SAj Blog Archives - Page 86 of 87

The Authors’ Own Words: The Dabbing Dilemma: A Call for Research on Butane Hash Oil and Other Alternate Forms of Cannabis Use

Jan 20, 2016 by AMERSA

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

The Dabbing Dilemma: A Call for Research on Butane Hash Oil and Other Alternate Forms of Cannabis Use
John M. Stogner , Bryan Lee Miller
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 4, 2015

Stogner and Miller discuss what appears to be an emerging trend in marijuana use: “dabbing.” Dabbing consists of inhaling vaporized butane hash oil products– many of which are significantly stronger than flower cannabis. The authors suggest that research lags behind this growing trend and offer eight suggestions for future avenues of research. They argue that policy and health care practices related to dabbing may be inefficient until such time as the behavior and its effects are better understood.

The Authors’ Own Words: Advanced Practice Nurses: Increasing Access to Opioid Treatment by Expanding the Pool of Qualified Buprenorphine Prescribers

Jan 14, 2016 by AMERSA

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Advanced Practice Nurses: Increasing Access to Opioid Treatment by Expanding the Pool of Qualified Buprenorphine Prescribers
Matthew Tierney , Deborah S. Finnell , Madeline A. Naegle , Colleen LaBelle , Adam J. Gordon
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 4, 2015

This editorial is noteworthy for appealing to a broad audience to promote Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorders. This significant change in practice would require a change to current federal law that currently grants only physicians the authority to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. The authors join other stakeholders, including professional organizations and communities throughout the US represented by numerous senators, by calling for APRNs to join the insufficient number of physicians now prescribing buprenophine in order to increase access to care in the context of ever-increasing morbidities and mortality associated with opioid use. APRNs are already involved in all other aspects of care for patients with opioid use disorder, and are known to be safe providers who are interested in providing this evidence-based treatment.

2014 AMERSA Abstracts

Jul 6, 2015 by AMERSA

The 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference abstracts are now published! The title of the conference was “Building Connections and Bridging Interdisciplinary Leadership in Addictions: 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference and a Thank You to Reviewers”, and the abstracts reflect the breadth of leading scholarship that AMERSA members disseminate. This conference was particularly unique as it was located in San Fransisco California, a remote location than Washington, DC locations of prior AMERSA’s annual conferences.

From the article: “One of AMERSA’s goals is to “promote cultural competence and inclusiveness among healthcare professionals in their work with individuals affected by substance-related problems.” In 2014, the Editorial Team at Substance Abuse advocated for the use of nonpejorative language that respects the personhood of those who use substances, both in writing and in clinical practice. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] Additionally, inclusiveness is critically important for vulnerable individuals who use substances, and the research career of AMERSA’s 2014 Betty Ford Awardee, Tonda L. Hughes, PhD, RN, FAAN, serves as an excellent example of this area of focus. Dr. Hughes’ plenary discussed her research on stigmatized and marginalized groups, her advocacy for rigorous studies to inform health care policy for these populations, and the various challenges inherent in pursuing controversial topics. Her remarks have been preserved as a commentary in this issue of Substance Abuse.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed]”

The issue also provided a means to thank our peer reviewers over the last year. In the editorial we recognized the 299 peer reviewers who provided a total of 438 reviews between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. In addition, we acknowledge the 2014 best peer reviewer (Dr. Jennifer McNeely) and the best we recognized our “Most Downloaded Manuscript” (Broyles LM, Binswanger IA, Jenkins JA, et al. Confronting inadvertent stigma and pejorative language in addiction scholarship: a recognition and response. Subst Abus. 2014;35:217–221.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]) and our “2014 Best Manuscript.” (Woolsey CL, Barnes LB, Jacobson BH, et al. Frequency of energy drink use predicts illicit prescription stimulant use. Subst Abus. 2014;35:96–103. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®].

We look forward to advancing the mission of AMERSA and to dissiminate many of the works of AMERSA members in our journal’s pages.

International Addiction Scholarship

Jul 6, 2015 by AMERSA

AMERSA has a long history of collaboration with the International Society of Addiction Medicine. In this article, we disseminate abstracts from a recent ISAM conference.

From thearticle: “International communication and collaboration via organized societies allow for advocacy and dissemination of research across borders, providing an opportunity to improve addiction treatment care processes and engagement. Towards that aim, Substance Abuse maintains a long-standing relationship with the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and joined the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) in 2013. Additionally, as part of its ongoing mission to publish high-quality scholarship in addiction science, Substance Abuse welcomes international submissions, as demonstrated in a recent special section on international addiction topics (Gordon AJ, Galanter M, Khalsa JH. Addressing addiction across borders: an international perspective on policies, scholarship, and collaboration. Subst Abus. 2014;35:290–291. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]). Researchers and clinicians around the world are working to address the global public health threat of addiction, and we all benefit from the broad dissemination of various approaches to substance use disorder treatment.”

The Time Is Now: The Role of Pharmacotherapies in Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Jul 6, 2015 by AMERSA

This editorial introduces the new issue of SAj 2015 Volume 26, issue 2, a special issue on “Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: the Role of Pharmacotherapies. This issue, supported by funding from This issue, sponsored by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) in collaboration with AMERSA, disseminates scholarship regarding the important role that pharmacotherapy plays in treating addiction to opioids.