Prisoners Benefit From NJDOC Programs But Readjustment Remains Difficult
While re-entry and skill-building programs offered by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) at its 11 prisons are heavily used and generally viewed favorably by inmates, many anticipate a difficult return to society due to their underlying health conditions and concerns about finances and support systems. To improve their chances for success in the community, a Rutgers researcher recommends that NJDOC adopt a policy of universal re-entry preparedness during each inmate's mandatory minimum term and a reallocation of funding to increase skill-building capacity on-site rather than in ultimately more costly halfway house programs. Rutgers Professor Nancy Wolff, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, reaches those conclusions in a new study, Re-entry Readiness of Men and Women Leaving New Jersey Prisons.
Teens Who Drink With Parents May Still Develop Alcohol Problems
Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. In a study of 428 Dutch families, researchers found that the more teenagers were allowed to drink at home, the more they drank outside of home as well. What's more, teens who drank under their parents' watch or on their own had an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related problems. Drinking problems included trouble with school work, missed school days and getting into fights with other people, among other issues.
New Research Gives Insight To The Frequency Of 'Doctor Shopping' Occurring Within Prescription Monitoring Programs
Research presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th Annual Meeting provides early published data analyzing information gathered from California's prescription monitoring program, known as the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). The analysis found a two-fold increase in the likelihood of individuals receiving opioids from multiple providers or "doctor shopping" when they were also being simultaneously prescribed a single additional class of a controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines or amphetamines. When there was more than one additional drug class involved, there was a 13-fold increase for individuals seeing multiple providers.
Fluctuating Blood Glucose Levels May Affect Decision Making
Would you choose to receive a small amount of money today or a larger sum next month? We know that it is worth it to wait longer for a larger reward, but sometimes the temptation for the smaller, immediate reward becomes too great and we simply cannot resist it. Selecting the immediate reward is known as "future discounting" and often suggests a lack of self-control. Studies have indicated that there may be a link between blood glucose levels (our body's energy) and thinking. For example, making difficult choices uses up cognitive resources (or brain power) and these resources can be restored by increasing blood glucose. Psychological scientists X.T. Wang and Robert D.
Stress Hormone Key To Alcohol Dependence
A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models. Chemically blocking the stress factor also blocked the signs and symptoms of addiction, suggesting a potentially promising area for future drug development. The article, the culmination of more than six years of research, will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry. "I'm excited about this study, " said Associate Professor Marisa Roberto, who led the research. "It represents an important step in understanding how the brain changes when it moves from a normal to an alcohol-dependent state.
Heavy Night At Home Or A Tipple On The Town: Does Where We Drink Affect Our Attitude To Alcohol? UK
Leading experts from across Britain's 'binge-drinking' debate will meet at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) on Wednesday 10 February to discuss whether we need to recognise the places where people drink as a significant influence on their behaviour. Drinking spaces and places: who drinks alcohol, where and why?, the latest in a series of Environment and Society Forums at the RGS-IBG, looks behind the headlines to ask if policy-makers are using the right data, and authorities are being set the right targets, to tackle the social impacts of drinking to excess. Bringing together speakers from public health, criminology, business, and non-government organisations, it will examine the realities of the UK's alcohol 'crisis', highlighting the latest research into private and public drinking practices, including: - The marked variations in the UK's regional drinking patterns based on findings from the most recent National Health Survey 2008 (Dr Nicola Shelton, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College, London and Elizabeth Fuller, National Centre for Social Research).
Temporary Assistance For Families Funds Available For Families Needing Short Term Mental Health And Substance Use Treatment Services
In the face of growing need for mental health and substance abuse treatment, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are notifying states about how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds can be used to help families in their communities in need of short term mental health or substance use treatment services. The grant notification includes an explanation of how resources under the TANF Emergency Fund - a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - can be used to support such services. The TANF block grant provides states and tribes federal funds and wide flexibility to develop time-limited assistance programs, employment services for parents, and a broad array of specialized services - including mental health and substance abuse services - for struggling families in their communities.
Listen To Your Heart When It Comes To Substance Abuse And Mental Health
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) would like to remind Americans that substance abuse and mental health problems affect those with heart disease. In fact, nearly a million Americans experiencing a serious psychological disorder in the past year also suffered from heart disease. Similarly more than a quarter of a million Americans who had a substance abuse disorder in the past year also experienced heart disease. So it's important for the health of your heart as well as your overall wellbeing that you seek help for any substance abuse or mental health problems you may be facing. By getting treatment you can lead a longer and happier life.
ACE Launches Multimedia Campaign To Support Inhalant.org And The Prevention Of Inhalant Abuse
The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is launching a new public service announcement campaign to support its http://www.inhalant.org website, and its ongoing efforts to reach out to parents and children about inhalant abuse. The PSA(s) feature the story of Allison Fogarty, whose episode of the A&E Television Series "Intervention" remains one of the most watched and controversial in the program's history. With the help of her family, her mother Nancy and her sister Sue, Allison was able to overcome a life-threatening addiction to inhalants. When producers for "Intervention: In-Depth" heard about Allison's involvement in educating others, they decided to feature the PSA's production in the February 1 episode of the series.
Some States Mull Requiring Prescription For Meth Ingredients
"State and local efforts to thwart methamphetamine production by further limiting consumer access to a popular decongestant are pitting law enforcement against pharmacists and patients, " USA Today reports. "New ordinances in some Missouri communities and legislation pending in several states would require consumers to get a prescription to buy cold and allergy pills containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed and Claritin-D. The medicines still are being purchased at pharmacies to make methamphetamine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), despite an earlier nationwide effort to track sales." These initiatives are motivated by efforts to do away with meth labs - "often in homes or hotel rooms - that use a mixture of toxic chemicals that can explode or catch fire, putting bystanders at risk and requiring costly cleanups" (Young, 2/1).