Share this email: Sign up to receive our future emails. View this email online. 44 Vantage Way Nashville, TN | 37228 United States This email was sent to recoveryfriends@gmail.com. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

5 Helpful Tips for Staying Sober During the Holidays | The Fix

5 Helpful Tips for Staying Sober During the Holidays | The Fix: The truth is that sometimes, the holidays can just be tough. But you don’t have to go in blindly. Follow these basic tips and you can have a wonderful and happy sober holiday season.

Advent: Deepening Our Commitment to Recovery | The Fix

Advent: Deepening Our Commitment to Recovery | The Fix: Haven’t we struggled through the dark in our addictions and now live inside truth’s illumination? So why not spend these weeks in spiritual reflection and renewing our commitment to recovery?

American Overdose: An Interview with Chris McGreal | The Fix

American Overdose: An Interview with Chris McGreal | The Fix: In American Overdose, McGreal lays bare the shady behavior of greedy pharmaceutical executives, duplicitous lobbyists, and crooked doctors who helped to perpetuate the worst drug epidemic in American history.

Homeless in Sobriety | The Fix

Homeless in Sobriety | The Fix: One friend found my homeless sober alcoholic life fascinating. She wanted to know if I smelled, where I went to the bathroom, and what I did all day. Once she even asked if I had a Big Book.

The Other White Powder: My Addiction to Sugar | The Fix

The Other White Powder: My Addiction to Sugar | The Fix: In that first meeting I went to for my sugar addiction, I heard others admit to doing the same things I did. Sneaking. Lying. Throwing food in the bin to halt a binge only to come back later and fish it out to eat.

News Top Drug & Alcohol News of the Week PLEASE NOTE: We are taking a publishing hiatus for the remainder of December and will resume service Thursday, January 3. Happy holidays and thank you for your readership!   Fentanyl Most Commonly Used Drug Involved in Overdose Deaths Fentanyl was involved in almost 29 percent of all overdose deaths in 2016, making it the most commonly used drug involved in overdose fatalities, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Heroin, Oxycodone and Cocaine Are the Most Expensive Addictive Substances: Study A new study that looks at the long-term costs of addiction finds heroin, oxycodone and cocaine rank as the top three most expensive substances. Each addiction costs more than a million dollars to support over a 50-year period, CNBC reports. Read More   Review of Medically Supervised Drug Use Facilities Finds Mixed Results A review of medically supervised drug consumption facilities finds no clear answer about whether they lower a community’s rate of drug overdose deaths, The Washington Post reports. Read More Help Us Continue to Empower Families:   Donate Now Tell a Friend Study Highlights Risk of Combining Opioid Painkillers with Other Medications A new study finds one-fourth of people who take prescription opioid painkillers for long periods are at risk of an overdose from unsafe combinations of prescription medication. Read More Tobacco and Alcohol Companies Moving into the Marijuana Business Tobacco and alcohol companies are starting to move into the cannabis business, The New York Times reports. Read More Other Headlines of Interest How Do You Recover After Millions Have Watched You Overdose? (The New York Times) Google Searches Could Predict Heroin Overdoses (Scientific American) For One Rural Community, Fighting Addiction Started With Recruiting The Right Doctor (NPR) Patrick Kennedy: Parity Still Needed for Mental Health, Addiction Care (U.S. News & World Report) Children of the nation's drug crisis face long-term health effects (CBS News) Marijuana education or illegal drug-selling? Instagram’s not sure. (The Washington Post) Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin? (NPR) Blog: The Forgotten Addiction (Psychology Today) Emergency rooms once offered little for drug users. That’s starting to change (The Boston Globe) Older Americans Are Flocking to Medical Marijuana (The New York Times) Shaken not slurred: James Bond had ‘a severe chronic alcohol problem,’ public health experts say (The Washington Post) Nurse Denied Life Insurance Because She Carries Naloxone (NPR) One month of abstinence from cannabis improves memory in adolescents, young adults (Massachusetts General Hospital) Did Free Pens Cause the Opioid Crisis? (The Atlantic) One month of abstinence from cannabis improves memory in adolescents, young adults (Massachusetts General Hospital) How a New Hampshire Museum Is Using Art to Reach Families Affected by the Opioid Crisis (Smithsonian Magazine) Pennsylvania’s recovery month events and PRO-A's recent 20th year anniversary celebration/service awards (Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations-Alliance)   DONATE Parent Toll-Free Helpline: 1-855-DRUGFREE drugfree.org © Partnership for Drug-Free Kids 352 Park Ave South | 9th Floor | New York, NY 10010   privacy policy |

December 13, 2018 Join NAADAC for a Professional Exchange Delegation to Kosovo on May 18-25, 2019 NAADAC, the Association of Addiction Professionals and the National Council for Behavioral Health are honored to have been selected to lead the Addiction and Mental Health Counseling Professionals Delegation to the Republic of Kosovo. Join NAADAC Executive Director Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, BSW, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP, and the National Council President and CEO Linda Rosenberg from May 18-25, 2019, for this important international exchange program that will give you a unique opportunity to learn about the state of addiction and mental health programs in Kosovo, the Balkan region, and Eastern Europe. Celebrating 10 years of independent governance in 2018, Kosovo has endeavored to develop a solid infrastructure to support its civil society. A culture that has been shaped by conflict and violence now looks to a bright future. Supported by U.S. and international nongovernmental organizations, Kosovo, the poorest nation in Europe, is home to some of the most innovative programs addressing the challenges of access to health care, advancing education, stabilizing the rule of law, and ensuring basic human needs for their entire population. Connect with addiction and mental health professionals in Kosovo to discuss: Epidemiology of addiction and mental health disorders in Kosovo; Assessment, intervention and referral, treatment and care options for drug and alcohol use disorders; Scarcity of service providers and access to treatment; Role of primary care and community-based services in identification and treatment; Ongoing quality of life and community rehabilitation programming; Resources for patients and affected family members; Treatment for post-war traumatic disorders; and Roles of international NGOs in developing programs in Kosovo.  Delegation Leaders Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, BSW, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP, is the Executive Director of NAADAC, the Association of Addiction Professionals, the premier addiction professional association serving over 10,000 members and representing the professional interests of more than 100,000 addiction counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals in the United States. Prior to this role, Cynthia had more than 20 years of experience serving homeless populations and dealing with the co-occurrence of poverty and substance abuse issues, serving as the administrator of multi-county, publicly-funded alcohol/drug prevention/ intervention/treatment centers with services ranging from prenatal care to the serving the elderly. She has been a trainer in Domestic Violence/Anger Management and Conflict Resolution for over 35 years and is a curriculum writer in addiction screening and evaluation, counseling methods, conflict resolution, co-occurring disorders and medicated assisted treatment and recovery. Linda Rosenberg, MSW, is President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, the nation’s largest mental health and addiction education and advocacy association with 2900 member organizations serving 10 million Americans. Prior to joining the National Council, Linda was New York State’s Senior Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health where she opened New York’s first Mental Health Court; implemented NY’s assisted outpatient program, Kendra’s Law; designed services and housing for the homeless; and developed and operated a Home and Community Waiver Programs for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families.   NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals 44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 301, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703.741.7686 / 800.548.0497 Send to Friend | | Subscribe |