Day: 03/08/2015

Mephedrone, Psychosis, and a Severed Penis

http://www.vice.com/read/haywards-heath-mephedrone-dick-chop-284

“Sometimes people do bad or bizarre things,” said Hamilton. “Sometimes they do these things after taking drugs. It doesn’t mean drugs have caused them to act in that way. People presume that odd behavior can’t just be that, odd behavior; it has to be connected to something, an explanation, and drugs are often the fallback position.”

4/13/2014, Murder charges dropped against West Palm Beach doctor

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/murder-charges-dropped-against-west-palm-beach-doc/nfRNC/

At one time, prosecutors said they intended to seek the death penalty against [Dr. John] Christensen for causing the 2007 overdose death of Florence Faye Garrett, 47, of West Palm Beach, and the 2008 overdose death of Pawel Staniszewski, 31, of Royal Palm Beach.  After further researching the law, Burns said she was convinced the charges were improper. Until 2010, only certain drugs were listed in a state statute that allows prosecutors to charge people with first-degree murder by drug distribution. For instance, methadone, a drug that was in Staniszewski’s system, wasn’t one of them…

Similar murder claims were made against Drs. Cynthia Cadet and Joseph Castronuovo, who were charged in federal court with causing the deaths of six and two patients, respectively. A jury last year cleared them of the charges that could have sent them to prison for life. Both instead were convicted of money-laundering in connection with their work for clinics run by Wellington resident Chris George…

12/28/2014, Ravalli County residents take epidural warning to FDA

http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/hometowns/ravalli-county-residents-take-epidural-warning-to-fda/article_b45c9d85-c265-5f16-a6b2-31adeb21f053.html?comment_form=true

Injecting steroids into the epidural space of the spine has been a common procedure for decades to relieve pain from back problems. Many patients are unaware of the risks of damage to the spine if the needles are inserted ever so slightly into the wrong place.  Both Snook and Anderson said their physicians never warned them of the potential risk of contracting arachnoiditis.

The arachnoid membrane surrounds the spinal cord. If that membrane is accidentally punctured by a needle during an epidural, it can trigger inflammation that produces scar tissue that adheres to the nerves in the spinal cord.  Snook told the FDA panel the resulting pain is “beyond all human comprehension or imagination.” …