California Counties Sue Five Drug Manufacturers Over Prescription Drug Abuse

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

May 22nd, 2014/

Two California counties have sued five drug manufacturers, accusing them of causing the country’s prescription drug abuse epidemic. The suit alleges the companies waged a “campaign of deception” in order to increase painkiller sales.

The Los Angeles Times reports Orange and Santa Clara counties filed the suit Wednesday. Both counties have seen an increase in overdose deaths, emergency room visits and increased medical costs linked to prescription drug abuse. According to the suit, the drug companies violated California laws against false advertising, unfair business practices and creating a public nuisance.

The lawsuit alleges the companies profited by making doctors believe the benefits of narcotic painkillers outweighed the risks, despite “a wealth of scientific evidence to the contrary.” The lawsuit contends the companies’ efforts “opened the floodgates” for these drugs and “the result has been catastrophic.”

According to the suit, the companies ran a marketing campaign to encourage patients, including the elderly and well-insured veterans, to ask their doctors for painkillers for conditions ranging from headaches to back pain and arthritis. The suit says the widespread prescribing of narcotic painkillers has created “a population of addicts,” and led to a resurgence of heroin use.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the goal of the suit is “to stop the lies about what these drugs do.” It seeks compensation for damages allegedly caused by the painkillers. It also seeks a court order to force the drug manufacturers to forfeit revenue based on the marketing campaign.

The companies named in the suit are Actavis, Endo Health Solutions Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Purdue Pharma, and Cephalon Inc.

“We’re committed to responsible promotion, prescribing and use of all our medications,” said Robyn Reed Frenze, a spokeswoman for Janssen Pharmaceuticals. She said her company was reviewing the case. Representatives for the other companies either declined to comment or were not immediately available.

Colorado Steps Up Education and Enforcement of Drugged Driving

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

May 22nd, 2014/

Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, the state has increased education about the dangers of drugged driving and stepped up enforcement, according to NPR. The problem, experts say, is that there is no widespread agreement about how much marijuana impairs a person’s ability to drive.

Colorado’s new state limit for marijuana use while driving is 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood of THC, the drug’s psychoactive chemical.

John Lacey, a traffic safety expert, says marijuana doesn’t metabolize predictably like alcohol. “It makes setting an absolute level where everyone is impaired, like we have for alcohol, much more difficult for marijuana and for other drugs,” he told NPR. “They just behave differently than alcohol does.”

He noted drivers who use marijuana tend to drive more slowly, have trouble staying in their lane, and don’t respond as quickly as drivers who don’t use the drug. He advises people to stay off the road after they’ve used marijuana.

Colorado has added dozens of drug recognition experts to its ranks of law enforcement. While the state has started to keep track of marijuana DUI citations, most local police departments do not.

A study published earlier this year concluded that fatal car crashes that involved marijuana tripled in the past decade. One in nine drivers involved in a fatal crash tests positive for marijuana, according to the Columbia University researchers.

MAY 22 v 12 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB
The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.



STEP 11- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out

Knowledge - information, understanding, or skill that you get from experience or education. : awareness of something.

Unfaithful - Not adhering to promises, obligations, or allegiances; disloyal.

 

Sometimes seeing the meaning of the word , can change the message completely . The Proverb is very clear that the Lord will frustrate those who are unfaithful in their relationship with HIM .Remember that day when you hit rock bottom ,drowning in your tears and screaming for God to help you change your life . At that moment God heard you and He helped you ,but now you got some clean time in your feeling good ,who needs God. The bible clearly states that the trials we face in life are used to bring us closer to Him and teach us to reach our maximum potential in life. If your at step eleven and are miserable and frustrated give yourself a check up from the heart up . Are you being faithful in your relationship ,and are you keeping the promises you made to God .
 

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

By Joseph Dickerson

Prescription Drug Abuse Takes Enormous Toll on Seniors
/By Celia Vimont
May 21st, 2014/

Prescription drug abuse is hitting the senior community hard, according to a review of government data conducted by USA Today. The newspaper looked at overdose deaths, emergency room visits and admissions to addiction treatment programs.

“There’s this growing group of seniors, they have pain, they have anxiety…and a lot of (doctors) have one thing in their tool box — a prescription pad,” said Mel Pohl, Medical Director at the Las Vegas Recovery Center, which treats elderly patients for pain and drug dependence. “The doctor wants to make their life better, so they start on the meds.” Patients build up a tolerance over time, or they suffer more pain and request more medication. “And without anyone necessarily realizing, it begins a downward spiral with horrible consequences,” he told the newspaper.

Elderly patients are susceptible to complications from drug use, including falls, cognitive problems, respiratory failure and dementia, the article notes.

Older patients are receiving more opioid painkillers and benzodiazepines (such as Xanax and Valium). Last year, 55 million opioid prescriptions were written for people 65 and older, marking a 20 percent increase over five years—almost double the growth rate of the elderly population. During the same period, the number of benzodiazepine prescriptions rose 12 percent, to 28.4 million.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found in 2012, the average number of elderly people misusing or dependent on prescription painkillers in the past year increased from 132,000 a decade ago, to 336,000. Government data also shows a 46 percent increase in cases of adults 55 and older seeking substance abuse treatment for prescription narcotics from 2007 to 2011.

Law Enforcement Struggles to Keep Up With Prescription Drug Diversion Crimes
/By Celia Vimont
May 21st, 2014/

Law enforcement officials are struggling to keep up with the large number of prescription drug diversion schemes, according to USA Today. The crimes are putting the spotlight on the safety and security of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Drug experts told the newspaper these schemes are putting consumers at risk. Last year, Congress strengthened oversight of the drug supply chain. The Drug Quality and Security Act established a system to track prescription drugs from the time they are manufactured until they are sold at a drugstore.

Over the next seven years, the Drug Quality and Security Act calls for drug manufacturers, repackagers, wholesale distributors and dispensers to pass and hold onto key information about each drug’s distribution history. The goal is to allow unit-level product tracing within 10 years. Four years after the law is enacted, manufacturers will serialize drugs in a consistent way across the industry, to allow for efficient tracing to respond to recalls and notices of theft and counterfeiting.

Marvin Shepherd, Director of the Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, told the newspaper the problem “is much bigger than people will admit.” He noted large amounts of substandard drugs can be bought online. Some unscrupulous wholesalers purchase drugs from sources other than the manufacturer because it’s cheaper, he said. “Greed is the underlying reason for all of it,” Shepherd said. “People can obtain a lot of pharmaceuticals through diversion and make a lot of money from it.”

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy issued a report last year that stated the “prescription drug diversion problem has increased dramatically since 2005.” Federal and state regulators have not been able to keep pace with the crimes, the group added.

Retired NFL Players Say League Illegally Supplied Them with Prescription Painkillers
/By Celia Vimont
May 21st, 2014/

A group of retired National Football League (NFL) players filed a lawsuit this week, alleging the league illegally supplied them with prescription painkillers. The drugs numbed their injuries, and led to medical complications, according to the players.

The players say the NFL obtained and administered the painkillers without prescriptions, the Associated Press reports. The league did not warn the players about the drugs’ potential side effects, the lawsuit alleges. The players say the league wanted them to return to the field quickly, in order to maximize profits.

Some players say they were not told they had broken legs or ankles, and were instead given painkillers. One player said he was given anti-inflammatory medication instead of surgery. The years of free painkillers led to addiction, some players contend.

The NFL would not comment on the lawsuit, which names eight players. Lawyers for the players are seeking class-action status for former players who received narcotic painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, local anesthetics, sleeping aids or other drugs without a prescription. More than 500 other former players have signed on to the lawsuit, according to the lawyers.

The suit seeks to force the NFL to fund a testing and monitoring program to help prevent addiction, injuries and disabilities resulting from painkiller use, the AP notes. The suit also seeks unspecified financial damages.