Newsletter of The American Society of Addiction Medicine 33rd Medical-Scientific Conference to Convene in Atlanta I\ ddiction me?icine. spe_ci_alists from aroun~ the world will gather in Atlanta for ASAM's 33rd .t"\.Annual Med1cai-Sc1ent1f1c Conference, Apnl 26th-28th. The conference-which welcomes ASAM members as well as nonmember physicians, nurse's, psychologists, counselors, students and residents-is preceded by two special events: the Ruth Fox Course for Physicians and an ASAM Forum on Pain and Addiction, both scheduled for Thursday, April 25th. It concludes on Sunday, April 28th, with a training course designed to qualify ASAM members and other physicians to prescribe buprenorphine, an eagerly awaited new anti-addiction medication. See pages 13-19 for more conference information. Dr. Lawrence Brown Is New ASAM President awrence S. Brown, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., FASAM, is 100 papers and reports on t he subject. Lthe new President of ASAM, replacing Dr. He has served AS AM as Di rector of Region I and Andrea Barthwell, who relinquished the Society's as a member of the editorial board of the Journal Presidency on assuming her new duties in the White of Addictive Diseases. Dr. Brown also is a member House drug policy office (see related story on page of the Society's Strategic Plan Task Force and the 2). Dr. Brown became ASAM's President-El ect in Continuing Medica l Education, AIDS, and Opioid, April 2001. He will serve the year remaining in Dr. Substitution committees. He was certified in Barthwell's term of office, as well as the term to Addiction Medicine in 1992 and became an ASAM which he was elected (April 2003-April 2005). Fellow in 1996. A Senior Vice President of Addiction Research His other professional appointments include and Treatment Corporation in Brooklyn, NV. Dr. service on the National Advisory Council of the Brown also holds facu lty appointments as Clinical Nationa l Institute on D"rug Abuse and thE Associate Professor of Public Hea lth at Cornell National Institute on Allergy and lnfectioU! University and as Vi siting Physician at Rockefeller Diseases, advisory committees to the Food anc University. Trained in internal medicine and Drug Administration and the National Academ) endocrinology, Dr. Brown has conducted clinical of Sciences, and a recent appointment t o the U.S and epidemiological research re lated to Anti-Doping Agency of the lnternationa understanding addict ive disorders and their Olympics Committee. He also is Medical Advisort complications, and has published more than the National Football League. ·~ Dr. Barthwell Joins White House Staff American Society of Addiction Medicine 4601 North Park Ave., Suite 101 upreme Court Justice Sandra Day Chevy Chase, MD 20815 SO'Connor administered the oath of ASAM is a specialty society of physicians office as Andrea G. Barthwell, M .D., concerned about alcoholism and other FASAM, assumed the post of Deputy addictions and who care for persons Director for Demand Reduction of the affected by those illnesses. White House Office of National Drug Officers Control Policy (ONDCP) . Dr. Barthwell's President \ \ family and friends, as well as her col­ Lawrence S. Brown, Jr., M.D., M.P.H ., leagues in ASAM, in the private sector, FASAM and in government gathered in the his­ Immediate Past President toric Treasury Building, adjoining the Marc Galanter, M.D., FASAM White House, to witness the February 28th ceremony. Secretary Michael M. Miller, M.D., FASAM In praising Dr. Barthwell's appointment, ONDCP Director John P. Walters said, "Dr. Treasurer Barthwell understands the devastat- Elizabeth F. Howell, M.D., FASAM ing impact drug abuse inflicts Executive Vice President/CEO on our communities and the James F. Callahan, D.P.A. necessity for a balanced drug policy that is rooted ASAM News in science. Her advocacy is an official publication of the of effective drug treat­ American Society of Addiction Medicine. ment for the disadvan­ It is published six times a year. Please direct all inquiries to taged and her innova­ Dr. Barthwell was the Editor at [email protected] tive approach to lead­ serving as President of or phone 703/538-2285. ing-edge prevention and ASAM at the time of her care embody the confirmation. Under fed­ Chair, Publications Committee President's philosophy of a eral rules, she is required to Elizabetn F. Howell, M.D., FASAM compassionate, comprehen­ relinquish that position, as Newsletter Review Board sive drug policy." well as leadership positions in LeClair Bissell, M.D. other private sector organizations. In Sheila B. Blume, M.D., FASAM 11Dr. Barthwe/1 understands addition to her work with ASAM, Dr. Max A. Schneider, M.D., FASAM Barthwell has been President of the Founding Editor, 1985-7995 the devastating impact Encounter Medical Group in Oak Park, IL, Lucy Barry Robe drug abuse inflicts on our and President and Executive Vice President of two major drug treatment Editor communities and the providers in Chicago, the BRASS Bonnie B. Wilford Foundation and the Human Resources Subscriptions necessity for a balanced Development Institute. At the state level, Free to ASAM members; $99 a year drug policy that is Dr. Barthwell served two terms as (six issues) to nonmembers. President of the Illinois Society of To order, phone 1-800/844-8948 rooted in science. II Addiction Medicine. or fax 301/206-9789. Reflecting her commitment to Advertising Dr. Barthwell was nominated to the science-based health policy, Dr. Barthwell Advertising rates and schedules ONDCP post by President Bush in late has served on the National Advisory are available on request. 2001 . Reflecting considerable bipartisan Councils of the National Institute on Drug Please direct inquiries to support, Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) Abuse and the Center for Substance the Editor at 703/538-2285 hailed her nomination, telling his Senate Abuse Treatment and on the Drug Abuse or e-mail [email protected]. colleagues that "Dr. Barthwell is extraor­ Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Web Site dinarily qualified for this position and the Administration. For members visiting ASAM's Administration would be fortunate to Dr. Barthwell assumes her new duties Web site (WWW.ASAM.ORG), have her expertise readily available as the immediately. She can be reached at the entrance to the on-line lead White House advisor on domestic Office of National Drug Control Policy, Membership Directory requires the Use rna me "a sam" drug and alcohol treatment and preven­ Executive Office of the President, The and the password "asam" t ion issues." White House, Washington, DC 20503. •!• (in lower case letters). 2 ASAMNews 1 Vol. 17, No. 2 States Use Tobacco .d t Bush· Treatment is Top Priority Settlement to Patch pres• en . h been accorded higher pnonty t han e1ther prevention or Budget Holes Addiction tre atm~n~ a~ administration's first National Drug Control Strategy and Not only are few states meeting federal enforcement in t e .unsg his 02 strategy, President George w~ Bush call'ed for a t. In announc1 20 . recommendations for health-related bU d ge . '!l icit drug use over the next frve years. spending of funds received from the 25% reduct ro~ t~ strategic goals, tl:le administration requested a 6% increase in tobacco industry settlement, more are In ~up~~~a~di,ction treatment in next year's bt,~~get, to $3.8 billian. (In contrast, turning to the $246 billion windfall to deal fund~ng f terdiction efforts is to rise tp $2.3 billion.} The f.~dera l budget plan 0 1 with budget shortfalls, according to a fund~~ed ~ ~he Congress i n~ ludes a request for a $60 million inc;rease in t he addic­ 0 report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free s~b: block grarit and $.71 million more f0r the Cer;~ t er for Substan.ce :A.buse Kids, the American Cancer Society, the t •o nt rcsAT). The budget doct:Jment strohgly endorses the effectiveness of American Heart Association, and the Treatmet ent \' However, the dc:>cument pomts. t o• " a grea t nee d t o expan d t h e capacl-. American Lung Association. tre: ~rea~ individuals who use and are addicted to illegal drugs." Th·e additional The report found that only five states requested are to pay fdr 52, 000 r:'le:.,.v treatment Acc;ording to ~~n~s ~l0ts nati0~a_ l ly . are meeting prevention spending targets data fr m the Department of Healt~ and Hum~n Ser:v~ees, 3.~ mill Lon pe0ple r:'le.ed­ 0 set by the federal Centers for Disease ed treatment in the year 2000 but dtd not get 1t. Control and Prevention (CDC): Arizona, The administration also supported addiction research with a request for an $80 Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and million increase in the budget of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a $33.8 Minnesota. Just 19 states are spending million increase in the budget of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and even half the amount recommended by Alcoholism. CDC for smoking-prevention programs. However, some of the gains were offset by a $45 million reduction in the budget The report singled out Florida and of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and a decision not to fund national Tennessee as especially egregious exam­ programs created last year by the Congress under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFS) program. The budget document was particularly harsh in ples of states that have diverted funds its assessment of SDFS, calling it ineffective. "The program cannot be associated intended to combat smoking. Florida has with a demonstrable change in the incidence of youth violence or drug abuse" slashed funding for a highly successful according to an administration spokesman, who cited a recent RAND study that was youth-smoking media campaign, while Tennessee has used all of its tobacco critical of SDFS.