Unused tool could help state flag reckless doctors

Los Angeles Times Investigation: Dying for Relief Series

Kamala Harris has a powerful tool for identifying reckless doctors, but she doesn't use it. As California's attorney general, Harris controls a database that tracks prescriptions for painkillers and other commonly abused drugs from doctors' offices to pharmacy counters and into patients' hands. The system, known as CURES, was created so physicians and pharmacists could check to see whether patients were obtaining drugs from multiple providers. Law enforcement officials and medical regulators could mine the data for a different purpose: To draw a bead on rogue doctors. But they don't, and that has allowed corrupt or negligent physicians to prescribe narcotics recklessly for years before authorities learned about their conduct through other means, a Times investigation found.

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Alcohol sales enforcers get heavy-duty protection

Sacramento Bee

California's alcohol sales enforcers have gotten $70,000 worth of bullet-resistant vests, helmets and gas masks to protect them during undercover stings at bars, restaurants and retail establishments. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says the equipment is essential for the safety of its 142 sworn agents. Most agency arrests involve selling or giving alcoholic beverages to minors.

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CA shelter rejects man's Christmas cash giveaway

Sacramento Bee

A Southern California man's tradition of handing out cash totaling $1,000 to homeless men was broken when he was turned away by a shelter on Christmas Day. Harvey Youngman said he felt dejected driving home from the Ventura County Rescue Mission's facility in Oxnard with a bag of unopened cards stuffed with $20 bills. The Ventura County Star reports Youngman had been bringing money-filled cards to the mission for about a decade. However, the shelter's new director, John Saltee, said the money can be tempting for the men who are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction.

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Health reform's many unknowns

ErieTimes-News

As California positions itself at the vanguard of the national health-care overhaul, state officials are unable to say for sure how much their implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act will cost taxpayers. The program, intended to insure millions of Americans who are now without health coverage, takes states into uncharted territory. California, which plans to expand coverage to hundreds of thousands of people when the law takes effect in 2014, faces myriad unknowns. The administration of Gov. Jerry Brown will try to estimate the cost of vastly more health coverage in the budget plan it unveils in January, but experts warn its numbers could be off.

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Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians

Billings Gazette

They return from war traumatized. They have survived the grinding stress of being in constant danger. They have seen the worst. Some have injuries that will never heal. To stay alive, they have learned to trust no one and to never show weakness. It’s something they don’t want to talk about. And it’s killing them. Veterans commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. In fact, the annual military death toll from suicides has for several years exceeded the number killed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. For some returning vets, their injuries are obvious. Many others struggle with unseen wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.

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Why Are so Many Veterans in Prison?

Huffington Post

Following what is quickly becoming a nation-wide trend in the U.S., the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, recently opened a veterans-only dorm to house prisoners who are former soldiers. In dedicating the new wing, state correctional officials announced that they hoped that the veterans-only facility will help veterans complete their sentences and avoid prison in future. Along with Virginia, other U.S. states including Florida and Georgia have also opened up veterans-only prison facilities to address the rising problem of returning military veterans who get in trouble with the law.

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Cost of War column: Iraq veteran is trapped in "lonely, dark life" since coming home

Alabama Live (blog)

I am a 28-year-old veteran who had the honorable pleasure of serving with 39 other men -- 39 heroes in my eyes -- of Bravo Company, 1-167th Infantry, Alabama Army National Guard, between May 16, 2005 to May 14, 2006. In the six-and-a-half years since returning home from Iraq, our lives and the difficulties we have faced are as different as our own physical characteristics. In many combat arms veterans' eyes, to speak out about and seek help for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression is forbidden, conflicting with the image of the hard, determined grunt emotionally numb from the horrors of the battlefield. However, no one can go through the day-to-day fear in a true war-zone environment without being somewhat vulnerable to these diseases. So this is my story.

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Epidemic of Painkiller Addiction Strikes Newborns

Live Science

In a phenomenon that reminds some experts of the crack-baby epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, hospitals across the country are reporting a startling increase in the number of babies born addicted to opioid painkillers like Oxycontin (oxycodone). In 2009, reports the Wall Street Journal, about 13,000 babies were diagnosed as having painkiller withdrawal symptoms — the condition is sometimes referred to as "neonatal abstinence syndrome." The number of babies born with the condition tripled between 2000 and 2009, found a study published this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

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‘It opens your heart’: Canada approves use of ecstasy in study into post-traumatic stress disorder

National Post

Exactly a century after ecstasy was first patented, Health Canada has approved the drug’s import for the first Canadian study using the illegal substance in trauma survivors’ therapy. The decision to allow two Vancouver therapists to import nine grams of MDMA from a laboratory in Switzerland — one of only two such permitted facilities worldwide — will kickstart the first experiment with the euphoria-and-empathy-producing drug in B.C. on Jan. 1, according to a Health Canada email obtained by the National Post, dated Nov. 23. “I don’t know if we’ll have to wait until the MDMA is actually in our hands, but we’ve got a whole list of people who want to come to do it,” Dr. Ingrid Pacey, one of the researchers, told the Post. “There’s a part of me that still doesn’t quite believe it. When the MDMA arrives from Switzerland … when it finally lands on Canadian soil, then I’ll be certain.”

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Prescription painkiller overdoses surpass 'street' drugs

Today

Jennifer Cassidy still sees a healthy young man when she looks at old photos of her brother, Aaron. “He was that guy in high school that, you know, starting pitcher for the baseball team, starting football defensive end,” she says. “Very popular.” Later on, as a successful insurance salesman who loved to work out, he went to a doctor for help with old sports injuries. Aaron, then 33, was given a prescription for the painkiller Vicodin. Although he did not have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, Cassidy tells TODAY, he developed a powerful addiction to painkillers.

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Studies downplayed risks of OxyContin and other opioids

Bangor Daily News

Over much of the past decade, the official word on OxyContin was that it rarely posed problems of addiction for patients. The label on the drug, which was approved by the FDA, said the risks of addiction were “reported to be small.” The New England Journal of Medicine, the nation’s premier medical publication, informed readers that studies indicated that such painkillers pose “a minimal risk of addiction.” Another important journal study, which the manufacturer of OxyContin reprinted 10,000 times, indicated that in a trial of arthritis patients, only a handful showed withdrawal symptoms.

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Video gaming joins smoking, gambling on list of common addictions

Times Live

"I'm a massive fan," he said. "I've been playing the series since the World War days and absolutely love it." Circumstantial evidence suggests gaming can be as addictive as gambling. In July a Diablo III fan in Taiwan collapsed and died after a 40-hour session at an internet cafe. Australian National University psychologist Olivia Metcalf has found concrete evidence that gaming is indeed addictive. For her research, which showed that addicted gamers had trouble focusing on other tasks, she gathered volunteers representing: those who were addicted; those who were regular players but who were not addicted; and a control group of non-players. They were tested for their responses to gaming-related words.

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Talk to your teens about alcohol ahead of New Year’s Eve parties

Odessa American Online

With school out for the holiday break, teens are gathering at parties where they might be asked to try drugs and alcohol. The Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse reminds parents how to talk to their kids and safeguard them during the holidays when a higher number of social gatherings are happening. “It’s important for parents to take time during the holiday season to talk to their kids about the dangers of underage drinking and drug use. Parents are still the strongest influencers in their children’s lives, even during the teenage years, and we want to ensure that our most precious resource — our young people — stay safe this holiday season,” said Commissioner Jewel Mullen, with the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

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Which new state and federal laws will affect your family?

Examiner.com

Happy New Year! As strains of "Auld Lang Syne" resound across the country, major new laws affecting your family’s income, healthcare, parenting decisions and daily life will go into effect. While many news reports has focused on gay marriage and legalization of marijuana, there are other new laws parents need to know about. Here are some of the most impactful: Wage slaves get minimal relief.

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San Jose: alleged 'pill mill' doctor faces involuntary manslaughter charge in overdose death

Contra Costa Times

A doctor accused of involuntary manslaughter and drug charges for allegedly running a "pill mill" out of her Los Gatos clinic plans to use expert testimony in her defense in Santa Clara County Superior Court, her attorney said. Jasna Mrdjen, who is free on bail while facing 13 felony charges, stood in court this afternoon before Judge Philip H. Pennypacker, who acknowledged outstanding discovery issues and agreed to push a hearing to set a date for Mrdjen's preliminary examination to Feb. 12. Mrdjen is facing 13 felony counts in connection with illegally prescribing powerful prescription drugs to patients, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Dana Veazey said.

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Chico State's president says action is needed to combat alcohol abuse

ChicoER

There's no question that Chico State University has a drinking problem, campus president Paul Zingg said Thursday. That can be seen in the five alcohol-related student deaths that occurred in the last five months, he said in a phone interview. Not all five were Chico State students. Next week, campus and community leaders will issue a "call to action," he said. It will be a written statement that will be circulated, probably at least in part through newspaper ads, he said. It will kick off a campaign to find solutions to the problem of excessive, dangerous drinking. Next semester, he said, a summit meeting will be held on campus, involving educators, community leaders, students, parents and others. "The first step is understanding the problem," he said. From there, strategies will need to be developed.

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Online program may help ID self-harm patterns

Army Times

The Army is developing an online software program leaders hope will help commanding officers connect the dots between a soldier’s history of high-risk behavior and any outward signs he might be considering self-harm. The Commander’s Risk Reduction Dashboard, requested by the Army G-1’s office and scheduled for a February release, will pull incident reports from multiple Army databases to create a profile commanders can consult when considering the best way to intervene with a soldier who might need help. So far this year, the Army has confirmed 113 active-duty suicides, with 64 cases still under investigation, though typically 90 percent of suspected suicides are confirmed. The numbers for 2012 are on track to pass last year’s historic high of 165 confirmed active-duty suicides.

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Patrolling for veterans in need

Journal Sentinel

Greg Carter grabbed plastic bags filled with sandwiches from the back of his SUV, pulled his hood up against the steady biting rain that would harden into snow within hours and walked into the darkness. His flashlight's beam bounced against piles of garbage, empty beer cans, an overturned shopping cart, a broken folding chair. It was 4 a.m. on Milwaukee's south side. Four or five mornings each week, Carter travels city streets searching for homeless veterans. He knows where they hang out. He knows their habits. He knows how they end up on the street. Because Carter used to be one of them. In Milwaukee on any given night, roughly one in four homeless people is a veteran, more than double the national average of homeless veterans.

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Californians to Watch: Peter Lee will launch California's health exchange

Sacramento Bee

In a large downtown Sacramento office perched above J Street, empty cubicles and a sense of calm in December belie the nearly impossible task before Peter V. Lee. In nine months, his Covered California organization will try to sign up hundreds of thousands of residents for health care in a multitude of different languages. A new statewide computer system – still in development – must determine which state program each family qualifies for, then offer prices based on income and coverage level.

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Grants to provide new health center for Hiram Johnson, mobile clinic for San Juan Unified schools

Modesto Bee

Federal funds will build a new health clinic at Hiram Johnson High School and put a mobile health clinic on the road to serve five other schools in Sacramento County.  The two grants totaling nearly $877,000 come from the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  A $376,774 grant for the mobile clinic was awarded to the nonprofit Midtown Medical Center for Children and Families.  The mobile clinic could be on the road as early as next spring, said Elizabeth Cassin, CEO of the medical center.  The mobile unit will provide primary, dental and mental health care to students who attend schools in low-income areas of the San Juan Unified School District. The mobile van will serve Encina High School and Greer, Edison, Howe and Dyer-Kelly elementary schools, said Nina Mancina, program specialist at San Juan Unified.

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Fiscal cliff stumble could doom California's budget recovery

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown and California lawmakers struck an upbeat tone in recent weeks as they enjoyed their most positive budget outlook since the economic downturn. Whether that mood survives the winter depends on Washington. State budget experts say the biggest immediate threat to California finances is a recession triggered by automatic federal cuts and tax hikes, absent a political deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

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GINGRICH AND NOLAN: Criminal justice reform saving states billions

Washington Times

The news media are enthralled with the drama of the wrestling match at the brink of the “fiscal cliff.” However, the taxpayers should keep their eyes on the equally gripping story of the budget shortfalls facing virtually every state. Our governors and state legislators are grappling with insolvent pension systems, ballooning Medicaid expenditures, skyrocketing prison costs and falling tax revenues. Still, there is good news. Rather than being paralyzed by partisan gridlock, state leaders have found bipartisan agreement on an important issue: criminal justice reform.

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Documenting the Failed 'War on Drugs'

National Journal

The year began with a line that was as much a lamentation as it was an astute observation. "The scale and brutality of our prisons are the moral scandal of American life," Adam Gopnik wrote in a trenchant essay in the Jan. 30 issue of the New Yorker. "How did we get here? How is it that our civilization, which rejects hanging and flogging and disemboweling, came to believe that caging vast numbers of people for decades is an acceptably humane condition?" The year ends with filmmaker Eugene Jarecki touring the country -- visiting prisons, prosecutors' conferences, schools -- showing off his heartbreaking documentary, The House I Live In, an acclaimed collection of interlocking stories about the mournful human impact of America's failed war on drugs. Did you know there is a man serving a life sentence in Oklahoma for "trafficking" three ounces of methamphetamine? Did you know that the rise of privately-owned prisons means that there is now a direct financial incentive to incarcerate people?

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New year brings new laws

Thousand Oaks Acorn

Gov. Jerry Brown signed 876 state Senate and Assembly bills into law during 2012, most of which go into effect Jan. 1. The new laws affect traffic rules, the conducting of business in California, health and safety, criminal violations and many other issues. The bills are listed on California’s official legislative information website, http:// leginfo.ca.gov. What follows is an overview of some of the most notable laws that take effect in the new year: ‘Good Samaritan’ overdose protection; Current California laws make the unauthorized use, possession and sale of certain controlled substances illegal. But Assembly Bill 472, written by Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), allows those who witness a drug-related overdose to seek emergency assistance without fear of arrest for minor drug violations.

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Authorities will need to stay on pot growers

Recorder Online

More than 200,000 marijuana plants were confiscated and destroyed by local law enforcement this year in Tulare County, an astounding figure, but one that shows the effort to eradicate the illicit growing of the popular weed will not end soon. Those in law enforcement will tell you that they are only making a small dent in the growing of marijuana locally. While we agree that may be true, it did seem this summer that some progress was made to discourage the illegal growing of marijuana in the county. In the past couple of the years the growing of marijuana on the Valley floor mushroomed. Hundreds of gardens popped up all over the county, many on the east side along the foothills, but also in towns like Alpaugh and Earlimart.

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Number of homeless veterans decreasing

Post-Tribune

The number of homeless veterans in Northwest Indiana dropped by more than half — reflecting a national trend — in the annual Point in Time homeless count on Jan. 25, 2012. Local homeless advocates say housing options and services tailored specifically for veterans may be contributing to the trend. President Barack Obama set a goal of eradicating homelessness among veterans by 2015. Since 2009, the national number has dropped by 17 percent to 62,619. In a conference call last week, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Veterans Administration Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki focused on the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program.

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Chesapeake prison opens wing for military veterans

Virginian-Pilot

The white tile floors, cinder-block walls and rows of steel bunks remind Raymond Riddick of the barracks he stayed in during boot camp in the mid-1980s. "Only, the beds weren't bolted to the floor," the former sailor said while giving a tour of his dormitory at Indian Creek Correctional Center in southern Chesapeake. Riddick, who's locked up following a string of car thefts, is one of about 60 former service members serving out criminal sentences in a new veterans dorm at the medium-security prison. State corrections officials christened the wing during a ceremony last month, saying they hoped the program would change lives and prevent war vets from returning to prison.

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Five ways your health care will change in 2013

Washington Post

The Affordable Care Act's biggest year is, without a doubt, 2014: That's when the federal subsidies to purchase health insurance roll out. It's also when penalties for not buying coverage kick in. But many of the big changes will start gradually in 2013. They range from increasing payments to Medicaid doctors to upping Medicare taxes to the exchanges' very first open-enrollment period. Here's a quick guide to what will happen in health care in the next year. 1. Health-care cost growth will slow to a new low. The United States is expected to spend a $2.9 trillion on health care in 2013, according to actuaries at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That would be 3.8 percent more than then $2.8 trillion that CMS estimates we spent in 2012.

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Obama to California: Do Better on Schools

U-T San Diego

The best policy initiative put forth by President Barack Obama, hands down, is his push for teacher accountability. The president says most teachers are solid or better, but that bad teachers – perhaps 10 percent of those now on the job – must go. How do you identify them? At least partly by looking at test scores reflecting student improvement over the course of a school year, using reasonable expectations based on students’ previous progress. This last distinction is key. It shows the intent is not to punish teachers with students from challenging backgrounds. Instead, a key goal is to help students from challenging backgrounds by making sure they have at least minimally capable teachers. The least-skilled, least-prepared teachers often end up in schools in low-income minority areas. This is why former state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, frames the issue as being about civil rights.

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Narconon may lose license for drug treatment

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The state Department of Community Health has notified Narconon of Georgia it intends to revoke the clinic’s license for misrepresenting itself as a residential drug treatment facility. The action came after the department’s latest probe of the Norcross treatment center, the fourth so far this year. In its findings, DCH said that its review of court records from a DeKalb County lawsuit revealed sworn statements from the facility’s executive director confirming that it was knowingly operating as a residential program when licensed only for outpatient services. An out-of-state drug court manager was also led to believe that the residential services included 24-hour supervision, and the false information harmed the “health and well-being” of the client the court was placing, according to the findings, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under an Open Records Request. That client died after a drug overdose.

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Statistics tie meth to as much as 70% of property crimes

Rio Rancho Observer

In 2009, 1.2 million Americans age 12 and older had abused methamphetamine at least once in the year prior to being surveyed, according to the national survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental health Administration. The National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded 2010 “Monitoring the Future” study showed that 1.2 percent of eighth-graders, 1.6 percent of 10th graders, and 1 percent of high school seniors had abused methamphetamine at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. To get their drug of choice, meth addicts commit 50-70 percent of all property crimes. The average meth addict will live only 5-7 years after addiction. Meth, it seems, is one of the few drugs with the potential for addiction after the first use.

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Generic OxyContin and Opana headed for market soon, could make fight against pain-pill abuse tougher, McConnell says

Kentucky Health News

With generic versions of the two most commonly-abused painkillers, Opana and OxyContin, coming on the market next year, police, hospitals and health clinics in Kentucky have voiced concern that “these generic crushable drugs lack the tamper-resistant gel coating of the brand-name drugs,” according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “Without this technology, addicts crush the pills in order to achieve an immediate heroin-like high from sniffing or injecting the painkillers,” the release said. “If these generics come to market without the tamper-resistant coating, much of the work that law enforcement and health care providers have done to stem the tide of pain pill abuse in Kentucky will be lost.”

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Drinking danger zone

ABC

A new study by the Center's for Disease Control found that a large number of Americans are in the drinking danger zone and they might not even know it. The study found more than 38 million adults binge drink an average of four times a month. Dick Collier used to be a binge drinker. "It is not a good experience. You drink often times more then you like to drink. You are not yourself and you have to pay for it later." This time of year can also encourage binge drinkers. "This is the time of season, the holidays where society says have a drink, " says Hartwell Menefee with Sigma House.

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Banks Say No To Medical Marijuana

Arizona Journal

As counties and cities in the state make decisions to either allow or seek methods to avoid having medi-cal marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions, another issue has arisen for dispensary operators. State dispensary operators are finding out that banking institutions and credit unions are not willing to provide checking accounts and credit card machines for their facilities, forcing dispensaries to operate on a cash-only basis. The problem is that even though medical marijuana is legal in Arizona, it is illegal under federal law. As a result, federally insured banking institutions become leery about involving themselves with the federally banned industry. Arizona isn’t the first medical-marijuana voter approved state to face such an issue. In February, Colorado lawmakers considered, and rejected, a proposed bill setting up a state-run special cooperative banking institution. Lawmakers from both parties worried that because marijuana is illegal under federal law, states should not step in to help dispensaries and growers store and borrow money.

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US military’s alcohol-soaked culture taking toll on servicemembers

Stars and Stripes

Thomas Brennan was still unloading his bags at his first duty station when he saw the other Marines drinking on the catwalks. “In a way, I expected it,” he said. “A bunch of people partying, having a good time, getting ready to go to war.” Brennan, now a sergeant who will be medically retired this month, said drinking and partying in the barracks isn’t quite as obvious now. Marines know they will be punished if they get caught drinking underage or drinking hard liquor in the barracks, he said. But that doesn’t mean the drinking has stopped. People just keep their doors closed, he said, and if the platoon sergeant is coming at 6:30 a.m. for inspection, “that means all the evidence is gone by 6:15.”

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More meth labs showing up in cities, suburbs

Associated Press

Methamphetamine lab seizures are on the rise in the nation's cities and suburbs, raising new concerns about a lethal drug that has long been the scourge of rural America. Data and interviews from an investigation by The Associated Press found growing numbers of meth lab seizures in cities such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., Nashville, Tenn., and Evansville, Ind. Authorities are also seeing evidence that inner-city gangs are becoming involved in meth production and distribution. "No question about it - there are more labs in the urban areas," said Tom Farmer, coordinator of the Tennessee Methamphetamine and Pharmaceutical Task Force. "I'm seeing car fires from meth in urban areas now, more people getting burned."

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Top Substance Abuse Research Findings of 2012

About.com
The top substance abuse-related research studies in 2012 found several more negative effects of smoking marijuana, a larger binge drinking problem than previously thought, another alcohol link to teen cancer, the reason domestic violence victims change their stories, and a medication that helps some people cut down on how much they drink. Studies published during the year revealed that smoking marijuana can double the risks of getting into a serious vehicle crash, doubles the risk of testicular cancer among young males, affects the development of an embryo's brain during early pregnancy, and can cause functional impairment for those who have withdrawal symptoms when they quit smoking.
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Raiding a marijuana grow in the Southern Sierras

Los Angeles Times

A few minutes after 4 a.m., agents in camouflage cluster in a dusty field in Kern County. “Movement needs to be slow, deliberate and quiet,” the team leader whispers. “Lock and load now.” They check their ammunition and assault rifles, not exactly sure who they might meet in the dark: heavily armed Mexican drug traffickers, or just poorly-paid fieldworkers camping miserably in the brush. Twenty minutes later, after a lights-off drive for a mile, the agents climb out of two pickup trucks and sift into the high desert brush. The granite faces of the Southern Sierra are washed in the light of a full moon. Two spotters with night-vision scopes take positions on the ridge to monitor the marijuana grow, tucked deep in a cleft of the canyon.

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Rockefeller: Drug disposal proposal can curb abuse

San Francisco Chronicle

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller says a proposed federal rule would reduce prescription drug abuse. The Drug Enforcement Administration's proposed rule would establish national standards for prescription drug disposal. It also would expand available drug disposal options, including take-back events. A 2010 law requires the DEA to enforce a legal and safe prescription drug disposal method. Rockefeller asked the DEA in November to implement the law. The West Virginia Democrat says prescription drug abuse or misuse is responsible for nine out of 10 drug-related deaths in the state.

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Chico State still plagued by reputation as drinking school

Sacramento Bee

It is the Friday night before final exams week at California State University, Chico, and Riley's Bar & Grill is packed with partying students hoisting individual quart-size pitchers of mixed drinks or beer. At this same bar five weeks earlier, a fraternity pledge celebrating his 21st birthday at the second of two stops at campus-area pubs downed 10 shots of liquor in 75 minutes and threw up into a trash can. Mason Sumnicht was in good academic standing at Chico State, a member of the Ski and Snowboard Club and on pace to graduate. Before his birthday fest, friends say, he wasn't considered much of a drinker. But on Nov. 15, 12 days after frat buddies took him to an apartment to recover, and eventually called 911, Sumnicht died at the hospital from alcohol poisoning.

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Woopy’s Auto is a testament to second chances

Press Enterprise

Today, Lupe Becerra-Ungaro won’t reflect on nearly a decade of pain and suffering and think, “Why me?” Instead, the lifelong Corona resident will count her blessings and say, “Why not me? I’m stronger than ever. I should be dead. My children should be orphans. I beat the odds.” Becerra-Ungaro, 44, who answers to “Woopy,” also answers to a higher power. The shock and feelings of helplessness after her husband was shot to death in 1996 led to using and selling drugs, neglecting her children, a prison sentence and eventually, repentance, redemption and a new start. “I’m so proud of my mother,” said Nicole Ungaro, 23, one of Becerra-Ungaro’s daughters. “She’s made a complete turnaround. We talk and laugh about everything. We’re not bound by our past.”

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Brown Pardons 79 Ex-Cons

SCV News

Gov. Jerry Brown granted Christmas Eve pardons to 79 ex-cons Monday, including a three-time convicted felon who might have been a three-striker had the crimes been committed today. Although some media sources are characterizing the majority of the pardoned crimes as simple drug possession, the truth is that they range from dealing cocaine and LSD to cultivating marijuana for sale, armed robbery, drunk-driving causing great bodily injury, and manslaughter. All 79 convicts completed their sentences, generally about 20 years ago, and “have demonstrated exemplary behavior following their conviction,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

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Study: More casinos don't mean more money for state

Examiner

More casinos do not necessarily mean more casino-goers, according to a study released by the University of Iowa. It's a finding Maryland may have to grapple with as its casinos double in number over the next four years. The survey looked at how much and how often Iowa residents reported using the state's 21 casinos and compared the results to similar surveys conducted in 1995 and 1989. While the number of Iowa casinos has more than doubled since 1995, the percentage of Iowans who gamble dropped from 23 percent to 14 percent over that time. The number of residents who refrained from gambling grew from 72 percent in 1995 to the current 83 percent. Psychiatry professor Donald Black, who co-authored the study, said its findings apply to other states.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court piloting diversion program for veterans

Go Lackawanna

Military veterans facing incarceration for minor criminal charges would have the option of supervised treatment under a pilot program of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Magisterial District Judge Diversion program, aimed at veteran offenders, was initiated in Centre County in November and will be piloted in Monroe and Westmoreland counties starting Jan. 1. Believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, the diversionary program is being tested in the three diverse counties with the goal of developing blueprints for possible expansion statewide. Guidelines were developed by a committee established by the AOPC.

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Affordable Care Act presents many unknowns for California officials

Los Angeles Times

As California positions itself at the vanguard of the national healthcare overhaul, state officials are unable to say for sure how much their implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act will cost taxpayers. The program, intended to insure millions of Americans who are now without health coverage, takes states into uncharted territory. California, which plans to expand coverage to hundreds of thousands of people when the law takes effect in 2014, faces myriad unknowns. The Brown administration will try to estimate the cost of vastly more health coverage in the budget plan it unveils next month, but experts warn that its numbers could be way off. Officials don't know exactly how many Californians will sign up for Medi-Cal, the public health insurance program for the poor. Computing the cost of care for each of them is also guesswork. And California is waiting for key rulings from federal regulators that could have a major effect on the final price tag, perhaps in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

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The Buzz: California delays federal government's Christmas gift for doctors

Sacramento Bee

The federal government's holiday gift to California's primary care doctors – a doubling of the amount they get for treating Medi-Cal patients – has been delayed.

The change in reimbursement rates is part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The federal government has agreed to fund primary care for Medi-Cal patients at the same rate that it pays Medicare providers, hoping to expand the number of doctors willing to treat low-income patients before the Affordable Care Act kicks into overdrive in 2014.

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The Battle Of The Narrative: How Ordinary Americans Can Fight ObamaCare

Forbes

The 2012 election ensured that ObamaCare will not be repealed anytime soon. But opponents continue to fight back. 26 state governments have declined to establish insurance “exchanges.” 40 lawsuits are still pending against various aspects of ObamaCare. Ordinary Americans may not be able to directly affect these battles. But they can play a key role in the all-important battle of the “narrative.” As the problems of ObamaCare inevitably emerge, the big question will be whether they will be blamed on the residual free-market elements of our health system or on the new government controls. This will be the battle of the “narrative.”

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Florida 'Pill Mill' Crackdown Sets Off a Rush Into Georgia

Wall Street Journal

After his Florida used-car dealership failed two summers ago, Jeffrey Gonzalez decided to switch careers. So he moved to Georgia and opened a clinic prescribing opioid painkillers. He picked this Atlanta suburb because while Florida law stipulates that only doctors can own such facilities, Georgia imposes no such restrictions. Within a few months, Mr. Gonzalez was open for business. To staff up, he hired two physicians through a Craigslist ad. His lead doctor wasn't a pain specialist, but a gynecologist. "The laws are minimal at best," said Mr. Gonzalez, 46 years old. "We had a green light from every agency that we spoke to."

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U.S. Mental Healthcare System Failing Patients, Advocates Say

Huffington Post

On Feb. 9, 1844, the governor of Missouri ate breakfast, went to his office and locked the door. Then he shot himself with a rifle. Thomas Reynolds’ death rattled the state and inspired a conversation about mental illness that led to the founding of its first public mental hospital. 168 years later, Missouri's mental health system is in crisis. “The place is something out of the 1920s,” Missouri State Rep. Jeanne Kirkton said of Fulton State Hospital, the state's first. “Have you ever seen ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’? It’s that, but worse.” A report by the Missouri Mental Health Department found that Fulton “is inordinately expensive to operate and is an extremely dangerous environment for both patients and staff.”

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Prescription drug abuse targeted

South Bend Tribune

Health care providers, police, legislators and others are working on ways to curb widespread prescription drug abuse in Indiana. The state attorney general's office hosted a symposium on the problem last week in Indianapolis. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says 7 million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs. That's more than the number using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined. The Indiana State Department of Health says 654 Hoosiers died from unintentional drug overdoses in 2010.

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Ecstasy to Treat PTSD? Not so Fast

Daily Beast

Drugs and soldiers have a long, close and very sad relationship. In the Vietnam War, for example, up to 20% of returning soldiers had developed a drug problem during their time overseas. Easy availability and participation in a dizzying war made use irresistible to many. Generally, the addiction was to street drugs – cheap, pure and plentiful in Asia – which, as so many discovered, lead to nothing but legal and medical trouble back in the States.

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W.Va. drug abuse spawning ‘generation of lost souls’

Tribune Review
Children are dying from abuse and neglect at a higher rate in West Virginia than in any other state, a problem that judges, social workers and others say is fueled by rampant substance abuse and likely to grow unless lawmakers get serious about finding and paying for solutions. Without a sufficient statewide safety net of suitable foster care, adoptive families, in-home services and community-based prevention and treatment programs for addicted parents and their children, abuse victims are all too likely to repeat what they have learned. “We are headed for a whole generation of lost souls,” worries Nicholas County Circuit Judge Gary Johnson, who says nearly 90 percent of the child-welfare cases he hears involve substance abuse. “We don‘t address it until we address the drug issue.”

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Narconon Physician Integrity – Ethics Questioned

Twenty Ten (blog)
Narconon Arrowhead medical director, Dr. Gerald Wootan [left in photo], has faced numerous civil court proceedings in past years, but none like the wrongul death lawsuits he is up against now in Oklahoma. Montreal Dr. Pierre Labonte, Narconon Trois-Rivieres medical manager [center in photo], was invesitigated by the Quebec College of Physicians recently and was found guilty - – “ in breach of several of his ethical obligations by associating himself with a drug detoxification center administering treatment not recognized in current medical literature…”
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Pot farms wreaking havoc on Northern California environment

Los Angeles Times

State scientists, grappling with an explosion of marijuana growing on the North Coast, recently studied aerial imagery of a small tributary of the Eel River, spawning grounds for endangered coho salmon and other threatened fish. In the remote, 37-square-mile patch of forest, they counted 281 outdoor pot farms and 286 greenhouses, containing an estimated 20,000 plants — mostly fed by water diverted from creeks or a fork of the Eel. The scientists determined the farms were siphoning roughly 18 million gallons from the watershed every year, largely at the time when the salmon most need it.

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Vallejo pot shop owners cleared of drug charges

Sacramento Bee

A California judge has thrown out drug charges against the former operators of a medical marijuana dispensary in Vallejo. The Times-Herald of Vallejo reports that visiting Superior Court Judge William Harrison ruled Thursday that Solano County prosecutors did not have enough evidence to show that the pot shop owners had violated state law. Vallejo police raided the Better Health Group dispensary three times this year before charging Jorge Espinoza and Jonathan Linares with possessing and selling marijuana. The men closed it in June.

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Viewpoints: Who will fill the health care provider gap?

Sacramento Bee

During this holiday time of year, it can sometimes seem as if our storefronts and shopping malls are bursting at the seams. Parking lots are packed, lines are long, and inventories run short. However, the retail industry somehow makes it through the season.  It's a decent analogy for our health care delivery system. While there is a tremendous amount of need on a daily basis for health care services, our physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners and other medical professionals work together to address that need.  However, imagine if Christmas shoppers were expected to double in number next year. That demand would require new stores to be constructed, new shelves to be stocked, and new salespeople to be hired and trained.  Similarly, the health care system is gearing up for full implementation of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which in just a year's time will extend health benefits to the estimated 50 million uninsured people in the United States.

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Alcohol abuse playing role in suicide

Montana Standard (Op-Ed)

Congratulations to The Montana Standard for disseminating the disturbing statistics about suicide in Montana and in Silver Bow County. Awareness and education are important components in helping make positive changes in our community. These articles focused on the significant roll that mental illness plays in suicide. One of the statistics I have seen is that 90 percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death. So, mental illness plays a major role in suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide. As previously reported, high unemployment rates, substance abuse, alienation, prevalence of lethal devices, “the cowboy way” and varying cultural views on suicide all contribute to this momentous problem in our society. While I don’t want to diminish the important role that mental illness plays in suicide, another equally important factor to be aware of is the role of alcohol.

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Local treatment facilities see increased demand with alcohol, prescription drug abuse

Capital Gazette

The stereotypes about addiction — that somehow only lazy or weak-minded people grapple with substance abuse — can drive a man crazy. “I drank the way I do everything — to the extreme. That’s how I do work, sports, everything,” said a 50-year-old recovering alcoholic from Annapolis at state-certified treatment center the Samaritan House. He requested his name not be used, to protect his identity from potential employers. “Addicts are not homeless bums who don’t want to work,” he said. “They are very productive, intelligent people who have a problem.”

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Prescription painkiller abuse: Oregon's love affair with Vicodin

Oregonian

By the time you hit 50 in Oregon, you're almost certain to have a half-used bottle of Vicodin or OxyContin in the medicine cabinet. Or maybe a whole row of painkillers paying tribute to your root canal, your back problems, your surgery.

These painkillers work exceedingly well, which is their blessing and curse. Doctors say more Oregonians are becoming dependent on them, both physically and psychologically. The state's fast growth in the rates of fatal overdoses and hospitalizations bolster this assertion. Oregon can do better, namely by adopting more of the best practices used by other states to fight addictions and prescription-drug trafficking while also protecting patients' ability to manage their pain.

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Low prenatal alcohol’s brain impact

Vanderbilt University Medical Center Reporter

Heavy exposure to alcohol during prenatal development frequently leads to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), with characteristic symptoms of growth deficiencies, cognitive dysfunction and facial abnormalities. Reductions in overall brain volume – and in specific brain regions – are a common finding among children exposed to high levels of alcohol during development. But the effects of low-to-moderate exposure are less clear.

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Vital Signs: Sobering facts about binge drinking

Daily Progress

With the holidays around the corner, many of us will be celebrating by eating, drinking and spending time with friends and family. As a culture, Americans have a tendency to overindulge from time to time — perhaps overeating, working long hours or overspending. So it probably will not come as a surprise that that there are more people in the United States who binge drink than previously thought. People hear the term “binge drinking” and think of someone who drinks nonstop for several days. In actuality, binge drinking is having five or more drinks for men and four or more for women during a single drinking session. That’s like drinking a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine in just a couple of hours. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 38 million Americans binge drink an average of four times per month, consuming between six and nine standard drinks at a time.

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Guard Your Rx Meds This Holiday Season

Fix.com

Crowded households during the holidays mean the risk of prescription drug abuse—long since declared an epidemic by the CDC—is higher than ever. A recent national survey revealed that 70% of those who abuse Rx meds first get them from a friend or relative. It's easy to imagine house guests in unfamiliar surroundings at this time of year stumbling upon a (prescribed) stash—perhaps an aching uncle looking for anything labeled “pain relief,” or some overexcited youngsters seeking a "safe" high (it's from a pharmacy, right?). With this in mind, The Fix asks Tanya Roberts, project coordinator at Operation Medicine Cabinet in North Carolina, for her top tips on keeping everyone safe: Keep your meds in a safe place.

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The Hidden Secret That's Destroying Many Family Businesses

Business News Daily

The greatest threat to the success of your family business may not be a bum economy or ruthless competition; it may be pills or booze. A new study shows that substance abuse and addiction may well be handicapping more than half of all family-owned businesses, experts say. In a study of 99 family businesses from a broad range of manufacturing and business services across the country, over half of the study's participants said they were coping with or were expecting to address a family-related addiction problem within the company. The study was conducted by ReGENERATION Partners, a family business consulting and advisory firm.

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Wrist Sensor Tells You How Stressed Out You Are

MIT Technology Review
Amid rising concerns over post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses, two MIT startups are developing wrist-worn sensors that can detect physiological changes—including perspiration and elevated temperature—that may signal the onset of events like anxiety attacks.The data collected by these devices can be fed into an algorithm that aims to learn what triggers anxiety, or when people may be about to engage in a risky behavior. One goal is to head off destructive behavior, from drug abuse to suicide and violent outbursts, and to help with treatment.
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