We Restore Hope -

No one can drive us crazy unless we give them the keys. ~Doug Horton

One county in New York is taking a bold stand on drugs. Long Island’s Suffolk County is beginning to fight against the growth of drug abuse in teens. Parents are learning that drug abuse doesn’t just happen in “bad” neighborhoods and to “bad” kids – it happens everywhere and to everyone – and abuse can begin in their own medicine cabinets. Suffolk County and school officials distributed 350 free home drug tests this week to parents at a meeting at Patchogue-Medford High School in Patchogue, Long Island.

“We are going to empower the parents,” said Jack Eddington, who proposed the drug test kit program to the school district. “We are going to stem the tide of this epidemic,” he said.

The urine drug kits can detect the presence of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, amphetamines and benzodiazepines. Parents who attending the meeting were given a list of community resources to contact if their child tests positive for narcotics.

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Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them could not stand being laughed at. ~Author Unknown
Forensic pathologists have discovered that more than three percent of all sudden deaths in southwest Spain are connected to cocaine use. They believe their findings can connect to all of Europe, highlighting the fact that cocaine use is a growing health problem and that there is no such thing as “safe” recreational use of small amounts of the drug.

The study looked at all the circumstances surrounding a consecutive series of sudden deaths between 2003 and 2006. During the autopsies, the pathologists tested blood and urine for traces of drugs and examined the organs, focusing on the heart and lungs. Toxicological tests were also performed on the bodies. Information on substance abuse prior to death was collected, as was the circumstances of the deaths and investigations of the death scene.

Out of 668 sudden deaths during the study period, 21 were related to cocaine use in men aged between 21 and 45. Most of the cocaine related deaths were due to problems with the heart and lungs. Dr. Joaquin Lucena led the study and said: “Our findings show that cocaine use causes adverse changes to the heart and arteries that then leads to sudden death.”

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A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as his legs increase. ~Author Unknown

According to new recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), binge drinking should be tackled through higher taxes on alcoholic beverages and tighter marketing regulations. The WHO, an agency of the United Nations, revealed its global strategy to curb the health risks connected to alcohol use. The WHO estimates that alcohol contributes to 2.5 million deaths each year, worldwide, from heart disease, liver disease, car accidents, suicides and cancers. This is 3.8 percent of deaths around the world.

“Consumers, including heavy drinkers and young people, are sensitive to changes in the price of drinks…increasing the price of alcoholic beverages is one of the most effective interventions to reduce harmful use of alcohol,” according to a WHO statement.

An important component in controlling alcohol consumption is an effective taxation system. In 2003, the WHO successfully lobbied for a global health treaty controlling tobacco use.

The executive board of the WHO will look at the suggestion at its semi-annual meeting next week. The WHO, a 34-member state body, ordered the study two years ago after some Scandinavian countries expressed concern about the health ramifications of heavy drinking.

The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance – a coalition of doctors, researchers and non-governmental organizations – has asked the board to approve the strategy and send it to the WHO’s annual assembly of health ministers in May for adoption.

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The gem cannot be polished without friction.Chinese proverb

Last Friday, news broke that prosecutors will indict Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s physician, on charges of manslaughter connected with the singer’s 2009 death. Jackson died on June 25 and Murray was Jackson’s physician at that time. There was suspicion of Murray and his medical practices from the beginning.

The results of the toxicology report on Jackson revealed that many narcotics were in his system at the time of his death. Lorazepam, midazolam (“dazzle”), diazepam, lidocaine, ephedrine, and the most controversial drug, propofol. Propofol is a narcotic that is usually only used by physicians, mainly anesthesiologists, in a hospital. The drug is used to put a patient in “twilight sleep.” There was early suspicion on Murray because these drugs are not normally prescribed.

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Being an optimist after you’ve got everything you want doesn’t count. ~Kin Hubbard

Researchers have identified a key mechanism in the brain that helps to explain cocaine’s addictiveness, according to research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The NIDS is an agency of the National Institutes of Health.

The study is published in the January issue of the journal “Science.” It illustrates how cocaine affects an epigenetic process (a process capable of influencing gene expression without changing a gene’s sequence). This is called histone methylation. These changes in the brain’s pleasure center, which are also the first impacted by chronic cocaine abuse, likely contribute to an acquired preference for the drug.

“This fundamental discovery advances our understanding of how cocaine addiction works,” said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. “Although more research will be required, these findings have identified a key new player in the molecular cascade triggered by repeated cocaine exposure, and thus a potential novel target for the development of addiction medications,” said Volkow.

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Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

A recent Canadian survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that online interventions for problem alcohol use can be effective in changing drinking behaviors. This resource appears to give a significant public health benefit.

The study found that problem drinkers provided access to the online screener called www.CheckYourDrinking.net. These people then reduced their alcohol consumption by 30 percent – rates that are comparable to in person interventions. This result was sustained in both the three and six month follow-up time.

Problem drinking is a major cause of preventable deaths in Canada. Many who struggle with alcohol addiction never get treatment. A recent government survey showed that 81 percent of Canadian drinkers have Internet access, and about a third of those people said that they would be willing to get intervention via the web.

The website gives problem drinkers a report that compares their alcohol intake to others and informs them of the physical risks of their alcohol use.

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Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. ~Andre Gide

A new controversial guidebook for heroin users in New York City gives information on how to prepare the drug carefully and avoid infected veins. New York State’s top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration said the “Take Charge Take Care” guide was troubling.

John Gilbride, New York City’s DEA special agent-in-charge said the book was a “step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison.”

New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene printed about 70,000 copies of the guidebook. The goal, according to a DHMH official, was to promote health and save lives.

The 16 page guide offers tips for heroin addicts. Assistant Commissioner Daliah Heller said these were included because there’s “a less harmful way to inject.” The illustrated book has information on HIV testing and implores addicts not to share needles.

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A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. ~Arnold Glasow

The integration of alcohol screening, treatment and referral into primary care medicine is not a routine practice. Nor are there any studies evaluating the effectiveness of integrating care for alcohol abuse to routine treatment for tuberculosis. This fact is despite the high co-occurrence and death associated with both of these disorders. As a result, researchers have designed a trial study to determine the effectiveness of incorporating drug therapy and behavioral treatments for alcoholism into routine TB care.

“In many primary care settings, screening for drinking problems is not necessarily a routine part of visits,” said Shelly F. Greenfield, director of clinical and health services research and education in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital and the author of the study.

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The mind is like a parachute–it works only when it is open.

Unknown

A bacterial protein, cocaine esterase (CocE) may help those addicted to cocaine. The naturally occurring bacterial enzyme breaks down cocaine. As a result, it reduces its addictive properties. The efficacy of CocE in animals and its suitability for addiction treatment has been limited by its short half-life in the body. The study was published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

A more stable version of the enzyme metabolized the drug and lessened cocaine addiction. The study was conducted using rats. The double mutant form of the enzyme, or DM-CocE, decreased the rats desire for cocaine but not for another addictive drug. This highlights the enzyme’s ability to offer protection against a potentially fatal overdose.

The effects of CocE can be overcome by a large amount of cocaine. Despite this, the study shows that the enzyme has great promise as a treatment for drug abuse.

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Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off. ~Author Unknown

Any excessive drinking over New Year’s could cost Britain’s National Health Service almost 23 million pounds, according to a new report. The report suggest that people be charged the hospital admission fee of 532 pounds (about 845 dollars) if they are admitted due to too much drinking.

“Alcohol misuse in Britain is at a level where it constitutes a public health epidemic,” said the report by Policy Exchange.

Direct costs to the state-funded NHS are almost 3 billion pounds each year. Hospital admissions for alcohol abuse in Britain have doubled in the past ten years.

“We recommend that the costs of being admitted to hospital to sleep off alcoholic excess should be met by individuals, not the NHS,” said Henry Featherstone, head of Policy Exchange’s health unit. “Those admitted to hospital for less than 24 hours with acute alcohol intoxication should be charged the NHS tariff cost for their admission of 532 pounds.”

That amount would be lessened for people paying for their own alcohol education and awareness course. The British Department of Health estimates that 2.7 billion pounds are spent each year on the results of alcohol abuse.

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