Booker, Paul & Gillibrand Announce Bipartisan New Medical Marijuana Bill Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand This is a political press release, in support of an amendment of the Controlled Substances Act that would result in a down-scheduling of cannabis (“marijuana”). The bill, the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, would also permit importation of cannabidiol for treatment of seizure disorders. There is no mention of the effect, if any, on the status of synthetic cannabinoids (“spice” variants). Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) here announce this bipartisan legislation that will allow the use of medical marijuana in states where it is legal without fear of federal prosecution.
Editor’s Comments William Haning, MD, FASAM, DFAPA Epidemic, endemic, pandemic: Words matter. Scattered throughout each week’s articles, and again this week, are frequent references to drug use disorders as “epidemic.” There are limited circumstances in which that label is truly justifiable. Because the use of “epidemic” as a noun implies a rapidly-spreading condition, affecting many people, but burning itself out in time, it does not warrant the widespread application that it receives.
BMC Medicine is the flagship medical journal of the BMC series, publishing original research, commentaries and reviews that are of significant interest to all areas of medicine and clinical practice, including the impact of addiction.
American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) Begins Formal Process to Bring Addiction Medicine into American Board of Medical Specialties as Subspecialty, Available to Diplomates of all ABMS Boards ASAM In February, the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) sent a required “Letter of Intent” to ABMS announcing the forthcoming submission of an application for the new subspecialty. This is the first step in a detailed ABMS review process that takes approximately 18 months. Although this process is the responsibility of ABPM as the sponsoring board, the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and its Foundation (ABAMF) will encourage and support the vital undertaking.
Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services This is a discussion of the use by CMS of payment methods to modify medical care delivery and choices. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working in concert with its partners in the private, public, and non-profit sectors to transform the nation’s health system, emphasizing value over volume. HHS has set a goal of tying 30 percent of Medicare fee-for-service payments to quality or value through alternative payment models by 2016 and 50 percent by 2018. HHS has also set a goal of tying 85 percent of all Medicare fee-for-service to quality or value by 2016 and 90 percent by 2018. To support these efforts, HHS has launched the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network to increase the adoption of value-based payments and alternative payment models. ...This document includes a good list of useful
links.
CARF is an international, independent, nonprofit accreditor of human service providers and networks. More than 8 million persons of all ages worldwide are served annually in CARF-accredited programs.
Accreditation demonstrates a provider’s commitment to enhancing the lives of persons served.
Visit www.carf.org or call (888) 281-6531 for more information.
PUBLIC POLICY AND REGULATORY NEWS
New Rules on Narcotic Painkillers Cause Grief for Veterans and VA The Washington Post This Washington Post article, from its Politics section, notes that over-prescription of opioids in the VA setting has created unwanted, unintended consequences, but that the solution now being pursued creates its own. New federal rules that make it harder to get narcotic painkillers are taking an unexpected toll on thousands of veterans who depend on these prescription drugs to treat a wide variety of ailments, such as missing limbs and post-traumatic stress.
Early Registration for ASAM’s Annual Conference Ends March 23! ASAM The early-bird deadline to register for the updated ASAM Annual Conference is March 23. This deadline is both for conference and hotel rates, so be sure not to let this date slip by. The new Annual Conference features new networking activities, improved educational opportunities, and more. See you in Austin!
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Annual Summit in April National Rx Drug Abuse Summit The 2nd Annual SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) Marijuana Education Summit will be held Thursday, April 9, 2015 in Atlanta, as part of the 6-9 April National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, a private enterprise of Operation UNITE. The central theme is “preventing another big tobacco.” Gen. McCaffrey, Former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse are among the distinguished speakers. Attendees are eligible to receive continuing education credits, including up to 7.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ and credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs.
Neurophysiological Evidence for Remediation of Reward Processing Deficits in Chronic Pain and Opioid Misuse Following Treatment with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement Journal of Behavioral Medicine Dysregulated processing of natural rewards may be a central pathogenic process in the etiology and maintenance of prescription opioid misuse and addiction among chronic pain patients. This RCT of 11 active-arm participant examined whether a Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) intervention could augment natural reward processing through training in savoring as indicated by event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The outcome was ostensibly “significant,” however the level of significance is not stated in the abstract.
Geographic and Specialty Distribution of US Physicians Trained to Treat Opioid Use Disorder Annals of Family Medicine In the United States opioid use and related unintentional lethal overdoses continue to rise, particularly in rural areas. Increasing access to office-based treatment of opioid use disorder—particularly in rural America—is a promising strategy to address rising rates of opioid use disorder and unintentional lethal overdoses. It is noteworthy that 16% of psychiatrists nationally have buprenorphine DATA waivers, versus 3% of primary care physicians. As such, psychiatrists account for over 41% of all waivers. This provides an excellent opportunity for psychiatric residency training programs to provide instruction to their colleagues in primary care residencies.
Kentucky Sued In Federal Court Over Drug Treatment Practices Huffington Post Two law firms have teamed up to file a federal lawsuit against the state of Kentucky for its practice of forbidding opiate addicts from receiving medical treatment while under the supervision of the criminal justice system. The lawyers based their brief on the 2011 report by the Legal Action Center requested and partially funded by ASAM’s Patient Advocacy Task Force.
It Still Hurts: Altered Endogenous Opioid Activity in the Brain During Social Rejection and Acceptance in Major Depressive Disorder Nature The μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system, well known for dampening physical pain, is also hypothesized to dampen ‘social pain.’ The authors used positron emission tomography scanning with the selective MOR radioligand [11C]carfentanil to test the hypothesis that MOR system activation (reflecting endogenous opioid release) in response to social rejection and acceptance is altered in medication-free patients diagnosed with current major depressive disorder (MDD, n=17) compared with healthy controls (HCs, n=18).
Rising Price of Heroin-Overdose Antidote Worries Advocates WTOP Price hikes are curtailing access to a popular form of an antidote to heroin overdoses, with costs doubling in the past year and the manufacturer’s stock price rising by 70 percent since it went public.
Advocates fear the higher cost of naloxone, often sold in the US under the brand name Narcan, will ultimately lead to the deaths of addicts who could have been saved if they’d had access to the drug.
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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.