Tuesday, October 29, 2002 @ 10:46 am by Dr. Joe Graas	Drug Related News
Meet the most potent natural hallucinogen -- and it's legal It was bad enough when Sharon's 17-year-old son was arrested for possession of dexadrine. Sharon was devastated. "I have zero -- zero -- tolerance for drugs," she says. It was worse when she went on a drug hunt soon after and found a clear plastic bag with dried leaves inside, in her son's car. "My first thought was, this is dope. But it didn't smell like marijuana and didn't look like marijuana." Then Sharon saw the label on the front of the bag. Since when were drugs being sold with fancy packaging, she wondered? Since now. In the bag was Salvia divinorum, an herb native to Mexico that contains the most powerful natural hallucinogen known on Earth. Click here for full test
Friday, October 18, 2002 @ 11:18 am by Dr. Joe Graas	Drug Related News, Client News
Methadone Riskier Than Thought THURSDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthScoutNews) -- Efforts to prevent abuse of the painkiller oxycodone by prescribing methadone as an alternative may be backfiring. That's the claim of University of Florida (UF) researchers, who say they've found an alarming increase in the number of methadone-related deaths in Florida. They add that the trend in the state appears to mirror a problem across the United States. The narcotic painkiller oxycodone has been popular in the illegal drug trade since the late 1990s. To combat that abuse, doctors now commonly prescribe methadone as an alternative for patients with chronic pain. Methadone is an opiate used to help recovering heroin addicts avoid withdrawal symptoms. Click here for full article
Monday, October 14, 2002 @ 8:54 am by Dr. Joe Graas	General News
If kids can’t buy smokes, they steal Oct. 10 — A Texas study suggests more youngsters are stealing cigarettes since the state cracked down on the sale of tobacco to minors. The findings, released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest that restricting access to cigarettes is not as simple as getting rid of vending machines and stiffening penalties for stores that sell to youngsters, said Terry Pechacek, a CDC expert on smoking. Click here for full article
Monday, October 14, 2002 @ 8:44 am by Dr. Joe Graas	Drug Related News, Client News
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Approximately 60,000 babies are born every year with incurable alcohol-related birth defects that are 100 percent preventable. Drinking during pregnancy, for example can result in a child developing facial deformities and learning disabilities, and can also cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the leading known cause of infant mental retardation. FAS is preventable, but prevention only works when local communities come together and work to raise awareness with strong public education campaigns. With that in mind, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) recently launched a Web site. Click here to go to web site
Thursday, October 10, 2002 @ 12:19 pm by Dr. Joe Graas	General News, Client News
NIDA Research and SAMHSA Physician Training Combine to Put Care for Opiate Dependence in Hands of Family Doctor Buprenorphine will be able to be used by physicians in office-based treatment, as long as physicians have the minimum eight hours of training mandated by Congress and obtain a waiver that allows them to prescribe certain controlled substances . Buprenorphine was approved last night for treatment of opioid dependence by the Food and Drug Administration. This medication will not replace methadone therapy, provided through special methadone treatment facilities, but will provide the office-based physician an opportunity to treat patients for addiction to heroin or other opioids, including prescription pain-killers. Physicians will be required to refer patients to full-spectrum care for their social and psychological needs. click here for full article
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 @ 8:55 am by Dr. Joe Graas	General News
Court Upholds School Policy on Drug Tests in New Jersey The decision overturned a January 2001 injunction issued by a Superior Court judge that stopped the drug-testing program at the school, Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington. In the 2001 decision, the judge agreed with lawyers from the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union that the State Constitution provided more privacy protection for students against random drug tests than the United States Constitution click here for full article
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 @ 8:49 am by Dr. Joe Graas	Drug Related News, Client News
Should You Drug-Test Your Workers? Even in today's highly complex workplace, few issues are as complex as drug testing. That's because illegal drugs are a little bit like the elephant being described by the blind men. Some see drug use as a health issue, and others as a legal problem. Some see illegal drug use as a moral failing while others see it as recreational activity. For some, drug use is a major public policy challenge, and for others it's the flashpoint of discussions about personal privacy. And for all those reasons, drug use is also an employment issue. Click here for full article
Thursday, October 3, 2002 @ 9:04 am by Dr. Joe Graas	General News
$7 Million Awarded to Expand Treatment Services in Communities with Serious Drug Problems Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced over $7 million for 15 awards to expand or enhance substance abuse treatment capacity in local communities. The program is designed to provide funding for substance abuse treatment service needs in communities that are suffering increased drug abuse or new instances of drug abuse problems. click here for full article
Wednesday, October 2, 2002 @ 5:18 pm by Dr. Joe Graas	General News, Client News
A Look at GHB On any given night at clubs and raves across the Nation, drug use is rampant. Many partygoers are using MDMA (ecstasy) and drinking alcohol. However, a growing number of these partygoers are also experimenting with another club drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). This drug is not as widely known as ecstasy, but it is just as dangerous. In fact, the Drug Abuse Warning Network reported that in 2000 more emergency room visits throughout the United States were related to GHB use than to ecstasy use (4,969 versus 4,511, respectively). click here for article
Wednesday, October 2, 2002 @ 5:04 pm by Dr. Joe Graas	Drug Related News, Client News
Party Drug Ecstasy May Cause More Widespread Brain Damage Than Previously Thought Earlier animal studies had shown that repeated ecstasy use damages the serotonin brain cells, which help to regulate mood and behavior. In the new work, Johns Hopkins University researchers working with squirrel monkeys and baboons found that two or three sequential doses of the drug—the amount typically taken by young adults at all-night "raves"—killed dopamine neurons, which are involved in controlling movement, emotional and cognitive responses and the ability to feel pleasure. Click here for full article