WHO Urges Countries to Decriminalize Personal Drug Use to Reduce Incarceration
/By Join Together Staff
July 24th, 2014/


The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to decriminalize personal drug use, in order to reduce incarceration, The Huffington Post reports.

In a report on HIV prevention and care, WHO called on nations to work toward developing policies and laws that decriminalize injection and other use of drugs. Countries should decriminalize the use of clean needles and syringes, and permit needle and syringe programs, WHO stated. The organization supports policies that legalize opioid substitution therapy for people who are opioid-dependent.

WHO also urged countries to ban compulsory treatment for people who use and/or inject drugs.

Dr. Andrew Ball, Senior Advisor on Strategy, Policy and Equity in WHO’s Department of HIV, told The Huffington Post the organization recommends decriminalizing personal drug use, not drug cultivation, production and trafficking. He said WHO is not calling for the legalization of drugs worldwide.

“The guidelines recommend decriminalization of a range of behaviors of key populations – not just drug use – on public health grounds, so as to improve access to and utilization of health services, to reduce the likelihood of the adoption of riskier behaviors and to reduce incarceration rates,” he said.

Three-Quarters of Americans Say Don’t Lower the Drinking Age: Poll
/By Join Together Staff
July 24th, 2014/


Three-quarters of Americans say they would oppose legislation to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, a new Gallup poll finds.

Federal legislation passed in 1984 withheld a portion of federal highway funds from states that did not have a minimum drinking age of 21. A major goal of the law was reducing driving deaths involving young adults, Gallup reports. Before the law was passed, neighboring states often had different minimum drinking ages. This meant those old enough to drive, but not allowed to drink in their own state, would drive to a nearby state with a lower drinking age to buy or consume alcohol.

A review of studies published in February found raising the minimum drinking age to 21 has been associated with a reduced rate of drunk driving crashes among young Americans. The increased legal drinking age has also led to a reduction in other health threats associated with heavy drinking, including unsafe sex, suicide and dating violence.

Some experts have argued that lowering the drinking age and teaching teenagers and young adults to drink responsibly at a young age might help reduce binge drinking. They say lowering the drinking age could reduce the allure of alcohol for those not allowed to drink it.

The poll found that among people who describe themselves as liberal, 34 percent would support lowering the drinking age, compared with 18 percent of those who call themselves conservative. Among those who drink alcohol at least on occasion, 29 percent favor lowering the drinking age, compared with 18 percent of those who never drink. Among those who drink at least weekly, 35 percent would like to see the drinking age lowered.

Younger adults were no more likely than older adults to support a lower drinking age, the poll found.

New Painkiller That Combines Oxycodone and Naloxone 

 Approved by FDA
/By Join Together Staff
July 24th, 2014/




A new painkiller that combines oxycodone and naloxone was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday. Naloxone was included in the drug to block the euphoric effects of oxycodone, making it less appealing to abuse.

The drug, Targiniq ER, is made by Purdue Pharma, which also makes OxyContin, the Los Angeles Times reports. Targiniq ER can be crushed and then snorted or injected. If the pills are crushed, the naloxone becomes active.

“Targiniq ER can still be abused, including when taken orally (by mouth), which is currently the most common way oxycodone is abused,” according to a statement by the FDA. Targiniq is expected to “deter, but not totally prevent” abuse, the FDA said.

“The FDA is committed to combating the misuse and abuse of all opioids,” Sharon Hertz, Deputy Director of the FDA’s Division of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Addiction Products, said in the statement. “The development of opioids that are harder to abuse is needed in order to help address the public health crisis of prescription drug abuse in the U.S.”

Dr. Andrew Kolodny, President of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, told the newspaper he is concerned that doctors who believe Targiniq is safe may be more likely to prescribe it than to look for alternatives. “If we really want to turn this epidemic around, the most important thing is to stop creating new cases of addiction,” he said. “Coming up with new gimmicks isn’t going to help.”

Lynn Webster, a pain and addiction specialist and former president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, said that while abuse-deterrent drugs such as Targiniq are not a good substitute for judicious prescribing, “the obvious alternative is not to have abuse-deterrent formulations, and I don’t know anyone who would find that preferable.”

JULY 24 CHAPTER 91 v 3 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease .

STEP 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God 

Maybe this verse from Psalms is the reason Bill included God in the twelve steps . Addiction and Alcoholism are just that a trap and a deadly disease . Once an animal is caught in a trap it gets stuck and no matter how hard it struggles it cannot get free . Sounds like addiction too me ! Bill recognized without Gods help your not going to get out . His creation of the 12 steps and assistance from God above has freed millions from the trap . If you want out of the trap recognize your stuck and you need help  ! Many die in the trap because they think they can get free without help !  There are millions in the world that know how to get free from the trap , be humble and willing and you will get free. 

John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set 

you free .

By Joseph Dickerson

	BREAKING NEWS: Teens Report Higher Use of Performance Enhancing Substances
	Dangerous Trends Reinforce Need for Tighter Regulation of “Fitness Products”
	The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids today released new research from the latest Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), a nationally projectable survey that tracks teen drug and alcohol use and parent attitudes toward substance abuse among teens. The research, sponsored by MetLife Foundation, shows a significant increase – a doubling – in the reported lifetime use of synthetic human growth hormone (hGH) among teens.
	According to the survey, 11 percent of teens in grades 9-12 reported “ever having used” synthetic human growth hormone without a prescription, up dramatically from just 5 percent in 2012. These findings underscore teens’ growing interest in performance enhancing substances, as well as the need for tighter regulation and more accurate labeling of “fitness-enhancing” over-the-counter products implying they contain synthetic hGH.
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