The role of mindfulness, meditation, and peer support in recovery capital among Recovery Dharma members.

INTRODUCTION: Recovery Dharma (RD) is a Buddhist-based peer support program for the treatment of addiction that incorporates mindfulness and meditation into meetings, program literature, and the recovery process, creating the opportunity to study these variables in a peer-support program context. Mindfulness and meditation are beneficial for people in recovery, yet we know little about their relationship to recovery capital, a positive indicator of recovery outcomes. We explored mindfulness and meditation (average length of sessions and average frequency per week) as predictors of recovery capital and examined perceived support in relation to recovery capital. METHODS: The study recruited participants (N = 209) through the RD website, newsletter and social media pages for an online survey that included measures of recovery capital, mindfulness, perceived support, and questions about meditation practices (e.g., frequency, duration). Participants' mean age was 46.68 years (SD = 12.21), with 45 % female (5.7 % non-binary), and 26.8 % from the LGBTQ2S+ community. The mean time in recovery was 7.45 years (SD = 10.37). The study fitted univariate and multivariate linear regression models to determine significant predictors of recovery capital. RESULTS: As anticipated, multivariate linear regressions indicated that mindfulness (ß = 0.31, p < .001), meditation frequency (ß = 0.26, p < .001), and perceived support from RD (ß = 0.50, p < .001) were all significant predictors of recovery capital when controlling for age and spirituality. However, longer time in recovery and the average duration of meditation sessions did not predict recovery capital as anticipated. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate the importance of a regular meditation practice for recovery capital rather than engaging in prolonged sessions infrequently. The results also support previous findings, which point to the influence of mindfulness and meditation on positive outcomes for people in recovery. Further, peer support is associated with higher recovery capital in RD members. This study is the first examination of the relationship between mindfulness, meditation, peer support, and recovery capital in recovering people. The findings lay the groundwork for the continued exploration of these variables as they relate to positive outcomes both within the RD program and in other recovery pathways.

Association of State Policies Allowing Medical Cannabis for Opioid Use Disorder With Dispensary Marketing for This Indication.

Importance: Misinformation about cannabis and opioid use disorder (OUD) may increase morbidity and mortality if it leads individuals with OUD to forego evidence-based treatment. It has not been systematically evaluated whether officially designating OUD as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis is associated with cannabis dispensaries suggesting cannabis as a treatment for OUD. Objective: To examine whether state-level policies designating OUD a qualifying condition for medical cannabis are associated with more dispensaries claiming cannabis can treat OUD. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional, mixed-methods study of 208 medical dispensary brands was conducted in 2019 using the brands' online content. The study included dispensaries operating in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, where OUD is a qualifying condition for medical cannabis, and in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia, where this policy does not exist. Exposures: Presence of OUD on the list of qualifying conditions for a state's medical cannabis program. Main Outcomes and Measures: Binary indicators of whether online content from the brand said cannabis can treat OUD, can replace US Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for OUD, can be an adjunctive therapy to Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for OUD, or can be used as a substitute for opioids to treat other conditions (eg, chronic pain). Results: After excluding duplicates, listings for nonexistent dispensaries, and those without online content, 167 brands across 7 states were included in the analysis (44 [26.3%] in states where OUD was a qualifying condition and 123 [73.7%] in adjacent states). A dispensary listed in a directory for West Virginia was not operational; therefore, comparison states were Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio. In policy-exposed states, 39% (95% CI, 23%-55%) more dispensaries claimed cannabis could treat OUD compared with unexposed states (P < .001). For replacing medications for OUD and being an adjunctive therapy, the differences were 14% (95% CI, 2%-26%; P = .002) and 28% (95% CI, 14%-42%; P < .001), respectively. The suggestion that cannabis could substitute for opioids (eg, to treat chronic pain) was made by 25% (95% CI, 9%-41%) more brands in policy-exposed states than adjacent states (P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, state-level policies designating OUD as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis were associated with more dispensaries claiming cannabis can treat OUD. In the current policy environment, in which medical claims by cannabis dispensaries are largely unregulated, these advertisements could harm patients. Future research linking these policies to patient outcomes is warranted.

Coping motives mediate the relationship between borderline personality features and alcohol, cannabis, and prescription opioid use disorder symptomatology in a substance use disorder treatment sample.

Borderline personality disorder and substance use disorder co-occur at a high rate. However, little is known about the mechanisms driving this association. This study examined substance use motives for 3 common substance use disorders among 193 individuals in substance use disorder treatment. We found that the coping motive consistently mediated the relationship between borderline personality and alcohol, cannabis, and prescription opioid use disorders. For this substance use disorder treatment sample, our findings support the self-medication model of substance use, and that interventions aimed at coping-related substance use would be helpful among these patients. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Borderline Features and Prescription Opioid Misuse in a Substance Use Disorder Treatment Sample.

BACKGROUND: An association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance use disorders has been well established. However, very little is known about the relationship between BPD and prescription opioid misuse, specifically. OBJECTIVES: The relationship between borderline personality disorder features and prescription opioid misuse was examined in a sample of 208 substance use disorder treatment patients in the outpatient level of care. RESULTS: Controlling for use of alcohol and cannabis, as well as other relevant covariates, we found that BPD features were associated with age of first use of prescription opioids, prescription opioid use disorder symptom count, lifetime use, past 12-month use, problem use, and cravings. Additionally, we found that BPD features were not associated with greater use of medically necessary opioid pain killers as prescribed by a physician; rather the association with BPD was in the greater likelihood of misuse (non-prescribed) of prescription opioid pain killers. The self-harm/impulsivity facet of BPD was most strongly associated with prescription opioid-related variables. Conclusions/Importance: These findings suggest that BPD is related to prescription opioid misuse, above and beyond the tendency to use other drugs of abuse, and that the self-harm impulsivity facet appears to be driving this relationship.