Tag Archives: marijuana

Feds Release Final Rules on Electronic Health Records

By | July 23, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Legal, Legislation, Other & Research

The expanded use of electronic health records -- intended to improve and streamline healthcare services -- has become a bone of contention in the addiction community, where unique privacy concerns could hamper integration with the rest of healthcare. Squabbles aside, however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pressing forward with regulations (and incentives) to promote wider adoption of electronic health records across the healthcare system. …

Fight to Save Public Funding for Methadone in California

By | July 23, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Legal, Legislation & Other

Methadone maintenance is on the budgetary chopping block in California, but supporters -- including some prominent law-enforcement officials -- are trying to get $53 million in funding restored to the state budget. A plan to eliminate Medi-Cal funding for methadone maintenance is "tantamount to destroying the lives of 35,000 people, as well as having them return to addiction," according to a column by Lee Baca and Charlie Beck -- the sheriff of Los Angeles County and L.A.’s police chief, respectively. The pair note that cutting the funding will actually result in a double loss as federal matching funds will be forfeited. …

Join Together News Roundup for July 22, 2010

By | July 23, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Legal, Legislation & Other

Will federal privacy regulations stand in the way of integrating behavioral and mainstream healthcare? ... New Mexico can’t grow enough marijuana to meet the demands of medical users ... Kansas is balking on enforcing a law that would require drink prices to be set according to alcohol content ... Unhappy hour: Your risk of stroke spikes during the hour after you drink alcohol, researchers say ... Teens who binge-drink may be more likely to suffer osteoporosis later in life ... …

Alcohol Tax Repeal Will Be First Question on Mass. Ballot

July 21, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Legal & Legislation

The first thing Massachusetts voters will see on November’s ballot is a question calling for repeal of the state’s alcohol tax, the Boston Herald reported July 15. The first question on the ballot will be an up or down vote on …

Treatment Programs Report Surge in Prescription Drug Admissions

July 21, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Legal, Legislation, Marketing And Media, Other, Prevention & Treatment

About one in 10 people admitted to addiction treatment programs in 2008 misused prescription drugs, quadruple the rate reported in 1998, ABC News reported July 16. “People are getting treatment, which is good news. But the bad news is the …

Is Obesity Overtaking Tobacco Use as Top Threat to Kids in Public Mind?

By | July 21, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Legal, Legislation, Other & Treatment

Youth smoking had a good run as a top-of-mind issue among U.S. parents and preventionists -- 30 years or more, by some estimates -- but now seems to have taken a back seat to childhood obesity in the national consciousness. …

Kombucha Disappears Amid Regulation Worries

July 19, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Healthcare, Mental Health, Other, Parenting, Research & Youth

Retailers and distributors have pulled back on the production and sale of kombucha, a popular tea, as the government tests the drink to see if it meets alcohol regulation standards, the Associated Press July 15. Some bottles of the drink, …

Violent Drinkers May Benefit from Mix of Counseling and Antidepressants

July 19, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Marketing And Media, Other, Parenting, Prevention, Recovery, Research, Tobacco, Treatment & Youth

A small research study suggests that violent men with drinking problems can be treated successfully with a combination of addiction counseling, behavioral therapy, and antidepressants, Reuters reported July 9. The study of treatments for domestic abusers found that adding Prozac …

Join Together News Roundup for July 15, 2010

By | July 15, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Legal & Legislation

High-school drug testing has some short-term benefits but little effect on long-term drug use, a new study finds ... Music can make you high ... A lawsuit in New York City has delayed a Massachusetts antismoking campaign ... New Jersey hospitals want to be the sole distributors of medical marijuana under a new state law ... …

Don’t Forget Tobacco, Experts Say

By | July 12, 2010 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Legal & Other

Funding for tobacco prevention programs has dried up and -- perhaps not coincidentally -- progress against smoking in the U.S. has stalled, Steven A. Schroeder, M.D., and Kenneth E. Warner, Ph.D. wrote in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial that called for renewed attention to countermarketing efforts and other interventions. …