Those Troubling OD Statistics
In recent months, samples have been found with as much as 20% fentanyl content. It’s easy to see how this could increase both the total number of overdoses, and the percentage of victims who did not survive.
Other Paths to Legal Pot?
We certainly can’t count on the emerging cannabis industry to supply us with all the necessary facts, any more than we could count on the drug reps from Purdue Pharma to educate our physicians about the true risks of long-term opioid use in the treatment of chronic pain.
I was reading one of my least favorite reports, the one that ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia by fatality rate from drug overdoses, per 100,000 population.
Our state, New Mexico, ranked 10th, at 24.1, between Oregon and Nevada in the updated rankings.
The top 10 were as usual dominated by smaller population states and the District of Columbia, while some very large states such as California, Florida, New York and Texas had much lower death rates. Alarmingly, the death rate was on the increase in New Mexico, whereas nationally, the trend was in the opposite direction.
Some of New Mexico’s increase could be attributed to its position along the border, between Arizona and Texas, although both of them have the advantage of a much larger population. The absolute number of fatalities in those states are actually higher than in New Mexico, but because their population is so much larger, the rate per 100,000 will be much lower.
That doesn’t make us feel...
Our state, New Mexico, ranked 10th, at 24.1, between Oregon and Nevada in the updated rankings.
The top 10 were as usual dominated by smaller population states and the District of Columbia, while some very large states such as California, Florida, New York and Texas had much lower death rates. Alarmingly, the death rate was on the increase in New Mexico, whereas nationally, the trend was in the opposite direction.
Some of New Mexico’s increase could be attributed to its position along the border, between Arizona and Texas, although both of them have the advantage of a much larger population. The absolute number of fatalities in those states are actually higher than in New Mexico, but because their population is so much larger, the rate per 100,000 will be much lower.
That doesn’t make us feel...
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Big Pot Meets Big Labor
This might be a good opportunity for a closer look at exactly how wealthy and established the industry has become
Those Troubling OD Statistics
In recent months, samples have been found with as much as 20% fentanyl content. It’s easy to see how this could increase both the total number of overdoses, and the percentage of victims who did not survive.
Kid-Friendly Pot
I couldn’t find any evidence of consequences suffered by the pot peddlers, so can only assume there weren’t many. And it does look as if they’re still making the same products in the same packages.
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Split Over Kratom
...both the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security have “strong ties to a kratom lobbyist (and convicted criminal) behind a notorious kratom drinks company.”
Addicted to Exercise?
Like addicts deprived of their drug of choice, the compulsive exerciser may report a deep sense of loss, accompanied by symptoms such as sleeplessness, irritability, depression, anxiety.
Split Over Kratom
...both the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security have “strong ties to a kratom lobbyist (and convicted criminal) behind a notorious kratom drinks company.”
Life in a Hot Spot
Make it a continuing effort, using strategies based in evidence, and harnessing the power of human interaction-- instead of relying on a burst of anti-drug education, however intense.
The Storytellers
One young man explained that he avoided speaker meetings because the “drunkalogues” he heard triggered in him an awful craving for a drink.
Doubts about Diagnosis
It’s vulnerable to bias, both on the part of the patient and the practitioner.
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Rage-baited
From a counseling standpoint, it’s a time when we ought to be advising patients to restrict their social media activity, at the very least to selected forums and sites that support recovery goals
Rage-baited
From a counseling standpoint, it’s a time when we ought to be advising patients to restrict their social media activity, at the very least to selected forums and sites that support recovery goals
Parenting Under The Influence
Children raised in such families are more likely to be exposed to violence, to initiate their own substance use at an earlier age, and to have mental health problems in childhood.
Is This Recovery?
...there are other folks out there like these— pretending to sobriety yet still secretly using, and hoping to avoid the sort of trouble that haunted them in the past.
Officers in the House
...with law enforcement agencies taking on vastly different roles, planning and practicing our response appears more important than in the past.
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A Novel Approach
...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.
A Novel Approach
...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.
Diagnosing Cannabis Use Disorder: Updated
It certainly makes sense that if you suffer from a major mental illness, you should stay away from pot.
Video: Practical Advice on Prescription Painkiller Problems
People have abused opiates for 5,000 years. As much as medicine depends on them, they've always created problems for a percentage of users.
