Category Archives: Drugs

Zambia's High Court on Monday heard that HIV-positive prisoners were being denied access to life-prolonging drugs and a balanced diet, on the opening day of a landmark human rights case. Awaiting-trial prisoner George Mwanza has accused the authorities of violating his human rights and those of other HIV-positive inmates by failing to provide them with adequate care. "I have been prevented from accessing the anti-retroviral drugs and therapy from the clinic," Mwanza -- who is awaiting trial for statutory rape -- told a courtroom packed with HIV/AIDS activists clad in white T-shirts. Priti Patel of the non-governmental Southern Africa Litigation Centre said the case was "the first of its kind" and could have massive repercussions given the high levels of HIV in Zambia's jails. More than one in 10 Zambians is HIV-positive. Mwanza and his co-plaintiff claim that because of prison staff shortages the government is unable to provide enough wardens to escort them to the clinics and that HIV-positive prisoners received a standard diet of bean and nshima, a thick corn meal porridge that is a staple in Zambia. HIV sufferers are advised to eat a varied diet of eggs, vegetables, meat, fruits and vegetables. "The last time I … Continue reading →

Activists across the country have voiced their disagreement after animal testing was mooted as a possibility to ensure the safety of legal recreational drugs. A report in the Sunday Star-Times raised the issue of LD50 testing a process where a group of dogs or rats are subjected to increasingly potent doses of a drug until half the group dies. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has ruled out the practice in New Zealand calling it barbaric on RadioLIVE but the wider issue of animal testing of recreational drugs still looms large. The Government has made it clear it wishes to see a process set up whereby manufacturers must prove a product is safe before it can be sold, rather than the current process which sees the Government on the back foot and forced to react after it has already hit the market. Retired politician Pete Hodgson says it is highly unlikely the industry will be allowed to test its products on animals here. This is a really interesting public policy issue the debate really matters but actually probably f**k all is going to happen, says Mr Hodgson, a former Labour Party MP who spent two years as the Minister of Health … Continue reading →

Stop Refilling the Anxiety Fuel Tank See "The Origin of Self-destructive Behaviors" for where anxiety comes from and the temporary fixes (overeating, alcohol, drugs, simply avoiding fearfuls situations) you may use to ease it, only reinforcing and exacerbating your anxiety in the long-run. Here's something else you can try. You're anxious. Let it be. Your anxiety tank has been filled -- let it run itself out. Don't try to calm yourself down; don't try to reassure yourself. Everything might NOT be okay -- and so what? Let yourself be scared -- but make yourself stay in a scary situation (in gradual steps from somewhat scary to very scary) until your anxiety begins to go down. Your anxiety will -- SHOULD! -- go UP at first. You'll hang out with it. Notice your heart beat faster, your breathing get more rapid, your muscle tension increase, perhaps yourself feeling lightheaded or dizzy. Let it happen. Notice as the heart begins to decelerate, the breathing slow, the tension ease -- as it must, after your body runs out of energy -- look around and see that you're okay even though you did not run away -- even … Continue reading →

David Anderson Shares His Story Of Hope David's biological mom called CPS to have him removed. After a bout with drugs and a stint in prison, David found hope at Covenant Community Services. This is his story, in his own words. Covenant Community Services, Inc. (Covenant) is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) social service organization serving foster children, former foster youth and their families in Kern County and through replication efforts, the United States and the world. Covenant provides hope to foster children, former foster youth and families through a diverse and creative team of dedicated individuals. At Covenant, our purpose is transformation of lives and thus our community. Covenant meets the needs of "hurting and hopeless" children/youth and families through partnerships with local churches, community-based organizations, individuals and businesses. Covenant exists to transform our community with the love and hope one child at a time! Produced by Covenant Media Productions covenantmedianow.com 2012From:covenantcsViews:1 0ratingsTime:05:39More inNonprofits Activism See the original post: David Anderson Shares His Story Of Hope - Video … Continue reading →

A Chinese study published on World AIDS Day says drugs used to curb HIV in infected people also help protect their uninfected partner, but far less effectively than other research has found. The idea of using anti-retrovirals to prevent HIV as well as treat it leapt into the headlines last year when researchers reported stellar results from trials in Africa, Asia and the United States. In a experiment, they recruited 1,763 so-called "serodiscordant" couples, meaning one partner had HIV and the other was uninfected. If the HIV patient was given antiretroviral drugs, this reduced the risk -- by a massive 96 percent, equal to the effectiveness of a condom -- of transmitting the virus to the partner, the investigators found. Acting on this breakthrough, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that the infected partner in a "serodiscordant" couple be given anti-retrovirals regardless of their count of CD4 immune cells, a benchmark for initiating treatment. The new study, published in The Lancet, looked back at how Chinese "serodiscordant" couples have fared. The importance here is that the conditions are real life, and different from medical trials where for ethical reasons, couples are regularly advised about safe sex and their health and … Continue reading →

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether generic drug manufacturers can be subjected to personal injury lawsuits that allege flaws in the design of drugs, even if federal law would not allow such cases to go forward. The court agreed to review a bid by Mutual Pharmaceutical Co to overturn a $21 million jury award to Karen Bartlett, a New Hampshire woman who had taken its generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac for shoulder pain. Bartlett was left with permanent near-blindness and burn-like lesions on two-thirds of her body after suffering a rare hypersensitivity reaction associated with the drug, and sued Mutual for alleged design defects under New Hampshire law. Mutual, an indirect unit of Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, countered that federal law barred such claims because its drug had already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and federal law requires generic drugs to have the same design as their brand-name equivalents. It cited the Supreme Court's June 2011 decision in Pliva Inc v. Mensing that federal law preempted state law claims based on alleged inadequate label warnings about potential side effects, given that federal regulations require brand-name and generic drugs to carry the … Continue reading →

30 November 2012 Last updated at 11:53 ET Five men have been arrested in Glasgow in connection with the seizure of a huge consignment of drugs in Italy. Two Britons, one from Scotland, were arrested on Monday after 41 kilos of heroin and 105 kilos of cannabis were found in a lorry at the port of Bari. They appeared in court in Bari on Thursday and were remanded in custody. The five men being held in Glasgow, aged 29, 30, 33, 47 and 56, were arrested over the alleged importation of controlled drugs. The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) said they had been arrested between 24 and 27 November. The SCDEA said that it had requested the assistance of Italian authorities to stop and search the lorry, which had arrived from Greece at the Adriatic port of Bari, in southern Italy, on 24 November. This is a significant haul of drugs that were destined for Scotland's shores When the vehicle was searched it was found to contain 41 kilos of heroin, with a minimum value on the streets of Scotland of 3.2m - a sum that may "increase dramatically" depending on purity. Italian officials also seized 105 kilos … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis, who was found dead in September and linked to a suspected homicide, did not have any drugs or alcohol in his body, coroner's officials said on Friday. A toxicology examination detected no amounts of cocaine, marijuana, hallucinogenic drugs or prescription medications, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said in a report. Lewis, 28, was found dead in the driveway of a home he had been renting in Los Angeles and his 81-year-old landlady was found dead inside. Investigators initially suspected Lewis was under the influence of drugs or alcohol because he had spent time in rehab and had a criminal drug past. The actor had been released from jail five days prior to his death. Authorities ruled Lewis' death an accident from partial strangulation and head trauma after the actor fell 15 feet from an elevated terrace onto a paved driveway. "We do not have definitive evidence that (Lewis) intended to kill himself," Los Angeles County medical examiner James K. Ribe wrote in the autopsy report. "We also do not at this time have any evidence that he was pushed." Detectives believe Lewis may have killed his landlady, Catherine … Continue reading →

Drugs put in skip by lazy shop assistant 9:00am Saturday 1st December 2012 in News DRUGS which had belonged to a dead person were dumped in a skip by a lazy member of staff. The pills were spotted by a member of the public outside Halliwell Late Night Pharmacy, in Halliwell Road. It was reported to NHS Boltons Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). It is believed a bereaved relative took the pills, which were in a medicine dispensing tray and pharmacy bags, to the pharmacy to dispose of after being advised this was the correct way to get rid of them. But instead of disposing of the prescription drugs correctly, a female member of staff put the drugs in a black bin bag and dumped them in a skip outside the shop. A spokesman from the pharmacy said the medicines had been correctly disposed of the next morning when staff arrived at work. He added the employee had been disciplined. The spokesman added: I think she was just being lazy. We are a late pharmacy and we had a locum pharmacist here and it was missed by him. The staff were reprimanded at the time and disciplined because it … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES (AP) A former "Sons of Anarchy" actor who was the lone suspect in the killing of his landlady did not have drugs in his system when he died, according to an autopsy report released Thursday. Authorities had been interested in whether Johnny Lewis was on drugs or medication when he apparently killed Catherine Davis in her home and then fell to his death in her driveway. Lewis had recently been released from jail and had a string of drug-related arrests before the killing. His attorney had speculated he might have been in a drug-induced psychosis when he killed Davis. Toxicology results on Johnny Lewis found no traces of cocaine, alcohol, marijuana or any other types of drugs in the actor's system. Officials checked for anti-psychotic drugs as well as psychedelic drugs. An autopsy report noted that Lewis had nail marks on both sides of his neck when he died and had suffered partial strangulation. His death was ruled accidental because there was no evidence he attempted to kill himself or had been pushed. Police believe Lewis fell while trying to flee the home after killing Davis, 81, who operated a retreat for writers and actors out of her … Continue reading →