Category: Drugs

Bill removes vets from seeking out human drug abuse

After a black Labrador retriever named Deeoge fell twice, his owners told his veterinarian that offering the dog Vicodin had seemed to ease his pain. So Dr. Randall Snyder started prescribing the pain reliever along with other medications, according to a settlement between Snyder and the state’s veterinary board over alleged misconduct.

MediciNova Announces Publication of Positive Findings on MN-166 (ibudilast) in Alcohol Dependence

MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange , today announced that the medical journal Neuropsychopharmacology has published a new article on MN-166 written by Dr. Lara Ray and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles.  The article reports that MN-166 was associated with mood improvements on the stress- and alcohol-cue exposures, as well as reductions in overall craving, depression and anxiety for alcohol in subjects diagnosed with alcohol use disorder .  Moreover, in the subjects that had higher depressive symptomatology, MN-166 reduced the stimulant and mood-altering effects of alcohol compared to placebo.

Drug of choice could end up a deadly mix

… giving four to seven doses of naloxone to reverse the overdose. Sometimes it doesn’t work. In Columbiana County, the Health Department has made Narcan kits available to local EMS and law enforcement agencies in response to the presence of fentanyl …

Fears of repeal rock Obamacare, Medicaid expansion recipients

Breast-cancer survivor Susan Halpern said she is terrified about losing her health-care coverage if the Trump administration follows through with its promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “I’m trying to figure out a way to survive and keep some kind of health insurance,” said Halpern, 57, who owns a small social-media business.

Ottawa mulls unconventional B.C.-style therapies for opioid addiction

Providing pharmaceutical-grade opioids in a medical setting has been shown to result in physical- and mental-health improvements for people who do not respond to conventional treatments. Providing pharmaceutical-grade opioids in a medical setting has been shown to result in physical- and mental-health improvements for people who do not respond to conventional treatments.

A ‘civil war’ on painkillers is raging in the medical community

In this June 14, 2011 file photo, various prescription drugs on the automated pharmacy assembly line at Medco Health Solutions in Willingboro, N.J. All three are patients struggling with chronic pain, but what they are describing is not physical agony but a war inside the medical community that is threatening their access to painkillers – and, by extension, their work, their relationships, and their sanity. Two years after the United States saw a record 27,000 deaths involving prescription opioid medications and heroin, doctors and regulators are sharply restricting access to drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin.

A look at cannabis use among 60-somethings

The 67-year-old local, who didn’t want his last name used because he didn’t initially obtain marijuana legally, says his wife acquired her card through a Colorado Springs doctor who was recommended by a local dispensary. She used it to buy creams and salves that helped with leg cramps and pain from a hip replacement.

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Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s warning to the Democrat-led Legislature not to move forward with legalizing marijuana is going mostly unheeded. But as the governor charges full-steam ahead with a program to battle drug addiction that got a warm reception from Democratic leaders, he’s getting pushback when it comes to marijuana.

‘As many sexual partners as they can get’

Brisbane doctor says dating apps have seen a rise in casual sex and STI rates in Queensland and it’s not uncommon for some people to have as many as 10 partners a day. CREDIT: ABC NEWS 24 DATING apps are fuelling rampant rates of sexual promiscuity, according to a leading Brisbane sexual health doctor who “quite frequently” treats patients who have sex with up to 10 people a day.

Back pain: A common problem with serious challenges

This subject was discussed in this column in the Independent in the May 14, 2016, issue titled a multispecialty approach to educated and evidence-based medical treatment as pertinent to pain therapy. A recently discussed condition and treatment in a non-medical magazine presents the Primary Care evaluation and treatment and documents the opioid problem even before it was widely appreciated.

Our self-deception of happiness

… Reports show that in the past ten years Americans have actually become less and less happy. According to the World Health Organization, The US is one of the most depressed countries in the world. Studies suggest that the percentage of Americans who …

New hope in pancreatic cancer fight

Perth researchers are to test whether medical cannabis can pave a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal diseases on the planet. File image PERTH researchers are to test whether medical cannabis can pave a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal diseases on the planet.

Maumee Schools may get drug tests

The Maumee school board is expected to vote today on a policy that would subject many students to random drug testing beginning next school year. Students in grades seven through 12 who participate in athletics, extracurricular, or co-curricular activities would fall under the policy, as would high school students who request a parking pass.

Maumee Schools may get drug tests pending vote

The Maumee school board is expected to vote today on a policy that would subject many students to random drug testing beginning next school year. Students in grades seven through 12 who participate in athletics, extracurricular, or co-curricular activities would fall under the policy, as would high school students who request a parking pass.

The good stuff

If one picked up a little pot and morphine but didn’t understand the benefits of heroin, all she had to do was ask her local pharmacist. “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is a perfect guardian of health,” replied the pharmacist.

With chemical dependency on rise, school gets two counselors

For the first time ever, Rochester Public Schools will have a chemical dependency counselor available for students – two of them, actually. Thanks to a grant from the governor’s office, RPS was selected as a district that would receive two chemical dependency counselors to help students dealing with dependency issues – and they are positions that haven’t been previously funded, according to Denise Moody, the district’s mental health services coordinator.

DEA chief to visit China as US pushes to halt opioid supply

The top U.S. drug enforcement official plans to visit China next week, a sign of intensifying efforts to stop the flow of deadly synthetic drugs from China to the United States. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed Friday that acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg will visit Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong Monday through Thursday, at the invitation of China’s Ministry of Public Security.

Sweet tooth: How sugar became the world’s drug of choice

Reaching out for a biscuit or a piece of chocolate to satisfy a craving for ‘something sweet’ can seem like the most natural thing in the world, but is our love of all things sugary a dangerous addiction rather than an innocent pleasure? In a lengthy article in The Guardian that’s already causing a stir on social media, Gary Taubes makes the case that sugar is ultimately the most destructive drug of all, with eye-opening long-term implications for global health. Historically, Taubes says, “the response of entire populations to sugar has been effectively identical to that of children: once people are exposed, they consume as much sugar as they can easily procure.”

Fresh plan revealed to tackle homelessness in Portsmouth

The city council has teamed up with The Society of St James to offer a new, linked approach to tackling the area’s homeless crisis. The Society of St James charity – which helps thousands of people living on the streets across Hampshire – has won the contract to run Portsmouth’s homeless day service provision alongside its own rehabilitation programme for those battling drink and drug addiction.

Legal haze clouds cannabis for pets

… client’s written consent is needed for any unorthodox treatment,” the memo stated. The Washington State Department of Health staffs the state’s Veterinary Board of Governors. The Department’s home page for veterinarians simply states, “The law …

new New hope to treat problem gamblers

New findings suggest the key to helping people with serious gambling problems might involve the same area of the brain linked to substance abuse. Parts of the brain that light up when drug addicts have cravings also react when problem gamblers are shown gaming related images, say researchers at the University Of British Columbia.

Ending the opioid epidemic

… 500,000 persons in the United States died from drug overdoses. These casualty figures not only reflect a national health emergency, but are emblematic of a war on the American people. By comparison, approximately the same number of Americans lost …

S.C. doctors continue prescribing addictive opioids in high numbers

South Carolina doctors are on track to prescribe more highly addictive Schedule II drugs in 2016 than they did last year, even as awareness surrounding the danger of opioid abuse grows. According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, there were more than 2.6 million prescriptions filled for Schedule II controlled substance medications in South Carolina between January and June this year, for a total 169 million doses.