You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2010.
ICSDP is a primary source for rigorous scientific evidence on illicit drug policy in order to benefit policymakers, law enforcement, and affected communities.
For millions of Americans, substance use progresses to a point where brief interventions are not sufficient to promote recovery Addiction treatment can be a critical—even lifesaving—resource in such situations, but only if it is readily available and of high quality. Making recovery possible is, therefore, key to effective drug control, and the Obama Administration’s Strategy focuses on: 1) Expanding addiction treatment in community health centers and within the Indian Health Service, 2) Supporting the development of new medications to treat addiction and implementation of medication-assisted treatment protocols and 3) The importance of domestic law enforcement, border control, and international cooperation. DOWNLOAD THE STRATEGY STATEMENT IN PDF
Lets hope it does all of that. The Obama administration has been talking about addiction in the context of being a medical problem which is a key definition. Once that understanding makes it mainstream, we can expect to end some of the incredible gut wrenching madness that families endure simply to save their loved ones from a fate worse that most can imagine. Check out Julia Negron’s poignant comment on the subject in Mom’s United…
Regarding the demoralizing “drug war”, leaders from Mexico, Brazil and Columbia have endorsed the Vienna Declaration which lists a range of harms stemming from the war on drugs, and notes that the criminalization of people who use drugs has resulted in record high incarceration rates, thereby placing a massive burden on taxpayers. The Vienna Declaration calls on governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, to take a number of steps, 2 of which are: 1) Endorsing and scaling up funding for the drug treatment and harm reduction measures endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations and 2) scaling up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options. Links by Mary S.
On July 13th 2009, http://www.dadonfire.net was born. We are quickly moving towards 15,000 views in just over one year. Not bad for a busy dad fed up with the whole reality of drug addiction and the impact it has had on my family and friends. I think one reason so many Americans are blind to the horrendous impact of addiction is partly the same reason folks are blind to many other big problems. Americans are just burnt out with the magnitude of it all. I will never say we don’t care. Like any burning issue, it is the flame of caring and wanting to make a difference that keeps people listening and transforming indifference into compassion. One day the disease of addiction will be rightly recognized as a legitimate medical condition along with all of its parallel indications of mental anguish. Many addicts are afflicted with bi-polar, depression, anxiety dis-order and other conditions that are very under diagnosed. The tools and minds are there. Once the American body follows, we will have it licked. Keep listening. Keep talking. Stay on fire. http://www.dadonfire.net.
“…Ibogaine, 
a brown powder derived from the African Tabernathe iboga plant, has intrigued researchers since 1962, when Howard Lotsof, a student at New York University and an opiate addict, found that a single dose erased his drug cravings without causing any withdrawal symptoms…” That is the claim and as evidence shows; it works; just not in the U.S. yet, at least legally. A drug addict can get legal Ibogaine treatment in Mexico. The Villa Serena Medical Center and the Ensenada Ibogaine Program both offer treatment in Mexico. Here’s some links to learn more. Fighting Drugs With Drugs…explores resistance in the U.S. to Ibogaine . Ibogaine.co.uk is an informative link base in the UK. Lastly, the Brooklyn based website; The Ibogaine Dossier is one other cyber site to look at. links by Jon R.
Here is an opportunity to hear the author of Tales of Addiction and four other books on addiction and healing speak about her experiences. Barbara Sinor chronicles the stories of addicts in Tales of Addiction including her own experience of losing a son to alcoholism. Listen to Barabara speak about her personal struggles as she shares the lessons she has learned from her own family and work in healing others. Link by Barbara Sinor
Harm reduction is the latest buzz work in the treatment industry, drawing both praise and controversy. Politically and socially, the concept of harm reduction draws fire from Darwinist conservative thinking which shadows America’s judicial system and drug laws. America’s need for toughness in this respect, demands that addicts face the attrition of success or failure. Failure equates to jails or death. The other side of this is really the recognition of addiction as a disease. Partly as a result of scarce availability of treatment and recovery, compassionate liberal American’s have recently sought to reduce harm to addicts through the acceptance of the disease and by minimizing the hazards present on the streets. Dr. Andrew Tatarsky has become a lead source in providing information on harm reduction. His website page, Harm Reduction News is a great place to stay on top of what is going on in the world regarding harm reduction.
MOMS UNITE TO END THE WAR ON DRUGS ! EFFORTS BEING PLANNED
Experts Struggle to Determine Overdose Deaths. “Overdoses from prescription drugs have sometimes led to civil or criminal charges against prescribing physicians, but even toxicologists have problems distinguishing between overdose deaths from other causes, Time Magazine reported June 16. The result is that the courts, not heath officials, are often left to determine drug users’ cause of death. Complicating factors include use of alcohol or other drugs in combination of prescription medications and underlying health conditions…” Read on in Time Magazine. links and quotes by Gretchen
HOT TOPIC The jailing of mentally ill drug addicts. Senator Jim Webb states in his address to the U.S. Senate that there are four times as mentally ill prisoners currently incar
cerated than there are in treatment facilities. Drug addiction is the number one conduit for persons who have mental illness to find themselves in jail. This piece focuses on one family’s impact from this reality. Read ” The System is Crazy”.
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