New Jersey Governor Wants to Transform Treatment of Drug Offenders

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is taking the lead on a national issue with a proposal that could change the way that state judicial systems deal with drug abuse.  In his recent State of the State Address, the governor suggested that every nonviolent offender with a serious substance abuse problem undergo mandatory treatment.  The governor then took his proposal one step further and suggested that treatment should take the place of a prison sentence.  Speaking to those who would be affected by the proposal, Governor Christie said, “We want to help you, not throw you away.  We will require you to get treatment.  Your life has value.”…

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Maker of Marijuana-Based Prescription Painkiller Seeking FDA Approval

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A British company named GW Pharma is seeking FDA approval to sell a marijuana-based prescription painkiller in the U.S.  The drug, which is administered as an oral spray and is intended for cancer patients, is the world’s first prescription drug that contains raw marijuana.  According to API reports, GW Pharma hopes to begin marketing the new drug, which it calls Sativex, in 2013.…

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Study Finds Brain Differences in Internet Addicts are Similar to Alcoholics

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According to a recent study, addiction to the Internet might cause the same changes to the brain that occur with alcoholism and cocaine addiction.

The study involved 17 Chinese teenagers who were given MRI brain scans.  The results of the study, which were published in the journal PLoS One, found that teens who were self-described Internet addicts had abnormal amounts of “white matter” surrounding the wiring between some neurons in the brain.  The teenagers with brain abnormalities admitted to being preoccupied with the Internet and to being unable to control their use of the Internet.  They also said they felt depressed, restless and irritable when they tried cut down on their use.

According to Jonathan Wallis, associate professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, the areas of the brain that the study pinpointed are known to be involved with compulsive behavior and addiction.  Gordon Harris, a professor of radiology …

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Tainted Moonshine Kills over 120 ppl in New Delhi

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India has somewhat earned a reputation as a “teetotaler” country – in which the use of alcohol is largely discouraged due to a variety of religious and social mores.

Of course, the drug is not explicitly illegal and there are some who crave and enjoy using the drug recreationally (and perhaps even habitually).

At least 120 people have now died due to a tainted batch of moonshine alcohol in the state of Kolkata, India.

The Indian government is pledging $4,000 to the family of each individual and a full investigation into the cause.…

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Study Questions Effectiveness of U.S. Drug Courts

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Many policymakers believe that Drug Courts provide a viable alternative to incarceration for drug offenders who have no criminal background. In theory, Drug Courts also save money by keeping people out of jail.  However, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has show that almost half of 32 Drug Courts included in a recent study did not reduce the re-arrest rates of their participants.  The findings raise serious questions about the ability of the criminal justice system to mandate recovery for drug offenders.…

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Washington State Promotes Use of Methadone as Death Count Rises

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Eight years ago, officials from the state of Washington adopted a cost-cutting measure related to prescription painkillers. 

People with subsidized health care are being given methadone rather than other types of pain medication.

Methadone is different from other painkillers in two major ways.  First, it’s cheaper.  Second, it’s less predictable and more deadly.  As a result, there has been a rise in deaths due to accidental methadone overdoses.  According to an investigation conducted by the Seattle Times, the deaths are clustered among some of the state’s poorest citizens.…

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Feds Discover Elaborate Drug Tunnel and Seize 32 Tons of Pot

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The Drug Cartels have literally changed the face of Mexican Culture and the government has really gone to great lengths to fight back against the Mexican Drug Cartels.

This week, federal drug enforcement agents broke up a sophisticated Mexican drug smuggling operation that resulted in the seizure of 32 tons of marijuana. The smugglers used a tunnel to transport contraband from Tijuana to a warehouse in San Diego.  The tunnel, which passed beneath a runway at Tijuana International Airport, included a wooden floor and walls, an elevator, electric lights and a railway system that carried marijuana along a track that stretched for a third of a mile. The street value of the confiscated drugs is estimated to be $65 million, making the seizure one of the largest in U.S. history.…

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Occupy Encampments Ripe for Drug Use Abuse and Overdose

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We checked out the Occupy L.A. encampment this weekend and were suprised to see a rather mellow and small “one block long” group of tents. Perhaps the heyday of Occupy L.A. is behind us and/or perhaps L.A. is not quite the powderkeg of activism that Seattle, Portland, and New York are.

What is curious to me is what kind of dynamic exists between this “tent city” of protestors (with homes to go to) and the growing number of truly homeless in the same neighborhood.  Is there tension brewing between the factions?  OR, has being homeless in Los Angeles gotten slightly better as a result of the influx of camping protestors.…

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DEA Hosts National Prescription Drug Take-Back Event

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During the last week in October, while children were collecting Halloween Trick-or-Treat candy, law enforcement officials in cities and towns across America collected a more dangerous substance.

October 29 was the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Event.  Across the nation, more than 188.5 tons (377,086 pounds) of expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications were turned in at more than 5,300 official Take-Back sites.  The event was scheduled to coincide with National Red Ribbon Week, the DEA’s national drug prevention program.…

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Doctor Uses Craigslist to Swap Prescription Drugs for Sex

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There have been several recent shocking cases in the news of doctors who have let greed override their professional ethics, writing illegal prescriptions for addictive narcotic drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax.

In the Los Angeles area, we covered the US-to-Mexico OxyContin and Vicodin Smuggling Ring. Dr. Tyron Reece has been charged with writing illegal prescriptions for over 900,000 OxyContin and Vicodin tables in a single year.  Newport Beach doctor Nazar Al Bussum plead guilty to writing more than 60,000 illegal prescriptions for OxyContin, Xanax and other addictive prescription drugs and is now getting the book thrown at him.  We have also covered the phenomenon of drug dealers on Craigslist becoming a huge phenomena. Now a Chicago seems to have combined a lack of integrity with a knowledge of cyberspace –  but his motivation seems to have been lust rather than greed.…

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