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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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