The Addiction Reporter - Covering Addiction News Trends and Treatment

Controversial California Dr. Accused of Opioid Negligence

Post author:Melissa
Post published:12/17/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:2 min(s) read

A doctor in California is at the center of two significant allegations. For the anti-vaccination community, Dr. Tara Zandvliet is said to have provided about 250 exemption letters a year, usually without any medical examinations or even a preexisting condition. The exemption letter would then allow students to go unvaccinated. For people with opioid addiction, all it took was cash to get the medication they needed, alleges the State Medical Board.

Dr. Zandvliet’s Previous Scandal

Dr. Zandvliet is no stranger to scandal or charges of improper conduct in California.

In September of 2020, she was put on probation by the medical board. The probation was supposed to last for three years. She was also no longer allowed to write exemptions for vaccinations of children. The Medical Board said she had written vaccine exemptions in a grossly negligent way.

An investigation into her vaccination exemptions began when health authorities realized …

Florida Serenity Ranch Recovery CEO Convicted

Post author:Melissa
Post published:11/24/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:2 min(s) read

Following a six-week trial, the Serenity Ranch Recovery network CEO, Sebastian Ahmed, was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. After a trial that lasted over a month, a federal court in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, convicted him of several crimes, including health care fraud and money laundering.

Fraud in the Serenity Ranch Network

While the people who came to him needed help for drug or alcohol addiction, the services provided by Serenity Ranch Recovery weren’t meant to keep them sober. The sober home network, like many others in recent years, was a moneymaking venture. Patients tended to be young, addicted adults who were still on their parent’s health plans. They were typically addicted to “hard” drugs such as Oxycontin or heroin.

Rather than receiving treatment, most young people were left to languish with a few 12-step meetings and little else. While this took place, Mr. Ahmed billed the …

Carfentanil Spreads Across the US

Post author:Melissa
Post published:10/16/2020
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 min(s) read

Increasingly in America, street drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids are now being spiked with the super-potent narcotic Carfentanil. Just two grams of this narcotic, meant to tame large animals, can cause a deadly overdose.

In South Carolina, a disturbing new trend has caused several overdose deaths. People who believed they were purchasing Fentanyl actually purchased and ingested pills containing Carfentanil. “Fentanyl in itself is a deadly drug that can and does result in death. However, the most recent deaths are alarming based on the fact that they are so close together and over a short time period,” the sheriff of Anderson County said in a news release on Friday.

Fentanyl is a drug that is 50-100 times as potent as Morphine. It is the number one cause of overdose death in the United States. Many drug users think they are using Oxycodone or heroin, but it is tainted …

In England, Soaring Alcohol Abuse During Pandemic

Post author:Melissa
Post published:09/30/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:2 min(s) read

In England, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) is warning that addiction treatment services might become overwhelmed due to the number of new referrals. Like many places, the coronavirus has caused massive shutdowns and isolation among the population. There have also been layoffs. And there has been a huge uptick in alcohol abuse among a weary and isolated population.

When people feel desperate, or despair, they may turn to using alcohol or other substances. The RSP says that “soaring” alcohol use is a threat to public health.

Why the escalating alcohol use? For one thing, alcohol is one of the few addictions where you can abuse without stigma. It’s usually easy to get ahold of, too. In England, numbers have shown that in June, at least 8.4 million people self-reported abusing alcohol to some degree.

Addiction Services Meeting Multiple Needs

During the pandemic, the addiction services available to …

Coalition Delivers Naloxone to Sober Housing

Post author:Melissa
Post published:09/01/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:3 min(s) read

A nonprofit coalition has worked to deliver 155,000 doses of the opioid overdose-reversal drug, Naloxone, to recovery homes in five states hit hard by overdoses. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit treatment centers and individuals with addiction issues particularly hard this year. Many states have reported that their rate of overdose deaths are now in the double digits.

Overdose deaths have been attributed to a storm of factors. More people are relapsing than ever, buckling under the weight of closing resources and added stresses of COVID-19. They are also using opioids alone more often, which can cause them to overdose without calling for help.

Coalition Wants to Save Lives With Naloxone

The Clinton Foundation has partnered with Direct Relief International and other nonprofit and public health groups to address the silent epidemic of overdoses that have been taking place since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a part of these efforts, President Bill …

Fentanyl is a Big Public Health Threat

Post author:Melissa
Post published:08/21/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:3 min(s) read

While many people in the medical profession are concentrating on flattening the curve and finding a vaccine for COVID-19, the opioid epidemic is quietly taking lives. What’s even worse is that as there is a lesser supply of street drugs due to shut down borders, fentanyl is pervasive.

Fentanyl Overdosing Startlingly High During COVID-19

COVID-19 has presented many challenges for the recovery community. Some treatment centers have been forced to stall or upend their admissions processes, leaving people with nowhere to go. Some sober homes essentially evicted residents overnight. Some people, unable to get to 12-step meetings, may end up relapsing. And all the while, US borders shut down, stifling the flow of drugs like cocaine and counterfeit Oxycontin from overseas.

It’s also true that people with opioid use disorder are vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. If they are actively using drugs, they’re taking physical risks by going out around …

WA Addresses Post-Treatment Homelessness

Post author:Melissa
Post published:07/24/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:3 min(s) read

Homelessness has always been an issue for people new to recovery. After all, it usually takes hitting bottom for a person to seek recovery options. While recovery is still possible, and many treatment centers still offer services, there are more challenges for people seeking recovery than ever. One major problem that people face when they leave treatment is finding a place to live. For so many recovering addicts, finances are tight or nonexistent, and possessions are lost entirely or are in storage. While Medicaid can usually pay for drug treatment, there is a fear of homelessness upon completion of programs.

In Washington state, during the height of the pandemic, they are rushing to close this gap and help people in recovery stay drug and alcohol-free in a space of their own. Thousands of young people with addiction and mental health issues are left homeless every year after completing programs.…

Experts Predict Addiction Will Be Pandemic, Too

Post author:Melissa
Post published:06/22/2020
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:2 min(s) read

In the past three months, the whole world has been on high alert. Social isolation, job loss, and less access to mental health assistance have set the world up for a lot of pain. Experts agree that mental health problems and addiction disorders are going to kill many people this year. Some estimates are up to 150,000 deaths “of despair” in 2020 alone.

Addiction Is Invisible Right Now

For many people in isolation, few people see how they are actually doing. People who are prone to abuse drugs and have access to them may end up relapsing due to loneliness, fear, and other emotions.

Others may develop an addiction to help them cope with the realities of our “new normal.” It can be especially challenging to deal with life for people who have mental health disorders. Many people have lost access to their family, friends, and therapists. With funding cuts …

Marijuana and the Coronavirus

Post author:Melissa
Post published:04/09/2020
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:2 min(s) read

Marijuana is a hot topic of conversation when it comes to the novel coronavirus. For one thing, states with legalized marijuana sales have reported that people are stocking up on it. But news about this fad is bleak; some of the sickest coronavirus patients in American hospitals have been regular marijuana smokers.

Coronavirus and the Lungs

The World Health Organization says that about 80% of people with COVID-19 recover without needing hospitalization or specialist treatment, leaving one in six seriously ill. Most of these patients experience difficulty breathing.

Nearly all of the seriously ill patients end up with pneumonia. Some may need breathing treatments, antibiotics, and other assistance. Some end up on a ventilator.

Tobacco and Marijuana Smokers and Vapers in Danger

While most people who end up seriously ill from the coronavirus have some pre-existing condition many are smokers, marijuana users, and tobacco vapers. Existing research from China and …

Addiction Rural Community Action Guide Now Available

Post author:Melissa
Post published:01/31/2020
Post category:News
Reading time:3 min(s) read

The Trump Administration released a new tool today meant to help rural community leaders to build a community response to the addiction crisis, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the past ten years.

What is the Action Guide?

The Rural Community Action Guide has research and background information to help community leaders understand more about addiction and the addiction epidemic. In rural areas, there are often few resources available to help people with addiction problems. Many people with an addiction or mental health disorder may feel isolated or desperate. Yet addiction has become widespread throughout small-town America.

In the guide, local government and community members can learn more about recommended action steps, and best practices when it comes to small towns and rural communities.

“Families and communities in rural America have been hard hit by the crisis of addiction, and face unique challenges in developing effective responses …