GCASA's Victim Impact Panel Program held law enforcement dinner on 06/19/10

GCASA's Victim Impact Panel  program held its law enforcement dinner last Saturday, 6/19/10 at Bohn's restaurant in Batavia. Here is the snippet from the Daily News article:

A trio of law enforcement officers who combined to make 75 DWI arrests last year were among those honored at the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse's DWI Victim Impact Panel Annual Recognition Dinner Friday night.


The panel, which promotes prevention and education against drunk driving, also honored Darien Town Justice Gary Graber and Korey Kustes of Corfu, a volunteer speaker who was crippled in an accident with a drunk driver in 2005.

Due to the efforts to combat drunk driving in New York State, New York State ties with Utah on the fewest DWI fatalities per 100,000 miles driven. As far as risks posed from drunk driving, New York and Utah are the safest states in the Nation. We are #1 in DWI safety.

Thanks to all who make this possible: law enforcement personnel, DAs, magistrates, probation and parole officers, treatment agencies, prevention agencies, retailers who use save server protocols and parents who don't let their kids and each other drink and drive.

Tops refuses so far to stop dealing drugs in our communties. Let them know what you think

GCASA manages the Smoke Free NOW program which advocates and organizes for policies which will improve the health of people in Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming counties by refraining from the use of tobacco.

The current campaign is convince Tops supermarkets to take the same action that Wegman's has: to stop selling tobacco products.

Here is a snippet of an article which appeared in the June 11, 2010 issue of The Daily News.

ALBION -- A coalition trying to combat smoking and tobacco use is pressuring Tops Markets to stop selling tobacco products at its stores.

Kevin Keenan, director of the Smoke Free NOW campaign in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, is distributing cards to residents, asking them to send a message to Tops. He has offered to hand deliver the cards.

Keenan would like to see Tops follow Wegmans' example of ridding its stores of all tobacco products. If that doesn't happen, Keenan is distributing cards that ask the store to reduce tobacco advertising and make tobacco products less visible in their stores.


"The more cigarette marketing that teens are exposed to in retail stores, the more likely they are to smoke," according to message being circulated by Smoke Free NOW.

Tobacco is by far the most addicting and deadly drug in America.

30,000 Americans die each year from street drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, etc.

100,000 Americans die from Alcohol and alcohol induced diseases.

410,000 Americans die from tobacco.

Our law enforcement agencies at all levels spent billions of dollars a year trying to intercept and arrest "drug dealers" when the biggest drug dealers with the deadliest drugs sell them legally right in the middle of our communities with impunity.

It is time for things to change. Big Tobacco and the stores that deal their products should be held accountable to the community which they pollute with their products.

Let Tops know that you don't appreciate them dealing drugs in our communities right next to the Corn Flakes and the toothpaste.

Meth has arrived in Genesee County, NY

Substance Abuse Prevention Educator, Eric Perry, gave a workshop at Genesee Community College on Thursday, June 3, 2010 sponsored by GCASA.

Here is part of the write up in The Daily News:

Perry was the presenter at "Methamphetamines and Meth Labs: A New Ice Age," an all-day training session for professionals who work in the human service field.

"We've got meth labs all around us. It's here," said Perry, senior prevention specialist with Wyoming County's Partners for Prevention Program.

Local law enforcement figures bear out Perry's observation. Police have raided five suspected meth labs in Genesee County in the past six months.

To read the whole article, click here.

If it were only that easy..................

The question unspoken in the image is "How?"

At GCASA, we know and can help.

Are You As Smart As Smart As A Substance Abuse Professional?

Mr. Johnson comes for an evaluation having been referred by his primary care physician. Mr. Johnson states that he usually drinks a 12 pack of beer evey evening when he comes home from work. Mr. Johnson states that he doesn't share his physician's concern that alcohol may be a problem for him because he goes to work every day and has never had a DWI. According to the model developed by Prochaska and DiClemente, Mr. Johnson:

A. Is probably in the pre-contemplation, the first stage of change.

B. Is in denial

C. Is functional and managing his drinking well.

D. Has no reason to be concerned about his drinking at this time because it still is within acceptable societal norms.

For the correct answer click on comments.

To learn more about Prochaska and DeClemente's model, click here.

Club Drug "Special K" can leave persistent users incontinent

A snippet from the Healthfinder.gov web site,

Long-term abuse of the recreational drug ketamine, often called "Special K" by the young partygoers who use it, is now linked to a heightened risk for pelvic pain and urinary incontinence.

The finding is based on a 2009 survey conducted by a team of researchers out of Hong Kong. They questioned 66 male and female teen and young adult ketamine users (13 to 25 years old) about their drug experience.

Although almost half said they did not believe they were addicted to the drug, the authors found that those with a two-year plus history of ketamine abuse were subject to an increase both in pelvic pain and the urgent and frequent need to urinate.

Alcohol use presentations in primary care and emergency department settings

The American Family Physician journal published a succinct and informative overview from the British Medical Journal on how Alcohol misuse appears in primary care and emergency department settings.

It is worth reading. Click here.

Does nicotine gum help pregnant women stop smoking?

Does nicotine gum help pregnant women stop smoking?

No.

You can read about the study in the April 15, 2009 issue of the American Family Physician journal by clicking here.

Worse drug in America?

In our last GCASA poll we asked "What is the worse drug in America?"

3 out of 6 people got it right when they said, tobacco.

2 out of 6 said alcohol and alcohol is the second worse drug in America

1 out of 6 said heroin which comes no way close to the destruction of tobacco and alcohol.

Thanks for the 6 of you who voted in the poll.

Who you hang around with really does matter

An article in the May 21, 2010 Psychiatric News describes a study which found that the people you hang out with really does affect your health.

Here is a snippet:

The people you “hang out with” can influence your happiness, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, weight, and perhaps other aspects of your health.

Can you “catch” depression?

Very possibly, an intriguing new study suggests.

You can read the article in Psychiatric News by clicking here.

"Substance abuser" or "person having a substance abuse disorder", does it make a difference?

Do terms matter?

Does it make a difference if you label a patient a "substance abuser" or say "a person having a substance abuse disorder"?

Yes according to a small study published in the May, 2010 issue of International Journal Of Drug Policy.

You can read the asbtract by clicking here.

You can read a brief description of the study and its implications by clicking here.

At GCASA we avoid labeling, categorizing, and stimatizing our clients. It is more professional and constructive to refer to our patients as people who may have substance abuse disorders than the pejoritive label as "substance abusers."

Do words matter?

Yes. Use the right ones for better customer satisfaction and outcomes.

Are You As Smart As Smart As A Substance Abuse Professional?

Which of the following statements reflects a patient's correct understanding of the drug naltrexone (ReVia)?

A. "I'll get sick if I use heroin while taking this medication."

B. "This medication blocks the effect of any opiod that I take."

C. "If I use opioids while I'm taking naltrexone, I'll get really high."

D. "Using naltrexone is not recommended by substance abuse professionals for patient's trying to be abstinent from heroin and alcohol."

For the correct answer, click on comments.

To learn more about naltrexone, click here.