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Site Updated: 2008-10-25 |
In Compliance With The HONcode - Verify Status: HONconduct911193 |
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REVISED CV
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I strongly encourage
visitors interested in war on docs / pain crisis issues to explore the
BLOG of the Pain
Relief Network:
 See also: The War on Pain Sufferers Special collections; and, Harm Reduction for Alcohol and Drug Use RSS feed and, HTML version |
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| Add to Del.icio.us Add to Technorati Add to Stumbleupon Add to Netvouz Add to Digg Add to Mr. Wong | |||||||||||||||||
| Public Health, Policy, and Miscellaneous | Moderation and Abstinence Approaches to Alcohol and Drug Problems | War on Drugs, War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America | |||||||||||||||
| The doctordeluca.com
domain has become a pretty confused affair. Essentially, the blog part
of the domain, the War on
Doctors/Pain Crisis blog is the real homepage, where new articles,
links, and resources are made available. And this page, the actual
index.html page of the domain, never gets updated. Very confusing and
annoying and I apologize. For the short-term, I strongly suggest everyone use the blog interface, and rely on the search box in the upper right corner of every blog page to search the entire doctordeluca.com domain, just like the search box at the top of this page. Changes will be made. We are going to have a home-index page with a new design from which you will be able to access all of the resources of the Addiction, Pain, and Public Health website, the War on Docs/Pain Crisis blog, and the Pain Relief Network website and Chronic Pain Forums, all from one page. With a little htaccess redirection, it'll all work better. Till then it'll be messy. The SLIDES section is temporarily unavailable. And the main Library menu page mysteriously disappeared, but I'll cobble a new one together for those who like to browse the old-fashioned way. But, one last time, the newer stuff, and newer features, are at the War on Doctors/Pain Crisis blog. And use the search box! It really is the best way to find newer documents that are being added every week. Thank you for your patience - when the changes get done, it'll be easier to find what you are looking for. ..alex... |
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| War
on Drugs, War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America: Eighty Years of Naked Emperors Alex DeLuca, Columbia Univ.; 2004 -- "The myths of the criminal addict... and of a prescription drug problem caused by venal pill-pushing physicians are deeply rooted in our society." See also: Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers R. Libby, Cato #545; 2005-06-16 THE PATHOLOGICAL DEA WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS Collection #11 Jailing the Healers and the Sick Rufus King; Yale Law Journal, 784-7; 1953 |
The Controlled
Drinking Debates: A Review of Four Decades of Acrimony Brook Hersey, Psy.D., 2001. -- Comment: A very thorough and thoughtful consideration of the "Great Debate" in psychology regarding controlled drinking from 1962 - 2001. This is a very popular article here. See also: Abstinence v. Harm Reduction - a False Dichotomy Alex DeLuca, Aug. 2000 Why Controlled Drinking Never Dies - S. Peele; 2000 Abstinence as Only Treatment Goal: New U.S. Battles Robin Room; Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift; 2000 |
[Not so New!] posts to the PRN blog: USA v Dr. Martinez goes to Jury Alex DeLuca, 2007-12-13 -- Dr. Stack Indicted Alex DeLuca, 2007-12-09 / 13 -- PRN: 4th Amendment Officially Dead Siobhan Reynolds, 2007-12-05 -- Mangino to Represent Self in Nov. Hearing Alex DeLuca, 2007-11-27 ------- Cannabis for Pain - Lit Review Alex DeLuca, 2007-11-15 ------- DEA: a Psychological Terror Group Siobhan Reynolds, 2007-10-20 ------- Medical Guidelines are Not Prosecutorial Tools Alex DeLuca, 2007-11-09 ------- Dear VA: This is Pain Care? Alex DeLuca, 2007-11-08 ------- Treatment of Pain and Substance Abuse Alex DeLuca, 2007-11-16 |
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| Principles
of Opioid Management of Pain Hochman and NFTP/PRN listServ; 2006 -- The Project for Pain and Chemical Dependency: 'Defining What is Right, Not What is Wrong' Comment (DeLuca): A consensus document defining medically correct, ethical, patient-centric, respectful opioid treatment for pain. Uniquely, Principles does not encourage docs take on a cop role, nor discriminate against high-dose patients or non-medical drug users in pain. See also: 'High Dosage' Opioid Management Hochman; Practical Pain Manage.; 2005 Pathological DEA - the DEA FAQ Debacle WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #11 Prescription Pain Meds - the DEA FAQ DEA / Last Acts / Pain Study Group; 2006 |
Cannabinoids In Medicine: Review Of Their Therapeutic Potential M.B. Amar; J.Ethnopharmacology, 2006 -- "Cannabinoids present therapeutic potential as antiemetics, appetite stimulants, analgesics, treatment of MS, spinal cord injuries, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy and glaucoma." See also: Pot Smoking NOT Linked to Lung Cancer Salynn Boyles; WebMD; 2006-05-23 The Brain's Own Marijuana Nicoll and Alger; Scientific American; 2004 MJ Smoking and Head & Neck Cancer Hashibe et al; J. Clin. Pharm; 2002 Taking a Leaf from 'Pot Docs' - Bailey, '04 Decreased Depression in MJ Users - Densona and Earleywine, 2005 Residual Neuropsychological Effects of Cannabis Use - Gonzalez; 2002 Endogenous Cannabinoid System Protects Against Colonic Inflammation Massai et al.; J Clin. Investigation; 2004 Medical Marijuana: 2000-2006 collection |
Flannery on Paey
and the Role of the Pain Relief Network J.P. Flannery; War on Doctors/Pain Crisis; 2007-09-21 -- "Frank Fisher was always full of examples and insights we could use to explain the argument to the court. Siobhan�s single-minded devotion to the cause generally, and to helping Richard gain his freedom, combined with the efforts of so many other people, again made this the kind of ensemble effort that can and did make a difference for the better - resulting in Richard�s full and immediate pardon." See also: Paey Clemency Moves Forward; DeLuca; 2007-08-16 Paey Clemency Update - Reynolds; 2007-09-17 Paey Clemency Petition - Flannery; 2007-09-20 |
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| A Critical Assessment of Workplace Drug Testing Alex DeLuca; Columbia Univ.; 2002 -- "There is no evidence that testing can make the workplace a safer... nor credible evidence that testing has any appreciable impact on problematic substance misuse... Workplace drug testing... stands in lieu of a rational, planned managerial response to real problems." See also: Evaluation of Fitness-for-Duty Testing Debra Comer; 103rd Ann. APA; 1995 Workplace Drug Testing: A Case Study In The Misapplication Of Technology Rothstein - 5 Harvard. J. Law Tech.65; '91 |
Harm
Reduction and Individually Focused Alcohol Prevention Neighbors et al.; Int.J.Drug Policy; 17(4); 2006 -- "[A] brief overview of harm reduction and individually focused alcohol prevention strategies. Universal, selective, and indicated prevention strategies are described... Zero-tolerance approaches continue to be the norm in... the US... [E]xisting evidence supports that harm reduction [approaches] show considerable promise in universal prevention and have become best practices..." See also: Alcohol-related Harm from Controlled Drinking Strategies and Alcohol Consumption Trajectories Toumbourou et al.; Addiction 99(4); 2004 |
! New ! PRN in 'World of Pain' (and other) Videos Deluca; War on Docs/Pain Crisis; 2007-08-24 -- Comment: In the film and video clips below, James Fernandez and Siobhan Reynolds and Ronan Greenwood speak simply and honestly, from real experience of what real Americans living with real chronic pain have to contend with every day in a system that cares more about catching and criminalizing the few drug �abusers� than it does relieving the suffering of the many with chronic pain. See also: AP: World of Pain: Siobhan Reynolds, PRN Siobhan, Ronan, Dr. Cole and Dr. Siegle on Fox AP: Interview with Veteran James Fernandez The Chilling Effect - documentary by S. Reynolds |
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| Abstinence vs. Harm Reduction Wars, Summer 2000! OR Addiction Medicine Shoots Self in Foot, Again compiled by DeLuca, 2000 - 2001 -- DeLuca's firing from Smithers, Kishline's MVA, Corporate Cowards!, Tyrannical Philanthropists!, and the rise of Moderation Management in NYC. c See also: ! Revised Dec. 2005 ! Tooting Smithers Horn! A Summary of Dec. 2000 JCAHO Audit - Rotgers; 2000 Abstinence vs. Harm Reduction: a False Dichotomy Alexander DeLuca, August 2000 What We Accomplished at Smithers Alexander DeLuca, 1998 / 2000 |
Evidence
for Controlled Heroin Use? Shewan and Dalgarno, British .J. Health Psych. 2005 -- Comment (DeLuca): In this study, subjects had occupational and educational status comparable to that of general UK pop. Ongoing problems were rare; heroin was not a significant predictor. Use frequency data suggests importance of psych factors. The pharmacological properties of opioids, per se, do not inevitably lead to harmful use patterns. See also: Occasional and Controlled Heroin Use - Not a Problem? - Warburton et al., Rowntree Foundation, 2005 |
Siobhan
Reynolds - Still Fighting Pain Polly Sumar; Albuquerque Journal; 2007-08-23 -- "Even if the under-medicated pain hadn't killed Greenwood, Reynolds asked, Why should anyone have to live in pain when there are drugs that could relieve it? That's the question that mystifies [her]." See also: Painful Drug War Victory Zachary D. Skaggs; Washington Times; 2007-08-16 Chronic Pain in Veterans - DeLuca; 2007-07-12 PRN in World of Pain Video - (3 clips, 1 documentary) AP: Pain Med Use Doubles - F. Bass; AP; 2007-08-20 Strange Math: methadone? = God - DeLuca; 2007 |
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| Dopey Docs and Naltrexone
'Scripts (aka "Naltrexone FAQ") Alex DeLuca; 2003 -- Includes: Simple Truths About Naltrexone Naltrexone: Aid to Controlled Drinking See also these Related Reference Collections: Acamprosate / Naltrexone / Disulfiram archives |
The
MM Programme in 2004: What Type of Drinker Seeks Controlled
Drinking?
Ana Kosok, MM Program Director; IJDP; 2006 -- Comment (DeLuca): This is a hugely important paper, the first of three planned articles throughly describing the demographics, drinking patterns, alcohol related consequences, and the effect of the MM program on abusive drinking. MM seekers are characterized by moderate to high alcohol intake but very few life problems compared to seekers of AA or traditional treatment. Fascinating. Thank you Dr. Kosok!! See also: Overview of HR Treatments for Alcohol Problems Witkiewitza, and Marlatt; IJDP; 2006 Are Alcoholism Treatments Effective? The Project Match Data (PDF) - Cutler and Fishbain; 2005 Symposium on Moderation Management Kern, Rotgers, and DeLuca; 109th APA; 2001 |
Red Flags - the CME Course! DeLuca; War on Docs/Pain Crisis; 2007-08-13 -- and -- Substance Use Disorders in Primary Care Chronic Opioid Therapy Fleming, et al.; Journal of Pain; 8(7): 573-582; July 2007 -- Interesting study purporting to link aberrant drug-related behaviors (red flags) with addiction. Major Finding: "frequency of opioid use disorders was 4 times higher in patients receiving opioid therapy compared with general population samples (3.8% vs 0.9%). " A Major Flaw: adequacy of the opioid therapy, whether or not patients were undertreated, is ignored. See also: Red Flags Uber Alles - DeLuca; 2007-08-06 blog post about this study with good discussion taking place in the Comments thread. Red Flags and the Standard of Care; DeLuca; 2007 Interpretation of Aberrant Drug-Related Behaviors; Frank Fisher; 2004 |
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| Flawed
Basis for FDA Decisions: Anti-Depressants and Children Klein; Neuropsychopharmacology; 2006 -- "The data necessary for objective evaluations of post-marketing harm cannot be gathered by the current process. Proper prospective surveillance by linked computerized medical records is a crucial issue that deserves major public and political attention and prompt action." See also: Abstinence / Harm Reduction archives Selegiline Patch for Depression PRNewswire; 2006 Science Under Siege: Bush Assault on Scientific Freedom and Inquiry ACLU; Full Report Issued 2006-06-21 |
Overview of Harm Reduction Treatments for Alcohol Problems Witkiewitza, and Marlatt; IJDP; 17(4); 285-294; 2006 -- "In this article, we review recent empirical articles and scholarly reviews of harm reduction treatments for alcohol abuse and dependence. We focus this review on peer-reviewed articles published in the last 3 years, with a particular emphasis on interventions designed to reduce alcohol-related harm, including overall levels of consumption and alcohol-related problems." See also: Are Alcoholism Treatments Effective? The Project Match Data (PDF) - Cutler and Fishbain; 2005 Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: Extending the Reach of Traditional Substance Use Treatment Tartarsky; J. Substance Abuse Treatment, 2003 Harm Reduction: Meeting Clients Where They Are Kate Jackson, Social Work Today, 4(6), 2004 |
PRN's Reynolds' Senate Testimony Re: Oxycontin Settlement Testimony of Siobhan Reynolds, to Senate Committee on the Judiciary: "Evaluating the Propriety and Adequacy of the Oxycontin Criminal Settlement;" 2007-07-31. --- "Many people in severe pain, especially high dose patients, have been maimed or killed as a result of this DOJ campaign against pain management." See also: The 'Bounds of Medical Practice', and the 'Standard of Care' - DeLuca; 2007-04-22 Collapse of Medical Ethics and Standards for Pain Management - Frank Fisher; Cato; 2005 From 'An Obligation to Relieve Suffering' to 'A Duty to Abandon' - DeLuca; 2007-05-20 A Boundless Field of Power - PRN Amicus for Dr. McIver - Reynolds, Fisher, DeLuca; PRN; 2007 USA v. McIver - Zero Tolerance for Opioid Therapy; War on Pain Sufferers collection #9 |
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| Office-Based
Opiate Detox - An Open Letter to the FDA Alexander DeLuca, M.D.; 1998 -- "This letter offers an analysis of the forces promoting the increasing use of outpatient [detoxification]. I conclude that proscription of all opioid meds in the outpatient treatment of opiate withdrawal is medically incorrect, ethically questionable, and socially counterproductive." Comment: One of the first documents posted to this site, now revised. Still a good review. See also: Buprenorphine for Combined Pain and Heroin Dependence - DeLuca; 2001 |
Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions for Alcohol Dependence: COMBINE: A Randomized Controlled Trial Anton, et al., JAMA 295(17), 2003-2017; 2006-05-03 -- "Patients receiving medical management with naltrexone, CBI, or both fared better on drinking outcomes, whereas acamprosate showed no evidence of efficacy, with or without CBI. No combination produced better efficacy than naltrexone or CBI alone in the presence of medical management... " See also: Combined Behavioral Intervention for Alcohol Dependence - Miller et. al; CBI Therapist Manual; 2005 A Group Motivational Treatment for Chemical Dependency - Foote, DeLuca, Magura, et al; JSAT; '99 Naltrexone for the Treatment of Alcoholism - Meta Analysis of Randomized, Controlled Trials - Srisurapanont, 2005 Related resources: Disulfiram, Acamprosate, and, Naltrexone archives |
Mangino
IIIa - Bail and Appeal Alex DeLuca; War on Docs/Pain Crisis blog; 2007-07-29 -- Sentencing has been rescheduled for Sep. 14, 2007 in Newcastle, PA. Time is short. Dr. Mangino only needs about $3000 more to make bail. It is crucial that he be free to work on his appeal. I hope some of the many people he has shared with and given to will read this, and will write him and send him interesting stuff to read. PLEASE HELP. See also: Mangino I - Is Treating Pain a Crime? Mangino II - Conviction DEA v. Pain Docs - the Damage Done Siobhan Reynolds; PRN; 2007-07-05 ! Special Treat ! ** War on Docs Prosecutors Cheat Sheet ** |
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College Student Binge Drinking and the
"Prevention Paradox" Weitzman and Nelson; J.Drug Ed.; 2004 -- "While the heaviest drinkers are at great risk for harm, they are few... [lower level drinkers] are numerous, [and] account for the majority of harms... This paradoxical pattern suggests we moderate consumption among the majority using environmental approaches..." See also: Harm Reduction Approaches to Alcohol Use Marlatt and Witkiewitz; Addictive Behaviors; '02 What Research Tells Us About the Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders Titus and Godley; IL Gov. Report; 1999 |
A Cure for What Ails - [Vivitrol Revives a Controlled Drinking Controversy] Chris Wright; Boston Magazine; July, 2006 -- "[Vivitrol] may allow alcoholics to drink moderately. To some, it represents the triumph of science over superstition. To others, it's a heresy... According to moderation advocates, controlled drinking is actually more likely to help a patient achieve sobriety than the conventional all-or-nothing approach..." See also: Vivitrol for Alcohol Dependence - Randomized, Controlled Trial - Garbutt et al; JAMA; 293; 2005-04-06 The Controlled Drinking Debates: A Review of Four Decades of Acrimony - Brook Hersey, Psy.D., 2001. The Naltrexone Collection archives The Abstinence vs. Harm Reduction Follies of Summer 2000 - Addiction Medicine Shoots Self in Foot, Again |
Tom
Corbett Bags Another Dangerous Doc ==== and ==== Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett: Jailer of the Healers and the Sick ==== and ==== ! New ! AG Tom Corbett's Mini Reign of Terror DeLuca; 2007-06-26 / 27, and, 2007-07-01 -- "The good people of PA are going to pony up for a hideously expensive criminal investigation and trial to convict a doctor of the 'drug crime' of diverting low potency opioids to, ahhh, herself?" See also: Vindicated Doctor [Heberle] Returns to Medicine David Bruce; Erie Times-News; 2007-04-05 'The Doctor Wasn't Cruel Enough' - Szalavitz, 2006 Erie: Dr. Klees Incarcerated, Dr. Heberle Exonerated, Pain Patients Abandoned - WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #10 |
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| Minor Revisions! The truth about Oxycontin from a medical point of view (a poem) Alexander DeLuca, 2001 -- "Making sick people jump through hoops is damaging to the souls of those who hold up the hoops." See also: How to understand chronic pain (a poem) - DeLuca, 2003 Acute Abdomen Land Theme Park DeLuca, 1999-07-05 Understanding Drug War Statistics DeLuca, 2004 The Finest Biosolids Milwaukee Strains to Produce - a Public Health Moment DeLuca, 2003 |
Anesthesia-Assisted vs Buprenorphine- or Clonidine-Assisted Heroin Detoxification and Naltrexone Induction Eric Collins et al., -- "[Withdrawal] severities were comparable... [no differences] in rates of completion [or] retention [or urine tox]... The anesthesia procedure was associated with 3 potentially life-threatening adverse events. Conclusion: These data do not support the use of general anesthesia for heroin detoxification and rapid opioid antagonist induction." See also: Methods of Detoxification and Their Role in Treating Patients with Opioid Dependence Patrick O'Connor, JAMA, 2005 What is Ultra-Rapid Opiate detox (UROD) and how is it different from Rapid Opiate detox (ROD)? Alexander DeLuca, 2001 |
Utah
and DEA Collaborate Towards a Final Solution to the Prescription
Drug Abuse Plague Alex DeLuca; War on Doctors/Pain Crisis; 2007-05-28 -- A DEA Tour de Force, and no mistake... Eliminate pain management doctors; Register the "pain" patients as "prescription drug addicts"; and Send the poor dears off to their faith-based, drug-free fate. See also: Flash Trash: The Arrest of Dr. William Stack Alex DeLuca; War on Docs/Pain Crisis; 2007-05-18 Dr. Volkman Speaks Against DEA; in April - Gets Indicted in May - DeLuca; 2007-05-28 The Trials of Dr. Fisher: the Cost of Exoneration War on Pain Sufferers Collection #7; 2006 / 2007 |
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| Ibogaine:
GDNF Mediates Desirable Actions against Alcohol Consumption He et al.; J. Neuroscience; 25(3); 1/19/05 -- In conclusion, we have identified [that] GDNF... mediates... the effects of ibogaine on ethanol consumption. [Up-regulating] GDNF may be useful in [substance abuse] treatment. See also: Pharmacotherapy of Substance Use Disorders archives |
Unhealthy Alcohol Use Richard Saitz, NEJM, 352(6), 2005-02-10 -- "The balance of <increased risk of> harm and <reduced risk of ischemic disease> determines <what are moderate, or less-than-risky,> amounts... Either naltrexone or acamprosate is first-line therapy; naltrexone is the better choice if the patient has not abstained... Disulfiram is an alternative that works best when supervised." See also: A One-Year Pragmatic Trial of Naltrexone vs. Disulfiram in the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence deSouza and deSouza; Alcohol and Alcoholism; 2004 Are Alcoholism Treatments Effective? The Project Match Data (PDF) - Cutler and Fishbain; 2005 My Experience with Antabuse by James Cannon; Moderation Management; 2004 Characteristics and Motives of Problem Drinkers Seeking Help from Moderation Management Klaw; '03 |
Do
We Really Want e-Prescription Monitoring? Alex DeLuca; War on Doc/Pain Crisis; 2007-05-08 -- "Rep. Harrell is more interested in exploiting six unfortunate deaths and capitalizing off of this year's drug war moral panic, 'prescription drug abuse', than she is in pursuing rational, evidenced-based, cost-effective, expert-recommended public health measures; measures that would be more likely to improve peoples lives than infringe upon them." See also: Civil Liberties Implications of Our Nation's Approach to 'Drug Control' - S. Reynolds; TierneyLab; 2007-04-25 A Critical Assessment of Workplace Drug Testing Alex DeLuca; Columbia University; 2002 |
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| HELP
STOP PATTERSON CROSSING! PlanPutnamOnline -
PattersonCrossing Comment: The gory details, and what to do, about this proposed environmental disaster threatening to destroy a small NY lakeside community - as well poison the Croton Watershed which currently supplies fresh, unfiltered water to NYC. See also: The Croton Watershed: an Argument for Collaborative Resource Management + Is Sewage Sludge Safe & Useful? + Importing the Finest Biosolids Milwaukee Strains to Produce |
Harm
Reduction Psychotherapy: Extending the Reach of Traditional
Substance Use Treatment A. Tatarsky, Ph.D.; J. Substance Abuse Treatment, 2003 -- HR is the recognition that treatment must start from the client's needs and personal goals; that all change that reduces harm is valuable. The paper presents HR's rationale, principles, treatment implications, and application to psychotherapy. See also: Study Questions Effectiveness of Alcoholism Therapy Reuters Health; 2005-07-22 Harm Reduction: Meeting Clients Where They Are Kate Jackson, Social Work Today, 4(6), 2004 |
Collected Observation / Analysis of the Retrial of Dr. William Hurwitz compiled by Alex Deluca; 2007-04-30 / 2007-05-10 -- Comment (DeLuca): Selected comments in response to TierneyLab blog from Patients, Professionals, and Others, now join the observations, analysis, and Comments from the Pain Relief advocacy community, Tierney, Borden, Sullum, Szalavitz, Moore, Balko and non-professional analysts of the war on docs and Hurwitz. See also: The Jury Verdict on Dr. Hurwitz Ken Hurwitz; WarOnDocs/PainCrisis; 2007-04-30 'Bounds of Medical Practice' and 'Standard of Care' DeLuca; WarOnDocs/PainCrisis; 2007-04-22 Pain Doctor Convicted, Again Ken Moore; The Connection News; 2007-05-04 Weighing the Difference between Treating Pain and Dealing Drugs - Tina Rosenberg; NY Times; 2005 |
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| The DeLuca Collection Poems, juvenile satire, and serious work by me -- Addiction Medicine Columbia MPH-related Work, Mostly Poetry / Miscellaneous Public Health Smithers-related Work The War on Drugs/Doctors |
Long-Acting Injectable Naltrexone [Vivitrol]
for Alcohol Dependence - A
Randomized Controlled Trial Garbutt et al; JAMA; 293; 2005-04-06 -- "Compared with placebo, 380 mg of [Vivitrol] resulted in a 25% decrease in heavy drinking days... [Men] and those with lead-in abstinence [exhibited] greater treatment effects... Conclusion: [Vivitrol] resulted in reductions in heavy drinking among treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent patients during 6 months of therapy." See also: [Vivitrol Almost] Wins Initial FDA Approval JoinTogether; 2006 |
Wanted: Public Health Approach to Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion (PDF) Joranson and Gilson; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006 -- "[Efforts] to reduce mortality from opioids must be [targeted] at those who cause the problem... However, targeting interventions requires information about why prescription drugs are misused, how they are diverted, and who diverts them. This area continues to be ripe for a public health examination." Comment (DeLuca): Hurwitz 2005 (see below) is an example of the sort of analyses we should expect, but never get, from our academic and federal patriarchs. See also: The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse: A Review and Commentary - Hurwitz; Pain Medicine; 2005 Increasing Deaths from Opioid Analgesics in the U.S. Paulozzi et al.; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006 Dr. Fishman's Response to Paulozzia's 'Increased Deaths from Opioid[s]' (PDF) Fishman; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006 The Pathological DEA: Aftermath of the FAQ Debacle WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS series #11; 2006 |
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| SARAM: the Society for the Abdication
of Responsibility for Addiction Medicine Alex DeLuca, M.D., MPH; 2005-10-10 -- "[ASAM's silence in the face of] the complete abandonment of substance users and pain patients in the wake of Katrina confirms the American Society of Addiction Medicine's absolute irrelevance to the public health, medical, and drug policy issues that ARE the substance abuse and pain crisis problems in America." See also: |
The Cultural Framing of Addiction Robin Room; Janus Head, 6(2); 2003 Addiction as a Cultural Concept Stanton Peele; Annals NY Academy of Sciences, 1990 -- "Our conception of addiction... has arisen independent of lab or epidemiological data about drug use. [It] has never reflected actual patterns of heroin [or cocaine] use. [Nor does] an equally popular, complimentary model of alcoholism..." Comment: Two thought provoking articles by two very smart, very excellent authors. I really enjoyed re-reading these and wanted to share them. Happy Holidays. See also: The Discovery of Addiction - Levine; J.Stud.Alcohol; '79 |
THE PATHOLOGICAL DEA The War on Doctors and the Pain Crisis in the Aftermath of the DEA FAQ Debacle Jan. '06 Pain Medicine articles, and related documents. -- "If those at the top of the DEA hierarchy can be so manifestly indifferent, if not hostile, to the insights and perspectives of such groups [as the NAAG and PPSG], then... we are tilting at windmills when we... beseech them to genuinely embrace the [principle] of balance..." - Ben Rich; Pain Med.; 7(1): 78-79; 2006 Comment (DeLuca): Truly Fascinating articles by Heit, Fishman, Passik, and Rowe - who contributed mightily to the FAQ - and by Rich commenting on the ethical-moral disaster in pain medicine. A must-read for serious students of the War on Doctors. See also: The Solution is NOT More Negotiation with Law Enforcement - DeLuca; 2002 |
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| Does Naltrexone Cause Permanent Liver Disease? (No) - Can Naltrexone be Used in the Presence of Liver Disease (Yes) [References with Abstracts from a Medline Search for 'naltrexone' and 'hepatotoxicity'] Alex DeLuca, M.D.; 2001-06-16; Updated: 2005-12-30 -- "A literature review indicates... there is no evidence that naltrexone causes clinically significant liver disease or exacerbates, even at high doses, serious pre-existing liver disease." [Brewer and Wong; Addiction .Biol.; 2004] See also: 'Dopey Docs and Naltrexone' aka The Naltrexone FAQ |
Cognitive
Function in Early Abstinence may Influence Treatment Outcome News item from DukeHealth.org; 2/28/2005 -- "[Researchers] found that alcohol abuse patients showed significant deficits in 'executive functioning' during the critical first weeks of abstinence." -- See also: Exec. Functioning Early in Abstinence from Alcohol Zinn et al., Alcoholism: Clin.Exp.Research, 2004 Patient Self-Management Tools Barrett, Calif. Healthcare Foundation; 2005 |
Drug
Crime [Not Prescriptions] Is [Major] Source of Abused Pain Meds Joranson and Gilson; J.Pain Symptom Manage.; 2005 -- Comment (DeLuca): 6 MILLION DOSES A YEAR are diverted at a level having NOTHING to do with doctors and EVERYTHING to do with the FAILURE of DEA to secure supplies of needed opioid meds. DEA mounts an offensive against docs as the "primary" source of 'abused' drugs while concealing data exposing massive diversion higher up the supply chain THEY control. -- Contribute to the Pain Relief Network TODAY See also: Dr. Passik on Joranson Analysis of DEA Diversion Data Obtained by Freedom of Information Act petition Drugs and Drug Policy - Bill Marcus, 1989 |
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| British Livers and British Alcohol Policy [Outline, Refs, and Link to Full Text PDF] Robin Room; The Lancet; 2006-01-07 -- "GB has recorded the steepest rise in [cirrhosis mortality] in western Europe [and] there is no doubt that the cumulative amount of alcohol consumed has a primary role. But the UK Govt has turned a determined blind eye [failing] to make the [alcohol] reduction a policy goal." See also: Liver Cirrhosis Mortality Rates in Britain, 1950-2002 David A. Leon and Jim McCambridge; Lancet; 2006 |
Instant classic! The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse: A Review and Commentary William Hurwitz; Pain Medicine; 6(2); March 2005 -- "[This] analysis [explains why a] policy focused on docs is unlikely to reduce use of illicit drugs, but is likely to have an adverse impact on... pain." See also: Billy's Lament and, The Appeal - poems; Hurwitz; 2005 "With motive so pure, why be afraid..." and, WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #4 - the Hurwitz Collection |
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| The DeLuca Collection |
Moderation, Abstinence,
Harm Reduction archives |
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blog: 
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