The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - December 20, 2023
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
NOTE: Sober Linings Playbook is a personal website. Any views or opinions expressed herein belong solely to the website owner and do not represent those of individuals or organizations the owner may be associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. This website offers no advice, products or services.
Highlights
National
GQ: 2023 is the year we learned alcohol in any amount is bad for you | NY Times must read: 48 Million Americans live with addiction, here’s how to get them help that works
State and Local
Massachusetts DPH backs safe consumption sites | New Hampshire adopts student loan repayment program for addiction counselors
Studies/Research in the News
Binge drinking raises liver disease risk more than chronic use | Highlighting cancer risk effective in reducing alcohol use
Opinion
How to help Kensington | Should Oregon recriminalize drugs?
Add a Comment
Have a comment about a story? A suggestion about changes to the Wednesday Weekly format? Did we miss an important story? Leave a comment. Anonymous comments welcome.
National
Matthew Perry's ex-girlfriend links his death to ketamine treatment, wants doctors probed
Matthew Perry's ex-girlfriend Kayti Edwards, is demanding an investigation against the late actor's doctors. She is linking his drug relapse to the ketamine treatment prescribed by them. According to Kaity, the actor may have considered ketamine infusions from a doctor that might have been a gateway for him to return to drug usage. “I’m pretty sure that in Matthew’s brain, ketamine infusions at a doctor’s would count as still being sober. In his brain, it’s not the same as going on the street to buy crack or heroin,” she said in an interview with The U.S. Sun. “That probably was the stepping stone for him to go back to doing drugs. I think the doctors who had been working with Matthew should be investigated. I’m pretty sure he would have had an in with a doctor,” she added.
Hindustan Times - Dec. 18, 2023
The Year We Realized Any Alcohol Is Bad for You
Studies, research, and the word of public health officials over the last year have revealed a sobering truth: Even a tiny amount of alcohol is not good for you. “Basically, our argument is that there’s no really safe amount of alcohol,” George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said during a podcast interview in April.
GQ - Dec. 15, 2023
How addiction and recovery looks different for Black Women and Girls
On this month’s Black Talk, KGNU’s Michele Simpson talks with Khadi Oluwatoyin, the founder of the Sober Black Girls Club (SBGC). Oluwatoyin started SBGC as a blog in 2018 when Oluwatoyin began examining her relationship with alcohol and depression. When she went online for guidance, she noticed that many pro-sober platforms did not cater to girls and women who looked like her or shared similar cultural and societal experiences.
KGNU - Dec. 14, 2023
Jelly Roll details depths of addiction: 'I thought we only drank to do cocaine'
Musician Jelly Roll is still trying to understand the depths of his addiction. The "Save Me" singer has been transparent about his prior drug use, even serving time for a previous crack cocaine charge. "I thought [drinking] was to make us not feel like drug addicts. Nobody wants to snort cocaine sober, then you're a drug addict. But I had to re-look at my relationship with alcohol like that," he said.
Fox - Dec. 14, 2023
48 Million Americans Live With Addiction. Here’s How to Get Them Help That Works.
More than 48 million Americans are living with a substance use disorder right now, according to the best estimates of the nation’s premier health agencies. Only about 5 percent of them are getting any kind of help for the condition. It’s easy to shrug off such dismal statistics — to assume, as many people do, that addiction is untreatable or that if effective therapies exist, most people with addictions have no interest in trying them. But both of those assumptions rest on fallacies. A vast chasm exists between effective addiction medicine and the people who most need it.
New York Times - Dec. 13, 2023
Addiction doctors spar with methadone clinics over legislation
Lawmakers on Tuesday will debate an addiction medicine proposal that would have been considered unthinkable just years ago: giving a select group of doctors the power to prescribe methadone directly to patients.With no end in sight to the deadly U.S. drug overdose crisis, which claims nearly 110,000 lives a year, many advocates have zeroed in on methadone as a potential game changer. While the medication is highly effective, it is so tightly regulated that many patients see it as impossible to access. The bill has garnered major opposition, however, from methadone clinics and the powerful trade group that represents them, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.
STAT - Dec. 12, 2023
Federal Government Takes Key Step Toward Mandating Alcohol Test Systems In New U.S. Cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday took the first step toward a regulation that could make alcohol breath tests the standard for new passenger vehicles, requiring drivers to prove they're not too impaired to drive safely before the vehicle shifts into gear.
Forbes - Dec. 12, 2023
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Comments
State / Local
New Hampshire: Hassan works to boost student loan repayment program for addiction treatment workers
Sen. Maggie Hassan is the cosponsor of a bill that would reauthorize and double a student loan repayment program for people who work at addiction treatment facilities in areas with a shortage of mental health professionals. Under the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Reauthorization Act, staff working at designated facilities based on county overdose rates, would be prioritized for loan repayment.
New Hampshire Bulletin - Dec. 16, 2023
Massachusetts: DPH backs supervised drug sites as ‘lifelines’ in addiction crisis
As overdoses impact people across Massachusetts, the DPH released a report Wednesday that supports so-called overdose prevention centers or supervised injection sites, where individuals can use pre-acquired drugs free of legal consequences under the supervision of medical professionals who could intervene to prevent an overdose from turning fatal. Such locations have been hotly debated for years and drawn threats of federal prosecution. DPH Commissioner Robert Goldstein said in a statement that these controversial sites “can be lifelines, serving not only as places of intervention, but as places of empathy, understanding, and healing.”
Athol Daily News - Dec. 15, 2023
Colorado clinic helps pregnant women seeking treatment for opioid addiction
Every expectant mother worries about having a healthy baby, but for a woman battling an addiction, the beginning of pregnancy comes with terrifying risks. From 2018 to 2021, the rate of overdose deaths for pregnant and postpartum women tripled, to more than 15 per 100,000 women. Stigma surrounding a mother and drug addiction is an ongoing barrier, leading to many women not seeking treatment.
Denver7 - Dec. 15, 2023
Nebraska Safety Council supports mandating breathalyzers in new cars
“In Nebraska specifically, year-to-date, the latest figures have alcohol-related fatalities at roughly 78...so you’re talking about over a third of the fatalities on our roads (involving) alcohol,” said Nebraska Safety Council Executive Director John Lefler. Congress passed a law two years ago calling for carmakers to install sensors in new cars. The devices would prevent the vehicle from moving if alcohol is detected coming from the driver. Lefler said he supports the idea, calling it a step in the right direction.
WOWT 6 - Dec. 15, 2023
Missouri launches a prescription drug database to help doctors spot opioid addictions
Missouri on Wednesday launched a statewide database of opioid prescriptions aimed at helping doctors identify possible addiction. Prescription information in the database can only be used for patient care and cannot be shared with law enforcement.
KSMU - Dec. 15, 2023
Louisiana: Over 1 million Louisiana residents suffer with alcohol addiction
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems study ranks Louisiana fourth nationwide across all four categories (smoking, drinking, illicit drug users, and e-cigarettes).
KTAL - Dec. 14, 2023
Oregon: Committee hears proposed solutions to the drug crisis from experts, Oregonians
Last week, the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response held its third meeting to hear from experts about effective ways to treat drug addiction and build accountable drug treatment programs.
Tillamook Headlight Herald - Dec. 14, 2023
Illinois: Champaign Carle Health sees addiction recovery success
Carle Health in Champaign is seeing the benefits of a year-old program taking the stigma out of addiction recovery. The program has two Substance Use Navigators who help those struggling with drug dependency and alcoholism. Therapists said the program wanted to change the way people were receiving help by taking a more personable approach. Therapists said they have helped 416 people since the program started, and in the last six months, not one person who sought help in the program has had a readmission.
WCIA - Dec.14, 2023
Maine: Augusta Planning Board approves clinic for people recovering from opioid addiction
A medical clinic that will treat people in recovery from opioid addiction with both counseling and suboxone or methadone doses onsite was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Planning Board.
Central Maine - Dec. 13, 2023
New Mexico: Governor says detention can help kids struggling with addiction, experts say otherwise
In a September interview with KUNM, the governor said detention could help young people dealing with addiction. “Fentanyl use on our streets and alleys and neighborhoods is illegal today. Take a look at the arrest records for that. They're pretty paltry, and that's often the way that you get, particularly a young person or a young adult, to be able to accept treatment,” she said. In an email exchange with KUNM, the governor’s office did not provide data to back up that statement or any changes made through the public health order to the juvenile justice system.
KUNM - Dec. 13, 2023
Florida: Addiction doctor Michael Ligotti's 20-year prison sentence cut in half
A South Florida doctor who orchestrated one of the largest cases of addiction fraud ever dismantled by the U.S. Department of Justice will be released from prison early, thanks to a rare request from prosecutors. U.S. attorneys asked a federal judge on Friday to resentence Michael Ligotti on account of his help exposing other fraudulent doctors.
Palm Beach Post - Dec. 12, 2023
Though many jail inmates have addiction problems, facilities lack treatment services
Measure 110 drew a bright line between law enforcement and drug addiction treatment. People found with small amounts of drugs could avoid a trip to jail and access treatment. Three years after voters approved the measure, one reality remains: People with serious drug addictions continue to flow into Oregon jails. Measure 110 funding, which comes from cannabis revenue, has pumped $265 million into addiction services, treatment and harm reduction, state data show. But none of it goes directly to jails because the Measure 110 is designated to bolster much-needed community services. Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, hopes to fix that. She is working on a bill to help jails provide more addiction treatment and services. While some are well-equipped, others “simply have no ability to do anything,” Marsh said in an interview.
Oregon Capital Chronicle - Dec. 11, 2023
Studies/Research in the News
Liver disease: Binge drinking raises risk more than overall intake
Alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver is often thought of as a disease related to chronic alcohol misuse, but new research is reporting that this deadly liver illness may also be triggered by binge drinking. Researchers say binge drinking combined with genetic risk can dramatically raise the risk of developing alcohol-related cirrhosis. They add that having type 2 diabetes puts people who binge drink at even greater risk. Experts say the study findings could help identify people who need targeted interventions to prevent liver disease.
Medical News Today - Dec. 15, 2023
Men should quit alcohol 3 months before starting a family, study suggests
A study has found that it takes longer than previously thought for the negative effects of alcohol consumption to leave a man’s sperm. Given the link between alcohol and birth defects, the findings are important for potential fathers to factor in when they’re considering starting a family.
New Atlas - Dec. 14, 2023
There's One Easy Strategy to Reduce Alcohol Intake, Scientists Say
Researchers have discovered an effective method of getting people to drink less alcohol: Highlight the increased risk of cancer that comes with imbibing and pair that with counting each and every drink.
Science Alert - Dec. 14, 2023
Opinion
Editorial: Want to help Kensington? Start by listening to neighborhood voices.
If, as Mahatma Gandhi said, the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, then Philadelphia has a lot to answer for in Kensington. Dismantling a $1 billion illegal drug industry will not be easy. Helping those battling addiction may be even harder. But Philadelphia must stop looking the other way.
Philadelphia Inquirer - December 15, 2023
People in Kensington facing addiction, homelessness deserve support, not stigma
In one sense, the people who thought I would never leave Kensington were right — but today, I’m here to help others, to stand up for an underserved community, and to speak for those who feel voiceless. There is no one solution that will work for every person who is facing what I once faced, but for me, the turning point was a stranger who offered me food, a shower, and clean clothes. That act of kindness gave me the strength to take the next steps: I called my mom and began the long process of recovery.
Philadelphia Inquirer - December 15, 2023
Opinion: Police and jails won’t solve Oregon’s addiction crisis
An interest group funded by billionaires and led by a former prison system chief is pressuring lawmakers to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs, viewing police and jails as the way to address drug addiction. We all agree that state leaders must take swift action to address drug addiction and homelessness. Drug addiction and homelessness have been in constant crisis, long before Measure 110 and continuing today. Police and jails make drug addiction and homelessness more difficult and expensive to solve because the criminal system causes trauma, increases the risk of overdose deaths and creates formidable obstacles to addiction treatment, housing, education and jobs.
Oregon Live - Dec. 13, 2023
Oregon’s addiction crisis calls for recriminalizing drug possession
After nearly three years of our Measure 110 reality, it’s clear that Oregon, routinely among the worst in the country for access to addiction treatment programs, was not ready for decriminalization. Making possession of deadly drugs a misdemeanor is a step the state must take as part of a comprehensive, data-driven response to Oregon’s addiction and overdose crisis.
Oregon Live - Dec. 12, 2023
To save her child from drugs like fentanyl, this mom will do anything
Nationwide, more than half of people found dead after an overdose were alone. Renae is determined to make a dent in those numbers by intervening when people stop breathing and helping them start treatment for their addiction if they are ready. In the meantime, she makes people comfortable if they nod off, checks vital signs and provides rescue breathing or Narcan when needed. Renae, who has medical training, pulls up a stool next to Christina. She watches as Christina pours the powder into the aluminum cup, melts the contents with her lighter and draws the liquid into a syringe. The injection is over in seconds.
NPR - Dec. 12, 2023