Hunters and healers: social change and cultural conflict in rural Maine

This is a story of two people with different philosophies concerning use of land and attitudes towards animals. What makes their situation unique is that they share abutting property and live on the same road in a small village in Maine. Phil owns the house and land on which he grew up and has always hunted the surrounding land, including the property more recently acquired by Marie. Marie emigrated from Massachusetts with the intention to create a sanctuary for animals. Their polarized views have resulted in strife between them and illustrate the conflict between hunters and non-hunters in Maine.     

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Medicaid Cutbacks in Maine Leave Some OTP Patients without Coverage Online Training Helps Providers Learn Billing and Insurance Cough Syrup Abuse: It's the Codeine More on SAMHSA Numbers from 2013 Appropriations Letter to the Editor What President Obama Really Said about Marijuana Briefly Noted In the States Coming up     

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CMS May Stop Maine Medicaid from Limiting Methadone Treatment Rimrock CEO Seeks to Draw from Experience in Primary Care The Letter IC&RC and NAADAC Support ATTC Workforce Recommendations CRC Celebrates Recovery Month with Expansion in Pennsylvania Rat Study Finds Intermittent Drinking Leads to Heavier Use Names in the News Coming up     

Seeds of peace: toward a common narrative

In the woods of Maine, young people from conflict regions meet to learn about themselves, each other, and their potential to promote peace.     

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Once‐a‐Week Buprenorphine in Physician's Office Found Effective Drug Court Audit Finds Lack of Data on Outcomes Buprenorphine in a Therapeutic Community Senate Committee Votes to Add $30 Million to Block Grant Senate Appropriations for Block Grant and Other Substance Abuse Funding Letter to the Editor Illegal Activity at Maine Clinic Puts Methadone in Spotlight NAADAC 2006 Award Recipients Announced Briefly Noted Resources Names in the News Business Obituaries Coming Up     

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Kentucky Gives Grants to Reduce Parental Addiction and Cut Down on Foster Care New Study Shows Alcoholics' Memory Problems May Have Complex Etiology Tip Sheet on Substance Abuse for Kentucky Child Welfare Caseworkers Maine Conferences Could Fuel Initiatives to Stem Rx Abuse University Intervention for Problem Use Based on EAP Model Areas of the Brain Vulnerable to Damage by Alcohol Briefly Noted Resources Research Education Coming Up     

Roses,Poetry and Prose

Otrude Nontobeko Moyo teaches social policy at the University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA. Her teaching and scholarship address work, inequality, and social change. Her recent book is titled Trampled No More: Voices from Bulawayo's Townships about Families, Life, Survival and Social Change in Zimbabwe. Some of her poetry has been published by Off the Coast.     

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Surgeon General Endorses Needle Exchanges, Paves Way for BG Funding Maine Center Sees Changes Afoot in Residential, Outpatient Payment New Jersey Treatment Program to Handle Needle Exchange Referrals SAMHSA May Tap BG to Cover More HIV/AIDS Services HIV Services Required to Be Provided by Certain States Louisiana Privatizes Inpatient System, Merges SA and MH FY 2011 Bills Fail in Senate; Next Deadline Is March 18 Thirteen States Receive MOE Waivers for FY 2010 Briefly Noted In the States Resources Coming Up     

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South Dakota Counselors Cry Foul in State ‘Takeover’ by Mental Health Common‐Sense Efforts Improve Access, Revenues at Maine Center South Dakota Stats MedMark Expansion Underscores Trend to For‐Profit OTPs Spirituality: The Other Elephant, in a Different Room Briefly Noted In the States Resources Coming up     

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Marketer of Vivitrol Focuses on Addiction Profession, Shuns Primary Care for Now Congress sets Buprenorphine Cap at 100; Role of Counseling Unclear Updated Guide from NIAAA for Physicians on Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems Congratulations on iPod Winner An Oral Alternative to Vivitrol? Oregon Joins Small Group of States with Comprehensive Parity Maine Treatment Advocates Urge Balanced DUI Approach Methadone vs. Buprenorphine Buprenorphine and Alcohol Study: Group Therapy Should be Integrated for Patients with Co‐Occurring Bipolar Disorder and Substance Abuse Briefly Noted Names in the News Coming up     

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ASAM Report Finds Governments, Insurers Thwart MAT despite Opioid Epidemic Providers Face Tough Decisions as Health Premiums Keep Rising CSAM on Realignment in California: Opportunity for Change Report: Opioids Still Predominate in Twin Cities Heroin ODs Increasing in Maine, State Says Briefly Noted State News Coming up     

A case study of smoke detector assembly work method intervention and evaluation

The study aimed to evaluate a work method intervention in a smoke detector assembly line. High hand gripping forces and extreme wrist postures were found in the smoke detector assembly line at UTC Fire & Security Company in Maine. A fixture was introduced to replace the old assembly method. Electromyography (EMG) and electrogoniometry were used to measure the workers' hand gripping force and wrist motions with both the old and new assembly methods. Results show both hand gripping forces and wrist postures improved significantly with the new method.     

Are There Homeless Youth in My Community? Differences of Perception Between Service Providers and High School Youth

While teen homelessness, like all homelessness, is increasing, there have been few solid estimates of the actual number of teens effected. A twofold methodology to count homeless teens was used in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Maine. Social service agencies were contacted to obtain a count of homeless adolescents, and over 3000 high school age teens were surveyed in the seacoast ofNew Hampshire and southwestern Maine to identify how many were homeless. By using different definitions of homelessness, it was found that a minimum of 5% of all teens in high school reported that they had been homeless sometime during the past year. When using a broadened definition of homelessness, it was found that 20% of the teens regularly stayed with others. However, this experience was not identified by social service providers, who reported that teen homelessness simply was not a problem in their communities. In order to more accurately describe the phenomenon experienced by teens, it is proposed that the term “homelessness” should be replaced with a more inclusive word, such as “housing distress.”     

Are there homeless youth in my community? Differences of perception between service providers and high school youth

While teen homelessness, like all homelessness, is increasing, there have been few solid estimates of the actual number of teens effected. A twofold methodology to count homeless teens was used in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Maine. Social service agencies were contacted to obtain a count of homeless adolescents, and over 3000 high school age teens were surveyed in the seacoast of New Hampshire and southwestern Maine to identify how many were homeless. By using different definitions of homelessness, it was found that a minimum of 5% of all teens in high school reported that they had been homeless sometime during the past year. When using a broadened definition of homelessness, it was found that 20% of the teens regularly stayed with others. However, this experience was not identified by social service providers, who reported that teen homelessness simply was not a problem in their communities. In order to more accurately describe the phenomenon experienced by teens, it is proposed that the term homelessness should be replaced with a more inclusive word, such as housing distress.     

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Two‐Year Cap in Maine Eased for Methadone, Still Retroactive for Bupe First Recovery Community Center in R.I. a Creation of a CMHC Group Launched to Combat Mixed Marijuana Messages Michigan Considers Merging Mental Health, Substance Abuse Readers: The Best and Worst of 2012, Hopes and Fears for 2013 Ira Marion, MAT Champion, Leaves Legacy of Compassion Coming up     

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Field Urges HHS to Strengthen Parity in EHB and Exchanges New Executive at Fairbanks Sees Collaborations as Key to Success NASADAD Issues Consensus Statement Supporting MAT New Jersey Bill Would Require Parity for State Health Plans Readers: The Best and Worst of 2012, Hopes and Fears for 2013 Clarification: Medical Necessity Clause in Maine for Buprenorphine Briefly Noted State News Names in the News Coming up     

The Lac‐Mégantic Derailment,Corporate Regulation,and Neoliberal Sovereignty

On July 6, 2013, Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic railcar 5017 hauling 72 tanker cars of Bakken crude oil derailed over the town of Lac‐Mégantic, Quebec. The town erupted in a fiery inferno as 5,560,000 liters of highly flammable Bakken crude oil exploded over the town, killing 47 people and contaminating 558,000 tons of soil and local waterways. While Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Rail Chairman Edward Burkhardt initially blamed the derailment on the lone engineer and local firefighters, this study shows how Transport Canada and the rail industry undermined regulatory and safety measures for several years before the derailment. This study uses a Foucauldian theoretical perspective to conceptualize and explain a new political mentality that transfers existing state regulatory authority to the corporate sector. This new mentality, neoliberal sovereignty, is composed of sovereign and neoliberal logics that monopolize “correct” trajectories of human economic development. This absolute market mentality merges with state sovereignty and eliminates existing safety and regulation frameworks to pursue unregulated corporate profits. Le 6 juillet 2013, un train de 72 wagons‐citernes transportant du pétrole brute Bakken a déraillé de la ligne de chemin de fer de la Montréal, Maine et Atlantique, dans la ville de Lac‐Mégantic au Québec. La ville c'est transformé en véritable enfer, alors que 5 560 000 litre de pétrole brute Bakken très inflammable ont fait explosé la ville, tuant quarante‐sept personnes et contaminant 558 000 tonnes d'eaux et du sol de Lac‐Mégantic et ses environs. Alors que le président de la MMA, Edward Burkhart, a d'abord blâmé l'ingénieur et le service d'incendie local, les études montrent que Transport Canada et l'industrie ferroviaire ont amoindrit les mesures de réglementation et de sécurité plusieurs années avant le déraillement. Cette étude utilise une perspective théorique foucauldienne pour conceptualiser et expliquer une nouvelle mentalité politique qui transfère l'autorité de régulations gouvernementales existantes au secteur des entreprises. Cette nouvelle mentalité, souveraines et néo‐libérale, est composé de logique souveraines et néo‐libérales qui monopolise les trajectoires « respectables » de développement économique humain. Cette mentalité de marché absolu fusionne avec la souveraineté de l'État et élimine les cadres de sécurité et les réglementations existantes pour les bénéfices des entreprises non réglementaires.     

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Cocaine Deaths and Treatment Admissions Rising in Maine Utah Initiative for Offenders Links Treatment, Probation Methadone Overdoses and Medical Examiners For‐Profit Entity Growing Rapidly in Developing Faith‐Based Homes Residential Treatment Expansion in Montana Cough Medicine Abuse Reported in New NSDUH Analysis Successful Prisoner Reentry: Full Circle Recovery Programs at San Quentin Prison Briefly Noted State Watch Resources Grant Announcements Coming up