It doesn't matter how old you are, what race or religion you are, or if you are male or female. Addiction doesn't care how rich you are or how educated you are. Addiction doesn't discriminate.
Celebrities getting caught drunk driving, reality rehab shows, and stars checking in and out of treatment. How does the media's portrayal of addiction impact those suffering from addiction? How does it sometimes encourage bad behavior?
Federal and state public policy as it relates to drugs and addiction impact the availability of treatment. Information on diversion programs as well as DUI and drug laws.
The best treatment programs offer uniquely effective therapeutic modalities such as EMDR, dialectical behavioral therapy, and equine therapy. Here we discuss the various types of therapeutic methods that are traditionally used in addiction treatment.
Law enforcement officials in Mexico recently apprehended a thirty-seven year old Texas man who is suspected of being one of North America’s most powerful drug lords. The United States government had previously offered a $2 million reward for his capture; he is believed to be among the top five drug traffickers in Mexico.
Dr. Lisa Tseng, an osteopathic doctor who practices in Rowland Heights, California, is under fire from state and federal drug administration authorities over the way she prescribes dangerous and addictive narcotics to patients. Officials claim that as many as six prescription drug overdose deaths can be directly linked to drugs that Tseng prescribed. While expressing regret at the loss of life, Tseng believes that patients themselves are to blame for not taking the drugs as prescribed.
The case brings up challenging questions about the proper method of conducting a patient exam to identify addictive or drug-seeking behavior, how and when to prescribe drugs for new and existing patients, and whether a doctor has a duty to ensure that a patient complies with dosage instructions. Unlike when apprehending a drug dealer on the streets, where evidence of criminal activity is relatively obvious, law enforcement officials encounter obstacles when trying to build a criminal case against a doctor for negligence or intentional wronging in writing prescriptions. Given that much of the information doctors rely on to determine the proper course of treatment is actually communicated directly by the patient, holding doctors liable for abuse and misuse of prescription drugs continues to be a gray area of the law.
Dr. Tseng, age forty, is a graduate of Michigan State University. She received an osteopathic degree from its College of Human Medicine in 1996. Despite claims that she is responsible for the deaths of several of her patients, Dr. Tseng’s license to practice medicine in the State of California remains active; she has had no malpractice judgments against her and has not yet been charged with any crimes. However, officials now must determine whether Tseng is a medical professional or a prescription drug dealer, not such an easy task.
Unbeknownst to Dr. Tseng, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) embarked on a three-year investigation of her prescription-writing practices after receiving several complaints from pharmacists and loved ones of her patients. At the conclusion of the investigation, investigators determined that Dr. Tseng poses an imminent danger to public health and safety and they are in the process of initiating criminal proceedings against her. As a result, the DEA terminated her ability to prescribe addictive drugs, such as OxyContin, indefinitely. After going public with Dr. Tseng’s case, law enforcement officials have received additional complaints from parents who claim that their kids overdosed on drugs prescribed by Dr. Tseng.
Tseng has been forthcoming about the way she practices medicine and claims that she receives complaints from parents of her patients daily. Tseng claims that these parents call her names, such as “drug doctor”. However, Tseng strongly defends herself and her prescription-writing practices, claiming that she prescribes meds based on what patients tell her their symptoms are and what she is able to discern from a physical exam. New patients pose particular difficulties, Tseng claims, as she has no way of knowing whether or not they are telling the truth. Instead of acknowledging her role in the deaths of several young people under her care, Tseng blames the patients for not precisely following her dosing instructions.
Government officials, however, claim that Tseng is prescribing dangerous narcotics, such as OxyContin, without evidence that a patient has a bona fide need for the drug. Under the law, a physician can prescribe addictive painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids after she has diagnosed the patient and determined that the drug will help alleviate the symptoms or the medical problem. The law does require, however, that the doctor conduct a physical evaluation and keep detailed medical records.
If carried out correctly, medical authorities claim that a physical and history-taking should help doctors identify addicts who are doctor shopping in order to obtain a new supply of drugs. Among the things that should warn the doctor that a patient is drug seeking are patients who are willing to travel a long way for a medical appointment; those who already know what they need and take it upon themselves to ask for a specific medication; and patients who claim that they “lost” their current bottle of pills. Another indictor of addiction, although not necessarily something a doctor would be aware of, is when a patient fills narcotic prescriptions at different pharmacies (in order to avoid detection).
Tseng readily admits that several of her patients drove long distances for an appointment with her but says that when she questioned them, they indicated that they had been referred by her other patients. Tseng believed that a personal referral was a plausible reason for someone to drive incredibly long distances to be seen for a bad back.
Although she suspected that some of the patients she was treating were using her to obtain prescription drugs that were not clinically indicated, the first real alarm started to sound when she became aware that pharmacies where questioning her prescriptions or even declining to fill her prescriptions. Combined with the public outcry surrounding the recent overdoses of high-profile celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Corey Haim in 2009, this negative feedback from pharmacies prompted Tseng to cease prescribing OxyContin. For her part, Tseng feels that her refusal to write prescriptions for OxyContin successfully deterred drug seekers from continuing to come to see her.
A new study finds that the perception of feeling sober after drinking alcohol may be entirely subjective. Researchers have studied how cognitive functions are affected during the rising and falling blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of an intoxicated state and compared these BAC levels against self-perceived levels of sobriety. The subjective feeling of sobriety is premature in comparison to a drinker’s reasoning and problem-solving abilities’ recovery from impairment.
Methamphetamine skyrocketed in popularity during the 1990s, when at-home labs churned the drug out across the country. Through various law changes and programs, the use of methamphetamine has slowed. For instance, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 limited the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine that could be sold over the counter, slowing the production of methamphetamine.
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Whatever the problem or issue, one thing you can always count on is there will always be people looking for the quick fix, the instant cure, the one-size-fits-all remedy. This applies to the bad economy, a failing marriage, miserable job prospects or outlook, kids failing in school – and substance abuse or dependence. After the rosy glimmer of hope fades from such an unlikely scenario, however, it’s time to get down to basics and attack the problem or issue head-on. There simply is no short-cut in life, and definitely not when it comes to overcoming abuse or dependence on alcohol, illicit or prescription drugs – even process addictions like compulsive gambling, work, or sex.
Still, there is merit in considering whether clinical trials may prove efficacious in the prevention, treatment, or recovery from substance abuse or addiction. For many people, however, the whole arena of clinical research and trials remains a mystery. What are clinical trials? What actually happens during one? How do you apply, or do you have to be referred? How do you even find clinical trials in your area?
These are all good questions and will be dealt with shortly. The reason it’s important to understand more about clinical trials and how they may benefit individuals with substance abuse or dependence is that it’s only with full knowledge can anyone make an informed decision on whether or not participating in a clinical trial is right for them.
What are Clinical Trials?
In the basic sense, it’s fairly easy to figure out what clinical trials are just by examining the words. Clinical is an adjective that refers to medical treatment, practice, observation or diagnosis. Trial is a noun whose third accepted definition says that it is a test or experiment to determine the quality, safety, usefulness, performance, and public acceptance of the thing or process being tested. So, in this case, a clinical trial is a test of a medical treatment, practice, observation or diagnosis as to its quality, safety, usefulness, performance and public acceptance.
Fair enough – but this isn’t sufficient to give a full picture of clinical trials.
The National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/ctclintrial.html), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), publishes this definition of a clinical trial:
“A clinical trial (also clinical research) is a research study in human volunteers to answer specific health questions. Carefully conducted clinical trials are the fastest and safest ways to find treatments that work in people and ways to improve health. Interventional trials determine whether experimental treatments or new ways of using known therapies are safe and effective under controlled environments. Observational trials address health issues in large groups of people of populations in natural settings.”
Many of the headlines today talk of pharmacies becoming the target of armed robberies as drug addicts seek to get their hands on OxyContin and other prescription medications in order to feed their addiction. Some may also target pharmacies to sell the medication on the street for the going rate.
Could prescription drug abuse be reduced if states had more effective tools to detect and monitor activities? Such a process could certainly upset the habits of those individuals who choose to doctor shop in order to obtain large quantities of prescription medications.
It is well known that alcohol can contribute to the risk of developing cancer, especially breast cancer among women. Some studies have suggested that a woman’s alcohol consumption affects her hormonally, putting her at a greater risk of developing hormonally-driven types of breast cancer. Yet little research had been done on the relationships between women’s alcohol consumption and the risk of various breast cancer subtypes. As reported in the latest issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have conducted the first study measuring postmenopausal women’s risk of breast cancer subtypes based on their alcohol consumption levels. The researchers discovered that postmenopausal women drinkers have an increased risk of lobular and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
Perhaps nothing hurts as much as being rejected by your loved ones. When it happens, you believe, because of your addiction, you have to look at the underlying reasons. Maybe there’s a sound basis for them turning away from you. It could be a combination of reasons. Here are some possible ones and what you may be able to do about them.
There are two stages of the addiction/recovery scenario to consider: First, if you’ve done nothing about getting over your addiction and, second, if you’ve already gone through treatment and are in early recovery.
