Obscure Rule Restricts
Health Law’s Expansion of Care for Addicts
On its surface, the Affordable Care Act seems like a boon
for addiction treatment centers like the South Suburban Council on Alcoholism
and Substance Abuse, housed in a no-frills former hotel outside Chicago. The
law allowed states to expand Medicaid to many more low-income people, meaning
that drug addicts and alcoholics who were previously ineligible could now
receive coverage for substance abuse treatment, which the law has deemed an
“essential health benefit.” To
continue reading please click here.
Alcohol Test: Does Eating
Yeast Keep You From Getting Drunk?
Sometimes we drink with the sole purpose of relaxing, or
drowning the week's worries. But other times we just want to savor a special
craft beer or vintage wine, or make that good meal taste even better. And as we
get older, we're warier of that third or fourth glass. The consequences of too
much alcohol — the drowsiness, the confusion and the wobbling — are a bigger
hindrance. And let's face it: A hangover at 36 isn't the same as one at 22. So
when we came across a tip in for staving off intoxication, we perked up. You
mean I might be able to have another glass of pinot noir or a third IPA without
getting as loopy? Tell me more. To
continue reading please click here.
Colorado pot use soars
above experts’ early predictions: study
A new study by Colorado’s department of revenue’s Marijuana
Enforcement Division and the state’s Marijuana Policy Group concludes that only
about nine percent of Colorado’s population uses the drug, but will go through
121.4 metric tons of it every year. To
continue reading please click here.
Rand Paul: Give kids a
second chance after drug crime
A friend of mine's brother was convicted of a felony for
growing marijuana plants in his college dorm. Thirty years later he still can't
vote and his felony record prevents him from getting a good job. Because of his
story and others like it, I introduced bipartisan legislation to restore
federal voting rights for non-violent offenders upon release from prison. To
continue reading please click here.
Commentary: Parity and the
Path to Change the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
The Treatment Research Institute recently welcomed The
Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, one of the major architects of parity
legislation, and a tireless advocate for improving substance abuse care through
better policy, to our hometown of Philadelphia. His important insight about how
the Parity Law will transform substance abuse and mental healthcare is
certainly worth talking about some more. To
continue reading please click here.
Study: Counseling Via
Telephone Could Cut Prescription Painkiller Use
A new study finds people with chronic pain who received
counseling from a nurse over the phone were able to reduce their dose of pain
medication. The researchers say the findings suggest “telecare” could reduce
the risk of prescription drug abuse and accidental overdoses. To
continue reading please click here.
Young adults reduce binge
drinking after receiving text messages following visit to ER
Young adults who screened positive for a history of
hazardous or binge drinking reduced their binge drinking by more than 50
percent after receiving mobile phone text messages following a visit to the
emergency department, according to a study published online yesterday in Annals
of Emergency Medicine ("A Text Message Alcohol Intervention for Young
Adult Emergency Department Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial"). To
continue reading please click here.
21: Science's limit when
it comes to the drinking age
On July 17, 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed into law
the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which withheld a percentage of highway
funds from any state that didn't raise the minimum drinking age to 21. To
continue reading please click here.
Grieving the Loss of
Addiction
An addict who has tried to kick their habit for years
finally makes their way into recovery. What could they possibly have to grieve
about? Actually, recovering addicts have a lot to grieve. The activity that has
been the central focus of their lives is now something they can never do again.
The only comfort they have known is gone, and their life requires a complete
overhaul. That’s a lot to take in, especially at a time when they are least
prepared in terms of ego strength and coping skills. To
continue reading please click here.
Is drinking with your kids
at home a good idea?
I probably think about the dangers of drinking more than the
average person because there is alcoholism in my family. As a parent, I am
slightly obsessed with figuring out what I can do to make sure my children, 6
and 8, don't have problems with alcohol when they get older. So, on this the
30th anniversary of the national drinking age being raised to 21, I'm asking
myself the following question: Am I better off never letting my girls drink
around me, at home or at family celebrations, until they reach the legal
drinking age or does it make drinking less taboo and alluring if I let them
start drinking at home, maybe with sips of wine and beer, during their teenage
years? To
continue reading please click here.
You Can’t Make Me – Or Can
You? Mandated AA Attendance and the Law
Consider a woman court-ordered to a 90-day residential rehab
stay which, upon completion, would take the place of her jail sentence for
driving while under the influence and criminal damage to property. Although her
religious practices were unconventional and she so informed the rehab, she did
her best to follow the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which encourages
its members to use “whatever works” as their “higher power” to foster recovery.
To
continue reading please click here.
Decline in Prescription
Drug Misuse More than Twice as High in States with Broad Drug Abuse Prevention
Programs
Five states that have implemented multi-faceted prescription
drug abuse prevention programs in recent years showed the highest rate of
decline in prescription drug misuse rates nationwide, according to a new study
issued today by Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic
information services. The findings suggest that broad, collaborative measures
that include prescription drug databases and physician and patient education
may be effective at curbing the nation's epidemic of prescription drug abuse. To
continue reading please click here.
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