Bill seeks to allow medical care at sober living homes

Orange County Register

Depending on your perspective, you could argue Brandon Jacques might be alive today if not for an unusual California law that prevented him from receiving medical care where he needed it most. A college student from Missouri, Jacques died in Orange County two years ago after entering treatment for bulimia and alcoholism at the troubled Morningside Recovery rehab center in Newport Beach, according to a lawsuit filed by the Jacques family. The suits says that Morningside officials knew he was suffering from hypokalemia and other electrolyte imbalances, and promised to keep him safe until he could be moved to a hospital for inpatient treatment of his eating disorder.

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Boy in pot brownie school incident arrested

Associated Press

A 12-year-old Orange County boy who allegedly passed around a marijuana brownie at his school, sickening students, has been arrested after authorities say they found a bag of pot in his backpack. Costa Mesa police say the boy was arrested Thursday at his home after Pomona Elementary School officials discovered the marijuana in a backpack he'd left at school. His name hasn't been released. The boy was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana on campus and released into a parent's custody.

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CSU chancellor walks in Chico State students' footprints

ChicoER.com

The California State University system's top official made the rounds of the Chico State University campus Wednesday, soaking in the spring sunshine and learning about the campus' strengths and weaknesses. Timothy White took over as chancellor of the 23-campus system in December and plans to visit each campus. Most recently he was president of the University of Idaho, and was an instructor at UC Berkeley, among other posts. While in Chico he met with President Paul Zingg, staff, teachers, students and alumni and learned the college is well regarded and "intellectually engaged." When talking with students, he said the majority of the conversation was about efforts to curb alcohol abuse.

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Gambling addicts' loved ones also face crisis

CBC News

Twelve per cent of adult Manitobans have experienced problems as a result of someone else's gambling, according to the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. Gambling addictions can be devastating financially and emotionally, and not just for the gambler, says Dave Grift, supervisor of the foundation's gambling unit. "A lot of times, family members are in crisis as well," Grift told CBC News. "That's why AFM would see family members of gamblers — those affected by gambling — as clients in their own right."

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Problems of pathological gambling differ for younger and older gamblers

Medical Xpress

To successfully treat pathological gambling, you need to intervene at an early stage, according to Susana Jiménez-Murcia from the University Hospital of Bellvitge in Spain and colleagues. Their study shows that a patient's age influences how severe the psychopathology and clinical aspects of pathological gambling are. Their work is published online in Springer's Journal of Gambling Studies.

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Bills aim to address expected doctor shortage in California

Associated Press

A Democratic California state lawmaker introduced a package of bills Wednesday to address an expected doctor shortage as the state prepares to insure millions of new patients under federal healthcare reforms. Sen. Ed Hernandez of West Covina said his bills would expand services that can be provided by nurse practitioners, optometrists and pharmacists in order to help alleviate a shortage of primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas and inner cities dominated by minorities. The bills are SB491, SB492 and SB493.

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Applying for Obamacare May Be As Difficult As Doing Taxes And 'Enormously Time Consuming'

Associated Press

Applying for benefits under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes. The government's draft application runs 15 pages for a three-person family. An outline of the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions. Seven months before the Oct. 1 start of enrollment season for millions of uninsured Americans, the idea that getting health insurance could be as easy as shopping online at Amazon or Travelocity is starting to look like wishful thinking.

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Employers Could Face Fines if States Opt Out of Medicaid Expansion

California Healthline

Employers in states that opt out of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion collectively could be forced to pay as much as $1.3 billion in federal fines, according to a study by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Bloomberg reports. Under the ACA's Medicaid expansion, all U.S. residents with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level would have been eligible for Medicaid. However, the Supreme Court's ruling on the ACA stated that states could choose whether to participate in the expansion. For states that opt in, the federal government will cover 100% of the cost of the expansion until 2016, and after that the federal share will decline gradually until it reaches 90% in 2020.

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Lawmakers Seek More Details on Timeline for ACA Implementation

California Healthline

During meetings with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee urged the Obama administration to provide more details about its Affordable Care Act implementation schedule, The Hill's "Healthwatch," reports. Meeting Details: Democrats were interested in status updates on some of the law's provisions that they favor and accelerating their implementation, according to "Healthwatch."

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Calif., Other States Mull Limiting Businesses' Self-Coverage Plans

California Healthline

California and several other states are considering ways to raise the level at which stop-loss health coverage starts, in an effort to reduce or eliminate small businesses' ability to self-insure, Kaiser Health News/USA Today reports. Background: Self-insurance plans -- which require employers to pay medical providers for workers' care -- typically are used by large employers with significant financial resources.

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Healthy Families' First Phase Done, Now Comes the Harder Part

California Healthline

The transition of 860,000 children from the Healthy Families program to Medi-Cal plans has crossed a milestone, moving state officials into the second phase of a projected nine-month process. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. The initial shift of 178,000 children went off without much of a hitch, Toby Douglas, director of the Department of Health Care Services, said at a legislative oversight hearing in Sacramento.

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California furloughs for workers will prove costly, report says

Los Angeles Times

The decision to furlough state employees during the financial crises of recent years may have saved money in the short term but will leave a big bill down the road, the Legislature's budget advisors said Thursday. The state will owe $1 billion extra to many workers when they retire or quit, for vacation time that went unused while they were being forced to take unpaid days off.

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L.A. County Supervisors Support Court-Ordered Mental Health Care Bills

California Healthline

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution -- authored by Supervisor Michael Antonovich -- to support Laura's Law, the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports. Background: Laura's Law allows courts to mandate treatment for residents with severe mental health conditions and a history of violence or hospitalization. California's counties are allowed to decide whether to implement the law. So far, Nevada County is the only county to implement the law.

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Bills take aim at federal marijuana ban

USA Today

A few House members have begun a broad effort to overturn a 43-year-old federal ban on marijuana and say they're prepared to keep up the pressure even if it takes years. About 10 lawmakers, mostly liberal Democrats, are writing bills that will serve as legislative guideposts for the future if the GOP-controlled House, as expected, ignores their proposals during this Congress.

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California campaign pushes health care for undocumented immigrants

Sacramento Bee

A television advertising campaign was launched in Sacramento, Los Angeles and the Bay Area this week to include undocumented immigrants in California's coming health-care reform. The 60-second ad is the first in a yearlong, multimillion-dollar campaign by the California Endowment, a statewide health-care foundation, to push for preventive care and a strong safety net for undocumented immigrants or other residents who cannot afford private health insurance.

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San Francisco clears city's largest homeless camp

Fresno Bee

City officials who cleared San Francisco's largest homeless camp this week are trying a new approach to keep its former residents from returning: sending them to a triage center where they can stay while counselors try to arrange housing, drug treatment and other services. Police officers, cleanup crews and counselors swept through the encampment under an Interstate 280 on-ramp near the Caltrain station Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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Ryan plan would balance budget in 10 years by gutting Obamacare, Medicaid

San Jose Mercury News

House Republicans unveiled their latest budget outline on Tuesday, sticking to their plans to try to repeal so-called Obamacare, cut domestic programs ranging from Medicaid to college grants and require future Medicare patients to bear more of the program's cost. The point is to prove it's possible to balance the budget within 10 years by simply cutting spending and avoiding further tax hikes, even though the fiscal blueprint released Tuesday by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will be dead on arrival with the White House and Democrats controlling the Senate.

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As Mass. Goes, So Goes California? Questioning the Safety Net's Future

California Healthline

"What will happen to safety-net health care facilities when their patients obtain insurance?" That's one of many questions that county officials in California are asking about how the Affordable Care Act will affect health centers that serve patients regardless of ability to pay. The possibility of losing patients because of the ACA -- and of losing funding under state proposals to expand Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program -- have led some to wonder what will become of the health centers.

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Stakeholders See California as National Model for Revamping Mental Health Care Services

California Healhtline

In a California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, experts discussed efforts to revamp mental health care services in California and nationwide. In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 63 to allocate funds for mental health care services, early intervention and prevention. Now, state Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is asking Congress to invest $10 billion for mental health programs nationwide. Steinberg says that California could serve as a national model for funding and improving mental health care services.

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Lawmakers Introduce Bill Allowing HHS To Block Excessive Insurance Rate Increases

Bloomberg BNA

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) March 6 introduced legislation in the House and Senate (H.R. 1019, S. 482) allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to block or change “excessive” health insurance rate increases in states that do not have the ability to do so. The Health Insurance Rate Review Act of 2013 would establish a federal fallback rate review process giving HHS authority to block or modify rate increases “that are excessive, unjustified or unfairly discriminatory when the state insurance commissioner does not have or use the authority to do so,” according to a statement released by Schakowsky.

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Narconon Arrowhead Gary Smith Counseling Certificate Revoked

Examiner

Narconon Arrowhead’s CEO Gary Smith and several staff members had their counseling certificates revoked earlier this month. I spoke with National Association of Forensic Counselors President Karla Taylor, earlier today. Karla stated that “due to her ongoing investigation and to preserve the integrity of the case, she could not comment on specific details why the certificates were revoked.” I will contact the NAFC again when investigations are complete.

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Board lacks authority to track prescription drugs

Associated Press

The board charged with overseeing physicians in California lacks the authority to identify those who might be overprescribing pain killers and other drugs, a problem that has led to overdose deaths and criminal charges against a handful of doctors in recent years. The president of the Medical Board of California on Monday responded to criticism that the body has failed to properly police its ranks. Sharon Levine told a joint legislative committee that the state's prescription drug tracking system is underfunded and that the board cannot track doctors even if the program had sufficient money.

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Bereaved Families Rally Against Prescription Drugs

Sacramento Bee (Photo Gallery)

April Rovero, center, of San Ramon hugs her granddaughter Katie Hansen, 8, as she holds a photo of her son and Katie's late uncle Joey Rovero II, who died at age 21. At left is Katie's mom Melanie Hansen and at right is Verlene Crawford holding a photo of her late son Naythen Kenney. Bereaved families who've lost a loved one to prescription drug overuse rallied on the steps of the Sacramento State Capitol after they asked for the California Medical Board to be disbanded during a review hearing on Monday.

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Parents say California Medical Board fails to probe drug prescriptions

Sacramento Bee

Dozens of bereaved parents whose children died from pain-medication overdoses told state legislators Monday that the California Medical Board is failing to protect the public from so-called "dirty doctors" who overprescribe addictive drugs, especially to young adults. Their reports of a growing epidemic in California mirror national statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which revealed new data recently showing that deaths due to pain medicine overdoses have increased for the 11th year in a row.

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3 charged with hazing in Cal State student's death

Sacramento Bee

Three California State University, Fresno students have been charged with hazing in the 2012 alcohol-related death of a fraternity pledge, authorities said Tuesday.

Leonard Louis Serrato, 28, Aaron Joseph Raymo, 24, and Daniel Woodard Baker, 22, are also accused of providing alcohol to Philip Dhanens, an 18-year-old from Bakersfield who was only a couple weeks into his first semester at Fresno State when he died.

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Lawmakers Want State Medical Board To Mine CURES Data

California Healthline

At a Joint Oversight Hearing of the state Legislature on Monday, lawmakers said that the Medical Board of California should mine data from a statewide prescription drug database to identify physicians who overprescribe medications, the Los Angeles Times reports. About the Database: The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System -- or CURES -- tracks patients' prescription drug history in an effort to curb illegal sales and misuse of prescription medication.

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Some Monterey County doctors paid by drug companies

Monterey County Herald

Between 2009 and 2012, major pharmaceutical companies paid California doctors more than $240 million to promote their drugs to other physicians. More than 50 of the recipients were in Monterey and Salinas. Between them, they hauled in at least a half-million dollars. The totals represent only a portion of the legal-though-controversial payments that "big pharm" is doling out to doctors and other health professionals to get their drugs prescribed.

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In Santa Cruz, thousands in drug profits go to doctors, study shows

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Local doctors have padded their incomes with thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical drug makers, part of a multibillion-dollar industry effort lining the pockets of doctors across California and the United States. The payments are a fraction of the 2 million documented transactions between medical professionals and 15 of the world's largest drug manufacturers compiled by the investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica. They detail an eye-popping $2 billion in long-secret payments for meals, travel expenses and speaking fees that experts say represents a small fraction of drug makers' financial dealings with doctors.

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State medical board criticized

Reporter

A physician heading the state's medical board told lawmakers on Monday that acquiring information necessary to investigate cases of potential prescription drug abuse poses a challenge to the oversight panel. Board president Sharon Levine said a complaint is needed to begin a review and determine whether the prescribing doctor bears any responsibility.

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California Bill Would Create Health Plan 'Bridge' For Working Poor

Capital Public Radio

Under the federal health law, very low-income people will get almost free health care through Medicaid, and those with more money are required to buy private insurance if they don't get it on the job. But recent research shows millions of people nationally may have a change in income within the first year of new coverage, which could require switching between Medicaid and the exchanges.

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Small businesses running out of time for health care tax credit

Sacramento Business Journal

Many small employers qualify for a health care tax credit under the federal health reform law — but they must file by the March 15 corporate tax filing deadline, according to the California Chamber of Commerce. The credit is intended to help small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations afford the cost of providing health benefits for their employees. It equals up to 35 percent of the insurance premium costs small employers pay for providing health benefits to their workers.

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Senate's CR Proposal Would Not Provide Additional ACA Funding

California Healthline

On Monday, Senate appropriators released a broad-ranging substitute amendment to the House-approved continuing resolution extension bill (HR 933) that does not provide additional implementation funding for the Affordable Care Act, AP/U-T San Diego reports. About the Proposal: The bill would prevent a government shutdown on March 27 -- when the current CR expires -- and fund the federal government through Sept. 30. The measure was co-authored by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

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State revenues more than $4 billion ahead of projections

Los Angeles Times

The state’s tax revenue is outpacing earlier projections by about $4.5 billion over the last eight months, according to new figures from the State Controller’s office.The rosier-than-anticipated state revenue numbers are the result of income taxes coming in to state coffers at a higher rate than what was predicted by the governor’s office last summer.

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WVa bill looks to study prescription drug abuse

Associated Press

A proposal to set up a special team to study prescription drug overdoses is working its way through the West Virginia Senate. The bill was approved unanimously by the Government Organization Committee on Tuesday. It would establish a team of public health officials, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, counselors and pharmacists that would study every prescription drug overdose death in the state.

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Interpol, Dozens of Drug Makers Ramp Up Fight Against Counterfeit Drugs

Huffington Post

More than two dozen of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies have agreed to provide funding and other support to Interpol's battle against counterfeit prescription drugs, the international police agency said Tuesday. Interpol's newly created Pharmaceutical Crime Program aims to help health agencies, police and customs bureaus in countries around the globe stem the supply of bogus brand-name and generic medicines, as well as identify and dismantle the organized crime rings distributing them.

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Binge drinking big problem for students on Spring Break

KHOU.com

Thousands of college students have converged on Cancun for Spring Break. While drug violence may pose a risk in some regions of Mexico – the big problem for students at the beach is “being too drunk,” said Chris Palumbo, a student spending Spring Break in Cancun with friends. Palumbo, 21, was one of the few students not holding a can of beer or plastic cup full of alcohol. For most students in Mexico for Spring Break the biggest threat is excessive drinking, not the drug gangs who have grabbed headlines in some regions.

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California doctors report prescription drug company payments for speaking engagements

Press-Telegram

Drug money runs deep in the Golden State. It comes from the world's leading pharmaceutical companies and leads to a mental health clinic in Granada Hills, an anesthesiologist's office in Santa Monica, and to a cardiologist with practices in Glendale, Pasadena, and Long Beach. In fact, hundreds of physicians, psychiatrists, and medical school faculty members across California are on the payroll of major drug companies, earning tens of thousands of dollars for speaking to other medical professionals at events held by industry leaders that make drugs such as Advair, Cymbalta, Viagra and Zoloft.

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State to perform a 'sunset review' of Medical Board of California, the agency that disciplines doctors

Southern California Public Radio

The families of people who have died from prescription drug abuse will rally Monday at the state capitol as lawmakers inside hold a hearing evaluating the state agency responsible for licensing and disciplining physicians. A "sunset review" hearing of the Medical Board of California is scheduled at about 10:30 a.m. in Sacramento. The medical board is responsible for licensing and disciplining medical doctors. It investigates complaints against physicians.

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California Community Leaders in Promoting Problem Gambling Awareness Week; Includes Leaders in San Diego

Scoop San Diego

March 3 – 9 marks National Problem Gambling Awareness Week, and community leaders in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area are jointly highlighting the issue and rhetorically asking those who suffer from it, “What do you have to Lose?” by seeking help. The leaders are collaborating partners of the Problem Gambling Prevention Technical Assistance and Training Project (PGPTAT), a year-round endeavor funded by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs’ Office of Problem Gambling.

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Psychiatrists Have New Term for Compulsive Gambling: Behavioral Addiction

Living Green Magazine

She was wealthy, successful, intelligent, and influential. In other words, she had a lot to lose. That’s why the recent news that former San Diego mayor Maureen O’Connor had a huge gambling problem has residents of her hometown, as well as millions of Americans, wondering how someone could spin so completely out of control. In the end, O’Connor had won and lost more than $1 billion. Psychiatrists think they know the answer: Compulsive or pathological gambling, they say, is similar to a drug addiction—just without a drug. They will soon have a new term to describe such a disorder: “behavioral addiction.”

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Paul Ryan: Budget blueprint will promote repealing health care law

Washington Post

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Sunday that the budget blueprint he plans to unveil later this week will promote repealing President Obama’s signature health care law. “Yes, our budget does promote repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a better system,” Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Past House Republican efforts to repeal the president’s health care law have failed and the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of law last year.

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Democrats, Brown at odds over healthcare act

Los Angeles Times

As Democratic lawmakers speed to implement President Obama's healthcare overhaul in California, they are finding themselves at odds with the leader of their own party: Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor and legislators disagree over how the state should expand Medicaid to more than 1 million low-income Californians, a critical component of the federal Affordable Care Act.

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Medicaid Expansion Triggers Flurry Of State Legislature Debates, Decisions

Kaiser Health News

The Washington Post reports that Arkansas has discovered "wiggle room" regarding the expansion. Meanwhile, debates in state legislatures continue over what should happen in Arizona, Utah, California and Texas. And, in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett plans a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

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Covered California wants to offer 'bridge' plan from Medi-Cal

Sacramento Business Journal

California’s health benefit exchange, Covered California, wants to reach more people in the state who need health insurance. It’s looking for federal approval for so-called bridge plans for people who go in and out of Medi-Cal eligibility. Covered California says as many as 670,000 people in the state could get help if they’re not eligible for Medi-Cal. The bridge plan would provide financial support to help people keep their Medi-Cal plan and keep the same provider, according to a news release.

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Medicaid Expansion Triggers Flurry Of State Legislature Debates, Decisions

Kaiser Health News

The Washington Post reports that Arkansas has discovered "wiggle room" regarding the expansion. Meanwhile, debates in state legislatures continue over what should happen in Arizona, Utah, California and Texas. And, in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett plans a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

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Public-employee unions push back with lawsuits over pension cuts

Los Angeles Times

California unions, accustomed to getting their way in the Capitol, lost some ground last year when Gov. Jerry Brown pushed through the Legislature a series of public-pension cuts that affect their members. Now several labor groups have gone to court in an attempt to reverse some of the cuts, forcing Brown to defend legislation he used to persuade voters that he was being frugal with their tax money. "We're just fighting for what has been promised us," said Jon Rudolph, president of the Deputy Sheriffs' Assn. of Alameda County.

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Report details flaws in Army's handling of PTSD

Duluth News Tribune

An Army report released Friday finds the service still has trouble diagnosing and treating soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder, despite more than doubling its number of military and civilian behavioral health workers over the past five years. Confusing paperwork, inconsistent training and guidelines, and incompatible data systems have hindered the service as it tries to deal with behavioral health issues, the report said. It's a crucial issue: After a decade of war, soldier suicides outpace combat deaths.

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Painkiller Abuse Hits New States

Wall Street Journal

The epidemic in painkiller-abuse gripping the Southern and Eastern U.S. is tightening its hold on the Western part of the country, having blindsided law enforcement and public health authorities. "We're just in the beginning stages of grasping the full magnitude of this issue," said Elisha Figueroa, Idaho's drug-policy administrator, who started noticing that prescription-drug abuse was becoming pervasive in her state about two years ago.

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Babies born hooked on mom's prescription drugs

Associated Press

The cry of a baby in withdrawal isn't quite the same as the whimpers mothers are accustomed to when welcoming their bundle of joy. These are shrieks -- never ending calls for help -- as these babies withdraw from the narcotics that ran through their bloodstreams for months inside their mothers' wombs. Those yells often become seizures, tremors, sweating battles and high fevers.

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Narconon officials lose counseling certifications

Associated Press

Narconon Arrowhead's top executive and several of his employees have had a counseling certification revoked by the National Association of Forensic Counselors, officials say. Karla Taylor, president of NAFC, confirmed Narconon Arrowhead CEO Gary Smith's certification and those of several Narconon employees was revoked earlier this month. Narconon Arrowhead is a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Canadian, Okla. that has been the subject of an ongoing investigation after three of its patients were found dead in less than a year.

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Dollars for Docs database shows drugmakers' payouts to physicians

San Jose Mercury News

Dr. Jon W. Draud, the medical director of psychiatric and addiction medicine at two Tennessee hospitals, pursues some eclectic passions. He's bred sleek Basenji hunting dogs for show. And last summer, the Tennessee State Museum featured "African Art: The Collection of Jon Draud." But the Nashville psychiatrist is also notable for a professional pursuit: During the last four years, the 47-year-old Draud has earned more than $1 million for delivering promotional talks and consulting for seven drug companies.

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U.S. Job Seekers Test Positive For Drugs At Highest Rate Since 2007, Study Finds

Huffington Post

Job applicants are testing positively for drugs at rates not seen since 2007. According to data given exclusively to The Huffington Post by Quest Diagnostics, a medical lab research company, the rate of positive results for pre-employment urine screening increased by 5.7 percent since 2011. “Employers are having some difficulty finding employees who can pass their drug tests,” said Dr. Barry Sample, director of science and technology for Quest. Marijuana continues to be the drug most commonly used by American job seekers, according to Quest's data.

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Heroin a killer that crosses all lines

Reporter

A killer that doesn’t discriminate by gender, age or socioeconomic status is lurking in the tri-county area. Heroin, an opioid analgesic processed from morphine, has become a bitter pill for law enforcement and for the users and their families plagued by the devastating effects of its highly-addictive nature. “We’ve often talked about the fact that if you use this kind of drug you’re going to wind up in jail or dead. There are only two outcomes,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. “Once you’re addicted to it, once you’re on it, it is just one of the most difficult things to break away from.”

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Alcohol 'Antidote' Could One Day Sober You Up Fast

Business Insider

Too much booze in your blood? In the future, a pill of a special compound could fix you right up. By combining two enzymes in a thin shell, researchers have been able to lower blood alcohol levels in mice. "The pill acts in a way extremely similar to the way your liver does," study researcher Yunfeng Lu, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. The pill isn't ready for humans yet, Lu said, but "with further research, this discovery could be used as a preventative measure or antidote for alcohol intoxication."

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Attorney For Families Whose Loved Ones Died At Narconon Reacts To New Controversy

Oklamhoma’s Own NewsOn6.com

Narconon Arrowhead is back in the headlines. News 9 has been closely following the drug treatment facility's recent troubles, including three patient deaths and the lawsuits that followed. Now, Narconon's CEO and several employees have lost their counseling certifications. Narconon has been embedded in controversy from its rehab methods to its ties to Scientology. I talked with the attorney representing families for three of Narconon's most recent deaths. And he had some insight into why the counseling certifications may have been revoked. "I couldn't begin to tell you the stories I've heard of what goes on down there," said attorney, Gary Richardson. And Richardson says he's heard plenty of them.

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