The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Children raised in a household with one or more parents struggling with a substance use disorder often use compliance as a coping mechanism—a skill that often no longer serves them well in adulthood, according to an expert who spoke recently at the National Council Mental Health and Addictions Conference. He says teaching new skills to substitute for learned patterns can help break the intergenerational cycle of substance abuse. …
Doctors caring for pregnant women addicted to opioids may face a difficult choice—should they treat with methadone or buprenorphine? Physicians must consider the individual circumstances of the mother, says Karol Kaltenbach, PhD, Director of Maternal Addiction Treatment Education and Research at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. …
Women physicians with substance abuse problems differ in some significant ways from their male counterparts, according to the medical director of Virginia’s Health Practitioners’ Monitoring Program. Yet little research has been done about the best ways to treat these women, she says. …
Prescription drug monitoring programs and laws to ban synthetic drugs are hot topics in state legislatures around the country, according to the CEO of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws (NAMSDL). …
Major policy changes are needed to resolve the tension between providing adequate pain relief and tackling the epidemic of prescription opioid overdoses, according to drug policy expert Keith Humphreys, PhD. …
Changes brought about by health care reform are making it easier to help people with severe mental illness to quit smoking. This population traditionally has not received much smoking cessation assistance, according to Adam O. Goldstein, MD, Director of the University of North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program. …
A Seattle-based health care system that implemented a program last year to prevent opioid misuse and overdose in patients with chronic noncancer pain is beginning to see positive results. …
With more than two thirds of people relapsing after starting treatment for substance use disorders, researchers are looking for ways to predict a person’s susceptibility to return to drug or alcohol use. Researchers at the Yale Stress Center in New Haven, CT, are developing biological markers of recovery to predict who will relapse, and when. …
A new alcohol screening tool that focuses on two key questions is designed to help pediatricians spot children and adolescents at risk for alcohol-related problems. The doctor asks about the patient’s own drinking, as well as his or her friends’ alcohol use. …
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