The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - December 28, 2022
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
MAT and MATE Acts approved | U.S. life expectancy declines due to COVID, overdoses
Fentanyl
Safe supply: NC lab analyzes drug samples | Myth of skin contact OD persists
State and Local
Narcan legislation in CA, MN | NJ investigates addiction treatment fraud and abuse
Studies/Research in the News
Alcohol use among physicians rising? | Ayahuasca and music to treat SUDs?
Opinion
Education can combat stigma of addiction | Importance of continuing telemedicine for treating opioid use disorder
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National
Alcohol Addiction: The Case for Treatment by Primary Care Providers
Advantages of AUD treatment in the primary care setting include decreased stigma, easier coordination of care, and lower cost to the patient. In my integrated primary care and substance use disorder treatment practice, I see these advantages play out every day.
Psychology Today - Dec. 24, 2022
Shatterproof Applauds the Passage of the MATE Act to Expand SUD Education
In June, the MATE Act was incorporated into a larger mental health package, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 (HR 7666), and passed the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support. The MATE Act is a landmark bill focused on ensuring that each medical provider who obtains a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license to prescribe controlled substances will receive baseline education on treating and managing patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). The legislation also includes the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act which removes the special waiver required for healthcare providers to dispense buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) maintenance or detoxification treatment.
Shatterproof - Dec. 23, 2022
Drug overdose deaths topped 106,000 in 2021, CDC says in final report
The United States hit a grim record of 106,699 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a 16% increase over 2020, the CDC said in its final report released this week. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, is driving the surge. Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl jumped 22% in 2021, the CDC said. Heroin overdoses, meanwhile, decreased 32%.
Fox - Dec. 22, 2022
Unpacking the omnibus’ health provisions
A long list of measures aimed at tackling the ongoing opioid crisis is in the bill, including $1,575,000,000 in state grants to go toward substance abuse prevention and treatment. It also incorporates significant provisions of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, including the elimination of a DEA requirement that clinicians get an extra certification to prescribe buprenorphine, and the NOPAIN Act, which improves access to FDA-approved non-opioid therapies for outpatient surgical procedures.
Politico - Dec. 21, 2022
US life expectancy falls to lowest levels since 1996 due to COVID, drug overdoses: CDC
Life expectancy in the United States has fallen to the lowest levels seen in 26 years, new federal data shows. Two new reports, published early Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, found the death rate increased 5.3%, from 835.4 per 100,000 people to 879.7 per 100,000 in 2021. The authors of the report said the drop was primarily due to COVID-19 and drug overdose deaths.
ABC - Dec. 21, 2022
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Comments
Fentanyl
A High-Tech Strategy for Keeping Drug Users Safe: Analyzing their Fentanyl
Machines that examine samples of drugs can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, but experts say they are an increasingly vital tool in stemming overdoses. The work at the North Carolina lab is part of a strategy known as harm reduction, which aims not to lead users to abstinence but to give them the tools to use drugs safely, keeping them from infections, injuries and death. President Biden is the first president to endorse the strategy, lending it a federal imprimatur that health experts say could transform how the United States contends with drug use.
New York Times - Dec. 24, 2022
Media outlets push fears of officers overdosing from fentanyl exposures. Doctors say it doesn’t add up.
News organizations repeating the reports [of first responders overdosing from contact with fentanyl] without scrutiny are fueling a stigma about the second-hand dangers of the drug, potentially harming or delaying help for those in need of immediate assistance and creating a feedback loop for anxious first responders. “It’s extremely unlikely that law enforcement officials or other first responders will experience an overdose after brief, unintentional exposure while caring for individuals who used opioids,” said Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and CNN medical analyst.
CNN -Dec. 22, 2022
Man-made opioid fentanyl now the 'deadliest drug threat facing' United States
US law enforcement seized more than enough fentanyl to kill all Americans in 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said on Tuesday, underscoring the deep threat of the deadly man-made opioid.
ABC - Dec. 21, 2022
State / Local
California: First-hand experience helped inspire San Francisco lawmaker's Narcan bill
Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced Assembly Bill 24 to the legislature on Tuesday. If passed, it would require gas stations, bars, libraries, and single room occupancy (SRO) hotels to carry Naloxone. The common brand name is Narcan.
CBS - Dec. 22, 2022
As Minnesota lawmakers consider requiring opioid overdose-reversal drugs in schools, Bloomington is leading the way
Naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose is stocked in all Bloomington Public Schools -- middle and high schools also have the nasal spray version, known by the brand name Narcan. It's part of a strategy by district leaders who say they are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best at a time when even children aren't spared from the opioid crisis, now largely fueled by the highly potent fentanyl.
CBS - Dec. 22, 2022
New Jersey: As a New Jersey commission investigates addiction-treatment abuse, a Mullica Hill rehab owner denies wrongdoing
A New Jersey addiction rehab owner rejected allegations by state investigators that he overbilled to pay for luxury cars and personal credit card charges and to expand his business of sober homes. A state commission expects to release a report on abuse in the addiction treatment industry within the next several months.
The Inquirer - Dec. 21, 2022
Studies/Research in the News
Music and Ayahuasca’s Role in Treating Substance Use Disorders in Men
Researchers study the positive effects icaros, a type of traditional Peruvian music, in combination with psychotherapy and the psychedelic drug Ayahuasca has on treating addiction.
Neuroscience News - Dec. 23, 2022
Problematic Alcohol Use on the Rise Among Physicians?
Problematic alcohol use by physicians appears to be increasing, new research shows. However, good data on exactly how common this is and on salient risk factors are lacking, investigators note. In a systematic literature review, investigators found the prevalence of self-reported problematic alcohol use varied widely, but could affect up to one third of physicians.
Medscape - Dec. 21, 2022
Opinion
'How To Enjoy Christmas as A Recovering Alcohol or Substance Addict'
Christmas is an anxiety-provoking time for recovering addicts, as there are potential landmines everywhere. However, with the right preparation, this period can be navigated successfully while remaining enjoyable. I would offer these suggestions to recovering addicts over the festive period.
Newsweek - Dec. 23, 2022
Op-Ed: Finally, some promising news on opioids for patients in severe pain
Meanwhile, physicians have had to balance the risk of criminal prosecution for prescribing opioids against their responsibility to treat patients’ pain. Yet there is promising news amid our nation’s cycle of failed attempts to tackle the crisis. Two key shifts in federal policy this year hint that the pendulum is beginning to swing back toward more access to opioids for patients who need them.
Los Angeles Times - Dec. 23, 2022
Congress Made It Easier to Treat Addiction but Harder to Treat Pain
By including the Mainstream Addiction Treatment Act (MAT Act) within the giant omnibus bill that Congress just passed, Congress finally removed the X‑waiver requirement and, along with it, any limits on the number of patients practitioners are allowed to treat. The act also makes it easier to prescribe buprenorphine using telemedicine. Unfortunately, a fly in the ointment is that the omnibus bill also contained the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act which, among other things, will require all health care practitioners who apply for or seek to renew their DEA narcotics prescribing license to take an 8‑hour government‐approved course in understanding and treating addiction.
Cato Institute - Dec. 23, 2022
'Education on addiction is necessary to prevent a culture of negative judgement'
Lack of knowledge about addiction affects staff working across the NHS. As addiction is poorly covered in nursing and medical curricula (Skinner et al, 2009), there is a general lack of understanding when it comes to effective management of alcohol withdrawal. However, better knowledge can improve care: when alcohol withdrawal is managed ineffectively by health professionals with limited knowledge and experience, symptoms can quickly escalate and sometimes lead to delirium tremens.
Nursing Times - Dec. 21, 2022
The “death penalty” of child welfare: In six months or less, some parents lose their kids forever
A law aimed at speeding up adoptions of kids in foster care stripped parental rights for hundreds of thousands.Once considered a last resort reserved for parents who abandon their children, the involuntary and permanent termination of parental rights now hangs over every mother and father accused of any form of abuse or neglect — including allegations of nonviolent behavior like drug use or truancy, the two central parenting issues in the Snodgrasses' case. Known in the legal world as the "death penalty" of child welfare, it can happen in a matter of months.
Salon - Dec. 21, 2022
'I Was Assaulted, The Trauma Led Me to Alcohol Addiction'
In 2015, I ended up being the victim of a serious sexual assault. It had a devastating impact on me and changed my life forever. In the period following the assault, I found that I was really struggling to cope. I also found myself drinking more than usual and eventually stopped going to the gym altogether. I didn't realize that I was, in fact, an alcoholic until I found myself enduring several major episodes of severe alcohol withdrawal when I tried to quit.
Newsweek - Dec. 21, 2022
Telemedicine for opioid addiction saves lives. Let’s make sure it continues
During COVID-19, doctors have been allowed to provide medications for opioid addiction via telehealth. One doctor explains why it's critical that those temporary policies become permanent.
AAMC - Dec. 20, 2021
U.S. fails to provide mental health care to those who need it most
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, I decided I wanted to make a major life change: I would leave journalism and become a psychotherapist. What is lacking in this field is not jobs, but sustainability. How can you work with historically marginalized communities given the systems that exist? Poverty is a huge predictor of mental health problems. Yet those who need quality mental health services the most in the U.S. are the least likely to receive them. A single therapy session can cost anywhere from $100 to $300 if you’re uninsured, and many therapists do not accept insurance, let alone Medicaid, because insurance companies don’t pay them well. Community clinics and nonprofits that provide no-cost or low-cost therapy often have months-long waiting lists. An estimated 54% of American adults with a diagnosed mental health condition do not receive treatment.
Los Angeles Times - Dec. 20, 2022