Day: 12/25/2014

12/24/2014, Another Casualty Of The War On Drugs ?

http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=8305#comment-6856

The shooting happened at about 9:15 p.m. Monday. Police say the teens were smoking marijuana in a silver Mercury Milan on Philip near Charlevoix, just three blocks from Detroit’s border with Grosse Pointe Park, when a vehicle pulled in front of them. The driver got out of the passenger side and began firing. Detroit police spokesman Adam Madera said crime-scene investigators found 25 to 30 shell casings.

A bullet hit Paige [Stalker] in the head. A 16-year-old Grosse Pointe girl was struck in the back, a 15-year-old boy from Grosse Pointe was hit twice in the left arm, and a 16-year-old boy from Detroit was hit in the shoulder, police said.

New Mexico State Health Improvement Plan (May 2014)

http://nmhealth.org/publication/view/plan/411/

New Mexico Prescription Drug Misuse and Overdose Prevention and Pain Management council issue annual recommendations to the office of the governor and state legislature on policy and program responses to the epidemic of prescription drug overdose.

Dr. Michael Landen, NM Department of Health
Dr. Steve Jenkusky, NM Medical Board
Dr. Nancy Darbro, NM Board of Nursing
Larry Loring, NM Board of Pharmacy
Dr. Bill Barkman, NM Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners
Frances Lovett, NM Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Dr. Jessica Brewster, NM Board of Dental Health
Dr. Steven Seifert, UNM Health Sciences Center
Dr. Mark Chiu, NM Medical Soriety
Dr. Ernie Dole, NM Association of Pharmacists
Margreet Jenness, NM Association of Nurse Practitioners
Chris Felt, NM Association of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
Dr. Brent Brevard, NM Association of Osteopathic Physicians
Dr. Joanna Katzman, Pain Management Specialist
Robert Geist, Consumer Health Advocate
Jennifer Weiss, Healing Addictions on Our Community
Dr. Julie Muche, NM Medical Society

Juvenile Justice Advisory Board Meeting (4/17/2013)

Click to access April+2013+Meeting+Minutes+FINAL.pdf

Presentation – “Opiate Addictions-No Exceptions”; Jennifer Weiss, Executive Director,
Heroin Awareness Committee.

Jennifer started Heroin Awareness Committee (HAC) April 2010 when she found out that her 16yr old son was a heroin addict. He died in 2011. She quickly realized that the North East Heights area of Albuquerque had a severe heroin problem.

95% of heroin addicts start with prescription opiates and move to heroin when their
supply runs out.

WTF?  Pulling percentages out of a hat again, Ms. Weiss?

90% of Heroin users start with marijuana and/or alcohol. Users don’t know what marijuana is laced with. Dealers want users to try more addictive drugs and users are exposing themselves to a bad environment.

WTF (times 2)?  You’d think that a Juvenile Justice Advisory Board would include some back up for these “facts” and figures. Nah, Jennifer’s word is good enough… I mean, she’s an “expert.”

There was a brief discussion about starting to solve issue of over prescribing of opiates. Parents need to monitor teens’ prescriptions along with their doctors. Jennifer noted the 647% increase in Oxycontin prescription rate in the last ten years. The HAC has tried through the legislature to lobby for more limits and controls on prescription opiates.

There was a discussion about drug take back programs and their efficacy. Jennifer noted that they are very successful. There are very few permanent sites but pounds and pounds are collected on take back days. Pharmacies can take back drugs.

Pharmacies can take back drugs?  Really?  So, is your prescription from Walgreens from a distributor or from the street?

One teen noted that she does not think that there is much peer pressure for drug use
in Los Alamos. She sees more of a positive peer pressure affect.

Yeah, but that won’t stop Jennifer, will it?

Another teen noted that teens sometimes have two groups of friends, drug users and sober friends. He feels that there is peer pressure as well as the issue of kids’ curiosity. He has seen teens who start hanging out with drug using kids and then changing friend groups as drug uses increase. In Los Alamos, marijuana is the drug of choice. He also noted that teens who are not involved in sports do not have enough to do in Los Alamos.

If marijuana is the drug of choice in Los Alamos, then ya’ll are lucky…

9/28/2014, Overdose deaths spur families to march on Mall over opioid epidemic

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/overdose-deaths-spur-families-to-march-on-white-house-over-opioid-epidemic/2014/09/28/2d2ade98-4740-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html

“A couple days ago, President Obama gave a speech about Ebola and said we have to do everything we can about the epidemic, and, of course, we do,” Kolodny said. “But about 3,000 West Africans have died from that epidemic. . . . In the United States during that same time frame, we’ve had 30,000 Americans die from drug overdoses.”

Huh?  30,000 Americans died in what time frame?  In the few months that the Ebola epidemic has existed?  Does he just pull these figures out of his butt?  And why don’t reporters double-check stuff like this?

“Come on, we don’t want these drugs in our community,” said Jennifer Weiss, who lost her son to an overdose in 2011 and now runs a nonprofit group called Healing Addiction in Our Community. “We are losing the equivalent of two jumbo jets full of people a week.”

From Ask.com:  Modern 747 model aircraft, nicknamed “jumbo jets,” can seat between 300 and 500 people.

More figures pulled out of nowhere…

Ms. Weiss, you may not want painkillers in your community, but many pain patients depend on those drugs to function.  And there are a lot more pain patients than there are drug addicts.

Say, what kind of prescription drugs do you take, Ms. Weiss?  I’m thinking… definitely Xanax.

Opioid Needs Assessment (6/30/2011)

Click to access opioidneedsassessmentnms.pdf

(Includes a list of treatment centers in New Mexico.)

The Albuquerque Drug Enforcement Administration identified prescription drugs as the primary drug of concern in 2010 (Shah, 2011). 

6. Many opioid users have chronic pain issues.  Because opioids have analgesic properties, individuals with chronic pain are drawn to them, or may be prescribed them by a doctor and then develop a dependence on them. One treatment provider said, “More individuals are starting [with prescription pain pills] and then transitioning to heroin because they can’t afford the prescription or the doctor refuses to prescribe it.”  Individuals who began taking prescription opioids for pain and are now addicted are left with fewer options for managing their pain while still trying to treat their opioid dependence.

1/5/2012, Albuquerque’s breaking bad RE drugs

http://www.examiner.com/article/albuquerque-s-breaking-bad-re-drugs

Prescription drugs sometimes become “gateways” into deadly addictive drugs. “(My son) loved the way (the prescription pills) made him feel,” Albuquerque mother Jennifer Weiss told KOB Eyewitness News 4 recently after she lost her 18 year old son, Cameron, this past year from an Oxycodone overdose. He had taken the drug from a relative’s medicine cabinet. She said, “Cameron moved to heroin after enjoying the high from Percocet that was prescribed to him after a wrestling injury.” He died in his sleep and was found by his mother.

Do you wonder, Ms. Weiss, why your son wasn’t happy without the drugs?  What pain was he trying to mask, what was he running from, and why did he so love the feeling of escape?  Was addiction the only reason for his problems with drugs?  See, if you blame the drugs, then your son (and everyone else) is blameless…

And I’m wondering if, as a wrestler, your son was taking any steroids?

Prescription pain-killers are likely being over prescribed by area doctors, according to Brain Injury Advocate Glenn Ford, who helps New Mexicans with brain injuries and other disabilities get back on track. “Many TBI people I’ve met at the Brain Injury Alliance of New Mexico are pumped up with prescription pain meds,” Glenn said. “I feel that doctors need to treat the illness or disorder rather than focusing on the symptoms. No wonder so many people are getting hooked on prescription meds.”

“Police have teamed up with the DEA to clear the streets of what they call an epidemic, but they say it’s hard to find people abusing the drugs because it’s happening at home.”

Jennifer Weiss has become a role model to many Albuquerqueans by after her tragedy trying hard to help prevent other parents and their children from making the same mistakes and suffering the same pain that Grayson’s family endured. She joined the Greyson’s Legacy Web Site, which offers detailed information, advice, and resources for Parents and Teens about Awareness, Prevention, and Community action and communication.

New Mexico Inpatient Drug Rehab Clinics

http://www.rehabs.com/local/new-mexico/

Looking for a highly-rated rehab clinic in New Mexico for yourself or someone you love? Rehabs.com well versed in executive luxury facilities and can help you find the facility that’s right for you…

There are also multiple nonprofit agencies in New Mexico that might be able to assist you if you’re unable to afford traditional care. Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, for example, provides drug treatment programs as part of its effort to address the root causes of homelessness. The Amity Foundation also provides some services in New Mexico, including specialized services for women with addiction. We can also help you find programs just like this.

For people who work in drug rehab in New Mexico, prescription painkillers are considered enemy number one. According to the State of New Mexico Department of Health, sales of prescription painkillers within the state increased 131.3 percent between 2001 and 2010, and during that same period, the drug overdose rate in the state rose 61.8 percent. It’s an alarming statistic, but even more alarming, some people in the state are turning to heroin at the end of a long journey that began with prescription painkillers. Jennifer Weiss of the Heroin Awareness Committee in New Mexico explained the progress in this way in an article in the New York Times: “Once they get addicted, they eventually can’t afford the pills anymore. Once you run out of your supply, it makes the most economic sense to start using heroin.

Ms. Weiss gets a lot of press — and she loves to blame prescription painkillers as the gateway to her son’s death.

Prescription Drug Misuse and Overdose Prevention Advisory Council

http://governor.state.nm.us/Prescription_Drug_Misuse_and_Overdose_Prevention.aspx

The council shall meet at least quarterly to review the current status of prescription drug misuse and overdose prevention and current pain management practices in New Mexico and national prescription drug misuse and overdose prevention and pain management standards and educational efforts for both consumers and professionals. The council shall also recommend pain management and clinical guidelines. 

Members Term Expiration
Jennifer Weiss Pleasure of the Governor
Brent Bevard Pleasure of the Governor
Steven Seifert Pleasure of the Governor
Judy Bartholomew 12/31/06
Frances Baca-Lovett Pleasure of the Governor
Christian Felt Pleasure of the Governor
Gary Jones 12/31/06
Margreet Jenness Pleasure of the Governor
Allison Kozeliski 12/31/06
William Barkman Pleasure of the Governor
Larry Lorig Pleasure of the Governor
Julie Muche Pleasure of the Governor
Ernest Dole Pleasure of the Governor
Steven Jenkusky Pleasure of the Governor
Robert Geist Pleasure of the Governor
Jessica Brewster Pleasure of the Governor
Joanna Katzman Pleasure of the Governor

From Senator Dede Feldman’s Blog (2012)

http://senatorfeldman.typepad.com/senator_dede_feldmans_blo/2012/05/

Don’t be afraid to have heroes. I know it sounds corny.  And  look for them in unexpected places… outside the movie theater or the sports field.  I found one, unexpectedly at my doorstep two years ago.  Her name is Jennifer Weiss, and she brought a group of parents to visit with me about the alarming epidemic of heroin overdoses among our high school students, and the abuse of prescription drugs like oxycodone and other opiods.   Jennifer’s own son, Cameron was then in the throes of the addiction, and Jennifer had organized other parents to cope, to break through the stigma, to lobby for treatment programs and prevent future addicts.  Jennifer lost her son to an overdose last fall—but she has not stopped fighting, not stopped appearing on TV and radio, alerting others to danger, pointing the way to a solution.

Funny how one person’s hero is another person’s enemy… And for any pain patients who read this, please pay attention to how things are done — you take a group of pain patients and talk to every politician who will agree to see you.  Of course, it would be better if you were parents and kids had something to do with it… politicians can’t say no to kids (or veterans).

Listen, you can write 100 letters a day, but until politicians see you face-to-face, they’re not going to listen.  Not that they will listen, even if they agree to see you…

Of course, Ms. Weiss is better able to enter the political process because of her education, money, and privilege… Ah, the life of the elite… cushy, but stressful.  Considering the kinds of internet comments I’ve been reading by Ms. Weiss, perhaps her life is becoming a little too stressful.  I dunno, my first impression is that her rather cruel attitude has nothing to do with stress — she was just born that way.

Member Spotlight: Jennifer Weiss

http://www.cunatechnologycouncil.org/news/3097.html

Is there anything in this woman’s background — besides the tragedy of her son’s death — that would suggest she’s an expert in addiction and its treatment?

This is like the advertising executive recently chosen as the new head of Children’s Youth and Family Services.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3376686.shtml#.VJvU5F4ANA

Wow, it sounds like Ms. Weiss would be really good at running a treatment center for juvenile drug addicts…

3/26/2014

Jennifer Weiss · Top Commenter · Albuquerque, New Mexico

Do any of you care at the fact that if this attack happens then more lives will be put in jeopardy? Whose to say they won’t release location info on officers who are undercover. Whose to say they won’t release personal information on the officers families? All of you really need to wake up! Yes a man died and it is sad, but now you all have an even bigger problem and if this explodes in the city streets, more people will get hurt or even get killed. You can have your cake, but you better ready to eat it because if that group blows the way the did with Westboro, that’s a huge security breach.

Oh and Love saus age: get a freaking life. You are a vigilante just looking to cause more problems. And one more thing. Since it looks like you hate cops, how many times has APD arrested your dumb butt for just being a jackass or slapping around your p*nis because no hooker in their right mind would ever touch you. So how many times have you been locked up?

Jennifer Weiss · Top Commenter · Albuquerque, New Mexico

Loretta Baca obviously you think your s*it doesn’t stink because you think violence begets violence. Wow, you’re more into death and destruction for your own gratification because your life is so boring and lacking of what is truly important. And you know what, I actually feel sorry for you. You are a pitiful excuse for a human.

11/7/2014, “Healing Addiction in Our Community”

http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/handouts/BHS%20110714%20Item
%208%20Jennifer%20Weiss%20Burke,%20Dir.,%20Transitional%20
Living%20Center%20for%20addicted%20youth_Final%20Version.pdf

(Please copy and paste into Google.)

Enclosed please find Healing Addiction in Our Community’s (HAC) proposal for legislative funding for NM’s first Adolescent Transitional Living & Recovery Center….

March, 2013 – received $757,000 from NM Senator’s and Representatives in the form of Capital Outlay funds for the purchase of the building for the Center.

March 2014 – received $330,000 from NM Senator’s and Representatives in the form of Capital Outlay funds for the purchase of the building for the center.

April, 2014 – HAC was awarded a United Way grant of $47,000 to provide scholarships for youth attending the Center.

June, 2014 – HAC was awarded a contract with the City of Albuquerque for $77,000 to provide operational funds for the Center.

Funding Still Needed: $248,951.00

Funding Still Needed in order to operate at full capacity years 1-5, as described above: $1,023,601.00

Wow, the drug war sure is expensive… And this is supposed to be a non-profit?

2 local moms whose sons died of heroin overdoses starting non-profit to battle youth addiction

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3631698.shtml#.VJvPS14ANA

“We have one of the highest addiction rates in the country, yet we don’t have a lot of places to send people,” said Jennifer Weiss-Burke, one of the co-founders of Serenity Mesa Recovery Center, which will soon open for services.