The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - March 1, 2023
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
Feds to limit telehealth prescriptions for painkillers, ADHD meds | Medicaid addiction treatment to expand to incarcerated individuals | Fed. proposal introduced to limit cocaine sentencing disparities
Fentanyl
Congress introduces bills to address fentanyl crisis | Democrats increasingly blaming China for U.S. fentanyl crisis
State and Local
The future of mobile methadone in S.F. | Is CA OD crisis slowing? | New York’s safe consumption sites one year into the experiment
Studies/Research in the News
COVID impact on young adult alcohol use | Neurological research could lead to more effictive treatment for opioid use disorders
Opinion
Let Fetterman’s experience show mental health not a partisan issue | Szalavitz: After failed war on drugs, here’s what’s needed | SLP’s “Take 3” looks at downsides of the opioid prescription crackdown, pitfalls of private equity investment in addiction treatment and new leg. proposals in CA
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National
Feds Will Start Limiting Telehealth Prescriptions for Painkillers, ADHD Drugs
Federal officials plan to tighten access to drugs that have the potential for abuse by reinstating federal prescribing requirements that were loosened during the pandemic. The Biden administration will require that patients see a doctor in person, rather than through a telehealth appointment, to get a first prescription for opioid painkillers and the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Prescription refills will still be allowed during telehealth appointments, however.
U.S. News and World Report - Feb. 27, 2023
Chris Kirk battled alcoholism and depression – now he has secured his first PGA Tour victory in seven years
It had been 2,836 days since Chris Kirk last won on the PGA Tour. Yet after securing his first victory in over seven years on Sunday, that was not the first milestone the American golfer had on his mind. “I owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety,” Kirk told reporters at PGA National Resort.
CNN - Feb. 27, 2023
Addiction Treatment May Be Coming to a Pharmacy Near You
Despite an overdose epidemic that killed 107,000 people last year, nearly 9 in 10 Americans who need medication to treat their addiction to deadly opioids aren’t receiving it. Surprising new results from a first-of-its-kind study in Rhode Island could hold a key to getting addiction medication to more people who need it: allowing patients to get prescriptions at their local pharmacy rather than a doctor’s office. The change would particularly help those with low incomes who lack housing and transportation, the study found.
PEW Charitable Trusts - Feb. 24, 2023
White House spotlights New Jersey jail for addiction services
On Tuesday, White House official Dr. Rahul Gupta called Camden County’s addiction treatment program for incarcerated people “a model for the nation” as he previewed federal changes coming later this year that will expand substance use health care for high-risk populations. “Because the bottom line is this: treating substance use disorder in prisons, jails is a smart move,” Gupta said. “It’s a smart move for our economic prosperity, for our safety and health, for the nation.”
WHYY - Feb. 24, 2023
Patients may have permanent access to some addiction treatments through telehealth
Patients may soon be able to obtain addiction treatments and medications through telehealth visits — without having to see a doctor in person. The Biden administration unveiled new regulations aimed at increasing patient access to certain medications and addiction treatments, and the proposed rules from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced Friday, make permanent certain Trump-era allowances for medical providers to prescribe drugs through telehealth that were established at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the administration is re-implementing restrictions on other medicines that are more addictive.
CBS - Feb. 24, 2023
Pentagon warns service members against eating poppy seeds
The Department of Defense issued new warnings for service members on Tuesday, urging them to not consume poppy seeds because it could cause a false positive on drug tests. The memo, written by Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros, told military service members to stay away from poppy seeds in all forms, even baked goods, because they could contain more opium than previously thought.
Washington Examiner - Feb. 24, 2023
Adderall, Oxycodone Access to be Tightened Under Proposed Rules
US regulators are proposing limits on telehealth prescriptions of certain medications to combat the country’s growing opioid crisis. Patients will be required to attend at least one in-person consultation to obtain prescriptions of controlled medications such as the painkillers Oxycodone and Vicodin, as well as Adderall and Ritalin — used to treat attention deficit disorder, according to new rules proposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Bloomberg - Feb. 24, 2023
FDA Considers Forgoing Prescription For Narcan
Advisors to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met on Wednesday, February 15, to discuss whether a nasal spray version of the life-saving Opioid overdose antidote, Naloxone (Narcan), should be made available over-the-counter (OTC). The meeting consisted of two federal panels of addiction experts, the FDA’s Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee.
Addiction Center - Feb. 23, 2023
VA senator introduces legislation to eliminate federal cocaine sentencing disparity
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, alongside his colleagues, has introduced the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and apply it retroactively to those already convicted or sentenced. Currently, statutory criminal penalties for crack cocaine are harsher than those for powder cocaine, despite there being no pharmacological difference or scientific evidence that suggests that crack cocaine is more addictive or dangerous. The EQUAL Act would ensure that both substances carry the same penalties.
WSET 13 News - Feb. 23, 2023
Lucy Hale opens up about 13-year-long sobriety journey for the first time
Lucy Hale is getting candid about her struggle with addiction and overcoming her darkest days. The “Pretty Little Liars” star called her recent journey “powerful, painful, insightful (and) joyous,” while chatting with Steven Bartlett on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast released Feb. 23. "I have been working on getting sober since I was 20. I’m 33. It takes time," the actor said on a recent podcast episode.
Today - Feb. 23, 2023
It's also a 22% increase from the 3,304 fatal overdoses recorded in 2020.
Soon, the federal government will allow states to use Medicaid funds to treat prisoners for drug addiction and mental health services. The government will require that mental health and drug treatment be offered as part of allowing Medicaid funds in jails and prisons, the AP reported. “Treating substance abuse disorder in prison and jails is smart,” Gupta said.
U.S. News and World Report - Feb. 22, 2023
White House Drug Czar visits Camden Jail, makes announcement
White House Drug Czar Dr. Rahul Gupta stopped in South Jersey Tuesday. His job is to lead the War on Drugs in America and some of the highest at-risk populations for an overdose are prisons and jails. Several inmates at the Camden County Jail sit in front of the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and described how the facility's substance use treatment program had helped them battle addiction. The jail launched the medications for opioid use disorder program several years ago to relieve withdrawal symptoms for inmates, to help avoid an overdose, and to improve transition back into the community with housing and services once released.
CBS - Feb. 21, 2023
Fatal overdoses high at these Army posts, overall rate decreasing
Though the Army saw a reduction in overall drug overdose death rates in recent years, soldiers at five Army installations are dying of drug overdoses at more than double the rate of other Defense Department personnel. Responding to a query from a bipartisan group of senators, the letter from Defense Undersecretary Gilbert Cisneros Jr. offered a public understanding of the opioid epidemic’s impact on the military services in recent months. The lawmakers’ query followed a Rolling Stone article that examined drug-related deaths at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Army Times - Feb. 21, 2023
Chiefs fans ‘sickened’ and ‘ashamed’ by players drinking heavily at Super Bowl parade
An estimated million fans—almost double the city’s population—descended upon Kansas City for last week’s Super Bowl parade, celebrating the Chiefs’ second championship in four years. Drinks were flowing with nobody letting their hair down more than quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose afternoon of drunken debauchery included a memorable trip to the Port-A-John followed by pawning off the Lombardi Trophy on an unsuspecting—but nonetheless appreciative—fan along the parade route. While social media seemed to enjoy Mahomes cutting loose, a segment of the fan base apparently didn’t appreciate his overindulgence, complaining of players’ excessive alcohol consumption in indignant letters to the Kansas City Star.
106.7 Fan - Feb. 21, 2023
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Comments
Fentanyl
Democrats increasingly join Republicans in blaming China for US fentanyl crisis
Democrats are increasingly joining Republicans in blaming China for helping fuel the fentanyl crisis blighting the United States. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a hearing earlier this month that the U.S. needed to "use every foreign policy tool" to stop fentanyl from flowing in, which included asking Mexico to do more to crack down on cartels, and “it also means confronting China.”
Washington Examiner - Feb. 25, 2023
Congress turns its eye to fentanyl crisis
The powerful synthetic opioid has long been linked to a rise in overdose-related deaths. Federal officials are signaling a new push against abuse of the drug. At the start of the 118th Congress, a slew of bills were introduced to target fentanyl-related offenses as well as the scheduling of the opioid and its analogues, which are altered versions of the prescription form of fentanyl that can have a deadly effect.
The Hill - Feb. 23, 2023
Plano Mother Who Lost Daughter to Fentanyl Shares Warning to Parents
A Plano mother is sharing her loss due to fentanyl and how just half a pill claimed her daughter's life. Rebecca Reveles lost her 19-year-old daughter, Schuylar Marie Montelongo, to fentanyl poisoning in August of 2021. "I try to talk to anybody," Reveles said, describing how she'll spread her warning to others. "If I smell weed on them, I tell them, just be careful." She also hands out "one pill kills" bracelets in pink, which was her daughter's favorite color, "to just about anyone who is willing to support us," she said. Reveles also gives parents Narcan - a potentially lifesaving treatment that if given quickly, cold save lives. "I carry two, actually, if one is not enough. Like I said, Schuylar had half a pill, and they said she did not stand a chance. So, one of these would not have saved Schuyler."
NBC DFW - Feb. 23, 2023
Politicians say they'll stop fentanyl smugglers. Experts say new drug war won't work
President Biden said this weekend that he wants to launch a "major surge to stop fentanyl production and sale" that's driving 70,000 fatal overdoses in the U.S. every year. There's fierce bipartisan pressure in Washington right now to do whatever it takes to stop Mexican drug cartels smuggling illicit fentanyl over the border. But reporting by NPR found a broad consensus among drug policy experts that strategies now being put forward are unrealistic and won't keep fentanyl off American streets.
NPR - Feb. 21, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
State / Local
Michigan: Fentanyl testing strips legal and widely used in Michigan
New dollars distributed to groups fighting substance abuse can be used to purchase strips that test whether drug dealers cut heroin or other street drugs with often-deadly fentanyl. The simple paper strips are illegal in some 20 states.
Midland Daily News - Feb. 26, 2023
California: SF's Mobile Clinics Made Opioid Treatment More Accessible During the Pandemic. But Will They Stay?
In the spring of 2020, as many medical facilities limited their indoor services, the mobile clinic’s two vans set up shop, enabling patients to continue receiving their addiction-related medications and other treatments without interruption. Early indicators suggest the changes have helped more patients stick with their substance-use treatments at the hospital’s 50-year-old Opiate Treatment Outpatient Program (OTOP). But as local and federal pandemic emergency orders — and many of the programs that came with them — come to an end, the future of the mobile clinic is uncertain.
KQED - Feb. 25, 2023
Is California’s overdose epidemic slowing down? Experts remain skeptical
Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows decline in 2022. California’s overdose death rate is showing signs of flattening after a years-long ascent fueled by the extra-potent opioid, fentanyl, federal estimates show. But researchers caution the improvements may not last.
San Francisco Chronicle - Feb. 24, 2023
Maryland: Maryland family pushes for fentanyl testing in hospitals to become law
A new bipartisan bill, that is also backed by Governor Wes Moore, is aiming to tackle the ongoing problem of drug overdose. After a lot of research and with the support of Delegate Joe Vogel, they have now created a bill that would require hospitals to include fentanyl on a urine drug screening. Testing for fentanyl would lead to more accurate data on how many overdoses are caused by fentanyl.
Fox Baltimore - Feb. 24, 2023
South Dakota: Fentanyl test strips declassified as drug paraphernalia in new South Dakota law
Gov. Kristi Noem signed into law a bill that declassifies fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia Wednesday. Fentanyl test strips are commonly used in harm reduction tactics to allow drug users to test any number of drugs for the presence of fentanyl. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls, and Sen. Reynold Nesiba, D-Sioux Falls, is meant to allow harm reduction services to hand out the strips without fear of being penalized.
Argus Leader - Feb. 24, 2023
North Carolina: Fentanyl played large role in the more 4,000 overdose deaths in North Carolina in 2021, a record number
A record number of drug overdose deaths were recorded in North Carolina in 2021, according to new data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. In 2021, a total of 4,041 people died from drug overdoses, the highest figure reported in The Tar Heel State in a single year. It's also a 22% increase from the 3,304 fatal overdoses recorded in 2020.
ABC - Feb. 23, 2023
Ohio: Ironton zoning proposal could threaten local addiction treatment facilities
A proposed change to zoning code in Ironton could put some of the local addiction treatment and recovery facilities out of compliance. It was a heated Ironton City Council meeting Thursday night as people debated the proposal. The largest addiction center recently built their multi-million dollar facility across from the courthouse on 4th Street. The COO of that facility is afraid they would have to either move or stop operating if the zoning proposals pass. If that happens, one of the lawyers said they may take legal action.
WSAZ - Feb. 23, 2023
New York: One year inside a radical new approach to America’s overdose crisis
In its first year of operation, OnPoint welcomed more than 2,000 people into its program — at least half of whom became regular participants. It’s too early to say whether the program’s efforts will translate into better long-term outcomes for them. Opioid addiction, in particular, can take years to recover from, even in the best of circumstances, and the people who go to OnPoint seeking help tend not to be in the best of circumstances.
New York Times - Feb. 22, 2023
Massachusetts: New centers offer care for mental health and addiction, but leave out most privately insured patients
Community behavioral health centers (CBHCs) opened across Massachusetts in January as a new statewide experiment in addressing mental health and addiction issues by funding a comprehensive range of services for patients. For now, though, insurance coverage issues prevent roughly three-quarters of patients from accessing much of the care these new centers provide. While care at these centers is covered for about 1.5 million people under MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, roughly three-quarters of insured people in Massachusetts have private insurance or Medicare, neither of which cover these services.
WGBH - Feb. 22, 2023
Massachusetts: BMC to end addiction program at former Roundhouse hotel
Boston Medical Center will soon stop providing urgent care-style addiction services at a former hotel in the area of the city known as "Mass. and Cass." The program at the Roundhouse Suites hotel building started early last year, as the city worked to clear out a large tent encampment in the area due to public health and safety concerns. BMC said it will end its clinical services at the hotel by March 31 due to a lack of long-term funding. It wouldn't give further details on the funding issue.
WBUR - Feb. 22, 2023
N.J. legislators propose punishing social media companies for kids' online addiction
Several New Jersey lawmakers recently introduced legislation to crack down on social media platforms that use habit-forming features that entice underage users to develop social media addictions. Violators would face up to $250,000 in fines unless they remove the addictive features from their products. The bill applies only to companies that earned more than $100 million in gross revenue the preceding year and video game platforms.
New Jersey Monitor - Feb. 22, 2023
Colorado: 'Snorting kits' given out by a Pueblo syringe exchange program raising concern
Access Point Pueblo, a syringe exchange program, has provided resources to those battling drug addiction since 2014. However, a recent 'snorting kit' given out by the program is raising concern due to its messaging. The kit includes several straws, a plastic card, saline vials, and a sheet of paper giving instructions on how to safely snort drugs. The top of one side of the sheet reads "It is safe to snort drugs that can easily dissolve in water" while the other side reads "Keep your nose happy."
KOAA - Feb. 22, 2023
California: Police launch efforts to combat fentanyl crisis in San Diego, including search dogs and overdose maps
In an effort to combat the opioid overdose crisis, the San Diego Police Department is rolling out two new initiatives: police dogs trained to detect the drug fentanyl and software used to map where overdoses have occurred in the city.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Feb. 20, 2023
Texas: Hundreds Die-In at Texas Capitol to Demand Movement on Overdose Crisis: Legalizing fentanyl test strips is only step one, advocates say
Last Wednesday, hundreds traveled to the state capitol to listen to and share personal experiences with the opioid overdose crisis, and to demand immediate policy changes at the state level to strengthen organizations like Austin’s Texas Harm Reduction Alliance.
Austin Chronicle - Feb. 20, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Take 3 w/ SLP, February 2023
SLP takes a closer look at: (1) Whether the crackdown on opioid prescribing is becoming a pain in the ass; (2) the pitfalls of private equity investment in addiction treatment; and (3) stamping out smoking and the stigma of addiction - an early look at 2023 California legislative proposals.
The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alcohol Abuse and Drunkorexia Behaviors in Young Adults.
The results showed that the emotional impact and negative life experiences associated with the pandemic predicted both alcohol abuse and drunkorexia behaviors, albeit in different ways. Specifically, the number of negative life experiences during the pandemic and the tendency to avoid COVID-19-related negative thoughts positively predicted alcohol abuse; and the presence of intrusive thoughts associated with the pandemic significantly predicted the frequency of drunkorexia behaviors.
NCBI - Feb. 26, 2023
Brain circuit breakthrough paves way for opioid addiction treatments
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are now the main drivers of fatal overdoses in the US, yet current treatment of the addiction is haphazard and often prohibitive. But new research has uncovered a neurological mechanism that could lead to targeted and more effective medical responses. Scientists at the Texas A&M University School of Medicine have identified a specific circuit in the striatum, the brain’s reward hub that controls voluntary movement and behavior, from which many negative emotional states stem from during fentanyl withdrawal and could be the reason many chronic users relapse even after a long period of abstinence.
New Atlas - Feb. 22, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Opinion
Utilizing AI To Fill The One-Year Gap And Help Address The Mental Health And Addiction Crisis
Upon discharge from a treatment center, many patients are essentially on their own. I call this the “one-year gap.” Instead of focusing on short-term solutions to a long-term, complex problem, I believe behavioral healthcare providers should embrace transformational change. From my perspective, one way to do that is by leveraging technology. My own company has launched an online platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to track patients’ behavior and analyze their responses. And, based on my knowledge of the behavioral health industry, I’m expecting other online platforms or apps to come to market this year offering similar capabilities.
Forbes - Feb. 27, 2023
Mental health is not a partisan issue
No one is immune from a mental health or substance use challenge. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) reminded us of that when he announced he will seek treatment for clinical depression. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week provided a harrowing reminder of how widespread our nation’s mental health crisis has become, reporting that nearly one in three high school girls in 2021 seriously considered suicide. When it comes to mental health challenges, age, gender, race and status are merely details, and an enormous amount of work remains to help the growing number of people seeking treatment. We must connect more Americans to care, strengthen the capacity to provide treatment, overcome the workforce shortage and expand access to evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
The Hill - Feb. 26, 2023
America has lost the War on Drugs. Here’s what needs to happen next.
For a forgotten moment, at the very start of the United States’ half-century-long war on drugs, public health was the weapon of choice. The moment was short-lived, of course. Mired in controversy and wanting to appear tough on crime, Nixon tacked right just months before resigning from office, and nearly every president after him — from Reagan to Clinton to Bush — followed the course he set. Before long, the funding ratio between public health and criminal justice measures flipped. Police and prison budgets soared, and anything related to health, medicine or social services was left to dangle by its own shoestring.
New York Times - Feb. 22, 2023
RI ignoring the needs of people with mental illness, addiction concerns
There was a time in which the State of Rhode Island took the needs of its vulnerable citizens much more seriously, with a behavioral health and social safety net that was a point of pride. We now see the evidence of this cultural erosion over the past 20 years: lack of access to behavioral health services, homeless encampments and the daily reality that families are on the brink of eviction because well over 50% of their income goes to housing expenses.
Providence Journal - Feb. 18, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Books and Movies
DMX's 10-year-old daughter plans to create a docuseries on drug addiction, as fentanyl overdoses surge in adolescents
Sonovah Hillman Jr.’s father, hip-hop icon DMX, died from a drug-overdose-induced heart attack in 2021. Sonovah Hillman Jr., the 10-year-old daughter of hip-hop icon and Grammy-nominated rapper DMX, is using her voice to spread awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, a potent opioid that is the leading contributor to overdoses in the U.S. In January, Sonovah announced that she plans to create a four-part documentary series to educate and spread awareness about fentanyl and drug addiction. In a YouTube video posted on Jan. 23, Sonovah says she lost her aunt and uncle, as well as her father, to drug addiction.
Yahoo! - Feb. 23, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments