Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from May 2006

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from May 2006

Field appears far from consensus on evidence-based practice.
May 1, 2006... "The handwriting is on the wall: Those who are not providing empirically supported interventions are going to have a harder time getting paid for their services. 'Anything goes' is gone." "The truth is that a broad consensus of the best...

Narcotic medications account for 21 percent increase in treatment admissions.
May 1, 2006... For over a year now, substance abuse officials at the state and federal levels have been watching the rise in abuse of prescription opiates with concern. And last week, with the release of new data on treatment admissions, the numbers are there...

Lawsuit seeks to repeal financial aid drug exclusion.
May 1, 2006... Students who are convicted of a drug offense--even a misdemeanor--while at school are denied financial aid under federal law, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that law. In...

DWI screening instruments evaluated; lack of other drug misuse measure cited.
May 1, 2006... The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC) and the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI) are the best-rated instruments for screening driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI) offenders, according to the first study since 1992 to evaluate the literature on the...

No news on counselor group merger.(International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium merging with National Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... So many deadlines for a decision on whether the two big counselor certification groups will merge have come and gone that an April 26 formal statement to ADAW by Jeff Willbee, president of the International Certification and Reciprocity...

Recovery program tailored for Native Americans.(Briefly noted)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New England recently saw that launch of its first substance abuse recovery program designed specifically for the Native American community, to be run from New Hampshire's Derry Friendship Center, reported the Union Leader on April 21. The...

Treatment center for offenders runs into local opposition.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... For nearly three years, Dr. James Gaitner has been planning a residential treatment center in Indianapolis, where offenders would receive 12 to 18 months of treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. While Mayor Bart Peterson supports the idea,...

California smoking rates continue to fall.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In what California public health officer Dr. Mark Horton called a "major public health achievement," the number of adult residents who smoked continued to decline between 2004 and 2005, hitting a record low of 14 percent, according to figures...

Correction ...(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... In last week's issue of ADAW(April 24),we incorrectly stated that NCADD-NJ was considering bidding on counselor training contracts to be issued in some form by the New Jersey Department of Social Services. According to spokesman Dan Meara,...

FDA advisory counters theory of medical marijuana.(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... On April 20 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted an inter-agency advisory "Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana Is a Medicine." The FDA cites a past evaluation by Health and Human Services agencies which concluded that "no sound...

SAMHSA awards state grants for jail diversion programs.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced on April 20 that $7.2 in three-year grants have been awarded to six states for the diversion of individuals with mental illness, many with co-occurring substance...

NIDA grants for study of inhalant abuse.(Resources)
May 1, 2006... The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has announced the availability of funding for new research under its program, "Inhalant Abuse: Supporting Broad-Based Approaches." Prevalence data show that inhalants continue to be "a major public...

Coming up ...(calendar )(Calendar)
May 1, 2006... The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) will hold its 2006 annual conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on May 20-23. For more information, go to www.naatp.org/conferences/annualconference06.php. The 22nd Annual...

In case you haven't heard ...(High Desert Counseling for substance abuse treatment)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Julie Irvin left her job at New Frontier Treatment Center, and opened up High Desert Counseling in Fallon, Nevada last year. She described her work for the Lahontan Valley News, explaining that she performs substance abuse evaluations for...

Jails, probation speak out in favor of methadone treatment.
May 8, 2006... Law enforcement, traditionally separated by a deep philosophical divide from substance abuse treatment, is moving toward being one of the strongest supporters of expansion of treatment into jails and probation departments. "What is most...

NY treatment providers get $8.5 million for higher counselor salaries, health insurance.
May 8, 2006... In a move which has improved the lot of counselors employed by 58 residential treatment programs in New York, the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) recently awarded $8.5 million for workforce improvement,...

Mexican president demands changes in decriminalization bill.(health policy)
May 8, 2006... In a surprising move last week, Mexican President Vicente Fox refused to sign a drug decriminalization bill that he had initially supported but that had inspired strong reaction across the border, leading to a rare public objection by U.S....

Cost report, court ruling lend momentum to Canada SA efforts.
May 8, 2006... Two recent developments in Canada are being seen as bolstering the position of substance abuse treatment in the country's overall health agenda. The first study in 10 years of Canada's social costs related to substance abuse was released late...

COJAC puts substance abuse and mental health on equal footing, in philosophy if not in dollars.(California Report)(California's Co-Occurring Joint Action Council alliance with Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs)
May 8, 2006... Click on the web page for California's Co-Occurring Joint Action Council (COJAC), and you will see two directors profiled: Kathy P. Jett, director of the state's Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), and Stephen W. Mayberg, director of...

AHRQ study: $2 billion on alcohol abuse for inpatients.(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... Community hospitals spent about $2 billion on treating patients for alcohol abuse disorders in 2003, according to a study released last week by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of the federal Department of Health and Human...

NIH studies modafinil for cocaine addiction.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... Although conclusive evidence is still pending in the form of a large-scale, National Institutes of Health-funded research project, addiction specialists see promise in the drug modafinil as a treatment for cocaine addiction. Modafinil is...

'Starter-heroin' prevalent in Dallas schools.(Briefly Noted)("cheese" drug mixture)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... Police in Dallas, Texas have recently turned up 78 incidents of middle and high school students' use of "cheese"--a nickname for a mixture of acetaminophen, diphenhydramine HCL (the ingredients in Tylenol PM), and heroin. USA Today reported on...

Partnership survey shows inhalant abuse up.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... The Partnership for a Drug-Free America reported on April 24 that the results of its 2005 Partnership Attitude Tracking Survey (PATS) suggest an "alarming" increase in the number of teenagers sniffing (or "huffing") household products to get...

Scholarships for CSAT Institute.(Resources)(Center for Substance Abuse Treatment )(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has announced the availability of a limited number of full tuition, room, board and travel scholarships to attend the National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, taking place June 4-8 at the...

In case you haven't heard ...(oral naltrexone versus acamprosate for alcoholism treatment)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... A study comparing alcoholism treatments in the May 3 Journal of the American Medical Association showed that Revia (oral naltrexone) was better than Campral (acamprosate) at producing longer periods of abstinence. In fact, Campral, with or...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
May 8, 2006... The Society for Prevention Research will hold its 14th Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on May 21-June 2." Applying Prevention Science to Reduce Health Disparities" will present the latest in prevention science from across international...

Oregon council report may lead to damage repair for treatment field.
May 15, 2006... Repeated cutbacks have done severe damage not only to the substance abuse treatment field in Oregon but to a broad span of services that are now overwhelmed by the side effects of substance abuse. That's the lesson the state learned when it cut...

Counseling and naltrexone found equally effective.(COMBINE Study)(Clinical report)
May 15, 2006... According to a recent large-scale clinical trial, naltrexone plus medical management is as effective as 20 sessions of counseling. The study, "Effect of Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions for Alcohol Dependence," was...

Server responsibility can help prevent drunk driving.(Kevin's law legislation to control drunken driving )
May 15, 2006... On New Year's Eve 1997, a 16-year-old Minnesotan named Kevin Brockway died in a car crash. He'd been drinking at a party hosted by a friend's father, who provided the alcohol. At the time of the accident, Brockway's blood alcohol concentration...

Cigna Behavioral Health sponsors symposium on addiction.
May 15, 2006... At last week's CIGNA/MIT symposium on addiction, Craig Coenson, M.D. national medical director for Cigna Behavioral Health, moderated a session called "The 13th Step." This, Coenson told ADAW, is the step that gets the public educated. For...

Advocates seek funding for Patriot Act's meth provision.(methamphetamine addiction treatment funding)
May 15, 2006... While not losing focus on their main funding aim of healthy spending levels for the substance abuse block grant, national advocacy organizations this year also have their eye on possible funding of a targeted program that could help communities...

Addiction community offers support as Kennedy enters treatment.(Patrick J. Kennedy)
May 15, 2006... Addiction field organizations that have considered U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D.-R.I.) to be among the strongest supporters of their issues on Capitol Hill are rallying behind the congressman for his candor as he prepared for a second stay...

CASA says alcohol industry profits from underage drinking.(National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Researchers with the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) have suggested that the financial interests of the alcohol industry are "antithetic to the public health interests of the nation." CASA's recent...

Behavioral treatment targets those with addiction and mental illness.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... In a recent study, a new behavioral treatment for drug abuse in individuals with severe mental illness showed promise. The study abstract, published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, describes Behavioral Treatment for Substance...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
May 15, 2006... The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) will hold its 2006 annual conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on May 20-23. More information will become available at www.naatp.org/conferences/annualconference06.php. The 22nd...

Brown conference series: Future of Behavioral Health.(Resources)
May 15, 2006... On Monday, June 5, a one-day conference entitled "Imagining the Future of Behavioral Health" will take place at Brown University, Providence, RI, from 8:30am to 5:00pm in Salomon Hall. This is the third in the annual Frontiers of Health Care...

BCBS Missouri Foundation funds tobacco prevention education.(Business)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... In a unique public-private partnership, The BlueCross BlueShield BCBS) of Missouri Foundation, the charitable giving arm of BCBS of Missouri (now Anthem BCBS), is supporting the Institute for America's Health (IAH) with a $550,000 grant to...

In case you haven't heard ...(How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics book review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 15, 2006... How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics is the title of a new book by Doug Thorburn. According to promotional material about the book, it provides "clues for identifying alcoholic behaviors and avoiding personal, financial, and professional turmoil." The...

N.Y. evaluating effect of gang members' presence in centers: state may help providers with training, security.
May 22, 2006... Given the importance of helping addicts establish a network of positive social support, anecdotal reports that gang members are commanding a stronger presence in New York state's residential treatment centers have state substance abuse...

Alcohol tax hike for treatment expansion faces uphill battle in NJ.
May 22, 2006... In a time of voter frustration on taxes, it's significant that a majority of New Jersey residents support an increase on alcohol taxes, with a new poll showing that almost three quarters of residents support the hike providing that the funds be...

Combine study: Field reaction includes acceptance of medication as treatment adjunct.(Clinical report)
May 22, 2006... The first large-scale randomized controlled study of combined pharmacotherapy with or without additional counseling showed that for many alcoholics, treatment with one medication--oral naltrexone--plus medical management by a health care...

Hawaii treatment center places counselors--and treatment--in school system.(Hina Mauka Drug treatment center)
May 22, 2006... Hina Mauka, a treatment center based in Kaneohe, has developed a proactive way of helping adolescents with substance abuse problems: placing its counselors in schools in Hawaii. The counselors are each there 40-50 hours a week, providing...

Study considers stability of alcohol diagnoses.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... According to the online newsletter Alcohol and Health: Current Evidence, a recent study found that most adolescents with diagnoses of alcohol dependence will experience remission as they transition into adulthood. The data indicated that the...

SAMHSA releases data on drug-related ER visits.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Emergency Department)(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there were 1.3 million substance abuse-related emergency department visits in 2004. Of these, 30 percent were for illicit drugs only, 25 percent for...

New center links treatment with drug courts.(Arizona Department of Behavioral Health Services)(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... ValueOptions, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) for Maricopa County, Arizona, has announced a partnership with the Arizona Department of Behavioral Health Services (DBHS) and Community Bridges, a Phoenix-area behavioral health...

Service integration for substance abuse treatment.(Requests for Proposals)
May 22, 2006... The Health Foundation of Cincinnati has announced a request for proposals under its Comprehensive Treatment for Reducing Harm from Substance Use Disorders funding initiative. Projects should focus on the integration of services among primary...

Religiosity and health risk behaviors.(Requests for Proposals)
May 22, 2006... The National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA) are accepting research proposals for their Influence of Religiosity and Spirituality on Health Risk Behaviors...

The Society for Prevention Research will hold its 14th Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on May 21-June 2.(Coming up ...)
May 22, 2006... The Society for Prevention Research will hold its 14th Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on May 21-June 2. "Applying Prevention Science to Reduce Health Disparities" will present the latest in prevention science from across international...

The Coalition of Alcohol and Drug Associations (CADA) welcomes providers, consumers and the recovery community to its Annual Public Policy Conference on May 22 and 23 in Sacramento, Ca.(Coming up ...)
May 22, 2006... The Coalition of Alcohol and Drug Associations (CADA) welcomes providers, consumers and the recovery community to its Annual Public Policy Conference on May 22 and 23 in Sacramento, CA. Visit www.caadpe.org/CADA%20Save%20the%20date.asp for...

State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS).(Coming up ...)
May 22, 2006... State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) will sponsor the First SAAS National Conference for Executive and Senior Managers in Addiction Services, July 9-12 in Chicago. Designed specifically for CEOs, COOs, Clinical Supervisors, and other...

Managed care: a balance between terminating contracts and collaborating.(NAATP annual meeting)
May 29, 2006... Over the past five years, there's been a trend toward more patients using their insurance benefits for treatment, according to many providers who spoke at last week's National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) conference in...

Washington State data finds treatment just as effective for methamphetamine.
May 29, 2006... Outcome data produced by state officials in Washington shows that treatment works for people addicted to methamphetamine just as well as it does for other drugs. Officials with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services...

Resignation letter from Charles G. Curie to President Bush.(George W. Bush)
May 29, 2006... May 22, 2006 (released May 25, 2006) Dear Mr. President: It has been the highest privilege and honor to serve you and this Nation as Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (SAMHSA). I am writing...

Study finds link between alcohol outlets, violence.
May 29, 2006... An increase in violence is associated with the proliferation of alcohol retail outlets, according to a study conducted by researchers with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, Calif. ...

PIRE merger.(Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... PIRE is merging with the Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest in Albuquerque, N.M., both groups announced May 25. This means PIRE now has centers in eight American cities. The Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest,...

Program for mothers and children expands into new building, with self-pay spinoff.(drug treatment for mothers)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Seabrook House in Seabrook, N.J. has just greatly expanded a 12-year-old program for mothers and their children. The program, which opened in a new $8-million facility May 16, already had 16 patients as of last week. And in coming months, a new...

Ellen Breyer of Hazelden receives Outstanding Achievement Award from ACATA.(American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Ellen Breyer, president and CEO of the Hazelden Foundation, received the 2006 American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators (ACATA) administrator of the year award on May 22 at the NAATP awards luncheon in Palm Beach. Breyer, who has...

Mark S. Gold, M.D. receives the Nelson J. Bradley, M.D. award.(NAATP meeting)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... On May 22, Mark S. Gold, M.D., was presented with the Nelson J. Bradley Life Time Achievement Award during the awards luncheon at the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers annual meeting in Palm Springs. The award, named after...

Rising drug abuse among older adults.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... A government survey suggests that substance abuse problems are on the rise among adults over the age of 50, MSNBC reported on May 17. A separate survey found that among almost 500,000 ER visits in 2004 for the non-medical use of prescription...

Study considers relapse following natural remission.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
May 29, 2006... Rudolph Moos, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Stanford University, recently compared the rate of relapse following "natural" remission with that following formal alcohol treatment, as reported in Alcohol and Health:...

CU-Boulder to launch recovery support program.(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Modeling itself after a successful program at Texas Tech University, this fall the University of Colorado at Boulder will open the CU-Boulder Center for Students in Recovery, a free support program for students in recovery from alcohol or drug...

Texas fails to build on anti-smoking gains.(funding for tobacco cessation programs)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Data shows that the Texas community of Beaumont-Port Arthur made considerable progress during a four-year stop-smoking program, funded with $9 million from a state settlement with tobacco companies, reported the Express-News on May 13. At the...

High rate of drug use among injured adolescents.(Briefly Noted)
May 29, 2006... Dr. Peter Ehrlich at the University of Michigan Health System believes that drug testing and brief substance abuse intervention should be included in the treatment of adolescents who experience an injury, Reuters reported on May 17. In their...

Faces & Voices: the new language of recovery.(www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... On its website, Faces & Voices of Recovery has published new messaging for communicating with policymakers and the general public about recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, in the interest of moving "our advocacy agenda forward."...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
May 29, 2006... The 22nd Annual National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will take place June 4-8 at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wis. This year's conference will focus on methamphetamine abuse and will include in-depth tracks,...

In case you haven't heard ...(addiction counselors to be trained for mental disorder treatment)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... If addiction counselors don't get cross-trained in mental disorders, they may lose patients with co-occurring disorders to the mental health field--and the patients may be lost altogether. That is the message from Shirley Beckett-Mikell, NCAC...