Day: 12/16/2014

5/8/2014, Indiana goes too far — backward — in medical marijuana debate

http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/news/davich/27261748-452/jerry-davich-indiana-goes-too-far-backward-in-medical-marijuana-debate.html#.VJEnvCvF_bY

Last month, Brown was asked to take a costly drug-screen blood test and also to sign a “controlled substance treatment agreement,” with her physician, Dr. David Miller, a pain management specialist. The five-page agreement cites a lengthy list of criteria, including this statement that Brown was asked to agree to: “I will not use illegal/street drugs (including marijuana).”

She refused to sign the agreement, though she took the drug screen, knowing full well that marijuana would be detected in her system. Her doctor knew full well too, she said.

“I told him that I smoke marijuana,” she said flatly.

Her test showed signs of pot, which raised red flags for the doctor’s office. “I was told that my drug treatment medication would no longer be issued or it would be reduced to maintenance level so I could avoid withdrawal symptoms,” she said…

I also contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which reminded me of its class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year against the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. The suit challenges the constitutionality of a new rule requiring some pain patients to submit to mandatory drug testing.

Your Workplace Health Records May Not Be as Private as You Think

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-16/your-wellness-program-at-work-may-not-be-as-private-as-you-think.html

Since 2009, there have been 1,187 incidents where health information protected by HIPAA was hacked, improperly disclosed, lost or stolen involving more than 41 million individuals, according to reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those cases only include instances where more than 500 records were involved. Matters involving fewer records don’t have to be reported.

More Teens Now Smoke E-Cigarettes Than Conventional Ones

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-16/more-teens-now-smoke-ecigarettes-than-conventional-ones#r=shared

Teens are behaving better when it comes to drinking alcohol and abusing pills such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

I think it’s interesting that teens have already moved pass the drugs that the DEA continues to target. The DEA, run by a bunch of old timers who can’t keep up with what teenagers are into…

Everybody’s making money off the drug war

Click to access gov020212-2.pdf

February 2, 2012

GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES

NEW DRUG AWARENESS PROJECT “NO EXCEPTIONS”
Urges Support for Legislation to Help Tackle Prescription Drug Abuse

Today Governor Susana Martinez announced the rollout of a new video project called “No Exceptions” to bring attention to the epidemic of prescription opioid abuse and heroin abuse by young people in New Mexico, and to urge parents, community members, and public officials to work together to stop this serious problem. She was joined by Human Services Department Secretary Sidonie Squier, Public Education Department Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera, Department of Health Secretary Catherine Torres, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, Jennifer Weiss of the Heroin Awareness Committee, and families of New Mexico kids who have been affected by prescription drug abuse.

[I’m confused, are only young people affected by this “epidemic”? Or is that just how Governor Martinez sold the continuation of the failed drug war?]

“No Exceptions” is a comprehensive media campaign involving the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative (BHC), the Human Services Department (HSD), the Public Education Department (PED), the Department of Health (DOH), the Heroin Awareness Committee (HAC), and private partners…

[So many fighting the failed drug war… lots of taxpayer dollars paying these government salaries… for the government to keep prescription medications away from pain patients.  Oh, and of course, the children…]

“By providing education on the dangers of drug abuse before it starts, we can save lives, and by expanding and improving prescription drug monitoring and better defining when and how these drugs are prescribed for legitimate reasons, we can take tangible steps to curb prescription drug abuse in New Mexico.”

The ongoing media campaign will kick-off with public service announcements (PSAs) paid for by the NMBHC and HSD airing statewide in cooperation with the New Mexico Broadcasters Association (NMBA). The PSAs will begin airing on television and radio this week and will continue throughout the year. In addition, PED will be sending a letter to all school superintendents encouraging them to have their middle and high school health classes show the video and host discussions based on the video in their health classes…

[Like I said, so many involved in fighting the drug war… must be expensive.]

At 27 overdose deaths for every 100,000 people, New Mexico has the highest drug overdose rate in the United States. This frightening statistic is more than double the United States rate of 11.9 deaths for every 100,000 people and has increased by 242% since 1991. In New Mexico, 40% of these deaths are caused primarily by prescription drugs…

[What were the other 60% of deaths caused by?]

Governor Martinez also announced her support for legislation to help reduce prescription drug abuse in New Mexico. Three pieces of legislation – modifications to the Pain Relief Act, enacting more safeguards for the prescribing of opioids, and an expansion of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Database – are keys to help combat this problem…

SB 158, SB 159, and SB 215 are being carried by Senator Bernadette Sanchez this legislative session and are based on countless hours of work by the Department of Health, the Heroin Awareness Committee, Senator Bernadette Sanchez, and the Board of Pharmacy. These bills will provide needed revisions to the Pain Relief Act, enacting more safeguards and increased monitoring of opioid medication prescriptions. SB 159 and SB 215 have already received the approval of the Senate Public Affairs…

SB 158 will expand, improve, and implement the current Prescription Drug Monitoring Database (PDMP) to hold doctors accountable for the opioids prescriptions they write, as well as reduce the amount of opioid drugs that are illegitimately prescribed.

SB 159 seeks to clarify the procedures under which certain opioid medications are obtained by educating patients, requiring informed consent, and limiting the number of opioids prescribed throughout the state. SB 215 expands the definition of “pain,” to be inclusive of both “acute” and “chronic” pain in order to ensure proper pain management for patients…

[Yeah, it looks like that didn’t happen.]

Catherine Torres, M.D. “The legislation being sponsored by Senator Sanchez will go a long way toward addressing the addiction and overdose death problems we face in New Mexico. More proactive action is needed on this issue, and this is a major step in the right direction. I urge the legislature to support these bills.”

Watchdog: Allstate Auto Insurance Pricing Scheme Is Unfair

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/12/16/allstate-auto-insurance-pricing-scheme-unfair/

Allstate is just one company, the CFA said, that has worked with consultants to create a broad array of pricing tables intended to push up profits. The price differences are determined using “marketplace considerations,” which doesn’t involve risk, and can result in anything from “a 90 percent discount off the standard rate to increasing his or her premium by 800 percent, depending upon Allstate’s analysis of the individual policyholder’s ‘marketplace considerations.’ ”

Joycelyn Elders

From Wikipedia:

In January 1993, Bill Clinton appointed her the United States Surgeon General, making her the first African American and the second woman (following Antonia Novello) to hold the position.

In an October 15, 2010 article she clearly voiced support for legalization of marijuana:

“I think we consume far more dangerous drugs that are legal: cigarette smoking, nicotine and alcohol,” said Joycelyn Elders, the former surgeon general and a supporter of the measure.“I feel they cause much more devastating effects physically. We need to lift the prohibition on marijuana.”

Elders drew fire – and censure from the Clinton administration – when she suggested that legalizing drugs might help reduce crime and that the idea should be studied. On December 15, 1993, around one week after making these comments, charges were filed against her son Kevin, for selling cocaine in an incident involving undercover officers, four months prior. Elders believes the incident was a frame-up and the timing of the charges was designed to embarrass her and the president. Kevin Elders was convicted, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

From the internet:

“The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS — or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.” 

— Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General under President Clinton

Senate Passes Budget Deal; No SGR Fix Included

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/

The bill lacks any fix to the widely hated sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursement under Medicare…

Fleming also expressed disappointment about the House bill’s failure to increase the primary care pay bump for Medicaid physicians to bring their rates into parity with those of Medicare. “We did a member survey and found that 40% would cut back or stop seeing Medicaid patients altogether if parity was not sustained,” he said.

10/14/2014, Marijuana to be grown by Italian army – in order to bring the price down

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marijuana-to-be-grown-by-italian-army–in-order-to-bring-the-price-down-9794089.html

Since the medical use of marijuana was legalised last year, the government have been on the hunt to keep costs down as few people could afford to sign up for the pharmacy scheme…

The price of pharmacy-bought weed imported from Holland currently costs up to 10 times as much as street prices at around 38 euros per gram.

“When I have the money, I buy it from the pharmacy but, since I’m not a millionaire, I often arrange to buy it for 5 euros a gram,” she added.

Facts about medical marijuana in Canada

http://newsmanitoba.ca/2014/12/15/facts-about-medical-marijuana-in-canada/

The old system…

Number of authorizations under previous regime: About 38,000.

The new system…

Patients registered under the new system: 13,671, as of Oct. 31.

Price: It ranges from $2.50 per gram to as high as $15, depending on the producer and the strain, but most are between $8 and $10.