6.8 Million Adults Had Both Mental Illness and Substance Use
Disorder in 2011
In 2011, 18.9 million adults in the United States had past
year substance use disorder (SUD), and 41.4 million adults had mental illness
in the past year; 6.8 million adults experienced both (Figure). Among adults
with SUD, 36.1 percent also had a co-occurring mental illness, whereas, among
adults without SUD, 16.2 percent had mental illness. Among adults with mental
illness in the past year, 16.5 percent had SUD, compared with 6.3 percent of
adults who did not have mental illness. Providers working with individuals with
either SUD or mental illness may consider screening for co-occurring disorders
and linking individuals to integrated treatment programs. For more information
on co-occurring mental illness and SUD from the National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (NSDUH), please go to: http://www.samhsa.gov/
data/2k13/NSDUH148/ sr148-mental-illness-estimates.htm. Source: National
Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2011 (revised October 2013). NSDUH is
an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA). The survey collects data by administering
questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through
face-to-face interviews at their places of residence.
Hangovers after 40: Why
alcohol packs a more powerful punch as you age
‘All of the effects of alcohol are sort of amplified with
age’: Body composition, medication and liver functionality all contribute to
longer-lasting hangovers and greater sensitivity to booze, experts say.
Once you hit 40, you may find that drinking like you did in
your 20s leaves you feeling worse for wear in the morning. That's because
alcohol hits you harder as you get older and everything from muscle mass to
over-the-counter meds are to blame for the more painful hangovers. Click
here to continue.
Top 17 Abused Prescription
Drugs of 2013
The CDC, according to the White House’s website, classifies
prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. Many young people who get involved with
drugs start with prescription drugs, as they frequently view them as safer than
illegal ones because they’re prescribed by doctors. So, which often-abused
prescription medicines are the biggest troublemakers? Below is a list of 17
abused prescription drugs as listed by CDC, FDA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA), and nongovernment nonprofit sources on public websites. More
here.
Drug use among U.S.
workers down 74% over 25 years since passage of the Drug-Free Workplace Act
Drug use among American workers declined dramatically over
the past 25 years, although the rate of positive test results for certain
drugs, including amphetamine and opiates, continues to climb, according to a
landmark analysis of workplace drug test results by Quest Diagnostics. The
special 25th Anniversary Drug Testing Index (DTI) coincides with the passage of
the Drug-Free Workplace Act in 1988, which was a catalyst for greater awareness
of the problem of workplace drug use and the implementation of workplace drug
education and monitoring programs, including drug testing by federal agencies
and private employers in the United States. Please
click here to read more.
Editorial - Punch-drunk
culture must stop celebrating alcohol abuse
The time will have to come when Australia confronts and acts
on the damage done by alcohol, just as it did with tobacco. For the
moment, too many people see the abuse of alcohol as someone else’s problem.
Tougher government action on prevention is not seen as a priority, especially
if that means higher prices, restricted access and a rethink of the central
role booze plays in our cultural life. As evidence builds of the immense damage
alcohol abuse is causing, let’s hope Australians will begin to see the need for
action. In the past week alone, the Herald has reported how one in
eight deaths of Australians aged under 25 is related to alcohol consumption;
two in three young drinkers indulge specifically to get drunk; pre-loading of
drinks is feeding a culture of binge drinking. This week we can expect the
drunken antics of teens at schoolies. Rest
of this item is here.
More School, Less Spirit:
Why Young People Are Drinking Less Alcohol
College kids on both sides of the Atlantic are drinking much
less than they did 30 years ago. But the true teetotalers here are non-college
kids.
British undergrads these days are suspiciously sober, says
the Financial Times. And pub owners think they know the culprit. It's tuition.
The British government decided two years ago to let universities raise tuition
fees from £3,375 to £9000. Confronted by tighter budgets and poorer
post-graduation job prospects, students have traded beers for books. "Nine
thousand pounds is a sobering enough number for anybody," the chief
executive of Britain's biggest nightclub operator told the paper.
Continue reading here.
1 in 6 unemployed are
substance abusers
About 1 in 6 unemployed workers are addicted to alcohol or
drugs -- almost twice the rate for full-time workers, according to the
government's National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey shows that 17%
of unemployed workers had a substance abuse disorder last year, whereas 9% of
full-time workers did so. The numbers are self-reported, and therefore, could
be even higher in reality. Please
click here for the rest of this story.
Study deems US alcohol ad
regulations ‘ambiguous’
Academics from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health in Baltimore found that the majority of spirits advertisements in
magazines across the US adhered to industry regulations, but added concerns
that these rules are often “ambiguous” Katherine Smith, associate professor at
the college and lead author of the paper, told Reuters: “In our paper one of
our main findings is that the content is largely adherent to federal and
industry codes, but it’s still very problematic.” In particular, Smith notes
that sexual representation in these advertisements may not be subject to clear
guidelines and that “compliance is largely a non-issue” due to the blurred
definition of standards. Click
here to continue.
5 Jaw-Dropping Facts about
Legal Marijuana
The legal use of marijuana for both medical use and adult
recreational use is on the rise. Here are five facts that might just surprise
you about the drug.
Rest of this story continues here.
Why Family Dinners Won't
Stop Drug Abuse
Researchers doubt whether meals keep teenagers from
substance abuse.
Food-fueled family gatherings at Thanksgiving undoubtedly
are a boon for turkey farmers, football broadcasters and airlines. Do they also
keep teenagers from using drugs and alcohol? The role of family dinners in
preventing substance abuse has become a surprisingly fertile field of research.
For a decade, an organization affiliated with Columbia University has reported
on the result of asking teenagers about how often they eat dinner with their
families, as well as their use of, and attitudes toward, drugs, tobacco and
alcohol. The surveys' consistent finding, that the most frequent family diners
are the least frequent drug abusers, has been trumpeted in many news articles
touting the benefits of family meals. The finding was satisfying to
family-values advocates and, in the view of many, consistent with common sense.
The idea that family dinners protect teens "conjures up Norman Rockwell
images of families seated around the table together," said Daniel P.
Miller, assistant professor of human behavior at the Boston University School
of Social Work. "It plays into what we think a family ought to look
like." Some researchers, however, including Dr. Miller, were skeptical,
wondering if other factors, such as a family's income or parents' weekly work
hours, accounted for both the frequency of family meals and drug use. Or maybe,
these researchers said, the conclusion that such dinners suppress drug use
mixes up cause and effect: Teens out misbehaving with their friends might not
get home in time for dinner, for example. Please
click here to continue.
Report: Only Half of
Prescription Drugs Removed From Sewage by Treatment Plants
A report by U.S. and Canadian officials concludes only about
half of prescription drugs and other “chemicals of emerging concern” are
removed from sewage by treatment plants. The findings come from the
International Joint Commission, a group of officials studying the Great Lakes.
Better water treatment is needed, the report concludes. “The compounds show up
in low levels – parts per billion or parts per trillion – but aquatic life and
humans aren’t exposed to just one at a time, but a whole mix,” said study lead
author Antonette Arvai. “We need to find which of these chemicals might hurt
us.” The researchers analyzed 10 years of data from wastewater treatment plants
around the world, to see how effective they are at removing 42 compounds
increasingly being detected in the Great Lakes, Scientific American reports.
Six of the compounds were detected frequently, and had a low rate of removal in
treated sewage. Five of the six were drugs: an anti-seizure medication, two antibiotics,
an antibacterial drug and an anti-inflammatory drug. The sixth compound was an
herbicide. Diana Aga, a chemistry professor and researcher at the University of
Buffalo who studies emerging chemicals in the Great Lakes, told the magazine
that even without knowing the impact of the drugs in treated sewage, it is
concerning to see antibiotics showing up. “Even at low levels you don’t want to
have people ingest antibiotics regularly because it will promote resistance,”
she said.
Heavy Drinking Can Dry Up
a Marriage If One Spouse Abstains
Heavy drinking by one partner in a marriage increases the
risk of divorce, but that's not the case if both spouses are heavy drinkers, a
new study finds. Researchers followed nearly 650 couples for the first nine
years of their marriage and found that the divorce rate was nearly 50 percent
for couples where only one partner drank heavily. Heavy drinking was defined as
having six or more drinks at one time or drinking to intoxication. The divorce
rate for couples where neither were heavy drinkers and for couples where both
were heavy drinkers was 30 percent, according to the study, published in the
December issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. You can
continue reading this story here.
Chris Christie says no to
bill expanding medical marijuana program
The latest bill to expand the medical marijuana program is
only days old, but Gov. Chris Christie said he already knows he won't sign it.
The bill would allow registered medical marijuana patients in New Jersey to buy
the drug in another state where it's legal and bring it home. Six of the 19
states and Washington D.C. that have medical marijuana programs have such
reciprocity agreements by which they recognize patients outside of their own
state. Christie told reporters he is "not open to it," and believes
it's just a back door way to legalize marijuana for everyone. Continue
reading here.
Molly ER Visits Rose 128
Percent in Six Years Among Those Under 21
Emergency room visits related to Molly, or Ecstasy, rose 128
percent among people younger than 21 between 2005 and 2011, according to a new
government report. The number of visits by young people to U.S. emergency rooms
for complications from Molly increased from 4,460 to 10,176, CBS News reports.
“I think people are looking for the ultimate and safe high they can achieve,”
said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in
New York. “There’s a mistaken belief that this is a safe drug with little
toxicity.” The drug, also known as MDMA, is usually taken in pill or powder
form. It is sometimes mixed with substances such as cocaine, heroin or
ketamine, the article notes. Glatter warned the drug can be even more dangerous
if it is mixed with alcohol. “There’s a greater potential effect of toxicity,”
he added. “Patients want to combine the two substances and have a greater
effect that in and of itself is much more dangerous considerably.” According to
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which released
the report, Molly can produce a variety of undesirable health effects such as
anxiety and confusion, which can last one week or longer after using the drug.
Other serious health risks associated include becoming dangerously overheated,
high blood pressure, and kidney and heart failure.
“This should be a wake-up call to everyone, but the problem
is much bigger than what the data show,” said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO
of The Partnership at Drugfree.org. “These are only the cases that roll into
the emergency rooms. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
6 Percent of Teens Report
Using Psychiatric Medicine: Report
A new government report finds about 6 percent of U.S. teens
say they use a psychiatric medicine as drug therapy, similar to the rate 10
years ago. Boys are more likely than girls to be prescribed stimulants such as
Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while girls are
more likely to be given antidepressants, Bloomberg reports. ADHD drugs and
antidepressants were the most commonly prescribed medicines for teens between
2005 and 2010, according to the report by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. A survey of teens conducted between 1988 and 1994 found 1 percent
of teens were prescribed psychiatric medications. A decade later, 6.8 percent
of teens reported using psychiatric drugs to treat a mental health condition, a
rate that has held steady since, according to Bruce Jonas, an author of the new
study. He noted prescriptions for psychiatric drugs may have risen because of
an increased awareness of mental illness among teens, and the availability of
new treatments for depression and ADHD. The new survey found about half of
teens who reported using psychiatric drugs had seen a mental health
professional in the past year. Most of the teens surveyed said they were taking
no more than one psychiatric drug. The findings are published in a National
Center for Health Statistics Data Brief.
People Who Abuse
Prescription Opioids Prefer Oxycodone Over Hydrocodone
A study of opioid-dependent patients entering drug-treatment
programs across the country finds oxycodone is the most popular prescription
opioid to abuse because of the quality of the high the drug produces. Overall,
75 percent of people who abuse prescription opioids use either oxycodone or
hydrocodone, Science Daily reports. The study of 3,520 people who abused
opioids found 44.7 percent of patients preferred oxycodone, while 29.4 percent
preferred hydrocodone. Ninety percent said they used opioids to alter their
mood, while 50 of oxycodone users and 60 percent of those using hydrocodone
said they also used the drugs to treat pain. The findings are published in the
journal Pain. “The data show that hydrocodone is popular because it is
relatively inexpensive, easily accessible through physicians, friends, and
families, and is perceived as relatively safe to use, particularly by
risk-averse users,” researcher Theodore J. Cicero, PhD, of the Department of
Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, said in a news release. “This
group includes generally risk-averse women, elderly people, non-injectors, and
those who prefer safer modes of acquisition than dealers, such as doctors,
friends, or family members. In contrast, we found that oxycodone is much more
attractive to risk-tolerant young male users who prefer to inject or snort
their drugs to get high and are willing to use riskier forms of diversion
despite paying twice as much for oxycodone than hydrocodone.” The researchers
noted people who abuse oxycodone are more likely to tamper with the drug in
order to inhale or inject it, compared with those who use hydrocodone. While
the introduction of an abuse-deterrent formulation of OxyContin in 2010 led to
a significant decrease in abuse of the drug, oxycodone products remain more
popular than hydrocodone products among people who abuse opioids, they said.
SBIRT: Stopping Addiction
Before it Starts
The facts are clear: in our country, there is an imminent
need for substance abuse prevention and intervention as early in the teen years
as possible. A recent study in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that
the 15 percent of U.S. high school students who abuse drugs and alcohol began
using at 14 or 15. “When the first exposure occurs in younger versus older
adolescents,” explains Professor Didier Jutras-Aswad of the University of Montreal,
“the impact…seems to be worse in regard to many outcomes such as mental health,
education attainment, delinquency and ability to conform to adult roles.” We
know that kids who do not develop an addiction problem by age 21 are unlikely
to become addicted later on. Plus, the adolescent brain continues to develop
judgment and the ability to resist foolish or dangerous behavior until around
age 25, which means that the teen and young adult years are a particularly
vulnerable time for the risk-taking that often characterizes them. Please
click here to read more.
Medical marijuana
reciprocity 'will not happen' in N.J., Christie vows
A measure proposed by New Jersey Assemblywoman Linda Stender
calls for allowing residents enrolled in the state's medical marijuana program
to purchase medical marijuana out of state. But Gov. Chris Christie said Monday
he will not expand the program. "Here's what the advocates want: They want
legalization of marijuana in New Jersey. It will not happen on my watch,
ever," he said. "I am done expanding the medical marijuana program
under any circumstances. Continue
reading here.
About 1 Percent of
Anesthesiology Residents Have Substance Use Disorder: Study
Slightly less than 1 percent of anesthesiology residents in
the United States have a substance use disorder, according to a new study. The
incidence of substance use has been increasing, and relapse rates are not
improving, the researchers said. The study followed 45,000 anesthesiology
residents who began their training between 1975 and 2009, HealthDay reports.
They found the overall rate of substance abuse was 0.86 percent. Rates were
higher at the beginning of the study, and decreased between 1996 and 2002. They
began rising again in 2003. Twenty-eight anesthesiology residents died due to
substance abuse during the study period. Among others who abused substances, 43
percent had at least one relapse over the following 30 years, and 11 percent
died from a substance use disorder. The most commonly abused substances were
intravenous opioids, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and anesthetics/hypnotics. The
findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Designer Drugs Imported
Legally in Large Quantities
Large amounts of designer drugs are being imported into the
United States legally, CBS News reports. The drugs include synthetic marijuana,
known as Spice. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Doug Coleman says
China is the main source of these drugs. CBS News found a Chinese manufacturer
online that sells chemical compounds. The company offered to ship two pounds of
synthetic marijuana for $2,500. While Spice and several other synthetic drugs
were outlawed by the federal government last year, chemists have been evading
the law by continually coming up with chemical compounds that are slightly
different from the ones that have been banned. Coleman says U.S. Customs
authorities cannot stop imports of compounds that are still legal. “It’s like
whack a mole,” he told CBS News. “They pop their head up, we hit them, they go
down and then they pop their head up in another spot. It’s always a
cat-and-mouse game. This is just a more advanced type of cat-and-mouse because
now we’ve got chemists manufacturing synthetic drugs as opposed to cartel
members trafficking heroin, or coke, or methamphetamine.” Another synthetic
drug that has been growing in popularity is Molly, or Ecstasy. Emergency room
visits related to Molly rose 128 percent among people younger than 21 between
2005 and 2011, according to a new government report.
The World’s Deadliest
Drug: Inside a Krokodil Cookhouse
About a decade ago, Russian doctors began to notice strange
wounds on the bodies of some drug addicts—patches of flesh turning dark and
scaly, like a crocodile’s—in the hospitals of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
It didn’t take them long to discover the cause: the patients had begun
injecting a new drug they called, predictably, “krokodil.” (Some accounts
suggest the name was derived from one of the drug’s precursor chemicals,
alpha-chlorocodide.) Videos showing the effects of the “flesh-eating”
drug—christened desomorphine when it was invented for medical use in
1932—quickly went viral online. There are now alarming stories that the monster
could be at large in the U.S.
Rest of this photo essay is here.
The Washington Post Editorial: NIH research is ailing
from the budget squeeze
Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been distributing a chart that shows the success rate of grant applications to NIH for scientific research. While the rate was about 30 percent as recently as a decade ago, it has plunged to about 15 percent, which Dr. Collins says is the lowest in history. One reason for this is that more applicants are seeking funds, but the budget squeeze also is to blame. Dr. Collins is worried that the low success rate will cause young scientists and researchers to abandon the laboratory for other careers or to take their talents and ideas to other countries. NIH is the source of about 90 percent of basic research funding in biomedicine in the United States, and the field today is exciting and dynamic: Advances in genomics and imaging technologies are throwing open new worlds of exploration and promising vastly greater understanding of how diseases occur and can be treated. This is a time of promise, Dr. Collins told us, in research to fight cancer, HIV/AIDS, influenza and Alzheimer’s disease, among others. The United States should be at the forefront of this era and must pay for the research to do it. From fiscal 1998 to 2003, NIH saw its program-level funding double, then plateau — which, given inflation, really means a steady erosion. More painful budget cuts could be in the offing in January. The argument that biomedical research pays a generous return on investment is well-grounded, not only in dollars but also in lives saved and illnesses conquered. There’s been a serious investment in training a new generation of scientists; it would be a pity to reverse direction on them now. Dr. Collins’s appeal is one among many voiced lately by special interests. Non-defense discretionary spending is being crammed into ever smaller space because of the continuing impasse over the big issues of entitlements, taxes and defense. This affliction in our politics cannot be cured by science or medicine. It will require willpower and difficult choices by the president and Congress. But when the scientist in charge of the nation’s research enterprise frets about “deep long-term damage” to biomedical research, we ought to pay particular attention. The research NIH funds is precisely what we should demand from government. It is critical to our future as a healthy society and world leader in science, and it’s not something the private sector will do in government’s stead. Do political leaders really want to explain to future generations why they let the United States walk away from a great age of biomedical discovery?
Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been distributing a chart that shows the success rate of grant applications to NIH for scientific research. While the rate was about 30 percent as recently as a decade ago, it has plunged to about 15 percent, which Dr. Collins says is the lowest in history. One reason for this is that more applicants are seeking funds, but the budget squeeze also is to blame. Dr. Collins is worried that the low success rate will cause young scientists and researchers to abandon the laboratory for other careers or to take their talents and ideas to other countries. NIH is the source of about 90 percent of basic research funding in biomedicine in the United States, and the field today is exciting and dynamic: Advances in genomics and imaging technologies are throwing open new worlds of exploration and promising vastly greater understanding of how diseases occur and can be treated. This is a time of promise, Dr. Collins told us, in research to fight cancer, HIV/AIDS, influenza and Alzheimer’s disease, among others. The United States should be at the forefront of this era and must pay for the research to do it. From fiscal 1998 to 2003, NIH saw its program-level funding double, then plateau — which, given inflation, really means a steady erosion. More painful budget cuts could be in the offing in January. The argument that biomedical research pays a generous return on investment is well-grounded, not only in dollars but also in lives saved and illnesses conquered. There’s been a serious investment in training a new generation of scientists; it would be a pity to reverse direction on them now. Dr. Collins’s appeal is one among many voiced lately by special interests. Non-defense discretionary spending is being crammed into ever smaller space because of the continuing impasse over the big issues of entitlements, taxes and defense. This affliction in our politics cannot be cured by science or medicine. It will require willpower and difficult choices by the president and Congress. But when the scientist in charge of the nation’s research enterprise frets about “deep long-term damage” to biomedical research, we ought to pay particular attention. The research NIH funds is precisely what we should demand from government. It is critical to our future as a healthy society and world leader in science, and it’s not something the private sector will do in government’s stead. Do political leaders really want to explain to future generations why they let the United States walk away from a great age of biomedical discovery?
Use of E-Cigarettes Among
Teens Linked to Heavier Use of Regular Cigarettes
A new study finds the use of e-cigarettes among teens is
associated with heavier use of regular cigarettes. The researchers say their
findings suggest that the devices are creating a new pathway for youth to
become addicted to nicotine. Researchers at the University of California, San
Francisco, studied 75,000 South Korean teenagers. They found four out of five
teens who use e-cigarettes also smoke tobacco cigarettes, according to the San
Francisco Chronicle. Young e-cigarette smokers were more likely to have tried
to quit smoking, which the researchers say suggests that some teens may be
using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking regular cigarettes. “Use of
e-cigarettes is associated with heavier use of conventional cigarettes, which
raises the likelihood that actual use of e-cigarettes may increase harm by
creating a new pathway for youth to become addicted to nicotine and by reducing
the odds that an adolescent will stop smoking conventional cigarettes,” the
researchers wrote in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Five Things You Don't Know
About Alcohol
On Dec. 5, 1933, the United States ratified the 21st
amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ending more than a decade of Prohibition.
Federal law still bans the distilling of spirits in the home with numerous
licensing requirements. Click
here to continue.
Coming soon: A preview of
a new, legal marijuana landscape in the U.S.
Mark Kleiman is a UCLA public professor and a go-to guy when
it comes to drug policy analysis; it’s a field he’s studied for years,
including the consequences and mechanics of the pendulum swings of
criminalizing and legalizing marijuana. Lately, the goalposts — at least from
the point of view of the legal marijuana lobby — have moved, and Kleiman
consulted with Washington state’s liquor control board about the rules of the
road for the state’s Jan. 1 legal marijuana market. He’s been assessing law
enforcement and marijuana in the evolving legal marijuana world. He’d told
Washington state that legalizing didn’t mean not policing in the new marijuana
market; it may in fact require more at the outset, to make certain the new
rules are followed and an illicit market doesn’t persist. Read
on here.
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