New Treatment Guidance for Pregnant Mothers with Opioid Use Disorder

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released new Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants.    SAMHSA’s Clinical Guidance comes at a time of great need for effective opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.  In 2016, over 20,000 pregnant women reported using heroin or misusing pain relievers in the past month. Newborn babies of mothers who used opioids while pregnant are at risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome–a group of physical and neurobehavioral signs of withdrawal. The guidance, which consists of 16 fact sheets on prenatal, infant, and maternal postnatal care,…

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Cleveland County’s Law Enforcement Renews Commitment

  Local law enforcement is renews it commitment with Cleveland County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition to help prevent underage drinking in the county. On Feb. 28, leaders of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby Police Department, Boiling Springs Police Department and N.C. Highway Patrol, came together to renew their commitment to working to prevent underage drinking in Cleveland County with a signing of a memorandum of understanding in partnership with the coalition. The action plan strategies target two main ways young people often access alcohol according to youth surveys and focus group discussions; adults buying and supplying alcohol for underage…

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New Study Results on Opioid Use and Pain

A study of more than 100,000 surgical cases at University of Virginia (UVA) Health System found patients’ pain scores improved even as doctors gave fewer opioids. Two key factors were associated with this finding: Opioids make patients more sensitive to pain, though the reason why that occurs is unclear. So reducing the amount of opioids given to patients might by itself improve pain scores. UVA began implementing the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program, which increased the use of non-opioid pain medications, such as lidocaine and acetaminophen, which is commonly used in over-the-counter pain medications.  Click HERE for more on this…

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PDMPs Linked to Reductions in Opioid Overdose Deaths

New research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that state implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) was associated with a reduction in opioid-related overdose deaths. The study, published in Health Affairs, also found that PDMPs that monitored greater numbers of drugs with abuse potential and updated their data more frequently had greater declines in opioid-related overdose deaths than programs without those characteristics. Click HERE for more on this story

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SAMHSA Announces a $30,000 Opioid Recovery App Challenge

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is announcing a new challenge to help to spur developers to create a mobile application (app) that provides additional recovery support to patients receiving treatment for opioid misuse.  The app may be used as part of a patient’s comprehensive treatment plan that includes counseling and participation in social support programs.  The goal of this challenge is to increase access to resources, educational materials, information and support for people in outpatient recovery from opioid misuse. Click here for more information

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NIH Launches Landmark Study on Substance Use and Adolescent Brain Development

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded 13 grants to research institutions around the country as part of a landmark study about the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study will follow approximately 10,000 children beginning at ages 9 to10, before they initiate drug use, through the period of highest risk for substance use and other mental health disorders.  Scientists will track exposure to substances (including nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana), academic achievement, cognitive skills, mental health, and brain structure and function using advanced research methods. Click HERE for more in this…

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CADCA 2016 National Leadership Forum Call for Presentations

Looking for an opportunity to showcase your community-level prevention efforts?  The Call for Presentations is open to all community anti-drug coalitions; community-based prevention organizations; government agencies with a focus on substance abuse, mental health, criminal justice, public health, public safety, and related disciplines; coalition sector member organizations; and other organizations with an interest in substance abuse prevention and advocacy.  Presentations will be offered during 75-minute workshop periods offered on Tuesday and Thursday of the National Leadership Forum. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 11:59AM EDT on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 Forum Dates: February 1-4, 2016 | Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center | National Harbor, MD…

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Underage Drinking Pilot Program Launched at Six NC Universities

As a pilot program, the University of North Carolina System will work alongside the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, and the Department of Health and Human Services, to combat underage drinking and illegal drug use on college campuses.  In most cases, state citations will now be issued to students, taking traditional on-campus measures a step further.  Depending on the situation, a student could be required to attend court, or enter a treatment or prevention program offered by the university. Aldona Wos, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement…

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Connection Between Early Age of First Drink and Heavy Drinking

“Our research suggests that teenagers who have their first drink at an early age drink more heavily, on average, than those who start drinking later on,” said Meghan E. Morean, assistant professor of psychology at Oberlin College, Ohio and adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.  “Our work also suggests that how quickly teenagers move from having their first drink to getting drunk for the first time is an important piece of the puzzle.  In total, having your first drink at a young age and quickly moving to drinking to the point of getting drunk are associated…

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Report reveals the scope of substance use and mental illness affecting the nation

A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides insight into the nature and scope of substance use and mental illness issues affecting America.  The report shows that 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit drug users – 9.4 percent of this age group.  Marijuana was by far the most commonly used illicit drug, with nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers as a close second. The SAMHSA report also shows that 34.6 million adults aged 18 or older (14.6 percent of the population aged 18 or older) received mental health…

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