After missing alcohol counseling sessions and being deemed that it was a violation of her parole, Lindsay Lohan was ordered to spend 90 days in jail (video of her tearful court appearance below). Subsequent to her incarceration, the judge ordered her to spend 90 days in a drug and alcohol rehab program.
After receiving the ruling, the actress tearfully adressed the court (video in link) and mentioned that she did everything she was told to do and did everything the best she could. Though a seemingly genuine rhetoric, the court didn't seemed swayed as evidence of missing nine court-ordered counseling sessions, sometimes calling ahead to do so, was too powerful and important to be dismissed. Additionally, her wearing profane manicure may have had a role in the court not taking her efforts to overcome her burdens seriously. Lohan's father was in court, too, and attempted to speak however was denied even though a letter was accepted.
CNN has the entire article (include many videos) here.
UPDATE: DailyMail has some updated pictures, video, and information here.
One of the biggest problems with addiction is that we never know who is truly an addict. Yes, we have tests and notions, interviews and criteria, but all of those are simply tools we've used to get around the problem of not knowing. Well, a recent study by a couple of researchers at Florida State University may help us get a little closer (before you get too excited, read the limitations at the end). My take-home message from this post is familiar: Addiction is a disease, not a question of morality.
Am I An addict? Testing for addiction
One of the major reasons for the push to find the 'alcoholic gene' was the hope that, once found, it would let us say, with certainty, who is (and who isn't) an addict. All those people who simply use drugs and other addictions as an excuse for their horrible behavior would be revealed and all those who truly need help could be identified. But it didn't quite work out that way.
There is no alcoholic gene. There are a whole bunch of genes that are associated with, and most likely contribute to, the risk of someone becoming an addict. But they vary for different drugs, require some pretty serious testing, and contribute very little (individually) to our ability to categorize people. The same genes that are linked to addiction are also linked to ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, and on and on…
But wouldn't it be great if we had a conclusive test? Something that worked to really help us tell the difference between addicts and the rest?
Skin response testing
Electrodermal response modulation (ERM; a fancy name for measuring skin conductance) is a measure of how skin conductance changes in response to predictable versus unpredictable stress.
The connection between addiction and skin response might seem a stretch, but hey, dilated pupils are a sign for sexual attraction so… The idea is that the more prepared the overall system is to deal with predictable stress, the better equipped a person is to handle life stressors. Bad responsivity would mean that the person's system is not adjusting well to stressors that are predictable, producing too much arousal and discomfort to events they should be prepared for.
So for this study, high ERM good, low ERM bad, got it?
To make a long story short, this recent research shows that low ERM was more common among individuals with addiction than among controls (people with no major mental health issues) and even among individuals with personality disorders.
The good news is that this finding is promising in terms of possible future identification of people who are likely to develop addiction problems. But of course, there are some issues.
Limitations of the study
Since the study used people who were already addicted, it's impossible for us to know if low ERM exists before addiction develops. If it does, we may be able to identify potential addicts before they become addicted, but if not, it would still be useful to have a test to distinguish current addicts from non-addicts.
Of course, at the moment the test only works by comparing addicted to non-addicted groups - we don't have norms or cutoff points to tell us on an individual basis who is or isn't an addict. A lot more research will be required before that would be possible.
This is not the first test that has shown promise in terms of a quick identification test for addiction. There is quite a bit of research showing a relationship between a specific brain wave (called P300) and addiction. the problem is that P300 turned out to be pretty generally associated with what are known as externalizing disorders (like illegal activity, high risk sexual behavior, aggression, etc.). I personally believe that as behavioral addictions (like sex addiction that involves high risk sexual behavior) become more commonly understood, many of those externalizing disorders may be reclassified, making P300 possibly more popular as an addiction measure.
The Bottom Line: So can we tell?
It's too early to know if ERM will turn out to be a really good marker for addiction, but I'm sure people are hard at work trying to figure that out, so let's give them some time. Years ago I heard a presentation about people with low variability in heart rate which seemed to suggest something very similar, so I'm hopeful. But to me, there's a more important take home message:
Once again, this study shows that there are physiological factors to addiction that are far beyond anyone's actual control. I don't personally know anyone who can change their skin conductance, and so I'm pretty comfortable saying that addiction is an actual medical condition in so far as it has physical symptoms and some promising treatments.
In may of this year, 13-year-old Evan Hamilton was dared by "friends" to down eight shots of tequila. After his attempt, he passed out due to alcohol poisoning and was subsequently rushed to the ER at the UC Davis Medical Center. After a CT scan, a brain tumor was found. According to his family, "the dangerous lapse in judgment turned out to be a blessing".
Within a week, the doctors removed the tumor and months later he recovered well enough that he was able to return home. Although the tumor is completely gone, a tracheotomy was performed. Currently, a tube still supplies his stomach with food and uses a machine to assist his breathing while sleeping.
In Chennai, India, after a 26-year-old addict was taken by his brother to a rehab center his brother returned home and received a call from the rehab center saying that his addict brother was being rushed to a government hospital due to being in critical condition. Usually, that's the end of the story because families believe death is due to the drugs but this was an altogether different story.
A friend of the deceased individual's family said he had gone through treatment at the same center and mentioned that "inmates there were stripped naked when they experienced withdrawal symptoms and beaten when they grew violent." This was news to the family of the recently deceased but, for three years, to others it was well known that questionable methods were used to cure patients. "They are stripped naked, beaten if they turn violent due to withdrawal symptoms, and finally administered a paracetamol-caffeine combination regimen before being made to sleep on a bare floor in a 8x8 room with an attached toilet but no doors."
Recently, new centers have been opening up all over town and the rest of India to help cure the increased number of individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol but are allegedly being ran by under-qualified staff or individuals that have recovered but are looking to help others.
"The issue is not as much about intent as the lack of regulation. A drug or alcohol rehab centre needs to have qualified doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists besides other paramedical staff, which these independently-run outfits sorely lack. Most of them, according to Shanti Ranganathan who spearheads one of the state's largest professionally-run de-addiction centres, TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, are in dire need of oversight. "It's sad but I have heard that some of our patients have also started such clinics. What's even worse is you can't call these centres illegal as there is no mandatory requirement for them to even register," she said."
What do you think of when you hear the words "sex addict"? Do you imagine someone who has sex dozens of times a day? Someone who owns a lot of sex toys? Someone who spends all their time immersed in pornography?
While all of these scenarios, and others, can identify someone with a sexual addiction, the crucial part of identifying an addict has to do with the consequences of the behavior and the person's inability to control them. That being said, sex addiction is a relatively recent idea. In fact, it's sometimes called love addiction instead.
So what is sex addiction?
A sexual addict experiences the same type of uncontrollable compulsions that others feel in different forms of addiction (like substance, alcohol, gambling, shopping, etc). In his book (Out of the Shadow: Understanding Sexual Addiction) Carnes talks about the compulsive sexual behavior as guiding a misperception of the self.
In simple words: Sex addicts' view of themselves depends on their relationship with sexual behavior. Since they often find themselves unable to control the behavior, they often have trouble with their self-image.
What is sex addiction NOT?
Let us look at some of the NOTS of sexual addiction. Sex addicts are not people who are just hypersexual and get satisfied with their sexual behaviors; rather, they are often not satisfied with the sexual activities that they engage in. Sex addicts are not necessarily Casanovas, but are often normal functioning people who find themselves having to hide their compulsive sexual urges.
While some sex addicts do pay for sex, others are compulsive about watching porn and others simply struggle with monogamy. The point is, the stigma of sex addicts as predatory child molesters needs to be put to rest.
How common is sex addiction?
Sex addiction is a major problem in our society. Some estimate that as many as 15 million people in the U.S. are sexual addicts (roughly 8% of all men and 3% of women). Easy access to porn offered by the internet has most likely increased the prevalence of sexual addiction in the past decade. In fact, for most people getting porn addiction help specifically is the problem.
The costs for those suffering from sex addiction are also numerous: Relationships and families are disrupted and destroyed, the addict's self-esteem diminishes as they are unable to be productive in other areas of their life; illegal activity (like prostitution) ends up causing arrests, and health is often affected through the contraction of diseases.
Am I a sex addict?
Now, don't immediately assume that you are a sex addict because you fantasize about sex a lot. But how does one know if they are addicted to sex?
The simple rule is: no impairment, no addiction.
On the other hand, if day to day functioning is effected by the behavior (in this case, something sexual), this may be an indication of a problem. So, whether it be having sex often, thinking of sex, or even just being extremely horny, if it's making a person's daily activities or relationships dysfunctional and if they are unable to control their behavior they may be defined as a sex addict.
In future posts we will look more into the symptoms, forms, theories, and treatments related to sex addiction. In the mean-time, keep reading, and if you feel brave enough, share your story; who knows, you may be able to help someone else who is love addicted!!!
Question of the day:
Do you have any personal experiences with sexual addiction (your own or of someone close to you)?
In what ways has it affected your own life?
With the not-so-recent boom in Internet and the online world, mobile devices, and computers in general, a wide array of programs have been created for many aspects of life.
Drinks Tracker for iPhone and Alcohol Tracker are two relatively new programs that have been released to help people track how much they drink. The first program is for the iPhone and the second is for a desktop computer which has Windows and Mac versions.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $26 million in grants to expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts.
The purpose of this program is to expand and enhance substance abuse treatment services in “problem solving” courts which use the juvenile drug court model in order to provide alcohol and drug treatment, recovery support services and program coordination to juvenile defendants/defenders. Problem-solving courts are used as an alternative to incarceration; they quickly identify substance-abusing offenders and place them under strict court monitoring and community supervision as well as provide the participant with effective treatment services.
It is expected that up to 27 grants will be awarded for up to three years. The average annual award amount for each grantee is expected to be up to $325,000. The actual award amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds and the progress made by the grantees. This grant will be awarded by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
WHO CAN APPLY : Eligibility is restricted to existing individual juvenile drug courts that have demonstrated relationships and agreements with existing domestic public and private nonprofit entities and community-based treatment providers and units of tribal, state and local governments that submit applications on behalf of an individual juvenile treatment drug court. .
HOW TO APPLY: Applications for No TI-10-004 are available by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA7, or by downloading from: http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2010/TI-10-004.aspx. Applications are encouraged to apply online using http://www.grants.gov/.
APPLICATION DUE DATE: Must be received by February 23, 2010
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION : Applicants with questions on program issues should contact Robert M. Vincent at 240-276-1582 or e-mail mailto:RoRobert.vincent@samhsa.hhs.gov . For questions on grants management issues, contact William Reyes at 240 276-1406 or e-mail william.reyes@samhsa.hhs.gov.
Breaking news: When alcoholics who have gone through treatment have a drink after a certain length of sobriety, most don't go off the deep end.
Just the thought of a relapse can bring about anxiety and stress for many struggling with drug abuse and addiction.
Slip scares and abstinence
The old AA adage: "One drink is too many, and a thousand not enough," refers to the fact that alcoholics who are sober are assumed to return to their evil ways after even a small slip. This notion is meant to warn AA members to resist temptation lest they find themselves right back where they started. Or worse.
Most research into sobriety considers a person a success only if they remain sober throughout the study period. The followup periods last anywhere between 6 months to a year (or sometimes more). Have a drink, and you've lost. Game over. No one's ever really looked at what people who have relapsed actually do after the relapse.
Recent relapse findings
This is why the recent findings reported in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors are so intriguing:
When looking at the behavior of 563 participants, the researchers found that 30% stayed sober for the entire 12 month follow-up period. This leaves a whopping 70% who had at least a drink in the year following treatment. However, the vast majority of those who drank in the first year after treatment (82%) developed moderate, infrequent, drinking habits. In fact, only about 6% started drinking heavily and frequently after their relapse. Even of those who drank, as many as 25% were completely dry for at least an entire month after their relapse.
The bottom line on relapse
These findings suggest that at least for a year after becoming sober, a relapse is not necessarily the detrimental, destructive, event it has always been feared to be. It is surely possible that these drinking habits change, but according to these findings, if drinking frequency goes anywhere after the initial relapse, it's down, not up.
I'm not trying to make light of relapse here, and I'm certainly not saying that relapsing is a positive thing. Nevertheless, given the fact that relapse is almost always a part of the recovery process, I'm suggesting that having a relapse shouldn't scare everyone involved. It doesn't seem to in any way suggest a necessary demise.
Citation:
Witkiewitz, K. & Masyn, K. E. (2008). Drinking trajectories following an initial lapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 157-167.
While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control.
I’ve mentioned the genetic influences that have been shown to be associated with a risk for addiction before (look here). However, most of the research I’ve been involved in myself recently has more to do with the way that trying drugs changes your brain in ways that make it more likely that you’ll try them again.
Along these lines, a recently published study has shown that very specific molecular targets can have a huge impact on the probability that addicts will keep going after drugs. The molecules studies were common targets of cocaine that are altered long-term when a person uses coke.
The interesting thing is that the research found that deactivating each of these targets produced completely different effects:
Animals that had the GluR1 receptor subunit turned off were unable to stop themselves from searching for cocaine in a spot where it used to be long after normal mice gave up. I don’t know about you, but that sounds more than a little relevant for addiction given what I know, and have experienced. We’ve been studying this sort of stuff for a while, but the fact that a single molecule can make an animal pursue drugs in a way that is completely irrational is amazing!
Animals that had the NR1 receptor subunit turned off experienced a different effect. While normal mice relapse to drug use when they experience a drug after a long break, the NR1 deficient mice just wouldn’t go back to their addictive behavior when they got a little sample. Again, the implications for relapse preventions are promising to say the least.
In short, while some people may think there’s still a reason to argue whether people with addiction should simply be left to god’s mercy, ongoing work is showing us that we can uncover specific molecular mechanisms that may one day allow us to combat addiction with much more success. I for one welcome that.
It seems the family (children) of the deceased 45-year-old Carol Anne Gotbaum, the woman that reportedly:
- yelled "I am not a terrorist" after being denied entry upon an aircraft due to an invalid boarding ticket
- drank alcohol before her death
- and was on her way to a rehab center in Tucson, Arizona
that died while in police custody due to accidental strangulation, will receive an insurance-settlement payout of about $250,000 on behalf of Phoenix, Arizona.
The settlement seems to be the cheapest exit strategy for the insurance carrier who had already spent an estimated $500,000 on the case and $750,000 more on litigation. And, although, the local police department say there were no rules broken, Noah (her husband) continues to claim negligence on behalf of city.
Gotbaum's family had originally tried to sue for about $8 million in damages, then reduced the amount to $5.5 million, for leaving her chained and unattended (negligence) in an airport police holding cell. If the settlement is approved by the New York surrogate court then her three children, all under 10 years of age, will be the primary beneficiaries.
Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 90 days in jail (with in-court video and pictures)
After receiving the ruling, the actress tearfully adressed the court (video in link) and mentioned that she did everything she was told to do and did everything the best she could. Though a seemingly genuine rhetoric, the court didn't seemed swayed as evidence of missing nine court-ordered counseling sessions, sometimes calling ahead to do so, was too powerful and important to be dismissed. Additionally, her wearing profane manicure may have had a role in the court not taking her efforts to overcome her burdens seriously. Lohan's father was in court, too, and attempted to speak however was denied even though a letter was accepted.
CNN has the entire article (include many videos) here.
UPDATE: DailyMail has some updated pictures, video, and information here.
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July 7, 2010 @ 5:12 PMAm I an addict? A simple new test may help us get the answer!
One of the biggest problems with addiction is that we never know who is truly an addict. Yes, we have tests and notions, interviews and criteria, but all of those are simply tools we've used to get around the problem of not knowing. Well, a recent study by a couple of researchers at Florida State University may help us get a little closer (before you get too excited, read the limitations at the end). My take-home message from this post is familiar: Addiction is a disease, not a question of morality.
Am I An addict? Testing for addiction
One of the major reasons for the push to find the 'alcoholic gene' was the hope that, once found, it would let us say, with certainty, who is (and who isn't) an addict. All those people who simply use drugs and other addictions as an excuse for their horrible behavior would be revealed and all those who truly need help could be identified. But it didn't quite work out that way.
There is no alcoholic gene. There are a whole bunch of genes that are associated with, and most likely contribute to, the risk of someone becoming an addict. But they vary for different drugs, require some pretty serious testing, and contribute very little (individually) to our ability to categorize people. The same genes that are linked to addiction are also linked to ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, and on and on…
But wouldn't it be great if we had a conclusive test? Something that worked to really help us tell the difference between addicts and the rest?
Skin response testing
Electrodermal response modulation (ERM; a fancy name for measuring skin conductance) is a measure of how skin conductance changes in response to predictable versus unpredictable stress.
The connection between addiction and skin response might seem a stretch, but hey, dilated pupils are a sign for sexual attraction so… The idea is that the more prepared the overall system is to deal with predictable stress, the better equipped a person is to handle life stressors. Bad responsivity would mean that the person's system is not adjusting well to stressors that are predictable, producing too much arousal and discomfort to events they should be prepared for.
So for this study, high ERM good, low ERM bad, got it?
To make a long story short, this recent research shows that low ERM was more common among individuals with addiction than among controls (people with no major mental health issues) and even among individuals with personality disorders.
The good news is that this finding is promising in terms of possible future identification of people who are likely to develop addiction problems. But of course, there are some issues.
Limitations of the study
Since the study used people who were already addicted, it's impossible for us to know if low ERM exists before addiction develops. If it does, we may be able to identify potential addicts before they become addicted, but if not, it would still be useful to have a test to distinguish current addicts from non-addicts.
Of course, at the moment the test only works by comparing addicted to non-addicted groups - we don't have norms or cutoff points to tell us on an individual basis who is or isn't an addict. A lot more research will be required before that would be possible.
This is not the first test that has shown promise in terms of a quick identification test for addiction. There is quite a bit of research showing a relationship between a specific brain wave (called P300) and addiction. the problem is that P300 turned out to be pretty generally associated with what are known as externalizing disorders (like illegal activity, high risk sexual behavior, aggression, etc.). I personally believe that as behavioral addictions (like sex addiction that involves high risk sexual behavior) become more commonly understood, many of those externalizing disorders may be reclassified, making P300 possibly more popular as an addiction measure.
The Bottom Line: So can we tell?
It's too early to know if ERM will turn out to be a really good marker for addiction, but I'm sure people are hard at work trying to figure that out, so let's give them some time. Years ago I heard a presentation about people with low variability in heart rate which seemed to suggest something very similar, so I'm hopeful. But to me, there's a more important take home message:
Once again, this study shows that there are physiological factors to addiction that are far beyond anyone's actual control. I don't personally know anyone who can change their skin conductance, and so I'm pretty comfortable saying that addiction is an actual medical condition in so far as it has physical symptoms and some promising treatments.
But then again, I am a scientist...
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February 5, 2010 @ 12:42 PMBrain tumor found in 13-year-old boy after passing out from a dare to down eight shots of tequila
Within a week, the doctors removed the tumor and months later he recovered well enough that he was able to return home. Although the tumor is completely gone, a tracheotomy was performed. Currently, a tube still supplies his stomach with food and uses a machine to assist his breathing while sleeping.
CBS13 has the entire story here.
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December 23, 2009 @ 6:43 PMRehab center strips and beats patients to cure withdrawal and addiction
In Chennai, India, after a 26-year-old addict was taken by his brother to a rehab center his brother returned home and received a call from the rehab center saying that his addict brother was being rushed to a government hospital due to being in critical condition. Usually, that's the end of the story because families believe death is due to the drugs but this was an altogether different story.
A friend of the deceased individual's family said he had gone through treatment at the same center and mentioned that "inmates there were stripped naked when they experienced withdrawal symptoms and beaten when they grew violent." This was news to the family of the recently deceased but, for three years, to others it was well known that questionable methods were used to cure patients. "They are stripped naked, beaten if they turn violent due to withdrawal symptoms, and finally administered a paracetamol-caffeine combination regimen before being made to sleep on a bare floor in a 8x8 room with an attached toilet but no doors."
Recently, new centers have been opening up all over town and the rest of India to help cure the increased number of individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol but are allegedly being ran by under-qualified staff or individuals that have recovered but are looking to help others.
"The issue is not as much about intent as the lack of regulation. A drug or alcohol rehab centre needs to have qualified doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists besides other paramedical staff, which these independently-run outfits sorely lack. Most of them, according to Shanti Ranganathan who spearheads one of the state's largest professionally-run de-addiction centres, TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, are in dire need of oversight. "It's sad but I have heard that some of our patients have also started such clinics. What's even worse is you can't call these centres illegal as there is no mandatory requirement for them to even register," she said."
The Times of India has the entire article here.
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December 16, 2009 @ 3:02 PMWhat does it mean to be love addicted? Sex addiction explained
While all of these scenarios, and others, can identify someone with a sexual addiction, the crucial part of identifying an addict has to do with the consequences of the behavior and the person's inability to control them. That being said, sex addiction is a relatively recent idea. In fact, it's sometimes called love addiction instead.
So what is sex addiction?
A sexual addict experiences the same type of uncontrollable compulsions that others feel in different forms of addiction (like substance, alcohol, gambling, shopping, etc). In his book (Out of the Shadow: Understanding Sexual Addiction) Carnes talks about the compulsive sexual behavior as guiding a misperception of the self.
In simple words: Sex addicts' view of themselves depends on their relationship with sexual behavior. Since they often find themselves unable to control the behavior, they often have trouble with their self-image.
What is sex addiction NOT?
Let us look at some of the NOTS of sexual addiction. Sex addicts are not people who are just hypersexual and get satisfied with their sexual behaviors; rather, they are often not satisfied with the sexual activities that they engage in. Sex addicts are not necessarily Casanovas, but are often normal functioning people who find themselves having to hide their compulsive sexual urges.
While some sex addicts do pay for sex, others are compulsive about watching porn and others simply struggle with monogamy. The point is, the stigma of sex addicts as predatory child molesters needs to be put to rest.
How common is sex addiction?
Sex addiction is a major problem in our society. Some estimate that as many as 15 million people in the U.S. are sexual addicts (roughly 8% of all men and 3% of women). Easy access to porn offered by the internet has most likely increased the prevalence of sexual addiction in the past decade. In fact, for most people getting porn addiction help specifically is the problem.
The costs for those suffering from sex addiction are also numerous: Relationships and families are disrupted and destroyed, the addict's self-esteem diminishes as they are unable to be productive in other areas of their life; illegal activity (like prostitution) ends up causing arrests, and health is often affected through the contraction of diseases.
Am I a sex addict?
Now, don't immediately assume that you are a sex addict because you fantasize about sex a lot. But how does one know if they are addicted to sex?
The simple rule is: no impairment, no addiction.
On the other hand, if day to day functioning is effected by the behavior (in this case, something sexual), this may be an indication of a problem. So, whether it be having sex often, thinking of sex, or even just being extremely horny, if it's making a person's daily activities or relationships dysfunctional and if they are unable to control their behavior they may be defined as a sex addict.
In future posts we will look more into the symptoms, forms, theories, and treatments related to sex addiction. In the mean-time, keep reading, and if you feel brave enough, share your story; who knows, you may be able to help someone else who is love addicted!!!
Question of the day:
Do you have any personal experiences with sexual addiction (your own or of someone close to you)?
In what ways has it affected your own life?
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December 15, 2009 @ 11:13 AMElectronic programs for addiction
With the not-so-recent boom in Internet and the online world, mobile devices, and computers in general, a wide array of programs have been created for many aspects of life.
Drinks Tracker for iPhone and Alcohol Tracker are two relatively new programs that have been released to help people track how much they drink. The first program is for the iPhone and the second is for a desktop computer which has Windows and Mac versions.
More programs can be found here.
PS. Don't forget about About to relapse? There's an app for that.
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December 13, 2009 @ 1:23 PMSAMHSA Accepting Applications for Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment for Juvenile Courts
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $26 million in grants to expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts.
The purpose of this program is to expand and enhance substance abuse treatment services in “problem solving” courts which use the juvenile drug court model in order to provide alcohol and drug treatment, recovery support services and program coordination to juvenile defendants/defenders. Problem-solving courts are used as an alternative to incarceration; they quickly identify substance-abusing offenders and place them under strict court monitoring and community supervision as well as provide the participant with effective treatment services.
It is expected that up to 27 grants will be awarded for up to three years. The average annual award amount for each grantee is expected to be up to $325,000. The actual award amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds and the progress made by the grantees. This grant will be awarded by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
WHO CAN APPLY : Eligibility is restricted to existing individual juvenile drug courts that have demonstrated relationships and agreements with existing domestic public and private nonprofit entities and community-based treatment providers and units of tribal, state and local governments that submit applications on behalf of an individual juvenile treatment drug court. .
HOW TO APPLY: Applications for No TI-10-004 are available by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA7, or by downloading from: http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2010/TI-10-004.aspx. Applications are encouraged to apply online using http://www.grants.gov/.
APPLICATION DUE DATE: Must be received by February 23, 2010
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION : Applicants with questions on program issues should contact Robert M. Vincent at 240-276-1582 or e-mail mailto:RoRobert.vincent@samhsa.hhs.gov . For questions on grants management issues, contact William Reyes at 240 276-1406 or e-mail william.reyes@samhsa.hhs.gov.
The article can be found here.
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December 13, 2009 @ 12:49 PMOne is too many, a thousand not enough: Does a slip or relapse mean the end?
Just the thought of a relapse can bring about anxiety and stress for many struggling with drug abuse and addiction.
Slip scares and abstinence
The old AA adage: "One drink is too many, and a thousand not enough," refers to the fact that alcoholics who are sober are assumed to return to their evil ways after even a small slip. This notion is meant to warn AA members to resist temptation lest they find themselves right back where they started. Or worse.
Most research into sobriety considers a person a success only if they remain sober throughout the study period. The followup periods last anywhere between 6 months to a year (or sometimes more). Have a drink, and you've lost. Game over. No one's ever really looked at what people who have relapsed actually do after the relapse.
Recent relapse findings
This is why the recent findings reported in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors are so intriguing:
When looking at the behavior of 563 participants, the researchers found that 30% stayed sober for the entire 12 month follow-up period. This leaves a whopping 70% who had at least a drink in the year following treatment. However, the vast majority of those who drank in the first year after treatment (82%) developed moderate, infrequent, drinking habits. In fact, only about 6% started drinking heavily and frequently after their relapse. Even of those who drank, as many as 25% were completely dry for at least an entire month after their relapse.
The bottom line on relapse
These findings suggest that at least for a year after becoming sober, a relapse is not necessarily the detrimental, destructive, event it has always been feared to be. It is surely possible that these drinking habits change, but according to these findings, if drinking frequency goes anywhere after the initial relapse, it's down, not up.
I'm not trying to make light of relapse here, and I'm certainly not saying that relapsing is a positive thing. Nevertheless, given the fact that relapse is almost always a part of the recovery process, I'm suggesting that having a relapse shouldn't scare everyone involved. It doesn't seem to in any way suggest a necessary demise.
Citation:
Witkiewitz, K. & Masyn, K. E. (2008). Drinking trajectories following an initial lapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 157-167.
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November 22, 2009 @ 10:05 PMProteins and cocaine: addiction is a disease, not a question of morality
While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control.
I’ve mentioned the genetic influences that have been shown to be associated with a risk for addiction before (look here). However, most of the research I’ve been involved in myself recently has more to do with the way that trying drugs changes your brain in ways that make it more likely that you’ll try them again.
Along these lines, a recently published study has shown that very specific molecular targets can have a huge impact on the probability that addicts will keep going after drugs. The molecules studies were common targets of cocaine that are altered long-term when a person uses coke.
The interesting thing is that the research found that deactivating each of these targets produced completely different effects:
Animals that had the GluR1 receptor subunit turned off were unable to stop themselves from searching for cocaine in a spot where it used to be long after normal mice gave up. I don’t know about you, but that sounds more than a little relevant for addiction given what I know, and have experienced. We’ve been studying this sort of stuff for a while, but the fact that a single molecule can make an animal pursue drugs in a way that is completely irrational is amazing!
Animals that had the NR1 receptor subunit turned off experienced a different effect. While normal mice relapse to drug use when they experience a drug after a long break, the NR1 deficient mice just wouldn’t go back to their addictive behavior when they got a little sample. Again, the implications for relapse preventions are promising to say the least.
In short, while some people may think there’s still a reason to argue whether people with addiction should simply be left to god’s mercy, ongoing work is showing us that we can uncover specific molecular mechanisms that may one day allow us to combat addiction with much more success. I for one welcome that.
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November 1, 2009 @ 9:56 PMCase of alcoholic on way to rehab who strangled self in police custody receives settlement
- yelled "I am not a terrorist" after being denied entry upon an aircraft due to an invalid boarding ticket
- drank alcohol before her death
- and was on her way to a rehab center in Tucson, Arizona
that died while in police custody due to accidental strangulation, will receive an insurance-settlement payout of about $250,000 on behalf of Phoenix, Arizona.
The settlement seems to be the cheapest exit strategy for the insurance carrier who had already spent an estimated $500,000 on the case and $750,000 more on litigation. And, although, the local police department say there were no rules broken, Noah (her husband) continues to claim negligence on behalf of city.
Gotbaum's family had originally tried to sue for about $8 million in damages, then reduced the amount to $5.5 million, for leaving her chained and unattended (negligence) in an airport police holding cell. If the settlement is approved by the New York surrogate court then her three children, all under 10 years of age, will be the primary beneficiaries.
CNN has the entire story here.
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October 20, 2009 @ 2:31 PM