BEATING THE MARIJUANA ADDICTION NIGHTMARE
27/2/2018
It’s crazy how I feel so much hurt still; I cried while I was writing this. It’s been an addiction nightmare. The last time I wrote to you, it was just a temporary break from all of our drama. I had hoped, but my daughter was not cured of her marijuana addiction at that time. Read Marijuana Addiction is Real for background on this story. Here’s my follow-up report.
It’s been a long difficult journey with my daughter due to her drug abuse problem. She would sometimes tell me she’d hear voices and that she needed help. At first, I just thought she was kidding which I regret, but these were signs of drug abuse which I didn’t recognize at that time. She now has opened up to me, she said the first drug she tried was marijuana and it was in middle school. She also began to drink alcohol with her friends at that time. She then tried marijuana again at age 15 with her boyfriend who was known to have a marijuana drug addiction problem. It was as if that one drug was leading her to more drugs; marijuana was obviously her gateway to other illicit drugs.
She was admitted into a behavioral hospital for a few days after she overdosed on 3 tabs of LSD acid; it was scary seeing her drugged, calling for me even though I was there holding her while she attempted to open the window at a third-story apartment where we used to live. I had to call for help in fear she’d jump; she was 15 years old at that time.
Seeing a doctor, and why that didn’t work
The doctor diagnosed her as being bipolar and recommended she start taking psychiatric medications, but I refused and picked her up from the hospital. My fear was that she would start mixing the pharmaceutical pills with illicit drugs which would have caused her to get worse, and accordingly she did get worse. I tried my best to get her help with counseling and other behavioral centers that don’t medicate patients, but she always refused and per the HIPPA laws it was her choice even as a teen. Even so, her medical insurance would only have covered 50% of mental health cost.
Her mental condition worsened, and it was a continuous finding of a variety of drugs and paraphernalia in her room, some of which I didn’t understand at that time. I’d find pharmaceutical pills such as opioids and Xanax pills which were not prescribed to her. I would find my missing spoons in her room, black tar substance on the window panes, torch lighters, strange looking orange flakes. Now I know this was hash oil which I refer to as man-made marijuana crack weed. It also can be called shatter and dabs. Many of these products are sold online and accessible to anyone including teens.
For complete story http://www.poppot.org/2018/02/27/beating-marijuana-addiction-nightmare/
Xenophon wants ice \’scourge\’ tackled
SA Best leader Nick Xenophon wants to halve ice use by 2020 and force users into rehab. (AAP)
SA-BEST leader Nick Xenophon has called on the next state government to tackle the growing ice epidemic with plans for mandatory rehabilitation for users.
Ice users in South Australia should be forced into rehabilitation with Nick Xenophon calling for the \”scourge\” to be a key priority of the next state government.
The SA-BEST leader also wants to halve ice use by 2020, in a policy released ahead of the March state election.
If his party wins the balance of power, Mr Xenophon says he\’ll push for legislation establishing mandatory rehab and detox facilities for ice users within the first three months.
The former senator said police were shocked at the extent of ice use in the regional centre of Murray Bridge, east of Adelaide, during a recent murder investigation.
\”The fact that a senior respected police officer was shocked by what was found is a wakeup call for all of us,\” Mr Xenophon said on Tuesday.
Health Minister Peter Malinauskas said the government was \”open-minded\” to the idea of a mandatory rehabilitation service, and intended to consult broadly on its merits.
\”It is something that we think should be an option of last resort,\” he told reporters.
Also, on the campaign trail on Tuesday Labor pledged an extra $70 million for mental health services if returned on March 17, including $17.2 million for drug and alcohol outreach programs.
For more https://www.sbs.com.au/news/xenophon-wants-ice-scourge-tackled
The Sustainable Health Review has found a \”scary\” increase in WA health spending has to be reined in.
Spending on health is almost out of control in Western Australia and had more than doubled in the last decade representing nearly $1 in every $3 the government spends, a new report has found.
Health is the biggest cost for the state budget: employing 30,000 staff, representing almost $9 billion, or 30 per cent, and accounting for more than half of every new dollar spent between 2013/14 and 2016/17.
It is on track to reach 38 per cent of the budget in 2026.
Other major issues were a growing and ageing population, inequity in health outcomes, wealth disparity, mental health, and drug and alcohol issues, all of which impact upon the sustainability of the health system…\”The rate of growth is scary, a 49 per cent increase in emergency department attendances (2005-15) and 39 per cent per cent in hospitalisations,\” Ms Kruk said.
for more https://www.sbs.com.au/news/rise-is-wa-health-costs-scary-report
Welfare drug test plans make a comeback
Controversial welfare drug test plans have been revived by Social Services Minister Dan Tehan, who wants opponents to \”be brave\” and support them.
Controversial plans to drug test welfare recipients will help reassure taxpayers their money isn\’t being used to subsidise drug dealers, the federal government says.
The coalition introduced laws into parliament on Wednesday to set up a trial in which people on welfare will be drug tested and offered treatment.
\”The community has a right to expect that taxpayer-funded welfare payments are not being used to fund drug addiction, and that job seekers do all they can to get a job,\” Social Services Minister Dan Tehan told parliament on Wednesday.
\”We don\’t want our welfare system subsidising drug dealers.\”
Mr Tehan said the trial would be rolled out across three sites in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia from April, if it passes parliament.
The government will provide up to $10 million for additional drug and alcohol treatment support across the three sites.
There will also be $1 million for an independent, third party evaluation of the trial which Mr Tehan said would prevent \”unintended consequences\”.
He said the proposal wasn\’t about penalising people with drug abuse issues.
\”It is about finding new and better ways of identifying these jobseekers and ensuring they are referred to the support and treatment they need,\” he said.
Anyone who tests positive will be shunted onto cashless welfare cards, while those who fail more than once will be referred to medical professionals for treatment.
Jobseekers who refuse a drug test will have their payments cancelled and they\’ll be barred from reapplying for four weeks.
Mr Tehan has urged opponents to \”be brave\” and back the trial.
For complete story https://www.sbs.com.au/news/welfare-drug-test-plans-make-a-comeback
Netherlands becoming a narco-state, warn Dutch police
Officers say many victims do not report incidents and organised gangs have a free rein
Daniel Boffey in Brussels Wed 21 Feb 2018
The Netherlands is starting to resemble a narco-state with the police unable to combat the emergence of a parallel criminal economy, a report from the Dutch police association has warned.
“Only one in nine criminal groups can be tackled with the current people and resources,” the report given to the De Telegraaf newspaper says. “Detectives see that small criminals develop into wealthy entrepreneurs who establish themselves in the hospitality industry, housing market, middle class, travel agencies.”
Critics of the Dutch gedoogbeleid (tolerance policy) towards the sale of cannabis in coffee shops, and the legal status of prostitution in the country, claim the Netherlands has been inadvertently promoted as a major hub for the trafficking of drugs and people.
A large majority of ecstasy taken in Europe and the US comes from labs in the south of the country, which are increasingly run by Moroccan gangs involved in the production of cannabis. Half of the €5.7bn a year of cocaine taken in Europecomes through the port of Rotterdam, according to Europol.
While there has been a 25% drop in the number of recorded crimes over the past nine years, to below 1m, the paper reported that 3.5m crimes go unregistered every year. The report also raised fears that the authorities were being put at “an insurmountable disadvantage”.
Amsterdam’s police chief, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, claimed his force was spending 60% to 70% of its time attempting to combat gang-related hit-jobs.
For complete article https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/20/netherlands-becoming-a-narco-state-warn-dutch-police
COALITION OF PARENTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND EMPLOYERS TESTIFY AGAINST MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AT LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS HEARING
At a hearing of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, coalition members of New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (NJ-RAMP) expressed their opposition to the legalization and commercialization of recreational marijuana in New Jersey.
Parents, law enforcement professionals, religious leaders, employers, and addiction professionals offered testimony, insights and expertise on a multitude of issues including health concerns, increase in youth use, drugged driving, and arrest rates among minorities.
According to news reports, a number of legislators would rather see decriminalization than legalization in New Jersey. The Black Caucus prefers decriminalization as more helpful to minorities.
Nevada law enforcement official cite social costs and increase in crime
Todd Raybuck, a police captain in Las Vegas, Nevada, discussed the increase in crime and strengthening of the black market since recreational marijuana was legalized:
“The lure of increased tax revenue and claims of a regulated system that will eliminate the criminal element and repair historical harms to the minority community is intoxicating. Yet, as we are learning in Nevada, the financial gains from the marijuana industry do not adequately support the resources needed to control the effects of marijuana legalization. And, the promises of a regulated industry that will weed-out the illegal marijuana market and improve social conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods are contrary to the reality.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is already seeing a negative impact on crime and the black market. In 2017, homicides related to an altercation over drugs increased 21% compared to 2016. Marijuana was the cause of the altercation in 53% of those homicides. In 2017, 58% of all drug related murders (24) involved marijuana.”
Legalizing doesn’t improve social justice issues
Will Jones, Communications Specialist for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, and a resident of Washington, DC, spoke about the false promise of social justice reform and pointed to statistics that show minority arrests related to marijuana are up in legalized states. In the two years after Colorado legalized marijuana, the number of Hispanic and Black kids arrested for marijuana-related offenses rose 29 and 58 percent, respectively. In the same period, the arrest rate for White kids committing pot offenses dropped eight percent.
“To continue to legalize and commercialize marijuana is to continue an addictive industry to profit off minorities and the marginalized. It’s time for us to wake up and realize that legalizing marijuana only reinforces the pillars of racial inequality in our country,” Jones said.
For complete article http://www.poppot.org/2018/02/22/nj-black-caucus-highlights-harms-pot/
| Democrats Forming Marijuana Legalization Consensus |
| Posted by CN Staff on February 15, 2018 at 05:45:36 PT By Tom Angell, Contributor Source: Forbes
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who signed onto the bill as a cosponsor on Wednesday and did a Facebook Live chat with Booker about it, called cannabis legalization \”a social justice issue and a moral issue that Congress needs to address.\” The vocal pro-legalization support from the two senators, who are widely considered to be weighing campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, signals that a shift toward marijuana reform advocacy that has been underway in the party for some time is elevating to a near consensus. And polling shows that Democratic voters are in support of the move. Gallup found last year that 72 percent of Democrats back marijuana legalization, and a Quinnipiac University survey last month showed that 95 percent of the party’s voters support medical cannabis. The latter poll also showed that just 12 percent of Democrats want the federal government to interfere with the implementation state marijuana laws. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, also supports legalization. The senator, who introduced legislation to deschedule marijuana during his nearly successful campaign for the party\’s 2016 presidential nomination, is reportedly considering another run in 2020. Last week, Sanders\’s campaign organization launched an online petition calling for an end to marijuana prohibition and the broader \”war on drugs. For complete story WeWantWEED |
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FEBRUARY 2018
Vaping — the act of inhaling a vaporized liquid from an electronic device — is the latest trend, and it’s alarmingly prevalent among today’s teens.
Let’s clear the air and tell you what you need to know:
VAPING IS SKYROCKETING AMONG TEENS
Nearly half of Colorado’s high school and middle school students have tried vaping, compared to about one in five who say they have smoked a cigarette or used marijuana, according to the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey. (This state data is from 2015 and vaping has become much more high profile since then.)Vaping has become such a problem that schools are sending warning messages home to parents,
particularly cautioning parents about a new discrete brand called a JUUL, which is rapidly gaining popularity.
While the JUUL delivers a strong dose of highly addictive nicotine, Pax, the company that created the JUUL, makes similar devices designed for ultra high-potency marijuana. These products look like flash drives and, one Pax review notes, “You can turn the brightness of the LED down or off for an effective ‘stealth mode.’”
KIDS CAN VAPE MANY THINGS: NICOTINE, FLAVORING, & MARIJUANA
There are hundreds of different vape products available, offering a range of ingredients including high levels of nicotine, chemical additives, flavorings and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. This makes it hard for parents to know what kids are vaping.
Here’s what marijuana magazine High Times tells its readers: “Weed smokers have known for a while that vaping is less odorous and doesn’t linger as long as smoke from combustion methods. But now, people who want to vape weed in public can just blend in with the e-cigarette users.”
IT\’S NOT JUST HARMLESS VAPOR: A lot of teens hear and repeat myths like “it’s just water vapor” — which is not true. Even if the vape devices don’t contain nicotine or marijuana, they still have other chemicals and flavorings that have not been deemed safe for inhalation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
VAPE PRODUCTS ARE HARD TO DETECT: Not only are vape products hard to detect if you see them in your kid’s backpack, but they don’t have the same obvious odor giveaway as smoking cigarettes and marijuana. In fact, many claim you can’t tell the difference between smelling secondhand vapor that contains marijuana and vapor that does not. And vaping is so easy to conceal, kids are actually doing it in class.
VAPING IS DESIGNED TO APPEAL TO KIDS: Flavors are chosen that entice young appetites, like cookies & cream, cups o’ peanut butter and bubble gum. Stanford University compiled a startling gallery of photos comparing actual vape products to their sugar-coated candy and dessert inspirations.
Regardless of how they are ingested, nicotine and THC hurt kids’ developing brains. Vaping can provide very high concentrations of these drugs. For example, one JUUL pod has as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.
In our next newsletter, we’ll talk more about today’s high-potency marijuana and its risks to youth. Today’s marijuana is not what parents remember so it’s important to stay informed. This post from the Parker Police Department illustrates what we’re up against as parents.
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Produced by Smart Colorado — used with permission
SMART CO is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of Colorado youth as marijuana becomes increasingly available and commercialized. Smart Colorado is a project of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.
To learn more about Smart Colorado, please visit: smartcolorado.org
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Alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest?
Public Health England: Published 12 February 2018
Local commissioners, providers and healthcare professionals can use the ‘Why invest?’ slides to help make the case for investing in drug and alcohol treatment and interventions.
Estimates show that the social and economic costs of alcohol-related harm amount to £21.5bn, while harm from illicit drug use costs £10.7bn. These include costs associated with deaths, the NHS, crime and, in the case of alcohol, lost productivity.
Providing well-funded drug and alcohol services is good value for money because it cuts crime, improves health, and can support individuals and families on the road to recovery.
Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups are responsible for planning and funding alcohol and drug treatment and prevention services. Information about local specialist services in each area is available on the FRANK website.
The ‘Why invest?’ slides with notes and references can be downloaded from box.com. They can be used individually or as a complete set of 32 slides.
For complete report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-and-drug-prevention-treatment-and-recovery-why-invest/alcohol-and-drug-prevention-treatment-and-recovery-why-invest
