Activist Group: FDA Head Should Quit Because of Worsening Opioid Overdose Epidemic

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

September 24th, 2014/

A group of activists says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has worsened the opioid overdose epidemic. They are calling on the head of the agency, Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, to quit, The Washington Post reports.

The coalition, called FedUp!, is comprised of doctors, addiction specialists and family members who have lost loved ones to prescription drug overdoses, according to the newspaper. The group is planning a rally on Sunday in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to what it called “a slow and tragically ineffective federal response” to the “worst drug addiction epidemic in our nation’s history.”

“We have come to believe that without new leadership at FDA the opioid crisis will continue unabated,” the group wrote this week to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. “We are especially frustrated by the [FDA’s] continued approval of new, dangerous, high-dose opioid analgesics that are fueling high rates of addiction and overdose deaths.”

The group criticized Hamburg’s defense of the FDA’s decision to approve Zohydro ER, a pure hydrocodone drug. Zohydro was approved for patients with pain that requires daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment that cannot be treated with other drugs. In December 2012, a panel of experts assembled by the FDA voted against recommending approval of Zohydro ER. The panel cited concerns over the potential for addiction.

The FDA said in a statement that Hamburg has been a “tireless public health advocate” for more than two decades and “is committed to continuing to champion the rights of patients.” The agency added that preventing opioid abuse and ensuring pain sufferers have access to appropriate treatments are “both top public health priorities for the FDA.”

Alcohol a Factor in Several College Freshmen Deaths This Semester

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

September 24th, 2014/

At least eight U.S. college freshmen have died so far this semester, many of them in alcohol-related incidents, according to Times Higher Education. Colleges are encouraging freshmen and their parents to talk about alcohol and drugs even before they arrive on campus.

A freshman at Texas Tech University died of alcohol poisoning in late August. An international student at Michigan State University died after a night of drinking during the school’s move-in weekend. A Towson University student in Maryland died after falling into a glass door during a party, the article notes.

“It’s a huge transition and all the support systems are different,” said Pete Goldsmith, Dean of Students at Indiana University at Bloomington. “For students who have lived in very structured situations and environments, going to a college campus when very suddenly they have this new kind of freedom and new choices to make, it can be pretty overwhelming.”

Because in many cases only a few hours of orientation are devoted to drinking and drug use at most schools, they are trying to reach incoming students and their parents before they arrive. “We urge parents to have conversations with students about drug and alcohol use,” Goldsmith said. “We encourage parents to think through what their own expectations are for this first year. Parents and students are so focused on getting into college, there’s not always a lot of attention given to what’s going to happen once they’re actually there.”

Students who arrive at school may fall under the spell of “the college effect,” says Amy Murphy, Dean of Students at Texas Tech University. Even if they arrive at school with healthy attitudes and behaviors, they are exposed to unhealthy influences once on campus. These influences make them more likely to participate in drugs and drinking, she said.

People Tend to Consume More Alcohol on Days They Exercise: Study

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

September 24th, 2014/

People tend to drink more alcohol on days they exercise, suggests a new study. Beer is the most popular post-workout alcoholic beverage, Time reports.

The 150 adults who participated in the study used a smartphone app to record how much they exercised and how much alcohol they drank for 21 days at a time, at three times during one year. The study found both exercise and drinking increased Thursdays through Sundays.

The findings are published in Health Psychology. The researchers took into account the fact that people tend to have more alcohol-related social events on the weekend, and may prefer to drink primarily on the weekends.

“Monday through Wednesday people batten down the hatches and they cut back on alcohol consumption,” lead researcher David E. Conroy of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said in a news release. “But once that ‘social weekend’ kicks off on Thursdays, physical activity increases and so does alcohol consumption.”

He added, “Perhaps people reward themselves for working out by having more to drink or maybe being physically active leads them to encountering more social situations where alcohol is consumed — we don’t know. Once we understand the connection between the two variables we can design novel interventions that promote physical activity while curbing alcohol use.”

Previous studies have shown that too much alcohol can negate some of the positive effects of exercise. Drinking adds to a person’s daily calorie count, and could impair muscle recovery, the article notes.

To our supporters, IT’SUGAR, the national retail candy store popular with kids and teens, is currently selling shot glasses and flasks made to look like prescription pill bottles. What's worse is that these products are glamorizing prescription drug abuse, and are being sold right alongside "Hello Kitty," "Frozen" and other merchandise being marketed to kids. Combined with alcohol, the abuse of prescription medications can be deadly, making the IT’SUGAR drinkware line even more disturbing. Help us save more lives and prevent teen prescription drug abuse. Please join us in demanding that IT’SUGAR stops selling these irresponsible products immediately. Sign our petition on Facebook Causes and share it with your friends.  Your support makes a difference. Together, we can #endmedicineabuse. -Marcia Lee Taylor Senior Vice President, Government Affairs Partnership for Drug-Free Kids             We're here to help. Call our Parents Toll-Free Helpline 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)            DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages sent to this email address are not read. If you have a question or comment, please use our interactive online help system. Subscribe to our RSS feeds. To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Drugfree.org, add thepartnership@drugfree.org to your address book. Partnership for Drug-Free Kids | 352 Park Avenue South | Ninth Floor | New York, NY 10010 unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | view email in browser

September 19 Chp 139 v 13 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

You made all the delicate ,inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb .

STEP 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.

A couple of years back my wife and I purchased a  battery powered car for our three year old son .It was a gift from Grandma from up the mountains. Thanks Grandma ! When we opened the box we were confronted with a million parts and an instruction booklet . With out those instructions the little car would have been a mess and me and my wife would have eventually succumb to defeat and given up . Life is a lot like that car ,from Birth God provides instructions .Moms and Dads should read us the instructions or take us to a place where we can be given the instructions . Without God given instructions for our lives we will eventually succumb to defeat . No where in the instruction manual does it say everyday will be sunny and stress free. It does say that we will have troubles but God our Father is with us every second of every day to love, lead, guide, comfort,, listen ,and meet all of our needs. Addictions were my way of dealing with life without the instructions. Well anyone with half a brain knows that addiction wont repair your life it will only wreck it .Step one opened my eyes and helped me realize I had become powerless to overcome my addictions because I wasn't reading Gods instructions. Gods Big book is the only book in the universe that once you own one and read it everyday it will come alive and become a part of you . 

Romans 15 : 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

BY JOSEPH DICKERSON

Daily Quote

"In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for 'finding himself.' If he persists in shifting his responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence." - Thomas Merton

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