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« Previous Page — Next Page »MADD Highlights New Data Showing that a Quarter of Teen Drinkers Get Alcohol from a Parent or Family Member – MarketWatch
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Second Annual Day for Parents to Talk with Teens about Alcohol is April 21, 2012–
In advance of the second annual PowerTalk 21® day, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is highlighting data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showing that 26 percent of all teen drinkers (ages 12-17) get their alcohol from a parent or family member. This, coupled with research showing that three out of four kids say their parents are the leading influence on their decisions about drinking, illustrates the important role of parents in the fight against underage drinking. MADD and National Presenting Sponsor Nationwide Insurance encourage families to connect on PowerTalk 21 day — the national day on April 21st for parents to start talking with their kids about alcohol.
“Teen alcohol use kills 6,000 people each year, and one of the most important things a parent can do to keep their kids safe is to start an open dialogue about the dangers of underage drinking,” said MADD National President Jan Withers, whose 15-year-old daughter was killed by an underage drunk driver 20 years ago this week. “PowerTalk 21 is the day to start this conversation, but it’s also a day for parents and other adult role models to realize the power they have in preventing youth from drinking alcohol before age 21.”
According to the most recent SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the following is a ranking of the top five ways teen drinkers get their alcohol:
From a parent, guardian or family member who is 21 or older (26 percent)
From someone 21 or older who is not related to the teen (25 percent)
From someone under 21 who is not related to the teen (22 percent)
Took it from home (10 percent)
Took it from someone else’s home (5 percent)
READ MORE via MADD Highlights New Data Showing that a Quarter of Teen Drinkers Get Alcohol from a Parent or Family Member – MarketWatch (http://www NULL.marketwatch NULL.com/story/madd-highlights-new-data-showing-that-a-quarter-of-teen-drinkers-get-alcohol-from-a-parent-or-family-member-2012-04-17).
« Previous Page — Next Page »Study Finds Widespread Use of Alcohol and Drugs Among U.S. Teenagers | The Partnership at Drugfree.org
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A survey of more than 10,000 U.S. teenagers found that by late adolescence, 78 percent had consumed alcohol, and about 15 percent met the criteria for alcohol abuse.
The survey also found 81 percent said they had the opportunity to use illicit drugs, and 42.5 percent actually did so. Among those surveyed, 16 percent were abusing drugs, HealthDay (http://consumer NULL.healthday NULL.com/Article NULL.asp?AID=663274) reports.
The median starting age for alcohol use was 14. For teens who were dependent on drugs, the median starting age was 14; for those who abused drugs but were not dependent, the average starting age was 15.
The findings are published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. (http://archpsyc NULL.ama-assn NULL.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/4/390?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=swendsen&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT)
Bruce Goldman, Director of Substance Abuse Services at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, who was not involved in the study, told HealthDay, “It is imperative that families, schools, police, youth groups, and communities all join together to prevent or delay the onset of substance use as long as possible. Social norms have a very powerful impact on drug-use patterns. We need to create norms where substance use and availability, especially for young people, is not acceptable.”
READ MORE via Study Finds Widespread Use of Alcohol and Drugs Among U.S. Teenagers | The Partnership at Drugfree.org (http://www NULL.drugfree NULL.org/join-together/alcohol/study-finds-widespread-use-of-alcohol-and-drugs-among-u-s-teenagers).
« Previous Page — Next Page »Young Women Who Drink and Drive at Higher Risk of Fatal Accident
Risk now matches that for young male drivers who drink, researchers say
TUESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) — Young women who drink and drive in the United States are at increasing risk for being in a fatal accident, according to a new study.
Althoug
(http://consumer NULL.healthday NULL.com/Article NULL.asp?AID=663357)h men had roughly double the risk for a fatal crash as women with the same blood-alcohol level in 1996, that gender gap had closed by 2007, the researchers pointed out. And although reasons for that trend remain unclear, they said it may be because young women are taking more risks on the road.
“Young women who drink and drive may be behaving more like young men who drink and drive,” said the study’s lead researcher, Robert Voas, of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton, Md., in a news release from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Using data from a government reporting system on fatal traffic accidents across the country, researchers compared the blood-alcohol information from nearly 6,900 fatal crashes in 2006 with information from about 6,800 drivers who took part in a roadside survey in 2007.
The study, published in the May issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, found that regardless of drivers’ age, their risk of being killed or being involved in a fatal crash increased as their blood alcohol levels climbed.
READ MORE via Young Women Who Drink and Drive at Higher Risk of Fatal Accident (http://consumer NULL.healthday NULL.com/Article NULL.asp?AID=663357).
« Previous Page — Next Page »Prescription abuse summit will be solution-oriented
Florida serves as backdrop for stakeholders’ conference
Prescription abuse summit will be solution-oriented
Treatment professionals, national and state policy leaders, and law enforcement officials will be among those convening in Florida this month for an event that organizers vow will take a solution-focused approach to the subject of rampant prescription drug abuse nationally.
The inaugural National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, to be held April 10-12 in Orlando, is intended to encourage cooperation among stakeholders and to highlight important milestones in combating prescription drug abuse. The event organizer, the Kentucky-based anti-drug coordinating organization Operation UNITE, likely is not well-known to many outside that state, but supporting organizations for the summit include groups such as the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) and The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Keynote presenters at the event include National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) director Nora D. Volkow, MD, and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will discuss the aggressive moves her state has taken to shed its title as the nation’s “pill mill” capital. According to a statement from conference organizers, “Bondi will share the tough new laws and administrative penalties that have helped shut down pill mills in Florida, and what is next on the horizon in the fight against prescription drug abuse.”
Bondi also will moderate a summit forum involving four members of the U.S. Congress who serve on the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse; the panelists include caucus co-founders Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) and Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.).
Five select sessions at the summit will examine innovative efforts designed to educate and to resolve issues related to prescription drug abuse.
For more information about the event, visit www.nationalrxdrugabusesummit.org. (http://nationalrxdrugabusesummit NULL.org/)
via Prescription abuse summit will be solution-oriented (http://www NULL.addictionpro NULL.com/article/prescription-abuse-summit-will-be-solution-oriented).
« Previous Page — Next Page »Painkillers alter how addicts relate to themselves, others | Seattle Times Newspaper
Calling them painkillers is almost a misnomer. They don’t actually relieve the pain so much as they affect the way the brain perceives pain, and their extended use can result in the distortion of the brain’s pain/pleasure responses.
By Danny O’Neil
Seattle Times staff reporter
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Ben Levenson has never met Ryan Leaf, but as someone who works in the field of addiction, he can provide a perspective that can help explain how Leaf has acted.
“He’s not a bad guy who needs to get good,” said Levenson, the co-founder and CEO of Origins Recovery Centers. “He’s a sick man who needs to get well.”
Police allege they found Leaf in possession of 117 pills over the span of four days. The fact that he did not have a prescription for those pills makes it illegal, but it’s hardly the only problem.
Leaf has admitted he had an addiction to prescription pills, and in his case it was painkillers known as opiates.
Police allege they found Leaf with 28 oxycodone pills on Friday, March 30,and 89 hydrocodone pills last Sunday.Oxycodone is the main ingredient in drugs like Percocet and Oxycontin while hydrocodone is the main ingredient in a drug like Vicodin.
Taken under a doctor’s supervision at prescribed doses, these drugs can be used to safely treat pain. But addicts like Leaf are considered unable to safely use opiates.
Calling them painkillers is almost a misnomer. They don’t actually relieve the pain so much as they affect the way the brain perceives pain, and their extended use can result in the distortion of the brain’s pain/pleasure responses.
“It’s not just about the drug itself, but it actually alters the way they relate to themselves,” Levenson said. “The way they relate to their community and the way they relate to their higher power.”
READ MORE via Cougars | Painkillers alter how addicts relate to themselves, others | Seattle Times Newspaper (http://seattletimes NULL.nwsource NULL.com/html/cougars/2017933048_leafdrugs08 NULL.html?utm_source=Join+Together+Daily&utm_campaign=7e8437b09c-JT_Daily_News_Washington_State&utm_medium=email).
« Previous Page — Next Page »The Pitiful State of LGBT Substance Abuse Treatment Availability
Recent studies indicate we can’t get much worse.
It’s been more than a decade since the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released “A Provider’s Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals,” which recommended, “A commitment should be made at every level of the program, from the board of directors to the direct line staff, to design and deliver services in a manner sensitive to the needs of LGBT individuals” (p. 123).[i] A 2009 study offers evidence as to the continued importance of this recommendation: 180 lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants were asked about their past substance abuse treatment experiences (both inpatient and outpatient), including overall satisfaction with their experiences, ability to be open about their sexuality in the program, and the amount of support they received from staff. The author concluded that “LGBT specialized treatment was the only program treatment factor that was a statistically significant predictor of current abstinence” (p. 190).[ii]
How available is specialized treatment for LGBTs? A 2007 study presents a chilling snapshot. The researchers made telephone contact with 854 substance abuse treatment agencies promoting themselves as having specialized programs for LGBTs in the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services. Each facility was presented with the same question: ““Hi, I am calling because your agency is listed in the SAMHSA directory as one that provides special programs or groups for gays and lesbians, and I am interested specifically in what those programs are. Could you tell me more about them?” (p. 166)[iii]
The results?
· Although all 854 agencies had indicated they provided LGBT-specific services, at the time of the phone contact 605 (70.8%) acknowledged no specialized programs existed.
· Sixteen of the agencies (1.9%) reported they had offered those services in the past but no longer did so.
· 79 (9.3%) programs described themselves as “non-discriminating” (sample response: “We offer the same thing we offer straight people. . . we don’t discriminate.”) and 34 (4%) as “accepting” (sample response: “We don’t have special services for gays and lesbians, we just allow them in our groups.”).
· Only 62 (7.3%) of agencies indicated specialized LGBT programming and almost half were in New York and California.
READ MORE via The Pitiful State of LGBT Substance Abuse Treatment Availability (http://www NULL.addictionpro NULL.com/blogs/michael-shelton-nalgap/pitiful-state-lgbt-substance-abuse-treatment-availability?WA_MAILINGLEVEL_CODE=&spMailingID=39042824&spUserID=NTA2MjI0MzQxNgS2&spJobID=138310137&spReportId=MTM4MzEwMTM3S0).
« Previous Page — Next Page »How to fight addiction at grassroot level – USATODAY.com
Losing our daughter, Terry, to addiction 17 years ago consumed our family with numbing grief and anguish. Terry had struggled with her disease for many years, until the day she died. Yet we still thought, “How could this have happened?”
I tried to find answers to this question after her death, immersing myself in research about alcoholism and recovery in order to write a book about Terry’s life and her courageous battle against this insidious disease. What I learned was that the answers didn’t come easy. But I had hope that given the medical and scientific advances underway to better understand and treat addiction, fewer families would have to lose a child in this horrific way.
Yet it’s 17 years later, and addiction remains one of our nation’s most stubborn public health challenges. In 2010, 22 million Americans ages 12 and older were classified with substance dependence or abuse, a number that has remained stable since 2002. Very few get help. Among people needing treatment, nearly 90% did not receive it in the past year.
Like any chronic disease left untreated, addiction causes people to die, families to be torn apart and communities to suffer. So why has there been so little meaningful progress against this disease?
via How to fight addiction at grassroot level – USATODAY.com (http://www NULL.usatoday NULL.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-04-06/addiction-drug-abuse-alcholism-recovery/54082322/1?utm_source=Join+Together+Daily&utm_campaign=7e8437b09c-JT_Daily_News_Washington_State&utm_medium=email# NULL.T4AtCGzHGSk NULL.email).
« Previous Page — Next Page »“Bath Salts” Abuse: What You Need to Know Part II | The Partnership at Drugfree.org
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“Bath Salts” Abuse: What You Need to Know Part II
By Sullivan Smith, MD | April 6, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs & Healthcare
(http://www NULL.drugfree NULL.org/join-together/drugs/%e2%80%9cbath-salts%e2%80%9d-abuse-what-you-need-to-know-part-ii)In the second half of a two-part column, Sullivan Smith, MD, Medical Director of the Cookeville (Tennessee) Regional Medical Center, talks to health care professionals about how to treat “bath salts” patients, and what you can do to help address the growing problem of abuse.
Because bath salts are relatively new in the United States, many health care professionals are grappling with how to treat these acutely intoxicated patients.
There are a few basic principles. First, provide for your own safety. These patients can become explosively violent, phenomenally strong and do not feel pain. The potential for serious bodily injury to you or your staff is very real. Always deal with these patients in groups and in the calmest and quietest environment possible.
Treatment consists of intravenous fluids and sedation. It will often take very large amounts of both in order to stabilize these patients. IV fluid volumes on the order of those used to treat sepsis are a good idea. That’s a lot of fluid, but these patients are usually significantly volume depleted.
READ MORE via “Bath Salts” Abuse: What You Need to Know Part II | The Partnership at Drugfree.org (http://www NULL.drugfree NULL.org/join-together/drugs/%e2%80%9cbath-salts%e2%80%9d-abuse-what-you-need-to-know-part-ii).
« Previous Page — Next Page »“Bath Salts” Abuse: What You Need to Know Part I
(http://www NULL.drugfree NULL.org/join-together/addiction/%e2%80%9cbath-salts%e2%80%9d-abuse-what-you-need-to-know-part-i-2)
In the first half of a two-part column, Sullivan Smith, MD, Medical Director of the Cookeville (Tennessee) Regional Medical Center, discusses the basics of “bath salts” and “plant food,” and what substance abuse professionals need to know about these popular synthetic drugs. Today, he talks about the history of bath salts, what they do to people who take them and why they are probably significantly underreported.
Bath salts and plant food, while they have been in the news lately, are nothing new. They were originally explored in attempt to find new and better antidepressants by universities and pharmaceutical companies as long ago as the 1920’s. For whatever reason, they were not re-discovered until recently.
The little that we know about these drugs comes mostly from European literature, where they have been a problem for several years before they made their way to the United States. After becoming illegal in the European Union, clandestine labs began to surface in order to supply them. While the manufacture of these drugs is quite different than methamphetamine, the same precursor is used to produce these drugs—pseudoephedrine.
The first important point is that they are not any sort of bath salt nor plant food. Both of these terms come from some of the trade names when they were originally being marketed. These drugs are various derivatives of methcathinone, also known as khat. As a derivative of a Schedule I drug, the federal Controlled Substances Act would then designate these drugs as schedule I “to the extent that they are intended for human consumption.”
These synthetic drugs are sold with the labeling “Not intended for human consumption,” clearly circumventing the Controlled Substances Act. With this labeling, drug dealers can and do call their products whatever they choose. Marketing websites report that these drugs are legal in all 50 states. The craze to use them was in part fueled by the fact that they were legally sold over the counter in places like convenience stores and head shops.
READ MORE via “Bath Salts” Abuse: What You Need to Know Part I | The Partnership at Drugfree.org (http://www NULL.drugfree NULL.org/join-together/addiction/%e2%80%9cbath-salts%e2%80%9d-abuse-what-you-need-to-know-part-i-2).
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