The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - October 20, 2021
Highlights
National
As states consider safe injection sites, unclear how federal government will respond | Jamie Lee Curtis to receive Shatterproof 2021 Brian Mendell Memorial Award
State and Local
Chicago outreach and treatment efforts attributed to overdose decrease | Rhode Island Foundation awards grant to distribute naloxone amidst shortage | Safe injection site discussions in Rhode Island and Massachusetts
Studies/Research in the News
Two studies examine effectiveness of telehealth in addiction treatment | NIH funds research to examine use of psilocybin on tobacco addiction | UNM research on opioid vaccine
Opinion
A “functioning” alcoholic reveals what happens behind the façade | Considering the long-term impact of college drinking and drug use
Reviews
Dellena Harper memoir, ‘God’s Teardrop’ recounts journey of healing | Review of YA books on addiction and recovery | Film ‘All the World is Sleeping’ is the story of a New Mexico mother’s battle with addiction
Podcasts
RMA discusses Anna Lembke’s ‘Dopamine Nation’ | Dr. Michael Tkach considers the toll of stress and pressure on frontline addiction treatment providers | Flourishing with Addiction ponders the role of psychedelics in treatment
Legislative Updates and Advocacy
Federal lawmakers introduce proposal for MAT in prisons | CA Governor Newsom signs bill to require timely care for mental health and substance use disorder treatment
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
National
Jimmy Hayes death: Fentanyl was in his system, family members said
Former college hockey star and NHL player Jimmy Hayes had fentanyl and cocaine in his system at the time of his Aug. 23 death at the age of 31, two of his relatives told the Boston Globe.
USA Today - Oct. 17, 2021
Mom Loses Son, 19, to Suicide and Warns Others of High-Potency Marijuana Addiction
Laura Stack's son Johnny died by suicide after five years of addiction to high-potency marijuana.
People - Oct. 15, 2021
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case On Legalizing Safe Drug Consumption Sites, But Activists Are Undeterred
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has rejected a request to hear a case on the legality of establishing safe injection sites where people can use illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment. The justices announced on Tuesday that they decided against taking up the case raised by the nonprofit Safehouse, despite the pleas of attorneys general from 10 states and D.C. who recently filed amici briefs urging the court’s involvement. Representatives from 14 cities and counties, as well as the mayor of Philadelphia, which is at the center of the current case, also filed briefs in support of the case in recent days.
Marijuana Moment - Oct. 14, 2021
Ewan McGregor's daughter Clara discusses tranquiliser addiction, mental health and abortion ordeal
Clara McGregor has spoken candidly about her addiction to tranquilisers, anxiety battle and abortion ordeal in a searingly honest interview. The model - who is the daughter of actor Ewan McGregor - explained that she began suffering from chronic anxiety at the age of four and has spent years being held back by her mental health issues.
Daily Mail - Oct. 14, 2021
Stacey Dash Reveals Drug Addiction, Took '18 to 20 Pills a Day'
According to E! News, Dash told Oz that she estimates she was spending between $5,000 and $10,000 a month on pills. She ultimately stopped taking the painkillers, she said, when she "almost died" from a kidney infection. "My kidneys were so infected that my blood was septic, and my organs were shutting down," she said about the incident. "So, I got rushed to the hospital and I had to have a full blood transfusion and I was in there for three weeks. And by the grace and mercy of God, I lived."
Insider.com - Oct. 14, 2021
Anna Lembke: 'Addiction is the modern plague', which will be lasting
"I really do think that addiction is the modern plague. I think it's the quintessential problem of modernity, and one that we're going to be contending with for the next-- I don't know, however many hundreds of years," she said. Lembke said that some Americans have no problem when it comes to being addicted to controlled substances, drugs including caffeine, or social media – remarking she herself doesn't feel affected by alcohol or caffeinated beverages.
Fox News - Oct. 14, 2021
US reaches record high of more than 96,000 drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period, CDC data show
Reported drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a new high of more than 96,000 in the 12-month period ending March 2021, according to data released Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The numbers released on Wednesday show an increase over the number of drug overdose deaths reported during the 12-month period ending in February, but deaths have risen slightly slower. There was a 29.7% rise in reported drug overdose deaths between February 2020 and February 2021.
CNN Health - Oct. 13, 2021
Press release: Jamie Lee Curtis to Receive The 2021 Shatterproof Brian Mendell Memorial Award
Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis across the United States, is presenting the 2021 Shatterproof Brian Mendell Memorial Award to actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis will receive the award at The Shatterproof Chairman’s Reception will be held virtually on October 20, 2021, at 6:30 PM ET.
AP - Oct. 12, 2021
How one woman created a network to support the families of those struggling with addiction
Out of her own experience, Joanne Peterson founded Learn to Cope in 2004. At first, it was simply a safe place bound together by a few strangers with a shared common pain, invisible to the rest of society. Now, it is a national organization with 11,000 members and growing, providing support to the families of those with loved ones addicted to drugs and alcohol.
CNN - Oct. 12, 2021
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
State / Local
California: S.F. Mayor Breed is facing pressure to declare the overdose crisis a health emergency. Would it help?
San Francisco Chronicle - Oct. 15, 2021
California: East Bay authorities warn of fentanyl disguised as chewing bubble gum
On Thursday, Hayward police said patrol officers found and seized fentanyl that they described as looking like “chewed up bubble gum”. During the investigation, police also discovered that fentanyl is being created in a gum-like form with a color coated system to categorize its strength.
KRON 4 - Oct. 15, 2021
Texas: Two arrested in 50,000 fentanyl pill deal outside El Paso restaurant
The DEA is warning that pills sold in El Paso as oxycodone actually contain fentanyl, which can be deadly. El Paso County sheriff's investigators arrested a man and a woman accused of selling 50,000 fentanyl-laced pills in a drug bust in a restaurant parking lot last week.
El Paso Times - Oct. 14, 2021
Illinois: Outreach and treatments are attributed for Chicago's decline in overdoses
While opioid related deaths and overdoses remain at crisis levels across the country, in Chicago there's a hopeful sign. Deaths and overdoses declined during the first half of the year.
NPR - Oct. 13, 2021
Rhode Island: $250K grant to buy Narcan kits for recovery, harm reduction organizations
With naloxone reportedly in short supply nationwide, the Rhode Island Foundation has announced a $250,000 grant to help fill the gap. Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is an emergency medication that can save the life of a person who’s overdosed on opioids. According to the foundation, the grant will allow the University of Rhode Island’s Community First Responder Program (CFRP) to buy approximately 3,000 Narcan kits and distribute them to community-based recovery and harm reduction organizations.
WPRI.com -Oct. 13, 2021
Massachusetts: Advocates renew push for 'safe injection' sites
Lawmakers heard pitches last Monday for a pilot program that would create supervised sites for drug use. Dr. Catharina Armstrong, a physician in Spectrum Health Systems’ Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Program, was among several doctors and harm-reduction experts who urged lawmakers to approve legislation setting up the sites. “Safe consumption sites will save lives, money, and morally it’s the right choice for the commonwealth,” Armstrong told members of the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Recovery during a livestreamed hearing. The strategy remains illegal under federal law, and it drew threats of legal action in 2019 by then-U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling, who said anyone who uses or works at such a facility would face federal charges.
salemnews.com - Oct. 4, 2021
Rhode Island Safe Injection Law Is a U.S. First, But Challenges Lie Ahead
In July, Rhode Island became the first state in the country to authorize the use of safe injection sites statewide. The landmark legislation signed on July 7 will create a two-year pilot program to establish harm reduction centers permitting people to consume illicit drugs under medical supervision. The centers will also provide health screenings, needle exchange and recovery support. But in order to get the centers running, the state’s recovery community will face a new set of challenges including getting counties to opt in, convincing neighbors to accept the centers, getting police to cooperate and hoping the federal government supports the law.
NextCity.org - Sept. 20, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Studies/Research in the News
Johns Hopkins Medicine awarded NIH grant to explore the impacts of psilocybin on tobacco addiction
Johns Hopkins Medicine was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the potential impacts of psilocybin on tobacco addiction. This is the first NIH grant awarded in over a half century to directly investigate the therapeutic effects of a classic psychedelic.
News Medical Life Science - Oct. 18, 2021
Researchers identify key brain circuit regulating cocaine addiction, relapse
In new findings published in Neuron, neuroscientists at the University of California San Diego and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC singled out the specific brain circuit that triggers cocaine relapse in mice. When they applied a molecular brake to block activity in this circuit, the mice completely lost their previously avid interest in the drug, resuming normal behavior.
Virginia Tech News Wise - Oct. 15, 2021
New Study Offers Mixed Results for Telehealth in Addiction Treatment
A new analysis of telehealth use in addiction treatment programs finds that virtual care can boost access to care, but more proof is needed that these channels can improve retention and clinical outcomes.
mHealth Intelligence - Oct. 15, 2021
UNM researchers work to create vaccine against heroin and fentanyl
Researchers at UNM are working on a vaccine to specifically target heroin and fentanyl. UNM researchers are getting a grant around $2 million to dive into this research for two years. It has already started, with the goal of providing one more option to help fight addiction. Kathryn Frietze is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the UNM School of Medicine. She is working with a team to expand research on the new vaccine.
KOB4 Albuquerque - Oct. 15, 2021
Philly frontline workers share their experiences treating addiction during pandemic in new study
The COVID-19 pandemic was especially hard for people in addiction in Philadelphia — and the frontline workers who care for them. But local harm-reduction and health-care workers are hopeful that some of the dramatic changes enacted in response to the pandemic might lead to better health policies, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - Oct. 14, 2021
Telehealth addiction treatment rose rapidly during pandemic; but potential benefits still unclear
During the COVID-19 pandemic, addiction treatment providers rapidly pivoted to providing services via telehealth. New research highlights the potential for telehealth delivery to increase patient engagement by improving access and convenience. However, it also finds limited evidence that telehealth results in better retention or other outcomes relative to in-person treatment.
Science Daily - Oct. 13, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Opinion
Addiction is facing what you don't want to know
For many students, drug dependency is just a part of the daily college routine. It’s easy to chalk it up to the “college experience," but it’s harder to face the facts: The drug abuse we partake in now will be a long-term problem for many of us.
Central Michigan Life - Oct. 14, 2021
I Was A 'Functional' Alcoholic. Here's What Happened Behind Closed Doors.
"I was excelling at work, widely respected by my peers, I had won several prestigious awards and I looked gym-fit. Why would anyone think I had a problem?"
Huffington Post - Oct. 7, 2021
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Reviews
Dellenna Harper memoir 'God’s Teardrop' tells journey of healing
A harrowing, inspiring book describes a journey of healing that started in RochesterAt a key passage in her memoir, Dellenna Harper describes being arrested for prostitution in Rochester.“ I felt so relieved,” she says. “It was Feb. 16, 2006. God had answered my prayers.” As it happened, that arrest was the first step on a road to recovery, as Harper makes clear in her harrowing and inspiring autobiography, “God’s Teardrop: My journey of healing from addiction and prostitution.”
Democrate & Chronicle - Oct. 15, 2021
YA Books Dealing With Addiction
There are many YA books on the shelves with addiction in them, and there are just as many ways to write about addiction. You’ll notice that in many of the books on this particular list, addiction isn’t necessarily the main focus. Instead, it affects characters’ lives in various small (or big) ways. For those who have friends, family, or loved ones living with addiction or in recovery, this is how it can feel, and these books encompass a variety of situations. This list is not a be-all, end-all list, but a good place to start if it’s something you want to read more about. For more books, check out these 100 must-reads about addiction.
BookRiot.com - Oct. 14, 2021
Film made in NM gains notice for shedding light on addiction
The Albuquerque-based nonprofit Bold Futures – formally known as Young Women United – has expanded its mission to create communities by leading policy change, research, organizing, and culture shift by and for women and people of color in New Mexico. In 2017, the nonprofit decided to try using film to tell the stories of women who so often are voiceless. “All the World Is Sleeping” is that film, shedding light on the realities of addiction and the resources desperately needed for families living in cycles of addiction. All the World Is Sleeping was created by seven mothers whose battles with addiction led to the creation of this story. The lead actresses Melissa Barrera (In the Heights) & Jackie Cruz (Orange Is the New Black) worked alongside these survivors to make sure their words felt both represented and authentic. Fighting for her own life and the ones she loves, a Chicana in New Mexico sinks deeper into her addiction while struggling to surface for her daughter.
Albuquerque Journal - Oct. 9
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Podcasts: The Weekly Roundup
Recovery in the Middle Ages – Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke and NatX Returns to Traffic Court
This week on RMA, we review Dopamine Nation, the new book written by Dr. Anna Lembke, Medical Director of Addiction Medicine at Stanford University and director of its dual diagnosis clinic. We’re living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli that our brain is ill-equipped to handle. This leads to addictive behaviors and all the problems that flow from them. In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke condenses the science and explains why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain…and what to do about it. Plus, RMA goes to Court and battles the judge for Nat’s soul, on a fully adjudicated, plea-bargained, homeostatic episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Rehab Confidential – TJ Woodward, bestselling author of Conscious Creation: 5 Steps to Embracing the Life of Your Dreams
Joe and Amy sit down with TJ Woodward, revolutionary recovery expert, bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and addiction treatment specialist. He has created a new treatment modality called Conscious Recovery which focuses on the underlying root causes that drive destructive patterns, while providing clear steps for letting go of core false beliefs that lead to addictive tendencies.
Flourishing After Addiction with Carl Erik Fisher, M.D. – Psychedelics for addiction and “the freedom within.”
In mental health treatment today, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is nothing less than a sensation, and some of the most promising results are in addiction treatment. But despite the hype and money being funneled in this direction, big questions remain. What do these substances actually do? How should we use them? And from a broader perspective, how are we supposed to integrate them into our existing, troubled systems? Dr. Elias Dawkar is an addiction psychiatrist and psychiatric researcher at Columbia on the frontlines of investigating these questions.
Dopey – Mohr will be Revealed! Jay Mohr, Adderal, Fame, Comedy, Sex, Detox, Recovery
This week on a very special episode of Dopey! Dave is joined by Hollywood funnyman Jay Mohr! We have a super raw and honest conversation around addiction, spirituality and recovery. Jay comes clean about his history around alcoholism and addiction and gives a Dopey exclusive around his recent experience in detox. PLUS the return to the Dopey poetry corner and much more on a star studded new episode of Dopey.
The Addicted Mind Podcast - Addiction in the Healthcare Community with Dr. Michael Tkach
We cannot overstate the impact this pandemic has had on our health care providers. When you think about all the stress and pressures these frontliners are going through day in and day out, you can see how a lot of aspects are playing in that are leading to clinical burnout and, ultimately, addiction. Yet, we need to recognize that this is just a part of a larger system that’s going on in the individual.
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Leg/Advocacy
Legislative Updates and Advocacy
Press Release: Senators Markey, Murkowski and Representative Kuster Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Expand Access to Opioid Treatment in Correctional Facilities
Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today announced the reintroduction of the Community Re-Entry through Addiction Treatment to Enhance (CREATE) Opportunities Act, bipartisan legislation to create a new federal grant program to support opioid-use disorder (OUD) treatment at state and local correctional facilities. Representative Ann Kuster (NH-2) will introduce identical legislation in the House of Representatives.
Office of US Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) - Oct. 14, 2021
Press Release: Governor Newsom Signs Into Law Senator Wiener’s Legislation to Strengthen Timely Care for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation, SB 221, which requires health plans and insurers to provide patients with timely follow-up care for mental health issues and substance use disorders. It will go into effect on July 1, 2022. “With our escalating mental health and addiction crises, SB 221 will ensure people receive timely follow-up care when they seek mental health treatment,” said Senator Wiener. “With the support of health care workers, patients, and advocates, we continue to make huge strides when it comes to taking mental health and addiction seriously. People need care, and they need it in a timely manner. Health care delayed is health care denied. SB 221 is a major victory for the movement to ensure mental health is treated as important as physical health. ”
Office of California State Senator Scott Wiener - Oct. 10, 2021