Group Drug Therapy Can Be Counterproductive for Teens

Group addiction treatment can actually lead to more drug use by teens if they are casual users placed in sessions with more experienced addicts, Time magazine reported July 16.

"Just putting kids in group therapy actually promotes greater drug use," said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

"I've known kids who have gone into inpatient treatment and met other users. After treatment, they meet up with them and explore new drugs and become more seriously involved in drug use," added Tom Dishion, director of research at the Child and Family Center at the University of Oregon.

Some treatment programs also may weaken the bonds between adolescents and their families, which also can increase the risk of drug use. Plus, teens may view 12-step programs' emphasis on being powerless over drugs as defeatist rather than a call for abstinence and mutual support.

On the other hand, research has shown that more troubled youth can benefit by associating with better-adjusted teens.

Individual and family therapy have been shown to be effective with teens, but group therapy is more common because it is less expensive. NIDA is currently working to ensure that more teens receive such evidence-based treatment.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2010/group-drug-therapy-can-be.html

Treatment Programs Report Surge in Prescription Drug Admissions

About one in 10 people admitted to addiction treatment programs in 2008 misused prescription drugs, quadruple the rate reported in 1998, ABC News reported July 16.

"People are getting treatment, which is good news. But the bad news is the problem just keeps growing," said Peter Delaney, director of the Office of Applied Studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Researchers found that admissions for prescription-drug problems cut across age, gender, education, and employment status. The findings are drawn from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

Experts said that prescription drugs are widely available and that many people don't perceive their use as risky. "This has been a trend coming for 10 years," added Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "It should be no surprise that now it is showing up in ER visits and people checking into treatment centers."

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2010/treatment-programs-report.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/pain-med-addicts-rehab-400-percent-10-years/story?id=11171686

Belmont, MA-based Rick Doblin, Ph.D., President of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (www.maps.org, a non-profit psychedelic and medical marijuana research and educational organization that sponsored the study), together with South Carolina-based psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer, MD and colleagues, conducted a pilot Phase II clinical trial with 20 patients with chronic PTSD persisting for an average of over 19 years. Prior to enrolling in the MDMA study, subjects were required to have received, and failed to obtain relief, from both psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.

Participants treated with a combination of MDMA and psychotherapy saw clinically and statistically significant improvements in their PTSD – over 80% of the trial group no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, stipulated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV-TR) following the trial, compared to only 25% of the placebo group. In addition, all three subjects who reported being unable to work due to PTSD were able to return to work following treatment with MDMA.

The trial centred on two eight-hour psychotherapy sessions scheduled about 3-5 weeks apart, where 12 subjects received MDMA, and eight took a placebo. Subjects were also given psychotherapy on a weekly basis before and after each experimental session. A blinded, independent rater tested each subject using a PTSD scale at baseline, and at intervals four days after each session and two months after the second session. The clinical response was significant – 10 of the 12 in the treatment group responded to the treatment compared with just two of the eight in the placebo group. During the trial, the subjects did not experience any drug-related Serious Adverse Events (SAEs), nor any adverse neurocognitive effects or clinically significant blood pressure or temperature
increases.

After the two-month follow-up, subjects in the placebo group were offered the option to participate in the treatment process again, to receive MDMA on an open-label basis, acting as their own controls. Seven of the eight placebo subjects elected to receive MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, with successful treatment outcomes similar to the subjects initially randomized to MDMA.

PTSD involves exaggerated and uncontrolled fear responses. To treat these, psychotherapists need to help sufferers revisit traumatic experiences. But patients often suffer intolerable feelings when they revisit the trauma, or numb themselves emotionally, resulting in the psychotherapy having little effect. The goal of using MDMA is to temporarily reduce fear and increase trust without inhibiting emotions, especially painful emotions, allowing these patients a window where psychotherapy for their PTSD is effective.

MDMA’s pharmacological effects include serotonin release, 5HT2 receptor stimulation and increase in levels of the neurohormones oxytocin, prolactin and cortisol.

Importantly, this trial involved concentrated periods of patient-therapist contact (31 hours over two months) including two all-day therapy sessions and overnight stays in the clinic. “These are not usual features of psychotherapy practice in the outpatient setting,” says Michael Mithoefer. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy would require special clinics equipped for longer treatment sessions and overnight stays if an MDMA-based treatment were approved. “This method also involves patient preparation and close follow-up to support further processing of emotions and integration of cognitive shifts that may occur,” Mithoefer adds, stressing that these are vital for safety and therapeutic effect.

Measures like these may prove a price worth paying, however, to alleviate the debilitating effects of PTSD on sufferers in future.

The authors caution that the study does have limitations – for example they did not look at gender and ethnic factors in their sample selection. Another important limitation was that most participants and trial investigators guessed accurately whether they were in the treatment or the placebo group. The placebo had no psychoactive effect and investigators could detect raised blood pressure and other symptoms in the MDMA group. A long-term follow-up to the study just published, evaluating subjects an average of about 40 months post-treatment, is underway.

The investigators have now received the go ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a protocol for a three-arm, dose-response design that they expect will result in successful blinding. This new study is for US veterans with war-related PTSD, most from Iraq and Afghanistan and a few from Vietnam. MAPS is currently sponsoring MDMA/PTSD Phase 2 pilot studies in Switzerland and Israel, and is working to start additional pilot studies in Canada, Jordan and Spain.

# # #

The safety and efficacy of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine -assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomised controlled pilot study by Michael C. Mithoefer, M.D., Mark T. Wagner, Ph.D., Ann T. Mithoefer, B.S.N., Lisa Jerome, Ph.D., and Rick Doblin, Ph.D. is published today (19th July 2010) in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The Journal of Psychopharmacology is published by SAGE, on behalf of the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

A treatment manual by the study’s sponsor, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies on this topic can be found here: http://www.maps.org/mdma/.

MAPS’ Investigator’s Brochure, reviewing and summarizing the entire published scientific literature on MDMA and Ecstasy, can be found here: http://www.maps.org/mdma/protocol/litreview.html

SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets. Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepublications.com

Contact:
Dr. Michael Mithoefer 1-843 566-4252 mmithoefer@mac.com
Rick Doblin, Ph.D. 1-617 276-7806 rick@maps.org
Mithu Lucraft, SAGE 44-(0)20-7324-2223 mithu.lucraft@sagepub.co.uk

Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy Activities 2010

Harm Reduction Psychotherapy Group has openings     

This group is open to adults with a range of substance use issues who are in a variety of stages of change. The group will provide a safe, supportive space to explore the nature and meaning of members’ substance use and how it relates to the full range of other personal and life issues people face.  The group also has a strategic focus on assessing harm, embracing ambivalence about change, setting harm reduction goals and developing individualized plans for positive change. A general goal might be for members to develop their healthiest relationship to substances whether that is safer use, reduced use, moderation or abstinence. The group enables open exploration, sharing of strategies and focus on interpersonal process in the group.  A variety of techniques are taught including: “Urge Surfing”, awareness and relaxation training, self-monitoring, Decisional Balance,  ”Microanalysis” of use patterns, the “Ideal Use Plan”, the “Game Plan” and “18 Alternatives”. We also explore how relational issues get enacted in the group and can get reworked in the group process.

Tuesdays 6-7:30 PM

Fee: $75.00   

Monthly Supervision Training Group on Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP) for Professionals has Openings

This group provides training and case supervision in my approach to Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy for people with drug and alcohol concerns. My approach understands substance use problems as being intertwined with the unique complexity of the person in context. IHRP is based on an integration of relational psychoanalytic and cognitive-behavioral theory and technique. IHRP blends a skills building focus on cognitive and behavioral change with an exploration of the multiple meanings and functions of substance use and other risk behaviors in the context of a therapeutic relationship that anchors the process and is also an agent of change.

The approach reflects my 30 years of work in the area of substance use specializing over the last 15 years in applying harm reduction philosophy to psychotherapy. The harm reduction principles that inform this approach are: meeting the patient as a unique individual, the primacy of the therapeutic alliance, abandoning the abstinence requirement and any other preconceived agenda for the patient, special attention to social, personal and induced countertransference, working collaboratively to assess and identify problems, clarify goals and strategies that best suit the patient's needs, recognizing small incremental positive change as success and meeting the patient with empathy, respect, acceptance and flexibility. In this spirit the form, structure and timing of the therapy emerge out of the therapeutic process rather than being predetermined.

The group combines case presentation with selected readings as appropriate to the members.

Fee: $60.00 The group meets currently on a monthly basis on Mondays, 12-1:30 PM.

************************************************************************

The Center for Integrative Psychotherapy of the Addictions and PsychologicA

present:
  
Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and Transformational Chairwork

A one-day combined introductory training in these two approaches and how they complement each other by:

Andrew Tatarsky, PhD and Scott Kellogg, PhD

When: Friday, May 14th, 2010, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where: The Ellis Institute, 45 East 65th Street, NYC, NY 10065-6508

Fee: $80

Dr. Andrew Tatarsky is a leading developer of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy.  His integrated approach to treatment utilizes the best of the psychodynamic, harm reduction, cognitive-behavioral, and experiential traditions in addiction treatment.  This approach is very useful because it empowers the psychotherapist to simultaneously treat problems with substance use and the emotional difficulties that may underlie or drive it.  His training will include a didactic overview and case consultation with material provided by attendees.

More information about his work can be found at: http://www.andrewtatarsky.com

Drawing on the clinical wisdom and practice of a wide range of Gestalt and integrative psychotherapists, Dr. Kellogg will introduce therapists to the art and science of chairwork, or psychotherapeutic dialogues, in an active, creative, and clinically-useful manner. Using didactic presentations, scripted and unscripted role-plays, and live demonstrations, participants will learn how to use this technique with addictive disorders and when treating problems related to loss and grief.  More information about his work can be found at: http://transformationalchairwork.com

If you are planning on attending, it would be helpful if you would let us know in advance. 

Please e-mail Dr. Tatarsky at: atatarsky@aol.com For more information, please call 212-633-8157.

*********************************************************************

Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy Workshops and Trainings

Over the last several years I have been offering workshops and trainings in the U.S. and internationally for groups that wish to get a deeper immersion in harm reduction philosophy, it’s epidemiological and outcome research support, theoretical basis and applications to psychotherapy and counseling. This approach integrates a skills building focus to cognitive and behavioral change with an exploration of the multiple meanings and functions of substance use and other risk behaviors in the context of a therapeutic relationship the anchors the process and is also an agent of change. There is an emphasis on group participation and learning both theory and technique. Trainings are delivered in the collaborative spirit of harm reduction. These trainings can be delivered from half day to five full day formats depending on the needs of the group. Trainings can be tailored to the specific needs of the agency and client population.

Modules include:

• History and Evolution of Harm Reduction Philosophy and History
• Clinical Challenges and Limitations of Traditional Treatment
• Clinical and Epidemiological Rationales for Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
  • Theoretical Basis of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
  • Biopsychosocial Process Model of  Addiction
  • Multiple Meanings of Drug Use
  • Motivational Stages of Change
• Clinical Philosophy of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
• Overview of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
• Building Alliances with Drug Using Patients for Physicians
• Therapeutic Tasks
  • Establishing and Maintaining the Therapeutic Alliance
  • Therapeutic Relationship as Agent of Change
  • Facilitating Self-management Skills: Curiosity,self-awareness and affect tolerance
  • Assessment as Treatment
  • Exploring and Embracing Ambivalence
  • Harm Reduction Goal Setting
  • Techniques for Facilitating Positive Change

For more information call 212-633-8157. More information on my approach can be found on my website, www.andrewtatarsky.com

8th National Harm Reduction Conference: Harm Reduction Beyond Borders!

November 18th--21st
Austin, TX 

The 8th National Harm Reduction Conference will bring together approximately 2,000 drug users, ex-drug users, researchers, sex workers, social workers, doctors, politicians and community organizers from around the country and abroad to share perspectives on Harm Reduction.  

The National Harm Reduction Conference is the only multidisciplinary gathering in the United States focusing on the health of individuals and communities impacted by drug use. The purpose of the conference is to inspire and explore new perspectives on incorporating Harm Reduction into direct services, public policy and individual lives.  

This year's lifting of the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange promises for a renewed and dynamic collaboration between public health officials and grassroots organizations. This is an opportunity to uphold the right to health and dignity of this marginalized community. We hope you will join us in Austin, Texas in our efforts to combat these public health emergencies and implement real and lasting change.

 
For more information on registration, scholarships, submitting abstracts, exhibitor/vendor applications, please visit: 

www.8thnationalharmreductionconference.com

ModerateDrinking.com is a new, scientifically proven, program to help people learn how to change their drinking

"Our web site is for drinkers who want to change their drinking.  If you are looking for answers about moderate drinking or abstaining, you may find our program useful. We can help you make responsible decisions about your drinking. We can also help you be successful in cutting back on your drinking.  Before you register, consider our Guided Tour to see what we have to offer.

• Our protocol is evidence-based. This means we have evidence from a federally funded, randomized clinical trial of the program.
• What is moderate drinking? This page defines moderate drinking; what it is and what it isn't.
• Is moderate drinking for everyone? The short answer is NO. There are a many reasons to consider abstaining if you’re considering a change in your drinking.
• What might your chances of success be if you tried to moderate my drinking? Take a quick questionnaire and get feedback based on scientific research.
• If you decide to try moderate drinking how can you learn how to do it? Here is a description of our program on how to cut back and maintaining moderate drinking over time.  There also is much here if you're considering abstaining.
• A picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a video demo of the program. It's large so please be patient while it loads.
• We also recommend that you consider joining Moderation Management, a unique support group for people wanting to moderate their drinking.

Register to use our site."

How Diet Affects Mood Disorders Associated with Addictions

A recently published article* in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that an Australian study reported a whole foods traditional diet resulted in lower rates of depression and anxiety. These mood disorders often co-exist with addictions such as alcoholism. Learn about other nutritional and holistic modalities from experts in the industry. 

A few of the featured speakers include:
 Stephen J. Schoenthaler, PhD
 Hyla Cass, MD
 Kenneth Blum, BSc, MSc, PhD
 John Giordano, MAC,CAP,CCJS 

Visit our website to review the entire agenda. 

Continuing Credit Opportunity

Attendees have the chance to receive up to 18 hours of Continuing Education Certification. To see all approvals for CEU credits, click here. 

Our conference is:
 NCCAOM approved for 18 PDA hours 
 NANP approved for 18 CEU hours

CLICK TO REGISTER NOW

Conference Info

Held in Las Vegas at the Palms Casino Resort on April 28-April 30, this conference focuses on the 21st century approach of dual diagnosis treatment by integrating crucial body, mind and spirit evidence-based treatment strategies. 

For more information or to register, call 877-345-3274 or visit us at www.FoundationsEvents.com for special discount rates. 

We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!

Foundations Recovery Network has hosted 30 national conferences and has gained a reputation as the leader in behavioral healthcare events. To learn more about our events, please visit www.FoundationsEvents.com. 

Reference: *Jacka, F.N.; Pasco , J.A. et al. 2010. Association of Western and Traditional Diets with Depression and Anxiety in Women. American Journal of Psychiatry [Epub ahead of print]

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare associated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com. 

http://haiwatchnews.com/

Howard Lotsof Dies at 66; Found Drug Treatment in an African Plant

By DENNIS HEVESI
Published: February 17, 2010
New York Times.com

Howard Lotsof was 19, addicted to heroin and searching for a new high in 1962 when he swallowed a bitter-tasting white powder taken from an exotic West African shrub.

“The next thing I knew,” he told The New York Times in 1994, “I was straight.”

The substance was ibogaine, an extract of Tabernanthe iboga, a perennial rain-forest plant found primarily in Gabon. In the Bwiti religion it is used in puberty initiation rites, inducing a powerful altered state for at least 48 hours during which young people are said to come into contact with a universal ancestor.

By Mr. Lotsof’s account, when he and six friends who were also addicted tried ibogaine, five of them immediately quit, saying their desire for heroin had been extinguished.

It was the start of a lifelong campaign for Mr. Lotsof. And now thousands of former addicts around the world and some scientists contend that ibogaine should be scientifically tested for its ability to halt heroin and cocaine cravings and even end addiction. Ibogaine is used in drug treatment clinics in many countries, but is banned in the United States.

Mr. Lotsof, who was 66, died on Jan. 31 at a hospital near his home on Staten Island. The cause was liver cancer, his wife, Norma said.

Virtually from that day 48 years ago when he first tried ibogaine, Mr. Lotsof became perhaps its leading advocate, lobbying public officials, pharmaceutical companies and independent researchers to investigate its efficacy. In the mid-1980s, he persuaded a Belgian company to manufacture ibogaine in capsule form and begin offering it to addicts in the Netherlands.

By then he had started the Dora Weiner Foundation, named for his grandmother, to develop ibogaine as a medication, to disseminate information about chemical dependence and to refer people to treatment. Mr. Lotsof ran the foundation.

In 1986 he received a patent for the use of ibogaine as a remedy for heroin and cocaine addiction. Five years later, he began working with Jan Bastiaans, a Dutch psychiatrist who had gained renown by using LSD therapy for Holocaust survivors. They treated 30 addicts from around the world, two-thirds of whom stopped using drugs for periods ranging from four months to four years. With 75 percent of addicts typically relapsing within six months of conventional care, the results spurred scientific interest.

“His great achievement,” said Kenneth Alper, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the New York University School of Medicine, “was in inducing the National Institute on Drug Abuse to undertake a research project on ibogaine that produced scores of peer-reviewed publications and paved the way for F.D.A. approval of a clinical trial.”

The Food and Drug Administration did approve the trial, Dr. Alper said, but it was never completed because of contractual disputes and lack of financing. Ibogaine remains banned by the federal government.

“In the uncontrolled environments in which ibogaine is typically used, clinics or nonmedical settings,” Dr. Alper said, “the observations indicate that there is a resolution of withdrawal, meaning the addict is detoxified and no longer has withdrawal symptoms and is no longer physically dependent.” Scientifically controlled testing is needed, he said.

Herbert D. Kleber, director of the division on substance abuse at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University, said he was skeptical about the efficacy of ibogaine in treating substance abusers, including those addicted to opium-based drugs like heroin.

“At various times ibogaine has been proposed to treat opioid withdrawal as a cure for opioid dependence and as a cure for cocaine dependence,” Dr. Kleber said. “But there is a lack of controlled scientific studies to back those beliefs.

“A number of deaths have been associated with its use, especially to treat opioid withdrawal and dependence,” Dr. Kleber continued. “I therefore do not feel it is something that should be used in the absence of such evidence.”

Howard Stephen Lotsof (pronounced LOTS-uv) was born in the Bronx on March 1, 1943, the only child of Abner and Lillian Weiner Lotsof. Besides his wife, the former Norma Alexander, he is survived by two daughters, Rosalie Falato and Holly Weiland.

Mr. Lotsof, who dropped out of Fairleigh Dickinson University in the 1960s, graduated from N.Y.U. in 1976. Over the years he wrote or co-wrote scientific papers on ibogaine that were published in respected academic journals, including The Journal of Ethnopharmacology and The American Journal on Addictions.

“These accomplishments are all the more extraordinary,” Dr. Alper said, “in view of the fact that Mr. Lotsof, a graduate of New York University who majored in film, was without a doctoral-level degree.”

Study Links Alcoholic Energy Drinks to Intoxication, Drunk Driving

February 11, 2010

Bar patrons who consumed energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to leave drunk and four times more willing to drive drunk compared to patrons who drank alcohol alone, according to researchers who surveyed college-aged drinkers as they left bars.

The University of Florida researchers surveyed more than 800 bar patrons at random between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., and also collected breath samples to test blood-alcohol content (BAC). The average BAC for alcoholic energy drink consumers was 0.109 percent, well above the legal standard for intoxication.

Patrons who consumed alcohol mixed with highly caffeinated energy drinks like Red Bull also were more likely to have consumed alcohol for longer periods of time, and left bars later than other drinkers.

The study was led by Dennis Thombs of the school's College of Public Health and Health Professions. "His approach is unique because it was conducted in a natural drinking environment -- college bars," said Wake University's Mary Claire O'Brien, author of previous research on alcoholic energy drinks. "His results clearly support the serious concern raised by previous research, that subjective drunkenness may be reduced by the concurrent ingestion of caffeinated energy drinks, increasing both the likelihood of further alcohol consumption, and of driving when intoxicated."

The study was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2010/study-links-alcoholic-energy.html

Word Choices Affect Attitudes Toward Addiction Recovery

A survey of health professionals found that referring to people with addictions as "substance abusers" was more likely to evoke punitive responses to drug use than those who referred to individuals with "substance-use disorders," according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

John F. Kelly, Ph.D., associate director of MGH's Center for Addiction Medicine noted that the World Health Organization declared the term "abuser" as stigmatizing three decades ago, but the term is still commonly used to describe people with addictions to illicit drugs. Referring to recovery, Kelly said, "There's an old proverb that states, if you want something to survive and flourish, call it a flower; if you want to kill it, call it a weed."

Kelly and colleagues surveyed more than 700 mental-health professionals attending a conference on addiction and mental illness. Half received a survey that referred to a hypothetical patient as a "substance abuser," while the rest got a survey referring to the patient as having a "substance use disorder." The surveys were otherwise identical.

Respondents who received the "substance abuser" version were more likely to say that the patient should be punished for failing to follow a treatment plan and to agree that the patient shouldered blame for having trouble complying with court-ordered treatment requirements.

"Our results imply that these punitive attitudes may be evoked by use of the 'abuser' term, whether individuals are conscious of it or not, and suggest that this term perpetuates that kind of thinking," Kelly said. "From the perspective of the individual sufferers, who often feel intense self-loathing and self-blame, such terminology may add to the feelings that prevent them from seeking help."

The study was published in the International Journal of Drug Policy

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2010/word-choices-affect-attitudes.html

Harm Reduction Psychotherapy on One Hour at a Time Radio - 12/28/09

Click here to listen to the show Monday 3pm (Noon PST)

If you can't listen to the live show, you can click here and download the recording.

New interactive web application for problem drinkers

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new, evidence-based, web application, ModerateDrinking.com. ModerateDrinking.com is a comprehensive, interactive, and personalized program, designed to help heavy drinkers successfully change their drinking. The elements of the program are listed below.

This is a subscription-based training program. Users can unsubscribe at any time.

Dr. Reid Hester, Director of the Research Division of Behavior Therapy Associates (www.behaviortherapy.com) developed ModerateDrinking with funding from NIAAA. As part of this grant he conducted a randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of the program (in combination with participation in Moderation Management). The study demonstrated that the program is effective in helping heavy drinkers change their drinking. An abstract of one of the papers reporting the results are available here.

A video demo of the program is available at www.behaviortherapy.com

The elements of the program include:

• Building motivation and self-confidence
• Setting drink goals/limits
• "Doing a 30"
• Self-monitoring drinking (with personalized feedback relative to each user's self-determined goals)
• Controling your drinking rate
• Personal drinking rules
• Self-monitoring urges to drink (w/ personalized feedback)
• Identifying and managing triggers
• Developing alternatives to drinking
• General problem solving
• Dealing with lapses and/or relapses
• Considering abstinence as an option
• Self-monitoring your mood (w/feedback relative to baseline)

These elements are the components of the MM program, both as it was originally designed and as it has evolved in the years since.

Our members have already enthusiastically used this software, as part of Reid Hester's original study. Perhaps others here will be interested in suggesting it to clients.

Ana Kosok, Ed D
Executive Director, Moderation Management

United States Changes Its Mind on Addiction - It's Not a Chronic Brain Disease After All

Psychology Today.com
Addiction in Society Blog
by Stanton Peele
November 20 2009

NIAAA says NIDA is mistaken about addiction as brain disease

Nora Volkow and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) insist, based on peering at MRIs, that addiction is a chronic brain disease.  You know - you saw it on HBO, and your kids learn this in school.

But, as I point out to Nora, she's looking in the wrong place. If you examine actual human lives, addiction is an interaction between people and their worlds that changes with time.

Now the NIDA's sister organization - the NIAAA or National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - agrees with me.  According to Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of treatment and recovery research at NIAAA, "We're on the cusp of some major advances in how we conceptualize alcoholism."  The NIAAA's summary  of the situation is titled, "Alcoholism isn't what it used to be."

This discovery, which I have described for decades , is based on the most sophisticated study yet conducted of Americans' drinking histories. Called NESARC (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions), the study questioned a random national sample of over 43,000 Americans about their lifetime and current drinking.

Of this group, almost 4,500 had been alcohol dependent (read alcoholic) at one point in their lives. And, although 75% had never been treated or gone to Alcoholics Anonymous - and only half of the remainder (13%) received specific alcoholism treatment - three-quarters had ceased their alcoholism.  Yet most had not stopped drinking!

About 30% of Americans had experienced some kind of alcohol disorder, including abuse along with dependence, but about 70% of those quit drinking or cut back to safe consumption patterns without treatment after four years or less.

Only a tiny minority (1%) fit the stereotypical image of someone with severe, recurring alcohol addiction that Alcoholics Anonymous, addiction disease proponents like Volkow, and American mythology consider typical.  My Life Process Program  addresses this 1% of the addicted and is exclusively abstinence based.

Then there are the other 29% of Americans who abuse alcohol at some time. According to Willenbring,  "It can be a chronic, relapsing disease. But it isn't usually that."

We know that nonabstinent remission from alcoholism is real in NESARC.  In a three-year follow-up of respondents, Dawson and her colleagues found that alcohol dependence causes significant decreases in mental health and coping, but social functioning and mental health underwent "significant increases among those who achieved full and partial remission from dependence" (including alcoholics who continued drinking with either no, or reduced, problems).

The increases in social functioning and mental health "were equally great for abstinent and nonabstinent remission from dependence, butimprovements in bodily pain and general health were associated with nonabstinent remission only"(that means the alcoholics who reduced their drinking).  

What's stunning in these results is not any particular finding about controlled drinkers' health outcomes.  The remarkable portrait NESARC produces is about how commonplace alcohol use disorders are, how frequently they are overcome by people on their own - including even those scored alcohol dependent - and how often people improve their drinking problems while continuing to drink.  THIS is an entirely different alcoholism paradigm from the one we have been oversold.

As Olivia Judson describes the impact of "On the Origin of Species": "Origin changed everything. Before the “Origin,” the diversity of life could only be catalogued and described; afterwards, it could be explained and understood. Before the “Origin,” species were generally seen as fixed entities, the special creations of a deity; afterwards, they became connected together on a great family tree that stretches back, across billions of years, to the dawn of life.  Perhaps most importantly, the “Origin” changed our view of ourselves. It made us as much a part of nature as hummingbirds and bumblebees. . ."

NESARC also changes everything.

P.S. (November 27):  I have just learned that, although the LA Times article quoting Dr. Willenbring appeared November 16, by that date he was no longer an NIAAA employee .  Make of that what you will.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/200911/united-states-changes-its-mind-addiction-its-not-chronic-brain-dis-0

Moderate Drinking May Not Preserve Thinking Skills

By Joene Hendry
November 16, 2009
ABC News Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Think that a drink or two a day help keep your mind sharp into older age? Researchers from the United Kingdom may have poked a hole into that idea.

Dr. Claudia Cooper, at University College London, and colleagues note in a study that moderate drinkers - generally that's two drinks a day for men and one for women - tend to have less forgetfulness and better mental skills as they age.

However, moderate drinkers also tend to have social, economic, and educational advantages that help them amass greater thinking skills over time.

A report by Cooper's team in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, suggests that it's these advantages - and not moderate drinking itself - that are responsible for the benefits.

Cooper's team evaluated social, economic, and physical factors, plus thinking skills, in 1735 men and women 60 to 74 years old. Most - about 87 percent - of the participants reported drinking moderately or abstaining. The rest had histories that suggested problem drinking, and were excluded from the study.

They tested how well the participants could read words pronounced differently from how they are spelled, which indicates how much of their early-learned reading skills each retained into older age.

It's also a skill that isn't lost until mental function declines a great deal, Cooper told Reuters Health by email, which makes it a good indicator of previously obtained thinking skills.

When Cooper's team only took social and economic factors into account, they saw an association between moderate alcohol consumption and greater thinking abilities, similar to findings reported in earlier studies.

But when they allowed for current thinking skills, and the fact that participants with greater physical health were also more likely to drink more, the association between moderate drinking and current thinking skills disappeared.

The authors note that the American Heart Association recently warned against putting too much stock in the link between moderate drinking and better thinking skills, and that more than three drinks per day are linked to a variety of medical conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

SOURCE: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, November 2009.

Abstinence Not the Only Path to Recovery

Research has shown that there are different degrees of drinking disorders, and many people can change habits on their own.

By Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times Health
November 16, 2009

Seventy years ago, Bill Wilson -- the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- declared his powerlessness over alcohol in a book by the same name. The failed businessman contended that, as an alcoholic, he had to "hit bottom" before changing his life and that sobriety could only be achieved through complete abstention.

For generations, Americans took these tenets to be true for everyone. Top addiction experts are no longer sure.

They now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and -- using new knowledge about genetic and behavioral risks of addiction -- change those habits if necessary. Even some people who have what are now termed alcohol-use disorders, they add, can cut back on consumption before it disrupts education, ruins careers and damages health.

In short, say some of the nation's leading scientists studying substance abuse, humans travel a long road before they become powerless over alcohol -- and most never reach that point.

"We're on the cusp of some major advances in how we conceptualize alcoholism," says Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The institute is the nation's leading authority on alcoholism and the major provider of funds for alcohol research. "The focus now is on the large group of people who are not yet dependent. But they are at risk for developing dependence."

Many of these people need not give up alcohol altogether. The concept of so-called controlled drinking -- that people with alcohol-use disorders could simply curb, or control, their drinking -- has existed for many years. Evidence now exists that such an approach is possible for some people, although abstinence is still considered necessary for those with the most severe disease.

The overall reassessment has been fueled by the groundbreaking National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, the largest and most comprehensive look at alcohol use in America. The project surveyed 43,000 people 18 and older in 2001 and 2002, and again in 2004 and 2005, with the results released in increments beginning in 2006.

This survey alone has been enough to convince even national addiction experts that they've been too narrow in their approach to alcohol disorders. But the findings are being further bolstered by research in genetics and psychology.

Perhaps the most remarkable finding of the epidemiologic study was how many Americans experienced an alcohol-use disorder (either abuse or the more severe dependence) at some point -- and how many recovered on their own. About 30% of Americans had experienced a disorder, the research showed, but about 70% of those quit drinking or cut back to safe consumption patterns without treatment after four years or less.

Only 1% of those surveyed fit the stereotypical image of someone with severe, recurring alcohol addiction who has hit the skids.

The data suggest that there are two forms of alcohol disorders: one that fits the traditional view of alcoholism, in which the need for a drink takes over a person's life, and a time-limited form in which people drink heavily for a period but then cut down and recover.

"It can be a chronic, relapsing disease. But it isn't usually that," Willenbring says.

Differentiating

Alcohol abuse is defined as use that repeatedly contributes, within a 12-month period, to the risk of bodily harm, relationship troubles, problems in meeting obligations and run-ins with the law. Alcohol dependence includes the same symptoms, plus the inability to limit or stop drinking; the need for more alcohol to get the same effect; the presence of withdrawal symptoms; and a consumption level that takes increasing amounts of time.

"For a long time there was an emphasis on alcoholism as if it were one thing," says Carol Prescott, a psychology professor at USC who has studied alcohol-use disorders. "I think that has been abandoned. People with alcohol-related problems don't all look the same at all. Some people only have problems for a short time. Others develop disorders that are ultimately fatal to them."

The other key finding from the survey is that, at least once in the previous year, 28% of adults had exceeded the daily or weekly limits at which drinking is considered low-risk.

For men, low-risk drinking is defined as no more than four drinks on any given day or no more than 14 drinks per week. For women, the limit is three drinks per day or seven drinks per week. (A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, eight to nine ounces of malt liquor, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits.) The majority of Americans who drink beyond these limits have mild to moderate disorders, meaning they occasionally have trouble controlling their intake, Willenbring says.

That's where the overall risk assessment comes in. Willenbring compares it to treating high blood pressure or cholesterol before the condition develops into heart disease.

"People with mild to moderate alcohol disorders can be treated with medications or behavioral therapy with a primary care doctor," he says. "But many people can do this on their own without having a professional. The idea is teaching people how to reevaluate their drinking."

In the national survey, about half of the people who'd had an alcohol-use disorder recovered, enabling them to drink at low-risk levels without symptoms of dependence. "Some people are uncomfortable with that," Prescott says. "It's a safer prescription to tell someone to quit. But the studies suggest that a large proportion of people are able to cut down and aren't out-of-control."

To continue reading the article click here

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-alcohol16-2009nov16,0,474959.story?page=2

Center for Motivation and ChangE
An Alternative to the Intervention: Seminar for Parents and Spouses

Does your loved one have a drinking or substance use problem?
You haven't heard the whole story.

You may have been told to "detach with love," or to stage an intervention. Before you go down either of these painful paths, come to an introductory seminar on CRAFT, a New York Times-reported treatment that harnesses the powerful influence of family to safely help a loved one change.
Hear about a non-confrontational option that works.

WESTCHESTER
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
6:00-7:30 pm
245 Main Street, White Plains

New York City
Monday December 7th 2009
6:00-7:30 pm
276 Fifth Avenue (30th St) Suite 605

Space is limited Advance registration required Attendance fee: $15 To reserve a spot, please e-mail events@motivationandchange.com or call (212) 683-3339 x38.

Want to quit? Don't go to light smokes

Tue Nov 3, 2009 6:45pm EST
Rueters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smokers who switch to a low-tar, light or mild brand of cigarette will not find it easier to quit and in fact may find it harder, researchers reported on Tuesday.

They found that smokers who traded to light cigarettes were 50 percent less likely to kick the habit.

"It may be that smokers think that a lighter brand is better for their health and is therefore an acceptable alternative to giving up completely," Dr. Hilary Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who led the study, said in a statement.

Her study of 31,000 smokers found that 12,000, or 38 percent, had switched to a lighter brand.

A quarter said they switched because of flavor but nearly 20 percent said they had switched for a combination of better flavor, wanting to smoke a less harmful cigarette, and as part of an effort to give up smoking completely, Tindle's team reported in the journal Tobacco Control.

Those who switched brands were 58 percent more likely to have tried to quit smoking between 2002 and 2003 than those who stuck with their brand. But they were 60 percent less likely to actually succeed in quitting, Tindle's team found.

"Forty-three percent of smokers reported a desire to quit smoking as a reason for switching to lighter cigarettes. While these individuals were the most likely to make an attempt, ironically, they were the least likely to quit smoking," Tindle said.

Other research has shown that so-called low-tar cigarettes have just as much tar, nicotine and other compounds as regular cigarettes, making their .

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was given the power to regulate cigarettes in June and was immediately sued by companies such as Reynolds American Inc and Lorillard Inc. Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris unit, the nation's largest tobacco company, supports FDA oversight.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A263920091103

Drinking By Either Partner Cuts Odds of IVF Success

Posted by Maia Szalavitz Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 9:52 am
Time.com

Couples having difficulty conceiving may want to skip one item that is ordinarily considered helpful to the process—alcohol—at least if they are using in-vitro fertilization (IVF).  A new study of 2,574 couples undergoing 5,363 IVF cycles between 1994 and 2003 found that couples in which both partners drank four or more alcoholic beverages per week decreased their chances of having a live birth by 26%.

If only the woman reported drinking that amount or greater, the odds of a successful pregnancy fell by 16%; if the man was the one imbibing at that level, the odds fell 14%.  The researchers adjusted the data to account for other factors like age and obesity which can significantly affect fertility.

The type of alcohol also seemed to matter:  for women, white wine caused the most problems, cutting the live birth rate by 24%.  For men, the culprit was beer, which reduced the chances of pregnancy success by 30%.  Very few couples reported consuming hard liquor at these levels—so it's hard to know what effect that had.

Given that the worst outcomes were for the type of alcohol most likely to be consumed by each gender, it's possible that the couples who were drinking most heavily under-reported their use, making the effects of lower levels of drinking look worse than they are. However, the study's lead author, Brooke Rossi, MD, a clinical fellow in reproductive endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston notes that these effects were seen at a level below that considered as moderate drinking by national guidelines.

“It comes down to this,” says Rossi, “There are many factors in an IVF cycle that contribute to success or failure. Most of these, patients have no control over, like age. But one thing you can control is alcohol intake.  You can decrease or stop alcohol consumption, knowing that you are going to have to do it anyway if you do get pregnant and it may increase the chances of success in IVF cycle.”

The research was presented at a meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, held last week in Atlanta.

ICAAT has produced a 15-minute video addressing the "not-in-my-backyard" (NIMBY) phenomenon - probably the greatest barrier to meaningful expansion of methadone treatment availability in America. Throughout the USA, and in many other nations as well, efforts to open new facilities are met with fierce opposition based on fear of resultant crime and a general deterioration of the neighborhood.

This film highlights the patients, staff and services of a methadone maintenance treatment clinic operating since 1974 in a church building in the heart of residential and commercial Greenwich Village, NYC. We hope that the film promotes a greater understanding of methadone maintenance treatment, its patients and providers.

Study Counters Warnings on Quit-Smoking Drug

FRIDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) does not increase the risk for self-harm or depression, according to a new British study.

In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated that the drug carry a "black-box warning" on its packaging, indicating that people who use it face increased risk for "serious neuropsychiatric symptoms," including changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts and behavior and attempted suicide.

In the new study, British researchers analyzed database information on 80,660 men and women, ages 18 to 95, who were prescribed a smoking cessation product between September 2006 and May 2008. Prescriptions were for varenicline, the antidepressant bupropion (Zyban) or nicotine replacement products, such as a patch, inhaler, gum, tablet or lozenge. People were followed through the period of the prescription and for three months after the date of their last prescription.

No clear evidence emerged that varenicline or bupropion increased the risk for self-harm, suicidal thoughts or depression, the study reported.

However, the researchers added that "the limited power of the study means we cannot rule out either a halving or a twofold increased risk."

They recommended further study of varenicline's effect on suicide risk. They also said that any risks associated with varenicline must be balanced against the long-term health benefits of stopping smoking and the drug's effectiveness as a smoking cessation product.

The study, which had no drug company funding, was published online Oct. 1 in BMJ.

More information

The Tobacco Control Research Branch of the U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on quitting smoking

http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/drug/631560.html

Dr. Andrew Tatarsky on voice America Radio

Hear Dr. Tatarsky talk about integrative harm reduction psychotherapy and the current state of substance use treatment on Voice America

Alternative content

Listen at Voice America Talk Radio (includes commercials)
http://www.modavox.com/VoiceAmerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=41530

Itunes Podcast - Subscribe & Download (includes commercials)
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=316281888

Addicts get text overdose advice

Drug users in Swansea are being asked to sign up to be sent mobile texts on what to do if they overdose and how to reduce their addiction risks.

Messages such as "Overdose: Don't panic. Put them in the recovery position, dial 999" will be sent out.

Project director Ifor Glyn said their ultimate goal for users was complete abstinence, but the texts were a way of keeping drug users engaged with them.

But Tory AM Alun Cairns said any texts should try to get people off drugs.

The Swansea Drugs Project is asking its 700 existing users to sign up to receive the texts.

SDPFAST - the Swansea Drugs Project Free Advice Support Texts - will be free and confidential, and available to any of the users who sign up for it.

Brain changes caused by drinking before age 15 could predispose adolescents to a lifetime of alcohol dependency, HealthDay News reported Sept. 18.

Researcher Arpana Agrawal of the Washington University School of Medicine, who studied alcohol use among twins, said that early drinking "may induce changes in the highly sensitive adolescent brain, which may also modify an individual's subsequent genetic vulnerability" to addiction.

Agrawal found that age of first alcohol use corresponded with a greater number of alcohol dependency symptoms. Those who started drinking later in life were less likely to be dependent even if they were genetically predisposed to addiction, the study found.

The research will be published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/drinking-by-young-teens-may.html

Any Drinking Raises Risk of Traffic Accidents, Researchers Say

Even one or two alcoholic drinks can increase the risk of getting into an automobile accident, even if it's not technically drunk driving, according to Italian researchers.

Reuters reported Sept. 10 that individuals who consumed one or two drinks within 2-6 hours of driving more than doubled their risk of getting into an accident. Having more than two drinks tripled the risk of a crash.

Researcher Stefano Di Bartolomeo of the Università degli Studi di Udine and colleagues drew their conclusions from interviews of emergency-room patients who had been in car crashes; drivers were asked about their alcohol and food consumption prior to the crash, as well as how much sleep they had gotten.

The study also found that drinking combined with sleep depravation greatly increased the risk of a crash.

The study was published in the Sept. 1, 2009 issue of the journal BMC Public Health.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/any-drinking-raises-risk-of.html

Multiple factors impact adolescent smoking risk

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is no one-size-fits-all explanation for why teenagers take up smoking, hint findings of a Canadian study.

Therefore, focusing on one single risk factor is not likely to help adolescents resist peer pressure to smoke, or help advance the understanding of why young people smoke, Dr. Jennifer O'Loughlin and colleagues report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

O'Loughlin, at the University of Montreal in Quebec, therefore suggests that efforts to prevent smoking should take into account "individual-level factors such as age, self-esteem, alcohol use, and academic success." Those involved should also bear in mind "contextual factors such as smoking in parents and friends, and school smoking policies," she told Reuters Health in email correspondence.

Her group investigated how numerous factors altered smoking initiation among 877 students (half male), who were pushing 13 years of age at the start of the study and had never smoked.

Every 3 months for the next 5 years, the researchers surveyed students' smoking habits and other factors potentially linked with starting to smoke. During this period, 421 (48 percent) of the students started smoking, and 87 (21% of these) took up daily smoking.

Living in a single-parent family and poor academic performance in school all increased smoking risk. Using alcohol and other tobacco products upped risk nearly 3- and 5-fold.

Having siblings and friends who smoked raised an adolescent's risk for smoking about 2- and 3-fold. Having a parent or teachers and school staff who smoked increased the risk of beginning to smoke by about half or more.

Feeling the need for a cigarette raised smoking risk 6-fold. Adolescents who felt stressed, acted impulsively, and showed susceptibility to tobacco advertising were also more likely to begin smoking.

By contrast, gender, parents' education, feelings of depression, worry about weight or being overweight, seeking novel experiences, physical activity or playing sports, and television watching were some of the factors not linked with increased risk.

Prevention and cessation programs that target social, home, and school smoking, as well as tobacco advertising, may have a positive impact on adolescent smoking, O'Loughlin and colleagues surmise. They call for further investigations into factors linking alcohol use and smoking, and genetic variables tied to smoking risk.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, September 1, 2009.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE58A5H720090911

Announcement from Purple Ribbons for Overdose Prevention

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Please read and support the following announcement regarding a documentary film being made about the importance of passing the Good Samaritan 9-1-1 laws. These laws provide legal protection for people who call for medical help in the event of a drug overdose. They save lives! The filmmaker is looking for family members in Southern California who have lost a loved one to overdose and would be willing to speak about the experience in the film.

This is just one other way that we can use our experience and relationships to support the paradigm shift taking place toward a more humane, just, compassionate social response to the problems associated with drug use in the country. Please be an active part in moving the paradim forward.

Thank you for all that you do.

Andrew Tatarsky, PhD
Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and Training Associates
303 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1403
New York, NY 10016
212-633-8157
www.andrewtatarsky.com

*************************************************************************************

Announcement from Purple Ribbons for Overdose Prevention

Dear Friends,

I know many of you have lost children and spouses to accidental drug overdose, and I know many of you believe that a call to 911 or a shot of naloxone could have saved your loved one. A documentary filmmaker approached me, asking if I could help him locate a family member in Southern California to interview for his upcoming film about international drug policies.

He would like to interview a family member who believes that the US needs uniform Good Samaritan 9-1-1 laws, to protect & encourage people to call for help if they witness someone overdosing. We know that many people hesitate or fail to call for help because of fear of arrest for drug possession and that Good Samaritan 9-1-1 laws would put an end to that.

If you lost your son, daughter or spouse to overdose and believe that no one should ever be punished or penalized for calling 911 to save a life--and that naloxone should be made readily available to people at risk of opiate overdose--and you are willing to be interviewed for this important new film, please contact me immediately. This is an incredible project, involving some of the most important political voices from around the world!

If you aren't available to be interviewed for the film, but would be interested in telling your story to other members of the press, please let me know.

Email me: mralston@drugpolicy or send a message to me on Facebook. Visit www.drugpolicy.org/overdose to learn more about the issues & get involved. Thank you!

Meghan Ralston
Cause Creator

Binge Drinking, Not Necessarily Beer, Expands Waistlines, Study Finds

A study from Europe finds that the much-lamented "beer belly" isn't necessarily from drinking beer per se, but rather a consequence of binge drinking regardless of alcohol type.

WebMD reported Sept. 2 that a study of more than 28,000 middle-aged men and women found that those who were monthly binge drinkers (defined as consuming 80 grams of alcohol at a sitting, the equivalent of a six pack of beer) had average waistlines a half-inch bigger than those who drank the same amount of alcohol during the course of an entire week.

Beer drinkers weren't any more apt to sport a "beer belly" than consumers of other types of alcohol, according to researcher Martin Bobak of University College London and colleagues. Bingers had more body fat than non-bingers even if their overall weight was the same.

"Abdominal obesity is an important risk factor for diabetes and for cardiovascular disease," Bobak noted. "The finding that binge drinking is related to abdominal obesity is therefore important for our understanding of the link between heavy drinking and these diseases."

The findings were reported at the recent annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/binge-drinking-not.html

Smoking Three Cigarettes a Day Can Kill You

A new study from the American Heart Association finds that smoking as few as three cigarettes daily raises the risk of cardiovascular disease by 65 percent, WVNS-TV reported Sept. 1.

Secondhand-smoke exposure raises the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease 20-30 percent, the study also found.

Researchers from Brigham Young University also looked at the risk of illness from other forms of air pollution, WebMD reported Sept. 1.

"It doesn't require extreme exposure to have significant cardiovascular effects. Even passive exposures to ambient air pollution and secondhand smoke contribute to significant increases in cardiovascular mortality," said study author C. Arden Pope III, Ph.D. "A critical finding of our study is that smoking is unhealthy even at small amounts. Reducing the amount one smokes does some good, but the biggest benefits come from stopping completely." 

Smoking half a pack of cigarettes raised the risk of dying from heart disease by 79 percent, the researchers found, while smoking a pack a day increased the risk 100 percent.

The study appears in the August 2009 issue of the journal Circulation.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/smoking-three-cigarettes-a.html

Cocaine Cutting Agent Leads to Illness 

Drug users who ingested cocaine cut with a substance called levamisole have contracted a blood disease known as agranulocytosis in Massachusetts and other states, the Boston Globe reported Sept. 1.

Massachusetts doctors recently treated their first patient known to have contracted the disease from cocaine cut with levamisole, a drug that has been used as an antibiotic and to treat roundworm in livestock and fish. Cocaine cut with levamisole also has been blamed for illnesses and deaths in Washington and other states.

Health officials in Massachusetts and Washington have sent out warnings about levamisole and the risk of agranulocytosis, a disease that causes a drop in white blood-cell count and carries symptoms including high fever, chills, weakness, swollen glands, and painful sores. "This can be very serious," said Al DeMaria, the chief epidemiologist in Massachusetts. "Why someone would be using this in cocaine, no one really knows."

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/cocaine-cutting-agent-leads.html

Are you struggling with  problems you don't understand?  Do you need hope, help, support & Information? Support and Answers to all your questions about BPD.

August 31, 2009      
7-9 PM 

23 Greene St. 3rd Floor  
SOHO NY
Between Canal and Grand St.

SPOTLIGHT ON RECOVERY

"Spotlight On Recovery" is an outreach and resource magazine geared towards individuals affected directly or indirectly by overwhelming issues.

Previous articles highlighted in "Spotlight On Recovery" include harassment on the job, mental health, forgiveness, accessible testing for dyslexia for all public school children, women in prison, legalizing marijuana, coverage of the recipients of the Edison O. Jackson Single Father’s Foundation Scholarship, "Lost Glory," the disappearance of the Two Parent Household, Family Planning, Adult Illiteracy, Youth Awareness, Support and Recovery, a column for fathers dealing with “Baby Mama Drama” and a host of talented poets who will stir your heart and soul.To learn more about Spotlight On Recovery or to subscribe, please contact Robin Graham at http://spotlightonrecovery.com.

HEALTHY MONDAY

Healthy Monday is a non-profit public health organization founded in 2005 in association with Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and Syracuse University. Our goal is to end chronic preventable disease in the U.S. by offering people and organizations a weekly prompt to start and sustain healthy behaviors, intentions and actions. Visit www.healthymonday.org to learn more and to sign up for a weekly Healthy Monday tip.

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. We provide the information and recipes you need to start each week with healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives. Our goal is to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your personal health and the health of the planet. Click here to sign up for the newsletter, "Eater's Digest."
 

Preventing Overdose, Saving Lives. Drug Policy Alliance; June 2009

This report examines the nationwide opioid overdose epidemic and calls for immediate action to address this public health crisis. As “Preventing Overdose, Saving Lives,” details, evidence-based strategies already exist that can reduce overdose risk, protect Good Samaritans and medical professionals, streamline government response systems, and save lives. A national overdose prevention effort is urgently needed, and this report provides a clear way forward for policymakers seeking a public health approach to the overdose emergency.

To raise awareness about the worldwide lack of access to methadone and buprenorphine – the best studied and most effective medications for opiate dependence – The International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute launched the Where’s th e Methadone? Campaign at the AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Methadone and buprenorphine are lifesaving medications that help prevent HIV and help those on AIDS treatments stay on them, yet they are currently available to less than 10% of people who need them.

In the tradition of Mexican wrestlers, two superheroes – “Methadone Man” and “Buprenorphine Babe” – took the International AIDS Conferen ce by storm, as they provided posters, postcards and information about the need for these essential medicines. But the campaign did not end with the conference. We need your help to spread the word!

We encourage you to visit www.wheresthemethadone.org to join the campaign. The site, which is available in English, Russian and Spanish, provides more information about methadone and buprenorphine, and their benefits to opiate users and society in general.