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		<link>http://cottonwoodrecovery.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/195/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>Next month the DEA will be putting a ban into effect on the<br />
controversial &#8220;bath salts&#8221; until proper research can be conducted on such<br />
products. &#8220;Bath salts&#8221; have made the news several times this year as a<br />
result of the spike in emergency room visits related to people&#8217;s<br />
consumption of the drugs. These are not your typical soaking bath salts;<br />
the ones in question have been coated with chemicals, typically mephedrone,<br />
MDPV, and Methylone or some variation of them. When people snort crushed<br />
up &#8220;bath salts&#8221; they experience a high that has terrible side effects which<br />
have resulted in people trying to take their own lives. It is quite clear<br />
to anyone in the medical field that these products are dangerous and if<br />
left unchecked by the proper agencies more people will lose their lives.<br />
The proposed ban that will take effect next month has doctors in Arizona<br />
worried that there will be a rise in &#8220;bath salts&#8221; sales as stores selling<br />
them slash their prices to unload their stock.</p>
<p>ï¿½I worry that we will see a spike in (use and sales)ï¿½ of the drug until<br />
that ban takes effect, Jason Caplan, Chairman of the Department of<br />
Psychiatry at St. Joseph&#8217;s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, told The<br />
Arizona Republic. The newspaper reports that there are at least a<br />
half-dozen smoke shops in the Phoenix area that are still selling &#8220;bath<br />
salts&#8221; and some are offering deals like &#8220;buy one vial and get the second<br />
one half off&#8221;. There are a host of different names that manufacturers have<br />
used with their products, some common ones are:</p>
<p>Bliss<br />
Ivory Wave<br />
Vanilla Sky</p>
<p>According to the DEA, users experience:</p>
<p>Impaired perception<br />
reduced motor control<br />
disorientation<br />
extreme paranoia<br />
violent episodes</p>
<p>The DEA has deemed &#8220;bath salts&#8221; an imminent danger to the public and have<br />
classified such products as well as the chemicals used in making them as<br />
Schedule I drugs. The classification of Schedule I drugs is the most<br />
restrictive category of drugs, considered unsafe, highly abused substances<br />
that show no evident signs of medical value in the United States.</p>
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		<link>http://cottonwoodrecovery.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/194/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:48:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>In the United States our prisons and jails house more people convicted of<br />
drug offenses than any other offense. Jail and prison for most of the 20th<br />
century has been the government&#8217;s answer to the drug problem. While the<br />
system has improved in the last two decades, as far as offering treatment<br />
instead of jail time, there are still thousands of people locked up for<br />
crimes related to their addiction. Unfortunately, when the time comes for<br />
release most people will go back to using drugs because they did not have<br />
an opportunity to develop a support network which will help them work<br />
towards recovery. This reality ultimately leads people back to jail, as<br />
drug use leads to crime and crime leads to jail.</p>
<p>In an attempt to cut back on jail recidivism and preventing overdoses, a<br />
study was conducted that involved giving parolees the drug naltrexone, an<br />
opioid antagonist, to help prevent relapse upon release. The initial<br />
results from a pilot study prompted a five-year study funded by the<br />
National Institutes of Health, according to Charles P. O&#8217;Brien, MD, PhD,<br />
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. The study was<br />
conducted in five sites and the findings from that study suggest parolees<br />
taking naltrexone are less likely to relapse and to die from a drug<br />
overdose. Addicts released from jail who go back to using often times do<br />
not realize how significantly their tolerance drops, so when they get high<br />
for the first time they have trouble gauging their dose which leads to<br />
overdoses.</p>
<p>ï¿½That result is important because there is a very high rate of overdose in<br />
former prisoners; they often don&#8217;t realize that they have lost their<br />
tolerance for opiates,ï¿½ Dr. O&#8217;Brien says in an interview with the Dana<br />
Foundation. ï¿½The same dose of heroin or oxycodone that used to make them<br />
feel good may now kill them. This is a real risk.ï¿½ O&#8217;Brien points out that<br />
preventing relapses will save states a lot of money when you consider that<br />
the annual cost of a bed in prison is between $40,000 and $60,000.</p>
<p>ï¿½My hope is that the data will convince judges, prosecutors, and parole<br />
officers that naltrexone will help addicts stay off drugs, help prisons<br />
empty out a bit, and save a lot of money,ï¿½ he says.</p>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:06:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>Typically, as people get older they require more medical attention for<br />
anything from high blood pressure medication to prescription opiates for<br />
that old knee injury. People are living a lot longer than before and as a<br />
result people end of taking prescription drugs for extended periods of<br />
time. In Florida, where there is a larger population of the elderly, doctor<br />
shopping can be done with relative ease considering that officials are<br />
unlikely to question whether or not a senior citizen needs medication. Now,<br />
addiction professionals are seeing an influx of people over 50 needing<br />
interventions and substance abuse treatment. Nearly three in 10 people<br />
between ages 57 to 85 use at least five prescriptions, according to the<br />
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).</p>
<p>&#8220;There are physical, psychological and social factors that make elderly<br />
people more vulnerable to addiction,ï¿½ Angela Conway of the South Miami<br />
Hospital&#8217;s Addiction Treatment Center, told the Miami Herald. There are a<br />
number of variables that could be associated with elderly drug abuse:</p>
<p>joint pain<br />
old injuries<br />
sleeping problems<br />
loss of loved ones<br />
depressions</p>
<p>As people get older their mind tends to not function as sharply, memory<br />
loss is quite common which is not good when it comes to taking prescription<br />
drugs that have been regimented by a doctor. The rate of hospital<br />
admissions for problems associated with prescription medications and<br />
illicit drugs rose by 96 percent among people ages 65 and 84 between 1997<br />
and 2008; for people 85 and older, admissions grew 87 percent. It is not<br />
hard to see that those statistics are pretty alarming and people who have<br />
older loved ones should keep an eye if there is any suspicion of a problem.<br />
The misuse of medication can cause a host of harmful side effects,<br />
drug-induced delirium and even dementia according to SAMHSA.</p>
<p>Becoming dependent on prescription drugs can also lead to people trying<br />
illegal drugs, as people naturally develop tolerances to medications.<br />
Searching out stronger substances, even by the elderly, is not difficult to<br />
imagine.</p>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:29:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>The new national drug survey, sponsored by SAMHSA, was just released with<br />
some startling facts worth noting. Fortunately, methamphetamine use has<br />
been steadily declining thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and<br />
organizations whose missions are to educate people about the dangers of the<br />
drug. The same cannot be said about marijuana, as more states legalize<br />
medical marijuana programs more people are picking up the drug. 16 states<br />
have active medical marijuana programs and there are definitely more to<br />
come. While marijuana may be the least harmful illicit drug, it still has<br />
side effects and may lead people to try other drugs used by people in the<br />
same circles.</p>
<p>Meth and marijuana make up the majority of news stories dealing with<br />
illegal drugs, but, that does not mean that there isn&#8217;t a significant<br />
population of people using other illicit substances on a regular basis. The<br />
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, comprised of data collected from<br />
interviews with 67,500 randomly selected people 12 years or older, showed<br />
that about one in 10 Americans report regularly using illegal drugs,<br />
including:</p>
<p>marijuana<br />
cocaine<br />
heroin<br />
hallucinogens<br />
inhalants<br />
recreational use of prescription drugs</p>
<p>There is a lot of evidence to suggest that marijuana has medicinal<br />
properties that can be valuable to people suffering from chronic pain.<br />
However, we must not forget that there are also properties to marijuana<br />
that are unhealthy and may reduce one&#8217;s quality of life &#8211; breathing<br />
problems and memory loss are on the top of the list. With 17.4 million<br />
regular users, marijuana is the most commonly used drug. The decline in<br />
social stigmas surrounding marijuana use has helped with marijuana&#8217;s growth<br />
in popularity. 6.9% of the population reported using marijuana regularly,<br />
up from 5.8% in 2007. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, 7.4% reported having used<br />
marijuana in the past month.</p>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:46:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>Every day millions of people light up and have a cigarette, some people<br />
smoke a whole pack per day. Indeed, cigarettes play a huge role in the<br />
everyday life for many people and it is no wonder considering the billions<br />
of dollars that go into advertising, as well as the lack of education that<br />
many people still have not received, for whatever reason, regarding the<br />
dangers of smoking. Cigarettes are highly addictive and have been proven to<br />
cause ailments such as lung cancer and heart disease as well as many other<br />
problems. Science and modern medicine together have shown the world the<br />
dangerous potential of smoking cigarettes; this has cut the number of<br />
smokers severely.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report<br />
showing fewer adults are smoking cigarettes in the United States. An<br />
estimated 19.3 percent of adults smoked in 2010, down from 20.9 percent in<br />
2005, according to the CDC. A 1.6 percent drop does not seem like a lot,<br />
but according to CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden the decline means there are<br />
three million fewer smokers in 2010 than five years ago, Reuters reports.<br />
Three million people is definitely a significant amount, showing that<br />
anti-smoking campaigns and the effort of primary physicians to convince<br />
their patients to quit have been effective.</p>
<p>21.8 percent of smokers had fewer than 10 cigarettes daily in 2010, up from<br />
16.4 percent five years ago.<br />
8.3 percent of smokers said they smoked more than 30 cigarettes a day in<br />
2010, down from 12.7 percent in 2005.</p>
<p>The government, according to the CDC, had a goal to reduce adult smoking to<br />
12.7 percent by the year 2020. Unfortunately, that goal does not seem like<br />
a reality considering the trends; which if they continue in the same<br />
direction the number of adult smokers in 2020 should be around 17 percent.</p>
<p>ï¿½States that invest more fully in comprehensive tobacco control programs<br />
have seen larger declines in cigarette sales than the United States as a<br />
whole, and smoking prevalence among adults and youths has declined faster<br />
as spending for tobacco control programs has increased,ï¿½ the report<br />
concludes.</p>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:38:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a></p>
<p>Drug addiction and overdose often go hand in hand; it is hardly a<br />
question of if as much as it is a question of when. Many people perish<br />
from their addiction before they ever give recovery a chance or have an<br />
opportunity to work a program of any kind. While prescription<br />
medications have become the leading cause of overdose in the United<br />
States, heroin abuse is still a major concern in a number of cities<br />
across the country. The alarm with heroin is not as much about more<br />
people developing a dependence as it is about those already addicted<br />
overdosing and perishing. In Boston a controversial program has shown<br />
much promise in the realm of keeping addicts alive, giving<br />
organizations more time to work towards channeling addicts into<br />
recovery circles.</p>
<p>Since 2006, the Boston health officials have distributed the overdose<br />
drug Narcan to 2,080 people and have recorded 215 cases in which<br />
overdoses were reversed, a city health official said yesterday to the<br />
Boston Globe. The death rate among heroin addicts dropped by 32 percent<br />
between 2007 and 2008, the most recent year for which data is<br />
available. Narcan is not handed out to give addicts a &#8220;get out jail<br />
free card&#8221;, so to speak, rather it is about giving addicts a second<br />
chance after an overdose to reevaluate their life and what they want<br />
out of it.</p>
<p>â€œThis is one of the first times I have felt that we have found<br />
something that has had a quick and immediate impact on the mortality<br />
rate, and can keep people safe, while we work to connect them with<br />
treatment,â€™â€™ said Rita Nieves, director for addiction, prevention,<br />
treatment, and recovery services at the commission.</p>
<p>State officials are getting ready to announce in September, since 2006,<br />
at least 1,000 overdoses statewide have been reversed, said Andy<br />
Epstein, who piloted the program in Boston and is now a special<br />
assistant to Massachusettsâ€™ public health commissioner. This program<br />
has given health workers the ability to start a dialogue with addicts<br />
who may be interested in changing their lives and might want to start<br />
down the road to recovery. It can be difficult grabbing the attention<br />
of addicts on the streets; those who come in for the emergency Narcan<br />
kit enter an open forum with those in the recovery field &#8211; a feat in<br />
itself.</p>
<p>The program provides emergency kits not only to drug addicts; family<br />
members of addicts and police officers who sometimes arrive at overdose<br />
scenes before paramedics are also receiving the kits.</p>
<p>Source:<br />
Boston Globe</p>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:49:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a><br />
On Wednesday, April 27th, the Cottonwood Tucson Sustainability Team<br />
will host a presentation by Mr. Michael Guymon, the Vice President of<br />
Regional Development for Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO),<br />
at our monthly Sustainability Team Lunch &amp; Learn event here on campus.</p>
<p>Mr. Guymon will provide our staff with information on Imagine Greater<br />
Tucson, a rapidly growing, community-based effort dedicated to<br />
protecting and enhancing our quality of life in the greater Tucson<br />
region. If you aren&#8217;t familiar with Imagine Greater Tucson, I hope you<br />
will check out their website and consider attending one of the Senario<br />
Building Workshops coming up in May 2011.</p>
<p>Vision Without Action is a Dream. Action Without Vision is Simply<br />
Passing the Time. Action With Vision is Making a Positive Difference. ~<br />
Joel Barker ~</p>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a><br />
I have written before about the dilemma faced both by depressed<br />
pregnant women and their health care providers in trying to determine<br />
whether is best to take or stay on antidepressants during pregnancy.<br />
There is a lot that we do know but so much that we don&#8217;t. Information<br />
is hard to come by as it is unethical to do any randomized prospective<br />
studies. But we do get new information at times that helps us a bit<br />
better in putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Two recent studies<br />
add to our knowledge. I will discuss one of them here.</p>
<p>At this time the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists<br />
(ACOG) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) have issued a<br />
joint report with recommendations based upon current knowledge. I have<br />
previously discussed these recommendations and will not go into them<br />
here but for those who are interested a copy of the report can be<br />
obtained through the ACOG Office of Communications at<br />
communications@acog.org or The APA Office of Communications at<br />
press@psych.org</p>
<p>One very important study published in the May issue of the Canadian<br />
Medical Association Journal indicates that not all antidepressants are<br />
the same in terms of risk. The researchers looked here at risk of<br />
miscarriage. They examined data on 5124 women between the ages of 15<br />
and 45 years who had clinically verified miscarriages. Two<br />
antidepressants used alone as well as the use of combination<br />
antidepressants were associated with higher rates of miscarriages.<br />
Those two antidepressants are paroxitine (Paxil) and venlafaxine<br />
(Effexor). Paroxetine has been previously shown to result in a small<br />
increased risk of congenital malformations when taken in the first<br />
trimester and at this point clearly should not be used in any woman of<br />
childbearing age who may become pregnant. Other alternatives to<br />
venlafaxine should be considered in this age group as well although the<br />
increased risk of miscarriage overall is small.</p>
<p>This study did not evaluate overall risk vs. benefits of taking<br />
antidepressants during pregnancy and it needs to be kept in mind that<br />
untreated depression has an adverse effect on the developing fetus. We<br />
don&#8217;t know though how to compare this risk to the risks of taking<br />
medication. One thing we do know however is that the factor with the<br />
greatest adverse effect on the developing infant is having a mother who<br />
is depressed.</p>
<p>So the decision about whether or not to take antidepressants during<br />
pregnancy remains a highly individualized decision but we now know some<br />
antidepressants that it would be better to stay away from.</p>
<p>Thought for the day</p>
<p>God is &#8220;indescribable, uncontainable, none can fathom&#8221;.</p>
<p>Chris Tomlin</p>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:18:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://bit.ly/RehabAZ]</a><br />
I have been gone for a while so it is nice to be back working and<br />
writing again. I have previously talked about the link between<br />
marijuana and psychosis. In a subset of people chronic marijuana use<br />
has been associated with development of a psychosis with schizophrenic<br />
features. A recent study published in the online American Journal of<br />
Psychiatry found that for patients who were diagnosed as having<br />
schizophrenia those that used marijuana developed the disorder at<br />
earlier ages than those who didn&#8217;t smoke marijuana.</p>
<p>The researchers followed 229 patients with schizophrenia for ten years<br />
after their first psychiatric hospitalization. Close to two-thirds of<br />
the patients had smoked marijuana at some time during their lives. The<br />
patients who used marijuana also had more severe symptoms than those<br />
who didn&#8217;t. Unfortunately the trend was found in the other direction.<br />
Those with symptoms that were getting worse then used more marijuana<br />
probably in an effort to self medicate.</p>
<p>So there appears to be increasing evidence that marijuana and<br />
schizophrenia have some link. This does not mean that marijuana causes<br />
schizophrenia but it may be a factor in a number of cases.</p>
<p>Thought for the day</p>
<p>As I have said before,there is no safe drug.</p>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 18:13:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cottonwoodrecovery</dc:creator>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[<a href="http://cli.gs/RehabAZ]&#8220;>http://cli.gs/RehabAZ]</a><br />
Throughout this year physicians have been awaiting a reduction in<br />
Medicare reimbursement rates. The cut is 23% across the board which has<br />
been scheduled for a long time. Each month Congress has passed<br />
temporary legislation to postpone the cut until some longer term<br />
solution could be found regarding Medicare reimbursement rates but this<br />
month Congress failed to pass an agreement prior to the Memorial Day<br />
recess so the cuts are scheduled to begin June 1.</p>
<p>So what&#8217;s the big deal? Aren&#8217;t doctors paid too much anyway? The<br />
problem with this cut is that Medicare rates for those specialties who<br />
don&#8217;t do surgery or other expensive procedures has been too low to<br />
begin with. As I have noted before, particularly for psychiatrists, low<br />
Medicare reimbursement rates make it difficult for doctors to meet<br />
expenses. This applies as well to the specialties of family medicine,<br />
internal medicine, neurology, and rheumatology. A 21% cut in<br />
reimbursement rates will make it very difficult for many physicians to<br />
not lose money for every Medicare patient seen. There is no question<br />
that many physicians will respond by just not seeing anymore Medicare<br />
patients. The same will apply for military families covered by TRICARE<br />
which bases its fee schedule on Medicare rates.</p>
<p>My hope is that some other solution will be found quickly. Decreased<br />
access to care is just what we don&#8217;t need with an aging population.</p>
<p>Thought for the day</p>
<p>&#8220;My chains are gone.I&#8217;ve been set free. My God my savior has ransomed<br />
me&#8221;.</p>
<p>Chris Tomlin</p>
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