Jan 31, 2016
NAATP and its members' support of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) is paying off as the bill moves forward in the Senate. The bill sponsors sought NAATP assistance and our members responded. As a result, hearing was held last Thursday and the co-sponsors and our federal partners made a convincing case that the bill is necessary and would help those suffering from addiction. There was no significant opposition and CARA is scheduled for a committee mark-up next week. Thank you NAATP Policy Advocacy Team, Mark Dunn - NAATP Policy Representative, National Coalition partners, and everyone who helped!
Research Update
"Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction" New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), January 28, 2016
Nora D. Volkow, M.D., George F. Koob, Ph.D., and A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D.
"Advances in neurobiology have begun to clarify the mechanisms underlying the profound disruptions in decision-making ability and emotional balance displayed by persons with drug addiction. These advances also provide insight into the ways in which fundamental biologic processes, when disrupted, can alter voluntary behavioral control, not just in drug addiction but also in other, related disorders of self-regulation, such as obesity and pathologic gambling and video-gaming - the so-called behavioral addictions."