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Inside This Issue
Volume 4, Issue 4
December 2014 A Publication by the
2014 Officers and Directors
Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals
A New ImmunoassayFor Testing OpiateAbuse 2
Acts ofKindness 2
TADCPEvents 2
Burch SaysFarewell 3
The PresidentsCorner 3
PerryRetires 4
MembershipApplication 4
PresidentTracye Bryant
Vice PresidentTracye Bryant
TreasurerBrad Price
SecretaryRick Taylor
West Tennessee DirectorAngela Parkerson
Middle Tennessee DirectorMike Lewis
East Tennessee DirectorJudge Charles Cerny
At Large DirectorsRon HanaverKevin BattsJill Barrett
Founders oF the 27th Judicial district recovery court
retireJudge William B. acree, Jr. and veronica thornton end
careers
On September 1, 2014, both Circuit Court Judge William B. Bill
Acree and Recovery Drug Court Coordinator Ms. Veronica Thornton
retired from their long standing careers and their work with the
27th Judicial District Recovery Drug Court program. In 2001 Judge
Acree, disillusioned by seeing the same faces continually appearing
in his court decided to develop and imple-ment a Drug Court program
for the 27th Judicial District which serves both Weakley and Obion
counties. Ms. Veronica Thornton, the director for the Westate
Corrections Agency in Union City Tennessee, without hesitation came
on board, and agreed to serve as the program coordinator.
It was in 2001 that the pair (Acree and Thornton) first
discussed the drug court program. They became interest-ed enough in
the statistical results they were being shown that they continued
their investigation by traveling to Chico, California for initial
introducto-ry training.
Upon their return they began inter-viewing and selecting the
drug court team. There has been little turn over since, many of the
initial members having served con-tinually alongside them in this
endeavor all these years. Before starting the court, the whole team
traveled to Olympia, Washington for final intensive organizational
instruction in early 2002 and opened the doors of that new recovery
court later that year. It has flourished ever since.
The team, under the leadership of these two stalwarts, made
several crucial decisions early on. First, the team decided to meet
each week at eight (8:00 a.m.) every Thursday morning rain or
shine. Second, they concluded that if they were going to meet every
week, that early in the morning, and without extra pay, that
another commitment must be made in order to make it worth that
sacrifice. The team chose not to cherry pick par-ticipants, to not
select easy compliers or certain graduates to boost statistics. The
team chose to go after the worst, the hard core offenders, the
incorrigible and least likely to succeed. The team decided that
reaching them was the only way the program would be perceived as or
be truly significant. And finally, the first treatment provider,
Dr. Johnny Welch convinced the team to use the MRT Step Program.
These three decisions have prov-en providential.
The 27th Judicial District Drug Court is a post plea felony
treatment program targeting non-violent offenders suffering from
severe substance abuse issues. Clients accepted into the program
receive intensive treatment, intensive supervision, fre-quent drug
screens, and continued judicial intervention.
The mission of the Twenty-Seventh Judicial District is and has
always been to reduce drug related crime in Weakley and Obion
counties of rural West Tennessee, by reducing drug dependency among
drug court clients.
In 2008, Acree and Thornton working in collaboration with
Weakley County General Sessions Judge Tommy Moore and the entire
drug court team filed for certification status through the Office
of Criminal Justice Programs and became a certified drug court. In
2009 Obion County General Sessions Judge Jimmy Smith joined the
Recovery Drug Court team. As of July 30, 2014, 130 participants
have graduated from the 27th Judicial District Recovery Drug Court
program. There have been over
300 participants, 45 currently participating. Both Judge Acree
and Ms. Thornton have left a legacy that
the current drug court team intends to continue for years to
come. The Recovery Drug Court team welcomes Honorable Jeff Parham
who was elected as the Circuit Court Judge for the 27th
Judicial District. Mr. Michael Walton, the Assistant Director
for Westate Corrections and a veteran to the Drug Court program
will take the helm as the new Recovery Drug Court Coordinator.
Judge Acree modestly commented that the Recovery Court works
because of the Team. He insisted that, had not all the people who
have worked on that team not come on board, the Court would have
faltered. He remarked, I knew we had the makings of some-thing
great when both, Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder and Sheriff Mike Wilson,
and when DA Tommy Thomas and his staff, PD Joe Atnip and his staff,
Veronica Thornton and her staff at Westate, Dr. Debra Gibson
(UT
Professor) as statistician/record keeper, Judges Moore and Smith
and our Treatment Advisors all signed up and committed to it.
Judge Tommy Moore lauded Acree, noting his role in bring-ing the
drug court to the area. One of his great legacies will be the
successful drug court program that he helped start 10 years ago. He
insisted that we all receive training for the program and that we
run the program exactly by the book as were trained to do. He and
Ms. Thornton sold the Drug Court idea to the people who have now
become our Steering Committee -- local law enforcement, County
Commissioners, Attorneys, businessmen, the clergy and the lay
people of the area.
Attorney General Tommy Thomas remarked, We have been able to
reduce the crime rate through this program and given these people a
new lease on life. Many of them have not turned back to crime and
now take care of their bills and their families. We all must hand
it to Judge Acree and Ms. Thornton that they saw the potential that
this program had ten years ago.
Public Defender Joe Atnip shared, The program has brought the
legal community together and has encouraged all of us to cooperate
for the good of the District and to help fight; the scourge of
drugs, the crime caused by drugs and the devastating effect these
illegal substances have on lives and families.
General Sessions Judge Jimmy Smith concluded, One of the reasons
I decided to become a Judge was the opportunity I might have to
participate in this incredible program and work alongside my
colleagues (Judge Acree and Judge Moore) and the DA Tommy Thomas
and PD Joe Atnip and others on the Drug Court Team to have an
impact on making this District a better place and to help transform
lives and families.
Judge Bill Acree finalized his interview with, It has been a
rewarding part of my career to help create something that has
helped so many people.
Attorney General Tommy Thomas remarked, "...We all must hand it
to Judge Acree and
Ms. Thornton that they saw the potential that this program had
ten years ago.
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Page 2 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals
a neW immunoassay For testing opiate aBuse
acts oF KindnessgiBson county recovery court - trenton,
tennessee
The increasing prevalence of chronic pain continues to be a
source of concern for healthcare providers. Health care
profession-als have long recognized the potential for addiction and
abuse of prescription opioids. In the past decade, a greater focus
has been placed on pain management, which has led to a significant
increase in the number of opioids prescribed and may have
contributed to long-standing trends of abuse and addiction. A
dichotomy exists in the realm of pain management between balancing
the under-treat-ment of pain and the potential for opioid
misuse.
One of the treatments of choice for chronic pain involves strong
medications such as opioids. Side effects of opioids include
seda-tion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. These
medica-tions often result in abuse, misuse, or diversions. Adding
to the complexity of managing pain patients is the fact that these
medica-tions are controlled substances and cannot be purchased over
the counter, therefore have high street value. For all these
reasons phy-sician are required to determine whether patients under
their care are compliant with their medication regime, abusing
their medica-tions, or diverting them for financial gain. Thus,
managing pain patients with opioid therapy is a difficult and
controversial issue.
Urine drug testing (UDT) is one of the tools that clinicians use
to monitor medication behaviors and avoid morbidity and mor-tality
associated with opioids. UDT gives confidence to the physi-cian
that the patient is following the medication regimen and is
therefore getting the most benefit from their treatment. In
addi-tion, UDT has been associated with forensic testing, often
referred to as workplace testing, to detect illicit drug use in
employees. Workplace UDT has traditionally focused on identifying
the use of abused drugs including amphetamines (methamphetamine),
cocaine, marijuana, phencyclidine (PCP), and heroin (opiates).
Proposed Revisions to Testing for these drugs usually follows
scheduled guidelines established by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (Federal Register, 2004).
Analytically, the testing involves qualitative and
semi-quantitative immunoassay screening followed by confirma-tion
by mass spectrometry. Testing for patients on chronic opioid
therapy is a different paradigm as both positive and negative
results are important. Assays that are more sensitive and can
determine both the parent drug and one or more of its metabolites
are there-fore as important.
In order for the physicians to have an exact indication of the
medications the patients need to take a broader clinical laboratory
UDT menu to accurately monitor the pain patient population. For
example, a positive opiate test does not indicate whether the
patient is on codeine, hydrocodone, morphine, or hydromorphone.
Therefore, in order to establish compliance it is necessary for
the
physician to determine exactly which medication has been
ingested and assure the patient is not taking additional opiates
which could create an unsafe situation.
The medications most commonly found in the urine of this
population are clearly hydrocodone and oxycodone, followed by
morphine and hydromorphone; codeine is not frequently prescribed
for this population. Benzodiazepines are the next most prescribed
group. Other opioid medications such as fentanyl, meperidine,
tra-madol, and propoxyphene are less frequently used. The use of
muscle relaxants, such as carisoprodol, are also commonly seen.
Marijuana is by far the most prevalent among the illicit drugs,
fol-lowed by cocaine and methamphetamine. The accurate
interpreta-tion of test results thus requires an understanding of
the usefulness and limitations of immunoassays, knowledge of opiate
metabolism, and awareness of the expected ratios of the parent drug
and its metabolites in urine. In addition, small amount of
impurities in medications detectable by mass spectrometry can
complicate the interpretation of UDT results.
There are two aspects of drug abuse in the pain patient
popula-tion; one is the use of illicit drugs, and the other more
prevalent aspect is abuse of the prescribed and non-prescribed
medications. Combined, these two facets of abuse may approach
20-30% of the patients on chronic opioid therapy. Based on this
data alone, the use of UDT should be justified for pain patients.
When monitoring for opioid medication compliance, the testing
method should be able to differentiate between codeine, morphine,
hydrocodone, norhydrocodone, and hydromorphone. The immunoassay
test should also be able to differentiate between oxycodone,
noroxyco-done, and oxymorphone. This will allow the physician to
determine that the opiate the patient is taking is in fact the one
being pre-scribed and that the patient is metabolizing the
medication proper-ly.
The most commonly abused opioid is hydrocodone, a frequent-ly
prescribed pain medication. Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic opioid
prescribed for pain management and cough. It is the most commonly
abused prescribed opioid, as determined by the data reported to the
American Association of Poison Centers and DAWN. The increased
incidence of deaths attributed to hydroco-done abuse is also a
major concern. The International Narcotics Control Board reported
that 99% of the worldwide hydrocodone supply in 2007 was consumed
in the United States. Commercial hydrocodone preparations are
always combined with another medi-cation to increase efficacy and
reduce adverse effects. It is avail-able as a mixture with
acetaminophen (Vicodin), aspirin (Lortab), ibuprofen (Vicoprofen)
and antihistamines (Hyconine). Currently, four pharmaceutical
companies are developing long acting formu-
lations of hydrocodone. Of these, Zohydro ER has been submit-ted
to FDA for new drug consideration. The recommended starting
therapeutic dose range for hydrocodone is 530 mg (one capsule) per
day. Analgesic action of hydrocodone begins 2030 minutes after
taking it and lasts 48 hours. Hydrocodone is sometimes referred to
as a pro-drug because the more active compound is the metabolite
(hydromorphone), not the administered drug.
Although, several specific immunoassays for drugs of abuse are
commercially available, including an opiate immunoassay which
detects several opioids simultaneously, its sensitivity to detect
hydrocodone and its metabolites is much lower. This leads to
increasing possibility of negative screening when the drug is
pres-ent in urine. The objective was thus, to develop a specific
homoge-neous enzyme immunoassay for the specific detection of
hydroco-done and hydromorphone and its glucuronide in human
urine.
Thermo Fisher Scientific now offers the Thermo Scientific DRI
Hydrocodone/ Hydromporphone Immunoassay* with a 300 ng/mL cutoff
and 25% Low and High Controls. The assay uses a highly specific
monoclonal antibody that can detect hydrocodone, hydromorphone and
hydromorphone -D-glucuronide. The assay range is 0 ng/mL to 1000
ng/mL. The reagents, calibrators and controls are liquid
ready-to-use.
The assay demonstrated 100% cross-reactivity to hydromor-phone
and its glucuronide with minimal cross-reactivity to opiate
compounds and other concomitantly taken drugs. No significant
interference was observed from endogenous substances. Two hun-dred
and sixty eight patient samples were tested by immunoassay and the
results showed >90% agreement with LC-MS/MS.
The assay is intended for the qualitative and semi-quantitative
determination of hydrocodone and its metabolites in human urine and
is compatible with most automated clinical analyzers. For more
information about this product and other drugs of abuse
immunoassays, go to www.thermoscientific.com/dignostics
Zohydro ER is a trademark of Zogenix, Inc. Vicodin is a
registered trademark of Abbvie Inc. Corporation. Lortab is a
registered trademark of UCB Pharma Inc. All other trademarks are
the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries.
* For Criminal Justice and Forensic Use Only and is for sale in
the U.S.A. only.
AuthorWendy Locklin
Commercial Marketing ManagerThermo Fisher Scientific
As we look forward to the Thanksgiving Session we wanted to
share our gratitude with our community. We issued a challenge to
our participants to do a random act of kindness to a stranger. Our
folks did an amazing job and received blessings from their actions.
As I tell our partici-pants all the time, they are no longer jail
material. Our folks are great neighbors, friends, parents,
employees and spouses. Here are their accounts of there act of
kindness:
I bought a man and woman some cold cuts from wal-mart because I
saw them holding up a sign saying they were hungry. I also bought
their dog some food! Michael R. Phase 3
I gathered up some of the clothes that my daughter cant wear
anymore and some jackets and donated them to our local Mustard
Seed. It was a humbling experience for me. I also paid for a ladys
food behing me at McDonalds. Tracy M. Hopeful candidate
I donated clothes to our Helping Hands and Twice Blessed. I feel
so good when I help another. I gave a co-worker a ride home who was
waiting in the cold. I gave $16.00 to the Charlie Brown Fund, he is
at Vanderbilt Hospital. Eden H. Phase 2
Me and my dad were on our way to Milan and I stopped to help a
lady who had a flat. So I changed it for her. It made me feel good
Bradley W. Phase 2
I went to Humboldt Wal-mart and helped an elderly couple put
their groceries in their car. I told them I was in Recovery Court
and now just want to help others. Zach E. Phase 2
I stopped to help a lady who had a flat tire. She said I
was the first one to stop and she had been there 45 min-utes.
Lynn R. Phase 2
I work at Butts Food and we have homeless people up and down our
street. I took a homeless man (John) to the Dodge Store bought him
breakfast and found out he was an alcoholic so I gave him a copy of
meetings in our area." Kelsha R. Phase 3
I saw a homeless man at Little General in Humboldt and it was
cold and raining. I went into the store and bought him a pack of
smokes and gave it to him with a 10.00 bill. I hope he is ok today.
Travis B. Phase 3
On my way to the AA meeting I gave a man a ride. I do this often
and he dont talk in the meeting but does on the way back home. It
helps us both. Bryan C. Phase 2
I gave my daughter clothes she couldnt wear to this mans
granddaughter." Katie W. Phase 4
A woman who was dropped off at a meeting didnt have a ride home.
I gave her one. It felt good." Sam G. Phase 3
I donated my clothes I cant wear. Ive gained 27 pounds. Kim R.
Phase 1
I went into our local Dollar Store and a cashier named Sam was
so kind to me. She mentioned she also had children. She was such a
blessing to me I decided to help her. I went home and made a basket
full of cookies, fruit etc and wrote her a note took it back to the
store and left it at the register with her name on it. It was
amazing to share this with my kids Mandi L. Phase 1. PS: this girl
makes awesome baskets.
I was riding down the road with my mom and noticed
a woman ran her car off in a ditch. We stopped and I went to
check on her and stayed with her until the police and ambulance got
there. Cynric P. Phase 1
THE WORLD DOES NOT CHANGE BY GRANDJESTURES BUT SIMPLE ACTS OF
KINDNESS.
Submitted by: Lori; Angie; Monica; Janice; Tom; Scott; Danny
(Team Members)
t a d c pev
e
n
t
s
Mark Your Calendars!
2015 NADCP Conference
December 2-4, 2015Embassy Suites
& Conference CenterMurfreesboro, Tennessee
Registration Information Coming Soon!
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Page 3 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals
TADCP MeMbers enjoy....
By tracye Bryant
continuing education opportunities (naadac and cle)
annual tadcp conFerence Quarterly neWsletter representation
through the tadcp legislative committee Free and discounted
training opportunities
Hey everybody! Its time for the December newsletter, which also
means, its almost Christmas and very close to a New Year! 2015 is
just around the corner!
To start this quarters newsletter off, I know that you see its
being written by me instead of Mary Schneider. For those of you
that dont know yet, Mary made the decision to retire! Yes Retire!
Can you believe it? I know many of us are looking forward to that
day when we can slow down a little bit, so I truly hope that Mary
will be able to do that and move into her next adventure. I know
grandkids are certainly part of that!
Ive been working with the Sumner County Recovery Court Program
since 2003 and Mary was the first person I was introduced to. Her
Program in Rutherford County was already well established and my
Judge insisted that I go visit her and learn what I could. Mary was
a great resource and always willing to help with advice and share
informa-tion. Many of us in the field have watched Mary, along with
many others work hard and long hours to help pro-mote Tennessee
Recovery Courts and help move them for-ward in a stronger
direction. The TADCP Board members and Recovery Court Professionals
want to Thank Mary for her hard work and determination. Mary, you
will never be forgotten and your work with Recovery Courts will
always be remembered. We all wish you the very best!
As we rapidly approach the State Conference in Murfreesboro
Tennessee at the amazing Embassy Suites. I hope everyone is
registered and reservations have been made (but heres the link if
you still need to do that:
http://tadcpconference10.ezregister.com). I look forward to see-ing
new faces and old ones! I think everyone is going to enjoy this
years conference with its guest speakers and exhibitors. Every year
I always learn something new that I can take back to my own program
to help improve it. The conference is a time for Recovery Court
Professionals to gather with others, share program stories and
interact with each other, listen to what they are doing and what
ideas they have and what is working for them. We all have the same
10 key components to follow but yet each one of our programs is
unique in its own way.
We all work very hard to help our participants to move forward
in a positive direction. In doing that we need to also take care of
ourselves. I feel the State Conference is a way for us to get
revived and regenerated so we can go back to our own programs and
look at what we are doing, what we need to improve on and what we
are doing well! So get geared up to get revived and to enjoy the
confer-ence, relax and maybe do a little Christmas shopping! See
you there!
Regards,Tracye Bryant
thepresidents
cornerThe 23rd Judicial District Drug Court bade a fond farewell
to Circuit Court Judge Robert E. Burch last month. But it was not
for long. You see, Judge Burch returned the fol-lowing week as a
dedicated Drug Court Team Member, a role he intends to keep. The
entire team breathed a deep sigh of relief as Judge Burch entered
the courtroom that next Thursday night and took his regular seat in
the jury room to participate in pre-court staffing.
The team welcomed a new Drug Court Judge that night, Circuit
Judge Suzanne Lockert-Mash. Judge Lockert-Mash is no stranger to
Drug Court. The long-time prosecutor regularly recommended Drug
Court to defendants and would help them navigate their way into the
program. She fit right in, and noted appreciation to Judge Burch
for staying on and acting as mentor to her in her new role in Drug
Court.
Judge Burch was at the helm when the
Drug Court was established 14 years ago. Burch says Drug Court
is one of the most rewarding things he does. He is enor-
mously pleased with the accom-plishments of the program, and
especially the lives that have been touched by Drug Court. The 23rd
Judicial District includes Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys,
and Stewart Counties.
Judge Burch says the most touching aspect of Drug Court for him
is when he sees families
reunited. He recalls a teenage girl once thanking him for Giving
me back my daddy.
Judge Burch earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University in
1972. He worked as an attorney, a commercial pilot, and a Juvenile
Referee before coming to the bench 34 years ago. He was named
Tennessee Trial Judge of the Year in 2002.
Judge roBert e. Burch says FareWell23rd district Judge retires,
But stays on as team memBer
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Page 4 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals
tennessee association oF drug court proFessionals
A one-year membership to TADCP is $25 per person. An
organizational membership from 1/01/2014 - 12/31/2014 is $200 for
2-10 members and $10 for each additional member greater than 10.
Please make checks payable to TADCP.
Is this application for an individual membership or
organizational membership? Individual Organizational Please specify
the membership
organization_______________________________________________________
1. Primary contact personNameTitleOrganization
Drug CourtMailing AddressCity, State, ZIP
Phone NumberFax NumberE-Mail Address
MeMbershiP APPliCATion
A Publication by the
P.O. Box 639McMinnville, TN 37111
c o m p u t e rtraining
New Horizons Nashville has pricing set up with TADCP for
computer training.The following prices are for TADCP
members:
Access - $88 per level per studentWord - $58 per level per
studentExcel - $68 per level per studentOLA Access - $67 per user
for Online Anytime
Feel free to call or email for any additional information:
Ph: 615-850-5919Fax: 615-251-6925Email:
[email protected]
After twenty-eight years serving as Circuit Judge for the 12th
Judicial District, Judge Buddy D. Perry determined it was time to
retire and choose not to run for the office in the last election.
He has returned to private practice with an emphasize on
mediations.
Perry was the Drug Court Judge for the district from the
beginning of the Drug Court in 2005 until his retirement and
was
one of the leaders in the effort to get the court established.
His passion for the reha-bilitation of those addicted to substances
comes from a deep personal experience and drives him and his wife
Jean to work
daily to support and befriend those with an addiction
problem.
Perry will continue his involvement with the Drug Court by
serving on the Drug Court Team and will also be involved in the
work of the Drug Court Foundation that he was instrumental in
establishing. The 12th District Drug Court Foundation is a 501 c 3
non-profit corporation working in support of the efforts of the
Drug Court.
12th Judicial district Judge Buddy. d. perry to retireperry
served as the 12th district drug court Judge since it's inception
in 2005
Perry will continue his involvement with the Drug Court by
serving on the Drug
Court Team and will also be involved in the work of the Drug
Court Foundation...