Substance Abuse News and Research

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New nursing guideline to enhance improved care for MMT clients

A pregnant woman walks into a hospital in early labour. She feels nauseated and achy; her contractions are 20 minutes apart. There is more to her story than meets the eye. She is on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) and wasn't able to pick up her daily dose at the pharmacy this morning. Although her story may be hard to believe she is one of the estimated 17,000 clients in Ontario currently receiving MMT.

2 Dec 2009

Leading mental health experts to hold conference in Vancouver

Leading experts in the field of mental health are holding one of the largest conferences of its kind in Vancouver, November Sunday 29 - Tuesday December 1. The conference, titled 'Into the Light,' is being jointly organized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Vancouver Coastal Health and Simon Fraser University and will be looking at mental health issues across Canada.

28 Nov 2009

Eight nonprofit organizations receive Humana Foundation Economic Response Grants

During the ongoing economic downturn that has touched the entire country, many nonprofit organizations have found their services – such as food pantries, temporary shelters and medical clinics – to be increasingly important to their communities. Complicating

24 Nov 2009

MHCC's initiative for homeless people living with mental illness

Moncton is one of five cities selected by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) for implementation of its ground-breaking national research project to find the best way to provide housing and services to people who are living with mental illness and homelessness. Using a 'Housing First' approach, the research project focuses on first providing people who are homeless with a place to live, and then the other assistance and services they require. The goal is to see if this approach is better than traditional 'care as usual'.

23 Nov 2009

Study shows 'scale of craving' and previous heroin abuse are factors in people falling back into cocaine habit

Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new study shows that, in the case of cocaine, a high score on the so-called 'scale of craving', an antisocial personality type and previous heroin abuse are the factors most commonly involved in people falling back into the habit.

20 Nov 2009

CWRU School of Medicine receives grant to fund a Public Health Practice Based Research Network

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine (SOM) has received a Robert Wood Johnson grant to fund a Public Health Practice Based Research Network called The Ohio Research Association for Public Health Improvement (RAPHI).

19 Nov 2009

Alkermes' phase 3 trial of naltrexone XR-NTX meets primary endpoint

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive preliminary results from a phase 3 clinical trial of naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension (XR-NTX) for the treatment of opioid dependence. The six-month phase 3 study met its primary efficacy endpoint and data showed that patients treated once-monthly with XR-NTX demonstrated statistically significant higher rates of clean (opioid-free) urine screens, compared to patients treated with placebo, as measured by the cumulative distribution of clean urine screens (p<0.0002).

16 Nov 2009

CCSA to focus on role of treatment systems at Canada's Issues of Substance 2009 conference

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) today announced that it will open Issues of Substance (IOS) 2009, Canada's biennial conference on substance abuse, with a focus on the role of treatment systems. More than 13 sessions will examine the role of treatment from a variety of perspectives, including the Models of Care project in the UK, the National Treatment Strategy in Canada (NTS) and case study and research presentations reviewing the effectiveness of a variety of integrated programs in Canada.

16 Nov 2009

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have been awarded a $17 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to establish the Translational Methamphetamine AIDS Research Center (TMARC) at UC San Diego. Grant is director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC), a clinical research center designated and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

16 Nov 2009

Results from an analysis emphasizes the financial burden of SMI on the criminal justice and HHS systems

Results from a large, retrospective analysis of inmates with a serious mental illness (SMI) underscores the financial burden of mental illness on the criminal justice and health and human services (HHS) systems, and may provide useful information to policy makers.

12 Nov 2009

Handbook for rural health care ethics

With an eye to small-town health professionals as well as to the people training students to practice medicine beyond metropolitan settings, Dartmouth's Department of Community and Family Medicine is unveiling the Handbook for Rural Health Care Ethics.

11 Nov 2009

U.S. DOD grant to study vigabatrin in combination with opiates to manage pain

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today reported that a team of neuroscientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (LIJ) has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct an animal study of the use of vigabatrin in combination with opiates to effectively manage pain while reducing the potential for opiate addiction.

10 Nov 2009

New technology to help manage alcohol abuse and addiction among Veterans

As the country prepares to honor its military veterans November 11th, the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court is employing a high-tech tool to help keep their community's struggling military veterans sober and accountable.

10 Nov 2009

Program for safe school environments and violence prevention activities

In the wake of several recent highly-publicized stories about violence among school-aged children, a new report shows that school districts participating in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative substantially improved the safety of their students.

6 Nov 2009

Prescription drug abuse among teens: NCPIE, SAMHSA launches campaign

The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE), along with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and representatives from 15 nationally recognized prevention, health professional and child advocacy organizations, are launching Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer: What You Can Do to Help Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse.

6 Nov 2009

Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences, an ineffective approach

Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences are an expensive and ineffective approach to substance use problems in Canada. That's the message being delivered today by an addictions professional at Canada's largest mental health and addictions treatment and research hospital to a Senate Committee on Bill C-15 - legislation that would create mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug-related offences.

5 Nov 2009

State funding declines for Phoenix Academy San Diego, seeks new sources of funding

Since 1988, Phoenix Academy San Diego has helped thousands of troubled teens reclaim their lives, establishing itself as a vital county resource for at-risk youth and their families. The Academy, a residential high school for youth with substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders is now suffering further declines in the state funding it relies upon to operate, it was announced today by Winnie Wechsler, Executive Director for Phoenix Houses of California.

3 Nov 2009

New center to provide variety of medical services for people in and around Skid Row opened

The Weingart Center Association, JWCH Institute and the County of Los Angeles announced today the opening of the Center for Community Health Downtown Los Angeles, a state-of-the-art medical facility that provides integrated care to the more than 18,000 homeless and low-income people in and around Skid Row.

30 Oct 2009

One in 10 adolescents exhibit chronic behavior problems

Ten percent of young adolescent boys -- or one in 10 -- exhibit a symptom of conduct disorder as well as a symptom of risky or problem gambling, according to new research findings from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

24 Oct 2009

The 23rd annual Alternatives conference to be held in Nebraska

The 23rd annual Alternatives conference, the only national mental health conference organized by and for mental health consumers/survivors, will be held October 28 to November 1, 2009, at the Hilton Omaha, 1001 Cass Street, in Omaha, Nebraska.

23 Oct 2009