We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.
Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., the founder and former president and CEO of the Phoenix House chain of addiction treatment centers, has been named to the board of directors of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA).
Many parents joke about drugging their children to sleep, but actually doing so is a form of abuse that could harm or kill the child ... Desperate times: heroin addicts in Africa reportedly are injecting the blood of other users to stave off withdrawal ... The FDA doesn’t seem to be buying the tobacco industry’s case for keeping menthol cigarettes legal ... and researchers say that point of sale tobacco ads appeal to kids and should be banned ...
The expanded use of electronic health records -- intended to improve and streamline healthcare services -- has become a bone of contention in the addiction community, where unique privacy concerns could hamper integration with the rest of healthcare. Squabbles aside, however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pressing forward with regulations (and incentives) to promote wider adoption of electronic health records across the healthcare system.
Methadone maintenance is on the budgetary chopping block in California, but supporters -- including some prominent law-enforcement officials -- are trying to get $53 million in funding restored to the state budget.
A plan to eliminate Medi-Cal funding for methadone maintenance is "tantamount to destroying the lives of 35,000 people, as well as having them return to addiction," according to a column by Lee Baca and Charlie Beck -- the sheriff of Los Angeles County and L.A.’s police chief, respectively. The pair note that cutting the funding will actually result in a double loss as federal matching funds will be forfeited.
Will federal privacy regulations stand in the way of integrating behavioral and mainstream healthcare? ... New Mexico can’t grow enough marijuana to meet the demands of medical users ... Kansas is balking on enforcing a law that would require drink prices to be set according to alcohol content ... Unhappy hour: Your risk of stroke spikes during the hour after you drink alcohol, researchers say ... Teens who binge-drink may be more likely to suffer osteoporosis later in life ...
Treatment admissions for prescription-drug problems have tripled in recent years, SAMHSA reports ... Putting teens in group therapy with heavy users can lead to more youth drug use ... A bid to repeal the state’s new alcohol tax will be the first thing Massachusetts voters will see on the ballot this fall ... "Token clubs" provide a safe haven for sober socializing ...
Youth smoking had a good run as a top-of-mind issue among U.S. parents and preventionists -- 30 years or more, by some estimates -- but now seems to have taken a back seat to childhood obesity in the national consciousness.
The U.S. Patent Office has pulled back from trademarking medical-marijuana related products ... Statistically, solders at Fort Bliss, Texas are more at risk at home than on the battlefield ... Americans are drinking more at home and less at bars and restaurants ... "One-pot" recipe for methamphetamine is fueling a comeback for meth labs in Oklahoma ...
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