Friday, February 1, 2013

Stockton urged to wage war on meth

Recordnet.com
Curbing the scourge of methamphetamine abuse has to start with the youth, and it won't be a pretty picture. That was the message journalist and author Scott Thomas Anderson delivered Thursday night at the Stockton Meth & Crime Town Hall. Anderson cited a program that presents junior high school students with pictures of meth addicts - their open sores, sunken faces and horribly decayed teeth, what's called "meth mouth."

Oakland tries to stay in legal fight with feds over medical marijuana

Contra Costa Times
The city of Oakland's arguments for why it should be allowed to challenge a federal attempt to shut down the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary are simply "window dressing" that ignores the law, a federal prosecutor said in court Thursday. U.S. Department of Justice attorney Kathryn Wyer argued that attorneys representing the city are attempting to sidestep federal drug and forfeiture laws by suing the government over its decision to seek to confiscate a building operated by Harborside Medical Center.

Support for healthcare overhaul reaches all-time high in new poll

Los Angeles Times
Support for President Obama's healthcare overhaul is at an all-time high in California, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California. The survey, released Wednesday, found that 55% of Californians back the changes to the nation's healthcare system under the federal Affordable Care Act, up 8 percentage points since last March.

Binge drinking's metabolic whack starts in the head

Los Angeles Times
Long after the buzz has gone, and even after the resulting hangover has cleared, a bout of binge drinking will leave your metabolism in a deeply disturbed state, which may be why binge drinkers -- even occasional ones -- are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (or its precursor, metabolic syndrome) than nondrinkers or those who drink more moderately.

Teens And Young Adults Who Binge Drink Risk Negative Brain Effects Later In Life

Huffington Post
Binge drinking when you're young could have negative effects on your brain later on in life, according to a review of studies published in the journal Cortex. The review examined the effects of alcohol on the brain in people who began misusing alcohol between the ages of 13 and 24. The researchers found a wide range of effects, including impaired memory and visual learning, brain shrinkage, and changes in the brain's white matter. They also noted that this period of life is especially critical for identifying problem drinking because the brain is still developing.

Prescription Drug Abuse 'Epidemic' Explored at Summit

Patch
Prescription drugs now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined. In 2009, drugs exceeded traffic accidents as the number one cause of death in the United States—killing 37,000 a year. In Washington County there were two overdose deaths in 1992. In 2011, there were 55. And what’s more: Studies indicate that 41 percent of teens think prescription drugs are “safer” than street drugs.

State investigating possible insurance fraud by Narconon

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said his office is investigating a Norcross drug rehabilitation clinic that recently had its license revoked by the state. Narconon of Georgia stands accused of billing a patient’s insurer $166,275 for doctor visits that never occurred and treatment that was never provided, according to the mother of a recent client.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Vivitrol is the new hope for solving opiate addiction

San Diego City Beat
Judge Harry Powazek agreed to have his picture taken for this story only if it could be shot near the wall of photos in his office of his drug-court graduates. “Read some of what they wrote,” he says, gesturing to the mat portion of the framed pictures where graduates signed their names and included words of thanks. Powazek knows each person’s story—why they ended up in jail and what they went through during drug court’s rigorous 18-month program, which promises a clean slate in exchange for showing up for counseling programs, finding a job (or performing community service) and staying off drugs.

Gambling addiction to be conference topic before Super Bowl

Courier-Journal.com
In advance of the country’s biggest sports-gambling day, Super Bowl Sunday, more than 40 addiction and mental health counselors will assemble in Lexington to discuss how best to treat individuals with a gambling addiction. They will convene at the 16th annual Educational and Awareness Conference presented by the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling to be held at the Clarion Hotel-North Thursday and Friday. There are various registration fees.

Report: Kaiser tops state health insurance market with 40% share

Los Angeles Times
Nonprofit healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente had a 40% share of California's $59-billion health insurance market for employers and individuals, new data show. A report issued this week by Citigroup analyst Carl McDonald compiled nationwide data on 2011 premiums and enrollment among large and small employers and individuals buying their own policies.

Access Denied? Implications of Medi-Cal Pay Cut

California Healthline
In 2014, about 1.5 million adults in California are expected to gain access to Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act. However, insurance coverage could be all they get, as some observers say there might not be enough doctors willing to treat them.

How Might Immigration Reform Influence Health Care Reform?

California Healthline
After decades of debate and legal challenges, national health care reform moves onward. Next up: immigration reform. The two are linked. Immigrants -- both those who are documented and those who are not -- are less likely to have health insurance than their U.S.-born counterparts. Almost half the documented immigrants in the U.S. do not have health coverage, according to 2011 Employee Benefit Research Institute statistics.

Some families to be priced out of health overhaul

Modesto Bee
Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what's being called a glitch in President Barack Obama's overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president's plan had hoped. As a result, some families that can't afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.

To cover or not: Employers weigh health insurance options

Ventura County Star
Company number crunchers are stressed. Workers twist in limbo. But health insurance advisers predict that when employers master the new math and consequences of Obamacare, most will opt to keep providing coverage. The online insurance exchange, the marketplace that is a cornerstone of federal health care reform, starts Jan. 1. So does the mandate that all California companies with at least 50 full-time equivalent employees face penalties if they don’t provide insurance that pays for at least 60 percent of their workers health care costs.

Poll: Californians upbeat over future, budget plan

Associate Press
Californians are more optimistic about the future of the state than at any time since before the recession and are giving high marks to Gov. Jerry Brown's budgeting approach after voters approved higher taxes to help balance the state budget, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Democratic governor's job approval rating reached a record high 51 percent in the latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, with even a slim majority of Republicans giving a thumbs-up to his recent budget proposal.

The Buzz: Budget boom comes to $5 billion this month

Sacramento Bee
It's official. California is rolling in dough, at least for now.
The state's fiscal review office said Wednesday the budget is poised to finish January $5 billion ahead of forecasts for the month.

S&P Gives California Governor Jerry Brown An 'A'

Business Insider
Standard and Poor's upgraded California's credit ratings to "A" from "A-" thanks to its improving fiscal and revenue outlook. The agency cites Gov. Brown's budget accomplishments as a key reason for its upgrade: The upgrades reflect our view of California's improved fiscal condition and cash position, and the state's projections of a structurally balanced budget through at least the next several years.

Drug Offenses, Not Violent Crime, Filling Up Federal Prisons

International Business Times
Almost a quarter of the world’s prison population is locked up in one country: the United States. For years, the U.S. has held the infamous reputation of having the highest per capita rate of incarcerated individuals on the planet, dwarfing that of other comparable industrialized nations. There were 1.6 million state and federal prisoners in the country as of 2011, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which reports 492 out of every 100,000 U.S. residents were sentenced to more than 12 months in prison that year.

Narconon of Georgia and allegations of insurance fraud

WSB Radio
Already facing a wrongful death and civil conspiracy lawsuit in the 2008 overdose of a patient and battling revocation of its license by state regulators, Narconon of Georgia is now being investigated because of allegations of insurance fraud. In a joint investigative enterprise with Channel 2 Action news and the AJC, News-Talk WSB has uncovered allegations that the Scientology-based drug and alcohol rehab program headquartered in Norcross is accused of trying to bill United Health Care $166,000 for treating 19-year old Emily Morton of Rome, Ga.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pomona youth, adults try to raise awareness that alcohol should be kept away from teens

Contra Costa Times
Village Academy High School senior Jose Martinez and Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officer Lorenzo Arnold teamed up late last week to place important stickers on six packs kept in the Pomona Wine Cellar's refrigerators. As Arnold pulled out the beer bottles Martinez was at the ready with a sticker the officer would affix to the carton. Martinez and Arnold are just a few of the teens and adults taking part in Project Sticker Shock, a campaign of Partnership for a Positive Pomona designed to let adults know it's illegal to provide alcoholic beverages to youth under the age of 21.

Compulsive gamblers often seeking escape

Port Arthur News
Todd R. (not his real name and initial) was in deep. He used some checks on a credit card account in his wife’s name to withdraw upward of $3,500 at a time to pay for his gambling habit. Often he would reach around $20,000 and would then have to figure out how to cover that amount. Todd described racing home each day in hopes of beating her to the mailbox.

Healthcare providers appeal to block Medi-Cal cut

Los Angeles Times
California healthcare providers are appealing a December court decision that would allow the state to cut spending on medical care for poor residents. The case revolves around the state’s 2011 attempt to reduce by 10% reimbursements to doctors, pharmacies and others who provide healthcare through the Medi-Cal program. The cut has been continuously blocked by judges worried about how it would affect access to medical care.

Legislation proposed to help California launch healthcare overhaul

Los Angeles Times
The state Legislature gaveled in a special session on healthcare Monday, pushing forward with sweeping proposals to help California implement President Obama's healthcare overhaul. The measures, including a major expansion of Medi-Cal, the state's public insurance program for the poor, would cement the state's status as the nation's earliest and most aggressive adopter of the federal Affordable Care Act. Beginning in January 2014, the law requires most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

Health care reform special session starts

Sacramento Business Journal
California lawmakers kicked off a special session Monday to pass laws to implement federal health reform and get California ready to expand insurance coverage in 2014. The special session is expected to last a few months, running concurrently with the Legislature’s existing session and work.

Legislators to hold hearing on use of off-budget accounts

Los Angeles Times
A joint Assembly and state Senate committee will conduct a hearing to determine the extent California agencies are using off-budget accounts to hold money outside the state system. Monday's announcement follows a Times report that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection hid $3.6 million rather than depositing it in the state's cash-strapped general fund.

TV ads may be driving children to drink

CNN
The halls of every middle school in America are filled with teenagers looking to find themselves, express themselves and fit in with the crowd. But it’s what happens at home, at night, that can lead to some of the problems those teens may put on display. Seventh-graders who are exposed to alcohol ads on television –- and who say they like the ads - may experience more severe problems related to drinking alcohol later in their adolescence, according to a study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics.

Brain Circuitry Behind Cigarette Cravings Revealed

Live Science
Addiction to cigarettes and other drugs may result from abnormal wiring in the brain's frontal cortex, an area critical for self-control, a new study finds. Drug cravings can be brought on by many factors, such as the sight of drugs, drug availability and lack of self-control. Now, researchers have uncovered some of the neural mechanisms involved in cigarette craving. Two brain areas, the orbitofrontal cortex and the prefrontal cortex, interact to turn cravings on or off depending on whether drugs are available, the study reports today (Jan. 28) in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Why Personality May Matter in Preventing Alcoholism

Time
A program that takes personality into account may help to identify and reduce teen-drinking rates. Researchers studied 2,643 ninth-graders in England, ages 13 or 14 years old, for a project known as the Adventure trial. Teachers were trained to provide alcohol-abuse interventions to children with four personality traits that put them at high risk of problem drinking and drug use: being sensitive to anxiety, feeling hopeless, being impulsive and seeking thrills.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Discarded syringes in Santa Cruz County prompt questions about disease, a needle exchange and potential improvements

Contra Costa Times
In the depths of her heroin addiction 20 years ago, Frankie Marie tried to escape the pain in her life. Abused as a child and troubled in her adult life, she first experimented with heroin in Oregon. She was drawn to the Beach Flats area of Santa Cruz because of its notoriety then for easy access to drugs.

Obama's Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot

Huffington Post
In the summer of 2007, the owners of Harborside Health Center, then and now the most prominent medical marijuana dispensary in the U.S., were reflecting on their rapid rise. Steve DeAngelo had opened the center with his business partner in October 2006, on a day when federal agents raided three other clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

California lawmakers set to tackle healthcare expansion

Los Angeles Times
State lawmakers are set to introduce a series of proposals Monday to help California implement President Obama's healthcare overhaul, including a major expansion of Medi-Cal, the state's public insurance program for the poor. Gov. Jerry Brown called for the special legislative session in his State of the State speech Thursday to pave the way for implementation next year of the federal Affordable Care Act, which requires most Americans who do not already have coverage to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

Calif. Lawmakers To Introduce Proposals for Medi-Cal Expansion

California Healthline
On Monday, California lawmakers plan to introduce proposals in a special legislative session that aim to help the state implement the Affordable Care Act, including an expansion of Medi-Cal, the Los Angeles Times' "PolitiCal" reports. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for the special session during his State of the State address last week.

Poll: Health Care Costs Posing Challenges for Many Small Businesses

California Healthline
Fifty-four percent of small business owners list health care costs as the primary challenge hindering their business operations, according to a Gallup poll released Friday, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports. The poll also found that 61% of small business owners list health care costs as the reason they are not hiring new employees, the fourth-leading reason businesses are not hiring.

States have many questions on Medicaid expansion

Contra Costa Times
As state legislative sessions advance, lawmakers are debating whether to expand their Medicaid programs as provided by President Barack Obama's health care law. It could be one of the most important decisions this year. So far 17 states and the District of Columbia have signaled they will go ahead, while 11 states are refusing. The rest are weighing options.

Lack of doctors imperils reach of healthcare reform

Bakersfield Californian
One year from now, tens of thousands of uninsured Kern County residents will celebrate the bounty of health reform -- they will finally have a chance at health insurance. That's when Medi-Cal, a publicly funded health program for low-income and disabled residents, will expand statewide, bringing the promise of coverage to perhaps 1 million more Californians.

Covered California to distribute $43M in grants, solicits applications

San Francisco Business Times
Covered California, the health benefits exchange set up to implement key parts of Obamacare in California, is soliciting applications for $43 million in grants. The initial application deadline is March 4. Depending on what response rate it gets, the exchange may ask for additional applications in late May.

Dan Walters: California pension funds still face huge liabilities

Sacramento Bee
The California Public Employees' Retirement System has reported – with no small elation – that it has recouped virtually all of the $95 billion in investment losses it sustained during the global financial crisis. A steadfast investment strategy and a generally rising stock market are responsible for the recovery, CalPERS says.

Brown budget breaches Prop. 30 promise

Orange County Register (Opinion)
"We have wrought in just two years a solid and enduring budget," Gov. Jerry Brown declared in his State of the State address, Jan. 24. "Against those who take pleasure, singing of our demise, California did the impossible." Not really. In reality, Gov. Brown's budget increases unsustainable spending by relying on revenue that is unlikely to materialize and by simply ignoring most of the state's debt. It also violates promises Gov. Brown made to voters leading up to the November 2012 election.

This Man Fought Through Hell To Avoid Becoming Another Homeless Veteran

Business Insider
When Dennis Cadigan returned from Vietnam, a Marine machine gunner blinded by an enemy booby trap and addicted to his pain medication, he almost became just another veteran statistic. His dependency on pain medication quickly led to a full blown heroin addiction and Cadigan was on a dark path. It isn't hard to imagine him becoming one of the 300,000 veterans who live on the streets or in a shelter on any given night in the U.S. Or one of the thousands of veterans who continue to suffer from drug addiction and substance abuse.

Best friends influence when teenagers have first drink

University of Iowa
Chances are the only thing you remember about your first swig of alcohol is how bad the stuff tasted. What you didn’t know is the person who gave you that first drink and when you had it says a lot about your predisposition to imbibe later in life. A national study by a University of Iowa-led team has found that adolescents who get their first drink from a friend are more likely to drink sooner in life, which past studies show makes them more prone to abusing alcohol when they get older. The finding is designed to help specialists predict when adolescents are likely to first consume alcohol, with the aim of heading off problem drinking at the pass.

Fetal endangerment ruling could criminalize prescribing

American Medical News
Public health advocates say a decision by the Supreme Court of Alabama defining fetuses as “persons” for the purposes of prosecuting drug-abusing adults under state law could have dire consequences for patients dealing with addiction and doctors who order drugs for pregnant women. Judges ruled that the plain meaning of the word “child” in the state’s chemical endangerment law includes “unborn children.” The statute imposes strict penalties on people who expose children to drugs.

Targeted Program Curbs Teen Drinking

MedPage Today
A personality-based intervention reduced problematic drinking among high-risk kids, British researchers found. In a randomized controlled trial, the targeted program reduced the risk of binge drinking by 43% (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.80, P<0.001), Patricia Conrod, PhD, of the University of Montreal, and colleagues reported online in JAMA Psychiatry. It also appeared to have a "herd" effect on adolescents who weren't considered to be at risk for problematic drinking, the researchers said.