The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - August 9, 2023
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
Professions with the highest rates of substance use disorder | Teens with substance use disorder often left to detox without medication
State and Local
Oregon addiction task force proposal signed into law | New York media campaign to raise awareness of addiction, sevices
Studies/Research in the News
Could gut microbiome discovery lead to new treatments for substance use disorder?
Opinion
Marijuana use disorders not taken seriously in peer support groups | A pandemic story of pills and gin
Books and Movies
Jacinta documentary highlights family pattern of addiction and incarceration
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National
60% of Americans battling drug or alcohol addictions also have jobs. Here are the professions with the highest rates of substance-use disorder
Of the 46 million Americans who struggle with at least one substance-use disorder, most—some 60% of those over the age of 12—have a job, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That’s an uncomfortable and largely unacknowledged reality in American business, where talking about addiction to alcohol or drugs has traditionally been taboo.
Fortune - Aug. 4, 2023
Teens With Addiction Are Often Left to Detox Without Medication
Teens who land in emergency rooms with an opioid overdose generally receive naloxone to reverse the effects of dangerous drugs in their system and are sent home with a list of places they can go for follow-up care. But too often, those teens never seek additional help. They are left to suffer through the agony of withdrawal with no medications to ease their cravings. As a result, many, seeking relief, go back to opioids, often with tragic consequences.
Kaiser Family Foundation - Aug. 4, 2023
Compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
It could not be any clearer to employers that compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) will be a—maybe the—top health and welfare benefit priority for federal regulators for years to come.
National Law Review - Aug. 4, 2023
Dennis Quaid Opens up About Cocaine Addiction
Dennis Quaid is getting real about his struggle with cocaine addiction shaped his character and fueled his turn to his faith after rehab. Speaking with PEOPLE as part of their latest cover story, detailing his time as an addict 30 years ago, and what led him to record a gospel album, titled Fallen: A Gospel Record For Sinners.
Popculture - Aug. 4, 2023
Overcoming Addiction in the Restaurant Industry
I’m here today writing this — as a now-successful owner of several restaurants — because I got help. It was the toughest thing I ever did in my life. Words cannot adequately capture what getting clean was like. I don’t blame my addiction on the restaurant industry. But it was in this industry that my addiction found ways to flourish. The realities of working in a restaurant put the onus on those of us who are owners to think intentionally about the work environment we’ve created.
Modern Restaurant Management - Aug. 3, 2023
Opioid settlement cash intended to fight addiction fills a local budget gap
Mendocino County in rural Northern California has reported the highest rate of overdose deaths in the state. Yet, its board of supervisors decided to use more than $63,000 of opioid settlement funds — about 6.5% of all the settlement cash the county has received in the first two years of distribution— to help fill a general budget shortfall of about $6 million.
NPR - Aug. 2, 2023
Alberta premier’s addictions mandate includes controversial involuntary treatment law
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued another mandate letter Wednesday, this time to her minister of mental health and addiction. Highlights of the plan include additional mental health resources for youth — in classroom, community and First Nations — and more spaces for long- and short-term addiction treatment and recovery across the province. Smith’s letter also tells the minister to “develop compassionate intervention legislation, supporting facilities and legal processes to save the lives of those who are a danger to themselves or others.”
Global News - Aug. 2, 2023
Angus Cloud dealt with drug addiction, grief and prior overdose
In the days and months before Angus Cloud’s death in his native Oakland Monday, the 25-year-old “Euphoria” star was struggling with despair over the death of his beloved father, as well as a reported drug addiction, with a man claiming to be his former talent manager saying that his addiction was “severe” and that he had to be revived by Narcan after an overdose in January 2022.
San Jose Mercury News - Aug. 1, 2023
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Comments
State / Local
California: Santa Clara County will pay drug addicts to get clean
Santa Clara County is trying a unique way to intervene in drug addiction by doling out gift cards. A pilot program is launching in the next few weeks for those addicted to methamphetamine and other stimulant drugs. Participants will be given gift cards for each negative drug test they take over a 24-week period. They will receive nothing if they test positive. This approach to addressing drug addiction is based on the idea of “contingency management,” which is when people are financially rewarded each time they test negative for stimulant drugs. Programs have shown positive results in both clinical trials and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
San Jose Spotlight - Aug. 4, 2023
New York launches media campaign to raise awareness of addiction, services
The state has launched of a new media campaign to raise awareness of addiction, and the services available to those impacted by addiction and their families. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said the campaign is designed to educate the public about the potential risks of fentanyl, as well as the importance of harm reduction services, and how and where to find help for addiction in New York state.
Olean Times Herald - Aug. 4, 2023
Oregon Addiction Task Force Propsal Signed into Law
Signed into law, House Bill 3610 seeks to establish the Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services to study issues related to alcohol addiction, including the benefits and drawbacks of imposing taxes on beer and wine.
Brewers Association - Aug. 4, 2023
West Virginia: Capito announces resources to help address addiction crisis in West Virginia
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, announced on August 3, 2023, funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and Marshall University. The resources will support the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)-Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Program and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service Grants, which both aim to tackle the addiction crisis.
West Virginia Daily News - Aug. 4, 2023
Indiana: Landmark Recovery addiction centers files petition to reinstate licenses
Leaders with Landmark Recovery addiction treatment centers filed a petition to reinstate its licenses on Friday. The Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction revoked the licenses for Praxis Landmark Recovery locations across the state at the end of July following four deaths at two of its facilities this year.
21 Alive News - Aug. 4, 2023
Connecticut: Former nonprofit executive charged with stealing from addiction and mental health organization
A federal grand jury indicted a Waterford woman in late July on allegations that she committed fraud and theft against the nonprofit she worked for, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Thursday. Michele Devine, former executive director of the Norwich-based Southeastern Regional Action Council on Substance Abuse, is accused of spending thousands of the organization's own dollars on personal expenses during her time as director.
NBC - Aug. 3, 2023
Indiana: Former employee of addiction center arrested in drug investigation
Another former employee of an Evansville addiction center has been arrested on drug dealing charges. Earlier this year police arrested 52-year-old Michael Hagedorn, the former owner of NOW Counseling, after they say they seized a large amount of drugs. Now, police have charged 54-year-old Aubra Ferguson in connection with the case.
14 News - Aug. 3, 2023
Minnesota: Amid addiction need, Augsburg's student recovery program seeks more participants
Since it launched in 1997, StepUP has stood out among Twin Cities collegiate recovery programs for its longevity and impact on students. Now, citing increases in drug and alcohol substance use disorder nationwide, Augsburg welcomes students from outside the university’s gates to participate in its program.
Minnesota Public Radio - Aug. 2, 2023
Illinois: Cook County Jail takes ‘SMART’ approach to addiction
The Sheriff’s Men’s Addiction Recovery Treatment, or SMART, Program and a sister program called “THRIVE” for female detainees, grew out of a realization that overdose deaths countywide are skyrocketing...especially those involving fentanyl.
NBC - Aug. 2, 2023
Washington: Seattle Mayor Harrell Announces Efforts to Improve Addiction Treatment, Proposes Legislation to Reduce Public Consumption of Fentanyl and Other Illegal Drugs
Advancing health-focused approach, Mayor Harrell announces spending plan for $27 million investment toward innovative facilities and treatment programs to address addiction. Informed by law enforcement, service providers, and impacted communities, the mayor’s proposed legislation will emphasize diversion and health programs while allowing arrests for public consumption of illegal drugs.
Office of Mayor Bruce Harrell - July 31, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Gut microbiome discovery could lead to new drug addiction treatments
A new study has provided the first evidence of a link between the gut microbiome and cocaine use and the cravings that follow withdrawal. The findings open the door to potential treatments for drug addiction and relapse prevention.
New Atlas - Aug. 3, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Opinion
Marijuana Addicts Say Nobody Takes Them Seriously
We know, we know: it's easy to poke fun at the notion that someone could really be addicted to pot. But as The Washington Post reports, the fact remains that although it poses little risk to most people, cannabis addiction is very real for a minority who say they're badly struggling — and the social stigma around it isn't exactly helping the folks who are struggling with a weed dependency. "It's been frustrating because you’re not taken seriously," a 37-year-old Missouri mother named Courtney recently told WaPo of her marijuana addiction. "People say it's not as severe as meth, or alcohol, that it's not that bad. They think it's not an addiction."
Futurism - Aug. 2, 2023
During covid, I turned to gin and pills. They almost undid me.
Covid gave me 2 options: Give in to alcohol addiction, or choose life. In the pandemic, drinking seemed like a completely rational and reasonable reaction to what was happening. Choosing sobriety was actually quite simple. Breaking my habits, and forming new ones, is hard as hell.
Washington Post - Aug. 2, 2023
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Books and Movies
Inherited cycle of drug addiction and incarceration is at the centre of the film Jacinta
Documentary film from Victoria's Jessica Earnshaw is a raw, unflinching look at inherited trauma and its aftermath. A damagingly close bond between mother-and-daughter addicts sits at the centre of Victoria native Jessica Earnshaw‘s compelling debut documentary film Jacinta.
Vancouver Sun - Aug. 4, 2023
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