| McConnell Unveils Bill to Combat Youth Tobacco Use by Raising Purchase Age to 21 |
| CNN (05/20) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell formally introduced legislation Monday to raise the age for buying tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21, a move designed to combat the health effects of tobacco addiction across the country and help his home state of Kentucky move off production of the crop that has sagged in popularity for decades. Read more |
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| In Cities Where It Once Reigned, Heroin Is Disappearing |
| NEW YORK TIMES (05/18) – Heroin has ravaged this city since the early 1960s, fueling desperation and crime that remain endemic in many neighborhoods. But lately, despite heroin’s long, deep history here, users say it has become nearly impossible to find. Read more |
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| Nicotine Exposure in Newborns Alters Neurons, Predisposes Brain to Addiction |
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA (05/22) – […] A UC San Diego School of Medicine team of scientists, headed by senior author Davide Dulcis, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, with colleagues at Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and Michigan State University, found that exposure to nicotine in the first few weeks of life (through maternal lactation) induced a variety of long-term neurological changes in young mice. Read more |
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| Experimental Brain Implants Studied as Opioid Deaths Rise |
| AP NEWS (05/08) – […]The treatment — deep brain stimulation — has long been used for movement disorders like Parkinson’s. Now, the first clinical trial of DBS for methamphetamine addiction is being conducted at Shanghai’s Ruijin Hospital, along with parallel trials for opioid addiction. Read more |
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| Study Finds CBD Effective in Treating Heroin Addiction |
| CNN (05/21) – Cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive ingredient in hemp and marijuana, could treat opioid addiction, a new study says. Given to patients with heroin addiction, cannabidiol, also known as CBD, reduced their cravings for the illicit drug as well as their levels of anxiety. Read more |
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| Mindfulness Smoking-Cessation App Can Change the Brain |
| MEDICAL XPRESS (05/15) – Researchers have found that a mindfulness-based smartphone app designed to help people stop smoking was effective at reducing study participants' self-reported daily cigarette consumption. And those who reduced their cigarette consumption the most also showed decreased reactivity to smoking-related images in a brain region known to be activated when someone experiences a craving. Read more |
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 | Why use SASSI screening questionnaires: |
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- Identifies SUD – even when someone is reluctant to self-disclose.
- Accurately identifies individuals likely to be abusing prescription medications.
- Screens for multiple levels of severity.
- Distinguishes likely SUD from other psychological disorders.
- Useful in developing treatment plans and goals.
- Available for adults, adolescents, and special populations.
TRAINING AVAILABLE - NAADAC CEUs |
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| North Carolina Sues Juul, Setting up a Fresh Legal Fight for the Embattled E-cigarette Company |
| THE WASHINGTON POST (05/15) – North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein filed a lawsuit Wednesday against popular e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, making it the first state to take legal action against the company. The suit, filed in state court, alleges that Juul caused addiction in consumers by “deceptively downplaying the potency and danger of the nicotine” and employed advertising campaigns that targeted people under the legal smoking age. Read more |
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| Historically 'Safer' Tramadol More Likely Than Other Opioids to Result in Prolonged Use |
| SCIENCE DAILY (05/14) – Surgical patients receiving the opioid tramadol have a somewhat higher risk of prolonged use than those receiving other common opioids, new Mayo Clinic research finds. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies tramadol as a Schedule IV controlled substance, meaning it's considered to have a lower risk of addiction and abuse than Schedule II opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. The study was published on Tuesday, May 14 in The BMJ. Read more |
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| Preventing Relapse in Recovery from Cocaine Use Disorder |
| MEDICAL XPRESS (05/17) РA study conducted at the University of Ṣo Paulo (USP) in Brazil and described in an article published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence may help healthcare workers identify patients who risk relapse after undergoing treatment for cocaine use disorder. Read more |
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| Online Programs Designed for You |
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| Boasting renowned faculty, specialized electives and innovative curriculum, Drexel’s online graduate, bachelor’s and certificate programs in Behavioral Health and Addictions Counseling will prepare you to apply evidence-based practices to meet the needs of an ever-growing population of people experiencing drug and alcohol use disorders and behavioral (process) addictions. Learn More! |
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| Highly Potent Weed Has Swept The Market, Raising Concerns About Health Risks |
| NPR (05/15) – […] Some 26 million Americans ages 12 and older reported being current marijuana users in 2017, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It's not clear how many users have had serious health issues from strong weed, and there's a lot that's still unknown about the potential risks. But scientists are starting to learn more about some of them. Read more |
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| Why Did Opioid Overdose Deaths Drop 50% in Chittenden County? |
| VT DIGGER (05/19) – Easier and faster access to medication-assisted treatment and efforts to blunt the impact of fentanyl helped to significantly reduce the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Chittenden County in 2018, according to experts at the forefront of the opioid epidemic in Vermont. People struggling with opioid addiction who want to start medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which blocks the effects of withdrawal, no longer have to wait to get started, thanks to an expansion in the number of providers offering it. Read more |
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| How Technology Is Rapidly Advancing Overdose-Resistant Bathrooms |
| FILTER MAG (05/14) – As the US harm reduction community grapples with the legal, cultural and political challenges to implementing the nation’s first legal safe consumption space, some innovative designers are playing their part to help mitigate historic overdose levels right now. They are bringing safety interventions to the public restrooms where injection drug use is already occurring. Read more |
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