The Jennifer Act: Giving addicts a chance By Amy Hillenburg | Correspondent May 9, 2017 Updated May 9, 2017 Sharon Blair, author and advocate for The Jennifer Act and supporter of the newly passed SB 499, is shown speaking at Owen Valley High School’s drug awareness presentation. Pictured in front is her daughter Jennifer Reynolds, who died in 2009 of a drug overdose. Photo by Michael Stanley of the Spencer Evening World. This article was written by Amy Hillenburg- MORGAN COUNTY- INDIANA When Sharon Blair, formerly of Bloomington, was told her daughter Jennifer Reynolds had died of a drug overdose in Florida, she was numb. She had shed many tears during the long and exhausting fight to save the 13-year drug addict. Jennifer was only 29 when she died in 2009. Blair, who now lives in Spencer, said Jennifer tried to beat her addictions, but could not, of her own will, lead a life without drugs. Also, like many parents of adult children who die from drug abuse, Blair and her husband have been denied visitation with their grandson by the other parent. They served as his legal guardians for five years — and so their pain is doubled. Blair is the author of The Jennifer Act, Indiana Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 7, which amends and strengthens Indiana’s existing involuntary commitment legislation. She has worked for eight years advocating for the movement and also testified … [Read more...]
H.R. 6 – 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT
It's official! The President signed the CR, which included $500 million dollars to fight the opioid epidemic. The Senate passed the CR in a vote of 63-to-36, funding the federal government through April 28, 2017 ################################################################## H.R. 6 - 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT This week the US House of Representatives will consider H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes $1 billion dollars in grants for states to fight the opioid epidemic and related areas of addiction. The bill also includes key addiction, mental health, as well as criminal justice reform provisions. If passed, this legislation reinforces key principles in CARA around a comprehensive response and authorizes additional funding for communities. 7 WAYS THE 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT IMPROVES OUR RESPONSE TO ADDICTION Authorizes $1 billion dollars for states in grants to address addiction through a comprehensive response that includes prevention, treatment, prescription drug monitoring programs, opioid treatment programs, and other key components; Creates federal drug courts, which will help better serve the 6.8 million people involved in the federal criminal justice system; Encourages integration of care for substance use disorders with primary care for patients with mental and/or substance use disorders by making it a condition for state-level grant dollars; Creates a new program for alternatives to incarceration for individuals with substance … [Read more...]
CNN – Mental Illness and Addiction- Today at 1:00pm ET- Join the Discussion
I am glad to see CNN have discussion on addiction & mental illness in the media and work on finding solutions. In America, we wait for the chronically addicted to commit crimes and then punish them for the crime instead of addressing the issue at hand which is their addiction and need for substance treatment. Or we wait until they overdose. Both are unacceptable and inhumane. We must work on the solutions to save our kids!!!! The Jennifer Act works on solutions by identifying the problem and ways to provide substance treatment. Florida introduced The Jennifer Act bill this year as HB 1017 & SB1340. … [Read more...]
Enabling
The Battle : Addiction- By: Sharon Blair
It was impressed upon my heart to remind people that those who are chronically addicted are suffering. They are first and formost, human beings with a soul. They are hurting, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They are not proud of their current condition. They just don't know how to turn their life around. They are under great mental and physical bondage. The ball and chain they are dragging around is a heavy one. They are burdened in their spirit and in their soul. They did not "set out" to be a drug addicted individual, a junkie, a low life, (as some people call them). They need our prayers. They need intervention and they need professional help. They need treatment. They do not see any way out of their chronic condition but to keep repeating the same insanity- day after day. Science supports that Substance Addiction is a disease of the brain. I feel great empathy and compassion for those suffering from a chronic addiction. I know they are bound and they don't see any way out. Often times, there is no" happy ending". As a Christian, I know this is spiritual warfare. I know that Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy lives. One of his cleaver tactics in the enticement of substances and chemicals including drugs, alcohol, abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs. There is a war going on for their soul. It is a serious internal/external battle. You may be asking, how would I know anything about this subject? I will tell you how I know. I … [Read more...]
Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S.
The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction: The Basics What is drug addiction? Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting and can lead to many harmful, often self-destructive, behaviors. Why study drug abuse and addiction? Abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illicit and prescription drugs cost Americans more than $700 billion a year in increased health care costs, crime, and lost productivity.1,2,3 Every year, illicit and prescription drugs and alcohol contribute to the death of more than 90,000 Americans, while tobacco is linked to an estimated 480,000 deaths per year.4,5 (Hereafter, unless otherwise specified, drugs refers to all of these substances.) How are drug disorders categorized? NIDA continues to use the term “addiction” to describe compulsive drug seeking despite negative consequences. However, “addiction” is not considered a specific diagnosis in the fifth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)—a diagnostic manual used by clinicians that contains descriptions and symptoms of all mental disorders classified by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In 2013, APA updated the DSM, replacing the categories of substance abuse and substance dependence … [Read more...]