Making a murderer: The importance of gender and violence against women in mass murder events

This article examines sex, gender, and gender violence (e.g., dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking) as related to mass murder events. Specifically, the paper explores (a) sex/gender and mass murder and (b) violence against women prior to and directly associated with mass murder events. A multidimensional framework guided by critical feminist thought is presented to offer a nuanced approach to understanding offending. The paper argues that mass murder, a gendered phenomenon, is a way by which some individuals “do gender,” an expression of aggrieved entitlement and representation of toxic masculinity resulting from the collision of individual, relational, community, and cultural forces that impact perpetrator attitudes, decisions, and behavior. The paper advances knowledge by drawing attention to men's violence against women preceding mass murder events, one of the most common yet overlooked risk factors. Other gendered aspects are also discussed. In all, findings suggest that sexist beliefs/norms stemming from gender role expectations in patriarchal cultures are reinforced by male peer support and institutional failures that fuel violence against women and mass murder events. Thus, if we are to tackle the issue of mass murder, we need to take the lived experiences of women and girls more seriously and work on gendered‐oriented and gender‐informed solutions.     

E-Racing together: How starbucks reshaped and deflected racial conversations on social media

In March 2015, Starbucks introduced its #RaceTogether campaign to encourage patrons to discuss race and ethnicity in global culture. Public reaction to #RaceTogether was largely critical and resulted in Starbucks' abandoning the campaign within a year. Through an analysis of 5000 #RaceTogether tweets, this study examines how users engaged the campaign and each other. This study draws three conclusions. First, most #RaceTogether posts featured extremist and racist positions. Second, #RaceTogether posts deflected race conversations and critiqued the organizations role in national racial discourses. Finally, posts in the digital space critiqued Starbucks as a location for inter-racial dialogue because of brand perception.This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.     

More than 1 in 4 12th graders vapes nicotine monthly

A research letter from National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow, M.D., published online Sept. 18 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), gives a preview of some of the data that will be released in December from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of high schoolers. The data was released early in the interest of public health.     

Patients report Vivitrol decreasing in effectiveness by week 3

Patient reports are suggesting that the indication for Vivitrol — one injection of depot naltrexone every four weeks — may be inadequate. They think they feel craving earlier — as early as the second week after the injection. Alkermes, which makes Vivitrol, is not allowed to talk about anything beyond what is on the label, but we tried to find out how patients would experience such craving — or any effects at all — related to a medication that has no effects at all beyond blocking the effects of opioids. If they try to challenge the blockade by taking opioids, and they are able to experience euphoria, that's one thing. It's completely different if they just sense craving.     

NYU Langone ‘warmline’ expands buprenorphine in NYC

Even in New York City, finding a buprenorphine prescriber can be difficult. The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone have developed a “warmline” to expand its buprenorphine program into Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of the city (NYU Langone itself is a large academic medical center and hospital based in Manhattan).     

Bias against agonist treatment for incarcerated people continues

Addiction medicine consulting teams in acute‐care hospitals are beginning to show promise as an effective referral source to specialty treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs). But inconsistencies in how these consult services are structured suggests much room for refinement, according to a newly published study.     

How does naloxone distribution relate to opioid overdose deaths?

The $64,000 question — or however much money has been spent on naloxone, the lifesaving medication that rescues opioid overdose victims — is whether the distribution of the medication has an effect on overdose deaths.     

FDA relents on Brixadi,competitor to Sublocade

Last week, Braeburn won its fight against Indivior to bring its injectable form of buprenorphine, Brixadi, to the U.S. market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Braeburn's request to the FDA to revoke the orphan drug designation for Indivior's Sublocade. However, the FDA has reaffirmed exclusivity for Sublocade until next November.     

How STR and SOR grants helped ‘Dark Ages’ rural Iowa add MAT

The State Targeted Response (STR) and State Opioid Response (SOR) grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have helped rural Iowa tremendously, by increasing the capacity for treatment with methadone and buprenorphine.