Addiction in the Rustbelt and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: What’s the Link?

Although the American workforce has experienced dramatic change over the past few decades, we still live in a country in which roughly half of all employers require their applicants to pass a drug test to successfully qualify for employment. In a cluster of states known as the “Rust Belt” (Western New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, lower Michigan, northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin), employers are learning just how difficult this reality has become. The American addiction crisis has corresponded with a trend of workers throughout the region testing positive for drugs during employer-mandated screenings. More and more of the job vacancies in the rustbelt, which largely include manufacturing opportunities, are being filled by refugees from Syria and other parts of the world.

Addiction in the Rustbelt and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: What’s the Link? posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

President Trump and Governor Christie Collaborate to Battle Drug Addiction

The sitting governor of a state beset by out-of-control opioid and heroin addiction, Chris Christie has come to gain a special understanding of the threat that overdose poses to the entire country. He is now collaborating with President Trump, his former political rival and ally, to take steps toward solving the problem. The President briefly touched on the American opioid crisis at several points during this campaign and, during an emotional roundtable discussion last month that included members of his Cabinet, law enforcement chiefs, recovering addicts and prevention advocates, vowed to increase to combat the epidemic which officials and experts have declared the worst substance abuse epidemic in the history of the country.

President Trump and Governor Christie Collaborate to Battle Drug Addiction posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

Healthcare Gets Stay of Execution: What’s Next for AddictionTreatment?

The buzz on capital hill and, throughout the rest of the country, this week has been the inability of the republican majority to push through a healthcare reform bill that faced harsh criticism from both sides of the aisle. In the end, President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan found themselves having to appeal to fundamentally different philosophies within their own party. At a press conference late Friday, an obviously tired, yet optimistic Ryan took to the podium and admitted that the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare” would be the law of the land for the foreseeable future. What then, does this mean for the continuing evolution of addiction treatment and its increased accessibility under the ACA?

Healthcare Gets Stay of Execution: What’s Next for AddictionTreatment? posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

Purdue Researchers Face Funding Roadblock for Promising New Pain Treatment Compound

A team of researchers at Indiana’s Purdue University is working toward curbing opioid addiction at one of its primary sources: the doctor’s office. In response to the high number of patients that develop addiction to prescription painkillers, and later often heroin, as a result of a legitimate prescription administered by their doctors, the team has been researching ways to address the clinical aspect of this pervasive and devastating public health issue that continues to kill tens of thousands of Americans per year. They recently made a significant breakthrough in the form of a new drug compound that just might be able to break the cycle of treatment and addiction.

Purdue Researchers Face Funding Roadblock for Promising New Pain Treatment Compound posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

What Ben Affleck’s Recent Stint in Alcoholism Treatment Tells Us about Addiction

When Ben Affleck recently disclosed that he had completed treatment for alcohol abuse, it was not anything that the public hadn’t heard before. The actor, writer and director has experienced a long and documented battle with alcohol, going back to a previous stint in treatment in 2001. Perhaps the most impactful part of his announcement is the reinforcement that recovery truly is a lifelong endeavor, and that even after years of continued sobriety, addicts may need a little more assistance to help them stay on track, or get back there after a relapse; many of us have experienced this cycle in our own lives.

What Ben Affleck’s Recent Stint in Alcoholism Treatment Tells Us about Addiction posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

A Happy, Safe and Sober Saint Patrick’s Day

 

A Happy, Safe and Sober Saint Patrick’s Day posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com

What Does the Republican Obamacare Alternative Mean for Addiction Treatment?

After weeks of promising a plan that would successfully replace the Affordable Care Act and bring quality health insurance options to every American, the republican-led legislature finally unveiled their vision for the future of healthcare in the form of the American Healthcare Act of 2017. Since its roll out, there has been rampant bipartisan criticism of the legislation; some from those who say it doesn’t go far enough to reverse the course of Obamacare and some from those who say it jeopardizes insurance accessibility for tens of millions of people. For those who have benefitted from the increased access to addiction and mental health treatment under the ACA, it’s hard to say that this law offers a happy ending.

What Does the Republican Obamacare Alternative Mean for Addiction Treatment? posted first on http://blog.recoveryunplugged.com