New Marijuana Prescription Drug

The subject of marijuana is a hot button item in the United States. The drug is federally illegal, but 16 states including the District of Colombia allow it to be used for medicinal purposes. There are a number of people who claim that marijuana has no medicinal value despite the fact that there have been thousands of claims that it has helped people with their ailments. Since the drug is illegal it is hard for researchers in the United States to get approval for testing to determine the medicinal properties of the drug.

In Europe, the ability to test with marijuana is much more relaxed in a number of countries and there are a number of scientists who believe that drugs could be developed that contain the active ingredients of marijuana. Furthermore, there is a company in Great Britain that is conducting advanced clinical trials of the first drug developed from raw marijuana that will help treat pain caused by cancer. The drug is delivered in the form of a mouth spray.

Sativex is the name of the new spray and it has already gained approval in Canada, New Zealand, and eight European countries to relieve muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis, according to the AP.

In the United States, in 1985 the FDA approved two drugs containing synthetic THC an active ingredient in marijuana. Marinol and Cesamet, were approved and made to treat chemotherapy side effects, Marinol is also used to stimulate the appetite of AIDS patients.
If the FDA approves a drug with a chemically similar makeup, it could prompt the federal government to change its stance on marijuana and encourage other drug manufacturers to do research on similar drugs, reports the AP.

The company, GW Pharma, hopes to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of 2013, according to the Associated Press.

Shake and Bake Meth Burn Victims

Methamphetamine use had been on the decline over the last decade for a number of reasons. The government took certain steps to make it harder to come by the active ingredient pseudoephedrine which can be found in a number of over the counter cold medicines. Organizations like the Meth Project have helped educate people on the dangers of using methamphetamine. Unfortunately, in the last three years meth production has risen and there has been a spike in meth use across the country.

Two possible reasons for the jump in usage is the Mexican super labs producing huge quantities of the drug; the other reason is that a new method for making meth has been developed known as the “shake and bake” method. This new method has been the cause of a number of people ending up in the emergency room with serious burns, according to the Associated Press.

The new method requires that one combine raw, unstable ingredients in a 2-liter soda bottle, but if the cap is removed too quickly or the plastic bottle is punctured it can cause an explosion, severely injuring someone. An AP survey that was conducted found that in some burn units across the country up to one-third of patients were injured while making meth. Meth-related burns costs an average of $130,000 per patient to treat, 60 percent more than other burn patients, most meth burn patients do not have health insurance.

The high price for treatment has caused some burn units to have to close down, the AP reports. With at least seven burn units closing in the last six years.

The shake and bake method has become a popular route for meth producers to take for a number of reasons. The formula:

• requires less pseudoephedrine than the older method
• takes less time to make
• is less expensive
• easy to hide

The DEA reports that incidents related to meth production, including seizures of labs, dumpsites of chemical and glassware, increased to 11,239 in 2010, after falling to 6,095 in 2007.

Mandatory Treatment for Low Level Drug Offenders

In the past, people who were convicted of drug charges were bound for jail or prison which had little effect on one’s addiction and cost the taxpayers billions of dollars collectively. In the past 30 years as people have become more accepting of drug and alcohol abuse as a disease, alternative forms of punishments, such as substance abuse treatment, have become standard practice in most states.

Now, most first offenders and low level drug offenders have been given the option of treatment over jail; while it was not mandatory, most people chose treatment. In what The Wall Street Journal calls “the most sweeping criminal-justice proposal of his tenure”, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week called for mandatory treatment for all low-level drug offenders.

In his State of the State address, Christie said, “Every one of God’s creations can be redeemed. Everyone deserves a second chance.” Calling for a revision of bail laws to keep violent drug dealers in prison, he said the state’s bail system should mirror the federal courts, where judges decide whether violent offenders should remain in jail while they await trial if they are considered to be a threat to society or a flight risk.

It turns out that Christie’s proposal may be easier said than done unless more funding goes in the direction of treatment. The article stated that drug treatment advocates say the state’s residential drug treatment facilities are already overcrowded. “There are waiting lists of people begging to get into drug treatment. We should fund and expand it for the people who want it,” said Roseanne Scotti, Director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New Jersey.

An estimated 62 percent of New Jersey prison inmates have a moderate to severe drug addiction, according to the Wall Street Journal. There were 51,985 people admitted into substance-abuse programs in New Jersey in 2010, compared with 47,442 in 2008.

Christie once served on the board of a Daytop Village treatment program, and his wife volunteers with former convicts, the newspaper notes.

Homeless Heavy Drinkers Cutting Back

Homelessness is a major problem in a America, one that has grown as we have drifted into an economic recession. Many people on the streets have what most would consider a problem with alcohol which in the past might make it difficult for them to receive aid from housing programs for homelessness across the country. A study that was conducted following participants who took part in a Seattle housing program has shown some interesting results.

Heavy drinkers who were formerly homeless and were provided housing actually cut back on their drinking if they were allowed access to alcohol, according to the study.

The program called Housing First, was developed by a housing agency in Seattle. The program provides housing to chronically homeless people and not drinking isn’t one of the requirements, according to HealthDay.

The researchers reported that when homeless people who drank heavily were given housing and allowed to continue drinking, the average number of drinks consumed on the heaviest drinking day of the month fell from 40 to 26 over two years, a 35 percent drop. The median number of drinks fell from 22 to 11 drinks per typical drinking day, a decrease of 50 percent. Participants’ recent bouts of delirium tremens, dropped from 65 percent to 23 percent.

“These individuals have multiple medical, psychiatric and substance abuse problems, and housing that requires them to give up their belongings, adhere to curfews, stop drinking and commit to treatment all at once is setting them up to fail. The result is that we are relegating some of the most vulnerable people in our community to a life on the streets,” lead author Susan Collins of the University of Washington said in a news release.

“A lot of people believe in the ‘enabling hypothesis’ – that allowing homeless, alcohol-dependent individuals to drink in their homes will enable them to drink more, and their drinking will spiral out of control,” Collins said. “But instead what we found are across-the-board decreases in alcohol consumption and problems.”

The research can be seen in the American Journal of Public Health.

Obtaining Needles Without Prescriptions

Intravenous drug use is one of the leading causes of the spread of virus and diseases like HIV or Hepatitis C. Those addicts who do not have reliable access to clean hypodermic needles are at the greatest risk. This is why a number of states have adopted needle exchanges and, or making it legal for people to go to a pharmacy without a prescription to get clean needles.

A bill was approved this week in the New Jersey legislature that would allow adults to buy syringes without a prescription. Governor Chris Christie issued a conditional veto, stating he would not approve the measure unless buyers were required to show a photo ID, or otherwise prove to pharmacists they are at least 18, so the bill was revised.

Currently only New Jersey and Delaware do not allow over-the-counter sales of syringes, according to NJ.Com.

A news release issued by the Governor’s office said he “cited the need to weigh both unnecessary impediments for individuals who use injectable medications and the need for additional public safety measures to limit the distribution of needles or syringes used for non-medical purposes while also discouraging minors from buying needles or syringes.” He also called on the state Department of Health and Senior Services to supply pharmacists with information about drug treatment and syringe disposal. Both the state House and Senate voted to amend the bill to incorporate Christie’s changes.

There is no question that this bill is a step forward and hopefully Delaware will come around next so that all 50 states are on board with stopping the spread of disease.

Prescription Drug Abuse

Sadly in America there are a number of children who are being neglected because every last resource goes to feeding the addiction of their parents. Most cases where children go hungry stems from substance abuse. At least 75 percent of all child abuse or neglect cases across the country involve substance abuse by parents or caregivers, according to the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare.

Prescription drug abuse is plaguing Americans at rates unseen before in history by any single drug. An estimated 12 million people in the United States used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in 2010, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Pointing out that there were enough prescription painkillers prescribed “to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.”

Each day an estimated two people die from drug overdoses and another 40 are admitted to emergency rooms with life-threatening conditions, according to the Prescription Monitoring Program of Excellence at Brandeis University. There are a number of people scratching their heads trying to come up with a solution to this ever growing problem.

Operation UNITE is coordinating a National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in Florida from April 10-12, 2012. This will be the first conference focusing only on the issue of prescription drug abuse. The summit’s goal is to show how states can work together to fight this battle with better understanding in cooperation with:

• national leaders
• law enforcement officials
• medical professionals
• community advocates
• treatment experts
• educators
• private industry leaders

Princess Kate Working With Addiction

Addiction is a worldwide problem affecting families from all walks of life, an issue that has in the past been highly stigmatized and requires the work of countless people to help the suffering recover. Across the Atlantic in England, just eight months after the royal wedding the new Princess Kate has announced what charities she will be working to support.

One of the organizations she will be a patron of is the British charity Action on Addiction. A program which supports:

• research
• prevention
• treatment of addiction
• addicts' families
• education and training

The late Princess Diana supported the cause of HIV/AIDS, which in the early ‘80s was a highly stigmatized disease. Many believe that Princess Kate’s decision is quite similar considering that many people still have a hard time grasping that addiction is a serious disease not a lack of will power. With an estimated 1 in 3 Britons suffering from addiction at some point in their lives, the issue is one that is clearly worth Princess Kate’s time.

It is great to see someone as prestigious as the Princess taking up the cause and hopefully her contribution will have a lasting effect around the globe.