Sunday 25 July 2010

Rocker Bret Michaels ran into a little trouble Wednesday night

Rocker Bret Michaels ran into a little trouble Wednesday night (Jul 21) when cops found marijuana and other controlled drugs on his tour bus during a traffic stop in Northeast Indiana. No arrests were made during the stop, however citations were handed out and the evidence was passed on to the DeKalb County prosecutor to make a decision on issuing any charges. Michael’s representative sent out a statement regarding the incident:

“Officers on the scene claimed there were no trailer tag lights. No arrests were made. Mr. Michaels allowed an open search of the buses and everything was handled in a professional manner.”



Read more: http://gossiponthis.com/2010/07/24/bret-michaels-caught-with-weed-on-tour-bus/#ixzz0uhJK5O4W

Wednesday 21 July 2010

400 percent increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for people abusing prescription drugs

, according to new government data.

The study was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from 1998 to 2008 for those 12 and older. The increase spanned every age, gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment level and region.

Among the findings: There was a tripling of pain relieve abuse among those patient who needed treatment for opiate dependence.

The data “highlights how serious a threat to public health we face from the abuse of prescription drugs”, said Gil Kerlikowske, national drug policy director, in a statement. “The spikes in prescription drug abuse rates captured by this study are dramatic, pervasive, and deeply disturbing.”

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is now the nation’s second-most prevalent form of illegal drug use, said Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the substance abuse agency.

A recently released national drug control strategy outline steps to curtail this fast-growing drug problem.

Friday 16 July 2010

Prescription drug overdoses have replaced car accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death

Prescription drug overdoses have replaced car accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death for 35- 54-year-olds in Washington, according to a report from the state Department of Health.

The rate of death from prescription overdoses increased 90 percent between 2003 and 2008, the report said. In 2008, the last year for which numbers are available, 505 people in the state died from prescription drug overdoses and 646 people were hospitalized.

Stevens, Clallam, Spokane, Grant and Snohomish counties led the way in 2008 death rates from prescription medications. In Stevens County, the rate was 18.6 per 100,000 population. King County's rate was 6.8 per 100,000.

"Too many people treat these powerful drugs as casual medications," state health officer Dr. Maxine Hayes said in a news release. "This stuff isn't aspirin, and it should be handled with care."

33 people charged with criminally dealing in prescription drugs.

Hundreds of police officers swept across Erie and Niagara Counties earlier today arresting 33 people charged with criminally dealing in prescription drugs.

Many of those arrested used a gas station on William Street in Cheektowaga as a distribution point for the drugs.

The alleged leader of the ring, Michael McCall, faces life in prison. U.S. Attorney William Hochul won't say if there are more arrests coming of those who legally supplied the drugs to the ring.

Hochul says the Centers for Disease Control identify illegal use of prescription drugs as a national problem. He says illegal prescription drug use has become as much of a problem as traditional illegal drugs like heroin.

Cheektowaga Chief Christine Ziemba says her department was working with West Seneca and Lancaster on a different investigation when they stumbled on this drug ring.

"While working surveillance on that case, they observed suspicious activity at a neighboring location," said Ziemba.

Because so much of the drug activity was in the suburbs, a variety of suburban police agencies were involved in the investigation and the arrests.

young people getting high off of "digital drugs,

young people getting high off of "digital drugs," NewsOK reports.

According to a News 9 segment, these "digital drugs" use "binaural, or two-toned, technology to alter your brain waves and mental state," producing a "state of ecstasy" for the user. i-Dosers listen to these atonal tracks while sitting motionless with headphones on.

Studies have shown that the binaural beats do not chemically alter the brain, but educators and law officials are worried that i-Dosing could be a gateway "drug" to other illegal substances. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs has taken an interest in the phenomenon. "The bigger concern is if you have a kid wanting to explore this, you probably have a kid that may end up smoking marijuana or looking for bigger things," the Bureau's spokesperson Mark Woodward told NewsOK.

I-Dosing tracks like "Gate of Hades" can be found on YouTube, but Wired.com reports that there are more "advanced" ways of exploring "i-Dosing:"
Those who want to get addicted to the "drugs" can purchase tracks that will purportedly bring about the same effects of marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote. While street drugs rarely come with instruction manuals, potential digital drug users are advised to buy a 40-page guide so that they learn how to properly get high on MP3s.
Psychology Today counters that binaural beats have been used therapeutically to treat anxiety and does not consider i-Dosing a danger to kids. For example, the University of South Florida did a study examining whether the binaural beats could help those with ADHD focus, and, on the whole, no studies have yet shown that the beats "chemically alter the brain" in any way, writes NewsOK.

Should parents really be concerned? A website selling a "digital drug" CD promises that the recording is a "completely safe, non-addictive binaural beat" that will provide the listener with "an ultra-happy mood and an increased confidence."

Watch NewsOK's report on i-Dosing (below), and then tell us if you think this phenomenon is harmless or hazardous.

Prescription drug abuse is not just on the rise – it has become a national crisis,

Prescription drug abuse is not just on the rise – it has become a national crisis, according to a just-released White House study detailing a 400 percent increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription pain relievers between 1998 and 2008.The non-medical use of prescription pain relievers is now the second-most prevalent form of illicit drug use in America “and its tragic consequences are seen in substance abuse treatment centers and hospital emergency departments throughout our nation,” says Pamela Hyde, administrator of The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in a statement.

The statistics are being released to highlight a problem that has become all too familiar through the high-profile deaths of such celebrities as Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith. But the problem affects all ages and socioeconomic strata, says Dr. Scott Glaser, president of Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago.

From 1994 to 2003, the number of prescriptions for controlled substances rose from 22 million to 354 million annually, says Dr. Glaser. The number of admissions for misuse of prescription painkillers to hospital emergency rooms rose from some 40,000 in 1994 to over 300,000 in 2008, he adds.

“There has been a strong push among doctors in recent years to be more aggressive in addressing pain,” he notes. "This has led to the dramatic increase in opiates such as morphine, but the problem is there hasn’t been a whole lot of science to go along with that.”

The abuse of these strong drugs is an indication of a much more widespread cultural problem, says addiction specialist Clare Kavin of The Waismann Method, a treatment center for opiate dependency, which has treated many celebrity addicts.

“We are in a culture of immediate gratification and nobody will put up with even the slightest discomfort anymore,” she says. This underlying attitude leads many patients to push for stronger painkillers when lower strength – but non-addictive – drugs would have sufficed in the past, she adds.

“We are in a perfect nightmare,” says Andrea Barthwell, who has advised the White House on national drug policies. Many of the factors that have come together to fuel this explosive problem – such as the lack of effective monitoring of prescriptions not just between doctors, but between pharmacies, and from state to state – have been well known for years.

Glaser points out that a federal monitoring program was signed into law in 2005 but funding has languished ever since. Glaser and his colleagues from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians are just back from lobbying on Capitol Hill for $55 million to fund the program, which they say will pay for itself in five years.

Currently some 37 states have some form of monitoring, Glaser says, but they are inconsistent and lead to widespread abuse. He points to widespread practices such as:

Easy access to prescription drugs through the Internet.
Caravans of people crossing state lines – Florida is well known for its open-door clinics with easy access to drugs.
Street sales fueled by lax oversight.
Teens selling prescription drugs to each other
The increasing potency of presciption drugs can lead to what Ms. Barthwell calls a “frightening and unprecedented scenario”: “In the past, the number of people exposed to opiate-level highs was very narrow,” she says. “But now, with a wide cross-section of the population for the first time experiencing this kind of dependency, we are seeing a record number of people turning to heroin when they can no longer afford the more expensive prescription drugs.”

The data released Thursday highlight “how serious a threat to public health we face from the abuse of prescription drugs,” said Gil Kerlikowske, National Drug Policy Director, in a statement. “The spikes in prescription drug abuse rates captured by this study are dramatic, pervasive, and deeply disturbing,” he adds.

Monday 5 July 2010

Male disorder – what’s wrong with Scottish men? - Herald Scotland | News | Home News

Male disorder – what’s wrong with Scottish men? - Herald Scotland | News | Home News: "From Braveheart to breakfast porridge, the ­popular portrayal of our nation’s manhood remains that of a rugged kilt-clad hero, stoic at his best, out of touch with his feelings and prone to a spot of boozy chest-beating at worst.
While the model of the metrosexual man – as comfortable with a spot of “guyliner” and nursing a baby as he is chopping wood or watching football – is seen as the pinnacle in the modern western world of what a man should be, this phase in the social evolution of men appears to have all but passed by the Scottish male, according to experts.
Some of the nation’s leading psychologists are now warning the enduring stereotype is posing an impossible dilemma for men as they struggle to marry the challenges of modern life and the pressure to be a caring “new man” with the traditional ingrained model of the strong, manly Scot.
“One of the ongoing challenges we have is this hard man, tough guy image that seems to be prevalent in many ways,” says Dr Ewan Gillon, a chartered psychologist who will describe the dangers of Scotland’s model of masculinity to delegates from the British Psychological Society at a lecture in Glasgow next week."