ADAI News

Psychedelic Medicine: New Frontiers in Palliative Care, Oct 27

Research has shown that psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA may offer significant benefit for patients struggling at the end of life and those with major depressions and treatment-resistant PTSD. This 1-day conference will bring together doctors, scientific researchers, attorneys and ethicists to consider the medical, legal and ethical implications of this evolving research.

When: Friday, October 27, 2017 - 8:30AM – 5PM
Where: UW School of Law, William H. Gates Hall, Seattle

Registration: Registration is required to attend, and includes lunch. Early-bird rates end Sept. 10. https://www.law.uw.edu/events/psychedelic-medicine/

$225.00  Early General (by Sept. 10, 2017)
$275.00  Standard General (after Sept. 10, 2017)
$125.00  Early Non-Profit & Government (by Sept. 10, 2017) 
$175.00  Standard Non-Profit & Government (after Sept. 10, 2017)
$25.00    Students

Featured speakers include MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Washington State Rep. Roger Goodman, End of Life Liberty Project Executive Director Kathryn Tucker, and Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Full list of speakers: https://www.law.uw.edu/events/psychedelic-medicine/symposium-speakers/   

Sponsors: UW Center for Law, Science and Global Health, the End of Life Liberty Project, and the Drug Policy Alliance.

Contact: [email protected]

New Journals in Addictions

These issues of addiction journals were recently published online. Click on links to connect to tables of contents.

Addiction  v. 112(8) and 112(9)
Addictive Behaviors v. 69 and v. 70
Alcohol Research: Current Reviews 38(2)
Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research v. 2(1)
Drug & Alcohol Dependence v. 177 and  v. 178
Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs 78(4)
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment v. 78 and v. 79
Nordic Studies on Alcohol & Drugs v. 34(3)
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors v. 31(5)

Marijuana Law & Policy: Updated Resources at LearnAboutMarijuanaWA.org

Marijuana legalization policies are evolving rapidly in Washington State, in the U.S., and internationally. On ADAI's LearnAboutMarijuanaWA.org website, the section on Marijuana Law and Policy has been updated with current information about:

• Washington State Laws & Regulations
• Legalization in U.S. States
• Federal Government & Legalization
• Legalization Around the World
• Models of Legalization
• Other Policy Resources

We discuss topics such as commonalities in legalization policies adopted by states, conflicts between state and federal laws, workplace policies about marijuana use and employee testing, "middle ground" approaches to legalization, and much more. We welcome your feedback @ adai.uw.edu!   

Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP): Implementation Manual Published

The Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP) is an an intensive, in-home intervention to help mothers who abuse alcohol or drugs during pregnancy. Its goals are to help mothers build healthy families and prevent future births of children exposed prenatally to alcohol and drugs. 

PCAP began in 1991 at the University of Washington as a federally-funded research demonstration of an intensive, 3-year advocacy/case management model with high-risk mothers and their children.  The intervention has an extensive evidence base, with independent documentation of cost-savings.  Based on this record of success, the Washington State Legislature subsequently funded PCAP to develop sites throughout Washington state and the model has been replicated at dozens of other sites in the U.S. and Canada. 

In 2017, UW professor and PCAP developer Therese M. Grant, PhD and colleagues created a detailed manual to assist agencies who want to bring PCAP to their communities and agencies.  The manual describes the steps to implement the intervention, from start-up and enrolling clients, delivering the intervention, special considerations, and evaluation.   

For more information, please visit the PCAP website or contact PCAP staff at the UW or in one of the PCAP community agencies in Washington.

Download the manual: Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP). A Model of Effective Case Management Intervention with High-Risk Families / by Therese M. Grant et al, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, July 2017.

Drug Use Trends in King County, WA

Drug-use deaths hit a record of 332 in King County last year, with two-thirds of those opioid-related overdoses, according to a report released Thursday by the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute.

Heroin deaths dropped slightly, from 132 in 2015 to 118 last year in 2016. But fatal overdoses related to prescription opioids and fentanyl, a potent painkiller now being made illegally, increased.

The decline in heroin-related deaths is not very notable, said Caleb Banta-Green, lead author of the report, because the increase in fentanyl-related deaths made up for it.

Source: Seattle Times, Aug. 10, 2017.  Read full story . . .

Full report: 2016 Drug Trends for King County, Washington. Caleb Banta-Green et al, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, July 2017.

Also of interest: Opioid Trends in Pierce County. Caleb Banta-Green and Williams JR, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, February 2017.

Marijuana Training for Recovery Help Line Staff

"Does marijuana use cause anxiety, or will it help calm me down?"

"Which is safer: smoking plant marijuana or vaping a concentrate?"

"What if I want to cut down on my pot use, but I don't want to quit?"

Staff and volunteers of the Washington Recovery Help Line have a new science-based training to help them answer questions from callers about marijuana use and its consequences. "Marijuana Training for Help Line Staff: Science-based Answers to Frequently Asked  Questions” is an online, interactive training developed by Dr. Bia Carlini and colleagues at the UW Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute in consultation with Help Line staff. 

The goal of the training is to increase knowledge about marijuana and Washington's marijuana laws, and to suggest resources that helpline staff may not yet have in their toolbox. Most of the resources described in the training can be found on ADAI’s Learn About Marijuana WA website.

The 1.5 hour training covers five modules:

• Marijuana & the Body: the endocannabinoid system, internal and external cannabinoids (including synthetic cannabinoids like Spice/K2), and THC and CBD’s effects;

• Products & Devices: the difference between concentrates, edibles, and the whole plant and how these products are typically used;

• State Law: the basics of the laws regulating both medical and non-medical use of marijuana in Washington;

• Treatment & Support Options: education about Cannabis Use Disorder, talking points/resources for callers who want to quit or just cut down, parents calling about their teens, and friends/family concerned about another adult;

• Other Questions: does marijuana cause anxiety, is it a gateway drug, does it help with or trigger nausea, can it be used as a harm reduction drug?

In July 2017, the team of Meg Brunner, MLIS, Bia Carlini, PhD, MPH, and Sharon Garrett, MPH, met with Helpline director Robyn Smith, MSW (second from right), her staff and volunteers, to introduce the training. Staff were excited to learn the training had been created to address their own questions and those of Help Line callers!

Although the training was developed for the Washington Recovery Help Line and some information is specific to them, it may be of interest to others who routinely answer questions about marijuana use, including health care providers, educators, and professionals in substance use treatment or prevention.

Development of the training was funded by the Washington State Dedicated Marijuana Fund for research at the University of Washington.

Related: Carlini BH, Garrett SB.  Drug helplines and adult marijuana users: an assessment in Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska. Substance Abuse 2017 (in press). This study helped the developers to understand the concerns and knowledge gaps among helpline workers that are addressed in the training.

LearnAboutMarijuanaWA.org website developed by ADAI to provide science-based information about marijuana to the public.