The Wednesday Weekly - Addiction + Recovery News, May 11, 2022
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
Highlights
National
Concerns about SAMHSA’s addiction treatment locator | Social Media Liability bill passed in CA
Fentanyl
Fentanyl test becoming legal in more states | Despite overdose spike, Kanasas lawmakers block test strips
State and Local
CA passes addiction treatment bill of rights for clients/patients | OR mothers urge action on addiction treatment | Florida reaches $683 million opioid settlement with Walgreens
Studies/Research in the News
New insights on gene activity and addiction | Smoking rates decline for people with mental health and substance use disorders | Pandemic alcohol death increases continued into 2021
Opinion
“The dirt about rehab facilities” | A historical look at methadone | Considering decriminalization in Washington State | Risks of teen marijuana use | Is White House response to fentanyl crisis enough?
Books and Movies
BBC documentary tackles addiction on streets of St. Louis
Podcasts
Let’s Talk Addiction tackles ketamine therapy | Flourishing After Addiction examines healthy relationships in recovery
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National
National Addiction Treatment Locator Has Outdated Data and Other Critical Flaws
FindTreatment.gov and SAMHSA’s other treatment locators have critical flaws — inaccurate and outdated information, a lack of filtering options, and little guidance on how to identify high-quality treatment — that are long overdue for attention. The nonprofit Shatterproof developed an online resource called ATLAS, which measures facility quality. The website, which currently provides information on six states, includes patient reviews and asks providers to report whether they meet certain “signs of high-quality care,” such as offering same-day appointments, providing medications for opioid use disorder, and offering individual counseling. Patient advocates hope the platform will guide people to more effective care and encourage facilities to improve their practices. But they also worry about the organization’s ability to go national and sustain a multimillion-dollar project.
Kaiser Health News - May 9, 2022
‘This might save a life’: Harm reduction TikTokers are taking to the platform to share information on safer drug use practices
Harm reduction workers are using TikTok to share information on safer drug use practices. One harm reduction peer worker in Oregon named Avi, (@gefilteb1tch) on TikTok, has been using the platform to repeatedly share tips and tricks for partaking in substances safely. The TikToker has about 6,700 followers on the platform as of Sunday, and her content has been met with a warm welcome by many viewers.
Dailydot.com - May 8, 2022
London’s National Gallery Becomes City’s Last But One Museum To Remove Disgraced Sackler Name From Its Walls
London’s prestigious National Gallery, containing much of the UK’s most prized art, has removed the name of one of its biggest donors, Sackler – the disgraced pharmaceuticals dynasty. The Times reports that staff have removed the now infamous name from the room – technically Room 34, but for 30 years known as ‘the Sackler gallery’ – where James Bond (Daniel Craig) sat down with Q (Ben Whishaw) for a covert chat in Skyfall.
Deadline - May 8, 2022
10 dead in Iran after drinking homemade alcohol
The number of deaths of people who drank poisoned homemade alcohol in southern Iran rose to 10 and several more were in critical condition. Producing, selling, and consuming alcohol is strictly forbidden in Iran – with some exceptions for religious minorities – and those caught with it face the punishment of flogging. Those who drink it have suffered blindness or major organ damage because of poisoning from unsafe homemade alcohol over the years.
Al Jazeera - May 8, 2022
NIS 85 mil. to be allocated for treating addiction in government plan
Addiction in Israel is not currently treated under one specific service and instead is mostly outsourced to various organizations. The cabinet on Sunday approved a NIS 85 million plan that will allow the health funds to provide treatment for various addiction disorders for the first time. The plan, which was initiated by the New Hope Party, creates a more accessible path to treatment for those in need.
Jerusalem Post - May 8, 2022
White House introduces National Drug Control Strategy in San Diego
The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Rahul Grupta, along with local officials have announced new strategies that will help fight the trafficking crisis of methamphetamine, happening across the United States.
CBS8 - May 7, 2022
Social Media Liability Bill Passed California State Committee - Are Teens Actually ‘Addicted’ To Social Media?
Parents who may be concerned that their children are becoming addicted to social media could soon be able to take legal action against the platforms, at least in California. If passed into law, Assembly Bill 2408 would allow parents and the state Attorney General to sue social media companies on behalf of children who are harmed as a result of a social media addiction.
Forbes - May 6, 2022
An old drug addiction and an uncharged crime: How the internet won't let a Madison man move on
In this story, WISC-TV/Channel 3000 rolls out a new policy and takes a close look at media responsibility—including our own—in the internet age. In 2017, Zachary Wisniewski was a teenager in Dane County, struggling with a drug addiction he says started because of trauma, assault, and forced medication at a Christian boarding school in Florida that has since shut down. He was named as part of an investigation, and subsequent news headlines in all of the area’s media outlets—including Channel 3000— that would link him and two others permanently to the highly-stigmatized crime (pimping) that ultimately wasn’t charged—and therefore never proven in a court of law.
WISC - May 5, 2022
Can a monthly injection be the key to curbing addiction? These experts say yes
Addiction experts say administering a month’s worth of anti-addiction medication holds great potential, particularly for people without housing or who struggle with other forms of instability. Yet despite its promise, the use of injectable buprenorphine remains fairly limited, especially compared with other forms of addiction medication. Researchers have yet to publish studies comparing different ways to administer buprenorphine.
Los Angeles Times - May 4, 2022
What to Know About Treating Both Hep C and Substance Use Disorder
Hepatitis C is a liver infection that you can pass on through contact with blood that carries the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Even though young people who inject drugs can often have the highest chance of infection, less than 5 percentTrusted Source of this population gets treatment for hepatitis C. Prompt treatment is important to prevent cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. Treatment also significantly decreases the chances of people with hepatitis C passing the infection to others.
healthline - May 4, 2022
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Fentanyl
Colorado Senate votes to felonize fentanyl possession, knowing or not
Republicans and Democrats in the Colorado General Assembly want to stop people from taking drugs that contain fentanyl, sometimes without their knowledge, and dying. But the bill targeting Colorado’s fentanyl problem has sharply divided legislators within both political parties, as they’re forced to weigh the consequences of increasing criminal penalties for drug use in a state that’s trended toward reform. In a late-session development, the Senate voted Thursday to remove language that would have required prosecutors to prove someone “knew or had reasonable cause to believe” a substance contained fentanyl in order to convict them of felony possession. Prosecutors had argued that standard would “essentially require a confession,” making it more difficult for them to go after offenders.
Colorado Newsline - May 7, 2022
Addiction medcine physician says fentanyl testing strips could save lives for $1 a piece
Dr. Daniel Bober says until we erase the stigma of addiction, there will be an uphill battle in treating it.
Fox5DC - May 6, 2022
More states allow fentanyl test strips as a tool to prevent overdoses
Governors in New Mexico and Wisconsin this year signed bills allowing test strips in those states, and legislatures in Tennessee and Alabama recently passed similar legislation. In Pennsylvania, although a state law prohibits test strips, the mayors of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have ordered bans on prosecuting people possessing them. Fentanyl test devices — prohibited under drug paraphernalia laws adopted decades ago — remain illegal in about half of states, drug policy experts say.
CNN - May 4, 2022
Gov. Dunleavy addresses fentanyl crisis as state issues warning to families
Gov. Mike Dunleavy alongside public health, medical, and law enforcement officials took to the podium Tuesday to speak to Alaskans about the growing health crisis involving fentanyl use in the state. The state is calling it a threat to all Alaskans, and has issued a warning to parents and families about the dangers of fentanyl. In the first three months of this year alone, officials have seized 1,244 grams of fentanyl in the state, which is enough to kill 622,000 people, with a 2mg dose being considered lethal.
Alaska’s News Source - May 3, 2022
As opioid overdoses spike in Kansas, senators block fentanyl test strip provision
An effort to allow Kansans access to a tool that tests for the drug fentanyl is heading in the wrong direction after the Kansas senate blocked a provision legalizing it.
Kansas Reflector - May 2, 2022
State / Local
California: Will “Bill of Rights” for Addiction Treatment Save Lives?
A new California law requires addiction treatment providers to notify clients that they have the right to safe, ethical and evidence-based services. Penalties of up to $20,000 could be imposed for violations.
Governing - May 6, 2022
California: Will new S.F. program catch people with addiction and mental illness before they fall through the cracks?
The Department of Public Health’s new Office of Coordinated Care at 1360 Mission St. hosts a director and 20 case managers who are responsible for helping people coming out of jail, psychiatric emergency care or other settings get into treatment or transition from one set of services to another. By the summer, the city plans to have 40 case managers in the office.
San Francisco Chronicle - May 6, 2022
Oregon: Mothers join in cause to rattle Oregon into action on addiction care
Several dozen moms who have children with a drug addiction want the state to take action before more people overdose. For Mother’s Day, a few dozen moms plan to celebrate at a Portland rally. They want to raise awareness about Oregon’s drug crisis. The state has the highest rate of addiction in the country, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Oregon Capital Chronicle - May 6, 2022
Press Release: New York Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Provide Addiction and Mental Health Services Training for First Responders
Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation S.07144/A.07686 providing addiction and mental health services training, including crisis intervention team training, mental health first aid, implicit bias and naloxone training, to firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in regions where crisis stabilization centers are located.
Office of Governor Hochul - May 6, 2022
California: Staff at a San Francisco Hotel Battle an Overdose Crisis
About 400 unhoused people stay at Hotel Whitcomb, and many deal with substance use disorders. That reality has meant staff who work at the hotel are fighting to keep guests alive.
KQED - May 5, 2022
Florida and Walgreens reach $683 million opioid settlement
Attorney General Ashley Moody announced a $683 million settlement with Walgreens on Thursday after the state’s lawyers argued the pharmacy chain contributed to the opioid epidemic in Florida by “unconscionably” dispensing enormous quantities of painkillers.
Tampa Bay Times - May 5, 2022
Indiana: Hope against overdose epidemic knocking at Indiana’s door
Overdose deaths in the U.S. topped 100,000 a year for the first time ever last spring. Based on the numbers, it may look like this is a war we are losing. But are we? A story of hope started in a little town called Hohenwald Tennessee and is spreading here to Indiana. “The community formed a coalition, and they went out and they started rescuing their young people and setting them free, and now they are winning the war on drugs,” said Kerry Pharr, Producer of Hope Lives in Hohenwald and host of the talk show In Your Corner.
Fox59 - May 5, 2022
North Carolina: AG Josh Stein, NHC commissioners, discusses opioid settlement, addiction recovery treatments
New Hanover County is set to receive $19.5 million dollars from a settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and other attorneys general across the country. Stein says the settlement helps to hold major pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.
WECT6 - May 4, 2022
California: After jail, Santa Clara County reentry program can change lives
By providing job training, college education and counseling, Santa Clara County has found a way to help people from getting caught in the revolving door of incarceration.
San Jose Spotlight - May 4, 2022
Washington State: Opioid distributors reach $518 mln settlement with Washington state
Washington has reached a $518 million settlement with drug distributors McKesson Corp (MCK.N), AmerisourceBergen Corp (ABC.N) and Cardinal Health Inc (CAH.N), ending a months-long trial over the companies' alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the state.
Reuters - May 3, 2022
Pennsylvania: State officials launch $10M program to help substance use disorder treatment professionals repay their student loans
State officials are currently accepting applications for a program aimed at helping the people who care for individuals with substance use disorder repay their outstanding student loan debt. The Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment Program, which is being administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, is accepting applications from treatment professionals as well as case management professionals with outstanding student loan debt.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star - May 3, 2022
Georgia: KSU recovery program helps students overcome addiction
For the past 15 years, Kennesaw State’s Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery (CYAAR) has been providing students who have a history of substance use disorders with a recovery-friendly community that fosters education and well-being.
11Alive.com - May 2, 2022
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Studies/Research in the News
New Partnership Set to Transform Pain and Addiction Research
Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences recently created an innovative partnership to combat the opioid crisis and to discover and develop modern therapeutics for the treatment of chronic pain.
UArizona Health Sciences - May 5, 2022
New Insights on Gene Activity and Addiction
Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated that neuron-like cells derived from human stem cells can serve as a model for studying changes in the nervous system associated with addiction. The work sheds light on the effect of dopamine on gene activity in neurons, and offers a blueprint for related research moving forward.
Neuroscience News - May 4, 2022
Pandemic's Drinking Addiction Deaths Continued Into 2021
In 2021, deaths where AUD was listed among multiple causes were 22% higher than projected (20.0 vs 16.4 per 100,000) and 28.8% higher in cases where AUD was listed as the underlying cause (6.4 vs 5.0 per 100,000), according to researchers led by Yee Hui Yeo, MD, MSc, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, writing in JAMA Network Open.
Medpage Today - May 4, 2022
Fewer people with mental health, substance use disorders are smoking
Depression and substance use disorders stereotypically come with a side of smoking. New data, however, suggests the number of people with mental health and substance use disorders who smoke is falling quickly. A study in JAMA finds “significant declines” in cigarette smoking among people with depression, substance use disorder or both between 2006 and 2019.
Washington Post - May 3, 2022
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Opinion
We Cure Drug Addiction Maybe: The dirt about rehab facilities
I believe rehab is an effective way to get clean. It’s not the only way though. After 25 years of addiction and 3 years sober, I’ve never been to one. I’ve been able to remain California sober without rehab or AA. Most of my drug using friends have gone to an inpatient rehab facility at least once. I’ve also visited two luxury rehabs, Passages in Malibu and Dr. Drew Pinsky’s joint in Pasadena. When I say visit, I meant drop off drugs somewhere around the facility after receiving payment on Venmo. Those places are a joke. Here’s my take.
Medium - May 5, 2022
Carl Erik Fisher: How the Crackdown on Methadone Set Back Treatment for Addiction
The amazing thing about Nixon’s war, from today’s perspective, is how much it was oriented toward a therapeutic response to addiction. Yet within the federal government, there remained serious opposition to therapeutic approaches to addiction, especially treatment in the form of methadone.
Slate.com - May 5, 2022
Legalize drug possession in WA? Initiative should be a no-brainer, but expect a fight
A proposed ballot initiative would decriminalize simple drug possession in Washington. Known as the Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Recovery Act — or I-1922 — the initiative will need at least 324,516 valid signatures by July 8 to appear on the November ballot. The collection of those signatures began this week.
The Olympian - May 5, 2022
Why Psychedelic Drugs May Become a Key Treatment for PTSD and Depression
Ecstasy and the active ingredient in magic mushrooms have shown promise in clinical trials, but more testing is needed. Over the past few years, studies have suggested that just a few doses psilocybin or MDMA combined with therapy may help patients with PTSD or other mental illnesses.
Smithsonian - May 3, 2022
Don't Downplay the Risks of Rising Teen Marijuana Use
Kids are getting mixed messages. While teen alcohol use and smoking rates have steadily declined, marijuana use rates have increased––and there's no doubt that legalization has played a part. Researchers have found that youth aged 12 to 17 in states with legalized marijuana were 25 percent more likely to have Cannabis Use Disorder than youth in states without legalized marijuana. Marijuana is playing a big part in today's teen mental health crisis.
Newsweek - May 3, 2022
The White House's Response to the Fentanyl Crisis Falls Short
A report the White House quietly published last month—the National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS)—offers one glaring example of limp leadership. The NDCS acknowledged that a crisis exists—after all, the number of predicted American deaths related to opioids reached a staggering 80,000 for the year ending in November 2021—but failed to offer much hope for overall reduction in the supply of illicit opioids, which is key to reducing harm. Without meaningful strategies and concrete goals for cutting supply, more Americans will continue to die from widespread drug overdose.
Newsweek - May 3, 2022
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Books and Movies
Melanie Murphy: ‘I definitely think I had an addiction to porn’
The subjects dealt with in Glass Houses are big and serious. But Murphy’s writing has a lightness of touch, and real heart, and this prevents the book from becoming turgid. It absolutely zips along. “I feel like our sexual self is such a huge part of our life — not everyone’s life, but for a lot of people it is,” she says. “That is something I have experience of… not that I had a sex addiction, but I definitely think I had an addiction to porn, so I was trying to tie that into her storyline. When everything starts to get too much, she buries her head in that. It is not often portrayed… if there is anything to do with sex, it’s written from a man’s perspective.”
The Independent - May 7, 2022
Documentary film: BBC crews on St. Louis streets see deadly addiction
“St. Louis, America’s ‘Murder Capital’ but the bigger killer here is fentanyl addiction.” Those are the chilling opening lines of a new BBC documentary from their Unreported World series posted to YouTube. The journalists meet addicts and those attempting to help them recover.
Fox2Now - May 3, 2022
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Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Let’s Talk Addiction and Recovery (Hazelden Betty Ford) – What to Make of Ketamine: Dangerous Drug or Miracle Medicine?
Ketamine is the source of some controversy: it works wonders for depression, and fast. But it's also addictive and potentially triggering for people in recovery. It's proven to effectively treat severe depression that won't respond to other medications. But because it affects so many receptor sites in the brain, and because it causes hallucinations and other psychedelic effects, there's a lot to consider. Former Chief Medical Officer Marvin Seppala, MD, joins host William C. Moyers to discuss.
Recovery in the Middle Ages – “Your Best Thinking Got You Here,” and Other Questionable Things Said to Us in Early Recovery
Your best thinking got you here. It’s a common enough slogan in AA and other 12 Step programs, but what does it mean? Einstein said that you cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that caused it. Does that mean we shouldn’t question the methods and philosophical underpinnings or recovery programs? Or is there perhaps a place for self-empowerment and self- reliance in recovery. Mike and Nat debate the implications of checking your brain at the door and whether it’s a necessary predicate to achieving lasting recovery.
Flourishing After Addiction with Carl Erik Fisher, M.D. – Healthy relationships in recovery
Taking care of our relationships is a crucial way we take care of ourselves and the wider world. Some of the most common questions I get in my clinical practice and from listeners are questions about how to navigate relationships in addiction and recovery: couples, parents and kids, or otherwise. So I wanted to have a clinically focused episode about this important issue, and it was my great pleasure to talk with my good friend and wise colleague, Dr. Bevin Campbell, a psychotherapist who focuses on relationships, addiction, and recovery.
Heart of the Matter - Song for Charlie co-founders Ed and Mary Ternan on the dramatic rise of counterfeit prescription pills
After a counterfeit tablet purchased on social media took their son Charlie’s life, Ed and Mary Ternan were determined to take action. Rather than blame social media companies for sales of dangerous substances, Ed and Mary saw an opportunity to make a change. They created the nonprofit Song for Charlie to raise awareness about fentanyl and fentanyl-laced substances being sold to young people on social media. Many counterfeit pills are made to look like prescription opioids and are more lethal than ever before.
Dopey – Confessions of a Fentanyl Dealer (part 2), and Namaste at Home Dad
This week on Dopey! Wall to Wall Dopey as Jay returns to cohost and go over more of his debaucherous past and his present in recovery. Then we have the honor of welcoming DopeyCon veteran,Joelle the comic genius behind the Instagram account 'Namaste at Home Dad'. Joelle brings the Dopey as well telling the story of how her grandfather participated in her opiate addiction! Plus much much more on an all new crazy town new episode of Dopey!
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