The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the 2013 National Drug Control Strategy on April 24. Highlights of the Strategy include:
Make Access to Treatment a Reality for Millions of Americans
- Details actions to implement the Affordable Care Act, which – for the first time in history – ends discrimination against people with substance use disorders by requiring insurance companies to cover treatment for substance use disorders as they would for any other chronic disease;
- Work to expand treatment and reentry services for those incarcerated; and
- Target expansion of care for populations with an unmet need for substance abuse treatment, including veterans, college and university students, and Native Americans.
Give a Voice to Americans in Recovery
- Work to lift the stigma associated with addiction by partnering with the recovery community to speak out about their successes and encourage others to seek treatment; and
- Review and reform laws and regulations that unfairly target those with substance use disorders and impede recovery from addiction, including those laws and regulations that restrict access to housing, employment, and attaining a driver’s license or student loan.
The news release highlighting the new strategy is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/news-releases/2013-national-drug-policy-strategy-release
A fact sheet on the new strategy is available at: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2876748/ireta/National%20Drug%20Control%20Strategy%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
The full 2013 National Drug Control Strategy is at: http://www.whitehouse.gov//sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/ndcs_2013.pdf
Source: WhiteHouse.gov – April 24, 2013
A new book on addiction was released April 2 that has received a lot of press coverage.
Sending drug abusers to community-based treatment programs rather than prison could help reduce crime and save the criminal justice system billions of dollars, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and Temple University.
Substance abuse treatment admissions for addiction involving combined use of benzodiazepine and narcotic pain relievers (NPR) rose a total of 569.7 percent, to 33,701, from 2000 to 2010, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Overall substance abuse treatment admissions of people ages 12 and older in the same period rose 4 percent, to 1.82 million, the agency said.
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine analyzed nationally-representative survey data to explore a possible link between alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use as an adolescent and subsequent abuse of prescription pain medication as a young adult. Their paper, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was the first to find that a link between these “gateway drugs” and prescription painkillers. They found that all three drugs are associated with higher levels of prescription drug abuse in men, but only marijuana use is associated with higher levels of prescription drug abuse in in women.
This new report from RAND Corporation provides a nonpartisan primer that should be of interest to those who are new to the field of drug policy, as well as those who have been working in the trenches. It begins with an overview of problems and policies related to illegal drugs in the United States, including the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. It then discusses the efficacy of U.S. drug policies and programs, including long-standing issues that deserve additional attention. Next, the paper lists the major funders of research and analysis in the area and describes their priorities. By highlighting the issues that receive most of the funding, this discussion identifies where gaps remain. 
Despite a proliferation of treatment options in America, addictive behavior and unhealthy coping strategies are more common than ever. Here’s why.
Those who receive healthcare through public programs such as CHAMPUS/VA, Medicare, and Medicaid are 48% to 88% more likely to receive any treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) than those with private insurance who need similar services, according to a study recently published in The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.
The worldwide war on drugs has been a “remarkable failure,” only serving to drive the spread of HIV among drug users and their sexual partners, suggests a new report published by The Global Commission on Drug Policy.
By PDGACO GaballaLoans