Addiction Treatment
Press Release: $90 Million in Federal Funds Going to CA Counties for Drug Treatment
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 2:57pmDRUG POLICY ALLIANCE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli (213) 291-4190
March 8, 2010 or Tommy McDonald (510)229-5215
$90 Million in Federal Funds Going to California Counties
for Drug Treatment & Probation
Advocates Applaud Investment in Crime Prevention
Top-Receiving Counties are Los Angeles, San Diego & Orange
SACRAMENTO – California’s 58 counties are in line to receive almost $90 million in federal funds for community-based drug treatment and probation supervision. Local advocates applauded the investment in crime prevention, which is expected to reduce recidivism and associated criminal justice costs, and called on the Legislature to repeat the investment in next year’s budget.
In 2010, Los Angeles County, the state’s largest county, will receive $10.6 million for community treatment and $11.2 million for probation supervision, according to the California Emergency Management Agency, which administers the distribution of these annual federal funds. The State Legislature has yet to determine how to spend the next batch of these federal resources.
“Investing in the front-end of California’s public safety continuum is good for public safety and the budget. Alcohol and drug treatment reduces problematic drug use and prevents crime, which means fewer crime victims and lower costs throughout the criminal justice system – from policing and courts to incarceration and re-entry,” says Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Southern California.
As drug treatment funding is slashed and probation departments struggle to provide adequate supervision, advocates are concerned that the county-level crime prevention network is breaking down. Individuals on felony probation who do not succeed – many of them with untreated drug problems – are sent to prison at a cost to taxpayers of $49,000 per person per year. In contrast, drug treatment and probation cost a fraction of that amount.
“It’s essential that California maintain community services like drug treatment in order to prevent crime and cut costs. More federal dollars are coming to California. The question for the Legislature is simple: do we want to spend $5,000 for drug treatment and probation or $50,000 for a year in prison? Drug treatment can make the difference between success and failure for many people. Let’s keep investing in success,” Dooley-Sammuli continued.
The federal funds came to California through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. In the next few months, California will receive another $35 million in federal JAG funds and the Legislature will determine how to spend it. Advocates are urging the Legislature to direct these new monies to treatment and probation systems in order to prevent crime and cut costs. According to UCLA researchers, each $1 invested in California’s ten-year-old, voter-approved treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, Proposition 36, cuts state costs by $2-$4.
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Europe: Heroin Maintenance Comes to Denmark
On Monday, Denmark opened its first heroin distribution clinic, two years after the Dani
Ibogaine Pioneer Howard Lotsof Dead at Age 66
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 5:28pmIbogaine advocate Howard Lotsof, 66, died January 31 in Staten Island, New York. Liver cancer killed him.
In 1962, Lotsof, a Bronx native, was strung out on heroin when he ingested a sample of the West African psychoactive substance ibogaine. Rocked by the hallucinatory experience, Lotsof was even more stunned when he realized that after ibogaine he no longer felt compelled to use heroin.
For 20 years after that, Lotsof went about his life in the television and movie business, but when an accident cut that career short, he returned to ibogaine and began working to make it available as an addiction treatment. In 1986, he founded a company, NDA International, and began treating clients in Amsterdam.
Lotsof originated numerous patents for ibogaine in treating addictions and provided data to the National Institute on Drug Abuse that laid the groundwork for still ongoing research on ibogaine and its use as an anti-addictive substance. More than 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers on ibogaine have been published so far.
Thanks almost entirely to Lotsof and his supporters, including Dana Beal and Cures Not Wars, an international network of ibogaine clinics is now in place and treating addicted clients. Lotsof was not a doctor or scientist—his college degree was in film—but an outsider who still managed to bring ibogaine in from the cold and win it academic and scientific respect.
He will be missed.
Drug Testing: Missouri Senate Committee Passes Bill to Drug Test Welfare Recipients
A Missouri state Senate committee voted Tuesday to approve a bill that would require welfare recipients and applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive government aid.
Feature: Obama Seeks Increase in Drug War Spending in a Drug Budget on Autopilot
Southeast Asia: Human Rights Watch Charges Torture, Rape, Illegal Detentions at Cambodian Drug "Rehab" Centers, Demands Shutdown
In a scathing 93-page report released today, the international human rights group
Southeast Asia: Human Rights Watch Charges Torture, Rape, Illegal Detentions at Cambodian Drug "Rehab" Centers; Demands They Be Shut Down
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 8:02pmIn a scathing 93-page report released today, the international human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Cambodian drug detention centers of torturing and raping detainees, imprisoning children and the mentally ill, and illegally detaining and imprisoning drug users. The centers are beyond reform and should be closed, the group said.
"Individuals in these centers are not being treated or rehabilitated, they are being illegally detained and often tortured," said Joseph Amon, director of the Health and Human Rights division at HRW. "These centers do not need to be revamped or modified; they need to be shut down."
The report cited detailed testimonies from detainees who were raped by center staff, beaten with electric cables, shocked with cattle prods, and forced to give blood. It also found that drug users were "cured" of their conditions by being forced to undergo rigorous military-style drills to sweat the drugs out of their systems.
"[After arrest] the police search my body, they take my money, they also keep my drugs...They say, ‘If you don't have money, why don't you go for a walk with me?...[The police] drove me to a guest house.... How can you refuse to give him sex? You must do it. There were two officers. [I had sex with] each one time. After that they let me go home," said Minea, a woman in her mid-20's who uses drugs, explaining how she was raped by two police officers
"[A staff member] would use the cable to beat people...On each whip the person's skin would come off and stick on the cable," said M'noh, age 16, describing whippings he witnessed in the Social Affairs "Youth Rehabilitation Center" in Choam Chao. The title of the HRW report is "Skin on the Cable."
More than 2,300 people were detained in Cambodia's 11 drug detention centers in 2008. That is 40% more than in 2007.
"The government of Cambodia must stop the torture occurring in these centers" said Amon. "Drug dependency can be addressed through expanded voluntary, community-based, outpatient treatment that respects human rights and is consistent with international standards."
Cambodian officials from the National Authority for Combatting Drugs, the Interior Ministry, the National Police, and the Social Welfare Ministry all declined to comment when queried by the Associated Press. But Cambodian Brig. Gen. Roth Srieng, commander of the military police in Banteay Meanchy province, denied torture at his center, while adding that some detainees were forced to stand in the sun or "walk like monkeys" as punishment for trying to escape.
Children as young as 10, prostitutes, beggars, the homeless, and the mentally ill are frequently detained and taken to the drug detention centers, the report found. About one-quarter of those detained were minors. Most were not told why they were being detained. The report also said police sometimes demanded sexual favors or money for release and told some detainees they would not be beaten or could leave early if they donated blood.
The report relied on testimony from 74 people, most of them drug users, who had been detained between February and July 2009.
Feature: Anthrax-Tainted Heroin Takes Toll in Europe, Prompts Calls for Emergency Public Health Response
European heroin users are on high alert as the death toll rises from heroin tainted with anthrax.
Feature: New York Post's Attack on "Heroin How-to" Harm Reduction Pamphlet Fails to Get It Dropped
Cocaine Vaccine Backfires Horribly
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 11:44pmI wonder if any of the researchers saw this coming:
The vaccine, called TA-CD, shows promise but could also be dangerous; some of the addicts participating in a study of the vaccine started doing massive amounts of cocaine in hopes of overcoming its effects, according to Thomas R. Kosten, the lead researcher on the study, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in October.
…
Nobody overdosed, but some of them had 10 times more cocaine coursing through their systems than researchers had encountered before, according to Kosten. He said some of the addicts reported to researchers that they had gone broke buying cocaine from multiple drug dealers, hoping to find a variety that would get them high. [Washington Post]
Whoa, that's doesn't sound like any fun at all. I assume the researchers told these people not to bother increasing their dose. Stories like this are the reason I'm skeptical of drugs that block receptors for other drugs.
Canada: Montreal Heroin Maintenance Study in Doubt after Quebec Refuses to Pay
Fresh on the success of NAOMI, the North American Opiate Maintenance Initiative, in which hardcore heroin addicts in Vancouver were given eithe
Canada: Montreal Heroin Maintenance Study in Doubt after Quebec Refuses to Pay
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 5:43pmFresh on the success of NAOMI, the North American Opiate Maintenance Initiative, in which hard-core heroin addicts in Vancouver were given either methadone, heroin, or Dilaudid in maintenance doses, Canadian researchers announced earlier this year plans to broaden and deeper their research with SALOME, the Study to Assess Long-term Opiate Maintenance Effectiveness. SALOME was supposed to begin this fall in Vancouver and Montreal, but Quebec provincial authorities have thrown a wrench in the works.
The Toronto Star reported this week that Quebec has balked on paying its share of the project, stopping the Montreal portion of SALOME in its tracks. The Vancouver portion, supported by the British Columbia provincial government, is set to move forth.
Quebec's refusal to pay its share—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research are kicking in $1 million for the three-year project—led Montreal's SALOME head researcher to charge the government with discrimination. The decision will have "disastrous consequences for people addicted to heroin and (who) don't respond to standard treatment," said Dr. Suzanne Brissette, chief of addiction medicine at Saint-Luc hospital. "There is no other treatment for these people."
NAOMI showed that heroin maintenance worked for people for whom methadone and other forms of treatment had not, she said. Had researchers found a treatment for cancer or diabetes, Quebec would not hesitate to help fund it, she added. "It's a clear case of discrimination," she said. "We have a treatment that works and they're saying, `Sorry folks, you won't get it.'"
NAOMI researchers estimate that Canada has between 60,000 and 90,000 heroin addicts. The NAOMI trials found that addicts on maintenance heroin used less illicit heroin, committed fewer crimes, and adapted healthier life-styles.
Feature: Fired Up in Albuquerque -- The 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference
Feature: 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conferences Opens Amid Optimism in Albuquerque
Hundreds, possibly more than a thousand, people poured into the Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the Drug Policy Alliance's
Feature: Veterans Incarcerated and Ignored When They Could Be Getting Help, Report Finds
Roughly 200,000 US veterans are in prison or jail, many of them there because of substance abuse or mental health issues, according to a new report released Wednesday.
Southeast Asia: UN's Top Health Rights Officials Calls for Decriminalizing Drug Use, Ending Forced "Rehab Camps"
The UN's top official on health rights called Tuesday
Asia: Drug Users Form Regional Drug User Organization
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 7:04pmIn a meeting in Bangkok last weekend, more than two dozen drug users from nine different countries came together to put the finishing touches on the creation of a new drug user advocacy organization, the Asian Network of People who Use Drugs (ANPUD). The Bangkok meeting was the culmination of a two-year process began at a meeting of the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2007, and resulted in creating a constitution and selecting a steering committee for the new group.
ANPUD adopts the principles of MIPUD (Meaningful Involvement of People who Use Drugs), and in doing so, aligns itself with other drug user advocacy groups, including the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD), of which ANPUD is an independent affiliate, the Australian Injection and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL),the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and the Nothing About Us Without Us movement.
ANPUD currently has more than 150 members and sees its mission to advocate for the rights of drug users and communities before national governments and the international community. There is plenty to do. Asia has the largest number of drug users in the world, but is, for the most part, woefully retrograde on drug policy issues. Not only do drug users face harsh criminal sanctions—up to and including the death penalty—but Asian has the lowest coverage of harm reduction services in the world. Access to harm reduction programs, such as needle exchanges and opioid maintenance therapy, is extremely limited.
"People who use drugs are stigmatized, criminalized and abused in every country in Asia," said Jimmy Dorabjee, a key figure in the formation of ANPUD. "Our human rights are violated and we have little in the way of health services to stay alive. If governments do not see people who use drugs, hear us and talk to us, they will continue to ignore us."
The Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team, Dr. Prasada Rao, spoke of the urgent need to engage with drug user networks and offered his support to ANPUD, saying that "For UNAIDS, HIV prevention among drug users is a key priority at the global level," said Dr. Prasada Rao, director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team. "I am very pleased today to be here to see ANPUD being shaped into an organization that will play a key role in Asia's HIV response. It is critical that we are able to more effectively involve the voices of Asian people who use drugs in the scaling up of HIV prevention services across Asia."
"When I go back home, I am now responsible for sharing the experiences with the 250 or so drug users who are actively advocating for better services at the national level," said Nepalese drug user and newly elected steering committee member Ekta Thapa Mahat. "It will be a great way for us to work together and help build the capacity of people who use drugs in Asia."
"The results of the meeting exceeded my expectations," said Ele Morrison, program manager for AVIL's Regional Partnership Project. "The participants set ambitious goals for themselves and they have achieved a lot in just two days to set up this new organization. The building blocks for genuine ownership by people who use drugs is definitely there."
While the meetings leading to the formation were organized and managed by drug users, the process received financial support from the World Health Organization, the UNAIDS Regional Task Force, and AIVL.
New Zealand: New Anti-Meth Measures Set to Go Into Effect -- Tough Luck, Flu Sufferers
Under an anti-methamphetamine package announced last week by the government of New Zealand, popular cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine will soon be available only by prescription afte
New Zealand: New Anti-Meth Measures Set to Go Into Effect; Tough Luck, Flu Sufferers
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Wed, 10/14/2009 - 3:16amUnder an anti-methamphetamine package announced last week by the government of New Zealand, popular cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine will soon be available only by prescription after a visit to the doctor's office. The drug is a precursor chemical for manufacturing meth.
"We're asking New Zealanders to band together and to accept using alternatives to treat their colds and flus to ensure New Zealand no longer becomes one of the countries most heavily affected by P [as the Kiwis refer to meth]," said Prime Minister John Key as he announced the a series of moves to combat meth use and production.
In addition to restricting access to precursor chemicals, the government will spend more money on drug treatment programs, create a 40-man police anti-meth task force, and charge police with drafting a new anti-meth law enforcement strategy by next month. The government said it would pay for the programs with asset forfeiture funds.
The pseudoephedrine announcement in particular brought a mixed reaction from the public. Some, especially those who had friends or family members who had had problems with meth, were supportive. Both others were "annoyed," asking why law-abiding people had to suffer for the actions of drug users and some "voiced concern that it was a bit over the top."
Unsurprisingly, New Zealand police were happy with the new meth package. In a statement greeting the package's announcement, Assistant Commissioner Viv Rickard praised the "whole of government approach" as "more effective" in the battle against meth, but, as always, the police wanted more.
"Police support the control of pseudoephedrine as it would allow us to concentrate resources and work with Customs on preventing the importation of precursors from overseas," Rickard said. "Precursor control is a vital part of disrupting the supply of methamphetamine, but no one action on its own will solve the methamphetamine problem. Stronger legislation around gangs, the ability to seize assets and profits of organized criminals and enhanced treatment programs will all contribute reducing the supply of methamphetamine and making our communities safer."
