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- SRC Scottish Recovery Consortium
- Suicide Prevention GODS helpers
- PAIN TO PURPOSE
- Journey Pure Veteran Care
- Sobreity Engine
- Harmony Ridge
- In the rooms Online meetings
- LIFE PROCESS PODCAST
- Bill and Bobs coffee Shop
- Addiction Podcast
- New hope Philly Mens Christian program
- All treatment 50 state
- Discovery house S.Ca
- Deploy care Veterans support
- Take 12 Radio w Monty Man
- GODS MOUNTAIN RECOVERY CENTER Pa.
- FORT HOPE STOP VET SUICIDE
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- THE COUNSELING CENTER
- 50 STATE TREATMENT LOCATOR
- David Victorious Reffner Podcast
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Can the Lizard King Come Back Clean? | The Fix
Friday, February 22, 2013
Essential Health Benefits” Rule Covers Drug Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Treatment
By Join Together Staff |
February 21, 2013 |
Leave a comment | Filed in
Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Insurance, Mental Health & Treatment
The federal government on Wednesday issued a final rule on
“essential health benefits” that most health insurance plans must offer
next year, including treatment of drug addiction and alcohol abuse.
The New York Times
reports the Obama administration says 32 million people will gain
access to coverage of mental health care as a result of the new
benefits. An additional 30 million people who already have some mental
health coverage will see an improvement in their benefits, Secretary of
Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said. She noted the new
ruling will make it easier for consumers to compare health plans.
In the past, nearly 20 percent of individuals purchasing insurance
didn’t have access to mental health services, and nearly one-third had
no coverage for substance use disorder services, according to a
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) news release.
The new rule provides more Americans with access to quality health care
that includes coverage for mental health and substance use disorder
services, HHS states.
Each state will set its own benchmark insurance plan that reflects
coverage typically offered by employers, the article notes. More than 30
states are using a plan offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their
benchmark.
Heroin Addiction on the Rise in New York State
By Join Together Staff |
February 21, 2013 |
Leave a comment | Filed in
Community Related, Drugs & Prescription Drugs
A growing number of people are becoming addicted to heroin
in New York state, according to drug treatment counselors and police.
They say many people have switched to heroin from prescription
painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, the Associated Press reports.
Police report the people they arrest for heroin often started on
painkillers prescribed by a doctor, then started purchasing them on the
street. They turned to heroin because it is less expensive.
Many areas around the country are seeing a surge in heroin addiction
that stems from prescription drug abuse. A study published in July 2012
in the New England Journal of Medicine
found OxyContin abuse has decreased now that the painkiller has been
reformulated to make it more difficult to misuse. Many people who abused
the drug have switched to heroin.
The study included more than 2,500 people who were dependent on
opioids, who were followed between July 2009 and March 2012. During that
time, there was a 17 percent decrease in OxyContin abuse. In 2010, the
company that makes OxyContin introduced a new version of the drug that
is more difficult to inhale or inject. During the same period, heroin
abuse doubled.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Drug-Sniffing Dog
The Supreme Court ruled police do not have to extensively
document a drug-sniffing dog’s expertise to justify relying on the
canine to search a vehicle, according to The Washington Post.
The unanimous ruling overturned a Florida Supreme Court decision
involving Aldo, a German shepherd. After the dog detected drugs in a
pickup truck, a police officer searched the truck and found 200
pseudoephedrine pills and 8,000 matches, which are used to make
methamphetamine. The Florida Supreme Court ruled police must compile
detailed evidence of the dog’s reliability before probable cause to
search the vehicle is established.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan suggested
proper training and certification of a dog, instead of how it performs
in the field, could be enough. “The question — similar to every inquiry
into probable cause — is whether all the facts surrounding a dog’s
alert, viewed through the lens of common sense, would make a reasonably
prudent person think that a search would reveal contraband or evidence
of a crime,” she wrote. “A sniff is up to snuff when it meets that test.
. . . Aldo’s did.”
The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on a second dog-sniffing case, involving a chocolate Lab named Franky.
Florida’s Supreme Court ruled the dog’s ability to detect marijuana
growing inside a home in Miami by sniffing outside the house was
unconstitutional. The state’s attorney general is asking the U.S.
Supreme Court to reverse the ruling.
Franky, who recently retired after seven years with the Miami-Dade
Police Department, is responsible for the seizure of more than 2.5 tons
of marijuana and $4.9 million in drug-contaminated money.
Mapping Location of Alcohol Outlets, Drug Activity and Crime Could Aid Prevention
By Join Together Staff |
February 20, 2013 |
1 Comment | Filed in
Alcohol, Community Related, Drugs & Prevention
Mapping the location of alcohol outlets, drug activity and
violent crimes could help police prevent violence, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Michigan studied the relationship
between violent crimes in Boston drug markets, and the types and
densities of alcohol outlets in those areas, MedicalXpress
reports. They analyzed data on homicides and aggravated assault
incidents, drug arrests and 911 calls, along with 2009 alcohol outlet
data from the Massachusetts Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. They
also examined census data.
They found areas with the highest levels of violent crime were poorer
and had greater numbers of alcohol outlets and higher drug arrest
rates.
“Identification of such ‘hot spots’ may help in identifying
micro-environments: blocks or intersections whose characteristics
facilitate violent behavior. Our study helps identify such
micro-environments, an emerging area of criminology research, in
Boston,” the authors wrote in the American Journal of Public Health.
Number of Deadly Drug Overdoses Rises for 11th Year
The number of deadly drug overdoses in the United States
increased for the 11th consecutive year, according to new government
data. More than 22,000 people died of overdoses involving prescription
drugs in 2010, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In total, 38,329 people died of drug overdoses that year. Of the 57
percent whose deaths involved prescription drugs, three-quarters were
due to painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, according to the
National Center for Health Statistics. They reported their findings this
week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More than 74 percent of deaths due to prescription drugs were accidental, while 17 percent were suicides, the article notes.
Opioids were found in 77 percent of overdoses involving
benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax or Ativan. They were also involved
in 65 percent of overdoses with antiepileptic or anti-Parkinsonian
drugs, 47 percent of overdoses involving antidepressants, and 56 percent
of overdoses with fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory medications.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Prevention Programs in Middle School May Reduce Later Prescription Drug Use
By Join Together Staff |
February 19, 2013 |
1 Comment | Filed in
Drugs, Prescription Drugs, Prevention & Youth
Substance abuse prevention programs that begin in middle
school may help deter prescription drug abuse in later years, new
research suggests.
Scientists analyzed findings from three studies of family- and
school-based prevention programs designed for rural and small-town
middle school students. They found students who went through substance
abuse prevention programs were 20 percent to 65 percent less likely to
abuse prescription drugs and opioids when they were between 17 and 25
years old, compared with students who did not participate in the
programs.
The programs focused on general risk and protective factors of
substance abuse. “Brief universal interventions have potential for
public health impact by reducing prescription drug misuse among
adolescents and young adults,” the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Public Health.
“The intervention effects were comparable or even stronger for
participants who had started misusing substances prior to the middle
school interventions, suggesting that these programs also can be
successful in higher-risk groups,” lead author Richard Spoth, PhD, from
the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute at Iowa State
University in Ames, said in a news release.
Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
noted that prescription medications can be helpful when they are
prescribed to treat pain, anxiety, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder. “However, their abuse can have serious consequences. We are
especially concerned about prescription drug abuse among teens, who are
developmentally at an increased risk for addiction,” she said.
Federal Bill Takes Aim at Meth Addiction
By Join Together Staff |
February 19, 2013 |
Leave a comment | Filed in
Addiction, Drugs, Legislation, Prevention & Treatment
A bipartisan group of legislators from around the country has introduced a bill designed to reduce methamphetamine addiction.
The Methamphetamine Education, Treatment, and Hope Act calls for the
Department of Health and Human Services to take over the screening and
treatment of methamphetamine addiction, and award grants to treatment
centers in underserved or rural areas. The bill also calls for the
development of treatment programs for pregnant women and mothers, and
for prevention programs for youth.
The bill was originally proposed in 2009, but failed to make it through the Senate, The Hill reports.
“Meth abuse is one of the most serious issues in northern California
and across the country. It affects families and our community, and needs
immediate action,” bill sponsor Jerry McNerney of California said in a news release.
“It is imperative that we address crime in our region and increase
public safety. This bill will help keep our families healthy, safe and
drug-free. When we see crime rates drop, especially usage of drugs like
methamphetamine, our entire community benefits.”
The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 banned
over-the-counter sale of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine,
which can be used to make meth.
Commentary: Rx Summit Brings National Leaders Together to Combat Abuse
By Karen Kelly |
February 19, 2013 |
Leave a comment | Filed in
Community Related, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
Underscoring the importance of collaboration in the national fight against prescription drug abuse, the 2013 National Rx Drug Abuse Summit will focus on ways participants can “Make an Impact” not only in their communities, but on the country as a whole.
With accidental prescription overdose deaths occurring at 1 every 15
minutes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), emergency room
visits nearly doubling in the past five years, and hospital admissions
increasing 400 percent over the past decade, it is imperative we act
immediately.
The second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit – to be held April 2-4,
2013, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Florida – will help
in this effort.
By bringing together professionals from many disciplines, the Summit
provides all stakeholders timely, relevant and evidence-based
information. This type of collaboration enables bringing impactful
solutions to communities across the United States.
An example of how a holistic approach can succeed can be found in New
York City, where their High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) law
enforcement team partnered with public health agencies to analyze data
and create a game plan to tackle the issues. Collaborations of this type
need to be shared and replicated in other communities. By learning from
the success of others we can have the greatest impact.
Keynote presentations will include: Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of food and drugs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Frances Harding, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; Joe Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator of the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control; Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); and Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, chair of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, among others.
The Summit includes 30 break-out sessions grouped in tracks – Law
Enforcement, Education/Advocacy, Clinical, Treatment, Pharmacy and
Third-Party Payer – workshops, vision sessions, and a panel discussion
featuring members of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug
Abuse.
All breakout sessions, workshops and most general sessions will have
multiple Continuing Education credits available. These credits will
include medical professionals (physicians, nurses and pharmacists),
social workers, attorneys, addiction and prevention specialists, human
resources, criminal justice and insurance professionals. The Appalachian
Regional Commission is once again our Educational Partner.
Identifying opportunities to strategize and partner in seeking
solutions to our prescription drug abuse epidemic is what the National
Rx Drug Abuse Summit is all about.
Karen Kelly, President/CEO, Operation Unite
Take advantage of discounted rates by registering by February 28. For information about the Summit visit www.NationalRxDrugAbuseSummit.org, or follow news about the event at Twitter.com/RxSummit, Facebook.com/RxSummit, or LinkedIn.com/RxSummit.
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During its 46 years of service, more than 120,000 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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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What Really Goes on Inside Rehab | The Fix
Monday, February 18, 2013
Commentary: Why the Term “Enabling” Does More Harm Than Good
The term “enabling” is commonplace in the field of
addiction. It is used within support group settings, in treatment
programs and throughout the professional literature about addiction and
the family. I consider it one of the most frequently misunderstood terms
in our field. In fact, as my research about family caregivers of people
with substance use disorders has evolved, I have come to loathe the
term “enabling.” Here is why.
There is a great deal of misinterpretation about what qualifies as behavior that is “enabling.”
Webster’s definition of the term includes: “a) to provide with the
means or opportunity; and b) to make possible, practical or easy.”
Wikipedia notes that enabling also is used “to signify dysfunctional
approaches that are intended to help but in fact may perpetuate a
problem….” Examples include taking responsibility, blaming others or
making accommodations for a person’s harmful conduct, so that the person
is shielded from the harm it may do and the pressure to change.
Using these definitions, doing your son’s laundry might be considered
enabling, as it makes it easier for him and takes responsibility for
the chore away from him. In actuality, it may or may not be enabling
–depending on the context. If you do this chore to make things easier
for your son because he attended a self-help meeting – you probably are
supporting recovery – not enabling self-destructive behaviors. On the
other hand, if you are doing your son’s laundry because he was drunk all
weekend and will be embarrassed to go to school or work in unlaundered
clothes, then you are enabling him to continue engaging in
self-destructive behavior. You are helping him avoid the negative
consequences of drinking.
I find family members often are confused over the issue of what
constitutes enabling. Some have ardently been told that any support
offered to a recovering child or spouse can be considered enabling. The
philosophy seems to be that the person needs to learn to “fend for
themselves” or “live life on life’s terms.” This is difficult to argue.
We all need to learn the necessary skills to survive and thrive in our
environments. Especially as parents, it is our responsibility to foster
this in our children. But it does not mean that we cannot help our loved
ones in productive ways.
Recovery, especially early recovery, is hard work. Offering to
support the intense effort of this work can be helpful. For example – if
a loved one does not have access to a car, it is supportive to offer to
drive her to AA meetings, or soccer practice or any other
recovery-supporting activity.
Some say that the addicted person must take responsibility for
coordinating his or her own travel – and indeed – this can be a good
goal. But offering to help at first or occasionally does not enable the
person to escape the negative consequences of addiction – and it can
help to support recovery.
It is loaded with negative and judgmental connotations that are misplaced.
Worse yet, enabling is sometimes described as “dysfunctional,” which
can lead family members to the conclusion they are dysfunctional and
have let their loved one down. The important distinction that is
sometimes missed is that it is the behavior that is dysfunctional, not
the person. The vast majority of parents that I have met have only done
what most parents do; that is try their best to help their child. They
engage in the same behaviors as other parents. It is just that they find
themselves in a strange and difficult situation where behaviors that
normally are helpful do not function that way.
I believe that the term enabling causes more harm than good. I would like to get rid of the term altogether.
Rather than labeling a family member’s behavior as “enabling,” focus
on the consequences of the addicted person’s behavior. Ask yourself – by
doing this, do I allow him or her to avoid a negative consequence of
the drinking or drug use? If the answer is yes, resist the urge to
intervene. It is important that the person experience the negative
consequences that substance abuse renders. Also ask yourself – by doing
this, am I encouraging efforts he or she has made at recovery? If the
answer is yes, go for it! It is helpful to recognize and show signs of
support and appreciation for the hard work that an addict undertakes to
sustain recovery.
We must remember that addiction is a disease and recovery requires
ongoing maintenance. This is a lot of work – and supporting the WORK of
recovery can be a loving thing to do.
Kimberly Kirby, PhD
Director of the Parent’s Translational Research Center; Senior Scientist
Friday, February 15, 2013
Generic Drug Distributor Sues Suboxone Maker for Monopolizing Treatment Market
By Join Together Staff |
February 14, 2013 |
1 Comment | Filed in
Addiction, Legal, Prescription Drugs & Treatment
The generic drug distributor Rochester Drug Co-Operative
Inc. has sued the maker of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone for
allegedly monopolizing the opioid treatment market, Bloomberg reports.
The maker of Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), Reckitt Benckiser
Group, developed a film version of Suboxone that is placed under the
tongue, to replace the tablet form of the drug. According to the
lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, this
prevented competition, because pharmacists cannot substitute the cheaper
generic version.
“Reckitt concocted a multifaceted anticompetitive scheme, executed
over the course of several years, to maintain and extend its monopoly
power,” Rochester Drug stated in its complaint. The article notes
Suboxone is used to help control opioid withdrawal symptoms.
In September, 2012, Reckitt notified the Food and Drug Administration it was voluntarily discontinuing the supply
of Suboxone tablets in the United States, due to increasing concerns
with children’s exposure and risk for accidental poisonings. The U.S.
Poison Control Centers found consistently and significantly higher rates
of accidental unsupervised pediatric exposure with Suboxone tablets,
compared with the film.
ADHD Drugs Not Effective in Many Young Children, Study Concludes
By Join Together Staff |
February 14, 2013 |
Leave a comment | Filed in
Mental Health, Prescription Drugs, Treatment & Youth
Treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) does not appear to help many young children, a new study
concludes.
The study followed 186 children, ages 3 to 5, who had moderate to
severe ADHD. Six years after their diagnosis, about 90 percent still
showed symptoms such as over-activity, impulse control or
inattentiveness, according to Bloomberg.
Two-thirds of the children were on medication. These children did not
show significant differences in ADHD severity, compared with those who
were not taking drugs. Almost two-thirds of treated children had
significant hyperactivity and impulsivity, compared with 58 percent of
those not taking medication.
“ADHD in preschoolers is a chronic and rather persistent condition,
one that requires better long-term behavioral and pharmacological
treatments than we currently have,” study author Mark Riddle of the
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, said in a news release.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adult Psychiatry.
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