October 22, 2019

MASAM's president, Dr. Peter Friedmann, offered testimony on his behalf and MASAM's before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of House and Senate bills H.1343 & S.937 "An Act Relative to Treatment, Not Imprisonment". A copy of Dr. Friedmann's testimony is available here.

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MASAM has been active in supporting inclusion of language in various state bills that would mandate evidence-based treatment of OUD for adults incarcerated in the Commonwealth.  We include a letter from the Association for Behavioral Healthcare that nicely summarizes the issues.  In which bill we ultimately succeed in promoting humane and effective care is not predictable currently.

Letter to HCF Chairs re MAT in CARE Act 5.15.18 (click here) 

ASAM Weekly

Below you'll find the lead stories of ASAM Weekly..

2020

January 21, 2020

Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults: A Growing Threat

In 2020, substance use disorders among adults over age 50 will increase to 5.7 million, up from 2.8 million in 2006. A major hurdle across the care spectrum is that substance use disorder in older adults remains a hidden problem because of lack of screening in primary care and few guidelines for assessing older adults at risk

Hopkins Medicine News >>>

January 14, 2020

Talk About the Severe Shortage of Addiction-treatment Doctors | Opinion

(Op-ed by ASAM’s Dr. Scott Teitelbaum)

Florida is a national leader when it comes to beautiful beaches, citrus production and ... drug overdose deaths. The Sunshine State, like the United States as a whole, during of a crisis. In 2018 alone, provisional data indicate there were 4,936 overdose deaths in Florida from drugs including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

TCPalm>>>

January 8, 2020

Cannabis-related psychosis, Let's addiction, ER visits: For young users, marijuana can be a dangerous game

Marijuana, legal for medical uses in well over half the states in the country and as a recreational substance in even more states, is generating increasing concern as a drug capable of serious impairment and harm, particularly among its youngest users. The potency of today’s cannabis products can range up to 90% and the impact on developing brains is of great concern for medical experts.

The Philadelphia Inquirer >>>

ASAM Weekly news 2019 (lead stories)