Abuse

The United Nations released a report Tuesday documenting a significant expansion of illicit drug manufacturing, trafficking and use in East and Southeast Asia, according to the Voice of America.

There is only one week remaining to get 25,000 signatures on CADCA’s petition to raise the profile of effective drug prevention on the White House’s “We the People” website. We need your help now more than ever! If we can get 25,000 people to sign on to the petition by Nov. 4, then the Administration will discuss the issue with his cabinet members.

Physicians often fail to counsel their young adult patients about excessive alcohol use, according to a study led by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

This week, the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) released the National Drug Threat Assessment 2011 detailing drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States.

Did you know that one in 10 youth ages 12 through 17 has abused cough medicine to get high from its dextromethorphan ingredient, and one in 5 young adults has abused a prescription drug? Help raise awareness of the dangers of medicine abuse by participating in the CADCA 50 Challenge. By registering for the Challenge, you’re automatically entered in a drawing for a free iPad.

According to an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Community Preventive Services Task Force found that holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries or damage done by their intoxicated customers can reduce motor vehicle deaths, homicides, injuries, and other alcohol-related problems. The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, nonfederal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts, determined that commercial host liability, otherwise known as dram shop liability, can be an effective intervention for reducing alcohol-related harms.

A new report developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) providing state-by-state analyses of a wide range of behavioral health issues reveals that despite some wide variations among the states in the types and levels of problems they confront— every state must deal with these issues. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Alaska (5.3-percent versus 13.5-percent) yet Iowa also was among the top 10 states with the highest levels of people age 12 and older currently participating in binge drinking (28.6-percent).

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) this month launched the Addiction Performance Project, a theater-based continued medical education program focused on breaking down the stigma associated with addiction.

Ecstasy is on the rise in teens and young adults, according to a new Drug Abuse Warning Network study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. As a direct result, visits to emergency rooms have increased from 10,222 in 2004 to 17,865 in 2008, up 74.8 percent.

National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week, March 20-26, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers of inhalants and to get your community engaged on this issue. There will be a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., March 17 to kick-off the campaign.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this week that alcohol is to blame for just about 4 percent of, or 2.5 million deaths, worldwide annually. AIDS was a close second with 2.1 million deaths in 2009.