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Category: Addiction News

  • Black Hawk Down Hero Fights For Veterans With Addiction

    Black Hawk Down Hero Fights For Veterans With Addiction

    The retired hero discusses the turning point that led him to become an advocate for veterans with addiction in a recent interview. 

    Heroes come in many forms, and now a soldier who fought in the battle documented forever in its namesake movie—Black Hawk Down—is finding himself a different kind of hero than he once was. After serving the country as a soldier, he now helps veterans with opioid addiction.

    The famous battle began Oct 3, 1993 when then—U.S Army Master Sergeant Norm Hooten went in as Delta force team leader for the assault force in Mogadishu, Somalia. Hooten and his team flew in to Somalia to capture command members fighting for a warlord.

    “It ended up being a lot more than we thought it was going to be,” Hooten recalled in KOMO News.

    Horrifically, as the American team left the completed mission, one of the helicopters—a Blackhawk—was brought down in enemy fire. Hooten and his team returned to find and rescue the downed copter, spending 18 hours of battle fighting toward the site, and then bringing home the dead soldiers. In the end, 18 American soldiers were killed. Hooten’s squadron was hit particularly hard with more than half wounded.

    “Not only were we rushing to get there,” Hooten said. “Every other hostile militiaman in that city was doing the same thing. We were going to go in and recover every person that went in if it took us forever to do so.”

    Twenty years later, one of Hooten’s team members died. He lost his life not to enemy soldiers, but to opioid addiction. “I used to think of it [drug addiction] as a choice,” Hooten admits. “But it’s really not a choice. It’s truly a disease.”

    Hooten was grief-stricken and enraged in a new way.” It was a different feeling losing a dear friend to a drug overdose than one in combat,” Hooten said. “Both are tragic but one is a little more acceptable than the other as far as I’m concerned.”

    Hooten felt a later-in-life call to service, and at age 55 he received his doctorate of pharmacy. He is now a clinical pharmacist at the Orlando Veteran’s Association, working to support and save veterans with addiction.

    A staggering statistic that moved Hooten to action: opioid abuse has killed more Americans than the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars combined. Due to PTSD and pain resulting from injuries, veterans are prescribed opioids and more at risk for opioid addiction.

    This past Veteran’s Day, vets had a rally pushing for more access to legal cannabis for the treatment of pain through the Department of Veterans Affairs.  “Use cannabis, die less,” Mike Krawitz, a 56-year-old disabled U.S. Air Force veteran told Marijuana.com.

    If you are a veteran or a service member in crisis, there are resources to help. Please call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • John Mayer Details Giving Up Alcohol After Drake's Birthday Party

    John Mayer Details Giving Up Alcohol After Drake's Birthday Party

    “I was in my sixth day of the hangover… I went, ‘OK, John, what percentage of your potential would you like to have?’”

    Singer-songwriter John Mayer hasn’t had a drink in two years.

    “I just went deep one night, and I remember being like, ‘What happens if I keep going?’” he said in a new interview with Complex.

    The decision was simple. “It was Drake’s 30th birthday party, and I made quite a fool of myself,” he recalled. “And then I had a conversation with myself. I remember where I was. I was in my sixth day of the hangover… I went, ‘OK, John, what percentage of your potential would you like to have?’”

    There was no wrong answer, he told himself. But in the end, he wanted it all—100%.

    “The voice in my head said, ‘OK. Do you know what that means?’ I went, ‘We don’t have to talk anymore. I get it.’”

    The “Your Body Is a Wonderland” singer is hoping to show people that there are alternatives to drinking. “I want people to know that ‘that’s enough for now’ is on the menu, so to speak,” he said on social media October 2017.

    Giving up drinking—a very personal experience, he says—paved the way to new things. “The next year, I did four tours, I was in two bands, I was happy on airplanes.”

    Not drinking “feels like boredom at first,” he explained. But sticking with it will level everything out. “You’re like, ‘Oh, I”m not having these high highs.’ But if you work, you can bring the whole line up.”

    Mayer says because it is different for everyone, it’s hard to explain how he came to quit booze on his own.”It’s the most personal thing to people. If I were to tell other people how they could do it, it just is so particular to your own spirit and your own psychology that it’s almost impossible to develop one way of explaining it to someone else.”

    Mayer also recalled collaborating on a song with late rapper Mac Miller (born Malcolm McCormick). The Pittsburgh native died of a drug overdose on Sept. 7 in his home in Studio City, California.

    “I just wish it wasn’t fatal. I just wish figuring out your life didn’t take your life away from you,” Mayer says. “I don’t have an answer for how to fix that, but once you get old enough to understand how valuable life is, you look at people and go, ‘I just wish you could work this out.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Gratitude Activities for Addiction: A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    Gratitude Activities for Addiction: A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    Reflecting on Past Experience

    As I contemplate my seventy second year, I recall the many lives I have lived, the trials and tribulations, the loves, losses, the successes and failures I have experienced. I know that I have brought joy to some and consternation to others.

    Since I have moved, I have stepped up the number of 12 step meetings I am going to and have been working on my character defects as well as making amends to those I have harmed knowing full well their responses are in god’s hands, not mine. For me, the first step is so important because I surrender to being powerless over people, places, thoughts, feelings and actions.

    Today, I am privileged to work with folks all over the globe, helping them rise to their best selves and often in the process I forget to take care of myself.

    So, How Do You Manifest Abundance?

    My understanding for the key to manifesting abundance is focusing and giving all your attention to the things you want. Then, you give zero energy to the things you do not want. 

    That is the key.

    To manifest even further goodness, you need to be grateful for the things that you have. Then, you keep being grateful as the things you have will just get better and better because you are focusing on all that goodness. That goodness grows exponentially and that’s a big part of how you shift your energy.

    How It Looks in Practice

    Today, I want to share ways in which I am working to manifest abundance in my life. In other words, I am working hard on discovering things about myself and not letting distractions (rumblings in my head, social media getting the best of me, etc.) get in the way.

    This morning, I realized I wanted to create a morning meditation which helps focus on manifesting what I want and what I am thankful for. I share it here with you as a way that you can carry a similar practice into your life.

     A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I always believe something wonderful is about to happen.

    That is one I have to truly concentrate on to manifest. Growing up in a home full of confusion and tragedy, my natural inclination is to see the world through dark lenses, so I must consciously and vigilantly believe something wonderful is going to happen and look beneath, inside and above  the surface to unearth it.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I discover what I want in this next decade of life.

    As the 12-Step teaches, act courageously one day at a time. For today I am kind, honest, working a program, transparent and manifesting abundance for myself and others.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest and practice gratitude daily by writing down each morning what I am grateful for.

    These are just a few things I’m grateful for:

    • Traveling up high and seeing the desert from 8900 feet
    • My husband John for always creating magical moments
    • Seeing the Big Dipper
    • Learning new ways of being
    • Hearing from friends far and near
    • My clients, who are my teachers
    • Crying and laughing

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest good health and exercise.

    Moving to a new city has switched my daily routine so today I am vigilant in finding new ways to move my body.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest kindness and gentleness with myself and others.

    Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone is fighting some sort of battle.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest big ideas – so big that they grow wings.

    Concentrate on where I want to go not what I fear. For instance, I want to speak with Oprah. I want to do a TED Talk. I want to climb Machu Picchu and I want to take my husband to Norway. I want to be of service to others. I want to write with purpose.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest money and work. “I love money, I love work. Work and money love me.”

    Other Ways You Can Call on Abundance

    Here are some other ways that I call on abundance. I repeat:

    May I watch my grandchildren grow and soar. May I laugh and take them to places near and far, to even Chuck-E-Cheese and play with them.

    May I laugh, love, work, be of service to others, forgive myself if I have harmed another, and embrace those who are my enemies and those who are my friends.

    May I be gentle with my soul, meaning strive to not live in a dark lonely place of “you’re not good enough” – rather, that I am enough. Always.

    May my phone ring with work and clients that I can serve. May I train and learn from others.

    May I love more and worry less. I want to do the next right thing. I don’t always know what results may come from my actions, but if I do nothing there will be no result.

    May I embrace the epic changes that I have made for GREAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE ALWAYS worth the risk.

    May I have the courage TO DIG DEEP, to look inside and out and find grace.

    MAY I BE PROUD OF THE WORK I DO, THE PERSON I AM, AND THE DIFFERENCE I MAKE IN THIS WORLD.

    May I learn to recognize all the dazzling important things that my eyes cannot see.

    May I have the patience and courage to do what is right.

    May I find laughter, silliness and play for I am often way too serious.

    May I cultivate deep gratitude for all that life offers me.

    MAY I REALIZE I AM RESILIENT. “WHEN THERE IS NO ENEMY WITHIN THE ENEMIES OUTSIDE CANNOT HURT YOU “AFRICAN PROVERB

    May my difficulties only serve to help me discover who I am.

    May I find a home for my talents in this world.

    May I surround myself with people who help me grow and be a better me.

    May I find a world that is kinder than I knew and often on my side.

    “May I live the kind of life I imagine for myself – for this is my one time to be me. I want to experience ever good things.” -Maya Angelou

    May I thank outside the box, thank people who least expect a thank you. Those that may have fired me or turned away. Or thank the grocery clerk, the mail person, etc.

    May I show myself deep kindness for the world and, hence, deep kindness for myself.

    May I always remember: “Gratitude can transform a common day into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward

    What Do You Do to Cultivate Gratitude?

    Let’s keep the conversation going.

    Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. We’ll do our best to respond to you personally and promptly.

    View the original article at

  • Here’s What Parents Should Know About Teen Crack Cocaine Use

    Here’s What Parents Should Know About Teen Crack Cocaine Use

    Causes of Teen Crack Cocaine Use

    As teens slowly approach adulthood, most of them are exploring and learning more about themselves. While there are many teens who choose to cultivate a sense of self in healthy ways, others decide to experiment and test their boundaries by engaging in risky activities, such as crack cocaine use.

    Along with satisfying their curiosity and showing their independence, many teens choose to use crack cocaine to belong in a specific group, experience feelings of euphoria, gain more self-confidence, and be completely comfortable in social settings. These are the primary reasons why teens use crack cocaine.

    REASON 1: Peer Pressure

    One of the primary reasons why teens use crack cocaine is because of peer pressure. In most cases, teens feel extreme pressure to fit in. Because of this intense pressure, some insecure teens will make decisions based on what their friends and peers want them to do.

    According to a study performed by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, teens are more prone to engage in risky behavior if their peers are watching. While some teens are able to consider rewards and risks before making a dangerous decision, other teens are not mature enough to control impulse behaviors such as using drugs. Before giving in to peer pressure, teens should make themselves aware of the dangerous side effects of crack cocaine, which could negatively impact their lives.

    REASON 2: Euphoria

    After teens are pressured into trying cocaine, many become addicted to this drug due to the main high effect called euphoria. Also known as a special kind of extreme pleasure, euphoria is the same feeling associated with a real accomplishment or reward. When teens repeatedly use cocaine, the brain is stimulated to produce these pleasurable feelings over and over again.

    REASON 3: Self Confidence

    Most teenagers struggle with self-confidence, which is why many teens are drawn toward crack cocaine. While teens are high on cocaine, they will usually feel better about themselves. Often times, teens may even feel superior to their peers when using this dangerous drug. Unfortunately, once teens come down from this cocaine high, they will probably feel worse about themselves than they did before using this drug. As a result, many teens continue using the drug to try to experience greater self-confidence again.

    REASON 4: Sociability

    Almost every teen wants to feel accepted and valued in social situations. In order to relax and be more comfortable around their peers, some teens use drugs like cocaine. During a cocaine high, many teens can become more talkative and gregarious in social settings.

    The fact that cocaine can make users feel more energetic and sociable is another reason why teens prefer crack over other types of drugs. Teens who struggle with social anxieties, extreme shyness, and/or depression are especially attractive to this cocaine effect.

    Major Side Effects of Cocaine

    Although the cocaine high can make teens feel really good, they should remember that there are severe side effects associated with using this dangerous drug. Depending on the person and the amount of usage, teens may experience any of these effects when using this drug:

    • Angry outbursts
    • Anxiety
    • Extremely hot body temperatures
    • Full-body stimulation
    • Hallucinations
    • Heart problems
    • Hyperactivity
    • Intense sadness
    • Muscle weakness
    • Nausea
    • Paranoia
    • Seizures

    Other side effects?

    Addiction – Withdrawal – Death.

    Such unpleasant side effects can be particularly frustrating to teens who use crack cocaine to make friends with popular peers, experience increased happiness, gain more confidence, and become more sociable.

    Risk Factors

    There are many factors that influence a teen’s likelihood to use crack cocaine. The more risk factors that are present, the more likely a teen will experiment with the drug to achieve the desired results. The most common risk factors for cocaine drug use are:

    • Low self-esteem
    • Poor grades
    • Permissive parenting
    • Victim of extreme bullying
    • Parent/sibling drug use

    In addition, teens who attend a school without strict rules for drugs or live in a community with a high tolerance for crack cocaine use are more prone to engage in this dangerous drug.

    Protective Factors

    On the other hand, there are many protective factors that have been shown to significantly decrease the risk of drug use among teens. These include:

    • Being extremely close with a parent or caregiver
    • Maintaining high self-esteem
    • Living in a community with many youth programs
    • Spending time with positive role models
    • Attending a school with a strict no drug policy
    • Participating in regular discussions with a parent about the risks of drug use

    The good news is that parents can greatly control many of the risk and protective factors in their homes. Always remember that successful drug prevention is when the risk factors are significantly reduced and the protective factors are greatly increased.

    Struggling Teens Should Seek Help

    While these common side effects can be extremely unpleasant, with repeated crack use, the brain can begin to associate these symptoms with the enjoyable effects of a cocaine high. The inability of the brain to distinguish between the unpleasant and pleasurable side effects is the main reason why teens become addicted to this substance.

    Of course, the best way to prevent cocaine addiction is to avoid drug use completely. Because of its intense pleasurable effect, teens may need a great amount of support from parents, friends, and other loved ones to stop using this drug. Regardless of the circumstances, there is always hope for teens who would like to overcome cocaine addiction for good. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help for your teen if you notice symptoms of crack cocaine use. With drug abuse treatment, your teen can go on to live a happy, healthy, and successful life.

    View the original article at

  • 3 Substances You Should Never Detox from Alone

    3 Substances You Should Never Detox from Alone

    By Amy Sedgwick, LADC, AADC, CCDP, SCPG
    Director of Clinical Operations

    ARTICLE OVERVIEW: You should never try to detox from alcohol, benzos, or opioids on your own. This article reviews the dangerous side effects of withdrawal from these substances. Then, we invite your questions at the end.

    ESTIMATED READING TIME: 7 minutes.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS:

    The Definition of Detox

    Detoxification is the process of removing any hazardous chemicals from the body. It is an essential first step if you are looking to rid yourself of addiction and begin a healthy, substance-free life. During this stage, you may feel extremely sick and uneasy as toxins leave your body. Often, medical detox can help address symptoms to help minimize discomfort. But in other cases, detox may be necessary.

    If you are trying to overcome alcohol, opioid, or benzodiazepine addiction, detox can dangerous – sometimes even fatal – without medical assistance.

    In particular, if you are dependent on alcohol, opioids, or benzodiazepines, you should aim to address your addiction in the safest way possible. When you detox from these substances, withdrawal symptoms can be severe and difficult to manage at home. Likewise, detoxing alone is risky because it increases the likelihood of an overdose.

    Plus, detoxing alone is not a suitable replacement for valuable forms of treatment such as medication assisted treatment (MAT), which can reduce your risk of relapse. In sum, clinical detox is the safest option for addressing addiction, and for many, it is a step that serves as the foundation for a lasting recovery.

    Let’s look at each type of detox, its risks, and common side effects here.

    Alcohol Detox

    With its legal status and wide availability, alcohol is the most frequently used addictive substance in the United States. Because quitting alcohol when dependent can induce severe side effects like seizures and heart failure, you should not attempt to overcome alcohol dependence alone, especially during the detox phase.

    Why?

    Individuals who become addicted to alcohol and drugs encounter neurological changes, making their brains trick them into thinking that they need their substance of choice to survive. If you have a history of alcoholism and decide to drastically cut back or stop altogether, your body will react accordingly to the change. While detoxing from alcohol, you are likely to experience particularly uncomfortable physical withdrawal symptoms such as:

    • Fever
    • High blood pressure
    • Nausea
    • Seizures
    • Heart failure

    In addition to physical symptoms, you may undergo noticeable behavioral changes because of alcohol withdrawal. These psychological symptoms can include:

    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Mood swings
    • Fatigue
    • Hallucinations

    These many potential side effects can make the detox process excruciating for some. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin eight hours after you stop drinking. Discomfort is especially prominent within the first few days of detoxing from alcohol, and mental health symptoms can take weeks to subside.

    If you drink heavily and suddenly stop, you may contend with a more intense form of withdrawal known as acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). High blood pressure, tremors, and seizures are some of the major indicators of AWS.

    This condition is often accompanied by a complication known as delirium tremens (DT), which significantly alters your mind and nervous system. Both AWS and DT can cause more severe health problems, such as difficulty breathing, heart attack, and coma. These risks can be minimized with the help of a medical professional, who can alleviate painful withdrawal symptoms and examine your vital signs to ensure your well-being. A professional may also administer addiction medications designed to lessen alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as Vivitrol.

    Detox from Opioids

    Opioids are a class of extremely addictive legal and illegal drugs that provide pain relief. Well-known opioids include:

    Though prescription opioids can help manage moderate to severe physical discomfort, they can be dangerous when taken for longer periods or in higher doses than medically recommended. Fentanyl — which is up to one hundred times more potent than morphine — often factors into deadly overdoses, as users frequently do not realize that the opioids they have been taking, such as heroin, have been laced with fentanyl. In 2016, opioid misuse caused over 42,000 fatal overdoses across the country.

    Because you can easily build a tolerance to opioids, you will likely experience severe cravings during the detox process that can tempt you to use again. When you detox alone, you have access to drugs, making it even easier for you to relapse. Relapsing after attempting to detox from opioids at home can be life-threatening because your body’s tolerance for the drug may not be the same, potentially leading to a fatal overdose.

    Detoxing in a medical setting, however, offers you the safety of a drug-free environment, removed from temptations. It gives you the opportunity to focus entirely on your recovery because you will encounter fewer triggers that could jeopardize sobriety. You will also have a support system to monitor your well-being, putting your mind more at ease. Undergoing medically monitored detox can relieve physical withdrawal symptoms you may incur during opioid withdrawal, such as:

    • Nausea
    • Abdominal cramps
    • Fever
    • High blood pressure
    • Intense cravings

    While detoxing from opioids, you may also experience psychological symptoms such as:

    • Irritation
    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Mood swings
    • Insomnia

    Though not all of these symptoms are deadly, they can cause immense discomfort and may last for weeks. Opioid withdrawal symptoms also impact the mind and the body quickly, depending on the type of opioid used. Heroin withdrawal symptoms, for example, may appear within only 12 hours of your last use.

    Detoxing at a treatment center can make all the difference in your recovery from opioid addiction. In addition to counseling and support, a professional can also address painful withdrawal symptoms through the use of addiction medications, if appropriate. Options for addressing opioid addiction through medication-assisted treatment in a rehab facility can include prescription medications such as Suboxone, Sublocade, and Vivitrol.

    Benzos

    Benzodiazepines, or benzos, are a class of depressants that are typically prescribed to treat anxiety and are only intended for short-term use. They include drugs such as:
    • Ativan
    • Klonopin
    • Valium
    • Xanax

    Because they are prescription drugs, benzos are often considered harmless. Lulled into this false sense of security, some users abuse benzos and develop a tolerance after using them for more than two to four weeks. In an attempt to experience the same sedative effects, many end up overdosing on benzos, which contribute to about 30 percent of fatal opioid overdoses. When combined with alcohol or opioids, benzo use can be life-threatening because each of these substances can limit breathing and inhibit brain function.

    If you suffer from benzodiazepine addiction, detoxing within a clinical setting is highly recommended to avoid health complications. Just like with alcohol and opioid addiction, those looking to detox from benzos may face a range of physical and psychological symptoms, including:

    • Anxiety
    • Panic attacks
    • Restlessness
    • Distorted perception
    • Itching
    • Difficulty walking

    Detoxing from benzos without medical supervision presents many dangers, including an increased risk of seizures. The detox process for benzodiazepine addiction can be complex to navigate because some of the withdrawal symptoms that may appear, like panic attacks and anxiety, may have been the reason users started self-medicating in the first place. As a result, if you are accustomed to taking benzodiazepines for medical reasons, you may find discontinuing use particularly daunting.

    Withdrawal symptoms typically start within a day of discontinuing use and may persist for months. Even in a medical setting, detoxing from benzodiazepines can take 10 days, whereas detoxing from alcohol or opioid addiction under similar conditions may take 5 days. If you suffer from benzodiazepine addiction, attempting to detox alone could have devastating consequences.

    When to Seek Medically Monitored Detox

    As the first step on your road to recovery, detox is a crucial stage that lets the body heal from toxic substances. Medically monitored detox offers the best chance for your body to recover from any harm caused by substance abuse, but it can help you in other ways as well.

    1. It provides you with an environment that is more conducive to a sustainable recovery.

    Medical detox introduces you to a team of addiction treatment and mental health experts who can not only address your physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms but also help you determine the next steps in treatment. Attending clinical detox removes you from any triggers connected to your current environment, and distancing yourself from toxic elements in your life can eliminate stress that may have been driving your addiction. Detoxing in a medical setting, therefore, helps you to focus on your health and makes you less likely to relapse.

    2. It gives you the opportunity to test for other medical conditions.

    Through medical detox, individuals also have the option to undergo testing for HIV and hepatitis C, conditions that may have been spurred by their substance use. A medical team can help you uncover any underlying medical conditions that you may not have realized otherwise, giving you the option to seek treatment and live a longer, healthier life.

    3. It encourages healthy lifestyle choices.

    Because proper nourishment is essential for helping the body recover from addiction, nutrition is a central component of some clinical detox programs. During active addiction, many individuals experience changes in appetite or weight. Learning the basics about nutrition and how to practice mindful eating in early recovery can help restore physical well-being and build a strong foundation for your sobriety. Some clinical detox programs also offer sleep education classes that teach you healthy resting habits, which can help your body and mind feel even more rejuvenated in the long term.

    Your Questions

    We hope that have encouraged you to get medical help anytime you’re considering getting off these 3 types of drugs. You don’t need go through the process of recovery alone. There are people who can help you with the struggles you’re facing. Get in touch with one today.

    If you or a loved one suffers, contact us today. Or, if you have a question…reach out. You can feel free to leave a comment below. We try to respond to all comments personally and promptly.

    —–
    About the Author: Amy Sedgwick is the Director of Clinical Operations for Mountainside Treatment Center. She is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor as well as a Nationally and Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. At Mountainside, she oversees Residential, Outpatient Services and Family Wellness programs, ensuring each team provides best in class service and care to every client. Amy is also on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Certification Board (CCB) which provides nationwide training and addiction counseling certification.

    View the original article at

  • Promising New Treatments for Opioid-Dependent Babies

    Promising New Treatments for Opioid-Dependent Babies

    Compassionate care for the mothers was crucial to positive outcomes for opioid-dependent babies.

    I gave birth to my daughter in late January of 2014. It was the kind of birth you see in the movies—the contractions started hard and grew closer together within moments. By the time I realized I was in labor, I was already in too much pain to walk. I began needing to push while my husband was on the phone calling for an ambulance. The 911 operator had to walk him through the beginning of my daughter’s delivery. Luckily, paramedics showed up to take over while she was still crowning. The lieutenant who delivered her said it was her first completed childbirth. I will never forget holding my newborn daughter in the elevator while we rode down to the ambulance, or how the entire labor and delivery staff burst into applause when we wheeled into the hospital. But the joy and pride of my wild, badass childbirth was quickly replaced by a deep sense of guilt.

    Within hours, my daughter began showing symptoms of opioid withdrawal—symptoms like rigid limbs, sneezing, and a sharp, screeching cry that burrowed into my belly and filled me with self-loathing. The withdrawal was from methadone, which I was prescribed and taking under a doctor’s supervision. Methadone has been the gold standard of care for pregnant people with opioid dependencies since the 1960s. I did the right thing. Still, watching my newborn daughter go through withdrawal was excruciating. Unfortunately, the treatment she and I received at the hospital—after that initial congratulatory applause—did not make the experience easier.

    My daughter’s level of discomfort was rated using the same system used by the majority of U.S. hospitals. It’s called the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool (though its inventor, Dr. Loretta Finnegan, notes with a laugh that her name was tacked onto it later without her knowledge). It consists of a comprehensive list of observable newborn withdrawal symptoms. Hospital staff, usually treating nurses, observe the babies every four hours and tally up the number of listed symptoms they observe. Each symptom is a point, and the overall score for that observation period is used to determine how to move forward with treatment. Usually a score above eight means the infant should begin an opiate wean, or have his dose raised if he has already been started on medication.

    The scoring system is the product of meticulous observations recorded by Finnegan in the early 1970s, when babies were dying from opioid withdrawal simply because nobody knew how to define and treat it. But in 2014, when my daughter was subject to it, and when her scores caused her to be sent to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to be medicated with titrated doses of morphine for over a month by staff who were less than welcoming to me, I resented the Finnegan Score. Other methadone and buprenorphine-dependent mothers whom I have spoken with have related similar discontent with the system. Usually, the complaints center around variability between the way that different nurses score the babies, or at having their babies sent to the NICU. It turns out, the way some of these hospitals use the scoring system is not in keeping with best practice, according to its creator.

    Loretta Finnegan, who is now the Executive Officer of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, says that inter-rater reliability is key to correct usage of the tool, and recommends that hospitals which use it conduct re-orientations “a minimum of every six months.” She also doesn’t believe that the modern NICU set-up is appropriate for babies who are experiencing NAS without other complications. In fact, she says that “the NICU is the worst place for these babies,” because of the overstimulation caused by the noise and bright lights. Finnegan puts out a training manual, and gives recommendations for the care of infants include swaddling, non-nutritive sucking, decreased stimulation, and plenty of access to mom. When she was doing her clinical work in Philadelphia, she says they “had [their] moms come in every day,” and that “compassionate care for the mothers” was crucial to positive outcomes for the babies. If I had received treatment more in line with Finnegan’s protocols, I probably would have resented the scoring system—and my daughter’s extended hospital stay—a lot less, and I suspect that other mothers would agree.

    But besides providing better training to staff who are using the current standard NAS protocol, there are a couple of promising new tools for NAS that could help decrease hospital stays for infants, and promote better trust between parents and hospital staff. One of these tools, developed by Matthew Grossman, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, is called “Eat, Sleep, Console.”

    Renee Rushka gave birth to her daughter in July 2018, while taking methadone prescribed for opioid addiction. Her daughter was treated for NAS at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. She says that they used the Finnegan NAS Scoring System to assess her baby, but they also performed another form of assessment. Although she says she never heard the term “Eat, Sleep, Console,” and she can’t remember the exact measures, she describes a protocol that sounds very much like the system first developed and researched by Grossman in 2014.

    Grossman’s system essentially measures exactly what the name implies—whether the baby is eating at least one ounce of milk, whether the baby can sleep for an hour straight, and whether she can be consoled within 10 minutes of becoming fussy. The protocol suggests maternal contact and non-pharmacological approaches whenever possible. Pharmacological intervention is indicated based on the infant’s level of functioning and comfort, rather than with the goal of reducing all withdrawal symptoms. According to Grossman’s trial conducted at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, only 12% of infants required morphine therapy, as opposed to 61% using the Finnegan system (though the study does not tell us whether they used it the way Finnegan herself recommends), and it significantly reduced the length of stay for many of the babies.

    Rushka reports that her experience with the combined Finnegan and ESC-like approach was extremely positive. She brought her baby home, healthy, after five days, having required zero medication intervention. She also notes that she did not feel judged by the staff, and even recalls receiving compliments and affirmations about her recovery—pointing toward the compassionate, inclusive approach that both Finnegan and Grossman deem crucial to the care of opioid-dependent infants. Finnegan expresses concerns that inter-rater reliability might also be an issue should ESC become more wide-spread, in part because of the design simplicity. But she’s definitely in favor of various treatments being designed for NAS. “In most diseases there are many ways to treat them,” she notes, adding, “I just need to see more proof [that ESC works.]”

    Another promising new tool for treating NAS takes a surprising form. It’s a crib called SNOO, whose designer was not initially thinking about NAS at all—his goal was to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Pediatrician Harvey Karp says that the crib can not only sense when a baby is in distress, but also what level of distress he’s experiencing—and will rock and emit soothing sounds to help calm the baby, similar to a human caregiver, but all while the real caregiver gets some much-needed rest. Karp says that “NAS babies are more skewed to the irritable side,” then, “the more sciencey way of saying it is that they have poor state control…basically you take a child with terrible state control and give them the rhythmic stimulation they need to get down to a calmer state…it’s so important to our neurology that even adults calm down this way; it’s not an accident we fall asleep in planes, trains, and cars. It’s an echo to this ancient, ancient response to the normal womb sensation.”

    Currently, Mark Waltzman, Chief of Pediatrics at South Shore Hospital in Boston, is conducting a study to test the efficacy of the SNOO in reducing distress in babies with NAS. He’s also using Grossman’s Eat, Sleep, Console tool to assess the babies’ level of discomfort. Waltzman’s study is still enrolling, so there’s no data available yet, but he is hopeful that SNOO will offer a relatively simple, non-pharmacological approach to treating the discomfort associated with NAS.

    It has been almost five years since my elder daughter was treated for NAS. Mothers across the country still report complaints similar to the ones I had then—but there are also moms like Rushka who are finding community and support in the hospitals where their babies are being treated. Regardless of the outcome of Waltzman’s SNOO trial, or further testing for Grossman’s Eat, Sleep, Console tool, the fact that this kind of diverse attention is being paid toward NAS—and alongside it a resurgence of the compassion toward the mothers that Finnegan first championed in the 70s—gives me a sense of much-needed hope. Maybe attitudes about addiction are making a positive shift within the medical community. Maybe, in the future, experiences like mine will be obsolete, and all opioid-dependent mothers and infants will have the compassionate care and affirmative respect enjoyed by Rushka and her daughter.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Teen Drug Use Drops In Ohio

    Teen Drug Use Drops In Ohio

    A local prevention expert credits greater awareness, media attention and personal tragedies for the decrease. 

    There’s some good news out of Ohio, as a new survey indicates teen prescription painkiller and heroin use are on the decline.

    According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the numbers come from a survey administered every two years by PreventionFirst, a nonprofit with the goal of stopping teen drug use before it begins. 

    “2018 is the lowest I’ve ever seen it,” Mary Haag, president and CEO of PreventionFirst, told the Enquirer. 

    The survey involved almost 33,000 students in grades 7-12 from both private and public schools in the greater Cincinnati area. 

    According to the findings, 2.4% of surveyed students reported using any type of prescription drugs in the 30 days prior to the survey, and 0.3% reported using heroin in that same timeframe. In comparison, in 2012, 6.5% reported using prescription pain pills and 1.8% reported heroin use. 

    Haag tells the Enquirer that these numbers are encouraging and she credits greater awareness, media attention and personal tragedies for the decrease. 

    However, the survey did raise some concerns when it came to alcohol and marijuana. According to the results, in the 30 days before the survey, 13.7% of students reported using alcohol and 8.1% reported using marijuana.

    Another recent survey, the CDC’s 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, also asked questions about teen opioid use. This survey asked whether students had ever misused prescription opioids and the number answering yes was higher, at 14%. 

    Nancy Brener, lead health scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, tells the Enquirer that this response is concerning. However, the same survey also showed a decrease in overall drug use in teens. 

    “I think it’s important to understand that we have made progress,“ Brener noted. 

    The survey also indicates that those who do not smoke cigarettes or use alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription drugs by age 21 are “virtually certain never to do so.”

    According to Marc Fishman, medical director of Maryland Treatment Centers and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychiatry, tells the Enquirer that it’s vital that treatment centers be willing to treat all types of substance use disorders in teenagers.

    “We need more treatment,” Fishman told the Enquirer. “Treatment of cocaine-use disorder. Treatment of alcohol-use disorder. Treatment of marijuana-use disorder.”

    “The vast majority of people with opioid-use disorder start with non-opioid use,” Fishman added. “Most of them don’t progress, but almost all of the cases of opioid-use disorder started there.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mexico's Supreme Court Strikes Down Recreational Marijuana Ban

    Mexico's Supreme Court Strikes Down Recreational Marijuana Ban

    Though limited in scope, the decision was considered a victory for pro-cannabis groups.

    Lawmakers in Mexico opened a door to marijuana legalization by declaring an absolute ban on recreational use a violation of constitutional rights.

    The country’s top court declared on October 31 that it had found in favor of two amparos (or legal injunctions) against the ban, which when added to three previous challenges, resulting in the five amparos required to change national law.

    The country’s top court ruled in all five cases that the “effects caused by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition on its consumption.”

    Though limited in scope, the decision was considered a victory for pro-cannabis groups, and was soon followed by legislation submitted to Congress that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the country.

    The Mexican government has maintained a hardline stance towards marijuana legalization for decades. Senator Olga Sanchez, who is President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s choice for interior minister and the author of the legalization bill, suggested that this approach can be considered a contributing factor in the deaths of more than 230,000 individuals in Mexico, victims of the country’s decades-long war against drug cartels. 

    The first significant effort towards legalization came with the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling, which allowed eight-year-old Graciela Elizalde to use cannabis as treatment for a severe form of epilepsy.

    The second amparo came the same year, when the court granted four members of the Mexican Society for Responsible and Tolerant Self-Consumption the right to grow, transport and use marijuana. Medical marijuana was approved in the country in 2017, though health professionals are only allowed to prescribe cannabis oil with less than 1% THC.

    Pro-cannabis groups marshaled their forces to present three more legal challenges, and passed one before ruling on the final two on October 31 and establishing jurisprudence. In its statement, the Supreme Court noted that its decision did not allow for unrestricted or unregulated use of marijuana; more importantly, the ruling only allowed those individuals that filed the legal challenges to cultivate and consume marijuana. 

    Senator Sanchez’s bill, submitted this week, proposes that licensed companies could grow and sell marijuana, and individuals would be allowed to grow plants for private use—though in the latter case, approximately one pound would be allowed per year.

    Exactly what form the bill will take once it is passed into the hands of Mexico’s Congress remains unclear, but Supreme Court Judge Arturo Zaldlívar said that the move towards legalization is inevitable.

    “The world is going in that direction,” he said. “I think that when we announced the first approval of cannabis amparo, it was very polemic, very controversial. But time and history are proving that we were right, fortunately.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Big Claims About Pot's Health Benefits Made Possible By Limited Research

    Big Claims About Pot's Health Benefits Made Possible By Limited Research

    “It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”

    Cannabidiol (CBD) can alleviate your PTSD and anxiety symptoms, while THC can reduce your nausea and inflammation—or, at least, that is what the medical marijuana industry wants you to believe.

    As using cannabis has become more socially acceptable, industry insiders are making big claims about their products’ health benefits, despite the fact that there is limited scientific research on cannabis due to the federal government’s tight control on the Schedule I substance. 

    “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but if something is being marketed as having health benefits, it needs to be proven to have health benefits,” Salomeh Keyhani, a professor of internal medicine at UC San Francisco told The Verge. “I think it’s very dangerous to be asserting that things are very beneficial without thinking about risks.”

    Keyhani authored a study published in September in the Annals of Internal Medicine examining how Americans perceive cannabis. He found that 81% of Americans believe that marijuana has at least some health benefit, and 66% believe it can help relieve pain. Nearly 30% of people surveyed believe that using marijuana can prevent health issues. 

    The research on the medical benefits of cannabis shows that Americans may be vastly overestimating its effectiveness. “Americans’ view of marijuana use is more favorable than existing evidence supports,” authors concluded. 

    “Limited evidence suggests that cannabis may alleviate neuropathic pain in some patients, but insufficient evidence exists for other types of chronic pain,” authors of another study in the Annals of Internal Medicine wrote, noting that research also shows that cannabis can increase the risk for mental health consequences. 

    Despite the Drug Enforcement Administration’s promise to grant more licenses to study cannabis, this has not happened, meaning that research has lagged behind the growing social acceptance of marijuana. This has allowed an industry to be created around cannabis as a health product, without research on the benefits or dangers. 

    “The irony is that by trying to keep us ‘safe’ and refusing to reschedule, the DEA is making us less safe by letting us be drowned by hype without quality evidence either way,” writes Angela Chen of The Verge. 

    Last Tuesday, voters in Michigan approved legalizing recreational marijuana, meaning that a quarter of Americans can now use the drug for non-medical use, and many more can opt into a medical marijuana program. 

    “All the while, the research lags behind,” Chen writes. “It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FDA Tries To Blame Kratom In Newborn Withdrawal Case

    FDA Tries To Blame Kratom In Newborn Withdrawal Case

    The agency claims it is aware of four other NAS cases involving infants exposed to kratom in utero.

    A new case report published in the journal Pediatrics suggests that kratom was the cause of a newborn’s withdrawal symptoms. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other naysayers of the herbal supplement say this is a prime example of kratom’s potential for abuse and addiction, researchers say there’s not enough information to draw any hard conclusions.

    According to the case report, a former oxycodone user gave birth to a boy who showed signs of drug withdrawal—he was jittery, screaming, and required a morphine treatment to stay alive.

    The mother reported that she had used oxycodone for almost a decade. But she completed a treatment program and was off the drugs during her pregnancy. Indeed, no opioids were detected in a drug test.

    According to the woman’s husband, she had kratom tea every day to treat her withdrawal symptoms and help her sleep. Kratom, a plant that is native to Southeast Asia, has a fierce and loyal following of people who say it has helped them manage pain and treat opioid withdrawal.

    But people should practice caution, says lead author of the case report Dr. Whitney Eldridge, a neonatologist at BayCare Health System in Florida. “I fear that women making genuine commitments to overcome their dependency may develop a false sense of safety by using a substance that is advertised as a non-opioid alternative,” she said.

    As CNN notes, there is no explicit link between kratom and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) made in the case report.

    There is not enough information to do so, says Dr. Andrew Kruegel, associate research scientist at Columbia University. “The main limitation is that we don’t know anything about the dosage that the mother was taking. Without that information, you can’t really extrapolate too much.” Nor was it verified—other than from the husband’s account—that the substance the mother was ingesting was indeed kratom.

    According to the FDA, the boy’s case “further illustrates the concerns the FDA has identified about kratom, including the potential for abuse and addiction.”

    The agency claims it is aware of four other NAS cases involving infants exposed to kratom in utero.

    In April, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb went so far as to state that “compounds in kratom make it so it isn’t just a plant—it’s an opioid.”

    View the original article at thefix.com