NIDA Review Summarizes Research on Marijuana’s Negative Health Effects NIDA
The current state of science on the adverse health effects of marijuana use links the drug to several significant adverse effects including addiction...
Benzodiazepine Use Among Young Attendees of an Irish Substance Treatment Center Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) Benzodiazepine misuse affects the individual, their family, and society as a whole through hospitalization, substance treatment, and crime. Identifying regular benzodiazepine users can help reduce the burden of benzodiazepines.
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CDC’s 2013 United States Health Report with Special Feature on Prescription Drugs CDC National Center for Health Statistics Among those aged 15 and over, the death rate involving opioid analgesics for males was 8.1 deaths per 100,000, compared with 5.1 for females. Those aged 35–54 had the highest death rate for opioid analgesics (9.9), followed by those aged 25–34 (8.1) and 55–64 (6.0)... This report, compiled by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), presents an overview of national health trends. The feature on prescription drugs examines access problems, the overall impact of certain drugs on chronic illnesses, quality issues, and more.
SAM Applauds Unprecedented Agreement Between Georgia, Manufacturer of CBD Medicine Smart Approaches to Marijuana The State of Georgia and GW Pharmaceuticals have forged an unprecedented agreement to ensure children with intractable epilepsy receive a new medication based on a non-intoxicating component of cannabis.
Draft CEPAC Report on Management Options for Opioid Dependence Posted For Public Comment New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has posted the draft report "Management of Patients with Opioid Dependence: A Review of Clinical, Delivery System, and Policy Options" for public comment. The draft offers a summary of opioid addiction treatment effectiveness and cost comparisons, and cites ASAM research in several locations, and will be the subject of deliberation and vote at the next public meeting of CEPAC on Friday, June 20, 2014 in Burlington, Vermont. Public comments are also due June 20.
Testing for Drugs of Abuse in Children and Adolescents Pediatrics This clinical report provides guidance to pediatricians and other clinicians on the efficacy and efficient use of drug testing on the basis of a review of the nascent scientific literature, policy guidelines, and published clinical recommendations.
Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Programs as Effective as Inpatient Treatment for Many Patients Psychiatric Services Multiple randomized trials and naturalistic analyses that compared IOPs with inpatient or residential care found comparable outcomes. All studies reported reductions in alcohol and drug use. However, substantial variability in the operationalization of IOPs and outcome measures was apparent. Standardization of the elements included in IOPs may improve their quality and effectiveness.
Are You Insulting Me? Exposure to Alcohol Primes Increases Aggression Following Ambiguous Provocation Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Considerable research has shown that alcohol consumption can increase aggression and produce extremes in other social behaviors. Although most theories posit that such effects are caused by pharmacological impairment of cognitive processes, recent research indicates that exposure to alcohol-related constructs, in the absence of consumption, can produce similar effects...
Decreased Prefrontal Cortical Dopamine Transmission in Alcoholism The American Journal of Psychiatry Basic studies have demonstrated that optimal levels of prefrontal cortical dopamine are critical to various executive functions such as working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and risk/reward decisions, all of which are impaired in addictive disorders such as alcoholism. Based on this and imaging studies of alcoholism that have demonstrated less dopamine in the striatum, the authors hypothesized decreased dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex in persons with alcohol dependence...
Treatment for Illegal Drug Use Disorders: the Role of Comorbid Mood and Anxiety Disorders BMC Psychiatry This study’s aim was to examine whether comorbid mood and anxiety disorders influence patterns of treatment or the perceived unmet need for treatment among those not receiving treatment for illegal drug use disorders...
Doctors Have ‘Knowledge Gaps’ About Opioid Abuse Medscape Many physicians still have a lot to learn about opioid misuse, abuse, and diversion, according to the results of a survey of clinicians who attended one of last year's major pain meetings. “Clinicians in the real world are not reading the data that we currently have about opioid abuse-deterrent formulations, they don't understand how big the problem of diversion is, and they have serious knowledge gaps about where people who abuse opioids are getting these drugs..."
Human Brain Mapping Project Begins to Reveal Roots of Developmental Abnormalities National Institute of Mental Health A comprehensive three-dimensional atlas of the developing human brain that incorporates gene activity along with anatomical reference atlases and neuroimaging data has released its first major report online in Nature. This National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded resource, freely available to the public, enables researchers to answer questions related to the early roots of brain-based disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
ASAM Attending ONDCP Summit on Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Whitehouse.gov On June 19th, ASAM will join Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss the epidemic of opioid abuse in the United States with Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, as well as prevention, treatment, overdose and infectious disease prevention experts from across the country. The meeting will be live-streamed from the White House from 9 am to 12:30 pm.
Richard G. Soper, MD, JD, MS, FASAM, Editor-in-Chief, ASAM Weekly
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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.