when younger teens smoke marijuana heavily, they do not effectively develop emotionally and do not learn effective and appropriate ways to deal with emotional and social challenges in life.

Does It Make You Lazy?

And although marijuana cannot be conclusively linked to amotivational syndrome, most marijuana smokers will concede that under the influence of regular intoxication they are not as likely to accomplish worthwhile goals, and are more likely to focus on transient and meaningless pleasures of stimulation.

• Far less likely to crack the books, and far more likely to play video games.
• Far less likely to look for a new job and far more likely to watch a movie.

Scientists may not be able to prove a casual link, but marijuana smokers know that while high, they just aren’t as motivated to accomplish in life.

Read more: Marijuana Amotivational Syndrome? Does Marijuana Addiction make you Lazy? 

New Small Device Uses Laser to Help Police Quickly Identify Drugs

By Join Together Staff | February 1, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs & Legal

Police in Massachusetts are using a handheld device with a low-power laser that helps them to quickly identify drugs. The device, which looks like a game console, is called the Thermo Scientific TruNarc.

The device can be used to scan small bags of drugs, and gives police almost instant identification, according to the Associated Press. Police in Quincy, Massachusetts, who have been testing the device for six months, say it saves them time and money. Police departments in Chicago and Los Angeles also have been testing the device.

Police traditionally have needed to use chemical test kits to identify drugs. The substance is placed in a plastic pouch that contains vials of chemicals. The officer breaks the vials in the pouch and shakes it, and checks to see what color the substance turns. Cocaine turns blue, for instance.

Each substance has its own testing kit. That means police officers may have to use several kits before they positively identify the substance they are testing. The officers must handle the drugs, and potentially could be exposed to them. Once an officer identifies a substance, it must then be sent to a state lab to confirm the findings, which could take weeks or even months. This causes delays in prosecuting cases, the article notes.

TruNarc employs the same scientific techniques used in the lab, the company says. The officer holds the sample bag against the device and presses a scan button. The device does a quick analysis and provides a result.

Police say it can be effective as an initial screen, but a second lab test would still be necessary to prosecute the case in court. The article notes the device cannot test for marijuana.

Each TruNarc device will sell for just under $20,000

RIDE FOR RECOVERY!

GREAT NEW ROUTE for a day on the bike 8th Ride for Recovery & Family Picnic set for June - now with a two-state ride Advance Registration Opens Sunday June 3rd NJ-PA Motorcycle Poker Run Family Pig Roast Picnic Live Music, Children's FunReserve Tickets Now Event Registration Now Open Ride / Picnic Registration - $20 * Second Rider - $10 Picnic Only - $10 * * Children 12 and under free   Click on the Event Registration (top right in this email).   Get your Ride for Recovery Raffle Tickets Win a Harley-Davidson Wide Glide       (or $7,500 cash option) Plus $1,000 & $500 prizes Tickets $10      at the Store All proceeds from the Ride for Recovery benefit the patient care programs at Livengrin, for people working hard to recover their physical health, emotional strength and ability to make the right choices for their future.    Great Ride Shirts and Hoodies Available Now  To Learn More Event Registration & Ride Store   Support the Foundation Ride Kickoff Partner

During its 45 years of service, well more than 100,000 people have come to Livengrin to learn how to be healthy, sober and a part of their families, work and communities again.  You can play a role in a person's success story - make a contribution, volunteer, and tell someone about the help and hope to be found at Livengrin.  There's information, guidance and much more to learn throughout our website.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Today you are a winner.  It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done.  There is always a reason for us to self medicate and a lot of times that reason is because we have spent a life time of listening to peoples verbal abuses and somehow they have managed to convince us that we are NO GOOD and UNWORTHY of the wonderful gifts this life has to offer.  Well I am here to tell you it doesn't matter what they have to say, it matters what God has to say! Our creator has said that you are special and that you deserve the very best that life has to offer.  We can take a punch and the bruise will go away in a week or two but when were hit with words of hurt they can remain a lifetime. Today we are going to take the sting out of those words and believe what our creator says that we are special, important and loved! Today your a WINNER!!   REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Canadian Doctor Uses Amazonian Herbal Medicine Called Ayahuasca to Break Addictions

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

Dr Gabor Maté is a family physician in Vancouver Canada and over the past few years he has provided an Amazonian addiction remedy to between 150 and 200 addicts in East Vancouver – and many, he says, have had significant breakthroughs.

Called ayahuasca, this hallucinogenic is taken as a spiritual aid in several religious traditions of the Amazon basin and has been used in ritual for thousands of years. The drug is legal for spiritual use in the US and a Health Canada study on the substance found that it produced no adverse effects and provided spiritual benefits.

Dr. Mate says he first became interested in ayahuasca after learning of addiction treatment clinics in Peru using the herbal medicine which had ‘cure’ rates many times better than that typically seen in North American and Europe.

Working in some ways similarly to the African origin opiate treatment medication Ibogaine, Dr. Mate talked to journalists about  how ayahuasca helps people to break free from addiction, saying, ayahuasca is not a drug in the Western sense, something you take to get rid of something. Properly used, it opens up parts of yourself that you usually have no access to. The parts of the brain that hold emotional memories come together with those parts that modulate insight and awareness, so you see past experiences in a new way. The natural human response to pain is to escape it. That’s the essence of addiction. Ayahuasca allows users to hold pain and not run from it.”

36 year old Megan Hames of Vancouver is one of the almost 200 people who have received ayahuasca treatment from Dr. Mate. Describing her experience, she says, “Ayahuasca saved my life. It enabled me to look at all those dark things I buried long ago … to unleash them and the pain, so that I could move forward.”

*Nov 13th Story Update

In the wake of media reports on Dr Mate’s successes with ayahuasca, Health Canada officials sent him a letter which asked that he immediately cease his use of the drug, which remains a controlled substance within Canada, and threatened prosecution should he fail to comply with the demand.

Based on this, the doctor says he will no longer, for the moment, use ayahuasca in his clinical practice, saying, “I have no intention of breaking the law. But I hope to get permission to use it in therapeutic context. I’m surprised no one thought to talk to me before sending the letter, but I suppose someone in Ottawa is just doing their job.”

Health Canada has previously allowed the use of ayahuasca for spiritual practices, but the director of Ottawa’s Office for Controlled Substances, Johanne Beaulieu, said, “For a controlled substance to be used in Canada, there’s a process that needed to be undergone. We’d welcome scientists like Dr. Maté talking to us before they start their work. Our intent is not to stop research or treatment. It’s to ensure the safety of Canadians.”

Read more: Canadian Doctor Uses Amazonian Herbal Medicine Called Ayahuasca to Break Addictions 

New Screening Test Predicts Odds of Addiction Treatment Success

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

A team of American and Irish researchers have developed an assessment test which seems to reveal which people are most likely to benefit from addiction treatment.

The computer module test, named the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP), requires participants to give very fast and accurate answers to a series of questions regarding attitudes to drug use. Both the answers given and the reaction and answer time for each question are recorded and analyzed in the scoring of the test.

Explaining the test procedure, the researchers say that in traditional questionnaires where participants have a moderate amount of time to formulate answers responses are more likely to be consciously or unconsciously deceptive. When participants must answer very rapidly they are less able to mask the truth and their answers may also reveal unconscious or deeper truths.

The Study

In an experiment, the researchers compared the effectiveness of the IRAP against standard admission treatment questionnaires.  The IRAP test seeks to measure a person’s true feelings about drug use – such as beliefs about positive and negative consequences of drug use.

Twenty five New Yorkers seeking 6 months of outpatient cocaine treatment were asked to complete the IRAP and a standard admission treatment questionnaire prior to treatment onset.

The Results

Standard questionnaires did not reveal which participants would stay in treatment and have success as measured by negative urine tests for cocaine.

On the IRAP test, however, study participants who scored highly on positive feelings for cocaine use were most likely to exit treatment early and most likely to test positive for cocaine use in urine tests.

Commentary

The researchers say that the test may be useful in identifying which people need the most support in the treatment process, such as those at greatest risk of treatment exit and relapse

Study author Professor Dermot Barnes-Holmes commented on the significance of the findings, saying, "Participants' beliefs about their substance abuse and the negative or positive consequences that follow, appear to have an impact on the success of their treatment - and these beliefs aren't currently being identified through standard drug abuse treatment.”

The full study results can be read in the current edition of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Read more: New Screening Test Predicts Odds of Addiction Treatment Success