The Addiction Reporter - Covering Addiction News Trends and Treatment

Among Teens, Cannabis AND Opioid Use Disorder Prevalent

Post author:Melissa
Post published:04/01/2021
Post category:News
Reading time:2 min(s) read

Teens often experiment with drugs and alcohol, but many teens go farther and find themselves in the throes of addiction. It may be a surprise to some people, but teens are getting addicted to drugs at a high rate. Cannabis use disorder is just as common as opioid use disorder, according to a new research paper.

Research on Cannabis Addiction

Teens are just as likely to try cannabis as they are opioids. One reason for this statistic is the fact that it is likely easier to find on the street. Over 36 states in the US have legalized medical marijuana, and 21 states have legalized or decriminalized recreational use.

Sadly, a year after trying cannabis, nearly 11% of adolescents in the study met the criteria for opioid use disorder. In the group that used opioids, the number was 11.2%. Almost one in ten kids in the study would qualify …

New AUD Treatment, AD04, Drug Targets Genotypes

Post author:Melissa
Post published:02/26/2021
Post category:News
Reading time:2 min(s) read

Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has filed a Fast Track application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead drug candidate, AD04. The drug is meant to target people with specific genes for whom other alcohol addiction therapies have failed. To take the drugs, a person must be diagnosed with alcohol use disorder.

Why Fast-Track AD04?

Several medication-assisted treatment options exist for alcoholics, but they are not considered to fail-proof or even useful for most people. They also carry a level of stigma that prevents doctors from prescribing them.

In America, treatment for alcohol use disorder often focuses on total abstinence, which many people with alcohol use disorder reject or, for whatever reason, are unable to achieve. While several drugs, including Topomax, have shown to be effective at preventing compulsive drinking, few treatment centers feel comfortable recommending a drug that allows people to continue drinking. (Other drugs make people …

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Meth Addiction Being Tested

Post author:Melissa
Post published:01/29/2021
Post category:News
Reading time:3 min(s) read

For the past few years, an addiction epidemic has raced across the U.S. While opioids have been taking lives through overdoses, another dangerous addiction has silently raged; methamphetamine. Until recently, there were no medications to help people cope with the withdrawal and intense desire to use that causes meth addiction to be so nefarious. New Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) research shows that a powerful combination of medications — injectable naltrexone and oral bupropion — can help people stay sober. This study would be the first time MAT has been successfully helped people with meth addiction.

What Was The Study About?

The clinical trial tested two drugs that have already been approved for opioid addiction but are already used off-label to treat alcoholism in some places. The study combined injectable naltrexone and oral bupropion and measured their safety and efficacy when treating meth addiction. The test used subjects who were considered to …

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.…