Posted by azdrugrehabctr on March 26, 2014 under AZ Drug Rehab News | 
A report surfaced this week that the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is tightening its regulations on rehabilitation facilities throughout the state. One of the areas in focus seems to be the portion about the licensing of six-bed facilities.
Previously, treatment providers could bundle up several buildings on a property and list them as separate facilities, which was a way around the regulation of having to comply with more standards. One famous facility that has done this is Passages Malibu, which received a letter from the city stating they are no longer in compliance with state regulations. The DHCS issued a statement to the Malibu Times that exclaimed, “We will license all buildings as a single facility to discourage facilities from obtaining numerous six-bed licenses at one address. Although this was allowed in the past, we’re changing the license to a single license when the provider renews every two years.”
Given the recent levels of fraud detected in the state’s treatment system, the DHCS is also submitting to have nearly two dozen more code enforcement officers for inspections of facilities. Boutique rehabs have become somewhat of a cottage industry in certain parts of California, as high-priced facilities have been able to cater to wealthy clients. Malibu alone has nearly three dozen licensed facilities and multiple sober living homes as well.
There is apparently two sides to the problem that Malibu faces. On one side there are people who simply have a case of NIMBY, while on the other there are treatment programs intentionally skirting the law to increase profits rather than being respectful of the surrounding community. It is absolutely true that there is a shortage of treatment beds in this country, and it takes all different kinds of facilities to meet the needs of the various clientele. Hopefully there can be some middle ground when it comes to treatment center expansion and residential communities.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on March 11, 2014 under AZ Drug Rehab News |
Jonathon “Jon” Singleton has recently opened up about the most significant obstacle he faces on the road to big league success: marijuana and alcohol abuse.
The 22-year-old is exactly what the Houston Astros need after consecutive 100-loss seasons. He is a left-handed, power-hitting first baseman with the potential to help the Astros turn things around in a big way. In order to attain a spot on Houston’s roster, Singleton is making an effort to stay clean after a history of drug-related setbacks.
In December 2012, Singleton failed his second drug test. He later admitted that he knew he had a problem when he continued to get high every day despite the consequences. During the subsequent 50-game suspension, Jon spent a month at an inpatient rehabilitation center.
With the support of the Astros Organization, the infielder now talks about his experience with admirable candor.
“At this point it’s pretty evident to me that I’m a drug addict,” he told The Associated Press. “I know that I enjoy smoking weed…so I have to work against that.”
Even though Jon was just 21 upon entering rehab, he admitted to using the drug “on and off” since the age of 14. He blamed the culture growing up in Long Beach, CA for his early exposure to marijuana. He estimated 80% of his friends knew where to get marijuana within the hour.
Jon says he hasn’t used marijuana since his time in rehab, although he divulged that he resorted to alcohol abuse as a substitute for marijuana after leaving rehab. Fortunately, Singleton decided to turn things around for the Puerto Rican winter league.
“I made up my mind to be the best, so hopefully better things happen because I’m not going out drinking and partying and doing all that kind of crazy stuff,” he said.
After an improved performance in Puerto Rico, the prospect knows he’ll have to stay clean to reach his goals.
“Recently I’ve been more or less just sticking to myself and worrying about what I need to do to get better and become better as a person, not just a baseball player,” he told the press.
Singleton is confident he can avoid a relapse by focusing on his opportunity, keeping better company and avoiding bad situations. He is entering spring training with a renewed outlook and a bright future.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on March 4, 2014 under AZ Drug Rehab News, Prescription Drugs |
The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a potent new painkiller scheduled to become available to patients this month. As part of the hydrocodone-based family of opioid analgesics, Zohydro, a high-dose pain pill is expected to be a dangerous new factor in the growing prescription abuse epidemic in the U.S.
A league of more than 40 health care, consumer and addiction treatment groups is urging the FDA to revoke its approval of the prescription. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, addiction experts echoed concerns surrounding the risks tied to the drug.
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of the advocacy group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing has a strong opinion on this subject. “It’s a whopping dose of hydrocodone packed in an easy-to-crush capsule,” said the doctor. “It will kill people as soon as it’s released.”
That is not the only letter of concern in the FDA’s mailbox. Other groups petitioning the FDA to revoke their approval include members of the congress and 29 state attorneys general, among others. The common fear among these groups is the high-dose and its potential to amplify already-rising overdose numbers.
Prescription opioid deaths more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There were 4,030 deaths involving the drugs in 1999, compared with 16,651 in 2010.
Zohydro is reported to be approximately five times more potent than what is available now. Both the FDA and Zohydro’s maker, Zogenix, claim that the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks.
Zohydro is intended to be prescribed solely for patients dealing with severe pain, according to advocates for the drug. Dr. Brad Galer, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Zogenix, stated that the company will focus its commercial efforts on a small group of doctors with good experience prescribing opioids, so that only appropriate chronic pain patients would receive the drug.
Despite these intentions, many are expecting the narrow patient group to eventually expand to patients with less serious pain issues. If Zohydro follows in the footsteps of its opioid-containing predecessors, the drug will become more and more available to those who are likely to abuse it. It seems not everyone is comfortable with the FDA’s “risk-benefit” way of thinking.
