Category Archives: Drug Dependency

Date: Wednesday Mar. 7, 2012 7:16 AM ET TORONTO The overdose death of a Northern Ontario man should be a red flag for primary care doctors who must switch patients from the now discontinued drug OxyContin to another opioid to control their chronic pain, experts say. But knowing which drug to prescribe instead of OxyContin can pose a challenge for overly taxed family physicians, whose training in pharmaceutical equivalents may be inadequate or out of date, they say. The man who died at some point during the last month cannot be identified for privacy reasons. He had been prescribed OxyContin for chronic pain and the drug was paid for under the Non-Insured Health Benefits program, the government plan for Canadian aboriginals and Inuit. But because the intended replacement drug, OxyNeo, is not covered by the program, the man's doctor switched him to another long-acting opioid. The replacement opioid had been prescribed at too high a dose and the man appears to have died from an overdose, which usually involves respiratory failure. "There was an apparent inadvertent or unintentional dose escalation," Dr. Michael Wilson, regional supervising coroner for Northwestern Ontario, said Tuesday from Thunder Bay, Ont. "I spoke to the doctor … Continue reading →

TORONTO - The overdose death of a Northern Ontario man should be a red flag for primary care doctors who must switch patients from the now discontinued drug OxyContin to another opioid to control their chronic pain, experts say. But knowing which drug to prescribe instead of OxyContin can pose a challenge for overly taxed family physicians, whose training in pharmaceutical equivalents may be inadequate or out of date, they say. The man who died at some point during the last month cannot be identified for privacy reasons. He had been prescribed OxyContin for chronic pain and the drug was paid for under the Non-Insured Health Benefits program, the government plan for Canadian aboriginals and Inuit. But because the intended replacement drug, OxyNeo, is not covered by the program, the man's doctor switched him to another long-acting opioid. The replacement opioid had been prescribed at too high a dose and the man appears to have died from an overdose, which usually involves respiratory failure. "There was an apparent inadvertent or unintentional dose escalation," Dr. Michael Wilson, regional supervising coroner for Northwestern Ontario, said Tuesday from Thunder Bay, Ont. "I spoke to the doctor and the doctor just basically said that … Continue reading →

By Makiko Kitamura - Mon Mar 05 17:10:59 GMT 2012 Students drink beer during spring break in Florida. Students drink beer during spring break in Florida. Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN), the Nordic regions second-largest drugmaker, said its anti-alcoholism treatment nalmefene helped patients cut consumption by an average of 66 percent in three clinical trials. Results of the final stage of clinical trials showed nalmefene helped curb drinking more than a placebo and medical advice, Lundbeck said in a presentation at a medical meeting in Prague today. Nalmefene users reported a 64 percent to 79 percent drop in total alcohol intake, compared with 49 percent to 64 percent for those on placebo, Copenhagen-based Lundbeck said. Heavy drinking is Europes second-largest risk factor for poor health. Lundbeck plans to offer nalmefene as a treatment option to those who suffer from alcohol dependency and are turned off by abstinence, which is advocated by most experts, said Anders Gersel Pedersen, head of Lundbecks research and development. About 70 percent of patients who enrolled in the clinical trials for nalmefene had never received treatment, Pedersen said in a telephone interview. It changes the whole paradigm around the conversation about alcohol use … Continue reading →

A former Philadelphia police officer who stole a debit card from a prisoner was sentenced by a federal judge to three years probation today. Charles Jacoby III, 31, worked as a patrol officer and cell block attendant in the 22nd police district. Jacoby, of Burholme in the far Northeast, was supposed to safeguard personal items taken from those he recently arrested or prisoners he guarded. Instead, prosecutors said the 10-year veteran stole their debit and credit cards and used them to buy things for himself. At a sentencing today, U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky ordered Jacoby to serve the first nine months of his three year probation under house arrest with electronic monitoring and fined him $1,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Brenner said Jacoby targeted individuals who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he was patrolling the streets. When he was working the cell block, Brenner said Jacoby targeted inmates who he thought were acting "rowdy." Brenner likened the ex-cop to a "pickpocket" whose behavior was "startling and stunning." The prosecutor asked Slomsky to draw a "bright line" to send a message to other cops who might be considering criminal misdeeds. Seeking a sentence … Continue reading →

One in seven U.S. citizens receives aid to buy food. Are we feeding the hungry, breeding dependency, or both? What are food stamps? They're a form of aid provided by the federal government to low-income households to help them buy food. The term "food stamps" comes from the coupon-like stamps used during the "War on Poverty" in the 1960s, although they were phased out in 2004 in favor of plastic debit cards, which are refilled electronically each month. In 2008, the government rechristened the program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. But most people still call it food stamps, and the program has become a political flash point since GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said in January that "more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history." Is that true? There can be no dispute that the number of people added to food stamp rolls since 2008 is larger than in any previous president's term. Last year, 45 million Americans 14 percent of the population received food stamps; in 2008, before Obama took office, about 28 million did. But the number of recipients has risen steadily over the last decade, and actually … Continue reading →

I never learned about heroin in my pediatric residency. I didn't need to I never treated a patient with heroin dependency. But this ugly drug has invaded St. Louis and St. Charles County high schools and our community emergency rooms. The new face of heroin is a suburban adolescent, in the prime of life, not breathing. Heroin causes breathing to slow, and heroin overdose causes death by respiratory depression. These patients arrive in the emergency room blue and nonresponsive. They are usually brought in by nervous friends, also abusers, who do not want their own drug use revealed. These are the lucky ones most heroin addicts die before anyone realizes they are not just sleeping. "It never ceases to amaze me how frequently they come in almost dead and then they come back again, the same way, a week later," said my colleague Dr. Robert Yeager, an emergency medicine physician at Progress West Health Center in O'Fallon, Mo. Dr. Joseph Karre, also an emergency medicine physician at Progress West, just shook his head, "I can't believe how many high school kids are willing to try it." And it's extremely difficult to find any inpatient drug treatment program that will accept … Continue reading →

By Justina Reichel Epoch Times Staff Created: March 1, 2012 Last Updated: March 1, 2012 A 40 mg bottle of OxyContin. The highly addictive painkiller was pulled from the market on Mar. 1 and replaced with OxyNeo, a new version designed to be more difficult to abuse. Ontario First Nations are seeking government support for a potential mass withdrawal in their communities due to the discontinuation of the drug. ( Darren McCollester/Getty Images) Just as Alberta decides not to follow some other provinces in limiting funding for highly addictive painkiller OxyContin, Ontario First Nations are seeking government support for a potential mass withdrawal in their communities due to the discontinuation of the drug on March 1. OxyContin was pulled from the Canadian market by manufacturer Purdue Pharma because of increasing rates of abuse. It is being replaced with a new version of the drug called OxyNeo, said to be more difficult to abuse because it cannot be crushed or liquefied, making it unsuitable for injecting or snorting. Health Canada recently announced that all long-acting oxycodones such as OxyContin and OxyNeo have been removed from the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) list, including for First Nations people. Alberta has said it has … Continue reading →

Baroness Bonham-Carter argues drug and alcohol treatment programmes are key to reducing reoffending rates and must not 'slip down the agenda'. Both the Home Office and the Ministry for Justice have for years considered treatment for drug and alcohol dependence to be key to bringing down reoffending rates, with all the associated benefits this has, both for the individuals concerned and for society as a whole. The criminal justice system has invested in various programmes to tackle substance misuse, and this policy has achieved much success, with drug-treatment programmes estimated to help prevent around 680,000 crimes per year. It is now proposed that responsibility for all drug-recovery budgets should be passed to the new executive agency of the Department of Health, Public Health England, with effect from April 2013. According to ministers, in practice this would mean that local authorities would have responsibility for commissioning drug and alcohol prevention and recovery treatments, funded by a public health grant. The NHS Commissioning Board would be responsible for commissioning substance-misuse treatment for people in prison or other forms of detention. In many ways this makes sense, as local authorities and the NHS can bring together the range of services aimed at helping … Continue reading →

OTTAWA An international group of thinkers, business people and former politicians is urging the federal government to change its omnibus crime bill, arguing stiffer sentences for "minor" marijuana crimes won't make Canada safer. The Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former head of the United Nations Kofi Annan and billionaire Sir Richard Branson, signed an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and senators urging them to amend the crime bill and instead of penalties, make pot legal. In its letter, released Wednesday, the group asked the government to consider taxing and regulating marijuana "as an alternative strategy to undermine organized crime and improve community health and safety." "Adopting the mandatory sentencing for minor cannabis offences would send Canada down a tragic path, likely costing your taxpayers billions and doing nothing to tackle drug violence or drug dependency," Branson said in a news release. "Canada should explore policies that treat drugs as a health issue, not a criminal issue." The government indicated Wednesday it had no plans to amend the bill, or talk with Branson and the commission about Canada's drug laws. "The Safe Streets and Communities Act goes after the source of the illicit drug trade the drug … Continue reading →

For the daily gate city Sentencing decisions are among the most difficult a judge must make. Fewer community-based sentencing options increase this difficulty. For example, the Iowa Department of Corrections has recently eliminated its youthful offender program and violators program due to budget cuts. However, the DOC started a drug court program in the 8B Judicial District in 2010, giving judges another sentencing option for offenders addicted to drugs. More than 22 million Americans are believed to have substance abuse problems. According to the Iowa Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Advisory Council, nearly 60 percent of all offenders entering Iowa prisons have substance abuse risk factors. Many judges would likely say this estimate is too low. Iowas current inmate population stands at about 8,504 inmates. Thus, more than 5,000 prison inmates are likely to have substance abuse problems. The annual cost to incarcerate one inmate is estimated to be $30,000. To respond to the large number of offenders with substance abuse issues and the substantial financial cost to incarcerate them, many states, including Iowa, have established drug courts. The 8B Judicial District, comprised of Des Moines, Henry, North Lee, South Lee and Louisa counties, started its drug court in 2010 … Continue reading →