For most people, the holidays typically bring a sense of joy and comfort, but for those struggling with substance use disorders (SUD) this time of the year can be especially difficult. The winter holidays have become one of the most dangerous times of the year for drug and alcohol related deaths and relapse. A Healthline survey found 62 percent of people would classify their stress level as “very” or “somewhat” elevated during the holiday season. The stressors of bills, indulgent events and strained relationship with families, or lack thereof can put a client in recovery at risk. [Learn More]
Drug Trends — Vapes
Officer Jermaine Galloway, better known as "The Tall Cop," will be an ongoing featured contributor to the Averhealth Digest on drug trends —providing you with highlights of street drug trends your clients may be using. If you are testing for the same drugs day after day, you are probably missing the drugs being used! Learn how to stay current on the most recent drug trends and how your drug testing program plays an integral role in your clients' recovery process. This month, Officer Galloway discusses vape pens.
Vape pens are one of the most rapidly evolving drug trends in the United States and around the world. Vapes are sweeping the country, but what we are quickly finding, is that a vape pen can contain much more than just nicotine. This is the main highlight in this article today.
We will review vapes for cannabis (THC and CBD), nicotine vapes and the items inside of the vapes. First, there are no absolutes when referring to vape pens or e-cigarettes. There are vapes that work for nicotine, flavored oils without nicotine, cannabis THC and CBD, and even synthetic drugs. When you see someone vaping, there is a real chance you don’t know what they are really vaping. This is also known as “High in Plain Sight.”
The majority of the vape pens contain the product, that you assume is inside, nicotine. With that being said, we are locating a laundry list of other drugs and items inside of vapes.
Recently, I wrote an article highlighting marijuana concentrates aka dabs, wax, oils and shatter. Marijuana concentrates and vape pens are the perfect combination. Cannabis concentrates come in oil, wax or crystal form, and the current version of vape pens can work for all three. An outsider can’t simply look at someone smoking from a vape pen and know what is inside. That is virtually impossible.
So, how can you figure out what someone is actually smoking? First, we need to understand these pens a little better. The baseline when dealing with vape pens is there are NO ABSOLUTES. Many of the pens that you see that are being used for nicotine look similar to some of the pens in the drug world and vice / versa. Also, the vape pen market is flooded and is very hard to keep up with. For example, I do frequent community scans all across the US and Canada. During these scans I see various forms of vapes that look slightly different, are different sizes, work for different products and vary in price points from $5-$400. Although a common price point for a popular cannabis vape is around $15-$45.
Over the last few years, vape pens for various drug use have continued to gain in popularity. As mentioned earlier these pens can look like nicotine-based pens. Since they are new, colorful, small and can be very discrete, with the latter being a large selling point to these various pens, I expect popularity will continue to rise.
Through my own personal experience as a former police officer, or from the over 600,000 class attendees I have trained, here is what we seem to be coming across the most as far as vapes (with non-nicotine substances) on our streets: dry herbal cannabis, cannabis wax THC and CBD, cannabis oil and other oil forms of synthetic drugs.
Basically, we are still in the very early stages of the vape pen movement and I expect to see these trends continue to rapidly evolve. With that being said, vape pens are hard to identify, offer a new way of use, are VERY discrete, produce less of an odor and therefore can make some means of drug use easier and more mobile.
Trainer Info
Tall Cop Says Stop is a national & international trainer who has trained over 500,000 people. Learn more: www.tallcopsaysstop.com
APPA Webinar – Presented by Douglas B. Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D.
On December 9th, 2020, Averhealth, a proud corporate member of APPA, sponsored the webinar "Examining Best Practices for Drug and Alcohol Testing in Community Corrections," presented by Douglas B. Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D. This webinar reviewed findings from a retrospective, correlational study of more than two million test specimens provided by more than 110,000 justice-involved persons. Results must be replicated in controlled studies, but point to promising practices related to the frequency, duration, and randomness of drug and alcohol testing in community corrections.
If you would like to watch the recording of this webinar or view the slides, please click the buttons below:
The Honorable Ruben Reyes, beloved former NADCP board chair and longtime treatment court judge and champion, passed away on Saturday, December 12, 2020 following complications related to COVID-19. This tragic loss is being mourned across the nation, from Lubbock, Texas, where Judge Reyes served as state district judge and presided over adult drug court, to courtrooms around the world that benefited from his ongoing commitment to improving the justice system’s response to substance use and mental health disorders.
Industry News
Patients With Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder Less Likely to Receive Treatment for Depression
Patients with co-occurring depression and substance use disorders are less likely to receive adequate depression treatment, researchers found in a retrospective cohort study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry In Advance involving 53,034 patients who were diagnosed in the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in fiscal year 2017. [Learn More]
How to Talk to Someone With a Substance Abuse Problem
Amid all the justifiable clamor online surrounding COVID-19, the flailing economy, and our generally uncertain global future, a TV show about drug addiction and teenagers is managing to cut through the noise. Sunday’s first special episode of HBO’s Euphoria defied its own conventions as a racy show about chaotic lives, by centering the episode on a wide-ranging conversation about drug addiction between the main character Rue (Zendaya) and her sponsor, Ali (Colman Domingo). [Learn More]
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SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) open 24/7
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