From North Carolina Harm Reduction Coaltion interview on 911 GoodSamaritan Law

Addictions Counselor Speaks Out: “We Need 911 Good Samaritan Laws to Stop Overdose”

by Tessie Castillo, NCHRC Program Coordinator

Interview with Anne Lamberti, Clinical Addiction Specialist

Add one more voice to the clamor for 911 Good Samaritan laws in North Carolina: substance abuse counselors. 911 Good Samaritan laws, which would allow witnesses to a drug overdose to call for help by removing criminal liability for drug possession for the victim and the caller, are gaining traction among the addictions treatment community. And who better to comment on drug policy than the professionals who face a parade of broken lives every day?

Anne Lamberti is a licensed clinical addiction specialist at Southlight Judicial Services in Wake County, North Carolina. She sees firsthand the devastation that drug addiction can cause. But she sees something else equally disturbing – people being arrested after calling 911 to save someone’s life.

“I had a young client who was cited by police for seeking help for a friend,” says Lamberti. “He was at a suburban party where kids were taking fistfuls of pills and one of his friends had an adverse reaction. My client wanted to call for help, but the other kids didn’t want police involvement because they were afraid of their parents finding out. My client did the right thing and drove his friend to the hospital, but in the car on the way, she started to assault him. The police pulled him over and cited him on drug charges.”

Unfortunately, the case above isn’t Lamberti’s only client who has been cited after placing a 911 call. “The way I see it,” she says, “young kids get into a lot of foolish stuff. If someone has the good judgment to call for help, they should not be arrested.”

In the absence of 911 Good Samaritan laws in North Carolina, it is not uncommon for someone who calls 911 to save the life of a friend to be arrested on drug possession charges. In fact, studies show that fear of law enforcement deters more than half of witnesses from calling for help, leading to preventable death from overdose.

“We shouldn’t allow [these arrests] just to prove a point about illicit drug use,” says Lamberti. “With the increase in opiate pill use, overdose is increasing and people are dying…the current law is actually contributing to death due to overdose. It doesn’t make sense to put a barrier between people helping each other, whatever the circumstances.”

Arresting someone who calls 911 not only affects the person charged, but also decreases the likelihood that others will call for help in the future. “If one person gets a drug charge for saving someone’s life, that person will tell all their friends and then nobody will call 911,” explains Lamberti.

Lamberti dismisses critics’ argument that 911 Good Samaritan laws would encourage drug use or give users a “free pass.”

The 911 Good Samaritan law is about saving lives. Discouraging people from calling 911 doesn’t prevent people from using [drugs], it doesn’t reduce drug use and it increases deaths due to overdose. If there is any way to make an impact on users at the scene of an overdose perhaps the police could give out information on treatment options instead of citations.

“There is a problem with using drugs and there is a problem with people dying of overdose. If we are going to address the drug problem, we need to address the dying too.”

For more information on how to get involved with 911 Good Samaritan laws and overdose prevention in North Carolina, visit http://www.nchrc.org/advocacy/911-good-samaritan-laws-and-naloxone-access/.

Attornys Unfair treatment of substance users and alcoholics

I understand that alcoholics and people dependent on substances are actually the new niggers (black people do not have a monopoly on the word) of our society. They are stigmatized, discriminated against in work and other social and economic activities (since perhaps only a few decades ago).
There is like a new McCarthy Era.  Active alcoholics and dependent persons do not have many
allies. Perhaps a counselor here and there, the National Harm Reduction Coalition and the Drug Policy Alliance. If there more they are hard to find.  The media keep a silent code when treatment facilities and/or agencies are criticized.

When they make an accusation of abuse the authorities either ignore them, so superficial investigations or worse yet decide that the problem person was the victim, not the abuser. Some treatment programs have been extremely abusive to those persons who resit their religious indoctrination (see Don't Call it Treatment).

My impression is that professionals specially attorneys have an outright fear or apathy of psychological malpractice.  Their views maybe because of the fuzzy, vague and ambivalence understanding of popular psychology.  Ignoring and finding more difficult to understand psychology as a science or rather the lack of it in treatment.

"Experts" are slippery and hard to pin down (unless one is a clever attorney).  The "experts", sound confident about what they say. And confidence, whether the information is accurate or inaccurate does not matter, is a highly desirable characteristic in our society and courts. They are confident because most attorneys don't have the foggiest of ideas of how to breakdown most of the psychological experts claims.  The "experts" always seem to have another example the will clear any inconsistency in their testimonies.  Psychological "experts" seem to be easier to defend than to go against them.  Psychology does not have the physicality that exist in the other fields like engineering, or even in medical science (where psychology and substance use disorder treatment derived from, usually nothing).

If you are an attorney who have gone against a psycholgist who have testify against your client, I can
say with high degree of confidence that you have been bamboozled.  They have been doing it to the justice sytem for quite a long time.

I suggest the following readings for your best interest and those of your clients.




One of the best documents written about psycholgist testifying was done by Jay Ziskin both a research and clinical psychology and attorney with the 3 Volumes. This unique book documents the deficiencies of psychiatric and psychological evidence, and demonstrates how to cross-examine and challenge the expertise of psychiatrists and psychologists. The sixth edition of this classic will be contained in one volume for the first time, and is a professional 'must have' for attorneys. This highly effective guide is designed to help attorneys differentiate expert testimony that is scientifically well-established from authoritative pronouncements that are mainly speculative.

Ziskin, Jay; Faust, David (2012)Coping with Psychiatric and Psychological Testimony, Oxford Universtiy Press, New York


Blog Medical Whisle Blower
http://medicalwhistleblower.blogspot.com/2007/04/history-of-american-society-of.html


Hagen, Margaret A (1997)Whores of the Courst; The Fraud of Psychiatry Testimoney and the Rap of American Justice Regan Books, New York.

Skeen, Jennifer L ( ) Psychological Science in the Courtroom: Consensus and Controversy

Ewing, Charles Patrick () Mind on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology

There are a number of articles written in books that I will add at a later time.

North Carolina and Atlanta Video Overdose.

Here again this information is so important I have to added in this blog so that
others become aware of the problems that opiate dependent persons have.
Dignity is a lot more important than you can imagine. 

Stigma, discrimination and outright bigotry exist in the treatment of alcoholics
and substance use individuals.  We just take it for granted, even these individuals
believe that they warrant these behavior toward them. I suppose that as slaves did
several centuries ago. Humans can get use to and survive all kinds of meager
conditions.  I once heard Judge Judy make one of the most cruelest statement
regarding syringe exchange programs in the rim of they deserve to die.

I think that syringe exchange as well as harm reduction treatment or work with
the patients where they are at, rather than a forceful and combatitive method
demanding that recovery is only ecceptable if the patient becomes totally
abstinence.

New NCHRC Video: Harm Reductionists Talk about Opiate Overdose Mortality Prevention

The video can be found at: https://vimeo.com/51111302

About the Video:

Jeff McDowell, Executive Director of the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition (recently featured on PBS's "Frontline"), discusses Naloxone and shares a vivid story of a street overdose that he reversed and how some users are more concerned about the threat of legal action against them than about saving other's lives. Corey Davis, Staff Attorney for the Network for Public Health Law, talks about Naloxone access, the typical opiate user and "911 Good Samaritan" laws. Whitney Englander, Government Relations Manager for Harm Reduction Coalition, highlights the urgency of prescription medication overdose prevention in light of CDC data and emphasizes the need for Good Sam laws. Allan Clear, Executive Director of Harm Reduction Coalition, discusses the overdose problem both in general and in comparison to the AIDS epidemic and also shares about his personal history of knowing people who have died from overdoses.

Most of this material was recorded at the Southern Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Network conference September 6-8, 2012, in Atlanta, GA.

A second overdose prevention video, focusing on North Carolina users and family members, is coming soon.

Produced, shot and edited by Hadley Gustafson for North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.

About the Videographer:

Hadley Gustafson is an award-winning video activist with a 2011 MA in multimedia journalism (documentary storytelling + motion graphics) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She believes documentary video is a powerful tool in the fight for human rights and social and environmental justice. Before going to grad school, she operated her own graphic design business for eight years. Hadley has worked for NCHRC as a videographer and outreach worker for 2 years, producing numerous video advocacy projects on sex work violence prevention and condom use, syringe exchange, overdose prevention, harm reduction, HIV and drug policy in the South.

 

Living With Success and Failure in Treating Addiction

This is not my original entry in this blog.
It belongs to Dr. Mark  Willinbring from
Substance Matter, but I could not help it
including it here because it so much talks
to me about how patients ought to be
treated by professionals. Rather than the
forceful confrontational approach use by
many when things do not go they way
the professional wants (screw the patient
he is not important anyway)

Here is the beginning of it, and the link
for the rest of the post. He got way
ahead of me.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Living With Success and Failure in Treating Addiction

A number of my recent postings have focused on chronicity, treatment-resistant disease, and staying connected with people who are not doing well no matter what. These are important principles to me and to others who are dedicated to helping people with addictions overcome them if possible, but to continue to work with them if it is not. It is so important to talk about this, to advocate for this, because too often people who have addictions unresponsive to current treatment are condemned, abandoned by their families and friends in the guise of "tough love," prosecuted for crimes and imprisoned, unemployed and homeless because background checks reveal a criminal history. They deserve our care and compassion in spite of, indeed because of, their plight. This service is informed by our humility in the face of a difficult, complicated problem that too often defies effort, faith and science.

http://mattsub.blogspot.com/2012/11/living-with-success-and-failure-in.html?utm_source=feedburner# 

Cruelty to Animals.

Comparative theory between Veterinary Science 
& Alcoholism Treatment Staff

You take you pet Dog, Cat or Yellow Anaconda or Egyptian Asp to the
veterinary.  I can assure that those animals get very scientifically based
treatment than if you personally were in need of treatment for alcoholism.

Most veterinarians have an advance degree a VMD. or DVM . These doctors
examines, assess and then engineers a plan of treatment so that whatever
medical disease or injury will most likely be resolves. To earn the Doctor
of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) degree, candidates must
graduate from one of the twenty-eight schools of veterinary medicine
in the United States, or they may study abroad.

To become licensed to practice veterinary medicine, candidates must
also pass your state's oral and written licensing examinations. In the
United States, only about one-third treat small pets exclusively. They
immunize cattle and treat diseases contracted by the animals. Some
veterinarians who specialize in the treatment of large animals work
for themselves, zoos or ranches or any other commercial enterprise
where animals are important such as the movie industries or different
level of government as inspectors.

In essence  Veterinarians care for pets, livestock, sporting and laboratory
animals, and protect humans against diseases carried by animals.
Veterinarians diagnose medical problems, dress wounds, set broken
bones, perform surgery, prescribe and administer medicines, and
vaccinate animals against diseases. They also advise owners on care
and breeding. Some specialized on fish and poultry.

You can read more about the education and experience
of veterinariasns by reading the following website where
according to http://netvet.wustl.edu/vetjob.html  You can skip the 
paragraph.  I just want to make a point on the amount of education, 
expertise, experience and training required to treat an animal.

The must important characteristic of a subtance use disorder treatment staff
is not his education and training. Not years of research experience. It is not
whether they spend all evenings reading through the latest studies or research
in a journal, book or even internet website that talks about improving treatment
outcome, ethics even discuss with other collegues the direction to go with
certain conditions at the facility or special patient who does not seem to be
responding to treatment.

The most important characteristic of a treatment staff seem to be 

whether the counselor had been an alcoholic or junky in the past and how
long they have been "clean and sober". One hears the term "he/she
is all about recovery".  Which means that he/she have been clean and
sober for multiple years. For the most part they stand handsomely
has been against all possibilities and hope.  Treatment programs all
claim high statistical numbers. Unfortunately (or unforgettable to me)
was when we hear at almost every 12 Step meeting brought in by an
outside group is the constant reminder that only 4 of 100 patients will
stay totally abstinence by the end of the first year. That was another
time that I was alarmed, but clients don't seem to understand the
implications of this statement. They are drilled constantly that the
recovery is their responsibility and I suppose that to a great degree
it is.  These statement began a course of discovery to me.  What
about, what is the responsibility of the professional? none, that seem
to be clearly their attitude. What about the quality or better yet the
level of competency of the professional? What about their ignorance
of approaches that have show to have effectiveness and safety?

Check it out, if you are a patient or was a patient, look at the attitude
of the facility and the treatment staff toward patients. Look and see
how much responsibility they seem to take for the improvement of
the patients health and needs.

I think you got my drift. Why is it that substance use disorder and
mental health treatment staff think that they are not responsible for
patient outcomes? 

Not Enough Smokers Using Combination of Treatment to Quite

Not Enough Smokers Using Combination of Treatments to Quit, Report Suggests

Many people fail to quit smoking because they do not use existing treatments, or don't use them in the most effective way, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Combining behavioral support with medication improves the chances of success, the report notes.

This comes to you from: JOIN TOGETHER Website. I am a skeptic when it comes to 

the Join Together and the Drug Free Community and all the other up-shoots (I 

believe funded the feds). When they first established, there was not much existing 

research or surveys. As any good not so ethical or ignorant social service organization 

they did their best to justify their existence.  They figured bad and dangerous drugs 

most be accompany by bad and dangerous statistics. So they out right made up some

estimates  that were inflated and misinforming guesstimates, making every business 
man shiver and every citizen scare to their wits.  Alone comes Dr. Kent Holtorf, although 
a bit controversial himself. In his cleverly named book "U r in Trouble", he report his 
discoveries that in fact the numbers created by the Drug Free Workplace where over 
inflated and outright wrong. In fact, as it is often true some of the number were outright 
reversed. Since, the Drug have improved on their practice although they continue to 
produce articles that requires a double maybe a triple check.

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/tobacco/not-enough-smokers-using-combination-of-treatments-to-quit-report-suggests?utm_source=Join+Together+Weekly&utm_campaign=cda10d62b1-JTWN_Charging_into_Recovery_Gateway_Drug_102612&utm_medium=email

In a few weeks I will write a post about the University of Miami Quite Smoke Program and my
experience with them. Prior to my experience with the University of Miami, my ability to stay
abstinent from cigarets was less much less than 12 hours

This weblog is not only about discovering the incompetency and snake oil sales to the naive

patients. It also provides information about treatment approach that has been shown through

research that it is safe and has better outcome.  The modality may not yet shown to have

high rate of effectiveness, but it is looking through research to find other approaches and 

progression should be expected as more is known about the conditions .and how to stay 

quite. Total abstinence may not be the only measurable result. Researchers will also look 
if there is a significant decrees in the risk behavior.

-----

The Tobacco, Obesity, and Oncology Lab in association with the Wellness Cener

http://wellness.med.miami.edu/x81.xml

The University of Miami Quite Smoke Program

http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/mwebb/

http://www.psy.miami.edu/tool/howtoquit.phtml

Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti express Syrange Exchange

Recently Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti wrote a letter to congress expressing his desire to see successful needle exchange programs set up in the county.
Lamberti’s letter stated: “The dramatically high rate of new HIV infections in South Florida is directly related to widespread substance abuse. These co-occurring epidemics create a synergy that heightens risk behaviors and results in tremendous costs to both the affected individuals and the community. While substance abuse prevention and treatment remain vital, it is also essential that the health consequences of injection drug use be mitigated by needle exchange programs.”
Lamberti also expressed his concern for tax payers having to foot the bill for caring for inmates who are HIV positive.
Lamberti wrote: “Until we can get drug and substance abuse under control and find a cure for the spread of the AIDS virus, containment of the disease should be one of our strategies. As we speak today, there are 200 inmates in the Broward County jail who are HIV positive. The cost of providing AIDS medications to these inmates is approximately $1,000 per month per inmate. This equates to a $200,000 monthly expenditure for AIDS medications alone for our jail system. This represents an extreme tax burden to the residents of Broward County. Considering the economic stress that our citizens face today, any efforts to reduce the HIV infection population should be pursued.”