The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery news clips - December 21, 2022
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
Alcohol poisonings in Turkey, India highlight the importance of “safe supply” | Biden Administration aims to loosen restrictions on addiction medication | U.S. AG Garland directs federal prosecutors to end sentencing disparities for powder vs. crack cocaine
Fentanyl
WSJ article maps the spread of fentanyl ODs
State and Local
CA legislator to take another try at decriminalizing psychedelics | Colorado campaign aims to reduce stigma for maternal addiction
Studies/Research in the News
NIDA finds adolescent substance use at or significantly below pre-pandemic levels | Drug- and alcohol-related deaths among the elderly a growing concern
Opinion
Is Canadian government addicted to alcohol? | Complex reasons for relapse
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National
37 die in Indian state due to toxic alcohol
Toxic hooch has killed at least 37 people in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, where alcohol is banned, officials said on Saturday, with unconfirmed reports putting the death toll at more than 70. Selling and consuming liquor is banned in several parts of the South Asian country, driving a thriving black market for potent backstreet moonshine sometimes laced with ethanol that kills hundreds every year.
The Manilla Times - Dec. 18, 2022
22 Die in Istanbul From Bootleg Alcohol Poisoning
At least 22 people have died in Istanbul and 16 others have been hospitalized and are in serious condition after drinking bootleg alcohol, the local governor’s office said Friday, as authorities intensified a crackdown on counterfeit drinks across Turkey ahead of New Year's celebrations. Authorities have launched a nationwide operation to crackdown on bootleg alcohol production, conducting raids on about 300 locations and seizing thousands of liters of counterfeit alcohol, the report said.
U.S. News and World Report - Dec. 17, 2022
How The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan survived his battle with addiction and a brain infection
A true Christmas miracle for punk rock's wildest star: How The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan survived his battle with addiction and a brain infection fight to retain his status as the unlikely patron saint of Yuletide. Shane MacGowan found stardom difficult, and turned to alcohol and drugs. In 2000 he was put into rehab into life-saving rehab for heroin use. Earlier this month he was admitted to hospital suffering from viral encephalitis. Now he is back at home and on the road to recovery.
The Daily Mail - Dec. 17, 2022
People dying of opioid overdoses may get better access to life-saving meds
Buprenorphine and methadone reduce cravings for opioids and ease withdrawal symptoms, helping people avoid relapses and deadly overdoses. But as fatal opioid overdoses surge in the U.S., topping 80,000 deaths last year, access to these medications remains severely limited. Wang says in part that's because of complex, often punitive federal regulations that restrict how these medicines are prescribed and dispensed. Now the Biden administration is moving to reform and liberalize federal rules for treating opioid addiction, the first major overhaul in two decades.
NPR - Dec. 17, 2022
Attorney General Garland instructs prosecutors to end sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine
Attorney General Merrick Garland instructed federal prosecutors Friday to end sentencing disparities between offenders convicted of crimes involving crack and powder cocaine, a decadeslong policy that has led to disproportionate prison sentences for Black Americans compared to Whites. Garland’s memo states that the disparity is “simply not supported by science,” as there are “no significant pharmacological differences between the drugs.” Currently, a five-year mandatory sentence is triggered for possession of 28 grams of crack cocaine, while the same mandatory sentence for possession of powder cocaine requires 500 grams – a nearly 18 to 1 disparity.
CNN - Dec. 16, 2022
Lawsuit seeks access to withdrawal medication for prisoners
Civil rights advocates have filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Corrections Department seeking to ensure access for prison inmates to medication that reduces opioid withdrawal symptoms or cravings.
AP - Dec. 16, 2022
Bengals’ Adam Zimmer died from chronic alcohol abuse
Former Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Analyst Adam Zimmer died of chronic alcohol abuse, according to the coroner’s report released Friday. Zimmer died unexpectedly on Oct. 31 at his Minnesota home. He was 38 years old.
Fox 19 - Dec. 16, 2022
During Covid, A Different Public Health Crisis Worsened
In 2018, something remarkable happened: US opioid overdose deaths declined for the first time in two decades. It looked for a moment like efforts to stem painkiller abuse and addiction were working. Unfortunately, that didn’t continue. In fact, the opioid crisis has entered its deadliest phase yet during Covid. More overdose deaths were recorded last year than ever before, with more than 80,000 Americans killed. There have been more than 165,000 opioid deaths since March 2020.
Bloomberg - Dec. 16, 2022
Drug overdoses among teenagers have doubled in two years, CDC says
Drug overdose deaths among teenagers have doubled in the past two years, with fatal overdoses of fentanyl occurring at an even higher rate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. The CDC claimed that teenage overdoses increased 109% between 2019-2021 and that deaths caused by fentanyl increased 182% based on overdose data from 32 states. Officials have warned that the fatal overdoses are most commonly caused by cocaine, Adderall, and Xanax that become laced with fentanyl.
Wasington Examiner - Dec. 15, 2022
Drug overdose deaths slowing in the US after reaching record levels during the Covid-19 pandemic
Drug overdose deaths in the United States have slowed in recent months after reaching record levels earlier this year. New data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 107,735 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in July. That’s about 2,500 fewer deaths than the record high that was reached in March, marking a 2% drop over four months. Despite the improvement, annual drug overdose deaths in July were still 25% higher than they were two years earlier and more than 50% higher than they were five years earlier. And the types of drugs involved in fatal overdoses has changed.
CNN - Dec. 14
Changes Would Make Permanent COVID-Timed Medication Flexibilities, and Update Decades-Old Definitions and Standards for Opioid Treatment Programs at a time when fewer than 1 out 10 Americans can access treatment for substance use disorder.
U.S. Health and Human Services - Dec. 13, 2022
Addiction treatment would stay easier to get under new rule
Addiction treatment got easier during the Covid-19 pandemic — and the Biden administration wants to keep it that way. Federal regulators on Tuesday announced a proposal to take the emergency policies enacted in 2020, in response to the emerging pandemic, and make them permanent. In particular, the changes would preserve patients’ expanded access to two key medications used to treat opioid addiction: methadone and buprenorphine.
STAT News - Dec. 13, 2022
Federal prisons are supposed to provide addiction medication. Prisoners are punished for using it.
Congress told the Bureau of Prisons to make Suboxone and other medications widely available, but only a small fraction of those who need the help have received it.
NBC - Dec. 12, 2022
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Podcasts Comments
Fentanyl
The Tragic Rise of Fentanyl, Mapped
Two-thirds of overdose fatalities last year involved synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, which has become the country’s most dangerous illegal drug. In just a few years, illicit fentanyl has pushed America’s drug fatalities to a record, reaching into every corner and demographic group in the country. A closer look at the way meth and fentanyl have spread geographically around the country shows how the combination has supercharged the overdose crisis.
Wall Street Journal - Dec. 14, 2022
Hidden Fentanyl Is Driving a Fatal New Phase in US Opioid Epidemic
Fentanyl is claiming the lives not just of people who are addicted to opiates, but also users of cocaine, Adderall, methamphetamine, marijuana and other substances. Originally developed to manage cancer pain, fentanyl is cheap and abundant, and often used to increase the potency or stretch stockpiles of other illicit drugs. Fentanyl’s ubiquity means more and more unsuspecting users are being killed by the drugs they consume. And it means that in places where it seemed like the long-running opioid epidemic might be relenting, a new wave of overdoses and deaths is tearing at the social fabric.
Bloomberg - Dec. 13, 2022
State / Local
California legislator revives bill to decriminalize some psychedelics
Sen. Scott Wiener is reintroducing legislation to decriminalize the use of some psychedelic drugs, such as hallucinogenic mushrooms and DMT, or dimethyltryptamine. The measure, SB58, would allow the possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs that supporters argue have therapeutic benefits in treating mental health and substance abuse disorders. He was expected to unveil the bill Monday.
San Francisco Chronicle - Dec. 19, 2022
California bill seeks to fight overdose deaths by requiring libraries, bars to carry Narcan
Assembly Member Matt Haney knows firsthand how fast and easy access to opioid reversal medication can mean the difference between life and death for overdose victims. He is proposing legislation Monday that would require bars, public libraries, gas stations and single-room-occupancy hotels, or SROs, to have an opioid-blocking nasal spray on hand. They would be required to post a naloxone kit along with simple instructions about how to use it.
San Francisco Chronicle - Dec. 19, 2022
Montana: A Montana Addiction Clinic Wants to Motivate People With Rewards. Then Came a Medicaid Fraud Probe.
A Montana addiction clinic’s plan to give people with substance use disorders as much as $1,966.50 in gift cards and vouchers to follow its treatment program is raising questions about the use of financial incentives with patients. The tug of war over the effective but largely unregulated tool is playing out in the northwestern Montana town of Kalispell, where a local government grant is financing rewards for people who stick with treatment provided by the outpatient clinic Oxytocin.
Kaiser Health News - Dec. 19, 2022
Colorado: Tough as a Mother campaign aims to decrease stigma around maternal substance use disorder
Mothers are tough but life? It can be brutal. As the holidays approach, the Tough as a Mother Campaign wants to remind those moms, you're not alone. Tough as a Mother is a statewide campaign that launched in May 2020, and has been working to decrease the stigma around maternal substance use disorder. In the last two years, the number of resources for mothers seeking addiction recovery has grown across the state.
CBS - Dec 16, 2022
Pennsylvania: Pa. addiction specialists, lawmakers, and officials discuss addiction, settlement funds, stigma
State lawmakers and officials joined addiction specialists on Friday to discuss substance use disorder prevention and treatment efforts in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star - Dec. 16, 2022
Massachusetts opioid-related overdose death rate declines 1.5 percent in the first nine months of 2022
Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts decreased in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary data released today by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH).
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health - Dec. 14, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Teen alcohol use rebounds after pandemic dip
Researchers who study substance use among young people had wondered whether drops in use of alcohol and other drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic would last. Now, they have a preliminary answer. The 2022 Monitoring the Future survey results released this week showed that while illicit drug use remained stable, alcohol use among teens has already rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
Detroit Free Press - Dec. 17, 2022
NIH launches harm reduction research network to prevent overdose fatalities
To address the overdose crisis in the United States, the National Institutes of Health has established a research network that will test harm reduction strategies in different community settings to inform efforts to help save lives. The harm reduction research network’s efforts build on existing harm reduction research, and represent the largest pool of funding from NIH to date to study harm reduction strategies to address overdose deaths. Harm reduction is an evidence-based, often life-saving approach that directly engages people who use drugs to prevent overdose, disease transmission and other harms.
National Institute on Drug Abuse - Dec. 16, 2022
Adolescents’ substance use at or significantly below pre-pandemic levels: report
Use of any illicit drug among American 8th, 10th, and 12th graders remained at or significantly below pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to new survey results published Thursday. This past year, 11 percent of eighth graders, 21.5 percent of 10th graders and 32.6 percent of 12th graders reported using any illicit drug. Findings suggest reported substance use among American youths remained steady compared with rates seen in 2021, when they significantly declined thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hill - Dec. 15, 2022
Drug- and alcohol-related deaths a growing concern in elderly
Deaths from drug and alcohol use are rising among senior citizens, more than tripling in the past two decades. A recent study, from the National Center for Health Statistics, found that drug overdoses in the elderly still are lower than for other age groups but have risen from 2.4 to 8.8 deaths per 10,000 people aged 65 and older between 2000 to 2020. Alcohol-induced deaths in those 65 and older have risen more than 18% from 2019 to 2020. More than 11,000 adults died from alcohol-induced cases in 2020. The increases are cause for concern, officials say.
News-Press Now - Dec. 15, 2022
Israel's top cigarette firm drove haredi addiction with targeted ads - The Jerusalem Post
Leading tobacco company Philip Morris International has exploited loopholes in the law banning the advertisement of smoking products in Israel, targeting ultra-Orthodox (haredi) communities in Israel with advertising campaigns. A new research study conducted by doctoral student Amal Khayat and led by Dr. Yael Bar-Zeev along with researchers at the Hebrew University’s Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine was recently published in the academic journal Tobacco Control under the title “PMI’s IQOS and cigarette ads in Israeli media: a content analysis across regulatory periods and target population subgroups.”Analyzing the marketing data of Philip Morris International, the researchers examined the differences in advertising expenditure over a four-year period across several major population groups in Israel — the general population, the haredi public, Arab speakers and Russian speakers.
Jerusalem Post - Dec. 14, 2022
Are you in long-term recovery from addiction, including alcohol use? Participate in the long-term study of recovery today!
The purpose of this 3-year study is to understand substance addiction recovery and relapse and identify novel targets for future relapse prevention. Participate in the long-term study of recovery if you are at least 18 years old and in recovery from addiction, including alcohol use. Earn up to $1,280 over 3 years by completing a series of online assessments. Earn $40-$140 per assessment completion (<1.5 hours) every 3 months for 3 years with a yearly bonus of up to $75.
Virginia Tech - Dec. 13, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Opinion
Our governments are addicted to alcohol
Despite mountains of evidence of why drinking is a bad habit — heavy drinkers are more likely to die of heart disease, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver — government-controlled monopolies such as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) are encouraging us to consume more of it using various marketing tactics.
The Star - Dec. 17, 2022
Why do so many drug and alcohol addicts relapse? The answers are complex
Relapse is not uncommon when first attempting to recover from alcohol addiction and other addictions. While rates vary, it’s been estimated that between 40% and 60% of people with addiction will experience a relapse. It’s important for patients to know past relapses don’t define you, and ongoing help from professionals and friends is critical to recovery.
The Guardian - Dec. 11, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Comments
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Flourishing After Addiction with Carl Erik Fisher, M.D. – Brain surgery for addiction, and finding your own path in recovery, with Zachary Siegel
Zach Siegel is one of our most respected and prolific journalists on addiction and drug policy. He is also a thoughtful, introspective soul who thinks deeply about his own history of opioid addiction. In his many writings, he has often referenced that personal history, but he's never really had the chance to tell his own addiction story from start to finish. Until now! Listen to this episode of Flourishing After Addiction to hear Zach's origin story, plus a deep dive into his recent cover story in Harper's magazine about surgery for opioid addiction.
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Podcasts Leg/Advocacy Comments