The Wednesday Weekly - August 4, 2021
National
Fentanyl-tainted marijuana is a myth that refuses to go away
Fentanyl-tainted cannabis may not actually be a thing—and, if it is, rarer than the snow leopard. According to a review of data and some interviews with harm-reduction specialists, marijuana laced with fentanyl is either so rare as to pose a risk more remote than one in a million. Or it’s a total “myth,” yet one that keeps being repeated by law enforcement, public-health agencies, and the media.
Forbes – July 31, 2021
Was it ‘reasonable’ to ship 81 million opioid pills to this small West Virginia City?
The outcome of a landmark federal opioid trial in West Virginia that reached closing arguments this week rests on two legally thorny questions. Was it "unreasonable" for three of America's biggest corporations — the drug wholesalers AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — to ship roughly 81 million highly addictive opioid pills to pharmacies in one small Rust Belt city on the Ohio River? If that was a reckless thing to do, does the addiction crisis in Huntington and surrounding Cabell County, W.Va., amount to a "public nuisance" that the companies must help remedy? The answers to those questions will now be decided by U.S. District Judge David Faber in Charleston, W.Va.
NPR – July 30, 2021
Purdue Pharma judge tentatively Oks $16 million in employee retention payments
The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 case has tentatively approved $16.1 million in retention payments for 506 of the company's employees but conditioned his ruling on the OxyContin maker’s successful reorganization.
Reuters – July 29, 2021
Spark Biomedical, Inc. and FinPay, LLC partner to combat opioid addiction
FinPay LLC, a recognized leader in pre-care payments and patient engagement, announced an agreement with Spark Biomedical, Inc., a Texas-based medical device company and developer of the first FDA-cleared, drug-free, personalized, wearable neurostimulation solution for opioid withdrawal — the Sparrow Therapy System.
AP News – July 29, 2021
Frontline advocates view $26 billion opioid settlement deal with frustration, worry
"As someone on the ground, $26 billion makes a flashy headline," said Ryan Hampton, who is in recovery from addiction and has worked with non-profits and lawmakers on the opioid crisis. "But spread over 18 years, it’s pennies.” The agreement is the second-largest cash settlement in U.S. history, but Hampton said even the size was disappointing. "In 2017, we were told this could be larger than the tobacco litigation," referring to the 1998 tobacco settlement with cigarette makers that totaled $246 billion paid over 25 years.
Reuters – July 27, 2021
A lawyer went to prison, became a minister and got his life back
After nearly two decades without practicing, Jeff Grant got his law license back in May. He served over a year in prison for lying about office space to get federal relief money after 9/11. He then went to seminary and opened a ministry serving white-collar defendants.
BusinessInsider.com – July 27, 2021
Crypto traders anonymous: A new addiction takes hold for many as cryptocurrency goes mainstream
As interest in cryptocurrency and trading apps has swelled—often intensified by COVID-19 lockdowns, isolation, and stimulus checks—stories of addiction have become increasingly common, psychologists say. A rising number of people are being treated for cryptocurrency addiction, a new twist on the old problem of gambling addiction that has long been intertwined with investing.
Fortune – July 27, 2021
The Pernicious Myth of Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis
A recent Washington Post piece on the ever-worsening increase in drug poisoning deaths has reanimated angst over the supposed issue of fentanyl-contaminated cannabis. That drugs like heroin, cocaine and counterfeit pills are often contaminated with (or even entirely substituted by) fentanyl hasn’t been news for years. Is bud the next drug to contribute to the fentanyl poisoning crisis? Almost certainly not.
Filtermag.org – July 20, 2021
State / Local
Indiana getting $1 million to help deal with opioid use
The federal government is awarding Indiana more than $1 million to train workers in 25 counties to help deal with widespread opioid use, addiction and overdoses. The funds will provide participants with training in jobs that address the impact of the opioid crisis, including recovery coaches, peer navigators and community health workers. The money may also be used to train individuals to work in mental health treatment, addiction treatment and pain management.
AP News – Aug. 2, 2021
After 22 rehab attempts, Baltimore woman overcomes demons to become counselor
Heroin, Xanax and Fentanyl could have been the epitaph in the life of one Baltimore woman were it not for her tenacity and a promise she made three years ago this month.Iona Johnson has been drug-free for more than three years now after 22 attempts at rehab. Hers is a story that would be hard to believe without her testimony.
WBALTV.com – July 30, 2021
The millions of dollars from the opioid settlement must be used to immediately save lives, advocates say. Halting fentanyl epidemic should be top priority.
There are innumerable ways to carve up the $300 million that will arrive in Connecticut over the next two decades under a landmark $26 billion settlement with the nation’s major pharmaceutical distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson. But confronted with a deepening opioid epidemic that last year claimed nearly 1,400 lives in Connecticut and 93,000 lives nationally, advocates and providers say the priorities for the funding should be clear: saving as many lives as possible now, while investing in long-term strategies to support those in recovery.
Hartford Courant – July 29, 2021
Tennessee: $35 million settlement was opioid firm’s best, last offer
Gerart Stranch, who represents the plaintiffs in the Tennessee case against Endo, told reporters that $35 million was the “total largest sum Endo was willing or able to pay.” Endo announced the settlement last week, just days before a trial would have begun over how much to award the local governments and the child born dependent to opioids who sued. Stranch said that even with a jury verdict, the money could have been tied up amid an appeal, and the company could have declared bankruptcy.
AP News – July 29, 2021
$2 million for training, jobs in Maine locales hit by opioid crisis
The U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday that it is awarding the Maine Department of Labor more than $2 million to create jobs and provide employment services to residents in nine counties that have been significantly affected by the crisis.
AP News – July 29, 2021
Opioid-related deaths increased 45% in Northwest Georgia
The number of opioid-related deaths in Georgia increased sharply in 2020, continuing a trend the Georgia Department of Public Health says first began with the increased use and misuse of prescription opioids in 2010.
Yahoo news – July 29, 20221
Columbus officials praise pilot program that uses social workers instead of police for drug, mental health emergencies
The Alternative Response Pilot Program, a part-time pilot program in Columbus, Ohio, has been a large success for the city, leading officials to plan an expansion of the program, city officials announced Thursday. The pilot program, which consists of a "Triage Pod" of a social worker, emergency communications dispatcher and paramedic, aims to cut down police involvement in mental health, drug addiction or other social issues in emergency situations. According to the statement, 48 percent of the calls were either completely resolved by the dispatcher or redirected to local community resources.
The Hill – July 29, 2021
Most of the money Oklahoma secured from opioid companies has gone unspent
Oklahoma has secured more than $372.6 million in settlements from drug manufacturers and distributors, but only about 15 percent of the money has so far gone to pay for opioid addiction research and treatment. Millions more dollars have gone to pay for outside attorneys fees.
The Daily Ardmoreite – July 29, 2021
Studies in the news / Research
Moderate alcohol use linked with higher cancer risk in WHO study
Researchers with the World Health Organization (WHO) have found an association between moderate alcohol use and a substantially higher risk of several cancers, including breast, colon, and oral cancers, according to a press release. This increased cancer risk was found even among light to moderate drinkers, defined as those who have 1 to 2 drinks per day. This group represented 1 out of every 7 new cancer diagnoses worldwide in 2020, equating to more than 100,000 cases globally.
Pharmacy Times – July 30, 2021
Ease access to opioid addiction medication, new research suggests
An evidence review published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry recommends making methadone more widely available through office-based visits with primary care physicians. The current federal standard largely requires it to be administered only through specialized clinics.
OHSU News – July 28, 2021
Yale opioid study highlights the ethical tightrope researchers walk to study addiction using deception
A Yale study that found Canadian clinics were faster than the U.S. to provide opioid treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ethical tightrope researchers must walk when studying addiction while using deception in their research gathering.Researchers contacted clinics at their publicly listed phone number, and following an approved, standardized script, pretended to be a 30-year-old patient with opioid use disorder looking to book the next available appointment to receive methadone treatment.
CTV News – July 30, 2021
The increasing popularity of Delta 8 raises concerns
Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, or Delta-8, is a compound found in cannabis that has become increasingly popular in the last few years. Sales of the compound in the United States increased by 144% from April 2020 to April 2021. Because there is a lack of research, little is known about the effects of the substance’s use. Consumers report similar effects to THC. These effects include mild euphoria, happiness, uplifting feelings, and relief of pain. The possible adverse side effects are also not well researched but those who use Delta-8 products say confusion, anxiety, drowsiness, slow heart rate, numbness, fast heart rate, and low blood pressure can occur.
Addiction Center – July 29, 2021
Medication approved for diabetes being tested for treatment of cocaine use disorder
With overdose rates involving cocaine soaring nearly 27% in 2020, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) hope that a clinical trial combining a medication approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help prevent relapse in cocaine use disorder patients. “Our thinking is that pioglitazone will facilitate the recovery process in these individuals by improving neural and cognitive functioning so that patients might benefit more from the behavioral therapy,” said Schmitz, who holds the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Professorship. “The combination of CBT with pioglitazone is expected to lead to longer term abstinence.”
Newswise.com – July 29, 2021
Opinion
Opioid peddlers get a free pass, but the fight is not over
No amount of money can bring back the half million Americans who have died as a result of the opioid epidemic. But the proposed settlements by the corporations that helped fuel the crisis make a mockery of even limited accountability.
The Seattle Times – Aug. 1, 2021
How Jada Pinkett Smith Rationalized her addiction
Although she is now over two decades sober, Smith once struggled with alcoholism while also abusing marijuana and ecstasy.
Medium – Aug. 1, 2021
How surfing helped one recovering addict break the cycle
Why was I still doing this, painstakingly organizing a day of my life around the arrival of waves? Surfing proved essential to my recovery.
Los Angeles Times – Aug. 1, 2021
An accidental overdose killed our son. Biden chose the right person to fight this epidemic.
President Joe Biden’s nomination for Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Rahul Gupta, is a terrific choice. He is an empathetic team player with strong bipartisan credibility and hard-earned experience as the public health director in our nation’s hardest-hit state, West Virginia. Congress needs to move quickly on his nomination.
USA Today – July 31, 2021
Joe Schrank: Johnson and Johnson opioid settlement is ‘slap on the wrist’
Joe Schrank, director of The Heavenly Center for addiction treatment, called the $26 billion settlement that pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and drug distributors paid for their alleged involvement in the opioid epidemic a "slap on the wrist."
The Hill – July 30, 2021
Trauma: The root of addiction, loneliness and suffering
We often think that trauma means experiencing an event so treacherous, so frightening, that our bodies freeze or shut down. Dr. Gabor Maté, addiction expert, general physician, speaker, and author, has found that trauma isn’t what happens to us, but what happens within us. Our traumas give us an excuse to stay in our comfort zone.
Medium – July 28, 2021
Closing the drug program in Atlantic City means people will die
Last week, the Atlantic City Council voted to shut down the state’s largest and most successful needle exchange program. The decision was made over the objections of the city’s health director and scores of healthcare professionals who pleaded for its renewal. This myopic decision flies in the face of all that we have learned about the life-saving and societal benefits of “harm reduction” programs and strategies. More than that, these programs have been proven to provide a pathway to long-term recovery for many. Make no mistake: as a result of this decision, people will die. NJ.com – July 28, 2021
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Recovery in the Middle Ages – The Hero’s Journey Through Addiction and Recovery
The hero’s journey. In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. How does this apply to recovery? Mike and Nat break it down and give you the tools you need to embark on your own journey of inner transformation.
Rehab Confidential – Brian Merlen, activist and congressional candidate
Joe and Amy sit down with Brian Merlen who ran for congress in Connecticut’s 4th district (Purdue Pharma’s home district).
Dopey – Guest: Danny Bonaduce
This week on Dopey! We are joined by pop culture icon and Dopey legend, Danny Bonaduce! Listen to him recount his journey from the Partridge family to total crackhead oblivion and share some of the more debaucherous and hilarious stops along the way to utter desperation. Ultimately listen to how Danny found happiness in recovery!
The Addicted Mind Podcast – Stepping into the Recovery Elevator with Paul Churchill
On this episode, Duane speaks with Paul Churchill, the host and founder of Recovery Elevator. In 2015, Paul launched the podcast, which he thought was a risky move having only been six months sober from alcohol. It was a calculated gamble that actually saved his life. Now, it has opened a lot of doors for him to meet great people and impact other people’s lives.