The Wednesday Weekly - September 29, 2021
Highlights
National
Methamphetamine deaths soar, and hit Blacks and Native Americans disproportionately | Biden calls for bipartisan action on opioid addiction
State and Local
Arkansas experienced 40 percent OD increase during 2020 | Harm reduction in Hawaii and West Virginia
Studies/Research in the News
Survey reveals change in drinking patterns during pandemic | Univ. of Minnesota opioid vaccine clinical trial | Brookings Institute reports on Taliban drug economy since the 1990s
Opinion
The sobering reality: U.S. alcohol deaths surpass overdoses from other substances | John Seabrook explores the world of non-alcoholic drinks in New Yorker article
Reviews
Failed London mayoral candidate Laurence Fox set to play Biden’s son in “My Son Hunter” | Forthcoming book, “Unsettled” by Ryan Hampton, promises an insider’s perspective on the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case | Billy Bob Thornton takes on Big Pharma in ‘Goliath’
Podcasts
Author Erin Khar (“Strung Out”) on Rehab Confidential | Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean on Dopey
Legislative Updates and Advocacy
Massachusetts considers supervised safe injection sites | New York lawmakers propose increasing criminal defendants’ access to non-religious drug and alcohol support programs
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
National
Car-exhaust drug craze alarms Congo's capital
[Before you dismiss this story about getting high from metals in catalytic converters, dear reader, consider that alcohol itself is poisonous, flammable and can be used to fuel an engine. But is it the metals from the catalytic converter or the pills in the mix?] A new craze for a drug derived from crushed vehicle exhaust filters is rattling authorities in Kinshasa, triggering a campaign to stamp out the concoction and a related rash of car part thefts.
Reuters - Sept. 27, 2021
Fred Way, a leading addiction recovery reformer in Philly, was on the payroll of a rehab center that’s now charged with crimes
Fred Way Jr., who has been at the forefront of Pennsylvania’s fight against the opioid epidemic has acknowledged taking money from a drug rehab facility under criminal investigation for encouraging the industry’s worst abuses.
Philadelphia Inquirer - Sept. 27, 2021
Harm reduction and addiction treatment need infrastructure investment
As Congress moves legislation forward to strengthen the nation’s critical infrastructure, investments to revitalize and modernize the addiction health care infrastructure must be included.
The Hill - Sept. 25, 2021
Forbes: It’s National Recovery Awareness Month. Meet Two Advocates Who Are Fighting Against Addiction Year-Round
The problem of addiction has overwhelmed America’s hospitals and crisis centers. It should then come as no surprise that addiction can be an overwhelming topic to discuss, much less to try to solve. Fortunately, recovery can help us collectively imagine a better future. In this article, two different health advocates share their insights about how they’ve worked to support recovery in their community.
Forbes - Sept. 24, 2021
Michael K. Williams: What He's Said About Addiction, His Mental Health
Nearly three weeks after Michael K. Williams, best known for his roles on The Wire, Lovecraft Country and When They See Us, unexpectedly died at age 54, his cause of death was revealed as an accidental overdose. Williams had long been candid about his struggles with addiction and mental health. Below, a roundup of what he's said about both topics.
People - Sept. 24, 2021
Methamphetamine Deaths Soar, Hitting Black And Native Americans Especially Hard
A study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests methamphetamine use is surging as a major cause of high-risk addiction and overdose death in the U.S. From 2015 to 2019, the number of deaths linked to methamphetamine use rose from 5,526 a year to 15,489 a year — roughly a 180% increase. The researchers found Native Americans and Alaska Natives still have the highest rate of methamphetamine use disorder and have seen sharp increases in drug deaths in recent years.
NPR - Sept. 22, 2021
Lawmakers, Biden official call for bipartisan action on opioid addiction
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said Tuesday that bipartisan support is needed to provide more federal resources to fight the opioid epidemic. Speaking at The Hill’s Advancing Health Equity in our Nation's Opioid Response event, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) called for a coordinated response centered on opioid treatment, prevention and education. “This cuts across all backgrounds, all political persuasions, in that we’re in this together,” she told The Hill’s Steve Clemons.
The Hill - Sept. 22, 2021
Ossoff, Grassley pushing bill to fight opioid epidemic in rural areas
Sens. Jon Ossoff and Chuck Grassley on Wednesday are introducing a bill to fight the opioid crisis in rural areas by codifying a pilot program specifically dedicated to fighting the opioid crisis in rural communities. The program provides grants to rural local governments and nonprofits to help them fight opioid addiction in their areas. Earlier this year, Reps. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., and Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, introduced a similar bill in the House.
Fox News - Sept. 22, 2021
The Pandemic and Addiction: What Happened and How Can We Help?
University of Colorado, Denver professor Candice Shelby discusses what has happened with addiction over the course of the COVID pandemic and why we need to change how we approach addiction treatment.
CU Denver News - Sept. 22, 2021
Why Amazon wants to make sure everyone knows it's totally cool with smoking pot now
Amazon is actively lobbying the United States government to federally legalize cannabis, the company said on Tuesday morning. The announcement is the latest volley in Amazon's ongoing efforts to spur federal cannabis legalization in the United States, following an announcement back in June that it would no longer pre-screen employees for cannabis use.
Business Insider - Sept. 21, 2021
Opioid prescriptions fell over past decade while drug overdose deaths climbed: AMA report
Physicians have prescribed 44 percent less opioids over the past decade, yet fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses have continued to climb, according to a new report from the American Medical Association (AMA). The association called on lawmakers to "act now" over the overdose statistic.
The Hill - Sept. 21, 2021
Fight the Crisis: Opinion (Podcast)
Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor David Shipley presents an editorial arguing that states should use the money they receive from drugmakers accused of fueling the opioid epidemic to invest in effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Bloomberg - Sept. 21, 2021
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
State / Local
Arkansas Online: OPINION | MICHAEL WILSON AND CHANDRA PENTHALA: A health crisis
While the covid-19 pandemic and the Delta variant continue to affect Arkansas, a more silent health crisis is brewing in our communities. During 2020, Arkansas communities experienced a 40 percent increase in overdose-related deaths, which has led several state officials and experts to sound the alarm by voicing their concerns on media and news outlets.
Arkansas Online - Sept. 24, 2021
Hawaii: Q&A w/ HHHRC Director Heather Lusk on harm reduction in Hawai'i - State of Reform
Heather Lusk is the executive director of the Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center (HHHRC). HHHRC has stayed open throughout the pandemic, serving communities at the intersection of houselessness, chronic diseases such as HIV, and behavioral health and substance use. In this Q&A, Lusk speaks on how HHHRC was able to pivot its services to adapt to the pandemic, advocacy for reimbursing “street medicine,” and addressing burnout in the health care workforce.
State of Reform - Sept. 23, 2021
West Virginia: Harm Reduction Workers Form Coalition Amid HIV, Syringe Crises
West Virginia harm reduction workers are launching a new statewide coalition. “Mountain State Harm Reduction” will provide overdose prevention and HIV-related services to people who use drugs, a move that comes as a new law threatens the existence of the state’s syringe service programs (SSP).
Filter Magazine - Sept. 23, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Studies/Research in the News
Addiction-related brain areas examined across species explain some substance use disorders in humans
Using advanced genetic technologies to examine the nuclei of individual cells in areas of the human and mouse brain associated with reward and addiction, neuroscientists at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development discovered that the cell types are very similar across species. The finding means that previous studies that have been carried out with mouse models of reward and addiction can be re-interpreted to reveal more fundamental insight about human disorders.
Medical X Press - Sept. 27, 2021
Methamphetamine-involved overdose deaths nearly tripled between 2015 to 2019, NIH study finds
Overdose deaths involving methamphetamine nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019 among people ages 18-64 in the United States, according to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The number of people who reported using methamphetamine during this time did not increase as steeply, but the analysis found that populations with methamphetamine use disorder have become more diverse.
National Institutes of Health - Sept. 22, 2021
Press Release: New Survey Provides Insights Into Drinking Behaviors During the Pandemic
New online survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic by The Harris Poll on behalf of Alkermes, Inc., a subsidiary of Alkermes plc (Nasdaq: ALKS), found that 17% of respondents aged 21 and over reported drinking patterns that met the survey criteria for “heavy drinking.”
AP News - Sept. 22, 2021
U of M leads groundbreaking clinical trial of opioid vaccine
Research underway at the University of Minnesota has the potential to change the way substance use disorder is treated. A clinical trial is testing an opioid vaccine, which targets oxycodone. “Currently, there is no commercial vaccine for opioids,” said Dr. Marco Pravetoni, the principal investigator and associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “This is the first clinical trial ever of an opioid vaccine that is being conducted in human beings.”
KSTP - Sept. 22, 2021
Pipe dreams: The Taliban and drugs from the 1990s into its new regime
Perhaps nowhere in the world has a country and the international community faced an illicit drug economy as deeply entrenched as in Afghanistan. Vanda Felbab-Brown explains the Taliban's drug policy since the 1990s through the current period, and the ground realities and policy implications of its recent poppy ban.
Brookings Institute - Sept. 15, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Opinion
A sobering reality: Alcohol kills more Americans each year than drug overdoses do
America has a drinking problem, but our nation’s overdose crisis has shifted attention away from our national hangover. It’s time to focus on this long overlooked problem. General alcohol consumption increased 39% from February 2020 to November, according to a new study by the nonprofit research institute RTI International and funded by the NIAAA. Binge drinking increased 30% during the same period. As we observe National Recovery Month throughout September, it’s important to recognize the scope of America’s alcohol dependence and help those with alcohol use disorder. Our nation’s wellbeing is at stake.
USA Today - Sept. 24, 2021
OPINION: The heartache of addiction leads to lifetime of activism
Daniel Boccia, who had battled drug addiction since age 15, was arrested and charged with armed robbery. He was convicted and at age 22 was sentenced to 15 years in prison. For his loved ones, the years that followed would be filled with moments of great joy and hope alternating with moments of deep pain and despair. On Aug. 15, Daniel, a 30-year-old father of an infant son, died after a relapse. His mother, Kate Boccia, who formed the nonprofit National Incarceration Association in 2016 to help families navigate the criminal justice system, said his death has left family, friends and team members of NIA feeling more empowered than ever to focus on their goals and mission.
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Sept. 24, 2021
An Ex-Drinker’s Search for a Sober Buzz
For the North American non-alcoholic-beer drinker, who was until recently shut out of the craft-beer revolution of the past twenty years, these are hoppy times.
New Yorker - Sept. 20, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Reviews
'Goliath' final season takes on opioid industry
This season, former down-and-out attorney Billy McBride comes back from a near-death experience to take on Big Pharma amid the opioid crisis. "Billy is not the type, I am not the type, who likes the idea of big corporations telling us how we should live our lives," Thornton told CNN. "I'm really happy that that was the final season because I think the evolution worked out perfectly."
CNN - Sept. 25, 2021
Laurence Fox to play Joe Biden’s son Hunter in new film
The failed London mayoral candidate Laurence Fox is to play Hunter Biden, the son of the current US president, in a new film, My Son Hunter. Hunter Biden is a lawyer and painter. He is the younger son of President Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, who died in a car crash when Hunter was two years old. Hunter and his elder brother, Beau, survived, with severe injuries; their sister was killed. Beau died in 2015, aged 46. Earlier this year, Hunter Biden published a memoir, Beautiful Things, detailing his struggles with addiction.
The Guardian - Sept. 23, 2021
Forthcoming - Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis, by Ryan Hampton
The book, slated for October, is “the inside account of Purdue’s excruciating Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company’s eventual restructuring, and the Sackler family’s evasion of any true accountability,” the publisher said. It also tells the story of “how a group of determined ordinary people tried to see justice done against the odds—and in the face of brutal opposition from powerful institutions and even government representatives.” Hampton worked in the Clinton administration and is a specialist in addiction recovery.
Publisher’s Weekly - Sept. 10, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Let’s Talk Addiction and Recovery (Hazelden Betty Ford) – Race, Recovery and Personal Transformation
Peter Hayden, PhD, always sees an opportunity to help. Even when his family is blindsided by tragedy—the likes of which no parent should endure—he somehow uses the experience to protect complete strangers. Now he shares his story with host William C. Moyers, reflecting on his nearly 50 years in recovery, the biggest difference makers and the undeniable truths that connect us with a higher purpose.
Recovery in the Middle Ages – I Second that Emotion(al) Sobriety
Dr. Allen Berger wrote the book on Emotional Sobriety. This week Mike and Nat dive right in and discuss emotional sobriety as an essential element of recovery. What is it? How can we achieve it? Why is it important? You’ve heard us say that the real work begins once the drinking and using ends. This week we explain what that means. The quality of our recovery is determined by how we respond to the problems or challenges in our lives. But because we don’t know how best to respond to these issues, we end up stuck and frustrated. Emotional sobriety is a state in which we experience our emotions and respect them, but we respond to them the way we would respond to other kinds of information. So, we don’t act out in a knee-jerk response to every passing emotional state.
Rehab Confidential – Erin Khar, author of the new addiction memoir “Strung Out
Joe and Amy sit down with Erin Khar, journalist, speaker and author of the new addiction memoir “Strung Out”. Erin talks about what medical professionals can do to lessen stigma, the importance of speaking about relapse and how to talk to your kids about drug use.
Dopey – Backstreet Boy’s AJ McLean and Erin Khar returns with “Ask Erin”
This week on Dopey! We are joined by pop royalty! AJ McClean of the Backstreet Boys calls into the show to tell his own story of debauchery turned recovery! We learn of access to excess and much more in his triumphant journey! PLUS the return of my dad! And he has a really cool new idea! ALSO! ERIN KHAR returns as promise to kick the Dopey around, answer some fucked up questions and give some helpful advice! All this week on an all new episode of Dopey!!!!
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Legislative Updates and Advocacy
Massachusetts considers allowing supervised drug-use sites
Proposals to let Massachusetts create sites where people could use illegal drugs in the presence of staff trained in helping to reverse overdoses will be the focus of a daylong virtual hearing Monday at the Statehouse. One of the bills would create a 10-year pilot program “establishing two or more supervised consumption sites that utilize harm reduction tools, including clinical monitoring of the consumption of pre-obtained controlled substances in the presence of trained staff, for the purpose of reducing the risks of disease transmission and preventing overdose deaths.”
Herald Review - Sept. 25, 2021
New York lawmakers want to strengthen access to non-religious substance abuse treatment services
New York courts would be under a requirement to inform defendants of non-religious substance abuse treatment programs under a measure proposed this week by two state lawmakers. “Our legislation protects New Yorkers First Amendment rights and sets them on a path to recovery that aligns with their beliefs," Epstein said. "It’s important now more than ever, as we have seen substance use disorders skyrocket during the pandemic. We have a diverse group of organizations behind us, and I look forward to working with them to pass this commonsense bill."
Spectrum News 1 - Sept. 24, 2021