The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - March 8, 2023
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
Crackdown on telehealth Rx concerns behavioral health community | How miscarriage can lead to prison for drug users
Fentanyl
House Republican makes debunked claim about fent. OD from skin contact | House panel holds hearing on fentanyl crisis
State and Local
Arkansas lawmakers consider fentanyl test strips | Colorado bill would ease access to opioids for chronic pain sufferers
Studies/Research in the News
Despite declining drug use, adolescent OD deaths are up | Psoriasis drug shows promise for treating alcohol use disorder
Opinion
Standup comedians tackle addiction | The unregulated “wild west” of ketamine treatment | Will loosened rules for buprenorphine prescribing help?
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National
Hayden Panettiere Is Standing Strong After Battling Addiction And Postpartum Depression
“Some people work out. I wish that was my coping mechanism,” Hayden says. “Alcohol might make you feel better in that moment, but it makes you feel so much worse the next day, and then you do it all over again.” Her drinking ramped up in 2014 after giving birth to her daughter and dealing with crippling postpartum depression, which she describes as feelings of “extreme hopelessness” and “like all the walls are closing in.”
Women’s Health - March 6, 2023
People with an opioid addiction are often in denial about their problem. Recovery requires a team effort
Opioids act on the reward system in the brain and release a “feel good” hormone called endorphin. The release of endorphins blocks the pain signals from the body to brain, reduces stress and creates a temporary sense of wellbeing. Recognising when the use of medication has become problematic is important.
The Guardian - March 5, 2023
Drew Barrymore Admits She Still Fears Being Sent Back To Rehab
Drew Barrymore has been candidly open about her struggles with drugs and alcohol over the years, first going to rehab when she was just 13. In a new Los Angeles Times profile on the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show”, she explains she’s maintained various levels of sobriety over the years, but revealed that her drinking intensified after her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman.
IMDB - March 5, 2023
DEA rules on prescribing controlled substances roil behavioral health
A federal crackdown on overprescribing controlled substances via telehealth is causing confusion and consternation in the behavioral health community over an in-person prescribing requirement for drugs used to treat pain and opioid use disorder.
Axios - March 3, 2023
How pregnancy loss can turn into a prison term
Inside Story examines the cases of women who lost their pregnancies and faced charges because they tested positive for drugs while pregnant — a practice experts expect to increase now that Roe has been overturned.
The Marshall Project - March 2, 2023
The Black opioid crisis reveals that barriers to treatment must come down
At the start of the crisis in the late 1990s, Black communities were among the least affected. Now, urban Black communities are ground zero for overdose deaths: Since 2019, drug overdose death rates among Blacks exceed that of Whites. Researchers call buprenorphine the “gold standard” opioid addiction treatment. It is quite literally a lifesaver for many patients living with opioid addiction. The problem is Black communities have very limited access to it, and it is rarely prescribed to Black people.
Boston Globe - March 2, 2023
Food addiction among seniors
A recent survey found 13 percent of adults between 50 and 80 years old are addicted to highly processed foods and almost half show at least one sign of food addiction. We talk to a University of Michigan psychologist about what qualifies as food addiction and why it’s on the rise.
Wisconsin Public Radio - March 2, 2023
The Equity Talk: One of America's largest insurance providers is making addiction and mental health a top focus for CEOs
In the latest installment of The Equity Talk, The Hartford's chief claims officer explained how mental health and substance use disorder are diversity and inclusion issues, the ways in which she's working with CEOs to provide more workers with better care, and how The Hartford is conducting research to change the national conversation on these issues.
Business Insider - March 2, 2023
Fight against alcohol makes Chris Kirk champion on, off course
Chris Kirk, the 37-year-old journeyman — as everyman nondescript as you can be alongside the megastars who currently dominate the PGA Tour landscape — not only was a tournament winner for the first time in 2,836 days, he was a winner for the first time as a sober man.
New York Post - March 2
15 Mass., RI addiction treatment programs closed after allegations of fraud
A chain of New England addiction treatment programs is now closed after its chief executive officer was arrested on health care fraud and other charges Thursday. Recovery Connection Centers of America operated 15 clinics in Rhode Island and Massachusetts serving about 1,600 patients.
WBUR - March 2, 2023
Opioid distributors cleared of liability to Georgia families ravaged by addiction
It was the first lawsuit to come to trial brought by individual victims of the opioid epidemic against pharmaceutical companies. On Wednesday afternoon, the victims lost. After deliberating barely a day and a half, the jury found that the companies — two of the country’s largest medical distributors, McKesson and Cardinal Health, and a third regional one — were not liable. The plaintiffs — 21 relatives from six families — had filed suit under a rarely used state law that permits relatives of people addicted to drugs to sue drug dealers.
New York Times - March 1, 2023
Naloxone empowers everyone to be an immediate responder and save lives in fight against nation’s opioid epidemic
“Having naloxone on hand means we have the ability to be immediate responders and make the difference between life and death for a family member, friend or stranger,” said Dr. Bonnie Milas, clinical professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) Committee on Trauma and Emergency Preparedness. Naloxone is easy to administer, can be used without training and will not cause negative effects if given to someone who doesn’t have opioids in their system.
Chron - Feb. 28, 2023
Battling Life-Threatening Addiction, Shaquille O’Neal Admits Sad Relapse Moment: “I Confess, It Felt Really Good”
O’Neal had been pushing himself to the limit throughout his career to keep performing at the highest level. In the process, he took lots of medication to fight through the pain and believed that he would not be able to play well without it. But these medications had become an addiction that threatened to end his life later on. After his retirement, Shaq once admitted that he hadn’t seen a doctor in 11 years. However, he was shocked to learn from the doctor during a long-due doctor’s appointment that there was a possibility he could die from his painkiller addiction. The doctor told him, “All those painkillers you were taking, bro? Your kidneys are kind of weak. No more painkillers.” This revelation made him realize that he needed to take control of his health and address his addiction.
Essentially Sports - Feb. 28, 2023
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Comments
Fentanyl
Family Sues Airbnb, Property Owner After Toddler Dies of Fentanyl Overdose on Vacation
The family of a 19-month-old girl who died from apparent exposure to fentanyl while staying at an Airbnb rental in 2021 is opening up about their story. Enora Lavenir's family is now suing the company, the property owner, the rental's manager, and a renter who had hosted a party in the Wellington, Fla. unit two weeks prior to the girl's death, per a new report from the Washington Post. No criminal charges have been brought, and investigators were unable to find evidence of the drug in the vacation rental, according to the Post.
People - March 4, 2023
House Republican Mark Green, A Doctor, Makes Debunked Claim About Fentanyl At CPAC
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), a physician, dubiously claimed at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday that touching fentanyl on a dollar bill can kill you. That prompted a diagnosis of “idiocy” on Twitter. The claim about casual fatal contact with the synthetic opioid has been making the rounds and has been dismissed as a myth. “You can’t overdose on fentanyl by touching a doorknob or dollar bill,” said Daniel Colby, co-medical director at UC-Davis Health’s Department of Emergency Medicine. The notion also got fact-checked by the Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact, which concluded: “It’s physically impossible to overdose from touching a dollar bill laced with fentanyl.”
Huffington Post - March 3, 2023
FDA to Restrict Import of Veterinary Tranquilizer Used in Illicit Drugs | Newsmax.com
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday issued an import alert for drug ingredients and products related to Xylazine, used largely as a veterinary tranquilizer but has been a drug of abuse, to restrict its unlawful entry into the United States.
Newsmax - March 3, 2023
Seattle health officials gird for "zombie drug"
Health officials in Seattle are bracing for a potential increase in overdoses tied to a powerful animal sedative, nicknamed "tranq" or "zombie drug," that's been showing up in opioids and other drugs.
Axios - March 3, 2023
Watch live: House panel holds hearing on the fentanyl crisis
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on Wednesday is holding a hearing on the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. Fentanyl can be manufactured legally for legitimate medical use. But, as USA Today reports, most illegally used fentanyl in the United States is smuggled into the country from Mexico, following a route that begins with precursor chemicals from China brought to Mexican cartels’ large volume manufacturers. Part of what makes fentanyl such a pervasive health threat is that users often take it unwittingly because it’s used to cut other drugs like oxycontin for street sale. The user has no idea of the dosage of a drug they don’t even know they’re taking, sometimes leading to deadly poisoning.
The Hill - March 1, 2023
State / Local
Arkansas: Fentanyl testing saves lives, activists say; changes sought to drug paraphernalia laws
Part of the work being done by NWA Harm Reduction includes providing fentanyl test strips, syringes, condoms and naloxone overdose reversal kits to people who are using drugs. The group also helps people ready to find services to help them end their addiction. As part of their work, the group has also been lobbying for changes in the state's drug laws making possession or use of fentanyl test strips a felony. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the test strips can be used to detect fentanyl in many kinds of drugs and drug forms, both pills and injectibles, and reduce the risk of overdose. At least two bills are pending in the state Legislature to address the test strips' classification as drug paraphernalia. Kelly said she's pleased the effort to change Arkansas drug laws has gained support.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - March 5, 2023
Illinois: ‘Too many are dying’; drug companies’ opioid settlement to help Chicago aid drug users
A $26 billion legal settlement that drug companies have agreed to with state and local governments across the country will provide Chicago with millions of dollars a year to help people suffering from opioid addiction, the mayor’s office said Friday. The state of Illinois was among governments that sued drug manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, whose parent company is Johnson & Johnson. The state also sued pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.
Chicago Sun-Times - March 4, 2023
Opioid-plagued Staten Island wrongly cut out of $1.5B settlement fund: pol
Staten Island is getting screwed out of its cut of a $1.5 billion settlement drug companies agreed to pay toward overdose prevention – despite the “forgotten borough” being “Ground Zero” of the Big Apple’s opioid epidemic, a local pol claims. The city’s share of the whopping legal payout is being allocated only to facilities in the city’s hospital system — and Staten Island is the only borough without a city-run hospital, Republican Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo told The Post.
New York Post - March 4, 2023
Colorado lawmaker introduces bill to provide easier access to opioids for chronic pain sufferers
Seven years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines aimed at stopping the over-prescription of opioid painkillers, patients who need those medications to ease chronic pain have been left suffering, some to the point of suicide. Now, state Sen. Joanne Ginal is stepping in with a bill to help. "We've done a great job at reducing opioid addiction but we need to pay attention to those people who need opioids in order to just live a normal life," she said.
CBS Colorado - March 3, 2023
Colorado: Mobile clinics bring addiction assistance to rural Colorado communities
Colorado state health officials and clinic partners are working together to service smaller communities with mobile health clinics tailored to treating addiction. On Wednesday, project leaders offered a tour of one of the mobile units at its stop in Woodland Park. This unit, based in Colorado Springs, visits Woodland Park once a week for a few hours, offering treatment to a handful of patients each time. The goal of these mobile clinics? To provide access to addiction assistance and treatment to rural and frontier communities. Officials say these communities tend to be disproportionately affected by substance abuse disorders.
KKTV - March 1, 2023
Democrat-backed bill sanctioning safe drug use sites passes Colorado public health committee
A controversial bill that would allow Colorado municipalities to establish overdose prevention centers passed the House Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services committee after seven hours of testimony on Wednesday along party lines.Previous efforts to designate legal sites for drug users have failed to make it out of the Colorado Legislature.
Courthouse News Service - March 1, 2023
Arkansas bill would implement overdose rescue kits on all public high schools and college campuses
The state legislature now taking action in a crisis Arkansas has been plagued by for years: drug overdoses. A new house bill would require all high schools and state colleges to have an overdose rescue kit on campus if passed.
Fox 16 - Feb. 28, 2023
Texas: Community efforts against fentanyl heartening to see
Galveston County in 2020 had the second-highest per capita rate of fentanyl deaths in the state of Texas. The experts tell us there’s no reason to believe that has improved. Les McColgin, 71, a fentanyl awareness advocate, installed a Narcan dispenser at One Stop Hardware, 8101 Wallace Ave. in Hitchcock. It was the second Narcan dispenser to be installed in the county of 355,000 residents. The first was installed in January at Hart Pharmacy, 202 state Highway 3 in La Marque. Narcan, a brand name for Naloxone, is a medication that can revive people who’ve overdosed on opioids like fentanyl, heroin and prescription opioid medications when it’s administered in time, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Galveston County Daily News - Feb. 28, 2023
Studies/Research in the News
Drug Overdose Deaths Among Persons Aged 10–19 Years
U.S. drug overdose deaths increased 30% from 2019 to 2020 and 15% in 2021, resulting in an estimated 108,000 deaths in 2021.* Among persons aged 14–18 years, overdose deaths increased 94% from 2019 to 2020 and 20% from 2020 to 2021, although illicit drug use declined overall among surveyed middle and high school students during 2019–2020.
Medscape - March 7, 2023
Drug found to ‘significantly reduce’ alcohol consumption may help overcome addiction
A study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found a prescription drug commonly used to treat psoriasis in adults could potentially be used to reduce alcohol consumption and addiction, according to a study. Researchers, including those from Scripps Research Institute in the US, found the drug Apremilast can “significantly reduce” alcohol consumption by over 50 per cent in individuals with severe alcohol use disorder (AUD).
The Independent - March 6, 2023
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Coming Soon To An HR Department Near You
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University recently report that Ketamine is an effective pharmacological to treating cocaine addiction, which leads to roughly one of every five drug overdose deaths in the United States. The study, published in a recent issue of the journal Addiction, combined artificial intelligence (AI), human intelligence, clinical testing and computer analysis. Participants with cocaine use disorder who were administered Ketamine for depression or pain experienced a two-to-four times higher remission rate.
Forbes - March 1, 2023
Opinion
‘Addiction can be funny’: the standups tackling drugs, booze, psychosis and self-harm on stage
Rich Hardisty cut himself, Harriet Dyer numbed her pain with drugs. A new wave of comics are working out their issues in their acts. But is it really helping them? And should we be laughing?
The Guardian - March 6, 2023
The ‘Wild West’ of Ketamine Treatment
Most Ketamine treatments have never received F.D.A. approval for treatment of depression. In small studies it appears to be effective, though it clearly has risks. There is no pathway for approval, since ketamine has been generic for many decades, and there is little room for profit. As a result, without insurance coverage, patients often pay $500 or more out of pocket per IV treatment, or receive ketamine through the internet at low prices with often minimal oversight. What we need in this country is a process for requiring manufacturers to seek F.D.A. approval where there are high rates of off-label use.
New York Times - March 5, 2023
More Doctors Can Now Prescribe a Key Opioid Treatment. Will it Help?
The federal government loosened regulations for buprenorphine, but health experts warn that entrenched problems around training and access could stall efforts to get people the medication.
New York Times - March 3, 2023
On the frontline of the opioid crisis, counties must spend settlement money wisely
An organization that helps Wayne and its sister counties recently partnered with a national health policy nonprofit to tackle a seemingly straightforward question: How do we best spend the millions in settlement funds on responses that work? The Michigan Opioid Settlement Funds Toolkit: A Guide for Local Spending, developed by the Michigan Association of Counties and Vital Strategies provides local governments, community organizations and health care providers with guiding principles, tips on key processes and useful resources to develop and track spending plans for the incoming opioid settlement funds.
Detroit Free Press - March 1, 2023
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Let’s Talk Addiction and Recovery (Hazelden Betty Ford) – Title
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 – Title
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. – Title
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 - Title
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 – Title
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!
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments