Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly最新文献

The SUPPORT (Support for Patients and Communities) Act was passed by the full Congress in 2018, but never fully funded. That is still true. But this month, a new SUPPORT Act has been signed into law — still without funding, however.

Last week, key senators urged the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to extend flexibilities for telehealth prescribing of buprenorphine. On December 8, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) — members of the Senate Finance Committee — sent a letter to DEA Administrator Terry Cole calling for an extension of flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances.

We were saddened to hear of the death of Aaron White, Ph.D., senior advisor to the Director and Acting Director of the Epidemiology and Biometry Branch of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). On December 4, NIAAA shared the news that White died on November 18. As NIAAA noted in its December 4 obituary, White “helped translate emerging research into accessible, evidence-based guidance for clinicians, educators, policymakers, and the public.” He joined NIAAA as a program officer in the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research in 2008 before transitioning to the NIAAA Office of the Director in 2015. “Dr. White was intellectually curious and his ability to synthesize information and disseminate it to a broad range of audiences – from scientists to middle-school students - was unparalleled,” NIAAA stated. “Dr. White's humor, integrity, and joy of science was contagious, and his generosity of spirit, intellect, and friendship were felt across NIAAA and beyond.” We will miss him. We interviewed him often, and he is quoted in more than 25 of our articles.

I recently spoke at an event for a residential addiction treatment provider. As I looked around the room at an audience of the great folks who run the program — plus graduates and current members of the program and their loved ones — I could not help but think of how important this program is, as it gives folks time to heal and time to prepare to succeed in recovery! Yet I also thought about how under attack this type of program is.

The “AYCE” idea can go way too far, especially if it's referring to all you can Drink. According to a lawsuit filed in Florida against Royal Caribbean Cruises, a passenger was served at least 33 drinks on December 13, 2024, after which the combination of intoxication and force by crew members led to his death, the lawsuit claims. The fiancée of the late Michael Virgil filed the lawsuit December 9, alleging the Navigator of the Seas crew members overserved him on the first day of a four-day cruise. Thanks to NBC Los Angeles for the news.

The 36th annual national leadership forum of CADCA will be held February 2-5, 2026 in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information, go to https://www.cadca.org/signature-events/

The 2026 annual conference of NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) is gearing up for its August 29-31 meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. Last week, NAADAC requested proposals to present at EMPOWER 2026: the Annual Conference.

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) called it a “major legislative victory” — on December 2, new language in the SUPPORT Act (see page 1) empowers pharmacists by permitting APhA and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to offer eight hours of continuing pharmacy education (CPE) training for pharmacists. This training will fulfill requirements under law for prescribing controlled substances – including buprenorphine. “Pharmacists are on the front lines of patient care, and this provision recognizes their critical role in addressing the opioid epidemic,” said Michael D. Hogue, executive vice president and CEO of APhA. “By enabling pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine with appropriate training, we are expanding access to treatment and saving lives.”

Although there is nothing in the writings or traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that discourages members' use of medication treatments, including agonists for opioid use disorder (OUD), authors of a newly published perspective article say many members of 12-step recovery groups hear quite a different message within the fellowship.

Charging disability discrimination, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued two concrete companies for refusing employment applications from people in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with methadone.