Artificial intelligence could help screen trauma patients who misuse alcohol Researchers have found an artificial intelligence method that may soon be used to identify trauma patients who have misused alcohol.Learn More   Insurers Making It Harder to Treat Opioid Addiction: Study Insurance rules that limit access to the addiction treatment medication buprenorphine may be worsening the U.S. opioid epidemic, a new study suggests.Learn More   More young adults binge-drinking well into their 20s A new program will provide up to $75,000 of student loan relief for health care providers working on substance use disordersLearn More   Opioid prescriptions for pets surge, mirroring human crisis More young men and women are binge-drinking into their mid- and late-20s today than a generation ago, increasing their risk of accidental injuries, deaths and a variety of chronic illnesses, researchers say. Learn More   Discharged, Dismissed: ERs Often Miss Chance To Set Overdose Survivors On ‘Better...

Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing of Opioid Products With Mortality From Opioid-Related Overdoses To what extent is pharmaceutical industry marketing of opioids to physicians associated with subsequent mortality from prescription opioid overdoses?Learn More   The FDA is considering drugs to help kids quit vaping The US Food and Drug Administration is considering the role of drug therapies to get kids to quit vapes and other nicotine products, with medical organizations and vaping groups weighing in during a public hearing Friday on how to address rising levels of e-cigarette use among youth.Learn More   FDA clears the way to increase access and lower cost of life-saving opioid overdose treatment drug The Food and Drug Administration is clearing the way for drug companies to increase access and lower the cost of a life-saving drug used to treat opioid overdoses.Learn More   Fatal opioid overdoses by state All states in the nation are grappling...

Parents with Mental Health Conditions Are 8 Times as Likely as Parents without Mental Health Conditions to Have Contact with Child Protective Services, National Survey Shows Involvement with child protective services (CPS) can have detrimental effects on children and parents alike. This study provided updated information about the prevalence of parenting among individuals with a serious mental illness and established the first contemporaneous and comparative national prevalence estimates of CPS involvement for parents with and without a serious mental illness.Learn More   Drug overdose deaths skyrocket among middle-aged women America's drug crisis is taking a deadly toll on a group you might not expect: middle-aged women. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that drug overdose deaths among females aged 30 to 64 have skyrocketed in recent years.Learn More   Covering Debt to Curb Addiction A National Health Service Corps loan repayment program aims to boost...

Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts Counts for the most recent final annual data are provided for comparison. National provisional counts include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia as of the date specified and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period.Learn More   Stoned Driver Crash Risk Grows as Legal Pot Spreads in the U.S. As the push to legalize marijuana gains momentum, so is evidence that more permissive policies on the drug are putting motorists at risk.Learn More   As powerful new opioid nears FDA approval, critics ask if U.S. is stoking its drug crisis A new, potent opioid medication intended for quick pain relief has become the center of a maelstrom of controversy as the drug nears a U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval decision.Learn More   Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Use and Perceptions of Pod-Based Electronic Cigarettes This survey...

Senate Poised to Pass Bill to Stop Flow of Opioids Through the Mail The Senate appears poised to pass a bill intended to shut a window through which fentanyl and other opioids pour into the United States from China through the mail, as lawmakers search desperately for ways to combat an epidemic affecting people of all ages and income levels across the country.Learn More   As opioid crisis rages, cost of overdose antidote spikes As the opioid epidemic continues to kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, the drug naloxone has proved invaluable in preventing overdose-related deaths.Learn More   Receipt of Timely Addiction Treatment and Association of Early Medication Treatment With Retention in Care Among Youths With Opioid Use Disorder What percentage of youths receive medications for opioid use disorder shortly after diagnosis, and are those who receive medications early after diagnosis more likely to remain in care compared with...

A week or so ago I received an email that provided some startling statistics. In 2017, we lost over 70,000 individuals to overdoses. There was a three and a half-fold increase in cocaine overdoses since 2010. And opiates were responsible for almost 30,000 deaths. While these numbers are sobering, I also know that there are millions of individuals who are in treatment right now, and millions more who are now in recovery and living full and hectic lives. And that’s where the focus of this month’s column is about. Oftentimes, individuals who experience a mental or substance use disorder feel isolated and alone. Yet, every year, millions of Americans experience these conditions. It’s important that we offer support to individuals facing mental and substance use disorders. In fact, we need to create environments and relationships that promote acceptance. Support from families is essential to recovery, so it’s important that family members...

Relaxing patient privacy protections will harm people with addiction The nation is in the midst of a staggering opioid epidemic. Over 115 people die from an overdose each day – and all signs indicate that the problem is getting worse.Learn More   Addiction builds in the brain over time, new research shows There are certain risk factors that can contribute to a person’s struggle with addiction, including genetic predispositions, environmental influences, poor coping methods, and behavioral issues.Learn More   Now Hiring: A Company Offers Drug Treatment And A Job To Addicted Applicants It's hard enough for employers to find workers to fill open jobs these days, but on top of it, many prospective hires are failing drug tests. Learn More   Opioid Use Hasn't Declined In The Last Decade Despite Addiction Crisis Addiction to prescription opioids like oxycodone has risen so rapidly in the last decade that now an average of...

Why Are More Women Than Ever Addicted to Alcohol? Despite health warnings 
and greater social awareness, alcohol use disorder has nearly doubled for 
women since 2002. What’s at the bottom of it?Learn More   Social media usage linked to underage drinking Penn Medicine research explores adolescent and young adult social media use and drinking patterns.Learn More   If Addiction Is a Disease, Why Is Relapsing a Crime? When Julie Eldred tested positive for fentanyl in 2016, 11 days into her probation for a larceny charge, she was sent to jail. Learn More   A growing number of sober programs support college students recovering from addiction “No one should have to choose between recovery and a college education,” said the director of the biggest college recovery program in the country.Learn More   As fatal overdoses rise, many Americans see drug addiction as a major problem in their community Americans overwhelmingly see drug...

Addiction recovery advocates pressure state to change sober living laws In big bold letters on a New Jersey Superior Court decision document, the words “penalties” and “violation” stand out next to an amount for more than half a million dollars.Learn More   Opioid addiction treatment with medicine works best. Why don't more young people get it? First there was the bottle of opioid cough medicine he chugged when he was 13 or 14. Then the pills prescribed to his father for chronic pain.Learn More   Poll: Most Americans View Addiction As Disease, But Stigmatizing Views Persist A new survey revealed that about 32% of participants view opioid addiction as a character flaw. Learn More   Scared Straight: ‘Addiction Angel’ nurse uses 1970s concept to steer kids off opioids Alicia Palermo-Reddy preps patients for ambulatory surgery and she recently noticed two, middle-aged women who seemed sad and withdrawn. The husband of one...

Event’s theme is “Roads to Recovery” The 15th Annual Middlesex County Prevention Education Summit will be held on Friday, June 9, 2017. This year’s event, titled “Roads to Recovery”, will be held at the Middlesex County Fire Academy, 1001 Fire Academy Drive, Sayreville, NJ. The Summit will feature welcoming remarks by Andrew Carey, Middlesex County Prosecutor who will also provide a “State of the County” presentation. Four workshops have been scheduled including a presentation on “Journey from Narcan to Recovery” a discussion covering the opioid epidemic. A panel discussion will also cover an exploration of the “Local Responses”. One of two afternoon workshops will feature a “Supporting Recovery” panel, and conclude with a workshop presentation of personal perspectives. The conference is designed for nurses, parents, coaches, health educators, municipal officials, emergency services, municipal alliances, treatment providers, prevention specialists, school administrators, student assistance counselors, and law enforcement professionals. Attendees can receive CEUs...