Substance Abuse Prevention Is Suicide Prevention
Many of the factors that increase the risk for substance abuse, such as traumatic experiences, also increase the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and substance abuse, like mental health problems, is linked with a several-fold increase in suicide risk. Drug poisoning deaths have increased 120 percent in recent years – from 17,415 in 2000 to 38,329 in 2010. The majority (58 percent) of the drug deaths involved pharmaceuticals, and 75 percent of those deaths involved prescription pain relievers. In 2010, U.S. emergency departments treated 202,000 suicide attempts in which prescription drugs were used as the means, 33,000 of which…
NC Pregnancy and Opioid Exposure Professional Education Needs
Information and guidance is being sought to develop a North Carolina educational tool kit for multi-disciplinary professionals about pregnancy and opioid exposure. You are invited to participate in an anonymous electronic survey of professionals working with women of childbearing age who may be taking opioids (ex. methadone, buprenorphine, vicodin, oxycontin, or heroin), to determine the educational needs of professionals on this topic. No personally identifiable information will be recorded. Click here to participate in this important effort and for additional information about this study
Connection Between Adolescent Substance Use and the Risk for Dropout
Experts at the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. (IBH) and the Center on Young Adult Health and Development (CYAHD) at the University of Maryland School of Public Health investigated the connection between adolescent substance use and the risk for dropout in the U.S. There is compelling evidence that the association of academic difficulties and substance use is bidirectional. In some individuals, academic difficulties precede the onset of substance use, and in those cases, a vicious cycle can ensue—leading to even more severe academic difficulties and eventual dropout. In other cases, even controlling for individual background characteristics, substance use precedes…
September is Recovery Month 2013
Recovery Month promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment, and recovery for mental and substance use disorders, celebrates people in recovery, lauds the contributions of treatment and service providers, and promotes the message that recovery in all its forms is possible. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover. There’s still time to plan and register events in your area!
Increases in Drunk Walking: An Unintended Effect….
A new government report shows 37 percent of U.S. pedestrians killed in 2011 were drunk. Thirty-five percent of those killed—1,547 people—had blood alcohol levels that were at or above the legal limit for driving. Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, told USA Today campaigns to reduce drunk driving may be having an unintended effect, by encouraging more drunk people to walk home. A person impaired by alcohol can make bad decisions, such as crossing against the light, or “trying to beat a bus that’s coming,” he said.
New Documentary Strives to Transform Public Opinion on Recovery
The Anonymous People, a new documentary film about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction, examines the deeply entrenched social stigma has kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. Check it out below…
Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women in Substance Abuse Treatment Drops
According to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the percentage of pregnant woman in substance abuse treatment using alcohol (with or without drug use) dropped from 46.6% to 34.8% over a ten year period. However, the report also shows that the percentage of substance abuse admissions involving pregnant women using drugs (without co-occurring alcohol use) rose from 51.1% to 63.8% during this same period. Click here to continue reading
Guidelines for Advocacy
There is significant evidence that the most effective approaches to the prevention of alcohol and other substance abuse problems are those that seek to change the environment within which these problems take place. It should not be a surprise that these approaches often involve advocating for legislative public policy changes. Strategizer 31 clarifies what constitutes lobbying activities for nonprofit organizations and to what extent these organizations can participate in lobbying activities in particular and the legislative process in general.
Building Public Awareness and Community Support
SAMHSA offers webcast focused on examining the strategies and messages for building public awareness and community support around substance use disorders and mental illness, including the impact of health reform and the integration of behavioral health care into the primary health care setting. Check it out…
FDA Approves New Drug for Opiod Addiction
Pharmaceutical company proposes treating prescription drug addiction with another prescription drug, and has the green light from the FDA to begin selling the pill solution in the U.S. to combat opioid addition. According to Reuters, the drug Zubsolv is designed to treat addiction to prescription opioids like codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl and methadone (which is ironically the prescription solution for heroin addiction). Together, these drugs are responsible for about 75 percent of prescription drug overdoses each year. Click here for full story…