New York Times Calls for Legalization of Marijuana, ASAM Strongly Objects ASAM
ASAM strongly objects to federally legalizing marijuana use, opposing The New York Times' lead editorial, "Repeal Prohibition, Again," that appeared Sunday, July 27. Stuart Gitlow, MD, president of ASAM and a board-certified addiction medicine specialist, called the paper’s stance “irresponsible” and “ignorant of the facts” that clearly place marijuana on the continuum of psychoactive drugs that trigger addiction and lifelong chronic brain disease...
Sierra Tucson, an international leader in treating co-occurring disorders, offers comprehensive neuropsychiatric treatment programs for Addictions, Eating Recovery, Mood Disorders, Pain Management, and Trauma/PTSD. A member of CRC Health Group, Sierra Tucson is dually Accredited by The Joint Commission.
Celebrating 30 years of “Compassionate Care, Clinical Excellence.”
Sex Differences in First-Admission Psychiatric Inpatients With and Without a Comorbid Substance Use Disorder Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) Differences in employment, educational, and marital statuses were found between male and female psychiatric patients with and without comorbid substance use disorders. Having a degree was a protective factor for males, whereas it was a risk factor for females...
A Review of Guidelines on Home Drug Testing Websites for Parents Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) Among the websites reviewed, few provided thorough information to parents regarding empirically supported strategies to effectively use drug testing to intervene on adolescent substance use. Furthermore, most websites did not provide thorough information regarding the risks...
CME: Management of Opioid Withdrawal and Overdose PCSS-MAT This module is free of charge and describes the management of opioid withdrawal and overdose. Given the current dimensions of the opioid epidemic and elevated rates of prescribing high-potency opioids, this module will focus on strategies for implementing effective treatments for opioid dependence...
Motivational Interviewing Online Module PCSS-MAT This module, free of charge, provides the busy clinician with the fundamentals of the theory and practice of motivational interviewing. With a special focus on substance use disorders and addiction, this presentation equips its participants with a basic understanding of the motivational interviewing approach–an understanding that clinicians can flexibly apply to address patients’ issues of motivation and change even beyond substance use.
ASAM Recommendations for the Opioid Epidemic On July 31, 2014, ASAM sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell offering recommendations for how to manage the opioid epidemic. ASAM’s strategies included ones focused on enhancing provider education, prevention and treatment, including a recommendation for how to increase the buprenorphine prescribing limit for addiction specialist physicians and highly trained non-specialists.
CDC Vital Signs - Opioid Painkiller Prescribing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health issues that cause people pain don’t vary much from place to place—not enough to explain why, in 2012, health care providers in the highest-prescribing state wrote almost 3 times as many opioid painkiller prescriptions per person as those in the lowest prescribing state in the US...
Australia: Women Want to Know Project Canada FASD Research Network The ‘Women Want to Know’ project encourages health professionals to routinely discuss alcohol and pregnancy with women and to provide advice that is consistent with the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol.
Parental Smoking During Pregnancy and ADHD in Children: The Danish National Birth Cohort Pediatrics Prenatal maternal smoking has been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, but the causal nature of this association is still under scrutiny. This study examines the association with maternal smoking and nicotine replacement use during pregnancy, using association with paternal smoking as a marker of potential genetic or social confounding.
Effects of Stimulants on Brain Function in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Biological Psychiatry Psychostimulant medication, most commonly the catecholamine agonist methylphenidate, is the most effective treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, relatively little is known on the mechanisms of action. Acute effects on brain function can elucidate underlying neurocognitive effects...
The Association Among Food Addiction, Binge Eating Severity and Psychopathology in Obese and Overweight Patients Attending Low-Energy-Diet Therapy Comprehensive Psychiatry This study’s aim was to assess the strength of the association between food addiction and psychopathology, and whether this relationship was mediated by the presence and severity of binge eating...
Paradox of Iran’s War on Drugs and its Progressive Treatment of Addiction The Conversation There are stories some people might not expect to read about Iran – and its progressive drugs policy is one. As a number of countries begin to slowly reconsider their approach toward illicit drugs, following the avant-gardiste move of José Mujica’s Uruguay, the issue of drugs and treatment of drug abuse might be one where Iran could provide some meaningful contribution to the rest of the world.
An Ominous Sign that Heroin Use is Blowing Up in the U.S. Business Insider According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the United States was home to 669,000 people addicted to heroin in 2012. That's double the number in 2003, with young people making up a growing proportion of the victims....
Going to the APA Conference? Visit ASAM There! ASAM ASAM will have a presence at the American Psychology Association’s Annual Convention in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, at booth # 615. Be sure to stop by if you plan to attend! The conference had close to 11,000 attendees in 2013. Click below to learn about some sessions of interest.
Richard G. Soper, MD, JD, MS, FASAM, Editor-in-Chief, ASAM Weekly
Brendan McEntee, Managing Editor & ASAM Publications Manager, 301.656.3920 ext. 110
Emily McMartin, New Media and Content Coordinator
Jennifer Strauser, Account and Customer Service Manager, Highwater Partners, 407.221.4292 AdvertiseView media kit
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.