Medical professionals will gain access to free clinical support in the use of opioid medications through a new grant announced by SAMHSA today. SAMHSA awarded $1.5 million to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry to develop a Prescriber's Clinical Support System.  » More

Newswise— Medical professionals will gain access to free clinical support in the use of opioid medications through a new grant announced by SAMHSA today. SAMHSA awarded $1.5 million to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry to develop a Prescriber’s Clinical Support System.  » More

WILLINGBORO — Patients at the behavioral health unit at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County now have a quiet garden area to find some solace. Nick Fernandez of Mount Laurel, an Eagle Scout candidate with Troop 61 in Moorestown, coordinated a project to transform a courtyard in the unit into an oasis with plants, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, picnic area and mural. » More

Author: Jerrilyn Zavada, jzavada@mywebtimes.com, 815-673-6371
When Jennifer, Jake and Jordan Shepard died in a rural Streator fire recently, the ripples were felt throughout the community. After authorities said the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide and the mother had been under a doctor's care for an undisclosed mental illness, friends, neighbors and strangers were in shock and a state of collective grief. » More

Story By Laura Markowitz
Adolescence is a stressful time, with hormones, acne and the pressure to fit in. Many parents resign themselves to the fact that their teens will likely experiment with cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana.

But Juanita, a single mother of three, didn’t know what to do when her daughter started using it every day---and growing it in her room. More than 40 percent of teens try pot while they’re still in high school, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  » More

NIH Study Compares Buprenorphine to Methadone in Opioid Addicted Pregnant Women
Babies born to women addicted to opioids fare better when their mothers are treated with either the addiction medication buprenorphine or methadone than babies whose mothers are not treated at all. In this comparative effectiveness trial, buprenorphine was found to be superior to methadone in reducing withdrawal symptoms in the newborns, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. The study, conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from North America and Europe, was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. » More