The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - September 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
Medical training aimed at curbing stigma toward addiction | White House commits $1.5 billion to address the opioid crisis
Fentanyl
“Rainbow” fentanyl and Halloween fears in the news | Op ed calls for Wall Street accountability for opioid epidemic
State and Local
L.A. schools to carry naloxone in response to recent student OD deaths | Addiction experts argue Oregon too lax on drugs
Studies/Research in the News
Common heart drug may help with alcohol use disorder | Drug OD death rates highest among American Indians, middle-aged black men
Opinion
Why cravings are so hard to resist | Johns Hopkins prof. Hanna Pickard on why traditional view of addiction as moral failing or disease does not suffice
Podcasts
Sober Mom Squad co-founder Jennifer Landon on Heart of the Matter | Author Beth Macy (“Dopesick”) on Flourishing After Addiction
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National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
National
Help employees with substance use disorder get the mental health support they need
It’s estimated that SUDs cost employers $81 billion annually due to lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover, recruitment costs, workplace accidents, healthcare expenses, and disability and workers’ compensation, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.
HR Morning - Sept. 26, 2022
Michigan State training helps overcome addiction’s stigma
While more than 21 million Americans live with a substance-use disorder, there are just 4,500 physicians nationwide who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, according to figures from the Michigan Collaborative Addiction Resources & Education System (MI CARES). An AMA Medical Student Section education session explored a project at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine that has incorporated addiction medicine training into the curriculum and created a pathway for board certification of new addiction-medicine subspecialists.
American Medical Association - Sept. 23, 2022
White House Announces $1.5 Billion For Worsening Opioid Crisis
The White House on Friday announced $1.5 billion in funding to tackle the nation’s opioid epidemic, a major public health crisis that reached record levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, exacts an enormous economic and human toll across the country and continues to worsen despite the efforts of activists, government and health care providers.
Forbes - Sept. 23, 2022
Punitive measures don’t help pregnant women dealing with addiction
Many women who use drugs who have children, or who are pregnant for the first time, want to seek help for both their pregnancies and their drug use disorders, but why would they if they risk arrest and have their babies taken away?
Washington Post - Sept. 23, 2022
One family's tragedy and a new tool for fighting addiction could save lives
If your loved one came to you and said they needed help because they were struggling with addiction, what would be the first thing you do? That's the idea behind ATLAS, which stands for Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment and Standards Platform created by Shatterproof. Caroline Davidson with the ATLAS project said Florida is one of 10 states now using the online platform she described as, "A tool people can use to search for and compare facilities based on quality so we’re taking the guesswork out of finding the most appropriate treatment."
WTSB10 - Sept. 22, 2022
What happens in an alcohol addiction detox unit?
The BBC has been given exclusive access to the largest NHS inpatient detox centre in the UK - the Chapman-Barker Unit in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, which is run by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Here we describe a typical day in the life of the centre, its staff and its patients.
BBC - Sept. 21, 2022
‘This program’s really saved us’: As Canada offers safer opioids to curb overdoses, will U.S. follow?
The program, called safer supply, is part of an expanding movement in Canada to counter the increasingly treacherous drug supply. Concerns [about the program] ignore the emergency of implacable and preventable overdose deaths happening every day as a result of complacency and inaction, supporters argue.
STAT - Sept. 21, 2022
CVS, Walmart reach $147.5 mln opioid settlement with West Virginia
CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.N) have agreed to pay $147.5 million to settle West Virginia's claims over their alleged roles in the state's opioid crisis, state attorney general Patrick Morrisey said Tuesday.
Reuters - Sept. 20, 2022
The Experiment Aiming To Keep Drug Users Alive By Helping Them Get High More Safely
Street drugs in Canada and the U.S. are far more deadly than they used to be, often laced with synthetic opioids like fentanyl or other toxic chemicals. So addiction treatment providers are trying to adapt to meet that new reality. In some clinics, physicians even prescribe opioids to patients as a safer alternative to those street drugs.
NPR - Sept. 20, 2022
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Podcasts Comments
Fentanyl
Chuck Schumer warns of 'Rainbow Fentanyl'
Democratic Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer has warned rainbow fentanyl may be distributed during Halloween to get children "hooked." Speaking on Sunday outside his New York office, Schumer said rainbow fentanyl was one of the biggest health issues facing the country right now. He also said he wants $290 million to help fight the hold the addictive opioid is gaining in America.
Newsweek - Sept. 26, 2022
The Truth About Rainbow Fentanyl
“Rainbow fentanyl — fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes — is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the press release.
Chron.com - Sept. 25, 2022
As fentanyl crisis plagues Los Angeles schools, major busts reported in Arizona and Colorado
The battle against the nation's fentanyl crisis was on full display this week, as authorities made major busts in Arizona and Colorado. In Los Angeles, meanwhile, education officials were contending with a string of student overdoses.
CBS - Sept. 24, 2022
Blue-Chip Firms Must Be Held Accountable for Their Role in Calexico’s Fentanyl Epidemic
As we struggle to provide resources and support to those suffering from opioid and drug addiction, we should not allow the large Wall Street firms that helped fuel this crisis and have not yet been held accountable to continue to do business.Opioid-related emergency visits among Latinos have been on the rise since 2006, and in 2019 Imperial County had the highest number of emergency visits across California. And in San Diego County this past year there were 1,303 lives lost to drug overdoses — an increase from the previous year.
Times of San Diego - Sept. 24, 2022
Why the DEA is Sounding the Alarm About Rainbow Fentanyl
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a warning this week about rainbow pills that contain fentanyl. According to the DEA, the colorful pills, which are highly addictive and potentially deadly, were seized in 18 states in August. The DEA has also seized powder and chalk-like colored fentanyl.
Healthline - Sept. 22, 2022
Fentanyl Halloween Candy Will Kill Your Kids, RNC Chair Says After Being Accused of Fear Mongering
Ronna McDaniel argued on Fox News that parents should be afraid of their children stumbling across candy-colored fentanyl in their Halloween baskets.
Rolling Stone - Sept. 20, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
State / Local
California: After string of teen overdoses, L.A. schools will get OD reversal drug naloxone
Los Angeles public schools will stock campuses with the overdose reversal drug naloxone in the aftermath of a student’s death at Bernstein High School, putting the nation’s second-largest school system on the leading edge of a strategy increasingly favored by public health experts.
Los Angeles Times - Sept. 22, 2022
Oregon: Addiction experts tell Oregon lawmakers the state has been too lax on drug use
As Measure 110 expands treatment options, they say it has reduced pressures on drug users to look for help. Oregon health officials announced a notable milestone this week, revealing they’d awarded more than $300 million meant to expand services for people with drug addiction. But a pair of addiction experts warned Wednesday that more than just services will be necessary in order to stem the state’s high rate of drug use — and the growing societal costs that come with it. They told lawmakers the state also has to adjust its permissive approach.
Oregon Public Broadcasting - Sept. 21, 2022
Pennsylvania: A complete guide to Spotlight PA’s investigations of Pennsylvania’s flawed medical marijuana program
The yearlong reporting project has revealed major flaws and inequity in the system, prompting positive change and more calls for reform, but will the state legislature take action? The yearlong reporting project has revealed major flaws and inequity in the system, prompting positive change and more calls for reform, but will the state legislature take action?
Philadelphia Inquirer - Sept. 20, 2022
California: Santa Monica mayor says it’s time to end L.A. County needle exchange program at park
Santa Monica city officials and residents are calling for an end to a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health weekly needle exchange program in Reed Park. In an open letter sent to county officials last week, Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich called for the program to be relocated from public spaces in the city and preferably to an indoor site.
Los Angeles Times - Sept. 20, 2022
Wisconsin: 32 years sober and wanting to help others like him, man founds LGBTQ-affirming addiction recovery group in Sheboygan County
Now 32 years sober and wanting others to have a safe place to turn, Dan started an LGBTQ+ 12-Step Recovery Group at Sheboygan County’s Rightway Club. The group meets weekly on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and is open to all people who want to fight drug, alcohol or other addiction problems.
Sheboygan Press - Sept. 20, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Studies/Research in the News
How an Addicted Brain Works
Addiction develops when the pleasure circuits in the brain get overwhelmed, in a way that can become chronic and sometimes even permanent. When a person develops an addiction to a substance, it’s because the brain has started to change. “Research shows that medication-based treatments are the most effective treatment. Opioid use disorder is a medical condition just like depression, diabetes or hypertension, and as with those conditions, it is most effectively treated with a combination of medication and counseling.”
Neuoscience News - Sept. 23, 2022
A Common Heart Drug May Help People Struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder
A common heart and blood pressure drug could see a second act as a treatment for alcohol use disorder, new government-led research this week suggests. The study has found evidence in both rodents and humans that the medication spironolactone can reduce people’s craving for and consumption of alcohol.
Gizmodo - Sept. 20. 2022
Drug overdose death rates highest among American Indian people and middle-age Black men, study shows
Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased sharply throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching record levels in 2021. But the burden on different racial and ethnic groups has changed, according to a study by federal researchers published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open.
CNN - Sept. 20. 2022
Can Science Curb an Alcohol Use Crisis? CU Anschutz Addiction Experts Bank On It
In Schacht’s lab, NIH-funded researchers compare before-and-after scans of trial participants’ brains, searching for evidence that their experimental drugs are working based on their knowledge of the AUD brain.
University of Colorado Anschutz - Sept. 19, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Opinion
The Betty Bubble: A Week at the Hazelden Betty Ford Addiction Treatment Center
I spent a week at the Hazelden Betty Ford Addiction Treatment Center in Rancho Mirage, California. No, not as a patient, but as a member of the Summer Institute for Medical Students Program (SIMS). Here’s what I learned.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education - Sept. 23, 2022
Why the pull of addictive cravings is so hard to resist
The neuroscientific picture of addiction overlooks the psychological and social factors that make cravings so hard to resist. Substance addictions present the sharpest example of how cravings seem to impact motivation and behaviour differently than other desires. Cravings make for one of the most challenging, baffling and terrifying aspects of addiction. This loss of control is often taken to be a defining feature of addiction.
AEON - Sept. 22, 2022
Opinion The proof is in the numbers: 988 will save lives
For too long, there hasn’t been an easy, safe way for someone experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis to get immediate help. Fortunately, that appears to be changing thanks to 988. The number, which became available nationwide earlier this summer, is a dedicated phone line that anyone can contact for mental health, substance use and suicidal crises. We have data to support the resource: Demand for help is high, and the number is giving thousands of people the assistance they need.
Washington Post - Sept. 21, 2022
Addiction and recovery: A philosopher's view
It's time for America to end its black-and-white thinking about addiction and recovery, according to Johns Hopkins professor Hanna Pickard. Traditional approaches in the U.S.—framing addiction as either a moral failing or a disease of the brain—do not suffice, she says.
Johns Hopkins University - Sept. 16, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Heart of the Matter: Co-founder of Sober Mom Squad Jessica Landon on second chances, family and laughter
As an actress, comedian and Playboy model, Jessica Landon appeared to have the perfect life. But deep down, she was silently suffering from unresolved childhood trauma. Jessica began drinking as a pre-teen and didn’t stop. This week on Heart of the Matter, Jessica joins Elizabeth Vargas to discuss how her parents’ support helped her heal, how laughter played a significant part in her recovery and her role as a co-founder of the Sober Mom Squad.
Flourishing After Addiction: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis
Beth Macy is a Virginia-based journalist with three decades of experience and an award-winning author of three New York Times bestselling books: Factory Man, Truevine, and Dopesick. Her first book, Factory Man, won a J. Anthony Lukas Prize and Dopesick was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, won the L.A. Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, and was described as a “masterwork of narrative nonfiction” by The New York Times. Dopesick has now been made into a Peabody award-winning and Emmy-winning Hulu series on which she acted as an executive producer and cowriter. Her latest book, Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis, was published on August 16, 2022. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, and her personal website.