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Good Samaritans At Risk

2012-05-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a news story just grabs you. Like today on Yahoo News there was this headline: " 'Grieving' Dog Refused to Leave Dead Dog's Side." Who wouldn't read that headline? It would seem the male pit bull wanted to make sure that someone would come along and care for his wounded/deceased friend. Heartbreaking to be sure. Eventually, albeit 14 + hours later, officials did come to remove his friend and to take him to a shelter. What can we learn from this story? How can we use this story to promote passage of California's SB472?

On February 15, 2011, California Assembly Member Tom Ammiano introduced AB472 to add Section 11376.5 to the California Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances:

"This bill would provide that it shall not be a crime for any person who experiences a drug-related overdose, as defined, who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance, or any other person who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for the person experiencing a drug-related overdose, to be under the influence of, or to possess for personal use, a controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or drug paraphernalia, under certain circumstances related to a drug-related overdose that prompted the seeking of medical assistance if that person does not obstruct medical or law enforcement personnel."

Addiction is a disease and yet many die each year from reversible drug overdoses. In 2008, 36,000 Americans died of drug overdoses (half of these resulted from prescription drugs). We might wonder how many of these deaths could have been prevented if the addict's friends or family members were not afraid of the reprisal of taking them to a hospital. On May 3, 2012, the Orange County Register ran a story "Thousands Die From Overdoses" which chronicles one family's story and how the outcome resulted in part because the friends were afraid of getting into trouble if they took Joey to the hospital.

Addicts will tell you they don't want to end up as a "drag out," being left on the side of the road to die alone. If your friend went into to insulin shock from the disease of diabetes, you wouldn't hesitate to take them to the ER. The disease of addiction, just like any other disease, requires treatment and compassion.

So, take a few minutes today and watch the FOX news story about the pit bull that stayed with his dying friend, then think about writing your representative to promote a Good Samaritan Law (New York, Illinois and Florida have such laws). California still has not passed AB472.

Recognizing Eating Disorders In College Students

2012-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

We talked recently about keeping an eye on your college age student returning home for the summer. It is an exciting time for many, coming home after the first year of college. For most it is a time to reconnect with old friends, secure a summertime job, spend more time with family, relax after finals, get back in shape and evaluate their future goals. It is also a time for parents to take a visual inventory of their child. How do they look physically, how are they interacting with family and friends, how much are they sleeping, do they seem to have unexplained mood swings, are they sociable? Parents want to be helpful and hopeful. Naturally, they want to see only good in their child and may overlook symptoms that indicate a mental health problem.

The "usual and customary" parental worries might center on excessive alcohol use, smoking, using pot or even abusing drugs (both legal and illegal). But parents should also be on the lookout for eating disorders. And it is important for parents to realize that eating disorders can affect both young women and young men.

Typically we tend to think eating disorders only affect women. The statistics indicate that one (1) million adolescent males between the ages of 12 - 25 suffer from an eating disorder. Males tend to obsess on muscle mass and fat index. A couple of months ago, NBC's TODAY show featured Dr. Nancy Snyderman's report about understanding, recognizing and getting treatment for young men suffering with eating disorders. You can learn more from her report.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you suspect that your son or daughter may be suffering from an eating disorder, remember:

This is a psychiatric disorder
Seek advice from your pediatrician or family physician
Get professional help
Don't blame yourself
Research indicates that up to one-half of individuals with eating disorders abuse alcohol or illicit drugs, compared to nine percent of the general population.
Eating disorders can require long term treatment and hospital therapy
Eating disorders, if not recognized and treated, are deadly

Army PTSD Diagnoses To Be Reviewed

2012-05-17T11:58:00.003-07:00

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) is once again in the news. If there could be good news about PTSD, then this might be it. The ARMY has decided to review the records from all of its medical facilities, dating back to October 2001. They are looking to review all diagnoses of PTSD. They want to evaluate how many of these diagnoses were "improperly overturned."

According to an article in Bloomberg Business Week,

"The latest reviews were triggered by revelations that the forensic psychiatry unit at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state may have reversed diagnoses based on the expense of providing care and benefits to members of the military."

In 2010 HBO produced a documentary called WARTORN 1861-2010. It was a powerful movie that discussed what we now refer to as PTSD, but in the movie's synopsis it made a point that this syndrome has been referred to in many ways over the last two centuries - "Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat."

Most experts will agree that PTSD can have many side-effects, not the least of which is crippling mental health symptoms including substance abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse and suicidal tendencies. And often, without proper treatment these veterans will die as a result of the lack of treatment and proper follow-up.

In a little over a week, our country will celebrate Memorial Day. This Memorial Day let's make a commitment to honor not only those who passed as a result of war, but those who are still with us. Let's work to promote complete diagnoses and treatment for all who suffer from PTSD.

College Students Home For The Summer- Watch For Alcoholism Signs

2012-05-15T06:49:00.001-07:00

Over the next couple of weeks many college students will be returning home for the summer. This may be the first time a college student is living with their parents since leaving for school in the fall. It is an exciting time, but also a time for adjustments. After all, the student is used to living on their own, coming and going as they please, partying, staying up late, not having to be part of a family dynamic. Now as the returning student stands on the doorstep with bags in hand they face having to be accountable for their actions, their comings and goings, maybe even getting a summer job. But what if a parent sees changes that indicate the student has now turned to alcohol as a way to cope?

The experts continue to study alcoholism. They look for scientific reasons for addiction. As Dr. Mee-Lee of Castle Medical Center in Oahu, HI, says:

"Early life experiences, patterns of drinking in your family, your parents, whatever...it certainly can relate to exposure. If you have more opportunities to drink, your peer group drinks a lot, they will all encourage that. Sometimes, it's genetics.”

So...what should parents do if they see signs of mood changes, over-indulgence, behavior changes? First, pay attention; don't think that alcoholism or substance abuse can't happen in your family. Second, start a conversation. Third, seek advice.

Here you can learn more from Dr. Mee-Lee in this special news report.

Summer is coming. You can make it a healthy summer.

Behind the Orange Curtain and Beyond

2012-05-11T06:15:00.001-07:00

Have you ever attended a film festival? Many take place throughout the world. Some are more famous than others. If you are lucky enough to live near where a festival takes place you can enjoy various activities and see inspiring independent films. Such was the case at the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival. This year one particular film Behind the Orange Curtain played to sold out crowds and chronicled 15 Orange County California families examining the abuse of prescription drugs.

This is Brent Huff's first documentary to play on the big screens. He filmed the entire movie in Orange County communities, like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and Dana Point. He hoped this film will serve as a way for parents and teachers to start the conversation with their children. And not just with their teen-agers, but their younger children as well. As Mr. Huff said: "It's not like pot where you can smell it, or alcohol where you can see it. It's not cocaine with a runny nose. You can't tell they're high."

When the festival came to a close, Behind the Orange Curtain won the Orange County Filmmaker Award.

While this film features Orange County, California, remember this epidemic is in every community. Take a moment to watch the trailer. If you have an opportunity, see the film and share the message with friends. It might save a life!

Underage Drinkers Successfully Purchase Alcohol Online

2012-05-09T12:23:00.001-07:00

Do you ever buy items on-line? Maybe you order flowers, buy books, buy music, or send a gift to a friend or relative. Did you ever try to buy alcoholic beverages online? It seems people do buy alcoholic beverages online and a new study shows that underage drinkers (study participants) were able to make a completed purchase in 45% of the purchase attempts.

Keep in mind these types of sites are to offer an age verification feature; however, this study had people ages 18-20 place orders at 100 internet sites that sell alcoholic products. 45 orders were successfully processed and the products were delivered to these underage participants. It should be noted that the products were shipped via FedEx or United Parcel Service, as the United States Postal Service cannot, by law, ship alcohol products.

Parents might want to preview packages being delivered to their underage children.

The study was conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Emergency Rooms and Drinking

2012-05-04T12:24:00.001-07:00

It is no secret that drinking alcohol can lead people to make poor decisions, choices that can dramatically shape the course of one’s life. Alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, and organ damage are some of the inherent dangers associated with alcohol use. However, in many cases, drinking alcohol can lead to personal physical injuries with people landing up in the emergency room. This may not be a big deal for some people, but, for others who have to pay the medical bills out-of-pocket it can be huge.

A new report showed that up to half of the people who get treated at hospital emergency departments are under the influence of alcohol. In many states, insurance companies will not cover accidents related to alcohol, this fact allows hospitals to capitalize on this and discourage problem drinking in the future.

In many cases hospital workers will not test patients for drugs and alcohol in order to ensure that they will receive payment for services rendered.

Nearly 600 emergency department patients who were identified as problem drinkers (defined for men as drinking more than 14 drinks per week or more than four on any single occasion, and for women as more than seven weekly drinks or three on any one occasion) were interviewed.

“In the emergency department on a weekend, all the cases may be drug or alcohol related, and yet we don’t do” screening and intervention, says Gail D’Onofrio, the study’s lead author who is chair of emergency medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. “Our goal is to normalize this in the emergency department.”

The study was published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine

Dental Pain in the Emergency Room

2012-05-02T15:47:00.002-07:00

Dental care is very expensive; in many cases it is simply unaffordable which leads to a lifetime of dental pain for countless people. Emergency room physicians claim that many patients who come in are asking for painkillers for dental pain. It can be very difficult for doctors to determine whether the patients are truly suffering from dental problems, or are just med-seeking to collect painkillers,The New York Times reports.

Uninsured or impoverished people will rarely seek care for dental problems until there is a medical emergency, the article notes. Adult dental benefits under Medicaid have been cut back or eliminated in a number of states and many dentists will not accept Medicaid patients.

The Chairwoman of the Emergency Medicine Department at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Gail D’Onofrio, who studied alcohol and drug abuse in emergency rooms, told the newspaper, “The overuse of narcotics is a huge problem, and when a patient presents, especially for dental pain, it’s difficult to make an objective assessment. It puts the physician in a difficult situation to assess whether or not someone truly needs pain medications. We err on the side of treating pain, and it is a huge potential for abuse.”

Naloxone More Widely Distributed

2012-04-27T19:49:00.001-07:00

In the past if someone overdosed on opiates there was not a whole lot that could be done. With the creation of the drug Naloxone a number of lives have been saved. The drug is being distributed to people who use drugs more widely these days, according to the Associated Press.

There are a number of people who believe that making the antidote for overdoses easily available could make people less likely to seek treatment, despite the fact it saves lives.
In the past few years, Naloxone has been distributed free to opioid users and their loved ones, in a growing number of sites around the country.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that distributing Naloxone, and training people in how to use it, could save many lives. It reversed more than 10,000 drug overdoses since 1996, according to the CDC report. Naloxone is not effective in treating drug overdoses that do not involve opioids.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have programs to distribute naloxone in the community.

Teenagers Using Hand Sanitizers

2012-04-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

Teenagers are notorious for finding cheap and easy ways to get intoxicated which can be extremely dangerous considering they are using substances that were not intended for human consumption. In the latest of bad ideas, six teenagers suffered alcohol poisoning from drinking hand sanitizer in California. Hand sanitizers will often times contain alcohol as well as potentially hazardous chemicals, parents should keep an eye out for signs of abuse according to public health officials.

Salt can be used to separate the alcohol from the hand sanitizer, making a drink that is similar in potency to a shot of liquor, according to the LA Times.

“All it takes is just a few swallows and you have a drunk teenager,” Cyrus Rangan, Director of the Toxics Epidemiology Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, told the newspaper. “There is no question that it is dangerous.”

There is a strong potential that this activity will be a new trend amongst teenagers. “Over the years, they have ingested all sorts of things,” said Helen Arbogast, Injury Prevention Coordinator in the Trauma Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Cough syrup had reached a very sexy point where young people were using it….We want to be sure this doesn’t take on the same trend.”

Liquid hand sanitizer is 62 percent ethyl alcohol, and can make a 120-proof liquid.

Cigarettes and Marijuana Often Go Hand in Hand

2012-04-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

Typically the use of cigarettes and alcohol go hand in hand, but according to a new social media survey of young adults who smoke cigarettes, more than half say that they also smoke marijuana. Surveys conducted in the past did not have the same results which leads experts to believe that young adults may be more comfortable reporting their habits anonymously on the Internet.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, perhaps one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world recruited 3,500 young adults ages 18 to 25 through ads on Craigslist, Facebook, and a survey sampling company, ABC News reports. The researchers found that 53.1 percent acknowledged using both substances; compared to a 2009 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration which found 34.6 percent of people ages 18 to 25 who smoked in the past month also used marijuana, according to the report.

“We were curious whether rates would be different in our study where we reached out through social media and the Web,” lead author Danielle Ramo, PhD, said in a news release.

“And rates were much higher, which shows the problem might be larger than we realize.”

Self-Medicating for Mental Health Problems

2012-04-18T13:02:00.003-07:00

Self-medicating for mental health problems is a major problem in America. According to a new study conducted by a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery center, depression and anxiety are the top reasons older adults abuse drugs or alcohol.

The study found that 63 percent of older adults blamed depression and anxiety for their substance use. Thirty percent said economic and financial stress was to blame, while 20 percent cited retirement as contributing factors to dependency.

Almost half of survey respondents named both prescription drugs and alcohol as their substance of choice, according to a press release from the treatment facility that conducted the study.

“Older adults face a distinct set of changes and challenges as they enter their golden years,” said Dr. Barbara Krantz, Medical Director at a drug treatment facility. “This transitional period of life is challenging, and may lead to difficulty in dealing with stressful situations, such as an early retirement or new financial strains, which in turn may lead to serious anxiety and depression. Without the proper tools to manage their emotions, baby boomers and seniors may turn to quick fixes such as alcohol and drugs, creating the perfect storm for dependency.”

Medical Marijuana in New York

2012-04-12T15:35:00.001-07:00

As we get closer to the voting season a number of states have been working to join the other 16 states that currently allow medical marijuana use for serious illnesses. The state of New York seemed to be gearing up to vote on the subject this year, but, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated this week that it is unlikely the state legislature will take up the issue of medical marijuana this year. He noted that he believed that more research needed to be conducted before medical marijuana could make the ballot.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the New York legislators in the House and Senate are drafting a medical marijuana bill. Governor Cuomo said that while he understands the benefits of medical marijuana, he thinks the risks outweigh them at this point. He noted he did not think the bill would be on the agenda this year, before the legislative session ends in late June.

Not all officials shared his opinion. “We’ve done much more complicated legislation in much less time,” said Richard Gottfried, Chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, who is expected to introduce a new bill in coming weeks. “I think he would find that it’s something we could easily get done this year.”

Medical marijuana programs are a sticky subject for every state that wants a program and even the states that have a program already in place. The federal government continues to crack down on people who are participants, even if they are following state laws.

Military Psychotropic Drugs

2012-04-10T13:39:00.003-07:00

The mental stress that accompanies service in the military can be extremely hard on a soldier. Post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression are at times too hard for one to deal with which can require the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Psychotropic drugs that are used for treating such disorders can, at times, have negative side effects causing patients to act abnormally in a number of different ways.

Lawyers defending soldiers are blaming the military’s heavy use of psychotropic drugs for their clients’ abnormal behavior and related health issues, according to the Los Angeles Times. There were more than 110,000 active-duty Army troops taking prescribed: antidepressants, narcotics, antipsychotics, sedatives, and anti-anxiety drugs in 2011, according to the report.

Almost eight(8) percent of the active-duty Army are now taking sedatives, and more than six(6) percent are on antidepressants - an eightfold increase since 2005.

“We have never medicated our troops to the extent we are doing now. And I don’t believe the current increase in suicides and homicides in the military is a coincidence”, according to Bart Billings, a former military psychologist who hosts an annual conference on combat stress.

Soldiers are given 180 days’ worth of medication when they are deployed. Soldiers will often times trade their pills for something that they would rather have, or take more pills at a time than they are prescribed which can lead to dependency or addiction problems.

“The big difference is these are people who have access to loaded weapons, or have responsibility for protecting other individuals who are in harm’s way,” said Grace Jackson, a former Navy staff psychiatrist.

Pharmacy Robberies On The Rise

2012-04-06T17:41:00.001-07:00

The prescription drug epidemic has impacted society in a number of different ways and continues to keep law enforcement on their toes. Pharmacies are especially susceptible to crime with countless robberies across the country. There has been a rise in pharmacy robberies according to law enforcement officials, addicts who are desperate for prescription opiates and drug dealers looking to replenish their supply are the culprits, ABC News reports.

Shockingly, there has been an 82 percent increase in robberies, from 385 in 2006, to 701 in 2011. The report has shown that during that time period, 3,535 pharmacies were robbed.

Today’s street price for OxyContin is $80, a dollar a milligram. In response to the rise of armed robberies, pharmacies are increasing security by adding guards and watchdogs. Pharmacists have begun arming themselves with guns or they are refusing to stock certain drugs.

In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Senator Charles Schumer said that in Washington State, both time-sensitive safes and staggered inventories has resulted in a drop of pharmacy robberies by half from 2008 to 2010.

Teen Alcohol and Drug Use

2012-04-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

A new survey conducted recently had shocking findings regarding teen drug and alcohol abuse in the United States. The survey included more than 10,000 U.S. teenagers, the findings showed that by late adolescence, 78 percent had consumed alcohol, with nearly 15 percent meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse.

81 percent of those surveyed said they had the opportunity to use illicit drugs but only 42.5 percent report doing so. 16 percent were considered to be abusing drugs, HealthDay reports.

Age 14 through 15 was typically the starting age for drug and alcohol use, but those who started at age 14 were more likely to be abusing.

Bruce Goldman, Director of Substance Abuse Services at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, stated to HealthDay that, “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.” Goldman was not involved in the study.

The findings are published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Online Gamblers Use More Alcohol and Marijuana

2012-03-29T15:05:00.001-07:00

Internet gambling has become more and more popular for a number of reasons, but with the popularity also comes a dark side according to new research. Internet gamblers are more likely to use marijuana and alcohol than those who go to casinos or poker houses, according to the study. People who gamble on the Internet spend more time gambling and more money than offline gamblers, PsychCentral.com reports.

Concordia University in Montreal studied 8,456 offline-only gamblers and 111 participated in both online and offline gambling. They were asked questions like: how often they gambled in the past year? How much money and time they spent gambling per occasion? How much alcohol and marijuana they used?

“We need to conduct more research looking at individual characteristics, environmental conditions, the object of the addiction (poker, for example) and so on to help us understand whether this group is more at risk for gambling-related problems. The hope would be to ultimately find ways to identify who the people at risk are, why they are at risk and then try to develop preventive measures to reduce the possibility of excessive online gambling”, stated lead researcher Sylvia Kairouz in a news release.

The study appears in the journal: Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

Opana Taking Lives

2012-03-27T14:55:00.001-07:00

Over the last decade the powerful pain narcotic OxyContin has taken the lives of thousands of people from all walks of life. Over the years it has become the most sought out pharmaceutical on the market due to high potency. The makers of OxyContin reformulated the drug making it harder for abusers to crush the pills to snort or inject. Naturally, addicts turned to another drug to achieve the high they were looking for.

In rural areas across America the powerful opioid Opana has replaced OxyContin as the drug of choice, Reuters reports. At least nine people have died this year so far in Scott County, Indiana, most of which involved Opana. The CDC claims that low-income people and those living in rural areas are at particular risk of prescription drug overdoses.

Opana is more potent, per milligram, than OxyContin and most people who abuse Opana do not realize how strong it is.

“This Opana pill has really kicked us in the rear,” Indiana State Police Sergeant Jerry Goodin told Reuters. “We’ve never seen an addiction like this.”

Endo Pharmaceuticals, which makes Opana, has announced it is reformulating the drug which will make it more difficult to crush and will turn gooey if liquid is added to it. Since the announcement there has been a rise in pharmacy robberies by people seeking the current formulation of Opana pills.

Secondhand Smoke Increases Chances of Asthma

2012-03-23T06:16:00.000-07:00

(Photo credit: Justin Masterson)It has long been understood that smoking cigarettes can cause asthma as well as a number of other health disorders. There have been a number of asthma cases that have also developed as a result of secondhand smoke exposure. A review of several studies has shown that secondhand smoke increases the risk of wheezing and asthma in children and teens by at least 20 percent. Researchers claim that preventing parental smoking is crucially important to the prevention of asthma.

70 studies published between 1997 and 2011 were analyzed in the new report.

Parents who smoke while pregnant as well as those who started smoking again right after the birth, have the greatest chances of their child developing a breathing disorder, Reuters reports.

The Environmental Protection Agency, reports that children are more susceptible to the effects of secondhand smoke due to the fact that they are still developing. Children are smaller than adults, they breathe more rapidly, taking in more secondhand smoke.

The analysis was published in Pediatrics.

McLellan Returns to TRI

2012-03-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Official portrait of United States Deputy Director of National Drug Policy A. Thomas McLellan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Treatment Research Institute (TRI), a non-profit organization recently announced to the public that A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, will be returning as CEO. Dr. McLellan co-founded TRI in 1992 where he served as its Director until 2009. TRI works to develop and provide evidence-based solutions to substance abuse affecting: families, schools, businesses, courts, and health care. He departed from the organization to act as Senior Scientist and Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

McLellan was the co-author of the President’s National Drug Control Strategy and played a large role with integrating substance abuse prevention and treatment into the national health care reform legislation.

“The size and severity of the substance abuse problem (60 million ‘harmful using’ adults; over 23 million addicted to drugs or alcohol) has made the public skeptical and cynical,” Dr. McLellan said in a news release. “Many think that substance abuse problems are inevitable and intractable. That is simply wrong. Research has produced incredible advances in this field, but those advances have not yet been available to the public. This is TRI’s special mission and the time for it is now.”

New Graphic Smoking Ad Campaign

2012-03-15T16:27:00.001-07:00

The federal government has put a graphic face on smoking as the release their new nationwide anti-smoking campaign. Ads that feature former smokers who discuss the negative health consequences of smoking will be aired across the country.

Starting next week, they will begin broadcasting the ads costing $54 million this year alone. The tobacco industry will spend at least that much on promotional efforts in just two days, according to the New York Times.

The goal is to save lives and prevent non-smokers from ever picking up the habit, according to CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden. “We estimate that this campaign will help about 50,000 smokers to quit smoking,” he told the newspaper. “And that will translate not only into thousands who will not die from smoking but it will pay for itself in a few years in reduced health costs.”

Graphic anti-smoking ads can be effective tool in convincing smokers to quit according to recent studies.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to require tobacco companies to place warning labels on cigarette packages by September 2012, such ads would have pictures of diseased lungs and rotting teeth.

This month a federal judge blocked the FDA’s label requirement, but, fortunately the Obama Administration has appealed the judge’s decision.

Medical Heroin Over Methadone

2012-03-14T14:45:00.003-07:00

Every year thousands of individuals receive methadone in order to stay off of heroin. Methadone maintenance programs across the country have proven to be quite effective over the years but can be quite costly in the long run and there is a high rate of relapse. There is a new form of maintenance being tested that is controversial to say the least, but may be more effective in a number of ways

Long-term heroin addicts are being treated with medically prescribed heroin and research has shown it to be more cost-effective than methadone, according to a new study.

Medically prescribed heroin, or diacetylmorphine, has helped a number of addicts stay in treatment longer as well as help them avoid relapse, compared with those who received methadone. Those receiving diacetylmorphine were more likely to live longer than heroin users receiving methadone maintenance therapy according to the researchers.

Over a lifetime, treating one patient with methadone costs society $1.14 million, compared with $1.09 million for a patient treated with diacetylmorphine, the researchers estimated. The researchers took into consideration:

treatment costs
costs for drug therapies
criminal justice system costs

“The question I get most about heroin-assisted therapy is whether we can afford the increased direct costs of the treatment,” co-author Dr. Martin Schechter of the University of British Columbia said in a news release. “What this study shows is that the more appropriate question is whether we can afford not to.”

The results appear in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

NACoA President to Retire

2012-03-08T14:49:00.001-08:00

After 20 years of service, Sis Wenger, President and CEO of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA), has announced plans to retire later this year. She still plans to focus on program initiatives and NACoA’s 30th anniversary year in 2013, up until her retirement.

“Through Sis Wenger’s leadership, lives of millions have been helped – here and abroad. She has been instrumental in establishing NACoA as the unequivocal voice for children and families impacted by alcohol and drug use problems and the champion for their support, resilience and recovery,” said NACoA Board Chair Dr. Faye Calhoun, former Deputy Director of the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “NACoA and those we serve are deeply grateful for her years of service and leadership.”

Throughout Wenger’s tenure the NACoA has worked with leaders of:

faith
education
social work
primary care health fields

“It has been especially gratifying to have so many professionals in these fields collaborate with NACoA over the years, and recognize that what they do matters greatly,” Wenger said. “They represent the systems that interact the most closely with children and families. This has strengthened opportunities for children of parents with alcohol or drug use problems to find the help they need to thrive.”

HIV On The Decline Among Drug Users

2012-03-06T13:18:00.001-08:00

Despite intravenous drug users continuing to share needles there has been a sharp decline in HIV infections, according to a new government study. The report shows that new HIV infections have been cut in half in the past decade.

Apparently health experts are worried that the high rate of risky behaviors and a decrease in HIV testing among injection drug users, the drop in HIV infections may not last, according to Reuters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study which found that 9 percent of intravenous drug users were infected with HIV in 2009, compared with 18 percent in the 1990s. 45 percent of those testing positive in 2009 were unaware of their infection.

The study was based on 10,000 people from 20 urban areas, where more than one-third of participants said they had shared syringes, 69 percent had unprotected vaginal sex, and 46 percent had multiple opposite-sex partners.

49 percent of participants said they had been tested for HIV in the past 12 months in 2009, compared with 66 percent in 2006, according to the CDC.

“Despite the fact that we’ve seen declines in new HIV infections, a substantial number of IDUs (injection drug users) in major US cities are HIV-infected and their risk behavior remains fairly high,” Dr. Cyprian Wejnert, an epidemiologist at the CDC, told Reuters.

Prescription Drugs and Alcohol

2012-03-01T16:21:00.001-08:00

As the nation mourns the loss of Grammy Award winning superstar Whitney Houston, people are wondering how this can happen. Unfortunately, Houston’s story is not unique, not just in Hollywood but across the country. Houston’s toxicology report has not come back yet, but many experts believe that her death involved a deadly cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs, like Xanax.

Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, and Anna Nicole Smith are all believed to have died in part from prescription drug overdoses - painkillers, sedatives and stimulants. Whenever those drugs are mixed with alcohol you have one deadly cocktail. One’s liver can only filter and process so much at one time, mixing drugs and alcohol together is often too much for the liver to handle causing an overdose.

In 2007 some 27,000 Americans died from unintentional prescription drug overdoses - prescription drugs a more common cause of accidental death in many states than car crashes. We need to work harder to educate people about the risks of mixing prescription drugs with alcohol if we are ever going to stop this terrible trend.