Category Archives: News

Mar 07 2018

The Influence

Study finds unequal access to MAT across the U.S.

One of the most important advances in treating opiate addiction has been the development of the drug buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone. Buprenorphine’s effectiveness in stopping cravings and preventing withdrawal symptoms has made it an integral part of medication-assisted treatment. Howev...

Feb 26 2018

The Influence

Health plans taking action to limit opioid prescribing

One of the largest health insurance trade groups has released the results of the first analysis of the health care industry’s progress in combating the opioid crisis. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is a national political advocacy and trade association with about 1,300 member companie...

Feb 23 2018

The Influence

Trump plan to cut Drug Control Policy office faces steep opposition

President Donald Trump’s reported plan to cut the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) by nearly 95 percent is facing opposition by more than 150 groups advocating for the ONDCP. Andrew Kessler, a Washington based lobbyist who represents behavioral health practitioners,...

Feb 23 2018

The Influence

New Mexico to consider supervised injection sites

Last week, legislators in New Mexico – which has one of the highest overdose rates in the nation – voted to take testimony on supervised, Injectible opioid as a strategy to reduce drug use and drug-related harm among long-term heroin users who have not been responsive to other types of treatment. By...

Feb 21 2018

The Influence

Study: alcohol more damaging to the brain than marijuana

The question of whether alcohol or marijuana is more damaging to users’ health has long been the subject of debate. Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have added to the discussion with a new study indicating that alcohol, rather than marijuana, has more significant long-term effe...

Feb 21 2018

The Influence

Judge wants opioid lawsuits to have an impact for change

A federal judge who is presiding over lawsuits by cities and counties across the U.S. against opioid painkiller manufacturers says he wants the case to have “a meaningful impact” on the addiction epidemic. Cleveland-based U.S. District Judge Dan Polster told attorneys representing drug makers and th...

Feb 21 2018

The Influence

Minnesota governor calls for tax on opiate painkillers

In Minnesota last week, Gov. Mark Dayton and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for a new tax on prescription opioids, with the resulting revenue being used to combat the opiate epidemic. Nearly 400 Minnesotans died of opiate overdoses in 2016. The plan would tax prescription opioids a penny on ...

Feb 14 2018

The Influence

Is meth making a comeback?

While the national epidemic of opiate addiction has dominated the news in recent months, U.S. drug enforcement agencies say that trafficking and use of another life-threatening drug has rebounded: methamphetamine. Twelve years after Congress acted to combat meth manufacturing and distribution, state...

Feb 14 2018

The Influence

Opiate addicts finding help at ‘Safe Stations’

One of the newest, grassroots efforts to prevent fatal opiate overdoses is the Safe Station program, now underway at a handful of locales on the East Coast. Drug users who need medical attention, or a referral to get help for their habit, can stop in police and fire stations, 24 hours a day, without...

Feb 12 2018

The Influence

Georgia county pioneers intermediate drug court

Cobb County, Ga., recently pioneered a new kind of “intermediate” drug court, to help defendants facing lesser charges than those whose cases are handled by the county’s other “accountability courts.” The county partnered with WestCare Georgia, an Atlanta-based addiction treatment provider, to...

Feb 12 2018

The Influence

Study shows benefits of safe injection site

As a response to the opiate epidemic, several U.S. cities have been considering establishing supervised injection facilities (SIFs), where people can consume pre-obtained drugs in safe settings. With public debate continuing on the merits and potential pitfalls of SIFs, a team of researchers has rel...

Feb 07 2018

The Influence

Former Silicon Valley execs partnering to fight tech addiction

“Our society is being hijacked by technology.” “What began as a race to monetize our attention is now eroding the pillars of our society: mental health, democracy, social relationships and our children.” So says the Center for Humane Technology, a new group started by some o...

Feb 05 2018

The Influence

Researchers will test two-drug combination to treat meth addiction

Researchers in South Carolina are setting up a Phase III clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of two FDA-approved drugs, bupropion and naltrexone, in treating methamphetamine addiction. Bupropion is sold as Wellbutrin to treat depression and Zyban to treat nicotine addiction; naltrexo...

Feb 05 2018

The Influence

Famed photographer takes on OxyContin manufacturer

A renowned New York photographer who recovered from a three-year OxyContin addiction is using her art world cachet to wage a public crusade against drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma, and that company’s longtime owners, who are also major art patrons. They are the descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sa...

Feb 05 2018

The Influence

SoberBowl: A different kind of Super Bowl party

Every year when the Super Bowl is held to decide pro football’s ultimate champion, the game is preceded by a week’s worth of parties and other promotional events – events that always include plenty of alcohol. One of the most unique events preceding and during Super Bowl LII in Minneapol...

Feb 01 2018

The Influence

Study finds CBT a cost-effective treatment for teen depression

Talk therapy can be a cost- effective way to help teens with depression who choose not to take antidepressant medications, according to a new study from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. Antidepressants are typically used to treat depression, but nearly half of all f...

Feb 01 2018

The Influence

Philadelphia considering supervised injection sites for addicts

Philadelphia, the city with the highest opiate death rate in the country, wants to become the first U.S. city to allow supervised drug injection sites for opiate addicts, city officials announced last week. Safe injection sites are locations where people can inject drugs under the supervision of a d...

Jan 19 2018

The Influence

NAATP launches treatment outcomes study

The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) has begun gathering data for its new outcomes research pilot project, from nine participating treatment centers across the U.S. The NAATP study will be the first to combine data from nonprofit and for-profit centers with the same prot...

Jan 17 2018

The Influence

WHO adds excessive gaming to list of addictive behaviors

Given the popularity of video gaming among adolescents and young adults, it’s no surprise that some people may over-do the activity, spending unhealthy amounts of time playing the games and displaying the signs of addictive behavior. Accordingly, the World Health Organization has added it to i...

Jan 10 2018

The Influence

Miami/Dade courts’ diversion program starts national reform movement

One of the biggest challenges for criminal justice agencies across the U.S. has been a tidal wave of mentally ill defendants who are jailed because of a lack of treatment resources. A judge in Miami-Dade County, Fla. – which has the country’s highest concentration of mentally ill residents – h...

Jan 10 2018

The Influence

FDA approves self-tracking digital pill

In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its-kind “digital pill” researchers say could be used to help prevent patients from becoming addicted to prescription opiates. Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets with sensor) has an ingestible sensor embedded in the pill that r...

Jan 10 2018

The Influence

A & E’s “Intervention” takes new approach for 18th season

On Tuesday night, Jan. 2, the A&E Network’s documentary series “Intervention” started its 18th season with a new approach. While previous segments of the show have focused on individual addicts (or alcoholics) and their families, the new season will tell the interrelated stories of people ...

Jan 08 2018

The Influence

Implants: a new way to deliver medication-assisted treatment

In recent years, subcutaneous (under the skin) implantable devices have been developed to deliver a number of medications for various health conditions, in a sustained release method. One of the newest implant applications is treatment of addiction and alcoholism. Implantable drug delivery devices o...

Jan 08 2018

The Influence

Study says OTC pain meds more effective than opioids

As the over prescribing of opioid pain medications has become a major public health concern, health care providers have been paying more attention to over-the counter-drugs that could be used instead, without the risk of addiction. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Associa...

Jan 02 2018

The Influence

Researchers trying medication-assisted treatment for meth addiction

Certain FDA-approved medications already on the market could be used to help methamphetamine users to break free from one of the most addictive of all illicit drugs, according to University of Florida neuroscientists. Currently, there are no market-approved medications being used to treat meth addic...

Jan 02 2018

The Influence

Researchers: media overlooks increase in overdose death among blacks

While lawmakers and other officials strive to keep up with rapidly evolving drug-use trends, racial discrimination still plays a major role in drug policy making. That’s one of the conclusions of a newly released study of comparing data on drug overdose deaths among African-Americans, Hispanic...

Dec 27 2017

The Influence

New nonprofit extends ‘Gloucester model’ across the U.S.

Police departments in Massachusetts are getting some extra help to deal with the opiate addiction epidemic. In October, the Gloucester-based Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) launched an effort to place 20 part-time recovery coaches and five full-time program coordinators wit...

Dec 27 2017

The Influence

House, Senate OK funding for drug-I.D. tech

A bill to equip U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel with scanning devices and other technology to detect synthetic opioids like fentanyl has been passed by the U.S. House and Senate and sent to President Trump for his signature. The Senate version of the INTERDICT (International Narcotics...

Dec 27 2017

The Influence

Insurers announce new anti-opiate measures

Two of the nation’s largest health-insurers, Aetna and CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, have announced new initiatives aimed at containing the opiate epidemic. Effective January 1, Aetna will become the first national payer to waive copays for Narcan for its fully-insured commercial members, ...

Dec 20 2017

The Influence

Congress probes unethical treatment provider practices

One of the side-effects of the opiate epidemic in the U.S. has been an increase in illicit practices by non-certified treatment providers hoping to profit from the large numbers of people needing treatment. Earlier this month, a Congressional committee heard testimony on the problems and what some s...