Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from November 2008

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from November 2008

Training your patients to become advocates for themselves and for systems change.(Drug Policy Alliance awarded the grant to Stepping Stone of San Diego )
November 3, 2008... An addiction treatment program targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients, including people with HIV/AIDS, is carving out new territory that has the potential to affect treatment programs nationwide. With the help of a...

New York provider agencies could seek revisions to landmark smoking ban.
November 3, 2008... About three months into the official implementation of a complete ban on tobacco use in and around New York's addiction treatment and prevention facilities, provider agencies' concerns about creating a tobacco-free environment may be moving...

Ondansetron under study to treat binge drinking in 18-25 year olds.
November 3, 2008... For the first time, a medication is being tested specifically to treat binge- or severe drinking in 18- to 25-year-olds. Ondansetron, an anti-nausea drug which has been studied in the past for alcoholism, is now under investigation in a...

OxyContin settlement money a battle ground in West Virginia AG race.
November 3, 2008... The $10 million that Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma gave to the state of West Virginia in a 2004 settlement has become the hot spot of the campaign for attorney general. Current AG Darrell McGraw, who prosecuted the case against Purdue...

Canadian group recommends heroin-assisted therapy.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Report)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) based in Canada has found that heroin is as effective as methadone for treating opioid addiction on various measures. Principal investigator Martin Schechter, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues...

Moderate alcohol consumption linked with reduced brain volume.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... In their study in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, Carol Ann Paul, M.S., and colleagues hypothesized that because moderate alcohol consumption appears to have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, and the brain receives...

SAMHSA grants boost treatment for tribal populations, adults in criminal justice.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... In fiscal year 2008 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded grants totaling over $74 million to federally recognized tribes or tribal organizations to boost mental health and substance abuse prevention and...

Study examines addiction training for chief residents.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Report)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... "Training chief residents... appears to be one important pragmatic strategy to address the compelling need for better physician training in the identification and management of patients with addiction," said Daniel P. Alford, M.D., the lead...

Study in worms could lead to better understanding of human alcohol tolerance.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... A study in nematode worms has found that a naturally occurring gene mutation makes the nervous system less sensitive to the effects of alcohol, reducing the negative physical effects. This study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, UK...

Medical marijuana measure has early support in Michigan.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Proposal 1, which would legalize access to marijuana for people with terminal illnesses, was leading in Michigan, according to the most recent Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan poll, the paper reported on Oct. 25. The proposal's sponsor is...

Yale to train residents in SBIRT.(STATE WATCH)(Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut will introduce Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) training into their medical residency program backed by a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental...

"The Narcotic Farm," a documentary film and book.(RESOURCES)(Narcotic Farm: The rise and fall of America's First Prison for Drug Addicts)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... The PBS documentary film "The Narcotic Farm" will air on public television nationwide during the month of November. The film depicts the story of a federal prison in Kentucky that from 1935 to 1975 was a premiere center for research in drug...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
November 3, 2008... The International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) will hold its 51st International Conference on Dependencies, "Empowerment for Practitioners," in Limassol, Cyprus on November 2-7. Visit www.icaa.ch for more information. The...

In case you haven't heard ...
November 3, 2008... Mobile email access is giving added credibility to the concept of internet addiction. In one survey, 11 percent of respondents admitted to sending emails while engaged in "intimate behavior." On October 27 Cellular News reported the results of...

Providers temper hopes for health reform, but predict other progress with new leader.
November 10, 2008... Barack Obama was barely into his 30s the last time comprehensive national health care reform dominated policy discussions. But some addiction service providers interviewed by ADAW last week believe others' recollections of how quickly the...

Policy experts expect federal drug policy shift toward demand reduction.
November 10, 2008... People behind the scenes and on the front lines of addiction policy told ADAW last week that an Obama presidency means a new era of hope for people who need treatment and who are in recovery. They are guessing, based on what the Obama campaign...

Study of young adults shows risks of short-term Suboxone.
November 10, 2008... A randomized trial of Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) in adolescents and young adults has demonstrated that long-term (12-week) treatment with the medication is slightly more effective than a short two-week detox. The biggest benefit of...

Parents receptive to SBI in pediatrician offices.(screening and brief intervention)
November 10, 2008... Parents are open to screening and brief intervention (SBI) conducted by their children's pediatrician, according to a study published in the November issue of Pediatrics and funded by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the...

Study examines risk of relapse in middle-aged women.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... A study in progress in Australia suggests the middle-aged women (35 to 55) who are recovering from alcoholism are at an increased risk of relapsing, as they are often "pulled in many directions with increased family and work commitments," said...

Higher alcohol-outlet density linked to greater intimate partner violence.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... A new study finds that higher alcohol-outlet (liquor stores, bars, restaurants) density is associated with greater male-to-female partner violence (MFPV). An increase of 10 alcohol outlets per 10,000 persons was associated with a 34 percent...

Center receives $6 million in NIDA funding.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(National Institute on Drug Abuse)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Experts from multiple disciplines will come together at the Duke Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center (TPRC) to develop evidence-based substance-use prevention programs for adolescents and young adults for use in community settings....

Editorial: alcohol-related dementia is a 'silent' epidemic in the UK.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Alcohol-related dementia could reach "epidemic" proportions in the United Kingdom if not immediately addressed, write Susham Gupta, MRCPsych and James Warner, M.D., MRCPsych in a November editorial in the British Journal of Psychiatry....

Georgia parents charged for allowing alcohol use by minors.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... A Macon, Georgia couple faces 34 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, after throwing a party where alcohol was served for 34 "school-age" children from Stratford Academy. Macon.com reported on October 28 that the couple were...

University of Buffalo to pilot protocol for treating alcohol-related anger.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... The University of Buffalo (New York) reported on October 30 its Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) will develop a treatment protocol focused on the anger emotions frequently experienced by alcoholics. With a $1.8 million grant from the...

Kroll acquires Accu-Chem Lab's drugs of abuse testing services.(BUSINESS)
November 10, 2008... Kroll has acquired the drugs of abuse testing services of Accu-Chem Laboratories, based in Richardson, Texas. According to Kroll, the acquisition will "advance (its) position among the nation's leading substance abuse testing firms." Labs...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
November 10, 2008... The Harm Reduction Coalition will sponsor the 7th National Harm Reduction Conference, "Towards a National Policy," on November 13-16 in Miami, Florida. For more information, visit www.harmreduction.org. The Society for the Study of...

In case you haven't heard ...
November 10, 2008... As French wine production continues to fall and the industry faces other challenges including a possible raising of the legal drinking age to 18, wine makers there are decidedly on the defensive. "We are not terrorists," says the owner of a...

Private programs use more charity care and start cutting some costs.(Economic Crisis)
November 17, 2008... The economic downturn has already had an effect on patients' ability to pay for treatment, whether by credit card or home equity loans, private providers told ADAW last week. But there has been no downturn in calls for help. So the challenge...

OASAS vows to serve current clients in parolee programs losing N.Y. funding.(Economic Crisis)(Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services)
November 17, 2008... The commissioner of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) says no ex-offender currently receiving addiction treatment services under programs that no longer will be funded by the state Division of Parole...

Report stresses need to add primary care component.
November 17, 2008... Integration of primary care with addiction treatment may be best done by bringing primary care into the addiction treatment setting, at least in the case of the most seriously affected patients, according to a new federal report. The...

SAMHSA recognizes organizations for evidence-based interventions.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
November 17, 2008... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has selected 29 organizations to receive the agency's 2008 Science and Service Awards. These non-monetary awards recognize evidence-based interventions that prevent and/or...

SAMHSA grants to boost HIV/AIDS prevention in minority populations.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced on October 28 it has awarded 55 new grants totaling over $91 million over five years to community-based organizations providing integrated substance abuse and...

Predictors of medication treatment outcome in pathological gambling.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... In the first study to examine predictors of medication treatment outcome in pathological gambling, Jon E. Grant, M.D., and colleagues applied data from two trials of opiate antagonists nalmefene and naltrexone. Individual response to these...

Titan denied patent for Probuphine.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied South San Francisco-based Titan Pharmaceuticals a method-of use patent for Probuphine in the treatment of addiction and chronic pain, the company announced October 30. Probuphine is a novel...

Longer treatment programs gaining traction.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Addiction treatment is increasingly falling away from the "cookie cutter" 30-day program, a template that was never backed by medical evidence, said David Sack, chief executive of Malibu's Promises Treatment Center. Promises now enrolls over...

Gambling addiction prevalent in Louisiana.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Gambling rates remain high in Louisiana, according to the 2008 Louisiana Study on Problem Gambling, conducted by the Picard Center for Child Development at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The study finds that 1.7 percent of Louisiana...

Addiction services expand as psychiatric services shrink in Denver metro area.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Exempla Lutheran Medical Center will open a 20-bed inpatient addiction-recovery center on the campus of West Pines Behavioral Health in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, in the Denver metro area. The facility will include a fitness center and a climbing...

Utah Attorney General to tackle prescription drug abuse next term.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says that next term he will focus more resources on the issue of prescription drug abuse in the state, reported KSL.com on November 5. Plans include replacing paper prescriptions with an electronic database...

Partnership launches Web-based community.(RESOURCES)(www.drugfree.org/lifeafter)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... The Partnership for a Drug-Free America announced on November 10 the launch of a Web-based community called Life After (www.drugfree.org/lifeafter), a social network and "inspirational showcase" featuring individuals' narratives about recovery...

Greg McLane.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(appointment)(Hythiam)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Greg McLane, a former Magellan Health executive, has joined Hythiam as senior vice president of sales and marketing. According to Hythiam (Nov 12), McLane will spearhead the marketing of the integrated treatment product Cataysis, which is...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
November 17, 2008... The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) will hold its 19th Annual Meeting and Symposium on December 4-7 in Boca Raton, Florida. A pre-conference buprenorphine training will take place Dec 3. For more information, visit www.aaap.org....

In case you haven't heard ...
November 17, 2008... "Membership in AA is no excuse for failing to do one's job," writes frequent Jersey Journal blogger Thurman Hart. The entry refers to the arrest earlier this month of Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski, who urinated on people at a concert....