SAAS UPDATE - July 27, 2009
Greetings!
The staff at SAAS continue to stay busy as we prepare for our Annual National Conference and as we continue to take part in the healthcare reform discussions. We are very excited about our upcoming conference-it promises to be bigger and better than last year. I hope that you are going to join us in Tucson. We have brought together a great line up of presenters and this event always promises to provide attendees with the latest in the addiction healthcare field.
Additionally, the healthcare reform debate continues to rush forward at breakneck speed and we are analyzing revision after revision as the proposed reforms evolve. We are working hard to ensure that addiction services are included in all healthcare reform discussions.
I have also attended several meetings over the last few weeks on workforce development, provider benchmarking, and National Consensus Standards for the Treatment of Substance Abuse. All of these are very exciting developments and have promising positive outcomes for our service providers as well as the people and families they serve.
I am pleased to continue to represent SAAS on these and many other exciting initiatives and activities. I look forward to seeing you in Tucson this week and look forward to further sharing with you all of the great things SAAS is involved in.
Safe travels!
Thanks for all you do to support the field and the people you serve.
Becky Vaughn
Executive Director
State Associations of Addiction Services
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Research Report
New Report Shows Substantial Disparities in Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Among States
A new SAMHSA report providing state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental illness patterns reveal that there are wide variations in the levels of problems like illicit drug use found among the states, but that all states face daunting substance abuse and mental illness challenges. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island (5.2 % vs. 12.5 %) - yet Iowa's population aged 12 and older also had one of the nation's highest levels of people experiencing alcohol dependence of abuse in the past year (9.2 %).
The report is based on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Data drawn from interviews with 135,672 persons from throughout the country provide a state-by-state breakdown among 23 different measures of substance abuse and mental health problems including illicit drug use, binge drinking, alcohol and illicit drug dependence, tobacco use, serious psychological distress and major depressive episodes.
"This report shows that while every state faces its own unique patterns of public health problems - these problems confront every state," said SAMHSA Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H. "By highlighting the exact nature and scope of the problems in each state we can help state public health authorities better determine the most effective ways of addressing them."
The full report is available online on the SAMHSA website.
National Survey Reports on Substance Use Among Pregnant Women and New Mothers
A new national report provides both encouraging and discouraging news about the use of substances by pregnant women and new mothers. Based on a nationwide survey, the report by SAMHSA suggests that most women are heeding warnings about the dangers that substance use during pregnancy can pose to fetuses and are abstaining, especially in the latter stages of their pregnancies.
However, this report, as well as a new study published recently by the U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, show that the number of women who drink alcohol while pregnant is disturbingly high, despite past Surgeon Generals' warnings about the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant. According to a 15-year-study by the CDC, the number of women who drink alcohol while pregnant is not decreasing, with approximately 1 in 8 women drinking any amount of alcohol while pregnant. In addition, the data from the SAMHSA report suggest that once they give birth, many new mothers resume the use of alcohol, cigarettes, illicit drugs or engage in binge drinking.
Among the report's most significant findings was that many postpartum women rapidly resume substance use. For example, when compared with women in the third trimester of pregnancy, non-pregnant women with children under 3 months old in the household had much higher rates of past month alcohol use (6.2 vs. 31.9 percent), binge alcohol use (1 vs. 10 percent), cigarette use (13.9 vs. 20.4 percent), and marijuana use (1.4 vs. 3.8 percent), suggesting resumption of substance use among many mothers in the 3 months after childbirth.
"Alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use during pregnancy can cause poor pregnancy outcomes and early childhood behavioral and development problems, and use after pregnancy exposes children to a variety of negative effects. These problems can limit a child's potential, are costly and 100 percent preventable" said SAMHSA's Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, D.D.S, M.P.H.
The full report, Substance Use among Women during Pregnancy and Following Childbirth, is available on the SAMHSA website.
Lower Drinking Age Associated with Poor Birth Outcomes
A new study from the University of Georgia concludes that lowering the legal drinking age could affect the rate of unplanned pregnancies and pre-term births among young women.
The findings suggest that lowering the drinking age makes alcohol more accessible to young people, which could lead to an increase in unplanned pregnancies. Unexpected pregnancies, in turn, result in negative birth outcomes for infants, since teens who get pregnant unexpectedly are less likely to get good prenatal care and may not be as interested in the child as someone who had planned to get pregnant, according to Angela Fertig, one of the authors of the study and an assistant professor at the UGA College of Public Health.
Researchers studied birth records and survey information on alcohol use from 1978 to 1988, a time period when state laws on the minimum drinking age fluctuated. The study found that when the drinking age was 18, the rate of prenatal alcohol consumption among 18- to 20-year-old women increased by 21 percent, and the likelihood of women younger than 21 having a low-birth weight baby increased by 6 percent.
Fertig said she hoped the study will help broaden the discussion about lowering the legal drinking age. "There are consequences to lowering the drinking age beside traffic fatalities," said Fertig. "There's the potentially big effect on birth outcomes, and to me that argues that we should leave the minimum drinking age where it is." Click here to read the study published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of Health Economics.
CASA Reports The Real Costs of Addiction
According to a recent CASA report, state and local governments spend almost half a trillion dollars every year -- almost 11 percent of their total budgets -- as a result of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addiction. Yet out of every dollar federal and state governments spent on substance misuse in 2005 (the latest data available), 95 cents went toward the enormous burden of this problem on health care, criminal justice, child welfare, education, and other programs and only 2 cents were invested in prevention and treatment programs that could reduce many of these costs.
CASA researchers studied all federal, state and local budgets for 2005 using careful, conservative methods to determine how much of each major budget category was directly linked to substance misuse. For example, they determined how much of each state's Medicaid and other health care expenses were due to one of over 70 medical diagnoses that are caused or made worse by alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addiction. The researchers did the same for criminal justice, welfare and other key government budgets. They also identified all government spending on prevention, treatment and research, regulation of alcohol and tobacco products and drug interdiction.
CASA is calling on government leaders to support new investments in prevention and treatment to reduce the excessive burden that untreated tobacco, alcohol and drug problems place on state budgets. Join the call to action by sending a message to your governor and state legislator. You can also download the report and see the detailed expenses for your state.
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News You Can Use
UCLA Releases Last Two Episodes of Meth Inside Out
Known as the best educational video series on addiction, Meth Inside Out educates with the latest research and engages with state-of-the-art filmmaking. Expert researchers, treatment professionals and filmmakers have combined their efforts to produce an accurate, engaging and effective series. The film provides knowledge of the biological basis of addiction, tools for coping with cravings and an overview of how meth impacts families and communities.
Meth Inside Out is produced jointly by the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) and Eyes of the World Media Group. UCLA ISAP is known to be the world expert on methamphetamine research. ISAP's mission is to reduce the extent and impact of substance abuse by improving the understanding of substance abuse and the care of afflicted individuals. For more information on the video series, click here.
Free Resources From Open Minds
Behavioral health and social service agencies across the country are struggling with the same challenge: how to manage the growing gap between human needs and financial resources in these dire economic times. OPEN MINDS offers market and management knowledge needed to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The OPEN MINDS Circle Library includes several free links within its Market Intelligence Toolkit on Fundraising such as "Developing a Winning Marketing Plan," and "Strategic Revenue Diversification." Check out these free informative resources on the OPEN MINDS Website.
SHAKE AND BAKE: Meth Manufacturers Use New Method to Create Toxic Drug
A new style of making methamphetamine has become increasingly popular in Southeast Missouri over the past year, leading to two confirmed busts in the Stoddard County area recently. The "Shake and Bake" method, whose name is derived from the process of putting the chemicals in a container and shaking them up and letting them cook, has increased the number of busts in Dunklin County from 10 per year to 10 per month, according to Lt. Tim Trowbridge, commander of the Dunklin County Drug Task Force.
According to Trowbridge, the "shake and bake" method has been around for several years, however, it has only became popular in the area recently. Trowbridge added that he believes the popularity increase is due to information accessed from the Internet. "Now everybody knows how to do it," Trowbridge said. "With the 'shake and bake' method, everybody can do it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make it. You can just basically put all the ingredients into a soda bottle and shake it up and let it cook." He added that the "shake and bake" method is just as dangerous as previous methods.
To read the complete article, click here.
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About SAAS
The State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) is the leading national organization advocating on behalf of state associations of prevention, treatment, and recovery providers and the individuals and families they serve. For more information about SAAS programs and initiatives contact bvaughn@saasnet.org.
