One Simple Way to Save Taxpayers $7B Annually
Giving drug offenders treatment instead of prison time benefits us all.



THE FIX

By Paul Gaita

05/15/14


The “war on drugs” carried out during 1980s has resulted in a critical situation in America’s prisons. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world with 2.2 million individuals behind bars in this country, and more than half of those at federal level are serving time for drug charges. At the state level, nearly half of all prisoners have been locked up for nonviolent offenses. The cost of this quixotic pursuit: states had paid $44 billion on prison expenses by 2007 - a 127 percent increase from 1987. During the same period, expenditure for higher learning rose only 21 percent.

Despite these staggering numbers, the zero tolerance policies of the period continue to wreak havoc in our social system, as evidenced by a report by the American Civil Liberties Union, which revealed that more than 3,000 federal prisoners currently serve life sentences for non-violent crimes, with 79 percent of those individuals incarcerated for non-violent drug charges. More than 18 percent of them are serving life without parole for their first offense.

Though both the federal and state governments have been slow to repeal many of these draconian laws, growing opposition from representatives of and adherents to both parties have spurred the rise of numerous programs and proposals that give alternatives to incarceration for drug offenses. An estimated 67 percent of Americans believe that the government should offer treatment for offenders facing jail time for illegal drugs, including 51 percent of all Republicans who responded to the Pew Center’s research.



Such programs are believed to reduce the nation’s massive prison population, as well as the financial toll taken each year to house prisoners, which as of 2013 stood at nearly $7 billion, or a quarter of the Justice Department’s yearly budget. Research conducted in part by Temple University and published in the online journal “Crime & Delinquency” found that only ten percent of state prisoners who abuse drugs or are drug-dependent receive medically based treatment while incarcerated. If that ten percent had received treatment in community-based programs instead of serving jail time, the prison system would save $4.8 billion - nearly the amount paid out to the Bureau of Prisons. Those savings would nearly triple if just 40 percent of eligible offenders received the same sort of treatment.

Diversion programs such as drug courts have offered a first line of defense by keeping low-level drug offenders out of the state prison system. Eligible participants receive a year of treatment under close supervision while pursuing full-time status as either an employee or student. The results have been extremely positive - 75 percent of all drug court graduates remain arrest-free for at least two years after leaving the program, and have saved taxpayers between $3,000 and $13,000 per client - but research from the Urban Institute suggests that for such programs to be truly effective, offenders facing serious charges at the federal level would need to be enrolled. Currently, less than one percent of federal drug cases are referred to drug courts.

Attorney General Eric Holder has thrown the weight of the Justice Department behind diversion programs at the federal level while also calling for an extensive overhaul of sentencing guidelines. The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014, sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators including Democrats Patrick Leahy and Sheldon Whitehouse and Libertarian Rand Paul, also aims to reduce mandatory minimums at the federal level. But as the drug court program has shown, the greatest force for change regarding drug laws has come at the state level. Twenty-seven states reduced their drug laws between 2009 and 2013, including lowered penalties for possession and use of illegal drugs and the abolishment of automatic sentence enhancements.

New York’s notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws, which set mandatory long prison sentences for drug offenders at all levels, received a substantial overhaul in 2009, including the implementation of Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which allowed judges to offer drug court alternatives to non-violent offenders. Texas, which spent over $2 billion on prison expenses between 1983 and 1997, found itself out of space in its jails by 2007 and in need of $900 million to continue operating their current prisons. Leaders from both parties joined forces to offer a range of diversion programs that not only reduced the state’s crime rate but also allowed them to close three prisons.

Similar efforts in Maryland, Arkansas and 13 other states produced a dramatic drop in imprisonment rates between 2007 and 2012, with California leading the way with a 26 percent reduction. The Golden State has frequently led the way in offering diversion programs as an alternative to their prison situation, which numbered more than 130,000 individuals in 2009. Proposition 36, or The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, saved California taxpayers between $10 and $13 million by releasing from custody over 1,000 nonviolent inmates. The recidivism rate was less than two percent - below state and national averages.

However, statistics such as these have not convinced all state lawmakers to pursue similar revisions to their drug laws. In Tennessee, Governor Bill Haslam recently signed into law a bill that would prosecute pregnant women for using drugs. The media is also calling on Florida legislators to repeal a law that hands down a mandatory three-year sentence for the possession of seven hydrocodone tablets without a valid prescription.

But as greater numbers of the population embrace the idea that treatment and diversion programs will produce more positive and financially responsible results than jail time, the hope is that stories like these are the exception to the rule, rather than the norm.

Paul Gaita is a Los Angeles-based writer. He has contributed to The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Amazon and The Los Angeles Beat, among other publications and sites.

Is Your Doctor Addicted to Drugs?
Learn how to tell if your healthcare provider is using and what to do to safeguard yourself.


THE FIX


By Cathy Cassata

05/13/14
Imagine going in for a routine kidney stone removal. The surgery goes as expected, and all seems well, until several weeks later you start feeling so ill that you rush to the emergency room, where you discover that you’ve caught the potentially deadly liver disease Hepatitis C.

This was Lauren Lollini’s terrifying reality in 2009. “I had no idea what Hepatitis C was. When I saw a specialist a few days later, we went over the risk factors and it just didn’t make sense. I had gotten a tattoo years before but had given blood many times since then so it was kind of a mystery how I could have gotten it,” said Lollini. “The only thing that seemed like a possibility was that I had surgery a few weeks before. I asked the doctor if I could have caught it then. He said ‘maybe’ and just kind of dismissed the notion.”

But several weeks later, Lollini’s suspicion was confirmed when the Colorado Health Department informed her that an addicted surgical technician, Kristen Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver where Lollini received surgery, was arrested for stealing fentanyl laid out in operating rooms in preparation for surgery. Despite having Hepatitis C, Parker would inject herself with the fentanyl that was intended for patients and then refill the same syringes with water or saline solution, leaving the patients without the intended medication and exposed to Hepatitis C. Parker infected 24 people with Hepatitis C between the Fall of 2008 through the Spring of 2009.

Parker’s act of stealing drugs is called “drug diversion,” and it's an issue that’s happening more than you might think. Alarming research revealed by USA Today in April 2014 stated that more than 100,000 doctors, nurses, technicians and other health professionals struggle with substance abuse or addiction.

WHY IS DRUG DIVERSION SUCH A PROBLEM?

Kimberly New, JD, BSN, RN, president of the Tennessee chapter of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, which aims to educate healthcare providers and law enforcement on investigation, prevention, detection and resolution of drug diversion cases, says the nature of the job plays a part. “Healthcare providers have a high stress profession whether they’re a physician, nurse, radiology technician, lab technician or other provider. They see patients die and experience a lot of vicarious trauma. Many have compassion fatigue, and physical injuries because of the actions that they go through in the course of their job - lifting patients, turning patients, etcetera,” she explained. “A recent nurse I found diverting said he started using because the medication he was taking for back pain from lifting patients wasn’t cutting it anymore.”

Still, New says the number one factor in healthcare diversion is access and availability. “Controlled substances are right there at their fingertips. People find ways to access these drugs that are in the facility where they work. If they have access to the medicine cabinet, that makes it easier, but we find other providers who figure out ways to divert even if they don’t have that access,” said New.

HOW ARE PATIENTS HARMED?

Cases like Lollini’s are the most dangerous instances of drug diversion and the hardest for the patient to detect in the situation. “Since Lauren was unconscious, there was no way for her to suspect something was wrong. Becoming educated on the topic is patients’ first line of defense,” said New.

The first thing to know is that nurses are the number one healthcare provider population who have regular access to controlled substances and who have a job responsibility to administer controlled substances. New says patients can be harmed in the following three ways by an impaired nurse or other healthcare provider in a similar role:

Tampering and substitution. Like Lollini’s experience, this is when a provider will remove a controlled substance from a syringe or vial, inject themselves with the substance, and then replace it with water or saline. “The patient doesn’t get the medication they were supposed to, and is also potentially exposed to blood borne pathogens that the diverter has. It’s like sharing needles,” stated New.

Delivery of care in an impaired state. Nurses who divert are often times in intensive care or emergency care settings. “These are critical care environments where they need to be making succinct decisions and may not be capable of doing that if they’re impaired. This really puts patients at risk when they need immediate and attentive care,” New said.

Withholding medication from patients in need. In these instances, the provider simply doesn’t give a patient the medication they need and instead steals the medication or takes the medication for themselves. “They place their addictive needs above those of the patient, leaving the patient untreated and possibly in pain,” stated New.

HOW CAN PATIENTS PROTECT THEMSELVES?

Prior to seeing a provider, New suggests checking with his or her state medical board (for physicians) and licensing boards (for nurses) to find information regarding any recorded disciplinary issues against the provider. “Also visit social media sites that offer reviews of providers. And if you’re having surgery, ask who is going to be involved with your care,” she said. “Patient care in an institutional environment has changed a lot. Years ago there was this blind faith in physicians, and patients just trusted them to do the right thing. Patient care has become much more consumer-based and really it’s the patients that are advocates for themselves, and are empowered to ask questions.”

If having a procedure, New says always have an advocate with you. “During recovery, this person can watch as medication is administered and can be a presence so the provider knows you’re not alone,” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Only One Campaign, which aims to educate on safe injections, suggests that patients (and advocates) ask healthcare providers the following questions before they receive an injection:
Will there be a new needle, new syringe, and a new vial for this procedure or injection?
Can you tell me how you prevent the spread of infections in your facility?
What steps are you taking to keep me safe?

Speaking up about pain management is another way to protect yourself. “Sudden unrelieved pain from methods that previously worked is something to address right away. For instance, if a patient is getting morphine and it’s working great and then one particular day it’s suddenly not working, that’s when you need to tell someone,” said New, adding that you should tell a supervisor, not the nurse in case the nurse is diverting. “Pain during procedures should be expressed immediately. There was a case in Minnesota where a CRNA, who is usually the person delivering the anesthesia, told the patient that he needed to ‘man up’ prior to his procedure. He nearly jumped off the table as the surgeon made the incision. The CRNA was diverting the patient’s pain meds.”

When it comes to providers you already know, New says it can be difficult to notice if they’re using because often times providers who are diverting don’t always fit the stereotypical profile of somebody who’s a drug addict. “Many are very high achievers and enormously liked by everybody. Often times they’re even award winners, and receive many compliments from patients. The drugs they take can give them a state of euphoria, allowing them to super perform for a time. Over time, they will spiral downwards if they’re allowed to continue to divert,” she said.

Alcoholism and Genetics: 

 What You Need to Know

Alcoholism can be passed down from parent to child, but not in the same way as Alzheimer's or cancer. How exactly is it passed on?



THE FIX

By Jeaneane Swanson

05/12/14

In biology class, most of us were taught to believe that specific traits are passed on through our genes: if I have the “Alzheimer’s gene” or the “breast cancer gene,” there’s a probable chance that my son or daughter will carry that gene. However, what about more “complex” diseases like depression, or alcoholism? While alcoholism does tend to run in families—and has a genetic component—how exactly is it passed on?

In recent years, more and more studies are showing that there is another level of inheritance at work: epigenetics. Literally “above the genome,” epigenetic marks are chemical “tags” that can be put on or taken off DNA, and their purpose is to control the expression of genes. Some tags turn genes on, while others turn genes off. These tags come in the form of molecules called methyl groups or acetyl groups, and they can also appear on the outside of the DNA strand. In the nucleus of every cell, the very long strands of DNA coil around proteins called histones; these histones can be more “open” or “closed,” depending on what tags reside on the surface.

These “tags” can be helpful and are very important for many biological processes. For example, in the development of an embryo into a baby, epigenetics plays a huge role in making sure embryonic cells differentiate at the right time and place. Ever wonder how a small handful of cells become heart and lung and brain cells, and all the other cells in our bodies? Since every single cell contains all of our DNA, some genes have to be turned off, while others left on, in order for there to be different types of cells.

However, the epigenome is ever changing; marks can come, and marks can go. In fact, the epigenome is highly sensitive to the environment. Environmental Factors such as diet, stress, and exposure to environmental toxins can alter the arrangement of these tags and cause disease. And, it’s being increasingly shown, disease in not just us, but in our kids, and our grandkids. Groundbreaking—and controversial—studies by epigenetics researcher Michael Skinner at Washington State University have not only brought to the forefront the idea of endocrine disruptors, but that these environmentally harmful chemicals can leave marks on the genome that can be passed on through germ cells—sperm and egg—to next generations. This new field has become known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.

And while there are examples of traits that have been inherited across multiple generations in everything from seeds to rodents to humans—DNA methylation patterns in response to environmental toxins, for instance—“no one has looked in terms of drugs of abuse,” says Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the director of the neuroepigenetics laboratory of the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease. That is, until now.

Building off this previous work, several recent studies in rodents have, indeed, delved into how drug and alcohol use affects the epigenome of the offspring. While mothers can harm the baby in utero, as well as subject it to stress and abuse as a child, researchers are beginning to ask the question: Can the effects of parents’ substance abuse be felt by their children, even if they stopped using years before?

These new findings suggest that if a parent uses drugs, he or she could pass on that DNA “damage” in the form of inherited epigenetic changes. What’s more, these epigenetic changes can predispose the offspring to not only becoming addicts, but to having to grapple with the behavioral traits that make it so hard to resist the pull of using, like impulsivity and heightened sensitivity to drugs.

THE EPIGENETICS OF ADDICTION

The hallmarks of addiction are tolerance and then, sensitization. Sensitization happens when a user becomes overly sensitive to a drug’s high or rewarding effect; accompanied by intense cravings and often, relapse. Eric Nestler, a leading figure in studying the epigenetic changes associated with addiction, discovered two key transcription factors that remain turned on after using drugs, thereby leading to symptoms of tolerance. (A transcription factor is a protein that parks itself next to a gene and turns it on.)

However, what was keeping the transcription factors around, they themselves being proteins from active genes? “The heightened sensitivity, it turns out, stems from epigenetic modifications of the genes,” Nestler, who is the director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, wrote in an article for Scientific American magazine in 2011.

In recent years, Nestler’s lab has conducted a series of studies on rodents that show how cocaine use can affect the genetic activity in certain parts of the brain. In one, he found that chronic cocaine use changes the pattern of acetyl and methyl tags on hundreds of genes within the brain’s reward center; and these changes make these genes more active when subsequently exposed to cocaine. In another paper, they found that chronic cocaine administration dials down the activity of certain molecules that remove acetyl groups, and of certain molecules that add methyl groups—in both cases making the genes more active with more cocaine. Epigenetic modifications have been observed in rats that use alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, and opiates.

Many of these changes are transient, lasting only a few hours after the animal receives the drug. Some last much longer, however; Nestler’s group has seen changes last as long as a month, and they’re looking into even longer times. In fact, if Skinner and others are right, it’s the very long-lasting nature of these epigenetic changes that make them heritable.

May 16, 2014 Lighthouse Network's Weekly eNews Update Featured in this issue: News: Suicide is 10th Leading Cause of Death in U.S. Identify the Warning Signs of Addiction Addiction and Mental Health Awareness Bracelets Featured Resource: Edging Forward DVD Series Free Stepping Stones Devotional Suicide is 10th Leading Cause of Death in U.S.; Someone Commits Suicide Every 14 Minutes Every 14 minutes, someone in the United States chooses to end his or her life-105 lives every day. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America, and a main risk factor for suicide is struggling with mental illness. "Many who have committed suicide or attempted to take their own life see no way out of the pain, depression and hopelessness they are feeling," said Lighthouse Network's Dr. Karl Benzio. "Counseling and treatment CAN help, especially treatment options with a Christian and biblical focus. For example, the Bible is full of hope, as evidenced in verses such as Jeremiah 29:11: 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.' When we discover, acknowledge and treat mental issues and mental illness, we have a greater chance of preventing suicide from happening, and restoring hope for our loved ones." Continue reading... Identify the Warning Signs of Addiction The Lighthouse Network wants to provide people with help using our free resources. Call our 24 hour free helpline at 1-844-LIFE-CHANGE and speak with one of our compassionate Care Guides waiting to talk with you. 5 Levels of Substance Abuse Take the Quiz: Are You a User or an Addict? Behavioral Warning Signs of Alcohol or Substance Abuse Take an Alcohol / Drug Addiction Self-Assessment Test Addiction and Mental Health Awareness Bracelets Mental health challenges remain cloaked in mystery and stigma; little is known about the true nature of such illnesses. Those who suffer need our support so they and their families do not feel alone. That's why we created our signature addiction and mental health awareness bracelets. Anyone can wear one as a reminder to call, pray for, or support friends or family members who have mental illness and need our support. This bracelet is a beautiful way to show support and bring awareness and comfort to someone who is living with mental illness now. Click here for more information or to order. Edging Forward DVD Series Mastering the Art of Godly Decision Making

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Edging Forward, a unique and groundbreaking eight-lesson (25 min. each) series by Christian Psychiatrist, Karl Benzio MD, equips you with the key concepts to understand, apply, and master the skills for Godly decision-making, helping you reach your goals of Godly fulfillment and the Mind of Christ.

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MAY 16 v 24 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB



Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.





STEP 7 - Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.



There you have it , SHUT YOUR TRAP !! Words are weapons so please try to restrain your tongue. If you have nothing nice too say then say nothing . To get this one right will be tough and you will have to go into training. My words for a long time were a wrecking ball ,because putting others down got the attention off me. Build people up not tear them down.







JAMES 3 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

When I arrived here at Narconon I was scared, beat up, and feeling worthless.  I wasn’t sure what to think of the program at first.  The only thing I was sure of was that I had enough of the way I was living.  After Sauna I felt great and things started to make sense.  I learned to communicate and confront things in my life.  I learned to communicate and confront things in my life.  I learned a lot of tools that will help me overcome any obsticles in my way.  And I have gained my self confidence back.  It’s amazing the transition that I’ve experienced in this short time.  I am very thankful for all the staff and students who helped me.  I am now ready to start my life and be the person I truly am, happy and successful.  - Jim W. The Narconon Program helped me get my life back.  When I first got to Louisiana I was a mess.  I didn’t want to do anything and I griped about everything I did.  But now that im finished I feel like I can go back home and stay clean and do big things.  I’ve never felt so good in my life.  It’s not an easy program but it’s all worth it in the end.