Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from April 2004

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from April 2004

Field steps up efforts as generics of OxyContin win approval.
April 5, 2004... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month approved the first generic versions of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, a move that should improve access to the medication for patients in need while generating new cause for concern...

Probes launched into financial and performance aspects of tax-funded program: federal subpoenas issued for program records.
April 5, 2004... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week issued subpoenas to Jackson County, Mo. officials for the purpose of determining whether taxes collected for drug treatment and prevention were properly allocated. The Jackson County...

Researchers say Chicago has country's worst heroin problem.
April 5, 2004... Researchers with the Roosevelt University Institute for Metropolitan Affairs said last week that Chicago is in the midst of the worst heroin epidemic in the nation. Researchers from the Chicago-based institute based their conclusions on an...

Study examines barriers to first treatment appointment.
April 5, 2004... A group of researchers spanning three universities in Pennsylvania are examining ways to ensure that patients make their first treatment appointment for addictive disorders. The study, based at Temple University Hospital-Episcopal Campus,...

HRSA funding buprenorphine in primary care/HIV settings.(Health Resources and Services Administration)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to award 11 grants this year for integrated buprenorphine treatment with primary care treatment of HIV. The...

New edition of drug-testing law guide available.(Resources)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace in Washington, D.C. has published the 2003-04 edition of the Guide to State and Federal Drug-Testing Laws. This annual publication digests and analyzes every Federal and state drug-testing court decision,...

New York agency contracts with Creative Socio-Medics.(Business Notes)(Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services )(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... New York State's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Addiction Treatment Centers (ATCs) has awarded an initial five-year contract to Creative Socio-Medics, Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.,...

Intentional poisoning increases among Oklahoma teens.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Statistics released by the Oklahoma Poison Control Center show an increase in the number of teens who attempt to commit suicide by ingesting medications, the Associated Press reported. The center has received 97 calls this year from people who...

Smoking may hasten brain decline in elderly.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Findings published in Neurology suggest that smoking may increase the rate of brain decline in elderly people, BBC News reported. Researchers found that the rate of brain decline in elderly smokers was five times higher than the rate of decline...

Health plans increasing scrutiny of high-cost services.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Health plans are increasing scrutiny of some high-cost services while shifting more financial and care management responsibilities to consumers, according to a report released by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Researchers...

National contest seeks recovery symbol.(Briefly Noted)
April 5, 2004... Faces and Voices of Recovery has launched a national contest to develop a symbol that can be used by anyone who supports recovery, regardless of affiliation, location, or recovery philosophy. The symbol should suggest, "I support recovery," and...

Caron Foundation awarded three-year CARF accreditation.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... CARF... The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission has awarded the Caron Foundation a three-year accreditation, with seven exemplary areas identified, for its detox, inpatient, residential and outpatient chemical dependency treatment...

Brain protein may play role in addiction.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... A protein that is involved in learning may also play a role in addiction, according to findings published in the Feb. 19 issue of Neuron. Researchers found that PSD-95, a protein involved in learning and memory, dropped by half in...

Alcohol abuse may aggravate HIV symptoms.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Findings reported in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggest that it is important for providers to recognize and treat alcohol problems in HIV-infected veterans, Health Behavior News Service reported....

Participation in sports may not reduce tobacco use.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Participating in organized sports may not reduce tobacco use among adolescents, Health Behavior News Service reported. Researchers found that about 28 percent of student athletes smoked compared to 34 percent of students who did not participate...

More California voters support medical marijuana.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The use of marijuana to treat medical conditions continues to gain support among Californians, the Associated Press reported. In 1996, 56 percent of California voters approved Proposition 215, an initiative that allowed doctors to recommend...

Meth and other factors contribute to increase in STDs.(Briefly Noted)(Sexually transmitted diseases)(methamphetamine, sildenafil citrate and the Internet )(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Findings presented at the National STD Prevention Conference in Philadelphia suggest that methamphetamine, sildenafil citrate (Viagra) and the Internet may be contributing to recent increases in HIV and syphilis among gay men, the Pittsburgh...

Young women more likely to respond to brief intervention.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Brief interventions may influence college students' drinking behaviors, Health Behavior News Service reported. Researchers found that women who received letters with preventive messages about risky drinking were more likely to reduce their...

Committee approves marijuana bill in Conn.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The Connecticut Legislature's Judiciary Committee has approved a bill that would allow people to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes, the Associated Press reported. Under the bill, people who have received written certification from their...

Coming up.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists (SALIS) will hold its 26th annual conference April 20 to 24 in Berkeley, Calif. For more information, call (510) 642-5208 or e-mail salis@arg.org. Phoenix House will present a conference,...

National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Great Lakes Clinical Trials Network (CTN), and Wayne State University will hold a conference.(Coming Up)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Great Lakes Clinical Trials Network (CTN), and Wayne State University will hold a conference, "Blending Clinical Practice and Research: Forging Partnerships in the Great Lakes States To Enhance Drug...

In case you haven't heard ...(Shonen Jump, Japanese comic book)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... A children' s book publisher has discontinued selling a Japanese comic book, "Shonen Jump," because, among other things, the superhero character gains super powers from smoking cigarettes, the Associated Press reported. A complaint from the...

African-American association launches drug policy coalition.(National African American Drug Policy Coalition)
April 12, 2004... The Washington-D.C.-based National Bar Association (NBA) this month announced the formation of a new national partnership of African-American professional associations to promote more effective policies and practices to address the chronic...

Study: injection drug users faced with myriad of obstacles to treatment.
April 12, 2004... Lack of insurance, fear and aversion to treatment, lack of personal identification and lack of treatment slots are all contributing to low addiction treatment enrollment rates among New York City's street injection users, a study released last...

Study finds wide geographic range of binge-drinking rates.
April 12, 2004... A study of metropolitan area binge-drinking rates that will be used to guide local prevention efforts found a wide variation across the United States, a fact that could be explained by the age of a region's population. Estimated...

Random student drug testing is no panacea.(From the Field)
April 12, 2004... Random drug testing has been a reality for many American workers for decades. Now the federal government wants to extend the practice to high school students. The U.S. Supreme Court has already sanctioned testing of those students...

SAMHSA announces start of conference sponsorship program.
April 12, 2004... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), through a notice this month in the Federal Register, announced the creation of a conference sponsorship grant program. Through its three centers, SAMHSA will pay for up...

NCADD offers kit for Alcohol Awareness month.(Resources)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2004... The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) is offering an online kit designed for use during Alcohol Awareness Month in April, Coalitions Online reported. The kit includes grassroots activities, a sample news release...

Oklahoma to ban pseudoephedrine sales.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2004... Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has asked lawmakers to take final action on a bill that would ban over-the-counter sales of tablets containing pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in many cold medications that is used to make methamphetamine, the Associated...

Boston mayor announces treatment initiative.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2004... Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has announced an initiative, Neighborhoods Organizing Against Drugs, that would allocate $180,000 to combat heroin and prescription drug abuse in the city, the Boston Globe reported. The funds would be used to...

Coming up.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 12, 2004... The Coalition of Alcohol and Drug Associations (CADA) will hold its "2004 Advocacy Conference" April 28 and 29 in Sacramento, Calif. For more information call, (916) 329-7409 or visit www.caadpe.org. The National Association of Addiction...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 12, 2004... A Roman Catholic priest in Ohio received two years of probation last week for growing marijuana plants in the church residence, the Associated Press reported. Richard Arko, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal cultivation of marijuana...

Ohio workforce project could serve as national model.(Special report: workforce issues)
April 19, 2004... State officials in Ohio say that a workforce development project funded by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals and the federal government could serve as a national model. The AOD Workforce Resource Project will address the...

Student-created website preaches better substance abuse training.(Special report: workforce issues)(Health Professional Students for Substance Abuse Training)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... Recognizing that all health care professionals should have a fundamental knowledge of addiction, a group of students from medical schools, nursing schools, and pharmacy and physician assistant programs around the country made it their mission...

Three states collaborating on shoring up addiction workforce.(Special report: workforce issues)
April 19, 2004... New York City was the location for a groundbreaking event in the area of workforce development in the addiction field this past January: Leaders from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey convened to address reasons and solutions for the...

SAMHSA requests applications for minority fellowship program.(Special report: workforce issues)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
April 19, 2004... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and its three centers--the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and the Center for Mental Health Services...

Group seeks to improve training's relevance to today's practice.(Special report: workforce issues)(Annapolis Coalition on Behavioral Health Workforce Education)
April 19, 2004... Ensuring that the behavioral health workforce keeps pace with rapid research advances, pharmaceutical developments, shifts in managed care and changing treatment protocols ranks among the field's most urgent challenges. Few would dispute...

Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.(Names in the News)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... Martin K. Gaudiose has been named the new Treatment and Recovery Services Chief for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS). Since 1981, Gaudiose has served as chief executive of Meridian Services, Inc., an...

Leadership program seeks nominations for annual awards.(Call for Applications)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... Call for Applications The Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program (CHLP) is seeking nominations for its leadership awards. Each year, CHLP honors 10 individuals for creating or enhancing health programs serving under-served...

Daily smoking may increase suicide risk among teens with MI.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... Findings published in the Journal of Adolescent Medicine suggest a link between daily smoking and suicide attempts in teens with mental illness, the Yale Daily News reported. Researchers found that the risk of suicide attempts or suicidal...

Hospital fined for refusing to provide emergency care.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... St. Mary's Medical Center, the largest hospital in Palm Beach County, Fla., has agreed to pay a $40,000 fine to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS') Office of the Inspector General for refusing to provide emergency care to...

Resolution calls on NCAA to end alcohol advertising.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... Rep. Tom Osborne (R.-Neb.) has introduced a resolution, H.Res. 575, calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its member colleges and universities to end all alcohol advertising during radio and television broadcasts of...

Coming up.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 19, 2004... The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University will hold a CASACONFERENCE, "Family Matters--Substance Abuse and the American Family," April 29 in New York. For more information, visit www.casacolumbia.org....

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... A testing kit to determine if an alcoholic drink has been laced with benzodiazepines, such as GHB, Rohypnol or ketamine, went on sale in Britain this month, the Associated Press reported. Stanley Grossman, director of Bloomsbury Innovations,...

States jockey for voucher funds, struggle with details: recovery focus, oversight, faith component among challenges.
April 26, 2004... As they work overtime to meet a June 4 application deadline for the hotly competitive Access to Recovery program, state substance abuse agency officials are quickly learning how challenging it will beta administer a federal grant program with...

Massachusetts could lose federal matching funds for treatment.
April 26, 2004... Massachusetts advocates and other stakeholders are working to prevent the loss of federal matching funds brought on by several years of state funding cuts for addiction treatment and prevention. The loss of federal matching funds from the...

Vt.'s only residential site for youths closes in worker dispute.(Vermont's Phoenix Academy)
April 26, 2004... The only residential substance abuse treatment center for adolescents in Vermont has closed its doors after a conflict escalated between employees and management. Most of the adolescents formerly in the program are continuing their treatment...

Recovery Ambassadors Leadership Workshops strengthen the field.(From the Field)
April 26, 2004... Advocates for Recovery Colorado (AFR) recently hosted a Recovery Ambassadors workshop in Denver to help members gain skills to improve how policymakers and the public view addictions in the Centennial State. More than 100 members of the...

CASA: Marijuana tops list for teen treatment admissions.
April 26, 2004... The proportion of children and teens in treatment for marijuana dependence and abuse jumped 142 percent since 1992, according to a white paper released last week by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia...

SAMHSA launches program to keep pre-teens from alcohol.(too smart to start)
April 26, 2004... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last week launched a new national program to keep preteens, ages 9 to 13, from initiating alcohol consumption. The program's materials were field-tested in Miami,...

Web-based tool provides data on youth drinking.(Resources)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, based at George Washington University Medical Center, has developed a new tool designed to reveal the facts about teen drinking in the community. The Alcohol Cost Calculator for Kids is a web-based...

Guide answers questions about prevention programs.(Resources)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) has developed a guide, Achieving Outcomes: A Practitioner's Guide to Effective Prevention, Coalitions Online reported. The guide is customer-oriented and responds to queries and concerns...

The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) has presented U.S. rep Rob Portman (R.-OH) with its Director's Leadership Award.(Names in the News)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The ohio department of alcohol and drug addiction services (ODADAS) has presented U.S. rep Rob Portman (R.-OH) with its director's leadership award. ODADAS honored Portman for his ongoing contributions to the alcohol and other drug prevention...

DrugAbuse Sciences gets patent for injection technology.(Business Notes)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The European Patent Office has granted a European patent to DrugAbuse Sciences SAS of Paris covering its extended release injectable technology for administering naltrexone, according to a company announcement. The patent covers the composition...

Antismoking messages effective among pre-teens.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Findings reported in the American Journal of Public Health suggest that pre-teens and middle school children may be the best targets for anti-smoking messages, Health Behavior News Service reported. Researchers found that antismoking messages...

California sees increase in drunk driving arrests.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The 2004 report from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) indicates that felony drunken-driving arrests and alcohol-related injuries and deaths in the state have increased, the Associated Press reported. The increase followed more...

Coming up.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 26, 2004... Phoenix House will present a conference, "Bridging the Adolescent Treatment Gaps: Research into Practice, Silos into Systems," May 20 and 21 in Culver City, Calif. For more information, call (818) 686-3110 or e-mail conference@phoenixhouse.org....

In case haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... A report published this month in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research states that social drinkers have a risk of brain damage similar to that seen in chronic alcoholics, the Daily Mail (London) reported. Researchers led by Peter...