The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips, July 6, 2022
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
FDA bans Juul products | Lack of consensus on pornography addiction
Fentanyl
DEA finds nationwide spike in overdoses
State and Local
Buffalo citizens concerned about location of SUD treatment facility | North Dakota extends treatment voucher program to facilities in bordering states
Studies/Research in the News
A device to relieve pain without drugs | Brain circuit linked to spontaneous nicotine remission targeted for addiction treatment
Opinion
Shatterproof CEO, Gary Mendell, on finding right addiction treatment for loved ones | WSJ op ed questions NYC harm reduction policies
Books and Movies
Matt Rowland Hill recounts heroin addiction in “Original Sins” memoir | “Night of the Living Rez” explores Native American poverty and addiction
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National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
National
Noah Cyrus says her Xanax addiction was a ‘bottomless pit’
The 22-year-old singer told Rolling Stone magazine that she first took Xanax, which is a brand name for the prescription drug alprazolam, a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorder and panic disorder, after a boyfriend gave it to her. "Once I felt that it was possible to silence things out for a second and numb your pain, it was over," recalled the 22-year-old singer.
Today - July 5, 2022
The Problem of "Porn Addiction"
The problem of "pornography addiction" is much discussed on the internet, including here on the pages of Psychology Today. However, as French psychologist Barbara Smaniotto and her colleagues point out in a recent article, there’s no consensus within the professional community as to whether problematic porn use should be thought of as an addiction in the same sense that psychoactive substance abuse is.
Psychology Today - July 1, 2022
What to Know About Using TikTok as a Mental Health Resource
TikTok has become a platform for thousands of healthcare professionals, including psychiatrists, therapists, and mental health advocates. They use the app’s widespread reach to talk to audiences about everything from depression to ADHD. In 2020 52.9 million Americans lived with mental illnessTrusted Source. That’s nearly one in five adults.
Healthline - July 1, 2022
The Federal Website That’s Supposed to Help ‘Find Treatment’ Needs Work, Experts Say
In 2019, the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, launched FindTreatment.gov, intended as a definitive go-to site for those seeking treatment for substance use disorder. An issue with the site for many is that its administrators clearly struggle to keep the information up to date. Users report that, not uncommonly, treatment facilities listed have closed or moved or aren’t accepting new patients. But a bigger issue for many is that FindTreatment.gov doesn’t provide assessments of the quality of the facilities listed on the site. There is a website, ATLAS, operated by the nonprofit Shatterproof, that compares treatment facilities for quality. It provides information on facilities in six states, with plans to expand nationally.
The Daily Yonder - June 30, 2022
FDA Rules To Ban Juul Products
On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) to Juul Labs Inc. that mandates the company must stop selling and distributing “all of their products currently marketed in the US marketplace.”
Addiction Center - June 28, 2022
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Comments
Fentanyl
Hawaii: Fentanyl meeting addresses youth addiction, rising amount of drug found on Big Island
Concerned community members gathered at the Clem Akina Park Community Center on Thursday for a presentation about addiction and the dangers of fentanyl. Representatives from the East Hawaii Drug Free Coalition, the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center, Blue Zones Project, West Hawaii Community Health Center, Hawaii Police Department and several other organizations were in attendance, stressing the statistic that every 13 days, someone on the Big Island dies from a drug overdose, mostly associated with fentanyl.
West Hawaii Today - July 4, 2022
Deadly dupes: Nationwide spike in mass-overdoses, teen deaths due to fentanyl-laced drugs, DEA says
The Drug Enforcement Administration is sounding the alarm on a deadly trend amid a nationwide spike in mass overdoses. One dangerous drug is behind it all: fentanyl. It's so bad, we're losing a life to overdose every five minutes, according to the director of National Drug Control Policy. Across all 50 states, fentanyl is running rampant.
ABC7 Chicago - July 1, 2022
State / Local
Texas: University Of Texas To Invest Millions In Student Mental Health And Related Services
The University of Texas System will spend $16.5 million dollars over the next five years to expand and improve student mental health services, student safety and alcohol education resources at its 13 campuses. The new investments were approved at a special meeting of the System Board of Regents this week.
Forbes - July 1, 2022
New York: Buffalo community members concerned over addiction clinic
The data shows there is a need for a place that can help. But an opioid treatment center going up in Buffalo's University District is not being welcomed by everyone in the community. People living nearby say they're worried about safety in their neighborhood while the people behind the treatment center say the project is greatly needed. A Seneca Nation affiliate is looking to open the treatment center on Kensington Avenue. Neighbors have started a petition to stop it, saying they had no idea it was coming and this happens too often in Black communities.
Spectrum News 1 - July 1, 2022
North Dakota: Nearby states welcomed into North Dakota Substance Use Disorder Voucher Program
The North Dakota Department of Human Services says the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Voucher Program will soon be extended to licensed treatment providers in states on the border of North Dakota. Originally established in 2016, the SUD Voucher Program was created to support eligible residents of North Dakota who need assistance in accessing addiction treatment and recovery services. During the 2021 legislative season, ND lawmakers passed House Bill 1402, granting out-of-state providers the option to access the SUD Voucher Program.
KXNET - June 30, 2022
Florida: Woman who ran sober homes headed to prison for role in Kenny Chatman's million-dollar fraud scheme
Prosecutors say Marthe Hippolyte of Wellington received more than $250,000 in bribes and kickbacks to steer patients to Kenny Chatman's phony treatment center.
Palm Beach Post - June 30, 2022
British Columbia: New Rapid Access to Addiction Care clinic opens in Abbotsford
People with substance-use challenges living in Abbotsford and surrounding communities have better access to addiction medicine with the opening of the Fraser East Rapid Access to Addiction Care (RAAC) clinic. The new clinic serves people who have challenges with alcohol, benzodiazepines, nicotine, stimulants (cocaine, crystal methamphetamine) and opioids by providing low-barrier access to addiction medicine and medication-assisted treatment. The clinic will be staffed by doctors, nurses, clinical support workers, social workers and group therapists.
BC Gov News - June 30, 2022
Florida: Two convicted in $1.4B fraud scheme preying on rural hospitals
Two brothers have been convicted for their roles in a $1.4 billion fraud scheme that used financially distressed rural hospitals in the Southeast to unlawfully bill for laboratory services, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.
Fierce Health Care - June 29, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Adolescents more vulnerable to cannabis addiction but not other mental health risks, study finds
Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, finds a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.
Science Daily - July 1, 2022
This Stretchy Device Wraps Around Nerves to Relieve Pain Without Drugs
On Thursday, Northwestern University researchers announced they've developed a fresh, new angle on pain relief -- and critically, one that doesn't require the use of highly addictive opioids. It's a small, soft, stretchy device that can be implanted under a patient's skin to gently wrap around nerves responsible for troubling pain signals. Typically, when such signals reach the brain, that's when you feel a prick, ache, burn or other type of painful sensation.
CNET - July 1, 2022
A Circuit Causally Linked With Spontaneous Nicotine Addiction Remissions May Be a Powerful Addiction Treatment Target
By studying 129 people who were daily cigarette smokers and addicted to nicotine at the time they suffered brain damage, a team of researchers has identified a brain network that they believe is causally linked with remission from nicotine addiction.
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation - June 30, 2022
Dissolving implantable device relieves pain without drugs
Researchers have developed a small, soft, flexible implant that relieves pain on demand and without the use of drugs. The first-of-its-kind device could provide a much-needed alternative to opioids and other highly addictive medications.
Science Daily - June 30, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Opinion
Helping families access and find the right addiction treatment center for loved ones
As I founded Shatterproof, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in our country, revolutionizing the addiction treatment system in America needed to be a priority focus for the organization. I am happy to say that today, the citizens of Oklahoma now have the system that didn’t exist for my family. ATLAS, accessed at www.TreatmentATLAS.org, provides communities with a thorough understanding of what addiction treatment is available to them and how those facilities are adhering to Shatterproof’s National Principles of Care — eight principles of evidence-based treatment speaking to the quality of care within the addiction field.
Tulsa World - June 30, 2022
Fentanyl Use Is Empowering?
The New York City Health Department’s “Let’s Talk Fentanyl” campaign made headlines for placing posters that promoted illegal drug use: “Don’t be ashamed you are using, be empowered that you are using safely.” Amid an unprecedented overdose crisis, public-health officials should acknowledge the impossibility of “using safely.” Treatment with the goal of full recovery is the way to prevent overdoses.
Wall Street Journal - June 29, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments
Books and Movies
Original Sins by Matt Rowland Hill review – electric account of heroin addiction
The author’s artfully constructed debut is a painfully comic and thrillingly immediate memoir about the torments of drug dependency. Part of what makes Original Sins so electric from the off (witness the prologue in which, aged 30, he’s frantically shooting up at a funeral) is how often Hill lets us see him lying.
The Guardian - July 4, 2022
'Night of the Living Rez' chronicles one tribe's struggle with poverty and addiction
NPR's Melissa Block talks with author Morgan Talty about his book, "Night of the Living Rez," a series of short stories about members of a Native American tribe wrestling with poverty and addiction.
NPR - July 2, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Comments