mortiz095

Could it be that we are missing something when it comes to treating adolescents with a substance use disorder? According to a study in the most recent edition of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol Drugs , if you aren't using drug screens when treating this population, the answer is likely "Yes". In the article, Schuler, et al. looked at data from SAMHSA's  CSAT  2007 adolescent treatment database, which tracks outcomes for CSAT-sponsored providers. The total sample consisted of 5,186 adolescents who received either Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy5 (MET/CBT5) - with or without biological drug screen (BDS) - or were part of the BDS-only or No-Treatment groups within another study. Below is a breakdown of the subjects: All participants responded to the GAIN structured clinical interview, so scores on the Substance Use Frequency Scale and Substance Problem Scale were the primary outcomes measured. Propensity score methods were used to adjust f...

On the heels of recent coverage over the "dangers" of the medication buprenorphine, researchers are seeking to better understand what keeps doctors from using one of the two the most effective tools for opioid use disorders at their disposal. The most recent study, "Barriers to Primary Care Physicians Prescribing Buprenorphine", was published in the Annals of Family Medicine  and is available in-full online  - for free. The study came out of the Rural Opioid Addiction Management in Washington state, during which 120 physicians were trained in opioid addiction and buprenorphine prescribing. Disappointingly, of the 78 respondents who were analyzed for the study, 50 went on to obtain a DATA waiver, yet a mere 22 doctors ever went on to prescribe the medication to anyone. It begs the question: why aren't more docs prescribing buprenorphine? Here's the breakdown from the piece of perceived barriers to prescribing: Among the barriers cited by the doctors in the ...

Recently, a colleague challenged what he perceived to be my "insistence that addiction is permanent." Here is my reply: Dear John (not his real name): As you know, I'm well aware of the studies regarding the life course of people who at some point in their lives meet dxic criteria for a SUD. And also, as you are aware, I've been talking about that, and therefore the need to have a wider continuum of care and to individualize approaches to SUDs for at least 10 years. In my presentation, Alcoholism Isn't What It Used to Be, which you frequently reference, I point out that 20 years after onset of DSM IV Alcohol Dependence, the most common outcome is low-risk drinking (40%), followed by abstinence (roughly 1/3), partial remission (about 20%) and then finally currently dependent (8%). So I'm not sure what the basis is for concluding that I have made blanket statements about ALL addicts in ALL circumstances.   What I do believe, and here I think the science and epid...

The U.S. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) commissioned the RAND Corporation to investigate how much Americans were spending on the four most common illegal drugs from 2000-2010. The study , published recently on the whitehouse.gov website, uses a variety of sources to develop an estimate in yearly spending by consumers of cannabis, heroin, cocaine (including crack), and methamphetamine. Their conclusion: over $100 billion is spent on just these four drugs, every year. Interestingly, this number has stayed relatively constant throughout the past decade, despite the $25.2 billion that was spent " to reduce drug use and its consequences " in the US in fiscal year 2014 alone (!). Since 2002, spending on cocaine and marijuana has flipped. Researchers note that cocaine consumption has dropped by about half, while marijuana consumption has increased by around 40%. Heroin consumption has remained stable throughout the decade, with a small increase detected i...

Researchers from Switzerland and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies have conducted what they are calling the first study of its kind in over 40 years: a randomized, double-blind, active placebo-controlled study of LSD-assisted psychotherapy. The participants, 12 patients with anxiety related to life-threatening illnesses like metastatic cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Parkinson's disease, etc., participated in drug-free therapy sessions as well as 2 LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions over the course of the study. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 2- and 12-months post-treatment and indicated lasting, statistically-significant improvements in anxiety. The study is posted in its entirety for free online via  The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease . The main outcome measures were scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory  (STAI). Exclusion criteria included current drug or alcohol disorders, primary psychotic, dissociative or bipolar 1 disorders,...