Following are our most recent Facebook posts. Please go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/james.place.inc) to read additional posts.
Do you know about the SAMSHA helpline to find resources?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w-4EdenC0I&feature=youtu.be1-800-662-HELP is a national substance abuse help line that can refer people to treatment programs. It doesn't get nearly enough use.
Maura Healey, one of the heroes filing suits against Purdue Pharma ....
"...In 2007, the company and three of its top executives pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that Purdue had misrepresented the dangers of OxyContin, and they paid $634.5 million in fines. The Sacklers were not accused of any wrongdoing and have not faced personal legal consequences over the drug.
But last June, Maura Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, sued eight members of the Sackler family, along with the company and numerous executives and directors, alleging that they had misled doctors and patients about OxyContin’s risks. The suit also claimed that the company aggressively promoted the drug to doctors who were big prescribers of opioids, including physicians who later lost their licenses.
The court filing released on Tuesday also asserts that Sackler family members were aware that Purdue Pharma repeatedly failed to alert authorities to scores of reports the company had received that OxyContin was being abused and sold on the street. The company also used pharmacy discount cards to increase OxyContin’s sales and Richard Sackler, who served as Purdue Pharma’s president from 1999 to 2003, led a company strategy of blaming abuse of the drug on addicts, the suit claimed."
www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/health/sacklers-purdue-oxycontin-opioids.html
Sacklers Directed Efforts to Mislead Public About OxyContin, New Documents Indicate
nytimes.com
A filing in a Massachusetts lawsuit contains dozens of internal Purdue Pharma documents suggesting the family was far more involved than the company has long contended.We know this has been happening for years. As the dominoes slowly begin to fall, it only makes us sick for the suffering caused by greed.
More dominoes to fall....
"A former pharmaceutical chief executive pleaded guilty to playing a part in a sophisticated scheme to give kickbacks to doctors who prescribed his company’s fentanyl-based opioid drugs — a move one top lawyer said is one step toward the goal of cutting down the corrupt greed that’s “alive and well in the pharma business.”
Ex-pharma CEO pleads guilty to kickbacks to doctors for opioid prescriptions
bostonherald.com
A former pharmaceutical chief executive pleaded guilty to playing a part in a sophisticated scheme to give kickbacks to doctors who prescribed his company’s fentanyl-based opioid drugs.New Executive Order from Governor Larry Hogan to further the development of systems of care for behavioral health in Maryland.
Targeted efforts are ongoing and continued to be funded. This expands as we work to identify what is our ideal solution - what will the best solution look like?
sound minor? It's not!
governor.maryland.gov/ltgovernor/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Scanned-from-a-Xerox-Multifun...
governor.maryland.gov
Why we need to understand what the Legal Action Center is and what it is doing for the solutions needed - not only in Maryland but across the US. This is their annual report - great languaging!
lac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/LAC-2017-18-Annual-Report-web-1.pdf
lac.org
Sign Up! This annual conference is an excellent opportunity to learn, to meet, to expand horizons. As always the speakers - keynote and breakout - are outstanding.
Hope to see you there!
Tuerk Conference online registration is now open:
www.ncaddmaryland.org/index.php?ht=d/RegisterForConvention/i/37887/pid/224
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Maryland Chapter
ncaddmaryland.org
The 47th NCADD Addiction Medicine Update, "Fuel the Recovery of Others—with Acceptance and Accountability,” is posted here Addiction Medicine Update.Too often people believe they and their family members are safe from substance use disorders. Oh, if only that were the truth.
Newest video from Safe Launch - an organization working to educate teens/young adults about this disease. They fly two planes with faces and names of those gone before. The planes draw interest from schools in particular...good stuff!
Building solutions for SUD continue to uncover areas that need focused attention. Deceptive patient brokering has several levels of concern. 1) treatment programs "buying" top referral access for 1-800 call centers which send those in need of help to programs that may have nothing the person actually needs. Money talks...
2) Treatment programs that push families to get second mortgages or sell any assets (cars, jewel, etc.).
This has information about a conference but more, it offers some information about Florida and California's efforts.
www.behavioralhealthnetworkresources.com/blog/california-drug-rehabs-vs-patient-brokering/?fbclid...
California Drug Rehabs Vs Patient Brokering | BHNR
behavioralhealthnetworkresources.com
California drug rehabs need to adopt ethical business and drug rehab SEO marketing strategies. Awakenings outpatient treatment treatment Agoura Hills California is leading the fight for treatment centers.An important aspect of hope is employment. Check this out....
www.facingaddiction.org/news/2018/12/18/the-challenge-of-sustaining-a-paycheck-in-recovery
The Challenge of Sustaining A Paycheck in Recovery - Facing Addiction
facingaddiction.org
Pro-recovery workplaces are opportunities for companies to benefit from hiring motivated, honest, loyal employees; and for workers to find communityIgnorance kills...addiction has no barriers of protection despite the fantasy of "not in my family or neighborhood."
America’s crisis isn’t opioids—it’s ignorance
thehill.com
The issue isn’t opioids: it’s ignorance. What are we actually trying to fix? Are we solving the problem, or simply eliminating the people we don’t think deserve help?Interesting report on the status of addiction in Washington, D.C.
Some of the assertions do not ring true in the work we are involved with including Baltimore City. It is always interesting to tell a story like this one of a couple who are long time heroin users.
One distressing difference is the apparent lack of knowledge of the presence of fentanyl by many long time users in Baltimore City. One sobering service data shows patients reporting heroin use, then testing positive for fentanyl. Yet this article indicates users in DC are aware of the potential presence of fentanyl.
One assertion - that federal funding isn't targeting inner cities - is totally bogus. Still - harsh reality about living long term with substance use disorder.
An opioid epidemic nobody talks about
washingtonpost.com
A generation of African American heroin users is dying in the opioid epidemic nobody is talking about.Join together to deepen your knowledge and skills around advocacy. Taking our voices from having opinions to organizing for effective change is the name of the game. January 18, 2019.... check out the details on this registration link.
See you there!
Community Organizing Training through NCADD Maryland
eventbrite.com
Axiom is proud to be leading the NCADD Maryland Community Organizing Training! The training will be held on Friday, January 18th – anyone interested in learning about community organizing is welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be provided. The training will cover: Defining Community Organiz...Do you know what PDMP stands for and why it is important? Check out the update!
beforeitstoolate.maryland.gov/prescription-drug-monitoring-program-delivers-critical-information-...
beforeitstoolate.maryland.gov
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Delivers Critical Information to Providers 1,000,000 Times Per Month Maryland Department of Health Shares Prescribing Information on Controlled Substances December 3, 2018 ANNAPOLIS, MD – As part of Governor Larry Hogan’s fight against the heroin and opioid e...CDC announces life expectancy continues to drop in the US due to opioid deaths and suicides. There is nothing minor about the impact on our families and communities. There is no place to hide.
Support behavioral health by sharing, talking about it and seeking support instead of ignoring or hiding due to stigma and foolishness. Foolishness can be deadly.
www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/us-life-expectancy-drops-for-third-consecutive-year-...
US life expectancy drops again due to drug use, suicides
washingtonexaminer.com
U.S. life expectancy failed to rise for the third straight year in 2017, a trend that hasn't been observed in 100 years.This article details similar efforts happening around the country. If you find an idea within the article, check to see what your local area and/or state is doing that is similar.
Join the effort for hope to save lives - it is doable!
www.nytimes.com/2018/11/25/health/opioid-overdose-deaths-dayton.html
This City’s Overdose Deaths Have Plunged. Can Others Learn From It?
nytimes.com
Dayton, Ohio, had one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation in 2017. The city made many changes, and fatal overdoses are down more than 50 percent from last year.
