Comments for The Partnership at Drugfree.org

Comment on A Place at the Table: Master’s Degree Not Necessary by Fr. Jack Kearney

Fr. Jack Kearney — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:47:14 +0000

As someone who trains addiction counselors I also agree that a Master’s degree is not necessary…but we certainly need more than the 270 hours of classroom education. My barber had three times that amount in the classroom before he ever touched a razor. IC&RC standards came out before HIV, co-occuring disorders emphasis, intense involvement with the criminal justice system, team-working with mental health professionals, etc. How about at least the equivalent of an AA degree?
In California the minimum is 155 hours, all of which you can do in a correspondence course. Such low standards cannot be tolerated if we want to be considered a real profession.

Comment on Lower Nicotine Levels Favored by Most Americans by Fr. Jack Kearney

Fr. Jack Kearney — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:29:33 +0000

Hmmm….is there really solid evidence that lowering nicotine would greatly impact the number of smokers? Is there really such a thing as a “non-addictive” level of nicotine?
Smoking seems much more complicated than just nicotine…

Comment on Opioid Overdose Antidote Could Have Prevented Many Deaths: CDC by Eliza Wheeler

Eliza Wheeler — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:47:24 +0000

Hello everyone, this is Eliza, I am one of the authors of the CDC report that this article is discussing. I just have a few responses to comments. Naloxone has indeed been used in ERs and by first responders for decades. What this report is talking about is peer distributed naloxone, where the program gives someone who is using drugs, or their friends or family, a kit with naloxone in order to respond if there is an overdose. Some of the comments are correct, in stating that naloxone has saved countless lives in its 40+ years of existence, but the 10,000 lives we are talking about here were saved by laypersons, primarily drug users themselves. Those of you who are listing the various cities and states that have naloxone programs–take a look at the map in the report for where all the programs are located, and if you want to contact any of them, you can search for the program closest to you here: http://overdoseprevention.blogspot.com/p/od-prevention-program-locator.html
The CDC report also breaks down the number of programs that give out nasal naloxone versus the injectable naloxone. If you would like more information on overdose prevention and naloxone distribution programs, there are many resources on the web, including our site, http://www.harmreduction.org
Bottom line, distributing naloxone to the people who are most likely to witness an overdose, drug users themselves or their friends and family, is smart, safe, humane and it saves lives. I have used naloxone multiple times, I have seen it used, I have friends who were saved by their peers. It is time that we stop using the same tired, ridiculous arguments that reducing harm (and death) is the same as encouraging drug use. We are hoping this report brings some much needed attention naloxone programs and how many lives they have saved with few resources or support.

Comment on Study: Alcohol in Movies May Lead to Underage Drinking by maxwood

maxwood — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:06:30 +0000

Note that drinking, in movies, is often an expressive gesture connoting pathos, or passion, of some character in a dramatic situation, thus it serves the director’s end of keeping the audiences enthralled by the drama so they stay hooked on the “entertainment” and return to see more movies. For anyone concerned about the recruitment of youth into nicotine addiction, the “emotion” expressed by reckless drinking can also be expressed by the way you take a “drag” off a $igarette; drinking scenes all too often lead “back to tobacco”.

Comment on Where There’s Smoke – There’s Fire by maxwood

maxwood — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:54:17 +0000

In major cities, one can at a bus shelter or other secluded spot see a pile of cigar tobacco on the ground, with a baggie nearby which had contained maybe a gram of cannabis that was “wRAPPed” in the cigar skin (note, the cigar company made money even though the user threw the cigar “filler” away). In the 90′s, “wRAP” music lyrics by artists with obvious referential names like “tupac” and “cool” mentioned this practice, well calculated to get young users hooked on nicotine via the cigar skins (and escalating later on to $igarettes). @Jane: you seem to feel that an increase in cannabis use was the major harm done by this “blunt” fad; what do you say to estimates that nicotine addiction (mainly $igarettes) costs the US economy $200 billion a year?

Comment on Opioid Overdose Antidote Could Have Prevented Many Deaths: CDC by LP

LP — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:22:43 +0000

Several states including New York, Illinois, have distribution programs through outreach workers

Comment on Where There’s Smoke – There’s Fire by compassion

compassion — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:35:04 +0000

The FDA must assert jurisdiction over cigars and apply the same restrictions that are on cigarettes to cigar products, including banning of all flavored products, requiring graphic warning labels, restricting advertising and marketing of cigars and taking measures to reduce youth access.

Comment on Where There’s Smoke – There’s Fire by Jane Maxwell

Jane Maxwell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:21:52 +0000

Please remember that a major reason for the use of cigars by youths is to smoke marijuana as a “blunt” cigar. The Texas School Survey reports that cigars are the favorite way of smoking marijuana, and since the smoking of blunts, which started around 1992 in Texas, the prevealence of smoking of marijuana by all youths increased, with a very large increase in marijuana use by African American secondary school students. We need to get both cigars and “blunt wraps” banned.

Comment on Where There’s Smoke – There’s Fire by Fred C,

Fred C, — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:17:22 +0000

At least some of the increase in cigar sales is due to the practice of hollowing out the tobacco and replacing it with marijuana, called a blunt. Has anybody got an idea what that percentage might be?

Comment on Oklahoma Drug Testing Bill Moves Forward to House by Pam Wilson

Pam Wilson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:56:35 +0000

Please, you have got to be kidding….!!That is an absurd waste of time and money….