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Tag: Surgeon General Jerome Adams

  • Surgeon General: "This Ain't Your Mother's Marijuana"

    Surgeon General: "This Ain't Your Mother's Marijuana"

    “While the perceived harm of marijuana is decreasing, the scary truth is that the actual potential for harm is increasing,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams says.

    US Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Health Human Services Secretary Alex Azar issued a warning Thursday (Aug. 28) about the dangers of marijuana, particularly for young people and pregnant women.

    During the conference, Adams warned that new marijuana strains are more powerful, and thus more dangerous: “This ain’t your mother’s marijuana,” he said, according to ABC News. 

    The press conference was held to announce a new advisory and public outreach campaign to raise awareness about the risks of marijuana on brain health. Adams said that research shows that marijuana is particularly dangerous for developing brains. That includes the brains of fetuses, since cannabis use by a pregnant woman can affect her fetus, he said.

    Normalizing Marijuana

    At the event, Adams and Azar pushed back on the idea that marijuana is safe. Adams said that the “rapid normalization” of cannabis use is concerning, and that many users might be misinformed about the health risks of using pot.

    “While the perceived harm of marijuana is decreasing, the scary truth is that the actual potential for harm is increasing,” he said. “Not enough people known that today’s marijuana is far more potent than in days past. The higher the THC delivery, the higher the risk.”

    Azar pointed out that in addition to being harmful, marijuana is still fully illegal under federal law. 

    “State laws on marijuana has changed, but the science has not. And federal law has not,” he said.”

    It’s true that cannabis today is more potent than plants smoked in the past. According to the surgeon general, there was a three-fold increase in the potency of pot between 1995 and 2014. In addition, the proliferation of highly concentrated cannabis products, which are popular for vaping and in edibles, is concerning. 

    Concentrated Marijuana

    Using concentrated marijuana products — which about a quarter of teens admit doing — can increase risk for future drug use, a recent study found. 

    This is especially concerning because concentrated marijuana doesn’t share the same potent smell as other cannabis products, and it can be difficult for parents to identify. 

    Dr. Abigail Schlesinger, chief of the behavioral science division at UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, told NBC News that parents need to be aware of cannabis concentrates, and that they can have long-term effects for teens.

    “Parents need to know about the risks,” Schlesinger said. “This is not your grandparents’ cannabis. It’s more concentrated. And there’s a lot of reason to believe that in the adolescent years, it alters brain development.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surgeon General On Safe Injection Sites: There Are More Viable Options

    Surgeon General On Safe Injection Sites: There Are More Viable Options

    “From a physician’s point of view, there’s no such thing as a safe injection site. You can still die,” Adams said at a recent conference.

    Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams has again expressed reservations about supervised injection sites, also known as safe injection facilities (SIFs), as a harm reduction strategy for fighting the opioid crisis.  

    Speaking at a conference hosted by the Independence Blue Cross Foundation in Philadelphia—titled “Someone You Know: Facing the Opioid Crisis Together”—Adams voiced support for the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone and medication-assisted treatment (MAT), but in regard to SIF, Adams doubled down on previous statements that urged caution before communities embraced such sites.

    “From a pragmatic point of view, let’s crawl first before we try to figure out how to sprint—particularly on controversial policy solutions,” said Adams.

    At the same time, Adams stated that he did not want to dismiss SIFs as an alternative form of treatment. “It’s not to discourage discussion,” he said. But he also noted that “from a physician’s point of view, there’s no such thing as a safe injection site. You can still die. You can still get an infection. You can still get endocarditis. You can still have negative outcomes even when you’re injecting in a supervised fashion with illegal substances.”

    In its coverage of the conference, Philly Voice quoted Adams’ comments about strategies that have shown to be more effective than granting access to supervised injection.

    “There’s still a lot of low-hanging fruit out there, a lot of evidence-based interventions which have been accepted by the community that still needs to be optimized,” he said, referring to both MAT and naloxone. “There’s still so many more things we could be doing to optimize warm handoffs in connection to treatment. Let’s focus our energy on the things that already exist and aren’t optimized.”

    Adams’ stance on SIF differs in tone from that of the Trump administration, which has expressed no reservation in opposing such facilities. Both also contrast the opinion of Luke Gorman, co-founder of the recovery support group The Flock, who was also on the panel with Adams at the conference.

    “It’s my personal opinion that [SIFs] would be an incredible effective measure to save lives,” said Gorman, who is in recovery from opioid dependency. “Right now, with the epidemic and the proportions that it’s reached, saving lives should be in the forefront of all of our minds.”

    Gorman’s take was echoed by Daniel J. Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross and another speaker on the panel. “It’s not up to us as to whether we’re pro-safe injection sites or we’re opposed to safe injection sites,” he said. “We just want to create a web, as a company connected with other partners, to catch every single person that we can and help them find that right path to true professional services and treatment.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surgeon General Mentions Brother’s Opioid Addiction In New Report

    Surgeon General Mentions Brother’s Opioid Addiction In New Report

    “I tell my family’s story because far too many are facing the same worries for their loved ones,” the Surgeon General wrote in the report.

    The U.S. Surgeon General has released an updated report on the opioid crisis—to call for Americans to talk about opioid abuse, understand addiction as a disease and be prepared to use naloxone if needed. 

    Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids was released on September 20 and updates the previous Surgeon General’s report on addiction. 

    In the report, Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams opened up about his own family’s experience with opioid addiction. 

    “My family and I are among the millions of Americans affected by substance use disorder,” Adams wrote in the report. “My younger brother has struggled with this disease, which started with untreated depression leading to opioid pain reliever misuse. Like many with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder conditions, my brother has cycled in and out of incarceration. I tell my family’s story because far too many are facing the same worries for their loved ones. We all ask the same question: How can I contribute to ending the opioid crisis and helping those suffering with addiction?” 

    The updated report highlights the fact that available addiction treatment often lags behind what science says are best practices. 

    “The existing healthcare workforce is understaffed, often lacks the necessary training, and has been slow to implement Medicated-Assisted Treatment, as well as prevention, early identification, and other evidenced-based recommendations,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release. 

    Partially because of this, only 1 in 4 people with opioid use disorder receive specialized treatment. In order to help more people get sober, law enforcement, faith communities and healthcare providers need to come together to streamline access to treatment. 

    “Now is the time to work together and apply what we know to end the opioid crisis,” said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use (under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). “Medication-assisted treatment combined with psychosocial therapies and community-based recovery supports is the gold standard for treating opioid addiction.”

    The report concludes with actionable steps that various people can take to reduce the harm from opioid addiction. Family members should be non-judgmental and trained in using naloxone, the report says.

    Healthcare providers should treat addiction with the same care that they dedicate to other chronic diseases. Communities should raise awareness by talking about substance abuse as a public health concern. 

    “Through partnerships, we can address the overall health inequities and determinants of health that exist where we live, learn, work, and play,” Adams wrote. “Together we can reduce the risks of opioid misuse, opioid use disorder, and related health consequences such as overdose and infectious disease transmission.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Adams said that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” played a factor in his stance

    Jerome Adams, MD, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, recently gave a far-ranging interview on opioids and his stance on marijuana as an alternative to their use.

    Adams, speaking at a forum on opioids hosted by the Washington Examiner, stated that concerns over the impact of marijuana on the developing brains of young people and its possible cancer-causing properties, were the impetus for him to reserve a recommendation for its use in pain management. “We know that exposing the developing brain to marijuana can prime the brain to addiction and have potential negative consequences including promoting cancer,” he said.

    But Adams added that he considered additional studies on the subject “important,” and voiced support for the use of the opioid reversal drug naloxone.

    Adams, an anesthesiologist and vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, said that his opposition to marijuana for medical purposes was hinged largely on studies that suggested use among young people “can prime the brain for addiction.”

    Adams did not cite specific studies that asserted this notion, but added that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” was also a factor in his stance. 

    “It would be incredibly disingenuous of me to say that you shouldn’t smoke a cigarette, but it is fine to go out and smoke a joint,” said Adams, who also noted that as Surgeon General, his name is featured in the boxed warning about the health hazards of smoking featured on all cigarette packaging.

    However, Adams did state that he considered it important to examine studies pertaining to marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment, but again, added, “it is important that we not jump on something that may have more potential consequences down the road.”

    When the interview touched on the subject of opioid abuse and dependency, Adams expressed opinions on a wide array of issues regarding treatment and intervention. He voiced solid support for naloxone, dismissing opponents of the drug as “folks out there who will suggest that naloxone and these interventions are enabling drug use. I say they are enabling recovery,” he stated.

    But he was steadfast in his opposition to legalize safe injection facilities (SIFs), which have gained traction with some city and state governments as a harm reduction-based attempt to reduce chances of overdose among drug users.

    “I think it’s important for everyone to know that I took an oath to uphold the law,” said Adams. “And currently, injection facilities are illegal across the U.S. So, I can not and do not endorse safe facilities.”

    Adams also suggested that a primary line of defense against the opioid crisis could be found in most Americans’ homes.

    “I want everyone to know there’s a killer in our medicine cabinets,” he said. “Leaving pills around or unattended is the same thing as leaving a loaded gun.”

    View the original article at thefix.com