Photo taken earlier today. (And man, was it cold out there…)
Day: 02/27/2015
Look Up
https://mysmallsurrenders.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/tough-week/
(Photo from April 2014)
Spring, just around the corner…
Winter Park pain clinic raided, 5 arrested for trafficking (FL)
http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=9476
Google: Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida. The population was 27,852 at the 2010 United States Census.
Click to access FL%20Pill%20Mills%2020130723.pdf
Prescription Drug Abuse, Florida’s Health Crisis
Strike Force efforts statewide have resulted in:
>4,163 arrests (including 75 doctors), and
>the seizure of 856,738 pharmaceutical pills, 123 vehicles, 567 weapons, and $10,549,628.
>Additionally, 254 pain management clinics closed.
7/23/2013, Update on Florida’s PDMP
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/5-people-taken-hospital-winter-park-house-party/nfDQD/
3/15/2014, Teen hosts wild Winter Park party that sent 5 to hospital; father says he was asleep
They said there were two that were transported in critical condition and they said some of the teens were mixing the anti-anxiety drug Xanex with alcohol…
It’s your fault
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122957
(2/11/2015) The Prescription Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Public Health Approach to an Epidemic of Addiction
Andrew Kolodny,1,2,3
email: akolodny@phoenixhouse.org, Phoenix House Foundation, New York, NY 10023
However, policy makers who focus solely on reducing nonmedical use are failing to appreciate the high opioid-related morbidity and mortality in pain patients receiving OPR prescriptions for medical purposes…
https://painkills2.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/another-advertisement-for-bupe/
Well, it’s official. Kolodny has been able to publish this… this… one-sided crap. In case you can’t read through the medical B.S., Kolodny is no longer blaming drug addicts for the opioid “epidemic” — now he’s only focusing on chronic pain patients (and their doctors). He’s not only blaming opioid abuse and poisonings on pain patients, he’s also tagging us for the heroin “epidemic.”
Kolodny says, no, the “epidemic” isn’t caused by recreational drug use, or illegal drug use on the street. No, the real reason for the overdose “epidemic” is you, dear pain patient — you and your doctor.
I didn’t read this whole paper, but I don’t see any mention of suicide:
Keywords: prescription drug abuse, heroin, overdose deaths, chronic pain, opioid, addiction
We describe the scope of this public health crisis…
It’s hard to believe that “experts” can publish a paper like this without mentioning suicide, and that not all drug overdoses are unintentional accidents. Of course, then the “experts” would have to admit that there is most definitely an epidemic of under-treated pain, along with an enormous lack of quality mental health care.
No negative peer reviews for this paper? If this had been a biased article on cannabis, there would have been plenty of rebuttals published. I guess no one’s willing to stand up for pain patients.
How could Kolodny hawk his services in the treatment of addiction if he doesn’t point the finger at chronic pain patients? Yeah, treating drug addicts is one thing — but they’re only a small percentage of the population, and treating those patients is full of discrimination, low insurance coverage rates, and shame. However, chronic pain patients are “legitimate” patients, with “legitimate” pain, and “legitimate” addictions to drugs prescribed by doctors.
After Kolodny gets done pointing the finger at pain patients (and now, student athletes), I expect him to take a corporate job at Indivior, one of the makers of bupe:
Shadows
There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. Charles Dickens
Highly recommended for chronic pain
http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-sour-cream-fudge-snack-cake-68971
I used peanut butter chips in my version, and it was… to die for. 🙂
Second Arizona mental health provider will leave New Mexico
Papen, who is carrying legislation that would ensure due process for Medicaid providers accused of fraud, has questioned whether the Arizona companies truly are delivering more services. She has argued that the current providers are being paid more than their predecessors, having received a 12 percent increase in rates during the past year alone, but they still continue to struggle financially.
The state gave the Arizona providers nearly $24 million to ease their speedy transition into New Mexico. La Frontera received $4.75 million of that up-front money…
Turquoise Health and Wellness, which operates in Carlsbad, Roswell, Clovis and Tucumcari, was the first replacement provider to notify the state it will stop providing services in New Mexico. Effective April 1, Turquoise will shut down for financial reasons. Presbyterian Medical Services plans to take over services from Turquoise in Carlsbad, but the state contractors continue to search for replacements in the other communities Turquoise serves…
All Things Chronic 