Our latest weekly Addiction News & Policy Update is here! - Ending February 13, 2015

Does drinking alcohol-even heavily-protect against ALS?
Everyone knows that ALS is a very bad disease, an awareness underscored by the recent Ice Bucket Challenge. The death of neurons that results in paralysis can be caused by specific genetic mutations.  But in most cases, single genes are not the culprit. So researchers have looked for other risk factors that might play a role.  Please click here to continue reading.

Resveratrol Found In Red Wine May Help Prevent Memory Loss, Study Says
A compound found in foods including red wine, grapes, and peanuts may help prevent age-related memory loss, according to new research published by a faculty member in the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.   Please click here to continue reading.

Self-serve beer, wine on tap in Michigan?
Possibly coming soon to a bar or restaurant near you: tableside devices so customers can tap their own drinks such as wine, or a "wall of beer" where they can draw a favorite amber or stout from a row of self-serve spigots. Please click here to continue reading.

Medical Marijuana Use For Children With Developmental Disorders May Do More Harm Than Good

As medical marijuana becomes increasingly more accepted and researched, it is beginning to seem that there is no limit to what this miracle drug can be used for. But are we going too far when this use extends to our children and adolescents? Previously in late January, The American Academy of Pediatrics called for a rescheduling of the drug in order to research its possible benefits for children suffering from various types of cancer. Now, there is a movement to test the drug's possible use for children with developmental and behavioral problems, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Please click here to read more.

U.S. schools turn to new programs to warn teens of drug risks
The desperate cry of a mother finding her 17-year-old son dead from a painkiller and another prescription drug instantly silences hundreds of Pennsylvania high school students who listen to her 911 call played at an early morning assembly. Click here to continue reading.

Do Social Media Encourage Drinking?
New research suggests the more a Facebook user views shares or comments in alcohol-related pages, the more likely that person will consider drinking alcohol. The findings come from a Michigan State University study which asked more than 400 participants their feelings after they encountered and responded to alcohol-related Facebook items.   Please click here to continue reading.

Federal Government Set To Crack Down On Drug Courts That Fail Addicts

The federal government is cracking down on drug courts that refuse to let opioid addicts access medical treatments such as Suboxone, said Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Thursday. Drug courts that receive federal dollars will no longer be allowed to ban the kinds of medication-assisted treatments that doctors and scientists view as the most effective care for opioid addicts, Botticelli announced in a conference call with reporters.   Please click here to continue reading.

Alcohol Health Benefits Are Exaggerated, As Positive Effects Apply Only To Narrow Range Of People

"Didn't you see the news? A little light drinking is the best thing for you, it even helps guard against heart disease," the loud woman sitting next to you at the bar says again. A study analyzing data from England's National Health System suggests the supposed health benefits of moderate drinking are wild exaggerations, most likely born in the backroom of a pub. Compared to people who are lifetime non-drinkers, women over the age of 65 reap some small protective reward from light drinking, the researchers say, but all other age-sex groups show no positive effects whatsoever.  Click here to continue reading.

For college students, being a 'good Samaritan' can be complicated
Emily Holland didn't expect she would have to make a lifesaving phone call her second weekend at George Washington University, but when her friend got alcohol poisoning, she was faced with a difficult decision. Please click here for more.

Drugs for Alcoholism Don't Have to Lead to Sobriety
Drugmakers aiming to tackle alcoholism, a condition that affects 17 million Americans, may have a smoother path to market under a U.S. proposal to guide development of treatments.Click here to read more. .

Recovery high schools help save young lives
It's hard enough to pull away from addiction when you're an adult. How do you do it as an adolescent - when you're not yet fully formed, and your friends are everything?  Click here to continue reading.

Mental health care uncoordinated, report says
Federal health officials need to do a better job coordinating help for people with serious mental illness, according to a new report by a government watchdog agency. Rest of this article is here.

NCADD's Weekly Addiction News & Policy Update - Week ending January 9, 2015

Booze apps slammed for targeting young people JCU's professor Lynn Eagle and her team of researchers conducted a study involving alcohol use and discovered almost 80% promote heavy drinking. She explained many of the apps are aimed at young people and likely to work well. In addition, she noted there are no age restrictions on any of the apps. Please click here to continue reading.    Pot Pie, Redefined? Chefs Start to Experiment With Cannabis Recreational marijuana is both illegal and controversial in most of the country, and its relationship to food does not rise much above a joke about brownies or a stoner chef's late-night pork belly poutine.But cooking with cannabis is emerging as a legitimate and very lucrative culinary pursuit. Please click here to continue reading.   Resolutions can harm mental health During the next few weeks, prepare to be barraged by admonitions to make New Year's resolutions. These messages connect with us because we aspire to be better people. Research indicates that the most popular resolutions in 2014 focused on losing weight, getting organized, spending less/saving more, enjoying life to the fullest and staying fit and healthy. About 50 percent of us make such resolutions every year. What a great opportunity to reflect upon our lives and make a commitment to change the way we think, act and feel. Who wouldn't want to be healthier, happier and more engaged with our work, family and friends? However, be warned. New Year's resolutions can be dangerous to your mental health. Please click here to continue reading.    Scientists show that drunk birds 'slur' their songs Sometimes science means getting a bunch of finches sloshed. Or at least giving them blood alcohol levels of around .08 percent, which is pretty crazy by bird standards. In a study published last week in PLOS ONE, researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University tempted zebra finches with spiked juice -- but not because they wanted to help the lab animals ring in the new year in style. Click here to continue reading. Facilities targeting specialized needs of opioid-dependent and pain patients Some addiction treatment facilities treating opioid addiction, sometimes complicated by concurrent severe pain, are finding that service quality can be improved in small-group treatment settings with a narrower focus on the opioid patient alone. Click here to read more. Lawsuit seeks to make drugmaker pay for OxyContin abuse Prescription drug abuse has killed more than 20,000 Americans a year, filled jails and treatment centers and spawned a resurgence in heroin use. And nowhere is the pill problem more prevalent than in Kentucky's Appalachians, where officials trace its roots to the aggressive marketing of one potent drug: OxyContin. Click here to read more. 'Cannabis is a mental health issue': the ex-offenders using rap as therapy When researchers from University College London met ex-offenders from the charity MAC-UK, they produced an award-winning film and drugs education tool Click here to read the rest of this story. Myanmar Returns to What Sells: Heroin A decade ago, Myanmar seemed on course to wipe out the opium fields and heroin jungle labs along its eastern border, the notorious Golden Triangle. A decade ago, Myanmar seemed on course to wipe out the opium fields and heroin jungle labs along its eastern border, the notorious Golden Triangle.Today, valley after valley in these mist-shrouded mountains is covered with resplendent opium poppies, tended by farmers who perch on steep hillsides to harvest the plant's sticky, intoxicating sap. Please click here to read more. The real cost of hangovers Considering how much hangovers cost countries and companies, not to mention the pain people suffer, you would think someone would have come up with a cure by now. But so far, no luck, though it's not for want of trying. Numerous age-old remedies and commercial products are available - everything from herbal potions to IV drips - and they are all put to good use during the holiday season. But, do they work? And what is the cost to employers of all that recovery downtime?  Click here to read the rest of this story. 4 Things To Understand About Youth, Mental Health & Juvenile Justice In The US Almost 2 million youth - those under the age of 18 - are arrested each year in the US, which is more than 5,000 delinquency cases per day. Of those, approximately 95% are not accused of violent crimes (murder, rape or aggravated assault). Yet, these youth are often incarcerated in the juvenile justice system, causing more harm than good to the academic, social and personal growth of our youth, despite best efforts from experts to reduce incarceration. According to University of Chicago professor and Co-Director of the University's Crime Lab Harold Pollack, PhD, rightly notes, "There is good reason to believe that economical, evidence-based interventions are helpful. We need to develop and deploy-at-scale-good interventions outside the criminal justice system that prevent youth violence."  Please click here to read the rest of this story. What Heroin Addiction Tells Us About Changing Bad Habits It's a tradition as old as New Year's: making resolutions. We will not smoke, or sojourn with the bucket of mint chocolate chip. In fact, we will resist sweets generally, including the bowl of M&M's that our co-worker has helpfully positioned on the aisle corner of his desk. There will be exercise, and the learning of a new language.  Click here to continue reading. Top Five Drug Stories of 2014 Look at any list of the top news stories of 2014, and you'll be left wondering how we made it through. From ebola outbreaks to Ferguson protests, the ice bucket challenge and tragic celebrity deaths, it's been quite a year in news and pop culture. It's also been an eventful year for those of us who care about our nation's drug policy-and the millions of men, women, teens, and families who are affected by it every day. That's why we've created our own list. A lot has happened on the drug front in the past 12 months; here are the highlights. Click here to read the rest of the article. How to Curb Binge Drinking: Raise Taxes on Booze As the government learned during Prohibition, an outright ban on alcohol isn't an effective way to stop Americans from boozing. But a new study suggests that more subtle changes to the law could help curb binge drinking. Click here to continue reading.  Study finds conditions of retirement can lead to substance abuse disorders among older adults  Close to three million Americans aged 55 and older suffer from alcohol abuse-and this figure is expected to reach nearly 6 million by 2020. While alcohol abuse remains prevalent among them, the rate of illicit drug abuse in adults over 50 more than doubled between 2002 and 2013. Many of the older Americans suffering from substance abuse are retired. But according to Tel Aviv University research, it is not retirement alone that leads to drug and alcohol abuse, but rather a host of circumstances surrounding leaving the work force, which often coincides with painful later-life events such as the death of spouses and friends.Click here to continue reading. A Dangerous Trend: The Move Away from Abstinence Based Addiction Treatment The face of addiction treatment is changing, and not for the better. Betty Ford and Hazelden have long been beacons of hope in the addiction treatment community, two well-known and respected centers that used 12-step treatment and abstinence based recovery to help thousands of people recover from addiction for decades. Please click here to continue reading.  Overdose Deaths due to Prescription Painkillers May Peak Soon: Study  Will the number of overdose deaths attributed to prescription drugs peak in a few years? A new analysis suggests this may be possible when viewing the problem as an epidemic. After applying a theory known as Farr's Law, a group of Columbia University professors calculate that the number of prescription drug overdoses each year in the U.S. will peak in 2017 at 16.1 deaths per 100,000 people, and by 2034 will fall back to much lower rates last seen in the early 1980's. Please click here to continue reading. Should treatment centers consider retiring the graduation ceremony?  As the addiction field's perspective on treatment shifts away from episodic care and becomes more about ongoing recovery management, does this make the traditional "graduation ceremony" for patients an outdated concept? Please click here to continue reading.  The content of this email does not represent the official views or policies of NCADD of Middlesex County, Inc. The content has been collected from a variety of sources and is provided for informational purposes only. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by NCADD of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein.