ILCAAAP News, September 2004, Volume 67, No. 3

Meth Hurts Moms, Kids in Rural Areas

Physicians nationwide are beginning to see the health impact of the increasing popularity of methamphetamine (meth), especially in rural areas, American Medical News reports in its July 26 issue.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Mary Holley, M.D., who founded Mothers against Methamphetamine, said about 10 percent of her patients are addicted to the stimulant.

"We're seeing devastation," she said. "Infant mortality is high. The kids who are born won't feed. They're underweight. They're sick. They are going to have ADHD almost guaranteed, and they grow up in a home with an addicted mother who doesn't care about them."

In the 1950s and 1960s, meth was only available by prescription and was mainly prescribed for weight loss. In the 1980s, illegal meth labs began popping up in California and moving to other states. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), more than 12 million Americans reported having used methamphetamine in 2002.

"It has a lot of appeal," said Barry Lester, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I. "You can make it in your home and bypass the illegal drug trade. It's cheap. Everything you need to make it you can get between your hardware store and your pharmacy and the recipes are on the Web."

Public-health experts are greatly concerned over the growing number of people who use meth, in particular, pregnant woman. Infants born to meth-using mothers generally have a higher risk for low birth weight and developmental and behavioral problems.

"Methamphetamine has really replaced cocaine as the drug of choice for pregnant women," said Lester. "But the evidence would say that it's at least as bad, if not worse."

Anti-drug advocates are urging primary-care physicians to better screen their pregnant patients for addiction and, when necessary, refer them to treatment. "Pregnancy is a powerful motivator, and a prime moment that you find people receptive to treatment," said Randy Stevens, M.D., an addictionologist at Hamilton Center in Terre Haute, Ind., and a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. "If you're able to get away from it during your pregnancy, that can carry over to a time when you're not pregnant."

Reprinted from Join Together, July 21, 2004

Mothers Against Meth

An Alabama doctor who lost her brother to methamphetamine addiction has formed a support group called Mothers Against Methamphetamine (MAMa), the Associated Press reported on August 28.

"After he died, I started looking into it as a physician, as a scientist," said Dr. Mary Holley, an obstetrician in Albertville. "What is this drug that destroyed his life in just two years?"

Holley formed the group last year and there are now chapters in Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Ohio. The group works with churches to form addiction-support groups. In addition, the MAMa website offers information that explains the dangers of meth.

Reprinted from Join Together Online, August 30, 2004

Bill to Prevent Underage Drinking

The Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act is designed to prevent the spread of underage drinking and is sponsored by U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Chris Dodd (D-CT).

The bill has four major areas of underage drinking policy development. S.2718 would coordinate efforts at the federal level, authorize a national adult-oriented media campaign against underage drinking, provide grants to prevention programs, and increase research and data collection on underage drinking and the short- and long-term impact of underage drinking upon adolescent brain development.

Reprinted from July 21, 2004 Press Release

Illinois Court Asked to Uphold Verdict in Philip Morris Case

More than 30 national organizations, two Nobel laureates, every law school in Illinois, and law schools at Washington and St. Louis universities in Missouri have filed briefs with the Illinois Supreme Court urging justices to uphold a guilty verdict in the case brought against Philip Morris by Illinois smokers, the Edwardsville Intelligencer reported July 13.

In a March 21, 2003 verdict, Judge Nicholas Byron of Madison County Circuit Court found the tobacco giant guilty of deceiving one million Illinois smokers when it marketed its Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights as less-harmful alternatives to regular cigarettes.

The company's own data concluded that light cigarettes contained more carcinogens than regular cigarettes.

Philip Morris appealed the $10.1-billion judgment to the Illinois Supreme Court in December and was successful in getting the $12 billion court-ordered appeal bond covering the judgment, interest, and court costs reduced by half.

Reprinted from Join Together July, 19, 2004

NCAA Schools Pledge Action to Nix Alcohol Ads

More than 200 colleges in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have pledged to end alcohol advertising on college sports broadcasts. Those schools are joined by two Division I conferences -- the Ivy League and the Big South Conference -- which have also signed the "College Commitment," a nationwide effort promoted by the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV.

The College Commitment asks schools to end alcohol ads on local broadcasts of their sporting events and to vote within their conference and the NCAA to end alcohol ads on all televised college sports events.

You can obtain a list of colleges who have signed the commitment at the web site www.BeerFreeSportsTV.org.

Reprinted from Center for Science in the Public Interest, August 11, 2004, Press Release

Talk Back to Big Alcohol

The alcohol industry spends billions of dollars each year on alcohol advertising--TV, radio, billboards, magazines, sports arenas, music venues, and more. It's been a one-way conversation--they talk, we listen.

The Marin Institute has set up a page on their Web site to help people "talk back" to alcohol industry advertisers. You will need to know when and where you saw the alcohol ad, what alcohol product it promotes, and why you feel the ad is irresponsible. You can print a customized letter and mail it to the appropriate alcohol trade organization or company that makes the product.

The next time you see an alcohol ad that makes you mad, get active and visit www.marininstitute.org/talkback

Gambling Legislation

Union and business leaders in Chicago have formed a coalition to lobby legislators and the Governor to approve a land-based casino in Chicago during the fall Veto Session, which is scheduled for November 8-10, and 15-17. The legislation could also include additional casinos in Rockford, Waukegan, and the South Suburbs, slots at racetracks, and an expansion of current casinos.

While the Illinois General Assembly went into overtime this spring, only part of the state budget was passed. The capitol improvements portion of the budget must be approved during the Veto session. The Governor has said new revenue sources, such as more gambling, might be needed to balance the state budget.

Gambling is in an unstable source of revenue. In addition, for every dollar contributed in gambling taxes, it usually costs taxpayers $3 in criminal justice, regulatory costs, and social welfare--addiction, bankruptcy, crime, child abuse, suicide.

ACTION NEEDED: Call the Governor (800-642-3112) and ask him to keep his promise to voters to oppose the expansion of gambling. Contact your state legislators prior to the election to voice your concerns about gambling and to ask their position on the expansion of gambling.

Native American Gambling in Illinois

The Governor Vetoed SB 2460, the Native American Gaming Act. This bill required the Governor to receive legislative approval before entering into a compact with a Native American tribe to authorize the tribe to conduct gambling in Illinois.

The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin has made offers to buy 300 acres of land in Lynwood, IL for a proposed casino and entertainment complex, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on August 23. While there are no reservations in Illinois, the Sun Times reported that "U. S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. plans to introduce a bill in Congress to create a land trust--similar to a reservation--for the development." Nearby communities of South Holland and Beecher are on record opposing the casino.

ACTION NEEDED: 1. Call your state Legislators and ask them to support an override of the veto of SB 2460. 2. Contact your Congressman to voice concern about this expansion of gambling.

A Drink a Day Doesn't Keep the Doctor Away

Thirteen years after airing the controversial "French Paradox" segment on "60 Minutes," the alcohol-health debate continues, as evidenced by a paper delivered by Dr. Charles Lieber at the European Alcohol Policy Conference in Warsaw, Poland June 16-19, 2004.

Lieber's paper was titled "Alcohol and health: A drink a day won't keep the doctor away." Dr. Charles Lieber is recognized as an expert on the toxicology of alcohol and related hepatic as well as nutritional disorders. He is Professor of Medicine and Pathology at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

According to Lieber, "A drink a day does not keep the doctor away. This is what we should be telling patients who ask if they should start having a drink every day because they heard it lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke.

"So far, the claims of health benefits from moderate drinking come from epidemiological studies, some of which involved the use of so little alcohol that other factors (such as high income and healthy lifestyles) must have been responsible for the alleged health benefit. And the results of the studies have not been consistently corroborated.

"In short, an evidence-based approach to health care does not support advising patients to start drinking for therapeutic purposes, especially when they already have effective, evidence-based ways to lower cardiovascular risk. Even if moderate drinking turns out to be beneficial in some people, the risk of developing alcohol abuse outweighs any potential cardiovascular benefits."

Reprinted from Monday Morning Report, Volume 28, No. 16, August 30, 2004

Researchers Develop System to Spot Early Teen Marijuana Use

Researchers at the University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) have developed a new set of warning signs parents, educators, and law enforcement personnel can use to spot early marijuana use by teenagers.

"This kind of tool is critically needed, because research shows that early marijuana users are far more likely to go on to use harder drugs," says CESAR director Eric Wish. "It can and should provide the basis for interventions with teenagers. Our research also underlines how critical a role parents play in whether their children use drugs."

This analysis clearly showed that the earlier students began using alcohol, cigarettes, and/or marijuana, the more likely they were to use other illegal drugs and to develop related problems. Drug knowledge, race/ethnicity and county of school were all unrelated to early marijuana use.

Based on its analysis, the researchers identified nine warning signs of early marijuana use:

Behaviors:

Attitudes/Opinions

The more warning signs exhibited by a student, the greater the likelihood the student had used marijuana before the age of 15, and the more likely that the student had recently used marijuana.

University of Maryland Press Release, July 12, 2004.

Almost One in Ten Americans Has Addiction Disorder

More than 17 million Americans -- 8.5 percent of the population -- have alcohol-use disorders, and 4.2 million meet the criteria for other drug-use disorders, according to a new survey from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Results from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiology Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions showed that, overall, 9.4 percent of the U.S. Population, or 19.4 million adults, have diagnosable alcohol or other drug disorders.

About one in five people with addictive disorders also has a co-occurring mental disorder, NIAAA reported. The study was published in the August 2004 edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Reprinted from Join Together, August 3, 2004

Parents Blame College Policies for Son's Alcohol Death

The parents of Jared Dion, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student who died April 9 after drinking all night to celebrate his 21st birthday, plan to sue the university for allegedly encouraging drinking, ABC News reported August 30.

The Dions have filed a notice of claim, which is the first step in filing a lawsuit under Wisconsin state law. The suit seeks $250,000 from the city of La Crosse and the university.

The Dions claim that their son would not have consumed as much alcohol if he had to drive home the night he died. Instead, Dion used the university's Safe Rider program, which transports students between campus and the bar district in La Crosse. The family also says the school encouraged binge-drinking by allowing the school paper to print advertisements from bars.

The claim also blames the city for failing to implement measures in response to the six other alcohol-related deaths of university students in previous years. Among the measures discussed but not implemented were increased nighttime police foot patrols in the riverfront park where Jared Dion fell into the Mississippi River and drowned; barriers blocking entrance to the park; and a secure railing along the waterfront.

Bryan Dion said the purpose of the lawsuit is to encourage the city and university to address the issue of drinking among students. "The only reason we're doing this is because nothing has been done."

Reprinted from Join Together Online, August 31, 2004

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