After Four Years, Dr. Richard Soper Steps Down as Editor-in-Chief of ASAM Weekly ASAM ASAM regrets to announce that after over four years of exemplary leadership Richard G. Soper, MD, JD, MS, FASAM, FACP, ABAM Diplomate, will be stepping down from the position of Editor-in-Chief of ASAM Weekly to focus on issues affecting his home state of Tennessee.
Comparison of Effectiveness of Methadone and Two Sublingual Formulations of Buprenorphine on Maintenance Treatment Outcomes Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology This study sought to compare the effectiveness of the 3 most commonly prescribed maintenance medications in the United States indicated for the treatment of opioid dependence in reducing illicit drug use and retaining patients in treatment. The 6-month prevalence rates of positive urinalysis drug screen findings for both opioids and nonopioid substances were similar across medication groups...
‘MATs Replace One Addiction with Another’ – NIDA Head Takes on Debate The New England Journal of Medicine A number of barriers contribute to low access to and utilization of medication-assisted therapies (MATs), including a paucity of trained prescribers and negative attitudes and misunderstandings about addiction medications held by the public, providers, and patients. For decades, a common concern has been that MATs merely replace one addiction with another. Many treatment-facility managers and staff favor an abstinence model, and provider skepticism may contribute to low adoption of MATs...
Just Released! WHO Guidelines: Substance Use and Pregnancy World Health Organization These evidence-based, consensus guidelines have been developed to enable professionals to assist pregnant women who use alcohol or drugs or with substance use disorders to achieve healthy outcomes. Until now, there were no global guidelines providing evidence-based recommendations for identifying and managing substance use and substance use disorders in pregnancy.
Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010 JAMA Internal Medicine Opioid analgesic overdose mortality continues to rise in the United States, driven by increases in prescribing for chronic pain. Because chronic pain is a major indication for medical cannabis, laws that establish access to medical cannabis may change overdose mortality related to opioid analgesics in states that have enacted them. Medical cannabis laws are associated with significantly lower state-level opioid overdose mortality rates. Further investigation is required to determine how medical cannabis laws may interact with policies aimed at preventing opioid analgesic overdose.
Editorial: Is Marijuana Safer Than Alcohol? Richard G. Soper, MD, FASAM, DABAM, Editor-in-Chief Are we talking about direct effects of alcohol vs. marijuana? Are we talking about alcohol-associated vs. marijuana-associated disease? Auto injuries and fatalities associated with driving? Short-term or infrequent use relative to long-term use? Or about how use of either drug leads to incarceration, and how race is superimposed by law enforcement?
Addiction Medicine: The Birth of a New Discipline JAMA Internal Medicine Substance use is highly prevalent, a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality and accounts for over $500 billion in economic costs in the United States annually. The 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that 32% binge drink and nearly 7% reported heavy drinking over the past 30 days. With these alarming figures and more, it seems clear that the path has been paved for addiction medicine to become an integrated part of mainstream medicine.
A Comprehensive Federal Strategy for Addressing America’s Prescription Drug and Heroin Epidemic Ed Markey In response to the dramatic increase in prescription opiate and heroin overdose deaths, US Senator Markey has introduced a comprehensive bill Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act (TREAT), to expand the ability of medical professionals to address this.
Alternative Models of Addiction Frontiers in Psychiatry Historically, perceptions of addiction were polarized between two models; the first attributing this phenomenon as a moral failure, the second as a specific brain disease caused by neurobiological adaptations...
Addicted Doctors: Prevention Strategies Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment Studies have noted all doctors to be at risk of developing addictive disorders, irrespective of their grade, sex, and specialty. Early detection and treatment are beneficial in reducing the impact that an addictive disorder can have on the doctors’ career and family life...
US State by State Ranking of Mental Health Services Mental Health America The lack of data on disability status during ACA enrollment means that for the mental health community, there is no way to know exactly how many people with mental illness gained access to insurance. This lack of data, coupled with the complexity of the mental health system as whole, results in more questions than answers. These challenges led MHA to investigate national survey data to answer questions about the impact of the ACA on individuals with mental health problems. A primer on the ACA and the complexity of mental health insurance can be found on page 43 in the section entitled “Insuring Individuals with Mental Illness.”
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The views and positions of any content published in ASAM Weekly are not necessarily endorsed by ASAM nor a reflection of ASAM's beliefs and policies. The features are presented as a summary of the contemporary issues being represented and expressed in scientific, governmental, commercial, and media sources across the specialty field of addiction medicine. Contact ASAM Weekly with any comments or feedback.