Drug Harm Assessments

Practice models used in treatment of substance abuse have up until recently only been recommended for the intervention of younger addicts. As a result, treatment approaches for older adults are lacking in evidence. However, screening for substance abuse is the first step towards determining if a more thorough assessment is needed. Cook et al. (1998) reported that it is necessary to take a holistic approach to treatment, and take a broader focus than just the chemical abuse because as people age their psychological and health problems become more complex (p. 146). Older adults face life changes and lack of poor support networks are more deeply felt. Bogunovic (2012) answered that, “A comprehensive evaluation should include a thorough physical examination and laboratory analysis and psychiatric, neurological, and social evaluation.” Such measures are effective when paired with screening

This paper highlights 3 substance use screening and assessment measures that are commonly utilized in diagnostic assessment. The T-ACE, DALI and SBIRT tools are used across several domains, and in multiple healthcare settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe these assessment tools, and how they impact human services providers working in addictions treatment.

According to Feldstein and Miller (2007), explain that the SASSI was publish is 1985 and select by counselors to use with other screening instruments. Wormer and Davis (2013) describe the SASSI form with true/false question not pertaining to substance or alcohol. This SASSI assessment is the most used tool that has different versions (Miller, Woodson, Howell, & Shields, 2009). For instance, the SASSI 3 has 10 scales with 93 items to identify if a client has a substance disorders. In addition, the scales include the Face Valid Alcohol, Face Valid Other Drug, Symptoms, Obvious Attributes, Subtle Attributes, Defensiveness, Supplemental Addiction Measure, Family History, and Tendency to Involvement

Although there are several different assessments one could use, the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory, (SASSI-3) would be the first choice. It is a “brief self-report, easily administered psychological screening measure that is available in separate versions for adults and adolescents. The Adult SASSI-3 helps recognize individuals who have a high probability of having a substance dependence disorder with an overall empirically tested accuracy of 93%.” Dr. Glenn A. Miller developed the SASSI-3 and is comprised of 67 true-false items with additional 26 item self-report section on substance use for identifying people with a high probability of having a substance dependence disorder. The subtle items of the SASSI-3 appear to have no correlation with the rest of the test. The subtle items may identify some clients who have alcohol or other drug issues the client may not admit to. A counselor having an awareness of their client’s history of alcohol use aids the counselor in identifying clients who are at risk and what treatment strategies may be most effective. The SASSI-3 is quick and easy for the counselor to score; only taking 15 minutes to administer and score. This assessment is helpful in both inpatient and outpatient sites. Although some studies have shown that alcoholism is hereditary, the genes have yet to be identified. Alcoholism is not only complex but involves different pathways that may lead to the development of alcohol dependence. Some factors may

There are many assessment processes that are used to identify substance abuse as well as many other disorders that are addictive. These processes include the SBIRT, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), NIDAMED, CAGE AID (which is used frequently within the counseling foundation), AUDIT-C, and also the DAST-10 which is an assessment process used to evaluate drug abuse within the patients. These are many different processes that are currently used to identify these addictions in clients. The activity of identifying these processes can be over a period of time or can be evaluated in that same day or after the evaluation is completed.

Prior to the passage of this legislation, many people convicted with possession of drugs were given significantly long sentences under state laws; often this included individuals receiving life sentences for what is now known as simple possess (Courtwright, 2004). In this regard the Controlled substance act could be viewed as a liberalization of drugs policy by breaking up all drugs into schedules with differencing penalties. This does not mean that the legislation is not without

The second scenario, during these 6 week of reading at the end of every story, page, and chapter a person with substance abuse felt alone, confuse, and lost, until they decided to reach out for help or depend on something other than themselves. While making the comparison a lot of individual experience loneliness, temptation, loss their way or direction, hunted by fear and emotional turmoil daily even without having a substance abuse or in the wild. In this sense counselors uses techniques, guidance, spirituality to prepare the individuals to find their own way since every one practice may be different than others an there are non-believers. Therefore, coping respectfully in my eye’s is preparing them for the up and down they may encounter

Sue was referred to American Samoa Department of Human and Social Services for a substance abuse intake assessment due to her addiction to crack cocaine. She has recently pled guilty to charges of possession, sale of an illicit substance, and of engaging in prostitution. Sue is a single mother of four children range from the ages of 2, 4, 5, and 8. She has been a victim of domestic violence by the father of her children and now his whereabouts are unknown. Sue believes that he has returned to Haiti. After her husband left her and the children, she engaged in an ongoing lesbian relationship with her best friend, which is another prostitute.

Drug abuse is shown to be connected to all different kinds of crime in the United States, and in many circumstances, crime is inspired by drug abuse and addiction. In fact, 80% of criminal offenders abuse drugs or alcohol (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Also, 60% of those who are arrested test positive for illicit drugs when they are arrested, and 60-80% commit another crime, typically drug-related, after leaving prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). And, even after these individuals put in the time in prison that would allow them to go through the uncomfortable process of detoxing, 95% of them will chose to go back to drug abuse after prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Given these overwhelming statistics, it is clear that drug abuse, and repeated or continued drug abuse, are a serious problem facing the criminal justice system.

I am writing to you today regarding the recent outbreaks of Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) and the importance of hand washing. As you might know San Diego and Santa Cruz Counties are now experiencing outbreak epidemics, and our own county of Los Angeles declared a week ago, its own HAV outbreak.

-May 25th - House of Commons passes adapted alleviative marijuana motion: "the government should takes accomplish anon apropos the accessible acknowledged medical use of marijuana including... analytic trials, adapted guidelines for medical use, as able-bodied as admission to a safe alleviative supply..."

According to a report put out by the British Police Foundation in March 2000, cannabis has been shown to produce less harmful effects than its other legal counterparts such as alcohol and tobacco. This kind of information calls into sharper focus the question on the minds of many as to why such a plant that is not only less harmful than legal drugs but has significant health benefits has remained illegal.

Health services for people who inject drugs are subject to ‘considerable community concern and media and political attention’ (MSIC Evaluation Committee, 2003, p. 177). The development of a policy network, in July 1997 involved a multiplicity of actors who played an important role in the policy process. A NSW Parliamentary Joint Select Committee of ‘public and private spheres’ (Dennis, 2013, p. 78) was established to consider the feasibility for a trial of a MSIC. The Committee extensively reviewed the arguments contending for and arguing against proposals for a trial, and a suitable location. Copious submissions and evidence was put forward to the Committee with many advocators endorsing the action commenting that ‘injecting rooms may contribute to the reduction in the number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses by providing access to resuscitation and disseminating information about safer using practices’ (Parliament of New South Wales, 1998, p. 82).

In the span of 2013-14 the reports of drugs in Australia increased. There were record high reporting’s of many types of illicit drugs at the border patrol. Furthermore, many other illicit drugs had their second highest reporting in history. Cannabis is the most common drug in Australia. The number of detections of cannabis in 2013-2014 decreased, but the total weight of detected cannabis at the border control increased dramatically and was the biggest cannabis find in the last decade (Australian Drug Commission 2014). In the draft for the National Drug Strategy 2016-2025 cannabis is mentioned as a priority drug as it is the most common used illegal drug (Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs 2015). As the recent news that the Australian government is planning to legalise growing of medical cannabis there a gap in the policy of how to regulate medical cannabis and cannabis used as an illicit drug (Yaxley 2015).

According to “Cannabis and Cannabinoids”, medicinal marijuana was prescribed as a painkiller and sedative to help with harmful effects from disease and illnesses (“Cannabis and Cannabinoids” 3). This drug was like any other pain reliever, to calm seizures and relief from pain and nausea. Doctors would prescribe this just like any other prescription drug. Also stated in “Cannabis and Cannabinoids”, once an Act was passed to pay a tax on medicinal marijuana and keep special records of it, physicians opposed it (“Cannabis and Cannabinoids” 3). They did not like all of the strict rules and regulations for prescribing marijuana. “Cannabis and Cannabinoids” then says, the American Medical Association then decided that marijuana was harmful and did not do enough to keep prescribing it so, they stopped further research about its medical worth and removed it from the list of prescription drugs because it can cause harm (“Cannabis and Cannabinoids” 3). The AMA did not want marijuana available to physicians to prescribe due to its potential harm that it can cause. It also does not need to be studied further because it became illegal and was seen as a hazard to use. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a Chief Medical Correspondent reports, that in the late 1970’s, marijuana was put into the narcotic drug group and into the schedule I drug category, which does not allow for any medicinal use (Gupta 1). This has lead to medicinal