Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from June 2008

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from June 2008

How process improvements can help the bottom line.(Exclusive NIATx/SAAS Conference Report)
June 30, 2008... How to engage clients in treatment faster and keep them there longer were themes that ran throughout many sessions at last week's annual meeting of the State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) and NIATx. For any of these clinical...

New Jersey leaders seek to lift barriers to successful reentry for addicts.(Exclusive NIATx/SAAS Conference Report)
June 30, 2008... Some addiction treatment advocates in New Jersey are sensing a shift in state policy-makers' attitudes toward how to address the substantial number of criminal offenders with substance use problems. They believe the change is evolving more...

Diversify funding to increase agency admissions.(Exclusive NIATx/SAAS Conference Report)
June 30, 2008... The Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant is the life-blood of public treatment agencies, but there's a finite number of dollars in that federal program, which has a set amount each year. But by diversifying funding sources,...

SAMHSA: 40% of underage drinkers obtained alcohol from adults.(Exclusive NIATx/SAAS Conference Report)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration )(Report)(Survey)
June 30, 2008... Parents and guardians are among the adults who give people under 21 alcohol, according to a new study by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The study, released June 26, showed that more than 40...

Use free technology to improve admissions and outcomes.(Exclusive NIATx/SAAS Conference Report)
June 30, 2008... Rural treatment providers with a wide geographic area to cover can benefit from low cost technology, David Matthews, Ph.D., director of adult services for Kentucky River Community Care, told workshop attendees at last week's NIATx/SAAS...

Health-education-labor spending bill delayed.(Breaking News)
June 30, 2008... We had hoped to give readers last-minute news on the spending bills for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration budget before the 4th of July break. But Congress had another idea in mind: Republicans used the...

Bill would restore food stamps for people with felony drug convictions.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... On April 15 Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced the "Food Assistance to Improve Reintegration Act of 2008 (H.R. 5802) in the House of Representatives. According to the Legal Action Center, the legislation seeks to repeal federal...

Teens who abuse drugs/alcohol at increased risk of dying young.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... A study appearing in the June issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that adolescents who have substance use disorders (SUD) are at significant risk of dying in young adulthood. Duncan B. Clark, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at the...

Deadline for AATOD submissions extended.(BRIEFLY NOTED)
June 30, 2008... The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) has extended its submission deadline to July 11 for presentations for its 2009 National Conference on April 25-29 in New York City. For more information and an...

Praise for Michigan Family Treatment Drug Court.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... The Family Treatment Drug Court in Cass County, Michigan has served as a statewide example of the power of collaboration to improve outcomes among those addicted to drugs and alcohol, reported the Dowagiac Daily News on June 20. Under the...

Miami DCF administrator focuses on family preservation.(STATE WATCH)(Department of Children and Families)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... Alan Abramowitz is a leader in "family preservation" in the state of Florida and currently supports related efforts by Department of Children and Families Secretary Robert Butterworth, reported the South Florida Times on June 20. Miami's...

Carol B. Sisco, Ph.D.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(Brief article)
June 30, 2008... Carol B. Sisco, Ph.D., has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA). Sisco has worked as a clinician, consultant, educator and researcher in the field of addictions for...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
June 30, 2008... The American Psychological Association will host its 116th Annual Convention on August 14-17 in Boston, Mass. An Aug. 14 symposium entitled "What is the Nature of Addiction" will be delivered by Meyer D. Glantz, Ph.D., with the National...

In case you haven't heard ...
June 30, 2008... If your computer has become a "significant other" in your life, you may have an internet addiction, according to psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block. You're not alone, of course, as it's estimated that five to ten percent of the population is...

Va. report: treatment cost-effective, but more proof needed before money will flow.
June 23, 2008... Treatment in Virginia is cost-effective, according to a new report from Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), but more should be done by the state to evaluate and assess programs on an ongoing basis. Furthermore,...

CASA report links marijuana harms to increased potency.(National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse )
June 23, 2008... The chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University believes it is time for an unprecedented public health campaign on the dangers of marijuana, because youth treatment admissions and...

Program sued by EEOC for firing counselor on methadone.(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
June 23, 2008... Earlier this month the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Greenbriar Treatment Center for disability discrimination in the firing of a counselor. According to the EEOC, the counselor was fired because she was taking...

Study of 'avoidable costs' of alcohol abuse urges interventions.
June 23, 2008... A new June 11 report from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Canada has found that implementing interventions for alcohol abuse would result in about $1 billion a year in savings. Implementing the interventions would also...

Study finds medication sharing/borrowing common.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... In their study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Richard Goldsworthy, Ph.D., and colleagues posit that prescription-medication sharing is a significant public health problem. In interviews of 700...

12-step programs benefit adolescents following treatment.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... According to John F. Kelly, associate director of the MGH-Harvard Center for Addiction Medicine at Mass. General Hospital, little rigorous research has examined if abstinence-focused programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous...

Study finds brain protein curbs excessive alcohol consumption.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... In a study published online June 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dorit Ron and colleagues found that infusing a protein called GDNF into the brains of alcohol-dependent rats significantly reduced the rodents'...

NAATP honors five groups with Quality Improvement Award.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... At its national meeting on May 20, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) honored five member organizations with the James W. West, M.D. Quality Improvement Award: Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers (Seattle), Gateway...

Suit finds New Jersey illegally criminalizing public intoxication.(STATE WATCH)
June 23, 2008... A federal civil rights lawsuit alleges that at least 74 New Jersey municipalities are arresting citizens for public intoxication and in doing so wrongly enforcing ordinances that were repealed by the state Legislature in 1975. The Associated...

Alkermes shares climb following boosted financial expectations.(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Shares of Alkermes, the biotechnology firm which manufactures Vivitrol for treating alcohol dependence, rose nine percent in opening trading last Monday after the firm raised financial expectations, the Associated Press reported on June 16....

SAMHSA updated treatment program directory.(RESOURCES)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued its updated National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programs 2008, complementing its online Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator. The guide...

Scott Munson.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Scott Munson, executive director of Sundown M Ranch in Yakama, Wash., and the president of the Association of Alcoholism and Addiction Programs in Washington State, has been awarded the 2008 American College of Addiction Treatment...

AATOD 2009 National Conference.(CALL FOR APPLICATIONS)
June 23, 2008... The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) has issued a call for presentations for its 2009 National Conference on April 25-29 in New York City. AATOD is looking for applications that will: address the issues and...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
June 23, 2008... NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, will co-host the 2008 Recovery for a Lifetime annual conference with the Kansas Association for Addiction Professionals and NALGAP, The Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender...

In case you haven't heard ...
June 23, 2008... Groups looking for an effective anti-drug image to decorate their billboards need look no further, according to an editorialist writing for News Blaze on June 16. Robert Paul Keyes quotes an AP news story regarding a man who was arrested...

Congress considers two bills expanding veterans treatment: workforce problems still persist in VA system.
June 16, 2008... Two bills under consideration in Congress would expand substance abuse treatment for veterans. Earlier this month, the Senate passed S. 2162 (the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements act of 2008), and on May 20 the House of...

Study of naltrexone buoys hopes for viable gambling treatments.(Report)
June 16, 2008... Practitioners and researchers in the area of pathological gambling consider this addiction to be even more stigmatized than alcohol or drug addiction, given the absence of an intervening substance on which observers can "blame" an...

Nebraska surveys consumers on addiction treatment.
June 16, 2008... Nebraska, as part of its process of behavioral health reform begun in 2004, is taking a closer look at addiction treatment services--mainly through the eyes of consumers. In focus groups and online surveys conducted over the past two months,...

Topiramate improves life and health for alcoholics, study finds.(Report)
June 16, 2008... Topiramate improves quality of life and physical health among people with alcohol dependence, according to the results of a multi-site clinical trial published in the June 9 Archives of Internal Medicine. The study, by Bankole A. Johnson,...

Thoughts on amenities and costs of addiction treatment programs.(FROM THE FIELD ...)
June 16, 2008... I'm currently the intake coordinator for a co-occurring disorder unit which is licensed under the Office of Mental Health and therefore is not called a rehab. We are what is called an "amenities unit." Most patients come in for both...

Estimated 750,000 young gamblers nationwide.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... A report from the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addiction finds that roughly two percent of youth nationwide show symptoms of problem gambling, defined as experiencing three or more negative consequences of the habit (such as...

Tobacco sales to minors drop under Synar program.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... In the ten years from the launch of the Synar Amendment program in 1997, the national average of illegal tobacco sales to minors dropped from 40 percent to 10.5 percent in fiscal year 2007, according to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health...

Illinois finds heroin addiction fueling copper thieves.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... In an incident this spring in St. Charles, Illinois, a man found dead after attempting to cut into a high-voltage transformer to steal copper was found to have heroin in his system, reported the Beacon News on June 4. The incident illustrates...

Heroin use climbing in New York.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 16, 2008... According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment, New York State currently sees more admissions for heroin addiction than for any other drug. And the growing abuser population "includes a rising...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
June 16, 2008... The State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) 2008 National Conference and the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) Summit will take place together under the title,"Inspiring Leaders, Forging Tools for...

In case you haven't heard ...
June 16, 2008... If exercise can improve mood and mental status, as some studies suggest, it stands to reason that the benefits of breaking a sweat would extend as a preventative measure to addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) believes there...

Colorado provider faces loss of license over disputed state data tracking.
June 9, 2008... A court fight between the Colorado Department of Human Services and a 25-year-old adolescent services organization over the provider's refusal to submit patient information for a state database is raising questions over the degree to which a...

Report: NJ sentencing policy flouts treatment and creates racial disparity: proposed legislation would give judges leeway to mandate treatment instead.
June 9, 2008... Direct costs of incarceration are high--$46,000 a year for a prison bed in New Jersey--but the hidden costs are even higher--$8,700 a year for lost wages alone, according to a report on the state commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)...

NY proposes adding addiction programs to child abuse reporting.(New York)
June 9, 2008... Last week, Gov. David A. Paterson proposed legislation that would, for the first time, include programs operated or overseen by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) under New York's rules regarding child abuse in...

Study focuses on all relatives with history of alcoholism.(Survey)
June 9, 2008... To get a better idea of whether a college student's heavy drinking will develop into alcoholism, clinicians should look at the family history of alcoholism (FHA) beyond simply that of the parents, a new study has found. Research into genetic...

California attorney general to create online prescription database.
June 9, 2008... California is about to put all prescription histories for Schedule II, III and IV drugs online in an attempt to prevent doctor-shopping by addicts, according to Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. "Every year thousands of doctors try to...

DNA test could one day aid selection of smoking cessation treatment.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(deoxyribonucleic acid)(Report)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... In a National Institutes of Drug Abuse-led study, Dr. George Uhl and colleagues pinpointed specific clusters of genetic markers associated with success or failure of two smoking cessation treatments: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and...

Future of Vancouver's supervised injection site unclear.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... With its exemption status set to expire on June 30, the status of Vancouver's supervised injection site, Insite remains unclear. Last week, British Columbia Supreme Court Judge Ian Pittfield ruled that Insite can remain open indefinitely as...

Can Suboxone stem spread of HIV in Western China's injection drug users?(BRIEFLY NOTED)
June 9, 2008... In the Xinjiang Province of Western China, rampant heroin use is driving the AIDS epidemic, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 26. David Metzger, director of the HIV AIDS Prevention Research Division at the University of Pennsylvania,...

Oklahoma charges drug court inflated client load.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Following a two-year audit, the Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector's Office released a 20-page report suggesting that a drug court program in Lincoln County inflated its client load in order to receive extra funding from the state Department of...

Florida struggles to stem spread of HIV among IDUs.(STATE WATCH)(human immunodeficiency virus)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... In 2006 Florida's Miami-Dade County had the highest rate of people living with AIDS in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Florida Department of Health found that 13 percent of Miami-Dade residents...

South Carolina reverses homicide conviction of Regina McKnight.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... On May 12 the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the 20-year homicide conviction of Regina McKnight, who in 2001 was convicted of homicide by child abuse for using cocaine during her pregnancy and thus causing the stillbirth of her child....

Becky Flood.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(appointment of)(60-bed Morningside Recovery)(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... Becky Flood, an expert in the field of drug and alcohol recovery, has been named CEO of the 60-bed Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, Cal. Flood will continue in her present position of CEO and Executive Director of New Directions for...

The National Association of State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors.(CALL FOR APPLICATIONS)
June 9, 2008... The National Association of State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors has issued a call for applications for the 2008 National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs. Winners will receive a $1500 mini-grant and a trip for...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
June 9, 2008... The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, Inc. (AATOD) will hold a training event, "Countering Opioid Stigma: Communicating Messages to Influence Public Perception," on Wednesday, June 11 (10am to 3:30pm) in College...

In case you haven't heard ...
June 9, 2008... Would you be surprised if Harrison Ford handed your child his first cigarette? The Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down project warns parents this threat is quite real. The group reports that by the end of the day over one thousand American adolescents will...

Observers of California treatment system lament lack of progress in reform.
June 2, 2008... Five years ago, an independent state agency in California concluded that while public servants from various disciplines were dealing with many of the same individuals with substance use problems, collaboration to build an integrated service...

Role of boards increasing as treatment field becomes more complex.(Report from NAATP)
June 2, 2008... As the addiction treatment field grows more complex, the importance of boards of directors is increasing, interviews with top management at several major programs have revealed. At last month's annual meeting of the National Association of...

Study looks at ethics of informed consent among addicted.(Report)
June 2, 2008... "Therapeutic misconception," the phrase researchers use to describe a subject's belief that their individual needs will be considered in a randomized controlled clinical trial, is particularly problematic when working with people with...

Mass. legislator favors treatment facility over prison.
June 2, 2008... A bill to ban the imprisonment of women who are civilly committed for substance abuse is under consideration--again--in the Massachusetts legislature. The bill has been proposed for the past 16 years but failed to pass because of its cost,...

Magellan encourages psychiatrists to provide buprenorphine.
June 2, 2008... Physicians' reluctance to offer buprenorphine treatment first surfaced in 2003 when Robert Ciaverelli, M.D., medical director in charge of office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) at Magellan Health Services, sent out a survey finding out which...

AA on college campus offers sense of community.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Alcoholics Anonymous)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are becoming a fixture on college campuses, including schools such as Brown University, Stanford University and Dartmouth College. In April, AA began offering meeting on the campus of Northwestern University...

WHO to tackle harmful use of alcohol.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... On May 24 the 61st World Health Assembly set the World Health Organization (WHO) "on a course to tackle" some of the world's most pressing global health problems, including curbing the harmful use of alcohol. In light of the fact that...

Ariz. community launches media blitz around prescription drug misuse.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Five Arizona mothers who lost their children in prescription drug-related deaths have joined the Maricopa County District Attorney's Office to assist in the launch of a local media blitz designed to raise awareness of youth prescription drug...

Closing of Virginia 28-day program echoes national trend.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... When its 28-day residential treatment program closes at the end of June, Central Virginia Community Services (CVCS) will be seeking treatment beds for the community's low-income, high-need individuals. It's a dilemma familiar to many of the...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
June 2, 2008... The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD), together with its affiliates, the National Prevention Network (NPN) and the National Treatment Network (NTN),will hold the 2008 NASADAD/NPN/NTN Annual Meeting...

In case you haven't heard ...
June 2, 2008... "Happy hour" isn't a strictly American phenomenon, nor is excessive alcohol consumption. Following the failure of preventive and educational measures to curb the growing problem of binge drinking in France,"le happy hour" and "le open bar"...