We know how to crackdown -- but we seem ignorant when it comes to what to do with all those addicted people we've "cracked down" on. You may thwart them with your database at the pharmacy, but they're still addicted. Now what? Abuse-deterrent formulations of drugs and prescription drug take-back days are well and good, but … Continue reading Addressing reality with a health-oriented approach
Category: Controversies
Feds won’t challenge states with marijuana legalization
This is big news. And, I think it's good news. The Obama administration on Thursday said it will not stand in the way of Colorado, Washington and other states where voters have supported legalizing marijuana either for medical or recreational use, as long as those states maintain strict rules involving distribution of the drug. In … Continue reading Feds won’t challenge states with marijuana legalization
Suboxone diversion?
A recent study looking at diversion of buprenorphine finds that: While 9% reported recent street-obtained buprenorphine use, only a small minority reported using buprenorphine to get high, with the majority reporting use to manage withdrawal symptoms. The use of street-obtained buprenorphine primarily to avoid withdrawal fits with Dawn Farm's experience, though the percentage would be … Continue reading Suboxone diversion?
Buprenorphine compliance rates
The following abstract popped up today. The purpose of the study was to look at factors associated with completion of the 6 month, primary care based program. What struck me was the completion rate--35.7%. For all the crowing about ORT, this seems really low. (And, they said this completion rate is consistent with prior studies.) … Continue reading Buprenorphine compliance rates
Drug war sense
I've always thought that there's a lot that could be done to improve the state of the drug war without passing a single law. Police and prosecutors have a lot of discretion in terms of what priorities to maintain and which charges to file once someone has been arrested. It sounds like the feds are … Continue reading Drug war sense
Sanjay Gupta – I was wrong about pot
Worth noting that the guy was almost Surgeon General of the U.S. He's changed his mind on marijuana. He says he overestimated the harm and looks forward to more research on medical marijuana. I didn't read many conclusions in his piece, but I agree with the questions he's asking. As far as … Continue reading Sanjay Gupta – I was wrong about pot
“It works!”, Ctd
A new study of buprenorphine implants find that implants work as well as oral dosing and outperform placebo. What does that mean? If I'm reading it correctly, it means that the average subject receiving the implant tested positive for opioids 68.8% of the time compared to 86.6% for the placebo subjects. (If I'm misreading it, … Continue reading “It works!”, Ctd
Non-Violent State Inmates Declining for 20 Years
From Keith Humphreys: Prison is the subject of many myths in the public policy world. For example, many people believe that the size of the prison population has continued to rise under President Obama, when in fact it has fallen. Other observers maintain that prison populations drop during economic downturns, when in fact the reverse has generally … Continue reading Non-Violent State Inmates Declining for 20 Years
What happened to the “crack babies”?
Dirk Hansen reports the good news about "crack babies": In a paper authored by Hurt, Laura M Betancourt, and others, the investigators write: “It is now well established that gestational cocaine exposure has not produced the profound deficits anticipated in the 1980s and 1990s, with children described variably as joyless, microcephalic, or unmanageable.” The authors do … Continue reading What happened to the “crack babies”?
Cash, sexual favors and drugs
Cash, sexual favors and drugs. We're not talking about a dope house. Some people (and companies) never learn: ...last week, UK pharma firm GlaxoSmithKline admitted that Chinese doctors were bribed by its execs with cash and sexual favours in return for prescribing the company's drugs. That coincided with rival AstraZeneca having its Shanghai office raided … Continue reading Cash, sexual favors and drugs
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