More States Protecting Retailers from Being Liable for Alcohol-Related Harms
In recent years, a growing number of states have passed
laws protecting retailers from being liable for harms caused by
customers served alcohol illegally, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues from Alcohol
Policy Consultations, found an erosion of so-called commercial host
liability laws from 1989 to 2011, Medical Xpress reports.
These laws hold alcohol retailers liable for harms attributable to
alcohol, which result from illegal alcohol sales to a person who is
intoxicated or underage at the time of service. The laws apply in bars,
restaurants and clubs, as well as in off-premise locations.
The findings will appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“The erosion of commercial host liability in recent decades is a
public health failure that directly contributes to the exorbitant human
and economic costs of excessive drinking,” lead author James F. Mosher,
JD, of Alcohol Policy Consultations, said in a news release.
“Alcohol retailers who operate negligently and engage in illegal
serving practices should not receive special protection, denying those
who are injured their day in court.”
A study published in 2011
found holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries or damage done by
their customers who are intoxicated can reduce alcohol-related
occurrences including motor vehicle deaths, homicides and injuries,
according to a nationwide task force.
Drop in U.S. Cocaine Use Due to Waning Popularity, New Colombian Drug Strategies
The dramatic decrease in cocaine use in America is due to a
number of factors, ranging from changing trends to new drug control
strategies implemented by Colombia, according to NPR.
The 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found the number of Americans ages 12 or older who are current users of cocaine has dropped by 44 percent since 2006.
One reason cocaine’s popularity has declined is it simply went out of
fashion, according to Peter Reuter, a professor of Public Policy at the
University of Maryland, who researches drug problems. “The drug went
out of vogue a long time ago,” he told NPR. “Lots of people experiment
with it, but very few of the people that experiment with it in the last
20 years have gone on to become regular users of it.”
Colombia, a major cocaine producer, implemented new strategies to
reduce cocaine production after 2008. In 2000, the country grew 74
percent of the world’s coca leaves. Colombia spent billions of dollars
to fight drug cartels and coca crops. Starting in 2008, the country’s
new defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, began emphasizing
drug seizures, and targeting facilities that manufactured cocaine.
The supply of cocaine dropped, the price of the drug in the United
States rose, and consumption likely decreased as a result, says Daniel
Mejia, Director of the Research Center on Drugs and Security at the
Universidad de los Andes in Bogota.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) announced there has been a 41 percent decrease in worldwide
cocaine production since 2001, and a 10 percent drop from the previous
year. ONDCP says a U.S.-Columbian partnership has contributed to the
drop in worldwide cocaine production. Interceptions by the Coast Guard
and Defense Department along drug trafficking routes have also led to a
decrease in the amount of cocaine entering the United States.
Indiana Poison Center Reports Dramatic Drop in Synthetic Drug Overdoses
The Indiana Poison Center reports major decreases in the
number of reported overdoses from synthetic drugs such as bath salts and
Spice, according to the Associated Press.
The state passed its first synthetic drug ban in 2011. Since then,
there has been an 86 percent decrease in reported overdoses of bath
salts, and a 61 percent drop in overdoses of Spice, or synthetic
marijuana.
State Senator Jim Merritt, who sponsored the synthetic drug ban, said in a news release,
“Synthetic drug use quickly became an epidemic in Indiana, with these
products cropping up in convenience stores and gas stations across the
state. These drugs provide absolutely no value to society, have
dangerous and destructive side effects, and fuel a culture of casual
drug use. I am energized to see Indiana’s rates dropping and I pledge to
continue this fight.”
People using bath salts have experienced side effects including
paranoia and violent behavior; hallucinations; delusions; suicidal
thoughts; seizures; panic attacks; increased blood pressure and heart
rate; chest pain; and nausea and vomiting.
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers,
health effects from synthetic marijuana can be life-threatening and can
include severe agitation and anxiety; fast, racing heartbeat and higher
blood pressure; nausea and vomiting; muscle spasms, seizures, and
tremors; intense hallucinations and psychotic episodes; and suicidal and
other harmful thoughts and/or actions.
Massachusetts City Reports 95% Success Rate With Opioid Overdose Antidote Narcan
The police department of Quincy, Massachusetts, the first
in the nation to require every officer on patrol to carry the opioid
overdose antidote Narcan, reports a 95 percent success rate with the
treatment. Quincy police have used Narcan 179 times, and reversed
overdoses 170 times since 2010, CBS News reports
In the nine remaining cases, five people were already dead when
police arrived, and four people had consumed other substances. Narcan,
also known as naloxone, only reverses opioid overdoses. It costs $22 a
dose.
Quincy police officer Ryan Donnelly, who has used Narcan to reverse
eight overdoses before paramedics arrived, said, “They’re somebody’s
daughter or son or father or brother or mother. That’s what clicks in
your head.”
Quincy narcotics detective Patrick Glynn, who oversees the Narcan
program, says the police have two doses in every cruiser. About 200
officers are trained to use Narcan. “We changed our philosophy,” Glynn
said. “It’s just a simple change where we decided that we cannot arrest
our way out of this epidemic.”
Narcan has been used for many years by paramedics and doctors in
emergency rooms. It is administered by nasal spray. The medication
blocks the ability of heroin or opioid painkillers to attach to brain
cells. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy told CBS News it
is encouraging other police departments to carry Narcan.
In the past few years, Narcan has been distributed free to opioid users and their loved ones, in a growing number of sites around the country.
Brewers’ Ryan Braun Suspended for Rest of Baseball Season for Drug Violations
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been suspended
for the rest of the season by Major League Baseball (MLB), for violating
the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, MLB.com reports.
Braun will miss 65 regular-season games, and any potential
post-season games. His suspension is without pay. He is the first in a
potential group of baseball players to be banned because of their
connection with a South Florida clinic accused of supplying
performance-enhancing drugs to players, according to Bloomberg.
“We’ve scratched the tip of the iceberg,” MLB Network analyst Mitch
Williams told Bloomberg. “There’s going to be a whole lot more
suspensions after this.” Other players who might face suspensions
include the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers’
Nelson Cruz, the article notes. About 20 players could eventually face
suspension.
The players are connected with a Miami-area clinic, Biogenesis of America,
which is now closed. In January, a Florida newspaper reported Rodriguez
and Braun obtained performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis. MLB
filed a suit against Biogenesis for allegedly providing
performance-enhancing drugs to players, and advising them on how to pass
drug tests. The clinic’s owner, Tony Bosch, reached an agreement to
cooperate with a MLB investigation.
In January, MLB and its players union announced they reached an
agreement to conduct in-season blood testing of players for human growth
hormone. Players also will be tested for synthetic testosterone, which
is increasingly popular because it washes out of the body fairly quickly
after being used.
Major League Baseball was the first major sport in the United States
to agree to human growth hormone testing. It reached an agreement with
its union in November 2011 to test for the substance, but only in spring
training and the off-season. The new agreement expands the testing into
the baseball season.
Smoking and Heavy Drinking May Hasten Decline in Brain Function: Study
People who are both smokers and heavy drinkers have a
faster decline in brain function, compared with those who don’t smoke
and who drink moderately, a new study suggests. Smoking and heavy
drinking is associated with a 36 percent quicker decline in cognitive
function.
The 10-year study of almost 6,500 adults ages 45 to 69 found mental
decline accelerates the more alcohol a person consumes, according to HealthDay. The study considered heavy drinking to be more than 14 drinks a week for women, and 21 for men.
“Current advice is that smokers should stop or cut down, and people
should avoid heavy alcohol drinking,” lead researcher Dr. Gareth
Hagger-Johnson of University College London said in a news release.
“Our study suggests that people should also be advised not to combine
these two unhealthy behaviors — particularly from midlife onwards.
Healthy behaviors in midlife may prevent cognitive [mental] decline into
early old age.”
The researchers assessed participants’ mental function, including
verbal and math reasoning, short-term verbal memory and verbal fluency,
three times during the study.
“When we looked at people who were heavy-drinking smokers, we found
that for every 10 years that they aged, their brains aged the equivalent
of 12 years,” Hagger-Johnson said. “From a public health perspective,
the increasing burden associated with cognitive [mental] aging could be
reduced if lifestyle factors can be modified, and we believe that people
should not drink alcohol more heavily in the belief that alcohol is a
protective factor against cognitive decline.”
The findings appear in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
