ADAI News

ADAI Small Grant Awards for March 2018 Cycle

ADAI funded six Small Grants in the March 2018 round of applications. The goal of the Small Grants Program is to stimulate research at the University of Washington by supporting promising pilot projects which may ultimately be developed into full studies with outside grant support. Three of the proposals in this round are focused on marijuana research and are supported by the Marijuana Dedicated Fund.

Congratulations to the recipients!

• PI: Tim O'Neal, PhD Student, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Seattle Children's Research Institute; Susan Ferguson, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (Mentor) In Vivo Monitoring of Medium Spiny Neuron Ca2+ Dynamics in a Rodent Model of Heroin Addiction
• PI: Douglas S. Ramsay, DMD, PhD, MSD, Professor and Chair, Oral Health Sciences, and Karl J. Kaiyala, Research Associate Professor Emeritus. Develop and Validate Ethanol Vapor Self-Administration in Rats: Pilot Data to Study Addictive Vulnerability to Alcohol
• PI: Cynthia A. Stappenbeck, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, An Examination of the Use of Mobile Breathalyzers to Assess Alcohol Intoxication Levels in Real Time
• PI: Michele Cadigan, PhD Student, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Sociology; Alexes Harris, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Sociology (Mentor), Defining Safe Cannabis Use in a Legal Context: A Market Perspective
• PI: Kathleen Pagulayan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Elaine Peskind, MD, Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; and Todd Richards, PhD, Professor, Radiology (Co-investigators), Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Persisting Post-Concussive Symptoms in Veterans with a History of Mild Post-Traumatic Brain Injury
• PI: Andrea Stone, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nursing and Health Sciences, UW Bothell. I-502 County-Level Voting and Local Adolescent Marijuana Use: Do Risk Factor (Perceived Harm and Availability) Associations and Trends Differ by Grade?

You can read abstracts of these projects here.

The next deadline for ADAI Small Grant applications is October 15, 2018.  Read more about ADAI's Small Grants Program and application process on the Small Grant web page.

ADAI funded six Small Grants in the March 2018 round of applications. The goal of the Small Grants Program is to stimulate research at the University of Washington by supporting promising pilot projects which may ultimately be developed into full studies with outside grant support. Three of the proposals in this round are focused on marijuana research and are supported by the Marijuana Dedicated Fund.

Congratulations to the recipients!

• PI: Tim O'Neal, PhD Student, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Seattle Children's Research Institute; Susan Ferguson, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (Mentor) In Vivo Monitoring of Medium Spiny Neuron Ca2+ Dynamics in a Rodent Model of Heroin Addiction
• PI: Douglas S. Ramsay, DMD, PhD, MSD, Professor and Chair, Oral Health Sciences, and Karl J. Kaiyala, Research Associate Professor Emeritus. Develop and Validate Ethanol Vapor Self-Administration in Rats: Pilot Data to Study Addictive Vulnerability to Alcohol
• PI: Cynthia A. Stappenbeck, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, An Examination of the Use of Mobile Breathalyzers to Assess Alcohol Intoxication Levels in Real Time
• PI: Michele Cadigan, PhD Student, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Sociology; Alexes Harris, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Sociology (Mentor), Defining Safe Cannabis Use in a Legal Context: A Market Perspective
• PI: Kathleen Pagulayan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Elaine Peskind, MD, Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; and Todd Richards, PhD, Professor, Radiology (Co-investigators), Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Persisting Post-Concussive Symptoms in Veterans with a History of Mild Post-Traumatic Brain Injury
• PI: Andrea Stone, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nursing and Health Sciences, UW Bothell. I-502 County-Level Voting and Local Adolescent Marijuana Use: Do Risk Factor (Perceived Harm and Availability) Associations and Trends Differ by Grade?

You can read abstracts of these projects here.

The next deadline for ADAI Small Grant applications is October 15, 2018.  Read more about ADAI's Small Grants Program and application process on the Small Grant web page.

Latest Research Publications from ADAI Staff

Publishing articles in peer-reviewed, scientific journals is a key part of the research and and dissemination activities of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute. 

Here are some of the recent articles from ADAI researchers:

• Garrett SB, Doyle SR, Peavy MK, Wells EA, Owens MD, Shores-Wilson K, DiCenzo J, Donovan DM. Age differences in outcomes among patients in the “Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step” (STAGE-12) intervention. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 2018;84:21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2017.10.012.
  
  
• Kling CE, Perkins JD, Carithers RL, Donovan DM, Sibulesky L. Recent trends in liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease in the United States. World Journal of  Hepatology 2017;9(36):1315-1321. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v9.i36.1315.
  
  
• Peavy KM, Garrett S, Doyle SR, Donovan DM. A comparison of African American and Caucasian stimulant users in 12-step facilitation treatment. Journal of Ethnicity and Substance Abuse 2017;16(3):380-399. doi: 10.1080/15332640.2016.1185657.
  
  
• Grant TM, Graham C, Carlini BH, Ernst CC, Brown NN. Use of marijuana and other substances among pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders: changes in Washington State after marijuana legalization. Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs 2018;79(1):88-95. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2018.79.88.
  
  
• Banta-Green CJ, Coffin PO, Merrill JO, Sears JM, Dunn C, Floyd AS, Whiteside LK, Yanez ND, Donovan DM. Impacts of an opioid overdose prevention intervention delivered subsequent to acute care. Injury Prevention 2018 (in press). doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042676.
  
  
• Glick SN, Burt R, Kummer K, Tinsley J, Banta-Green CJ, Goldena MR. Increasing methamphetamine injection among non-MSM who inject drugs in King County, Washington. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2018;182:86–92. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.10.011.

SAMHSA TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorders

SAMHSA’s new Treatment Improvement Protocol 63, “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder,” helps behavioral healthcare professionals broaden their understanding of the three FDA-approved medications—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine—used to help treat Americans with opioid use disorder, as well as the other strategies and services needed to support recovery for people with opioid use disorder.

TIP 63 had significant input from researchers, clinicians, and information specialists affiliated with the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute and the Pacific NW Node of NIDA's Clinical Trials Network (CTN). Ron Jackson, MSW, LICSW and Andrew Saxon, MD served on the Expert Panel to help develop the TIP via a consensus-driven, collaborative process that blends evidence-based, best, and promising practices with the panel’s expertise and combined wealth of experience.

In addition, field reviewers for this TIP included Meg Brunner, MLIS from ADAI and the CTN Dissemination Library, Alison Newman, MPH (ADAI) and Mary Catlin, RN, MPH, CIC, (DOH and ADAI). The field review allows people who work in addiction, mental health, and adjacent fields to gauge the TIP’s relevance, utility, accuracy, and accessibility.

Download TIP 63 or order print copies online: http://bit.ly/2ExvUkz

Interviews & Webinars with ADAI Researchers

TOMORROW (Feb. 28, 12:00-1:00pm): The 2nd in a series of monthly webinars from ADAI's Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NWATTC) will feature psychologist Michelle Peavy, who will examine patient-centered care in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) setting.  Find out about future NWATTC webinars

ADAI Principal Research Scientist Caleb Banta-Green appeared on the KBTC TV program Northwest Now on Feb. 16, to talk about the epidemic of opioid use and overdose, and what can be done to stop the alarming addiction and death rate related to these drugs.  WATCH NOW
 

Dennis Donovan, ADAI Director, was interviewed by KING TV about the comparative risks of marijuana and heroin, and the fear that legalization will lead to increased use of marijuana. WATCH NOW

Beyond Brownies and Joints: Product Development and Advertising in the Legal Era was the topic of a webinar by ADAI Senior Research Scientist Bia Carlini, for the Washington Association of Prevention Coalitions and Prevention WINS.  VIEW on YouTube

Opioid Overdose Prevention Intervention in Acute Care

Along with the increase of opioid-related deaths seen all over the country, visits to hospital emergency departments (ED) and inpatient admissions related to opioid use have increased dramatically over the years, reflecting the increase in non-fatal overdose cases.

Hospital ED and acute care settings are potentially important settings to reach people vulnerable to opioid overdose that may not access healthcare in other settings, such as substance use disorder treatment centers or primary care.

A NIDA-funded clinical trial led by ADAI Principal Research Scientist Caleb Banta-Green tested an overdose prevention intervention for opioid users seen in the Emergency Departments of Seattle's Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center.  The intervention combined opioid overdose education, a take-home naloxone kit, and brief behavior change counseling.  The research team wanted to test the impact of the intervention on participants’ subsequent opioid overdoses, ED visits, and hospitalizations. 

The study found that the overdose prevention intervention had no statistically significant impact on subsequent overdoses, either positive or negative. This null finding is perhaps not surprising given the severity of medical and social problems of the population in terms of homelessness, drug use and other health and social issues. A brief, one-time intervention in acute care settings or subsequent to receiving acute care may not be sufficient to reduce serious overdose events.  Study participants also had very high rates of subsequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and warrant more intensive interventions.

Citation: Banta-Green CJ, Coffin PO, Merrill JO, Sears JM, Dunn C, Floyd AS, Whiteside LK, Yanez ND, Donovan DM. Impacts of an opioid overdose prevention intervention delivered subsequent to acute care. Injury Prevention 2018 (in press).

Read the published article (subscribers) or a final manuscript (free online to non-subscribers).

NWATTC Webinar Series Launches with Intro to New Center

The Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center is a new SAMHSA-funded center at the University of Washington Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, serving the addiction workforce in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. In January 2018, NWATTC launched a monthly webinar series with "Introducing the New Northwest NWATTC," presenting information about the center's staff, mission and strategic vision for the coming years.  Future webinars will be on the last Wednesday each month, presenting a variety of topics and speakers from the region.

WATCH the webinar and sign up for the NWATTC mailing list to get alerts about upcoming webinars and other training opportunities.

Washington's Secure Medicine Take-Back Programs are Working!

Local medication take-back laws in Washington are working to help address the opioid crisis and prevent poisonings, suicides, and overdoses.  In Washington State, King and Snohomish Counties have implemented successful programs, and efforts are being made to expand the programs statewide.

The pharmaceutical industry is providing a DEA-compliant drug take-back program for safe collection and disposal of household medicines in several counties, with  convenient medicine drop boxes in drug stores, grocery stores, medical centers, and police stations.

WATCH: this video from the Association of Washington Cities.  

(In the interest of full disclosure, Brenda Stuvek from ADAI volunteered to help with the video, demonstrating the take-back boxes -- she's the one in the purple sweater!  Thanks, Brenda, for helping to bring attention to this public health effort!)

Healing of the Canoe: Spotlight by Portland Area Indian Health Board

ADAI Director Dennis Donovan writes about The Healing of the Canoe: Community Pulling Together curriculum (HOC) in the January 2018 issue of Health News & Notes, a publication from the NW Portland Area Indian Health Board. 

HOC is a collaborative project between the Suquamish Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and the UW's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.  It has led to the development and dissemination of the Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth curriculum, an evidence-based, strengths-based life skills curriculum for Native youth that uses culture to prevent substance abuse and connect youth to their tribal community and culture. It teaches Native youth the skills they need to navigate their life’s journey without being pulled off course by alcohol or drugs, using tribal values, traditions, and culture both as "a compass to guide them and an anchor to ground them."

To date, HOC has trained a total of 350 participants from 46 tribes and 14 tribal organizations, from as far east as upper New York state, as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska, as far south as Coos Bay, Oregon, and as far west as Neah Bay, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.  HOC provides training to communities and organizations when invited to do so; the training and technical assistance has also been incorporated into the Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center, (NWATTC), also housed at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.

Read the HOC story and NW PAIHB Health News & Notes.

Washington State Syringe Exchange Health Survey 2017

A conservative estimate puts the number of people who inject illicit drugs (PWID) in Washington State at more than 33,000. A survey conducted by the UW Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute at 18 syringe exchanges programs, representing approximately 80% of syringes exchanged annually in the state, profiles the health behaviors and health care needs and preferences of injection drug users in Washington.  The survey found that:

• Methamphetamine use among people who inject drugs appears to be increasing. Eighty-two percent (82%) reported using methamphetamine in the last three months compared to 69% in 2015.
• About half of people who used methamphetamine as their main drug were interested in reducing or stopping their stimulant use (47%).
• Most people who used heroin as their main drug were interested in reducing or stopping their opioid use (78%).
• The proportion of people who used opioids who had a naloxone kit more than doubled from 24% in 2015 to 59% in 2017 among those outside of King County; the increase was from 47% to 66% in King County.
• Syringe exchange participants have a wide and complex range of health concerns beyond substance use and face multiple hurdles and stigma when accessing health care.

The report was produced with support from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.  Read the full report at: http://adai.uw.edu/pubs/pdf/2017syringeexchangehealthsurvey.pdf

Related:

"Tackling the Opioid Crisis"  (Policy Brief, Gov. Jay Inslee, Jan. 2018)

"Can this drug use survey guide Washington policy?" (MyNorthwest.com, Jan. 19)

"Survey of needle exchange users shows meth usage up across Washington" (Spokesman-Review, Jan. 19)

Marijuana vs. Heroin: What Does Science Tell Us? An Interview with Dr. Dennis Donovan

During his years as a U.S. Senator and now as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions has repeatedly stated that marijuana is only "slightly less awful than heroin," a claim that is rebuked by scientific experts.  His office recently revoked the federal Cole Memo, under which states that legalized marijuana were allowed to sell pot under the strict conditions laid out in the memo.

On January 4, KING 5 interviewed Dr. Dennis Donovan, Director of the UW's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute about the comparative risks of marijuana and heroin, and the fear that legalization will lead to increased use of marijuana.

WATCH the interview.