Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from July 2009

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from July 2009

Army homicide investigations highlight role of unaddressed substance use.
July 27, 2009... A newly released epidemiologic report stemming from a spate of homicides involving soldiers stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., is expected to fuel a number of changes to behavioral health services in the U.S. Army. While substance abuse issues are...

House appropriations committee clears field-related spending bill.
July 27, 2009... The fiscal year 2010 spending bill for labor, health and human services, education, and related agencies cleared the full House Appropriations Committee July 17. The bill, which includes funding for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...

Treatment providers don't fare too badly in Conn. budget.(State Budget Watch)
July 27, 2009... The budget picture for treatment providers in Connecticut isn't nearly as gloomy as it is in some other states across the country. Connecticut's fiscal year started July 1 without a budget due to the stalemate between Gov. Jodi Rell, who...

Florida drug strategy sets goals for treatment and prevention.
July 27, 2009... Last week, Gov. Charlie Crist issued performance measures, guidelines, and benchmarks for Florida's treatment and prevention agencies to meet in coming years. The state's 2009 Drug Control Strategy is unique among such documents in that it sets...

Study finds efficacy for nicotine patch prior to quit date.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
July 27, 2009... Initiating nicotine skin patch treatment prior to the target quit date roughly doubled continuous abstinence rates following the quit date, according to a study published online June 30 in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. According to author Jed...

Editorial: abolish death penalty for drug-related crimes.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Editorial)
July 27, 2009... "If the evidence for and against the efficacy, logic and ethicality of execution for drug trafficking is put to any uncorrupted jury... that jury would find for specific abolition," conclude Griffith Edwards and fellow members of the editorial...

New Mexico treatment facilities report surge in patients.(STATE NEWS)(Brief article)
July 27, 2009... Treatment facilities in the Farmington area of New Mexico are reporting a marked increase in the number of individuals seeking treatment for alcoholism, reported the Daily Times on July 10. Roughly two dozen people are on the waiting list for...

Substance abuse burdens West Virginia's criminal justice system.(STATE NEWS)(Brief article)
July 27, 2009... "Substance Abuse places an enormous financial burden on West Virginia's criminal justice system," according to a report released July 9 by the Gov. Joe Manchin-appointed Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being. The report estimates the...

SAMHSA introduces TIP #49, #50.(RESOURCES)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Treatment Improvement Protocol)(Brief article)
July 27, 2009... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has introduced numbers 49 and 50 in the Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) series. TIP #49: Incorporating Alcohol Pharmacotherapies into Medical Practice provides...

FASD Center for Excellence: Project CHOICES.(CALL FOR COMMENTS)
July 27, 2009... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) posted a request for comment on the Federal Register, July 13 regarding a proposed project of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Center for Excellence, operated by...

Coming up ...(Brief article)(Calendar)
July 27, 2009... The NIATx Summit and the State Association of Addiction Services (SAAS) National Conference will take place July 29-August 1 in Tucson, Ariz. Visit www.saasniatx.net for more information. The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA)...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
July 27, 2009... For one groundbreaking day, Oregon's "wastewater" did not go to waste. Instead, a team of researchers led by epidemiologist Caleb Banta-Green sampled untreated sewage across 96 municipalities and tested for the presence of illicit drugs. This...

Study highlights dilemma of coordinating care for methadone patients.
July 20, 2009... Physicians treating methadone maintenance patients for general medical conditions may not document the methadone or a diagnosis of opioid dependence in the patient's medical record, even when they know of both, according to researchers at Boston...

Lagging foundation support forces Colorado provider to shut operations.(The Next Step)
July 20, 2009... A Boulder County, Colo., nonprofit addiction treatment organization specializing in intensive outpatient services with innovative family support will close its doors at the end of this month. The Next Step, a stand-alone agency for the past...

Congress moves closer to health care reform bill.
July 20, 2009... Although it's unlikely that there will be a health care reform bill ready for President Obama to sign before Congress takes its August recess, the White House remains hopeful that there will be two passed bills, one from the Senate and one from...

Level funding for addiction treatment in South Dakota.(State Budget Watch)
July 20, 2009... There was no inflationary increase for drug and alcohol treatment providers in South Dakota for the fiscal year that began July 1. Compared to providers in some other states, however, the fact that there was no decrease--that funds remained the...

Remembering Joel Hernandez: a true recovery hero.(FROM THE FIELD ...)
July 20, 2009... On July 25th more than 125 addiction and recovery field leaders gathered in Washington, DC for the second annual Joel Hernandez Voice of the Recovery Community Award ceremony. The recognition was created by Faces and Voices of Recovery to...

Case reports support abuse potential of tramadol.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Report)(Brief article)
July 20, 2009... The medication tramadol has a significant potential for abuse and physical dependence, particularly among individuals at high risk of addiction, according to a report published online July 13 in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician...

Coming up ...
July 20, 2009... The NIATx Summit and the State Association of Addiction Services (SAAS) National Conference will take place July 29-August 1 in Tucson, Ariz. Visit www.saasniatx.net for more information. The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA)...

New Mexico treatment facilities report surge in patients.(STATE NEWS)(Brief article)
July 20, 2009... Treatment facilities in the Farmington area of New Mexico are reporting a marked increase in the number of individuals seeking treatment for alcoholism, reported the Daily Times on July 10. Roughly two dozen people are on the waiting list for...

Regina Benjamin.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)
July 20, 2009... Regina Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A. is President Obama's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General, an appointment that requires confirmation by the Senate. In his announcement on July 13, the President said that Benjamin is a family doctor in the village of...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
July 20, 2009... Teens are spending hours each day on the internet, staying up all night to surf the Web, and neglecting school work. What is a parent to do? Well, if you're a parent in China you can check your children in to the Internet Addiction Treatment...

N.Y. agency enhances treatment services at innovative correctional system campus.(Willard Drug Treatment Campus)
July 13, 2009... A boot camp-like "shock program" for correctional clients housed at the renowned Willard Drug Treatment Campus in Seneca County, N.Y., is now becoming a laboratory for research-based interventions such as small-group therapy and Motivational...

Citing suicidality, FDA orders black box warnings for two smoking cessation drugs.
July 13, 2009... Due to adverse events including suicide, patients on smoking cessation drugs Chantix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion) should be carefully monitored, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned earlier this month. The agency is requiring a...

Less than 1 in 10 young adults who need treatment receive it.
July 13, 2009... Of the 7 million Americans aged 18 to 25 who need treatment for substance use disorders, 93 percent do not get it, according to an analysis released this month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This...

Budget stalemate in North Carolina continues past start of FY.(State Budget Watch)(fiscal year)
July 13, 2009... North Carolina started its fiscal year July 1 without a budget, as legislators could not agree on how to close a $4 billion projected deficit. Last week, Governor Bev Perdue sought to break the stalemate by proposing increased taxes, which would...

Why recovery-oriented care systems are more than a passing fad.(FROM THE FIELD ...)(Viewpoint essay)
July 13, 2009... One year ago 250 leaders gathered in Philadelphia to consider what a recovery-based model of care might look like and what this model would mean related to how we currently research and address addiction in America (see:...

School-based intervention reduces youth problem behaviors.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Positive Action program)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... A school-based prevention program initiated in first grade reduces the risk for substance abuse among fifth graders by half, according to a study supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Principal investigator Brian Flay, Ph.D.,...

FDA proposes restrictions on acetaminophen.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... The Food and Drug Administration, citing possible liver damage, is considering limiting the maximum over-the-counter dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol), which already carries a black box warning about mixing the painkiller with alcohol. The FDA is...

Study explores clinical outcome predictors in alcoholism treatment.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... Female gender, a greater number of detoxifications, and a history of mental health problems were predictive of a negative outcome in a recent study of 92 alcohol-dependent adults treated in an outpatient setting. Researchers Michael Soyka and...

Wyoming American Indian tribes to open Inter-Tribal Wellness Center.(STATE NEWS)
July 13, 2009... The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, a coalition of American Indian tribes, plans to open the Inter-Tribal Wellness Center in Sheridan, Wyoming. Associated Press reported July 1 that the treatment programs are likely to include...

New Jersey addicts face shortage of treatment options.(STATE NEWS)(New Jersey's Division of Addiction Services)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... New Jersey's Division of Addiction Services (DAS) estimated that 31,000 adults went without needed addiction treatment in 2007, Central Jersey News reported July 5. According to John Hulick, executive director of the National Council on...

Overdoses down in Baltimore.(STATE NEWS)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... Drug and alcohol overdose deaths are down in Baltimore for the second year in a row, according to a recent Health Department report, lower than they've been since 1995. The Baltimore Sun reported July 1 that health officials attribute this in...

Legal Action Center webinar series.(RESOURCES)("Know Your Rights: Anti-Discrimination Laws Protecting People with Alcohol and Drug Problems and Criminal Records")(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... The Legal Action Center is offering a second viewing of the free webinar series: "Know Your Rights: Anti-Discrimination Laws Protecting People with Alcohol and Drug Problems and Criminal Records." Four 60-minute segments covering different...

Coming up ...(Brief article)(Calendar)
July 13, 2009... The NIATx Summit and the State Association of Addiction Services (SAAS) National Conference will take place July 29-August 1 in Tucson, Ariz. Visit www.saasniatx.net for more information. NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals,...

In case you haven't heard ...(alcohol taxes)(Brief article)
July 13, 2009... Officials in most states are eyeing increased alcohol taxes as a quick way to bring in much-needed revenue. "But the honor for being the most aggressive state in capturing added revenue from a fifth of bourbon goes to Washington," writes the...