Steve Featherstone, July 8, 2015 The New York Times Cheap, unpredictable and hard to regulate, synthetic marijuana has emergency responders scrambling to save lives. One evening in April, Ethan Darbee, a 24-year-old paramedic in Syracuse, responded to a call on the city’s south side: unknown man down. Read The Full Article >>>
Tobacco ad rules repealed
Posted on August 11, 2015
David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune San Diego repealed many of its tobacco advertising restrictions on Tuesday because they appear to violate First Amendment “free speech” protections and some other federal regulations. Read The Full Article >>>
California ranks 38th in kids’ well-being
Posted on August 11, 2015
Sharon Noguchi, San Jose Mercury News Parents struggling to earn a living, the effects of poverty and astronomical housing costs all drag down California’s children to the point that an annual national survey ranks the Golden State 38th in the nation in overall child well-being. Read The Full Article >>>
Study: Good access to birth control prevents teen pregnancy, abortion
Posted on June 8, 2015
Karen Kaplan, Fresno Bee Birth control prevents teenage pregnancies and abortions_when teens know about it and are able to use it. Read The Full Article >>>
Does substance abuse run in families?
Posted on August 11, 2015
Cindy Kazan, Chicago Tribune Chances are, the recent passing of Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, caused many people to wonder: Does substance abuse run in families? Read The Full Article >>>
CDC says heroin surge tied to prescription opioids
Posted on August 11, 2015
Loren Bonner, Pharmacy Today A new report from CDC links a rampant heroin addiction epidemic across the United States to the rise in people who are addicted to prescription opioids. Those individuals addicted to prescription opioids are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin, according to the findings. Read The Full Article >>>
Hepatitis increasingly goes hand in hand with heroin abuse
Posted on August 11, 2015
Associated Press Public health agencies and drug treatment centers nationwide are scrambling to battle an explosive increase in cases of hepatitis C, a scourge they believe stems at least in part from a surge in intravenous heroin use. Read The Full Article >>>
Stanford study finds fault with tobacco testimony of six physicians
Posted on August 11, 2015
David Gorn, California Healthline Six physicians who provide expert testimony on behalf of tobacco companies don’t accurately present the scientific evidence linking smoking to cancer, according to a Stanford study published this week. Read The Full Article >>>
Potent ‘Spice’ Drug Fuels Rise in Visits to Emergency Room
Posted on August 11, 2015
ALAN SCHWARZ, April 24, 2015 The New York Times A sharp rise in visits to emergency rooms and calls to poison control centers nationwide has some health officials fearing that more potent and dangerous variations of a popular drug known as spice have reached the nation’s streets, resulting in several deaths.
Melinda Beck, Wall Street Journal New understanding of how alcohol affects the brain is prompting addiction experts to make a push for using medications to help people quit or cut down on excessive drinking. Read The Full Article >>>
Why colleges haven’t stopped binge drinking
Posted on June 8, 2015
Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education Despite decades of research, hundreds of campus task forces and millions invested in bold experiments, college drinking in the United States remains as much of a problem as ever. Read The Full Article >>>
Painkiller abuse, a cyclical challenge
Posted on June 8, 2015
Austin Frakt, New York Times Even as the Food and Drug Administration approves new, powerful opioid-based painkillers, the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of opioid overuse. This is not the first time. Read The Full Article >>>
Drugging Our Kids
Posted on June 8, 2015
Dai Sugano and Karen de Sá, San Jose Mercury News For the past four months, the Bay Area News Group has been documenting the alarming use of psychiatric medications in California’s foster care system — and the impact on thousands of vulnerable kids who suffer the consequences. Read The Full Article >>>
Risks in Using Social Media to Spot Signs of Mental Distress
Posted on June 8, 2015
Natasha Singer, New York Times The Samaritans, a well-known suicide-prevention group in Britain, recently introduced a free web app that would alert users whenever someone they followed on Twitter posted worrisome phrases like “tired of being alone” or “hate myself.” Read The Full Article >>>
What’s a few drinks? That’s a recipe for student rape
Posted on June 8, 2015
Jay Mathews, Washington Post I’m not surprised that University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan didn’t mention alcohol — not even once — in her Nov. 22 statement about the since-discredited report of a gang rape at a fraternity house and her desire to quell sexual abuse on campus. Read The Full Article >>>
New NY law requires childproof packaging for liquid nicotine, bans sale to minors
Posted on June 8, 2015
Jacob Pucci, Syracuse.com A bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law today now requires that liquid nicotine be packaged in childproof containers. Read The Full Article >>>
Half of teen, young adult car crash deaths involve pot or alcohol
Posted on June 8, 2015
Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Half of the teen and young adult drivers who die in car crashes are under the influence of either pot, alcohol, or both, suggests a new study done in states where toxicology screening for accident victims is routine. Read The Full Article >>>
States gear up to help Medicaid enrollees beat addictions
Posted on June 8, 2015
Christine Vestal, Stateline Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of low-income adults last year became eligible for Medicaid and subsidized health insurance for the first time. Now states face a huge challenge: how to deal with an onslaught of able-bodied, 18- to 64-year olds who haven’t seen a doctor in years. Read The Full Article >>>
Contra Costa County foster youth’s mysterious death under investigation
Posted on June 8, 2015
Karen de Sá, San Jose Mercury News A 16-year-old foster youth who was taking psychotropic medications was found dead in his bed late last month — and now police and state social services officials are investigating why he didn’t receive medical care after he showed signs of being heavily impaired. Read The Full Article >>>
