The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - March 27, 2024
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
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Highlights
National
CDC reports record high 108,000 overdoses in 2022 | Private equity investment in methadone clinics presents obstacle to reforms
State and Local
Disparate access to addiction treatment in NY prisons | California’s Prop 1 could revamp the way the state addresses homelessness, addiction
Studies/Research in the News
NIDA director Volkow says Fed approval of psychedelic ibogaine for addiction treatment unlikely | NIDA director Volkow also says GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to treat addiction is “very, very, exciting”
Opinion
D.E.A. needs to stay out of medicine | Prison doesn’t treat addiction
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National
Treat addiction with psychedelics?
Despite promise of success stories from patients in recovery, Law School panel cautions that research is lacking on benefits vs. risks. Despite all the craze around psychedelics, little research has been done to prove their efficacy treating addiction disorders.
The Harvard Gazette - March 22, 2024
Swing-State Voters Fixate on Fentanyl in US Presidential Race
As the hotly contested US presidential election approaches, 8 in 10 swing-state voters say that fentanyl misuse is a “very important” or “somewhat important” issue when deciding who to vote for in November — more than the number who cite abortion, climate change, labor and unions, or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. The voters were most likely to hold drug users and Mexican cartels responsible for the epidemic. Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump are seizing on the issue to firm up support from party faithful and woo voters whose allegiances may have shifted due to the crisis. On the campaign trail, fentanyl has become a way to talk about everything from immigration and border security to China and crime.
Bloomberg - March 22, 2024
Addiction Treatment Company Landmark Recovery Accused of Violating Harassment Settlement
Substance use disorder provider Landmark Recovery is facing a lawsuit over an employee settlement agreement that includes sexual harassment allegations involving owner and chairman, Cliff Boyle. While not addressed too specifically, court documents state that Boyle and Landmark reached a settlement agreement that detailed the date of her departure from the company, “financial terms,” and agreements of mutual non-disparagement and confidentiality.
Behavioral Health Business - March 22, 2024
Tackling vaping addiction
Young people are particularly vulnerable to nicotine addiction and more likely to take health risks and discount the future consequences of their behaviour. Nicotine addiction can impact young people’s mental health, making then tired, stressed and anxious and it can affect their concentration and impact their ability to learn and study.
SPFL - March 22, 2024
Youth mental health and addiction deteriorates in Switzerland
A report published this week by Swiss Addiction shows rising consumption of addictive products containing nicotine and alcohol among young people. Much of the rise is due to newer products such as e-cigarettes and snus adding to overall consumption.
Le News - March 22, 2024
Kratom supplements, sold legally, can pose addiction risks
Kratom, a psychoactive tea from Southeast Asia, has gained a popularity as a replacement for drugs like fentanyl. It is sold legally over the counter as a supplement, but it still poses a risk for addiction. According to the FDA, approximately 1.7 million people in the U.S. ages 12 and older were using Kratom in 2021. Despite some attempts by the FDA to make it a Schedule 1 substance, Kratom remains legal in many US states as a supplement, including in North Dakota and Minnesota.
KVRR - March 21, 2024
As the risk of addiction grows for young people, are more bans needed?
In Switzerland, home of the HQs of major tobacco companies, a ban currently seems unlikely. But while the Swiss government is not planning to ban the sale of disposable vapes, other measures are in the works. From June 2024, e-cigarettes will be regulated by the new Federal Act on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes and should not be sold or marketed to under-18s.
Swiss Info - March 21, 2024
Private Equity Firms Gain Outsize Control of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Industry
Private equity firms have acquired stakes in almost one-third of all methadone clinics in the United States in recent years, according to an investigation by STAT. This gives the firms outsize control of the substance use disorder treatment industry. A small number of financial institutions now have an ownership stake in 526 opioid treatment programs (OTPs) across the country, the investigation found. In the past two years, large treatment clinic chains backed by private equity firms have launched a lobbying campaign designed to preserve their exclusive rights to dispense methadone.
Partnership to End Addiction -March 2024
Drug overdoses reach another record with almost 108,000 Americans in 2022, CDC says
Nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2022, according to final federal figures released Thursday. Over the last two decades, the number of U.S. overdose deaths has risen almost every year and continued to break annual records — making it the worst overdose epidemic in American history. The official number for 2022 was 107,941, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, which is about 1% higher than the nearly 107,000 overdose deaths in 2021.
ABC - March 21, 2024
Progressive California and Oregon revive the war on drugs amid fentanyl crisis
The war on drugs, once a weapon in the nation's fight against substance abuse and related crimes, is making a comeback on the West Coast. Fueled by increasingly visible signs of homelessness and drug use in Oregon and San Francisco, officials are restoring punitive measures for drug-related offenses amid a worsening fentanyl crisis. The laws are meant to rein in dangerous street drugs and curb their use on public sidewalks and parks, but advocates say they will only fill jails with people who need treatment. The change comes after California and Oregon initiated criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing prison populations in recent years. Critics say the new laws will overwhelm the criminal justice system and lead to more overdose deaths and poverty.
NBC - March 20, 2024
Private equity moves into the methadone clinic monopoly
Private equity firms have acquired stakes in nearly one-third of all methadone clinics in recent years, gaining outsize control of the U.S. addiction treatment industry even as the country’s opioid epidemic has developed into a full-fledged public health crisis. Private equity’s surging interest in the methadone treatment industry adds a new layer to the fraught and fast-shifting debate over access to addiction medications. “We have the physicians of America on our side, and they have the MBAs of America on their side,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass), an outspoken critic of methadone clinics and the coauthor of a bipartisan bill that would allow trained addiction doctors to prescribe methadone directly to patients with opioid addiction.
STAT - March 19, 2024
Q&A: Mark Parrino says it’s time to ‘completely re-examine’ methadone treatment for opioid addiction
For decades, he’s served as the founder and president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, a nationwide advocacy group representing methadone clinics. Before AATOD, he ran a statewide advocacy group in New York, having made the jump to politics and policy after working as a clinic director and, before that, as an addiction counselor.
STAT - March 19, 2024
'Family Affair' child star turns to God after surviving drug addiction, alcoholism
For the past 20 years, Johnny Whitaker has been conducting 12-step meetings at a local county jail — and the actor calls it a blessing.
Fox - March 19, 2024
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Comments
State / Local
Wisconsin: MFD implements new initiative to break opioid addiction cycle
At the beginning of March, the Madison Fire Department implemented a new initiative to begin carrying and administering buprenorphine. Emergency responders can administer buprenorphine to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms after initially responding to an overdose with Narcan (naloxone). MFD Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services Training and Logistics Chris Hammes said the initiative hit the ground running, and buprenorphine was administered on the first shift after the initiative had been deployed.
The Badger Herald - March 22, 2024
Oregon: With addiction bill passed, now Oregon faces biggest challenge
Counties have to build new treatment facilities to deflect people away from the criminal justice system but they only have a few months before possession is recriminalized. This session, lawmakers culminated months of discussions and debate that roped in everyone from police officers to addiction specialists with a bill that sets Oregon on a new path to tackle drug addiction. House Bill 4002, which Gov. Tina Kotek said she’ll sign, directs local agencies to build a new system to recriminalize drugs while trying to shepherd people addicted to drugs toward recovery. Though it will create a new misdemeanor in September, it emphasizes treatment over jail time.
Oregon Capital Chronicle - March 22, 2024
New York: In these state prisons, addiction treatment is out of reach
Stark disparities in access to life-saving medication for opioid addiction persist between facilities — and racial groups. Speaking in Albany last month, New York’s commissioner for addiction said that all of the state’s jails and prisons were providing the “gold standard” for treating opioid addiction. Many prisons appear to be doing well: Across facilities, 91 percent of applications reviewed were granted, suggesting that the people who requested the medication are, for the most part, receiving it. But internal data from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which runs the state prison system, show that stark disparities in access persist. Some facilities have made the life-saving treatment less widely available than Cunningham indicated.
New York Focus - March 22, 2024
California: Fentanyl permeates homeless camps in Redding, complicating efforts to fight addiction
It's not much of an understatement to say fentanyl is everywhere. Redding police say virtually every person they meet in homeless camps is using the drug. That became a significant topic of discussion during a meeting of the Shasta County At Home Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee, made up of elected officials from the county and the cities of Redding, Anderson and Shasta Lake, among others.
KRCRTV - March 21, 2024
California: Prop 1 could revamp how CA treats addiction and homelessness
California voters narrowly passed Prop 1, Newsom’s signature mental health initiative. It’s poised to overhaul treatment for drug addiction and homelessness. What happens next?
KCRW - March 21, 2024
Oregon: Facing critical lack of youth addiction resources, Oregon funds treatment center remodel
There's a lack of addiction resources in Oregon, especially for children. As drug and addiction issues continue to escalate, the most vulnerable in society struggle to find help. "We don't have the beds. We've lost the beds, over the last 10 years or so, that we need. And to really be able to help our youth, the first step is to get much-needed resources into the state," said Oregon Representative Charlie Conrad.
KPIC - March 21, 2024
Tennessee's Opioid Abatement Council Announces First Round of Community Grants
Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council is releasing its first ever community grants totaling $80,936,057. Programs funded through the grants will support work in response to opioid addiction throughout Tennessee for up to three years.
Tennessee State Government - March 21, 2024
Minneapolis denied funds to fight addiction due to council’s support of ‘defund the police’ movement
An audit by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General found that Minneapolis was denied federal funds to fight opioid addiction because some members of the city council showed support for the “defund the police” movement.
Minnesota Public Radio - March 19, 2024
Oregon: Huge allocations for housing, addiction, homelessness promise to help Oregon combat its crises. Will your town benefit?
Lawmakers approved $18 million this session to help maintain or expand 27 housing projects for people in recovery from addiction. Transcending Hope was among the agencies awarded grants.
Oregon Live - March 19, 2024
Studies/Research in the News
Ibogaine psychedelic therapy for opioid addiction unlikely, official says
The psychedelic ibogaine is unlikely to ever receive approval as a treatment for opioid addiction, the federal government’s top addiction researcher said Thursday. The remarks from Nora Volkow, the longtime director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, serve as a cautionary note amid widespread enthusiasm about ibogaine, a naturally occurring substance that drug companies and researchers have increasingly cast as a potential paradigm-shifting addiction treatment.
Stat - March 21, 2024
Ozempic and Wegovy linked to a lower risk of cannabis use disorder
An analysis of almost 700,000 people with type 2 diabetes or obesity found that those prescribed Ozempic or Wegovy were about half as likely to develop cannabis use disorder as those taking other medications.
New Scientist - March 21, 2024
Top U.S. addiction researcher calls GLP-1 data for addiction ‘very, very exciting’
Early data regarding the use of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to treat addiction is “very, very, exciting,” Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said Thursday. But even as she expressed enthusiasm for the new drugs’ potential, Volkow criticized pharmaceutical companies for neglecting a moral imperative to develop new addiction treatments — but acknowledged that the health system more broadly doesn’t incentivize drug companies to treat the U.S. drug crisis with urgency.
STAT - March 21, 2024
Wastewater analysis and drugs — a European multi-city study
The findings of the largest European project to date in the emerging science of wastewater analysis are presented in this section. The project analysed wastewater in around 90 European cities and towns (hereinafter referred to as ‘cities') to explore the drug-taking habits of those who live in them. The results provide a valuable snapshot of the drug flow through the cities involved, revealing marked geographical variations. This page presents the findings from studies conducted since 2011. Data from all studies can be explored through an interactive tool, and a detailed analysis of the findings of the most recent study, in 2023, is presented.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction - March 20, 2024
Opinion
The D.E.A. Needs to Stay Out of Medicine
As the rates of chronic pain rise, I fear the future. Our medical students report reservations about treating pain patients, and while a dedicated medical school pain curriculum can shift attitudes, few schools offer one. Health care professionals and pharmacies in this country are chained by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Our patients’ stress is not the result of an orchestrated set of practice guidelines or a comprehensive clinical policy, but rather one government agency’s crude, broad-stroke technique to mitigate a public health crisis through manufacturing limits — the gradual and repeated rationing of how much opioids can be produced by legitimate entities. In theory, fewer opioids sold means fewer inappropriate scripts filled, which should curb the diversion of prescription opioids for illicit purposes and decrease overdose deaths — right? I can tell you from the front lines, that’s not quite right. Prescription opioids once drove the opioid crisis. But in recent years opioid prescriptions have significantly fallen, while overdose deaths have been at a record high. America’s new wave of fatalities is largely a result of the illicit market, specifically illicit fentanyl.
New York Times - March 22, 2024
Prison doesn't heal drug addiction. Focus on treatment, not jail
It was deeply uncomfortable to consider whether the criminal justice approach to drug use that I had always supported might actually make it harder for families to be healthy and whole. As I read research about addiction and the best ways to reduce harm, it became clear that incarceration would not solve Joanne’s addiction. For one, drugs are readily available in jails and prisons. But more important, addiction is a complex health crisis often made worse by trauma.
USA Today - March 20, 2024