The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - January 31, 2024
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
Tianeptine emerging as new addiction concern | Perinatal addiction treatment is crucial | Dana Carvey loses son, Dex, to overdose
State and Local
U.S. DOJ battles Pennsylvania courts over opioid addiction treatment | NY vending machines provide harm reduction options
Studies/Research in the News
Brain researchers establish link between motivation and addiction | The potential promise of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for addiction
Opinion
Sorry folks, no amount of alcohol is safe | Maia Szalavitz on pain medicine post-addiction
Books and Movies
Two Sundance entries (“Outrun” and “Inheritance”) focus lens on addiction | How Dostoyevsky overcame a gambling addiction
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National
Tianeptine addiction is worrying lawmakers
The U.S. is suffering from an opioid problem, and now a dangerous drug is being sold in the country's gas stations and convenience stores. This especially accessible drug, tianeptine, is marketed as a dietary supplement but, in a manner similar to opioids, is causing addiction and overdose deaths across the country. Lawmakers want the government to take stronger measures against the distribution of tianeptine.
The Week - Jan. 26, 2024
Addiction In Pregnancy Needs To Be Addressed; RWJBarnabas Takes Steps
It's something that is not often talked about: A young woman is pregnant. However, she is also unable to stop using alcohol, marijuana, tobacco or other drugs during her pregnancy and afterwards, even though she knows they are hurting her and her baby. That's why this January RWJBarnabas Health launched a brand-new program to help doctors, midwives and nurses detect the signs of substance abuse in pregnant women.
Patch.com - Jan. 26, 2024
Dex Carvey, son of Dana Carvey, cause of death at age 32 revealed
Dex Carvey, the eldest son of "Saturday Night Live" alum and "Wayne's World" star Dana Carvey and his wife Paula Zwagerman, died of an accidental drug overdose, the office of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Tuesday. Dex Carvey died on Nov. 15, 2023, at the age of 32 after ingesting a combination of fentanyl, ketamine and cocaine, the report said.
CBS - Jan. 24, 2024
Is alcohol addiction a serious problem among radiologists?
The case of a radiologist who crashed into multiple cars, a road sign, and a tree while almost three times the blood-alcohol limit has focused attention on the grave risks of addiction. Failure to seek help and get treated can have serious consequences, an expert has warned. “Medical practitioners are well known for not having a general practitioner and not getting help, especially with addiction illnesses,” an expert source told AuntMinnie.com, adding that seeking assistance urgently requires destigmatizing.
AuntMinnie.com - Jan. 24, 2024
To put a dent in opioid addiction, start with the corrections system
Pilot programs have offered incarcerated individuals medications for opioid use disorder, but now it’s time to start expanding those programs for long-term success, observers say. Incarcerated individuals have the hardest time receiving medication for treatment even though they are often the most vulnerable to opioid use disorders.
Route Fifty - Jan. 24, 2024
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Comments
State / Local
Minnesota needs more than tactics to reduce addiction
More than 1,000 Minnesotans per year die of overdoses, some of them children. Almost every Minnesotan knows a family that has lost a loved one to illegal drugs. The government has no strategy for either prevention or redemption of addicts.
Morrison County Record - Jan. 26, 2024
Nevada: Inside Washoe County's STAR program recovery home for ex-inmates overcoming addiction
A new recovery home for inmates of the Washoe County Jail, called STAR House, is offering an alternative setting for rehabilitation, specifically for ex-inmates who are working to overcome addiction.
News 4 - Jan. 25, 2024
Montana receives funds to combat opioid addiction
“From 2018 to 2021, there was a over 60% increase of overdose deaths (in Montana) that was measured between those three years,” said Greenberg. While there's no single person or player to blame, some help is on the way with the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust. “Montana is anticipating about 75 million dollars to come in over 16 to 18 years,” said RiverStone Health Vice President of Public Health and Clinic Services Eric Owen.
KTVQ - Jan. 25, 2024
Pennsylvania: DOJ battles Pa. courts over opioid addiction treatment
The U.S. Department of Justice has broadened its accusations that Pennsylvania courts discriminate against people with opioid use disorder by restricting access to medications widely seen in the medical community as life-saving.
Spotlight PA - Jan. 25, 2024
California: Kern County DA seeks signatures for 'Homeless, Drug Addiction, Retail Theft Reduction Act'
Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced signature collection stations for the Homeless, Drug Addiction, Retail Theft Reduction Act, a push for change in Proposition 47 and to demand stricter consequences.
Bakersfield Now - Jan. 25, 2024
Montana: Northwest addiction treatment centers will remain open after state inspections
Recovery Centers of Montana has been under the microscope for admitting clients before they detox and failing to quickly report serious incidents.
Montana Free Press - Jan. 25, 2024
California: Addiction researchers want to kill powerful California panel
Researchers across California are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top state officials to kill a powerful but little-known state advisory panel that they say is hindering addiction research and hurting some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
San Francisco Chronicle - Jan. 24, 2024
Delaware: Homelessness focus of latest opioid response briefing from Delaware
Two-thirds of Delawareans accessing federal grant-funded addiction services in the last fiscal year did not have stable housing, and 7% were living on the street.These statistics from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services formed the backbone of the department's first Opioid Response Briefing of 2024, which was held Monday morning.
Delaware Online - Jan. 23, 2024
New York: Hochul’s plan to address the opioid epidemic falls short
The average New Yorker has to travel nearly 10 miles to access methadone, a New York Focus analysis found. Upstate, they have to go even further.
New York Focus - Jan. 23, 2024
New York: NY vending machines give opioid addiction treatment options
The latest weapon in the field of harm reduction: a new vending machine unveiled outside the Kenmore Volunteer Fire Department, the first in Western New York and one of about a dozen across New York designed for those battling addiction.
Spectrum News 1 - Jan. 22, 2024
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Researchers Establish Brain Pathway Linking Motivation, Addiction and Disease
Over 86 billion neurons are in the human brain, roughly 450,000 of which generate dopamine — a powerful neurotransmitter that drives motivated behavior, learning and habit formation. Now, researchers say one brain region, the cerebellum, may hold more influence over these dopamine neurons than realized. New findings published in the journal Nature Neuroscience have shed light on a mysterious pathway between the reward center of the brain that is key to how we form habits.
New Jersey Institute of Technology - Jan. 25, 2024
‘Reduce the cravings;’ New study offers potential treatment for opioid addictions
A new study at a Pennsylvania hospital is bringing hope in the fight against opioid addiction. Doctors at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh are looking for candidates to take part in a new study to treat severe opioid addiction. Research using a well-established technique called deep brain stimulation or DBS is underway at AHN. DBS has been used since the 1980s to treat movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease and is now being used for so much more. Dr. Tomycz is the principal investigator for a pilot study that is underway at the AHN to explore DBS for addictions. DBS involves stimulating a specific brain region with electrical pulses with electrodes that are implanted in the brain’s addiction and reward center.
WHIO - Jan. 25, 2024
Alcohol, drug addiction rewires the brain by changing how genes work
A popular misconception is that addiction is a result of low willpower. But an explosion of knowledge and technology in the field of molecular genetics has changed our basic understanding of addiction drastically over the past decade. Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control.
The Hindu - Jan. 23, 2024
Unlocking the Brain's Secret to Powerful Memories and Addiction
Recent research reveals a novel brain mechanism that creates powerful memories, influencing actions like drug addiction. Focusing on cocaine experiences, the study found that the collaboration of nerve cells across multiple brain regions underpins these enduring memories. This large-scale neural cooperation might explain the persistence of strong, unwanted memories, with implications for understanding addiction. This breakthrough offers crucial insights into developing treatments for addiction and memory-related disorders.
Neuroscience News - Jan. 22, 2024
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Opinion
Sorry, folks: No amount of alcohol is ‘safe.’ We have to stop pretending it is.
Dry January is as good a time as any to face a sobering reality: No amount of alcohol is “safe.” This contradicts the story we’ve been told for years, which was that having small amounts of alcohol — say, a glass of red wine at dinner — is healthy, and better than not drinking anything at all.
Philadelphia Inquirer - Jan. 28, 2024
Mental illness, addiction can cause homelessness
We should all agree that our city has done a miserable job providing truly affordable housing for those who need it most. We also lack a coherent strategy for providing emergency subsidies for those facing eviction — with nowhere to go — when their landlord raises the rent. But it’s not a “false cliche” to say mental illness, drug addiction and criminality cause homelessness. Those factors also keep people on the street and influence their unwillingness (or inability) to accept a shelter bed or other housing.
San Diego Union Tribune - Jan 24, 2024
Maia Szalavitz: After My Heroin Addiction, Would Pain Medicine Set Me Back?
Last summer, I learned that I needed major oral surgery, including having some teeth removed, bone grafts and implants. I’d dreaded the prospect for years, but it could no longer be postponed. Beyond fear of pain and temporary disfigurement from missing teeth, I had another major concern: I was addicted to heroin in my 20s. If the pain after the two scheduled procedures was severe enough, I might need to take opioids. There’s a common belief that people with past addictions should never take any potentially addictive substances for medical reasons — period. As a result, some languish in extreme pain because they believe that drug exposure will cause them to lose control and immediately return to active addiction. But the truth is, “while euphoria associated with drugs may be a trigger, the stress of profound pain also puts someone at risk of relapse,” said Dr. Sarah Wakeman, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. When participants were told that their drinks contained alcohol, even if they were actually placebos, people drank more. The reverse was also true: When they were given alcoholic drinks labeled as nonalcoholic, they drank less than their counterparts. In other words, it was belief in the idea that alcohol exposure leads to loss of control that increased consumption, not the alcohol itself.
New York Times - Jan. 22, 2024
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Books and Movies
Makers of 'The Outrun' hope to encourage empathy for addiction
The Outrun is based on a memoir of the same name by Amy Liptrot — it’s her story of addiction recovery and healing set on Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands. Fans of the book will notice some differences in the film.
Utah Public Radio - Jan. 25, 2024
How Dostoevsky overcame his gambling addiction
Dostoevsky had to write The Gambler in two months. He had no choice. He had accepted 3,000 roubles from a publisher named Stellovsky to keep his creditors at bay. If he failed to deliver a work of not less than ten printer’s sheets (160 pages) by November 1, 1866, Stellovsky would receive the rights and income for all of Dostoevsky’s previous and future work for nine years. His gambling mania had first seized him in 1863 on a tour of Europe, where he developed a passion for roulette.
The Conversation - Jan. 24, 2025
'Inheritance' documentary explores generations of poverty, trauma and addiction
A new documentary looks at one family in Appalachian Ohio suffering from generations of poverty, trauma and addiction. They are not alone. One in eight children in the U.S. reportedly live in homes where one parent has a substance abuse problem. The documentary is unflinching in depicting the lives that so many Americans face but are so rarely seen. "Inheritance" is screening at the Slamdance Film Festival.
WBUR - Jan. 23, 2024
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