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Thursday, May 9, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Law Enforcement Has Few Tools to Crack Down on Nitrous Oxide Abuse
Law enforcement officials who are trying to crack down on
the growing problem of nitrous oxide abuse have limited options to
punish people who sell the gas to those who use it to get high, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Nitrous oxide, or “nozz,” is a prescription drug inhaled by
recreational users to get high, usually from balloons filled from large
cylinders. It is also sold as a product to improve car performance.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central
District of California, the drug can cause many significant and
debilitating side effects, including, in extreme cases, death.
In a news release,
the U.S. Attorney’s Office notes, “during the past year, several teens
in the Los Angeles region have been killed in car accidents linked to
the use of nitrous oxide, and acts of violence have been associated with
the inhalation or sale of the drug, according to court documents.” The
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department says sales of nitrous oxide as a drug
have dramatically increased in Southern California over the past five
years.
A person selling nitrous oxide used by someone to get high can be
charged with a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and
up to a $100,000 fine.
While possessing nitrous oxide with the intent to ingest it for
non-medical or dental reasons is a misdemeanor in California, intent is
difficult to prove, the article notes. In 2009, the state passed a law
that makes it a misdemeanor to sell nitrous oxide to a minor.
Southern California officials say the problem is increasing. “I had
hoped it would dissipate,” said Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney
Veronica De Alba. “But it just seems to be getting bigger.”
Latest Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Yields 50% More Pills Than Previous Event
Fifty percent more pills were collected during the latest
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, compared with the previous
event in 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced.
The agency said 742,497 pounds of prescription medications were
collected from almost 6,000 sites around the country on April 27, UPI
reports. More than 2.8 million pounds of prescription medications have
been removed from circulation during the six national take-back days the
DEA has sponsored.
The events are designed to provide a safe, convenient and responsible
way for people to dispose of their unwanted or expired medications,
while educating the public about the potential for abuse of prescription
drugs.
According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, twice as many
Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those
who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants
combined, the DEA noted in a news release.
More than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers say
they obtained them through friends or relatives, including the family
medicine cabinet.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Teen Girls May Have a Harder Time Quitting Methamphetamine, Study Suggests
Teenage girls may have a more difficult time than boys in quitting methamphetamine, a new study suggests.
The study by researchers at UCLA found girls are more likely to
continue using methamphetamine during treatment. They say the findings
indicate the need for new treatment approaches for girls addicted to
meth, HealthCanal reports.
The study included nine boys and 10 girls, whose average age was 17
½. All were addicted to meth and were receiving counseling. They were
treated with either bupropion (an antidepressant and smoking cessation
drug) or a placebo. Teens given bupropion provided significantly fewer
meth-free urine samples compared with teens given a placebo, suggesting
the drug is not an effective treatment for meth addiction. Boys in both
groups provided more than twice as many meth-free urine samples as
girls.
“The greater severity of methamphetamine problems in adolescent girls
compared to boys, combined with results of studies in adults that also
found women to be more susceptible to methamphetamine than men, suggests
that the gender differences in methamphetamine addiction observed in
adults may actually begin in adolescence,” study author Dr. Keith
Heinzerling said in a news release.
The findings appear in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
FDA Asks For Additional Data on Implant to Treat Opioid Addiction
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week asked for
more information on an implant designed to treat opioid addiction,
before making a decision on whether to approve the drug, according to Bloomberg News.
Probuphine is a long-acting version of the opioid dependence
medication buprenorphine. It is implanted under the skin of the upper
arm, in a procedure that takes about 10 to 15 minutes in a doctor’s
office. It remains in place for about six months. The FDA asked for more
information on the effect of higher doses of Probuphine, and on how
doctors would be trained to insert and remove the implant.
In March, an advisory panel to the FDA recommended the agency approve Probuphine, made by Titan Pharmaceuticals, but voiced concerns about the safety of the manufacturer’s marketing plan.
Members of the panel said they were concerned about the safety of the
company’s marketing plan, because of the potential for abuse of the
drug. They also said they were not convinced the intended dose of
Probuphine would be effective enough.
Doctors must be trained to implant the drug, and some of the FDA
advisors said they were concerned Titan had not adequately planned for
the training.
Sleep Medications Linked to Jump in Emergency Room Visits
The key ingredient in sleep medications such as Ambien has
been linked to a 220 percent jump in emergency room visits between 2005
and 2010, according to a new government report. The ingredient,
zolpidem, is also found in sleep aids including Eldular and Zolpimist, CBS News reports.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) reports there were 6,111 visits due to the medication in 2005.
That number rose to 19,487 visits in 2010, according to the report.
Three-quarters of patients were 45 or older.
Half of emergency room visits due to zolpidem involved another
substance. In 37 percent of visits, zolpidem was combined with another
drug that depresses the central nervous system.
“Although short-term sleeping medications can help patients, it is
exceedingly important that they be carefully used and monitored,” SAMHSA
Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a news release.
“Physicians and patients need to be aware of the potential adverse
reactions associated with any medication, and work closely together to
prevent or quickly address any problems that may arise.”
Zolpidem is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
treat short-term insomnia, the article notes. In January, the FDA
announced it is requiring drug makers to lower current recommended doses
of sleep medications containing zolpidem. “New data show that zolpidem
blood levels in some patients may be high enough the morning after use
to impair activities that require alertness, including driving,” the FDA
noted in a statement.
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