Today, November 13, 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule in the Federal Register (82 FR 52229).  The rule, among

More than 63,600 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, a rate three times that of overdose deaths in 1999, according to the December 2017 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of these seven synthetic opioids in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety.

Finding new medications to effectively alleviate opioid withdrawal is an important step in enabling transition to medication protocols to treat opioid use disorders. Many patients drop out of treatment early if they cannot tolerate the withdrawal period and are then unable to start medications.

Operators of gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas facilities must randomly select and test a percentage of all covered employees for prohibited drug use. Pursuant to 49 CFR 199.105(c)(1) the PHMSA minimum annual random drug testing rate shall be 50 percent of all covered employees for calendar year 2018.

To the medical director at Caron Treatment Centers, giving physicians and patients multiple options in treatment stands as a primary goal. That is why Joseph Garbely, DO, FASAM, is reassured by results of two recent studies, including one published this week, that showed comparable efficacy and safety between sublingual buprenorphine and injectable naltrexone for opioid dependence.

The holiday season, between Thanksgiving and New Year's in the United States, is the most dangerous season of the year for those trying to maintain sobriety and anyone driving on the public highways.

There are more alcohol-related traffic fatalities during the Holiday season than any other time of the year in the United States.

Use a Designated Driver

As previously advised, the 49 CFR Part 40 Final Rule, effective January 1, 2018, was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2017: 49 CFR Part 40 Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Addition of Certain Schedule II Drugs to the Department of Transportation’s Drug-Testing Panel and Certain Minor Amendments. This rule finalizes the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register on January 23, 2017, at 82 FR 7920.

The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is a cultural phenomenon called “Thanksgiving Eve,” an evening associated with drinking and a big night for bars. From 2012 to 2016, more than 800 people died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday period (6:00 p.m. Wednesday to 5:59 a.m. Monday), making it the deadliest holiday on our roads.

The Department of Transportation is amending its drug-testing program regulation to add hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to its drug-testing panel; add methylenedioxyamphetamine as an initial test analyte; and remove methylenedioxyethylamphetamine as a confirmatory test analyte. The revision of the drug-testing panel harmonizes DOT regulations with the revised HHS Mandatory Guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Federal drug-testing programs for urine testing.

Every day, 28 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 51 minutes.  The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $44 billion.

Researchers are evaluating electrical stimulation of subcortical structures as a possible treatment for a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and severe depression. In small clinical trials, high-frequency electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN HFS) has reduced obsessive-compulsive disorder and other compulsive behaviors. Those findings suggest that STN HFS might help people with addiction overcome urges to take drugs.

Marijuana-related problems appear to be growing more prominent on college campuses, where students' perception of risk from use is declining, but results of a new survey suggest a lack of awareness of the situation among the college administrators most in a positon to effect change.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse and medications.

Locate a Collection Site Near You Search by zip code or city/state to find a collection site near you.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced that the latest Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results of drug use among full-time college students and their non-college peers are now available online, highlighting that daily marijuana use is at the highest level since the early 1980s for this age group.

Below are the highlights from the 2016 MTF survey results on drug use among college students compared to their peers not attending college (ages 19-22).

A study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health suggests there is reason to be concerned that young adults who regularly consume energy drinks could be at risk for future substance use disorders.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug that acts by blocking the dopamine transporter (DAT), resulting in a rapid spike in the neurotransmitter dopamine. This increase in dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region associated with reward, causes the user to feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, mentally alert, and hypersensitive to sight, sound, and touch. In some cocaine users, these powerful reinforcing effects can lead to abuse and addiction. Currently, there are no medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat cocaine use disorders.

Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) conceptualizes a person’s perceived ability to perform on a task as a mediator of performance on future tasks. A change in the level of self-efficacy can predict a lasting change in behavior if there are adequate incentives and skills. The Abstinence Self-efficacy scale is a 20-item self-report measure (some 9 or 12 item measures available) that assesses an individual’s confidence to abstain from substance use or health behaviors in a variety of different situations.

Join us for the largest global gathering of employee assistance professionals.  Attendees come from thirty five countries around the globe. This is the most intensive and comprehensive learning and networking opportunity dedicated to the growth of the employee assistance profession. 

ASAP is booth #121, don't forget to stop by and register for a prize drawing!

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A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry this month finds that the rate of alcohol use disorder, or what's colloquially known as “alcoholism,” rose by a shocking 49 percent in the first decade of the 2000s. One in eight American adults, or 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, now meets diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder, according to the study.

This webinar will present descriptions and reports of research, historical and current, which investigate the utility of the workplace as a site and modality for treatment, including a discussion of the psychological principles that make it work.

Health and safety agencies in Iowa have issued an advisory to warn Iowans of counterfeit pain pills containing dangerous synthetic opioids. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) laboratory analyzed pills made to resemble the prescription pain reliever oxycodone, finding them to contain more powerful and illicit synthetic opioids fentanyl and U-47700, putting users at higher risk of opioid overdose.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration unveiled two new data reports on the state of quality assurance practices related to the workforce in substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities. The quality assurance practices include continuing education requirements for staff, regularly scheduled case review with a supervisor, and case review by an appointed quality review committee.

This year marks SAPAA’s 25th anniversary.

It's being called "gray death" — a new and dangerous opioid combo that underscores the ever-changing nature of the U.S. addiction crisis.