Addiction News & Policy Update for Week Ending October 2, 2020

Stigma and Mental Illness - a Personal View
I'm never too sure what I think about stigma. If you asked me now, my immediate response would be that it has had no adverse effect on my life, and of course that has to be rubbish.

Educators Seek To Address Mental Health As Students Return To NYC Public Schools
As New York City's public schools begin in-person instruction, officials are encouraging educators to emphasize mental health. The city Department of Education has recommended that all school-based adults, including administrators, teachers, office staff, counselors and custodians, take part in trainings on trauma to help students cope.

New RAND study: Alcohol consumption rises sharply during pandemic shutdown
As stay-at-home orders began in some US states as a mitigation strategy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, Nielsen reported a 54% increase in national sales of alcohol for the week ending March 21, 2020, compared with 1 year before; online sales increased 262% from 2019.

FDA orders stronger warnings on benzodiazepines
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today in a Drug Safety Communication that it is requiring an update to the Boxed Warning, the agency's most prominent safety warning, and requiring class-wide labeling changes for benzodiazepines to include the risks of abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence and withdrawal reactions to help improve their safe use.

Can CBD Cure What Ails You?
Proponents say yes, but scientific studies on the effectiveness of this chemical derived from cannabis are a mixed bag