drug and alcohol abuse

Sometimes, it's necessary for a neighborhood newspaper to speak out against possible misspending, even though it's money that may have been misspent citywide or statewide. We are referring to a recent report in a Boston daily newspaper (Herald, December 8). That report alleged that many individuals under treatment for substance abuse are taking advantage of the system to obtain expensive, unnecessary personal transportation to and from clinics.

Why should South Boston Online care about this issue more than any others?
Well, our concern goes deeper than simply being worried about the misuse of scarce tax money. South Boston is waging, and winning, a hard-fought war against drug and alcohol abuse. This requires government funding - lots of it.

Nearly half of Oklahoma's inmates are drug or alcohol offenders

•Allows judges and prosecutors to sentence criminals to mandatory treatment programs like inpatient drug clinics. The state pays for the treatment. •If offenders fail to improve a negative behavior like drug and alcohol abuse or a violent temperament, they can be sent back for more treatment or on to prison. •It works like probation, but with more one-on-one contact between criminals and counselors and more in-depth therapy to change criminal tendencies. .

Addiction genes can be tracked

NEW DELHI: Chinese scientists have devised a novel technique to identify genes and other biological pathways associated with drug addiction.

Their work attains significance as it may pave the way for potential ways to treat drug abuse and disorders.

"We have found 396 addiction-related genes and identified five pathways that are common to addiction to four different substances: cocaine, opium, nicotine and alcohol," the China Daily quoted Wei Liping, the director of the centre for bioinformatics of the life science college under Peking University, as saying.

"The research provides a more complete picture of drug addiction, as genetic factors contribute to about 60 per cent of the vulnerability to drug addiction," she said.

She said that tracking common pathways gives the hope that the effectiveness of therapies that target such pathways may be boosted to treat a wide range of addictive disorders.

Educators brainstorm how to curb drug abuse

Educators from 35 schools across the state gathered at a Keefe Tech conference yesterday to trade ideas on battling substance abuse among students. ``You'll always have drugs and alcohol in high school,'' said Bill Phillips, who oversees a statewide program based at Keefe Tech to help kids facing alcohol and drug addiction. That program - New Beginnings - has been presented to an estimated quarter-million students over the last two decades, and offers kids ways to fight drug abuse, violence prevention and halting other risky behavior. Phillips gets funding from a $200,000 grant and credits state Sen. Steven Tolman, D-Brighton, for his support. ``There are a lot of kids doing well,'' he said. ``But there are kids not doing well.'' During the conference, principals, coaches, social workers and other staffers reviewed ways to help kids facing drug and alcohol addiction.

Marking National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month

Imagine a nation in which a deadly but treatable disease is taking its toll on more than 5 percent of the population. One that is wreaking havoc with the lives of millions of men, women, and children, but only 20 percent of the people who need treatment are receiving it. Would we help?These are the statistics that prevail in the U.S. today. The disease is alcohol and drug addiction.Alcohol and drug abuse disrupts families, threatens the safety of our neighborhoods and ruins the lives of countless men, women and youths. During September, National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we recognize the damaging effects of substance abuse and renew our support for individuals battling to overcome addiction.The theme for the 2006 Recovery Month campaign is "Join the Voices for Recovery: Build a Stronger, Healthier Community." It is always our hope that the campaign will urge all Americans to help prevent alcohol and drug abuse and to promote treatment and recovery options.Recovery Month is a national public education campaign developed by the U.S.