Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from March 2005

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from March 2005

University collaboration seeks to improve SA treatment in managed care: NIDA awards research center $6 million to conduct research.(National Institute on Drug Abuse)
March 28, 2005... Two leading Massachusetts-based education and research institutions this month announced a collaboration to investigate how organizational management, financing and payment within managed care can be improved to benefit substance abuse...

House, Senate committees approve versions of TANF reauthorization: drug-testing provision concerns advocates.(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
March 28, 2005... Congressional committees this month approved legislation to modify and reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for an additional three-month period. The approved legislation by the House subcommittee contains a...

Biden bill would train health professionals to recognize substance use.(Sen. Joseph Biden )
March 28, 2005... Federal legislation designed to improve the ability of health care professionals to recognize signs of substance abuse and assist patients in obtaining appropriate treatment has been re-introduced this month. The "Health Professionals...

Ramstad introduces substance abuse parity legislation.(Jim Ramstad)
March 28, 2005... Representative Jim Ramstad (R.-Minn.) has again introduced legislation that would require insurance companies to cover substance abuse treatment benefits at the same level physical benefits are covered. Ramstad has introduced legislation...

Literature review yields findings on treatment cost-effectiveness.
March 28, 2005... A study released last month by researchers affiliated with the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania gives policymakers and providers clues about where to best spend scarce treatment dollars. Called Economic...

$1,500 reward offered for information about illegal copying.(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Manisses Communications Group, Inc. offers a reward of up to $1,500 to persons providing evidence of illegal photocopying, sending by fax, transmitting electronically or reproducing by any other means of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly. This...

SAMHSA releases group therapy guide for SA treatment. .(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration )
March 28, 2005... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last week unveiled a comprehensive guide on the use of group therapy in the treatment of substance use disorders. The consensus panel that created Substance Abuse...

Sleep loss could compromise heart health in alcoholics.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Although the links between alcohol dependence, high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia are well established, a recent study attempted to unravel the mechanisms of these connections and found that sleep loss could play an active role....

Iowa enacts toughest law restricting cold medicines.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Iowa last week enacted the nation's toughest law on restricting cold medicines, Reuters reported. The anti-methamphetamine law singed by Gov. Thomas Vilsack will require Iowa residents to show an ID and sign their names when purchasing a cold...

In case haven't heard ...(medical costs)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... More Americans are willing to limit their choice of physicians and hospitals to save on out-of-pocket medical costs, according to a study released last week by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Between 2001 and 2003, the...

Coming up.(Calendar)
March 28, 2005... The National Commission on Correctional Health Care and Academy of Correctional Health Professionals will present a conference titled, "Updates in Correctional Health Care," April 9-12 in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.ncchc.org....

Okla. releases comprehensive report on costs of SA, MH and domestic violence; criminal justice system spends over $1 billion to address SA, MH.
March 21, 2005... Oklahoma officials, in a major report released this month, concluded that the economic and fiscal impact of untreated and under-treated substance abuse, mental health and domestic violence is costing the state $8 billion annually. State...

Cable network show on intervention heightens interest, demand for services.
March 21, 2005... A cable television series that follows people living with addiction and documents the intervention efforts that their families and friends take in order to help them recover premiered on the Arts & Entertainment (A&E) Network this month. ...

Another company launches Intervention DVD.(Atlantic Syndication Network Inc.)(Digital VideoDisks)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Coincidentally, a Las Vegas-based company, Atlantic Syndication Network Inc.(ASNI), is planning to release a DVD entitled Intervention. The DVD is structured as an easy-to-follow, step-by-step intervention course for people that need to act...

Inhalant use cited as marker for future drug abuse.
March 21, 2005... Inhalant use by young adolescents--12-and 13-year olds--is a harbinger for future drug use and delinquent behavior, according to a study released last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the...

Okla. task force examines jail costs of substance abuse, mental health.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... The Oklahoma Governor's and Attorney General's Task Force on Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence examined issues involving the criminal justice system and learned about Oklahomans who are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses...

Federal study finds continued increase in drunk-driving fatalities.
March 21, 2005... A report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveals that drunk driving fatalities continue to rise--and that thousands of them are caused by extreme or repeat offenders that the report calls "hard core drinking drivers." ...

CADCA offers training for community coalitions.(Resources)(Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America)
March 21, 2005... The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has announced that its National Coalition Institute is offering free, two-day trainings for coalitions in three U.S. cities. The trainings are entitled "Core Competencies That Lead to...

New opioid journal guides physicians.(Resources)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... A new bimonthly journal, The Journal of Opioid Management, aims to assist physicians in the proper prescription of opioids amid growing trends of abuse and addiction. The journal will include coverage of medication types and dosages, patient...

Addiction Recovery Services assumes management of clinics.(Business Notes)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Addiction Recovery Services (ARS) has assumed management of Family Addiction Treatment Services' two New Jersey clinics, according to an announcement by ARS president and founder, Jeffery J. Kegley. "Our major goal is to continue to provide...

Campaign asks NCAA to ban alcohol ads.(Briefly Noted)(National Collegiate Athletic Association)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... For the second consecutive year, Rep. Tom Osborne (R.-Neb.), a member of the national advisory council for the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV, has advanced a resolution asking the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to...

University of New Mexico to study rural youth drug use.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... A University of New Mexico grant project entitled "Drug Use, Ethnicity, and Help-Seeking among Rural Youth" was awarded over $200,000 for research, announced Sen. Pete Domenici (R.-N.M.). "The problem of drug abuse continues to cause real...

Iowa lawmakers agree on tough meth law.(Briefly Noted)(methamphetamine)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... In a House-Senate conference committee, Iowa lawmakers came to agreement on the details of a law to restrict sales of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, in an attempt to reign in methamphetamine production. The Associated Press...

Drug-related crimes cause female inmate surge.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Kentucky corrections officials believe that the increase in recent years in female prison inmates could be due to drug-related crimes, such as burglary or sex crimes, according to the Associated Press. Based on Kentucky Corrections Department...

Percentage of admissions to Maryland substance abuse treatment programs reporting specific drugs, FY 2004.(Illustration)
March 21, 2005... Percentage of admissions to Maryland substance abuse treatment programs reporting specific drugs, FY 2004 Cocaine 40.7% Heroin 36.0% Marijuana 33.1% Other...

College students binge-drink more than non-college peers.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... The findings of a recent study support previous indications that U.S. college students engage in more drinking and are more likely to binge-drink than their same-age peers who are not attending college, although the latter are more likely to...

Majority of smoking-prevention programs ineffective for youth.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggested that the majority of youth smoking prevention programs are ineffective. "Our study shows there is little evidence to suggest that existing school-based smoking prevention...

Coming up...(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 21, 2005... Foundations Associates will sponsor "Critical Connections in Co-Occurring Treatment" March 30-31 and April 1 in Knoxville, Tenn. and Aug. 29-31 in Baltimore. For more information, visit http://co-connections.com. The American Society of...

In case you haven't heard...(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... A strong alcoholic drink a day keeps food poisoning away. Recent research suggests that there may be truth behind this old wives tale. The New York Times cited a 2002 Spanish study, which suggested the generous consumption of wine, beer and...

Washington state coalition urges regulatory control of illegal drugs: senate legislation would establish special commission on drug control.
March 14, 2005... A coalition of civic leaders and groups in Washington state has taken the bold step of advancing a legislative agenda pushing state regulation of illegal drugs and removal of criminal sanctions associated with drug use. While advocacy for the...

Drug court programs reduce recidivism, but yield mixed results on relapse.
March 14, 2005... A Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of adult drug court programs released this month concluded that most programs led to recidivism reductions corresponding to the length of time spent in a program. The report, Adult Drug...

Risky injection practices established at onset of use.
March 14, 2005... Intravenous drug users tend to establish risky injection behaviors as early as their first use, according to a study published in last week's Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public...

Missouri advocates struggle to raise alcohol tax.
March 14, 2005... The state of Missouri has not raised its alcohol excise tax in 35 years. This has not stopped state treatment and prevention advocates from trying to use such an increase as a fundraising tool for prevention and treatment funding. For...

Business notes.(Hythiam, Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Hythiam, Inc., creator of HANDS[TM] Protocols, has announced the approval of its application for listing on the NASDAQ National Market, under the symbol HYTM. Hythiam is a healthcare services management company that delivers to treatment...

Caron Foundation offers pre-doctoral internship.(Resources)
March 14, 2005... The Caron Foundation, a nonprofit chemical dependency treatment organization, has announced it is currently offering two full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships within its Psychological Services Department. The internship begins in...

Surgeon General updates fetal alcohol advisory.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Thirty-two years ago, when researchers first became aware of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the Surgeon General officially advised that pregnant women should limit their alcohol consumption. Based on an increasing body of research elucidating...

Drinking declines with increasing age.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... A report published this month in the American Journal of Public Health looked at the patterns and predictors of alcohol consumption in the United States and found that alcohol consumption decreased with increasing age. The report compiled the...

Steroid use in teens a growing concern.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Community leaders and health experts are calling for increased efforts to combat steroid use among adolescents, particularly athletes. According to Chip Dempsey, VP of Addiction Intervention Resources (AIR), calls regarding steroid abuse saw...

Marijuana compound shows potential for Alzheimer's.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggested that cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, could be important players in future drug targets for fighting the plaque build-up that leads to Alzheimer's disease...

Mental health concerns plague affluent county.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Despite its relative affluence and solid physical health profile, California's Santa Clara County is faced with a discouraging picture of mental health among its youth. The San Jose Mercury News reports that the 2005 Santa Clara County...

Alcohol discrimination law under debate.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Nevada Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie (D.-Reno) has introduced Bill AB-63 in efforts to nullify the Uniform Policy Provision Law, which allows health insurers to deny claims from people injured while under the influence of alcohol, according to...

Beer company accused of advertising violations.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Anheuser-Busch has denied violating the alcohol industry's voluntary advertising self-regulation, in place since the end of prohibition in 1934. The beer company claims that its recent advertisement, which portrays referees stealing beer from...

Percentage of U.S. residents aged 12 or older reporting lifetime use of illicit drugs, 2003.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Percentage Marijuana 40.6% Cocaine 14.7% Hallucinogens 14.5% Pain Relievers 13.1% Inhalants 9.7% Stimulants * 8.8% Tranquilizers 8.5%...

More states restrict cold medicine sale.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Minnesota and Kentucky are the latest states to join in the fight against methamphetamine production, primarily by restricting the sale of cold medicines containing psuedoephedrine, which can be distilled to make the drug. According to the...

More adolescents abusing household inhalants.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... According to the results of a survey conducted among 1,200 students in ten Connecticut high schools, an increasing number of adolescents are using household products, such as inhalants and painkillers, to get high. Twelve percent of...

Marijuana use could reduce blood flow.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... A study published in the journal Neurology suggests that marijuana use could narrow blood vessels, much like that which occurs in heart disease. BBC News reported that the researchers used ultrasound technology to examine blood flow in...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
March 14, 2005... The Institute for Integral Development will sponsor its 19th Annual Conference on The Family in Stress and Crisis March 21-24 in Santa Fe, N.M. For more information, visit www.institutefortraining.com. The National Commission on...

In case you haven't heard ...(gambling addiction)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Too young to drive, but not to gamble? Apparently, children as young as 15-years-old are beginning to seek help for gambling addiction. According to the director of the Problem Gambling Services for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health...

NAATP and NAADAC in early talks to consolidate resources: negotiation follows recent collaboration among key association groups.(National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers)(National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence)
March 7, 2005... Citing the need to create a unified voice, the senior leadership of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals, last month announced the initiation of confidential...

Collaboration between Phoenix House, NYU yields critical data on cocaine addiction.
March 7, 2005... A 10-year joint research effort by Phoenix House Foundation and New York University (NYU) Medical School is yielding important clues about why some individuals are able to overcome cocaine addiction while others continue to relapse. The...

Study finds less parental concern about teen drug use.
March 7, 2005... A new survey from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America finds that parents today are somewhat less likely than those surveyed in 1998 to think drug use carries great risk. They are also somewhat less likely to talk to their kids about drug...

Citizen-advocate partnerships: engaging the public in treatment advocacy.(From The Field ...)
March 7, 2005... This morning I closed my office door and forwarded my phone calls to concentrate on writing about engaging the public in treatment advocacy. As if to remind me of the irony of isolating myself while writing about citizen engagement, a...

CMHC Systems.(Names in the News)(Zachary Zettler joins CMHC Systems)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Zachary Zettler is the new Senior VP, Sales and Professional Services, at Dublin, Ohio-based CMHC Systems, a provider of information technology and business solutions for behavioral health, human services and public health organizations....

Citizens' Commission to Protect the Truth.(Names in the News)(Tommy G. Thompson will join the Citizens' Commission )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Tommy G. Thompson, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will join the Citizens' Commission to Protect the Truth, the organization announced. The commission was formed to protect the funding of the...

Juvenile justice newsletter moves online.(Resources)(Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The bimonthly newsletter of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has switched to a strictly online format. Beginning with the January/February issue, "OJJDP News at a Glance" will be emailed to subscribers, as...

Companies offer ongoing assessment tool.(Resources)
March 7, 2005... The Change Companies and Evince Clinical Assessments have partnered to offer the Outcomes Assessment and Reporting System (OAARS) to be used by clinicians to document progress through treatment sessions. Compatible with the DSM-IV and the...

Anti-smoking campaign could lose funding.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Funding for the American Legacy Foundation and its successful "Truth" campaign is currently in question. While a study in the American Journal of Public Health indicated that the campaign helped to prevent 300,000 young adults from becoming...

Genetics could determine proclivity for addiction.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... With the discovery of a gene variation that they suggest could be linked to nicotine addiction, researcher Jerry Stitzel, Ph.D., and his team may have gained "important knowledge about the biology of addiction," and moved the field closer to...

Musicians lend voices to mental health awareness.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) claims that nearly 5,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 take their own lives each year. A new national public awareness campaign, "mpower: musicians for mental health," will air a...

Psychiatric services benefit long-term outcomes.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... In a study published in Psychiatric Services, researchers predicted that even minimal use of psychiatric services among patients with chemical dependency would result in better long-term abstinence outcomes. Study authors point out that...

Data links non-medical stimulant use, substance use among college students.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Data links non-medical stimulant use, substance use among college students (N=10,904 students at 119 U.S. 4-year colleges and universities in 39 states) Percentage ...

Study considers motivation for seeking treatment.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... According to the results of a recent study published in Alcohol and Alcoholism, developing a willingness to change is the "basic psychosocial process" that leads those with alcohol problems to seek treatment. Interviews with twelve...

Navajo reservation targets growing meth use.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Public health and law enforcement officials on the large Navajo reservation in Window Rock, Ariz. have been lobbying for the criminalization of methamphetamine, according to the New York Times. "We've seen more than a 100 percent increase in...

Drug treatment spending low in Colorado.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Although Colorado ranks above the national average for alcohol and drug abuse, according to the Denver Post, it is among the lowest spenders in the country when it comes to combating such abuse. Colorado's expenditure for drug and alcohol...

Coming up ...(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 7, 2005... Pain Management Solutions and the Realization Center present a breakfast symposium,"Addiction and Pain Management," March 15 in New York City. Continuing education credits provided. For more information, call 212-627-9600. The Institute...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Binge drinking damages more than your waistline. Especially if you're a teenager, in which case heavy drinking can impair your brain for the long-term. One recent study using magnetic resonance imaging suggested that although the brain may be...