Dear Raven: What is Suboxone? Lots
of people are taking it so they do not use
prescription drugs. Is this effective for
people who do not want to use any drugs?
How long do people have to take it?
Signed,
Curious
Dear Curious: Suboxone is a drug
used to help people manage withdrawal
from opiate and opioid addiction. Opiate
drugs are any refined extract of the opium
poppy, including codeine and morphine.
Heroin, hydrocodone (Vicodin) and
oxycodone are semi-synthetic opiates.
Methadone, propoxyphene, Darvon,
Demerol and oxycontin are all synthetic
opiates called opioids. Other generic and
trade names exist for opiates and opioids.
These are the most commonly used.
Suboxone is a combination of bu
prenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine
is an opioid that produces less of a high.
Naloxone blocks the effects of opiates but
when dissolved under the tongue, it will
not affect the actions of buprenorphine.
Suboxone is used to treat opiate
addiction and unlike methadone, it’s
not intended to be taken for life as an
opiate/opioid replacement. It’s intended
to help the addict get off of opiates/
opioids, develop a program of recovery
and then taper off. It always must be
taken under supervision of a doctor who
is licensed to prescribe it. It can cause
death from overdose.
Suboxone can cause drug dependence,
which means that withdrawal symptoms
can occur if people stop taking it too
quickly. It can cause drowsiness and dan
gerously increase the effects of other drugs
that cause drowsiness, including alcohol.
It’s very expensive to get on Sub
oxone and the drug itself is expensive.
The average cost of induction is $1,000.
Monthly follow-up appointments average
$200 and the medication itself costs from
$200 to $300.
Ask Raven
Raven will answer your questions
about problems associated with alcohol,
tobacco and other drugs. You can call in
your questions to the numbers below
or mail them to Raven, P.O. Box 320,
Siletz, OR 97380.
Suboxone can be helpful to people
who wish to recover from opiate/opipid
addiction only if:
•
•
It’s taken exactly as the prescribing
doctor recommends
The person actively pursues outpa
tient treatment that helps identify
triggers for drug use, the development
of a community and family support
system and a plan to prevent relapse
The average length of time people
are on Suboxone is one year. Length of
time depends on how long the person used
opiates/opioids, how much they used per
day and how motivated the person is to
develop a program of recovery.
Unfortunately, like all other drugs that
have been approved to help with a medical
condition, Suboxone is now being abused
and used without a prescription.
I hope this helps you. Thanks for
writing.
Raven
Time to enforce underage drinking laws, know the facts about bullying
The recently released National Sur
vey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
conducted by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) shows that underage drink
ing rates have remained relatively steady
from 2008-2009.
Among persons age 12-20, past
month alcohol use rates in 2009 were
16.1 percent among Asians, 20.4 percent
among African Americans, 22 percent
among American Indians/Alaska Natives,
25.1 percent among Hispanics, 27.5 per
cent among those reporting two or more
races and 30.4 percent among whites.
Rate of current alcohol use among
youth age 12-17 was 14.7 percent in 2009,
which is similar to the 2008 rate (14.6
percent). Youth binge and heavy drink
ing rates in 2009 (8.8 and 2.1 percent)
also were similar to rates in 2008 (8.8 and
2.0 percent).
Past-month and binge drinking rates
among underage persons (age 12-20)
declined between 2002 and 2008, but
then remained unchanged between 2008
(26.4 and 17.4 percent) and 2009 (27.2
and 18.1 percent).
In 2009,55.9 percent of current drink
ers age 12 to 20 reported that their last use
of alcohol in the past month occurred in
someone else’s home and 29.2 percent re
ported that it had occurred in their home.
About one third (30.3 percent) paid for the
alcohol the last time they drank, includ
ing 9 percent who purchased the alcohol
themselves and 21.3 percent who gave
money to someone else to purchase it.
Full study results can be found at
http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduhlatest.htm.
Quick fact
Among underage drinkers who did
not pay for the alcohol they last drank,
37.1 percent got it from an unrelated
person age 21 or older, 19.9 percent from
another person younger than 21 and 20.6
percent from a parent, guardian or other
adult family member.
Source: SAMHSA
Be a buddy, not a bully
What is a bully?
By definition, a bully is someone who
is cruel to weaker individuals.
Although numerous bullying methods
exist, there are four main types of bully
ing: physical, verbal, emotional and cyber.
It’s important to remember that no one
type of bullying is better or worse than
another, as it depends on what is most
effective against the victim. Often, a bully
employs various methods in combination
for maximum impact.
Physical bullying is the easiest of
the types of bullying to define because it’s
among the most common. Injury to the
person or his or her belongings is char
acteristic of this method. The bully may
punch, kick, shove or spit on the victim.
Narcotics Anonymous Toll-Free
Help Line - 877-233-4287
•
Siletz News
Myth: “Bullying is just a stage, a
normal part of life. I went through it; my
kids will too.”
Fact: Bullying is not “normal” or
socially acceptable behavior. We give bul
lies power by accepting this behavior.
www.bullying.org
Photo by Natasha
Kavanaugh
Madison Metcalf
and Elka Fisher
visit with Santa at
the Community
Christmas
Gathering.
Mission Statement
We will utilize resources to prevent the use of alcohol and other drugs,
delinquency and-violence; we will seek to reduce barriers to treatment and
support those who choose abstinence.
Siletz: 800-600-5599 or
16
Bullying myths and
facts
Community Efforts Demonstrating the Ability to Rebuild and Restore
Prevention, Outpatient Treatment
and Women’s Transitional
Portland: 503-238-1512
plies, takes place in cyberspace. This
means any electronic communication
device is a potential instrument of the
bully. This type of bullying involves vari
ous forms of victim harassment, including
posting pictures of the victim on websites
against his or her wishes and sending
pictures through cell phone texting. The
bully also might turn up in chat rooms to
talk negatively about the target or interfere
with his or her ability to chat.
The remaining two types of bullying,
verbal and emotional, often are confused as
the same thing. While similar in nature, the
methods and outcomes are often different.
The goal of emotional bullying is
to exclude the victim from social interac
tions and cause mental pain while leaving
the victim in social solitude.
Verbal bullying, on the other hand,
does not utilize indirect methods like
spreading rumors. A verbal bully will say
demeaning and offensive things directly
to the victim, usually in front of his or her
friends. The nature of the harassment often
makes verbal bullies more difficult to catch
than a physical bully because an authority
figure can do little without evidence. Of
all the types of bullying, verbal bullying is
frequently the most prevalent in schools.
www.wisegeek.com
CEDARR
Siletz tribal A&D
Programs
Salem: 503-390-9494
Cyber bullying, as the name im
For Information on Alcoholics
Anonymous: wwwMa-oregon.org
January 2M1~~
Jan. 5 • 5:30 p.m.
Siletz Community Health Clinic
Behavioral Health Conf. Room
200 Gwee-Shut Road, Siletz
Topics to be discussed:
Prescription drug abuse, bullying and underage drinking