Weekly Addiction And Mental Health News

1.Coverage parity for mental health, substance abuse, a key focus for insurance regulators

Health insurers are prohibited from placing unfavorable limits on mental health and substance abuse benefits, and yet, many do. Federal and state regulators are taking aim at these practices and making the enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 a key focus.(medcitynews.com)

2.Impact on mental health, addiction recovery as things go back to normal

As more Americans get vaccinated and life returns to some degree of normalcy, experts weighed in on the impact the pandemic has had on mental health and addiction.(abc57.com)

3.Grants coming to deal with addiction and mental health

Multiple grants will bring almost $1.5 million to Daviess County to help improve mental health and addiction services.(washtimesherald.com) 

4.$800K grant to help teenagers struggling with mental health and substance abuse

BOSTON (WWLP) – The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) announced a grant of $800,000 for two new residential treatment facilities for teenagers struggling with mental health and substance use disorders.(wwlp.com) 

5.Endowed Chair of $5 Million to Accelerate Change in Addressing Addiction and Mental Health

A $5 million gift to American University creates a new endowed eminent scholar chair in neuroscience and behavior and accelerates AU’s leading-edge scientific work in understanding the relationship between the brain, behavior and disease.(american.edu) 

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Weekly Addiction & Mental Health News

1.Breaking the cycle: How addiction and mental illness fuel one another

Have you ever been stuck in a roundabout?You just keep going around and around and can’t get seem to get off.Experts say that’s how mental illness and addiction work. One cycle fuels the other.For those living through it, that cycle can feel impossible to stop.(newschannel9.com)

2.$4M federal grant helping Montana communities take on mental illness and addiction

BILLINGS – The country is moving forward, even after the Covid-19 pandemic took lives, forced individuals and families into isolation, and created some long-lasting side-effects in our communities.(ktvq.com)

3.Harckham, Senate Pass Legislation to Create an Office of Mental Health, Addiction and Wellness

Merger of two agencies will provide more patient-centered care, reduce barriers to treatment.(nysenate.gov) 

4.Montana has a dire shortage of mental health care providers. Here’s how lawmakers tried to help.

In an often-polarized session, a slate of workforce-boosting bills usually received unanimous support.(montanafreepress.org) 

5.NY tightens protections for consumers seeking mental health, addiction services

ALBANY — New York’s top insurance regulator is beefing up rules that require health insurers to cover mental health and substance use disorders at the same level they cover physical health conditions.(timesunion.com)

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Addiction News March 2nd week

1.At Last, Some Help for Meth Addiction

A decade ago I traveled on assignment to a Rocky Mountain rehab facility where the rich and famous go to dry out and confront their drug habits.(scientificamerican.com)

2.Topical steroid addiction: Patients call for more support

A woman who lost three stone (19kg) and had hallucinations while using topical steroids has called for more support for people reacting to skin treatments.(bbc.com)

3.For people with gambling addiction, March Madness not all fun and games

This year’s March Madness is highly anticipated after 2020’s NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.(radio.com) 

4.Addiction activists, some AGs wary of Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan

Some state attorneys general and opioid addiction activists pushed back Tuesday against a settlement offer from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, saying it didn’t include enough money and goes too far in protecting the company and family members who own it from future liability.(ktla.com) 

5.How Dawn Farm in Michigan helps people battle addiction

‘The selfish nature of the disease of addiction, it convinces you that it’s your problem and you can fix it’

.(clickondetroit.com)

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Addiction News February 1st week

1.Mother shares story of recovery, fighting addiction during COVID-19

At a time when we’re being told to isolate because of COVID-19, addiction experts say that can be a dangerous message to recovering addicts.(10tv.com)

2.Oregon law to decriminalize all drugs goes into effect, offering addicts rehab instead of prison

A longtime drug and alcohol addict, Gullickson pushes back on the idea that one terrible day on the street leads to an epiphany and a climb back to normalcy. That’s what happens in movies, not real life.(usatoday.com)

3.Secret Addiction Treatment Shoppers Log Hard Sell Tactics At Some Residential Programs

Luxury rooms, help with travel, pressure to enroll and requests for family contact info.(wbur.org) 

4.10 Years Sober, Katie Collier Talks Addiction In The Restaurant Industry

The rates of alcohol and drug abuse are higher within the food service industry than in most others.(news.stlpublicradio.org) 

5.‘You are stronger than you think’: Nevadans fight drug addiction, relapse during pandemic

Sharlee Smith, 31, began drinking alcohol when she was 18. Before long, she moved on to heavier substances. It wasn’t until her sister died of an overdose that she took her sobriety seriously.(rgj.com)

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Benzodiazepine Addiction

Benzodiazepine addiction has grown as the use of these drugs has largely replaced the more dangerous barbiturates. Benzodiazepines are tranquilizers, designed, and developed to treat a variety of conditions and with a range of both toxicity and sedative potential. They are sold under various names, by prescription, to treat anxiety, insomnia, and a host of other similar medical conditions. Taken in therapeutic doses, and even when adhering to the prescribed dose, these drugs can cause addiction. Used as an illegal recreational drug almost guarantees addiction after a short while.

What Is A Benzo

Benzodiazepines are widely prescribed in place of barbiturates because it is almost impossible to lethally overdose with them, while a lethal overdose of barbiturates is very easy and dangerous. However, benzodiazepines are nevertheless addictive and although lethal overdose is not a risk, benzodiazepine addiction most certainly is.

Various benzodiazepines (for example, valium or Xanax) can be administered to treat insomnia, anxiety, tension, and similar conditions. These drugs act on the central nervous system as a sedative and help the patient to calm down and relax. The tranquilizing effect of benzodiazepines can be quite helpful for recovering alcoholics. The drugs decrease the intensity of alcohol detox symptoms, making the process of recovery more tolerable for the patients.

Other benzodiazepines can be prescribed for epilepsy, as they act as anticonvulsants, helping muscles to relax. They also affect kidneys, not allowing them to excrete certain medications too fast, thus helping the medications to stay longer in the body and extending their effect. Benzodiazepines are also used in dentistry and surgery, because they help to prepare patients for various operations, relieving their anxiety and blocking unpleasant sensations from memory.

Of course, benzodiazepines are not just used for medical purposes – they are bought and sold illegally, mostly by teenagers as they are cheap. The youngster’s mix benzodiazepines with alcohol. In such cases, benzodiazepine addiction develops many times faster, and withdrawal symptoms can be far more severe.

Benzodiazepine Dependence

Any drug dependence starts with tolerance, and benzodiazepine addiction is no different. The sedative effects of benzodiazepines are the first to go — usual doses cease to produce the desired effect within a month of daily use. The patient then has to increase the dose to keep the initial effects, and psychological benzodiazepine addiction starts to develop. If an individual does not stop taking benzodiazepines psychological addiction will be followed by the physical one. After a month or so of regular benzodiazepine intake, the addiction is full-blown.

Benzo Addiction Symptoms

Withdrawal symptoms become much more severe. They include panic attacks, confusion, insomnia, sweating, tremors and spasms, headaches, involuntary cough, and light oversensitivity. These symptoms may be more or less pronounced, depending on the addict and his unique benzodiazepine experience. The heaviest withdrawal symptoms appear within a week after stopping benzodiazepine intake, but they can continue (even though in a less intense form) for several months and occasionally return.

An overdose of benzodiazepines is unlikely to cause death, but it will speed up benzodiazepine addiction development. Those who deliberately take these drugs in overdoses to feel euphoria usually mix them with alcohol or other drugs, such as barbiturates. Such “cocktails” might lead to coma and even death.

Benzodiazepine addiction can affect people of all ages, as these tranquilizers are very common and very often prescribed. Another danger of benzodiazepines is the speed at which tolerance and addiction develop. Doctors may prescribe them for a short period of time, but if a patient happens to become dependent on benzodiazepines during that period, he may continue asking for them and can even simulate some disorders to continue getting the drug, even though the actual condition for taking benzodiazepines is long gone. No matter how many warnings they receive, people fail to realize the dangers of prescribed drugs. Patients think that if a medication is prescribed legitimately, they can take it for longer or in higher doses than needed and that it is safe.

As people age, they often become prone to depression and anxiety because of various disorders and solitude, and eventually, doctors can prescribe one or another kind of benzodiazepine to help them. Elderly people are more sensitive to benzodiazepines, and cannot metabolize the drugs as fast as younger ones, so the tranquilizers stay in their bodies for longer. Moreover, benzodiazepines are contraindicated with certain other medications and this can result in severe consequences.

Benzo Addiction Recovery

Benzodiazepines should not be stopped abruptly. The withdrawal symptoms are very difficult to get through and addicts will need proper support as well as a weaning off period and possibly detox and rehab to really get clean.

The danger of dependence on prescription drugs should not be underestimated – it is more common than addiction to street drugs, and reaches every age, culture, social strata, and profession.

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Mental Health News-December 5th week

1.Collaborative care model for mental health, addiction treatment

Patients are more comfortable talking to primary care physicians about their mental health in general and especially when we have resources available to support their mental health needs, according to Matthew Press, MD, and Cecilia Livesey, MD.(ama-assn.org)

2.Managing addiction recovery over the holidays, during a pandemic

PORTLAND, Ore. — Everywhere we look this time of year, there are reminders that we are supposed to be happy. But for people struggling with addiction, the holidays can be tough.(kgw.com)

3.KPMB Unveils Designs for Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

KPMB has unveiled its designs for a major research building to accompany the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto – Canada’s largest teaching hospital and a world-leading research center.(dexigner.com) 

4.40% of Canadians struggling with mental health, addiction amid coronavirus pandemic: Ipsos

Amid a year of job loss, social isolation and travel restrictions, the coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on Canadians, as many struggled with mental health and addiction issues, according to recent Ipsos polling.(globalnews.ca) 

5.Congressman shares story of nephew’s addiction

WASHINGTON — Four years ago, on New Year’s Eve, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and his family suffered a loss that many families across the district he serves and the country would, sadly, likely find relatable.(times-news.com)

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Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana addiction is a trap that is just as easy to step into as caffeine, tobacco, or alcohol addiction. We probably all know how easy it is to just try smoking a marijuana cigarette at a party; it is almost as easy as drinking your first beer or smoking your first ‘normal’ cigarette. Often it is even considered to be ‘cool’ to smoke ‘weed’ and get high. But before we know it, this innocent occasional smoking of marijuana, or cannabis, will slowly but surely lead to a desire to use more, more often, and in stronger concentrations. And then after a while, we can no longer speak of the occasional fun moments of being high, it can become a serious addiction that influences our body and mind intensely daily and can start ruling our life.

Marijuana Abuse

For thousands of years many cultures around the world have used the hemp plant for many purposes, and they still do today. As early as 8000 BC, fabrics were made from the plant, it was used to manufacture rope and the seeds were even used as food. Somewhere along with the road people discovered it could be smoked and from this moment on, smoking dried hemp, (also known as cannabis or marijuana), became popular. It provided relaxation, which eventually evolved into using stronger concentrations of the dried plant to achieve a higher state of mind.

Understanding Marijuana

The active ingredient in marijuana is called THC. This is the substance that causes a ‘high’. Marijuana that is used for smoking usually consists of dried and shredded leaves of the hemp plant; the stems, seeds, and flowers are also used. Dried marijuana is usually green, gray, or brown and often has the structure of tobacco.

There is a higher and lower quality of marijuana; the higher quality is a composition of the flowering top and buds of the hemp or cannabis plant, while the lower quality can contain all parts of the plant. People that use marijuana usually smoke it as a cigarette, better known as a joint, or in a bong or pipe. Other ways of usage are mixing marijuana with foods (such as cookies) or brewed in the form of tea.

There is another variety of marijuana, known as hashish; this is a very high concentration of dried THC rich material of the plant, compressed into a paste-like range of different forms. The color of hashish can vary from dark red/brown to black. Pieces of hashish are broken off and smoked in pipes. There are many different names to describe marijuana, most common are; pot, weed, grass, and herb.

Is Marijuana Addictive?

Marijuana is used by people of all ages, and marijuana addiction can continue from early on until users are parents or grandparents. Naturally, if a child is brought up knowing that their parents are habitual users of a drug they are more likely to do the same. Studies have shown that usage is common from the age of 12 and most people have tried marijuana at least once in their life. There is a group of people that use the drug maybe once or twice a month and can control it, but there are others that end up using it more and more.

Because marijuana is a drug that is fairly easy to obtain, people of all ages are vulnerable to their use. People of all social backgrounds, education, and gender are users, and especially teenagers, as marijuana is reasonably cheap and thus an affordable way to get high.

In recent years new strains of the traditional hemp plant have been bred, and these give a much more intense experience or high. Often referred to as “skunk” these new strains appear to be far more addictive than the original strains of the plant.

Another worrying aspect of modern times is that it is far more common now to find that marijuana, or skunk, has been laced with other drugs that are highly addictive and dangerous. Addicts buying their weed from the street have no idea what has been added to their drug. Many dealers deliberately add particular drugs to the base plant knowing that it will be easy to persuade their customers to move up the ladder to other, harder drugs if they have already placed the marijuana with them.

Many habitual users, marijuana addicts to give them a more accurate title, harvest seeds found in the dried leaf form they buy from dealers and then grow their plants either in their houses or in their yards. Plants have been found on common land, in backyards, in attics, and bedrooms. Marijuana is easy to grow and simple to tend. Many of those who choose to grow their plants say that at least this assures them of knowing that they are using only marijuana, with nothing added to it without their knowledge.

There is another group of marijuana users; those who suffer from illnesses and have a subscription to medical cannabis. In some cases, medicated forms of cannabis can bring relief in symptoms for those undergoing chemotherapy, are suffering from AIDS and it can be very effective when used in a properly supervised environment, as an analgesic.

Substance Abuse Marijuana

Marijuana addiction or abuse can cause some mental health and physical problems. Let us just think of the health problems smoking alone can cause; chronic bronchitis, a higher vulnerability to chest colds and coughs, long-term emphysema, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Even at a lower dose, marijuana causes loss of attention, concentration, and coordination. Under the influence of marijuana, a person is less aware of the world around him or her and becomes a potential danger to others as well as him or herself. High doses of marijuana can produce hallucinations, paranoia, personal identity loss, memory gaps, blurred or distorted vision, and loss of mental and physical control. Marijuana contains toxins and carcinogens, therefore when abuse continues over a long period; there is an increased risk of developing cancer, particularly in the respiratory system, head, and neck.

Marijuana Addicts

There are some signs which indicate marijuana addiction or abuse, all depending on how skilled the addict has become in hiding his secrets of course. Usually, the obvious smell of the typical, heavy, sweet marijuana smoke clings to clothing and hair, and there can be a bit of a sleepy, confused appearance. Pupils are often dilated and eyes can appear bloodshot. Someone under the influence of marijuana generally seems to move in slow motion and gives the impression of just not being there mentally – an absent mind. A general loss of interest in having a fresh or clean appearance might occur. For people who struggle with marijuana addiction, it can be difficult to stay active; they suffer from apathy, which often results in antisocial behavior, staying indoors, and losing touch with the outside world.

Marijuana Help

How can you help a person that might not agree with you about needing help? It often takes quite some time before someone is ready to face his or her problems. Confrontation and acceptance are the toughest moments in the early stages of recovering from marijuana addiction – both for the addict and those supporting and helping him or her.

Nowadays we are fortunate enough to live in a society where most people are admired when they seek help for their problems. That does not mean that it is an easy thing to do; admitting you have a serious problem such as an addiction to any kind of drug takes a lot of courage, getting help to overcome it takes a great deal of perseverance from the addict and those supporting them. But once that first step has been taken, when the marijuana addict can say; ‘yes I have a problem and I need to fix it’, a large part of the battle has been fought. Besides the help of the professionals and programs at rehab centers, it is of great importance to have feedback and support from friends and family.

Rehab For Weed Smokers

Many rehab programs will include family members and friends as part of discussion groups and meetings, so not only the person that is undergoing rehab but also the people who have to be strong being around them, have a chance to be heard and to feel supported. This long winding road of ups and downs ahead might be a rough one, but with combined forces a better life is possible and it is never too late to start caring for others or yourself.

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Mental Health News-December

1.Pandemic relief bill delivers $4.25 billion for mental health services

The funding is the largest amount behavioral health groups have gotten in a spending bill. Advocates say more is needed to address historic levels of depression, substance abuse.(washingtonpost.com)

2.Alcohol Drug Addiction Mental Health Services receives grants

The Alcohol Drug Addiction Mental Health Services Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties recently received a grant award totaling $406,323.28.(timesreporter.com)

3.Mental Health Check: 10 tips to combat substance abuse during the holidays

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A challenge that often appears this time of the year is increased substance abuse during the holiday season.(clarksvillenow.com) 

4.2021 New Laws | Ban on flavored tobacco products, expansion to mental health treatment

California is banning flavored tobacco products and expanding what is considered necessary treatment for health insurance coverage.(abc10.com) 

5.Unmasking mental illness and addiction in a post-pandemic world

As the COVID-19 positivity rates are again surging, so too are the under-acknowledged rates of mental illness, thoughts of suicide, and drug and alcohol misuse across the United States.(nbcnews.com)

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