08.05.09
Posted in Medical Discoveries, Narcotics Anonymous, National Recovery Month, Painkillers, Scientific Study, Social Issues at 11:39 am by Ron Kerronian
There are many argruements to be made as to whether or not Marijuana should be made Legal. As this debate roars on as to whether or not marijauna is a gate way drug, many states chosen to play on the more positive side of the field – allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes only (a potenial gold mine for employers).
St. Pierre, Executive of NORML (The National Organization For The Reform of Marijuana Laws) feels that the more productive issue here deals with Employees, Insurance agencies, Hospitals, and Employers., let’s cut straight to the dollars and cents of the issue. As a tool for saving money and increasing a patients state of well being, medical marijuana should be part of the array of choices doctors, patients, and employers explore.
Advocates of Marijuana legalization champion it as an effective medicine with far ranging benefits such as treating Weight loss, Nausea, Pain, Spasticity, symptoms associated with cancer, AIDS, Cerebal Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and Arthritis. In addition it has proven to be a cost effective alternative to other pharmaceuticals.
St. Pierre says it’s the hope of advocates that reimbursing patients who use medical marijuana, could help eliminate their use of more costly and potentially addictive drugs. For employers, as payers of health care., if only considered a money saving tool – medical marijuana could very well be a solution.
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05.24.09
Posted in Addiction, Florida Prescription Drug Abuse, Medical Discoveries, Painkillers, Prescription Drugs, Scientific Study, Social Issues, Teens at 5:00 am by ezraf
A frightening report from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), known as “The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009 (NPDTA),” was recently released and reflected an excessive abuse of nonmedical, prescription drug use in the US. The most startling figure, however, was the absorbent amount of youths (12-21) that were included in the results.
The very first sentence of the report reads: “Approximately 6.9 million individuals aged 12 or older were current (past month) nonmedical users of prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs (opioid pain relievers tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants) during 2007, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).”
The report goes on to note: “the number of deaths and treatment admissions involving CPDs, particularly prescription opioids, increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114 percent from 2001 (3,994) to 2005 (8,541), the most recent nationwide data available.”
The data is based upon an accumulation of information collected from local law enforcement authorities and public health officials across the US. For the full report of The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009, please click the following links:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/index.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/33775p.pdf
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04.29.09
Posted in Addiction, Get Help, Medical Discoveries, Narcotics Anonymous, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Programs, Scientific Study, Social Issues at 5:00 am by Ernesto
According to a recently published report by John Hopkins University, online drug treatment programs can provide short term counseling that is considered “just as effective” as traditional in-person group counseling. Former U.S. drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, was on hand for the announcement and said: “People need effective, science-based treatment that is appropriate for their community. This Internet delivery behind health care is going to be a big thing for us in the coming years.”
To prove the effectiveness of online recovery programs, researchers put 37 participants that sought a methadone treatment program into two groups, the first being a traditional counseling group and the second an online video-based group. Sic weeks later, researchers found that the online group attended 90 percent of the time, while the traditional group had only attended 76 percent of the time.
The findings are very exciting for individuals of low-income status that cannot afford the often pricey cost of in-patient treatment. However, traditional meetings such as AA and NA charge nothing for attending, while many online sessions, similar to those mentioned in the article “cost $50 each, and participants take part for 24 sessions. That comes to $1,200 for twice-weekly sessions over three months, only slightly less than in-person treatment,” according to Greg Warren, executive director of Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems.
Still, there are now social networking websites, such as IntheRooms.com that are a marriage of the two, by providing free memberships to recovering addicts seeking online recovery interaction with others. In the Rooms is considered a website were recovering addicts can go between their traditional group meetings to connect with others in the community to supplement their recovery efforts.
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04.10.09
Posted in Medical Discoveries, Prescription Drugs at 5:00 am by inrecovery
With all the recent headlines in the news about addiction problems that have stemmed from the opiate-dependence medication “Suboxone and Subutex,” we here at The NA Blog thought it important to post original advisories on the drug that the federal government issued upon its original release for treatment to the general public. The following is an edited version of the original press release issued by FDA Talk Papers, which are created and distributed by the Press Office of the FDA. According to the website, they are for: “personnel in responding with consistency and accuracy to questions from the public on subjects of current interest,” and “are subject to change as more information becomes available.” The full version can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2002/ANS01165.html
SUBUTEX AND SUBOXONE APPROVED TO TREAT OPIATE DEPENDENCE
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of Subutex…and Suboxone tablets…for the treatment of opiate dependence. Subutex and Suboxone treat opiate addiction by preventing symptoms of withdrawal from heroin and other opiates….Subutex and Suboxone have been studied in over 2,000 patients and shown to be safe and effective treatments for opiate dependence….Clinical data indicate that the risk of serious diminished breathing may be less with buprenorphine than other opioids when used in high doses or in overdose situations. Nonetheless, buprenorphine has been associated with deaths due to diminished breathing, especially when used in combination with alcohol or other Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant drugs, according to reports from France where it has been available for several years.
Based on the potential for abuse of Subutex and Suboxone, FDA and its parent Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) place the active ingredient, buprenorphine, in Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)…Subutex and Suboxone are the first narcotic drugs available for the treatment of opiate dependence that can be prescribed in an office setting under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000….
The sponsor, in collaboration with the FDA and with input from other Health and Human Services agencies, has developed a comprehensive risk management program designed to deter abuse and diversion from its legitimate use…The risk management program also provides for active and passive surveillance to identify if and when the drugs are being abused….Reports of the results of these surveillance efforts will enable FDA to identify untoward effects from the availability of buprenorphine and, if indicated, to take appropriate actions to protect the public health….
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04.09.09
Posted in Medical Discoveries at 5:00 am by inrecovery
Researchers at the University of Irvine (California) recently discovered that the use of a hormone showed the curbing of cocaine cravings. Apparently, the breakthrough was found by UCI pharmacological researchers while studying melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), which “works with dopamine in the brain’s ‘pleasure center’ to create an addictive response to cocaine use. Upon further study, the researchers found that blocking MCH caused brain cells to significantly crave cocaine less.
To date, research has been limited to mice due to safety concerns, but once more data is collected that shows testing for humans to be safe, the human testing phase of research will commence. UCI said that this study was one of the first of its kind. The study is to be published later this year in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” one of the most esteemed scientific journals in the US.
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