Prescriptions Act as Gateway to Heroin
Brian’s Vicodin prescription lead to Heroin abuse and within two years; his death.
Learn more about the Heroin epidemic in the United States.
Drug Overdose in California Prison System
California prisoners are overdosing on drugs and dying at almost three times the national rate. Do stricter, questionable, intimidating methods that are now put into place to sniff out illicit drugs work or just a means used to set up and criminalize people?
California inmates are dying of drug overdoses at nearly three times the national rate and it is unclear whether the tough steps state officials took this year to stop illicit drugs from getting into prisons are having any effect, though they are prompting criticism from civil rights advocates.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is spending $8m this year on drug-detecting scanners and a new breed of drug-sniffing dogs while employing strip searches on visitors suspected of carrying drugs.
Corrections officials believe the stepped-up efforts are discouraging smuggling, but the data available so far does not support that – more than 6,000 scans have been done on visitors and employees at 11 prisons since December without finding anyone with drugs.… [Continue Reading]
Summer and First Time Drug Users
June and July Are the Most Prevalent Months for First Time Drug Users
Not surprisingly, drug use spikes in June and July for teenagers who are out of school for the summer with more time on their hands and less adult supervision. The statistics are staggering.
Teens are much more likely to try cigarettes and other drugs for the first time during the summer months, according to a new survey.
Researchers found first-time use of these substances, as well as marijuana and hallucinogens, peaks during June and July, with thousands more youths trying them each day compared to other months.
“More free time and less adult supervision can make the summertime an exciting time for many young people, but it can also increase the likelihood of exposure to the dangers of substance abuse,” Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which conducted the study, says in a news release.
Risky Summer Experimentation
In the study, researchers analyzed information from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002-2010. The survey asked participants between the ages of 12 and 17 when they first used tobacco, marijuana, and other substances.
The results showed first-time use of all tobacco products, marijuana, hallucinogens, and inhalants peaked dramatically in June or July.
For example, on an average day in June or July:
More than 5,000 youths smoked cigarettes for the first time, compared with averages of about 3,000 to 4,000 new users in other months.
More than 4,800 youths smoked marijuana for the first time, compared with a daily average of about 3,000 to 4,000 in other months.
More than 1,500 youths used hallucinogens for the first time, compared with averages of about 1,100 to 1,400 per day in other months.
First-time use of inhalants also peaked in July, with more than 1,800 new users on average per day, compared with about 1,100 to 1,700 new users each day in other months.
The only substances that did not have higher rates of first-time users during the summer months were cocaine and prescription pain drugs used for non-medical reasons.
Researchers say the summer months are a time when teens are on break from school and may have more idle time, fewer responsibilities, and less adult supervision.
“That is why it is critically important to take every opportunity we can throughout the year to talk to our young people about the real risks of substance abuse and effective measures for avoiding it, so they will be informed and capable of making the right decisions on their own,” Hyde says.
SOURCES:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: “National Survey on Drug Use and Health,” July 2, 2012.
News release, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Impact of Medicare Prescription Fraud
How to Best Handle Fraud and Abuse of the Medicare’s Prescription Drug Program
Investing money in treating people addicted to narcotics might be a better answer to tackling the abuse plaguing the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. Reducing the incentive for doctors to illegally make money by prescribing prescription opioids and abusing the system, may help to take a chunk out of Medicaid fraud. Endowing monies to reduce addiction will not only decrease the drive and temptation for doctors to exploit the system but can aid in helping a large community of people dependent on prescription opioids get their life back.
Fraud and abuse continue to dog Medicare’s popular prescription drug program, despite a bevy of initiatives launched to prevent them, according to two new reports by the inspector general of Health and Human Services.
Their release follows the arrests of 44 pharmacy owners, doctors and others, who last week were accused of bilking the program, known as Part D.
Suburban Pot Problem in Birmingham, MI
Commissioner Tom McDaniel of Birmingham, Michigan is having issue of where to put a medical marijuana store in this high-income city but he said it is going to happen. Many residents are pushing back not wanting a medical marijuana store in the city. Legalization of marijuana is going on the Michigan ballot next year. Many worry that marijuana is a gateway to more addictive drugs and will escalate the drug problem that we already have here in Michigan and the United States.
Suboxone Linked to Charleston Shooting Suspect
Rapid Drug Detox Center’s hearts go out to the victims, family and friends of this unnecessary, tragic shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston mass shooting suspect Dylann Roof was questioned by police in February, 2015, for “asking out of the ordinary questions” of employees at two stores in the Columbiana Mall in Columbia, South Carolina. A search found a “small unlabeled white bottle containing multiple orange in color square strips” in Roof’s right jacket pocket. Roof admitted that the strips were Suboxone and that he had gotten them from a friend, and not a prescription. Roof was then arrested for possession of a schedule III controlled narcotic.… [Continue Reading]
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