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Wednesday, September 10, 2014
DEA Will Allow Unused Narcotic Painkillers to be Returned to Pharmacies
September 9th, 2014/
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced Monday it will allow unused narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin to be returned to pharmacies. Until now, pharmacies were not allowed to accept unused opioid painkillers. The Controlled Substances Act required patients to dispose of the drugs themselves or give them to law enforcement during twice-yearly national “take-back” events.
Consumers will also be permitted to mail unused prescription medications to an authorized collector, in packages that will be available at pharmacies and locations including senior centers and libraries, The New York Times reports.
The new regulations are designed to curb the prescription drug abuse epidemic, the DEA said. “These new regulations will expand the public’s options to safely and responsibly dispose of unused or unwanted medications,” DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart said in anews release. “The new rules will allow for around-the-clock, simple solutions to this ongoing problem. Now everyone can easily play a part in reducing the availability of these potentially dangerous drugs.”
The regulations will take effect in one month, the article notes. In addition to OxyContin, the rule will include stimulants such as Adderall and depressants such as Ativan. The program will be voluntary for pharmacies. The DEA will require locations accepting drugs to permanently destroy them, but will not specify how they do it.
The “take-back” events removed 4.1 million pounds of prescription drugs from circulation in the past four years, according to the DEA. During that time, about 3.9 billion prescriptions were filled. “They only removed an infinitesimal fraction of the reservoir of unused drugs that are out there,” said Dr. Nathaniel Katz of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, who studies opioid abuse. “It’s like trying to eliminate malaria in Africa by killing a dozen mosquitoes.”
Flushing drugs down the toilet, or throwing out prescriptions in the trash, are discouraged because they could harm the environment.
Global Commission on Drug Policy Says Most Illegal Drugs Should be Decriminalized
September 9th, 2014/
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, largely composed of former world leaders, is calling on governments to decriminalize most illegal drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
In a new report, the group says the international drug-control system is broken, according to The Wall Street Journal. Members of the group include former presidents including Brazil’s Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Mexico’s Ernesto Zedillo and Colombia’s César Gaviria. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz are also members.
“We have to control drugs, which are out of control,” Cardoso told the newspaper. “Some lethal drugs have to be prohibited…but the guiding principle has to be to guarantee the health and safety of people.”
According to the report, a law-enforcement approach that criminalizes people who use drugs has led to violence, instability and corruption. Instead, governments should focus their efforts on harm reduction, an approach that treats drug use as a public health and social issue, the report said. Any regulatory system for drugs should not allow sales to minors, the group stated. The most dangerous forms of drugs, including crack cocaine and the flesh-eating drug “krokodil,” should continue to be banned, they said.
Law enforcement should shift its focus from people who use drugs to violent drug gangs, according to the group. “The main thrust of [drug] law now is prohibition with violence, which does no good to either people’s health or security,” Cardoso said. “The concept now is that there has to be regulation with the objective of maintaining the health and security of people and respecting human rights.”
Between 60,000 and 100,000 people have died or disappeared in drug violence in Mexico since former President Felipe Calderón declared war on drugs in 2006, according to the report.
Report: Almost 10 Percent of Americans Say They Used Illicit Drugs in 2013
September 9th, 2014/
A new government report finds 9.4 percent of Americans ages 12 and older said they used illicit drugs in 2013. Almost 20 million said they used marijuana, according to HealthDay.
The report comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which found 4.5 million Americans said they had taken prescription painkillers for nonmedical reasons in the past month. In addition, 1.5 million people said they used cocaine, 595,000 used methamphetamine and 289,000 used heroin. The data is based on an analysis of the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the article notes.
While almost 23 million Americans needed treatment for drug or alcohol use, only 2.5 million received treatment at a specialized facility, the report found. Almost 44 million American adults ages 18 and older had a mental illness last year, and 10 million said they had a serious mental illness. About 14 percent said they received treatment or counseling for their mental illness in the past year.
The report was released in conjunction with the 25th annual observance of National Recovery Month, according to a SAMHSA news release.
“This Administration’s approach to drug policy is rooted in the knowledge that substance use disorders are diseases that can be prevented, treated, and from which people can recover,” said Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy. “The recovery movement has come a long way in 25 years, and people in recovery deserve an official voice at all levels of government. We must continue to use that voice to share our triumphs and our challenges, and show the world that millions of us are leading happy, healthy, productive lives in long-term recovery. Each recovery story we tell chips away at the misconceptions that keep someone struggling with an addictive disorder from asking for help.”
New England Governors Call on Federal Government to Rescind Zohydro Approval
September 9th, 2014/
The governors of five New England states have asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to rescind approval of Zohydro ER, a pure form of the opioid hydrocodone.
The governors of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut said in a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell that Zohydro should be removed from the market because of an epidemic of opioid addiction in their states, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zohydro ER in October 2013 for patients with pain that requires daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment that cannot be treated with other medications. Drugs such as Vicodin contain a combination of hydrocodone and other painkillers such as acetaminophen. Zohydro is designed to be released over time, and can be crushed and snorted by people seeking a strong, quick high.
The governors noted Zohydro’s manufacturer, Zogenix, plans to seek approval to sell a version of the drug with abuse-deterrent features.
“As our federal partner, we urge you to overturn the FDA’s erroneous decision,” the governors wrote. “The likelihood of abuse, as well as the anticipated availability of an alternative [drug] are reasonable grounds for the FDA to rescind its approval. Our states do not need another high risk drug that will only contribute to the current epidemic of prescription drug abuse.”
In March, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick tried to ban Zohydro in his state. A federal judge ruled the state cannot ban the drug. In April, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlinannounced an emergency order to make it more difficult for doctors to prescribe the drug.
Alcohol Ads That Say ‘Drink Responsibly’ Don’t Explain How to Do So: Study
September 4th, 2014/
Alcohol ads that tell people to ‘drink responsibly’ don’t explain how to do so, a new study concludes. Instead, the ads tend to glamorize the products they are selling, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The researchers analyzed all alcohol ads appearing in U.S. magazines from 2008 to 2010. They found 87 percent of the ads included a message to drink responsibly, but none defined responsible drinking, or promoted not drinking in certain situations, Medical Xpressreports.
In 88 percent of cases, responsibility messages reinforced promotion of the advertised product. Many of the messages contradicted scenes shown in the ads. One vodka ad featured a photo of an open pour of alcohol, with a tagline suggesting the person in the ad had been drinking all night. In small type, the ad told readers to enjoy the product responsibly.
The findings appear in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Responsible drinking messages are not required under federal law. The alcohol industry’s voluntary guidelines for marketing and promotion do not provide a definition of responsible drinking, the article notes.
Study leader Katherine Clegg Smith, PhD says a more effective way to promote responsible drinking would be to prominently place warning messages in ads that directly address the behaviors depicted, and to not reinforce marketing messages. “We know from experience with tobacco that warning messages on product containers and in advertising can affect consumption of potentially dangerous products,” she said in a news release. “We should apply that knowledge to alcohol ads and provide real warnings about the negative effects of excessive alcohol use.”
20 Percent of Orthopedic Trauma Surgery Patients Go ‘Doctor Shopping’ for Narcotics
September 4th, 2014/
One-fifth of patients who undergo surgery for orthopedic trauma, including broken bones, visit multiple doctors for painkiller prescriptions, according to a new study.
The findings suggest doctors are not consulting with one another about the pain needs of their patients, says lead author Dr. Brent Morris. “There needs to be coordination if additional pain medications are needed,” he told HealthDay. “Patients should not be receiving multiple narcotic pain medication prescriptions from multiple providers without coordinating with their treating surgeon.”
The researchers studied the medical and pharmacy records of 130 patients who were treated for orthopedic trauma at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They found patients with a high school degree or less were 3.2 times more likely to try to obtain prescriptions from more than one doctor, compared to patients with more education. Those who had previously used narcotic painkillers were 4.5 times more likely to doctor-shop, the researchers report in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Most of the doctor shoppers used narcotic painkillers for about 3.5 months after surgery, compared to one month for patients who received painkillers from just one doctor. Doctor shoppers obtained a median of seven narcotic prescriptions, compared to two prescriptions for patients visiting one doctor.
“Our study highlights the importance of counseling patients in the postoperative period, and that it is important to work together to establish reasonable expectations for pain control as part of treatment plan discussions and follow-up visits,” Dr. Morris said in a.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
September 7 Chapter 71 v 20 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS
You have allowed me to suffer much hardship ,but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths (addictions) of the earth .
STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Did you ever step in the mud and when you went to lift your foot ,it pulled your shoe off . That is what it is like trying to get free from addictions of various sorts. You can feel your shoe coming off and you want to press it back down to keep it on but if you do , your shoe will fill with mud. So in a way your ,damned if you do and certainly damned if you don't. Notice the Psalm states allowed you to suffer much hardship ,it is important to point this out because God does not use the word cause much hardship . Just like when you got your foot in the mud ,you could have walked around but you did not want to take the long way around . No matter how many how many times you take shortcuts and get yourself caught up God is faithful to pull you out of the mud with your shoes still on. God will never do it half way ,He is patiently waiting for your sincere step one two and three. Or you could take a chance on your own lose your shoe in the mud and make a run for it but you know and I know you will wind up with one shoe on and mud between your toes on the other.
Psalm 73 v 1- truly God is good to Israel to those who hearts are pure . But as for me , I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping , I was almost gone.
By Joseph Dickerson
Saturday, September 6, 2014
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