Ohio "Bath Salt" Bust

Another article on "Bath Salts" or "Legal Highs" that I wanted to share with the chemical dependency counseling community. 

"Ohio police bust alleged bath salts drug trafficking ringing

On behalf of Robert R. Hart Jr. posted in Drug Charges on Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Many readers may be aware of a new drug's rise to national prominence. That drug is "bath salts," and has been the subject of a number of television programs and news reports documenting its newfound popularity. Users can become addicted to the drug quickly, and in 2011 the Ohio General Assembly responded by making it illegal.

Despite the possibility of facing drug charges, people still continue to use and sell bath salts. According to police reports, last week law enforcement broke up an alleged bath salts production and distribution scheme in Mason. Police seized $685,000 of what they believe to be bath salts, which would make the operation one of the largest not only in southwestern Ohio, but also in nearby states.

There are doubts about the seized substance's composition, however. Two of the defendants have asserted that the substance was not bath salts and have provided lab reports to support their claim. Police have also performed their own lab analyses and have determined that the substance contains chemicals similar to those found in bath salts.

The exact nature of the substance may be an important fact as the case moves forward. As in any criminal case, the prosecution must prove each element of a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt in order for the jury to find a defendant guilty.

Those allegedly involved in the bath salts operation face serious charges. Police have charged the two suspects who allegedly ran the operation with 14 felonies, including aggravated trafficking and possession of drugs. If they are found guilty, their prison sentences could potentially exceed 100 years. A lower-level defendant has also been charged with aggravated trafficking and possession."

Source: Dayton Daily News, "Botched robbery uncovers $685,500 'bath salts' operation," Denise Wilson and Denise G. Callahan, April 4, 2012.

 Source Two: http://www.cincinnaticriminaldefenseattorneyblog.com/Contact.shtml

Today you can be the seeds of change by taking a look into the chemical dependency counseling field. Centaur University offers one of the fastest certification programs to help you become a chemical dependency counselor and start making a difference! 

Obama: Legal Drugs Are Not the Answer

This is something I can agree on with Obama and I'm sure most of the chemical dependency counseling community can too. 

"CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) — President Barack Obama says legalizing drug use is not the answer to trafficking in illegal narcotics in the Americas, countering a growing chorus in Latin America to discuss decriminalization as a way to ease deadly cartel violence. 

Obama says he is open to having a debate about legalization but he doesn't believe it will lead to an agreement to legalize drugs. 

Obama was speaking to an assembly of top executives from the hemisphere as part of the sixth Summit of the Americas here. 

The president said the answer to the drug cartels is societies that have strong economics, rules of law, and a law enforcement infrastructure that is sound. He said the responsibility also rests with countries that are big destinations for the drugs to reduce demand for illegal narcotics."

Source: http://www.wwlp.com/dpps/news/international/obama-legal-drugs-not-answer-to-c...

Today you can be the seeds of change by taking a look into the chemical dependency counseling field. Centaur University offers one of the fastest certification programs to help you become a chemical dependency counselor and start making a difference! 

Meth Users and HIV

A very interesting subject, but still a serious one none the less. Addiction physiology has posted some articles on this subject before, but lets take a look at it from a chemical dependency counseling perspecitve

"If a drug user smoked some meth in a room, all alone, without any possibility to see or be around anyone else, then meth would be the only problem. But that doesn’t happen, and the effects are harsh on the LGBT community, according to a new study headed by Robert Bolan, M.D.

"My interests have always been driven by what the problems are that threaten our community," said Bolan, who’s been the medical director of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center since 1996. "For the past 5 to 10 years or so, I think that crystal methamphetamine use is a scourge in our community that is helping to fuel the HIV epidemic."

The study looked at more than 9,000 people. Those who admitted using meth in the preceding year were almost four times as likely to contract HIV, more than four times as likely to contract syphilis, more than twice as likely to contract gonorrhea, and almost twice as likely to contract chlamydia. They were compared with those who hadn’t used in the preceding year. Of all the diseases 60 percent of those newly infected had admitted to using meth in the preceding month.

In South Florida, Bolan noted, this is especially pertinent. In a 2010 study by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) in South Florida showed an 18 percent increase in use of meth.

"This is a much higher rate than is usually reported in other populations," Bolan said. "The prevalence in our Los Angeles STD clinic is 8 percent."

So how does meth affect the spread of disease? The answer is simple: Sex.

"Because crystal meth can increase sexual arousal while reducing inhibition and judgment," the study read, "Its use is associated with high-risk behaviors that increase the likelihood of acquiring a new STD or HIV."

In other words, users tend to have risky sex, both in terms of the who and the how. In rats, Bolan said, amphetamines cause obsessive and prolonged sexual behaviors - it appears like it does the same thing to humans.

"The effects of a given dose of [meth] last for hours and this can result in so-called sex marathons where an individual can engage in continuous or repetitive sexual activities with the same or multiple individuals," Bolan said, adding that the drug also tends to dry out mucous membranes, like the rectum, adding potential to injury. "All of these things - prolonged intercourse, multiple partners, dried mucous membranes - promote transmission of HIV and STIs... One effect of [meth] is that it can inhibit erections, but with erectile dysfunction drugs that side effect is no longer a limiting factor."

The researchers looked at various educational resources and found that all of them are directed at meth users, or at trying to persuade people not to start. This study attacks from a different angle.

"Our message is not that ’if you have sex with someone who uses [meth], you will become infected with something,’" Bolan said, adding that his study in no way suggests that having unprotected sex with a non-user is a definite shield against STIs. "Our message aims at a more real world way that gay men appear to be looking at sexual partner choices. We just want everyone to think about this a bit differently... My intent is to arm gay men with real statistics that can help them make informed sexual choices."

Bolan, who’s been involved with gay men’s health issues and moved had moved to L.A. in the 80s during the height of the HIV epidemic, released and presented this study at the CDC’s 2012 National STD Prevention Conference. The March conference began in 1998, according to a CDC spokesperson, "to provide an avenue... to learn, grow and share about STD prevention."

Visit www.cdc.gov/stdconference for more information."

Source: http://www.edgephiladelphia.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc...

Today you can be the seeds of change by taking a look into the chemical dependency counseling field. Centaur University offers one of the fastest certification programs to help you become a chemical dependency counselor and start making a difference! 

 

Prescription Drug Abuse Prompts Meeting at Betty Ford

Prescription drugs are one of Americas biggest killers in the drug world. Centaur University strongly supports the chemical dependency counseling community and just recently a meeting was gathered for the issue of prescription drugs...

"John Schwarzlose, CEO of theBetty Ford Center, recently moderated a panel discussing “Prescription Drug Abuse:  Identifying Solutions to Save Lives” at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, CA.

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack organized the event to help make more people aware of the toll that prescription drug abuseis taking on our society.

The invitation-only event drew close to 75 people and included several parents whose children have died by overdosing on prescription medication.

Although the focus was primarily on the abuse by young people, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that drug overdose has now surpassed automobile accidents as the leading cause of accidental or injury death in the country.

“This is in large part due to prescription drug abuse,” said Congresswoman Bono Mack.  “The fastest-growing drug problem in America is the abuse of prescription drugs, especially painkillers, stimulants and depressants.  It is estimated that nearly 30,000 Americans will die from prescription drug abuse and overdoses this year.”

The panel included Betty Ford Center Physician Director Dr. Harry Haroutunian; Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Jeanne Roy; Eisenhower Medical Center ER Director Dr. Ehthym Kontaxis; State Assemblyman Brian Nestande and Stacie Mathewson, who shared from the perspective of a mother – and grandmother – whose life has been directly impacted by prescription drug abuse.

Dr. Haroutunian explained that a combination of opioids, benzodiazapines and alcohol can easily cause death.  He said it’s not uncommon for young people to create these combinations by something called ‘pharming’ – taking prescribed medications from their homes, dumping them into a bowl at a party and taking them indiscriminately.

Although many prescription drug abusers end up in inpatient treatment, he solemnly said that “a high number of these young users don’t live long enough to become addicts.”

Ms. Bono Mack also pointed out that the Drug Enforcement Administration has held three National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days and collected almost 996,000 pounds of unused medication.  The event was set up for those who have accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs to safely dispose of those medications.  The next take-back day is scheduled Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Details may be found on the Office of Diversion Control website.

“The parents in this room, none of us would ever think that we were close to being perfect parents by any means,” Ms. Bono Mack shared toward the end of the meeting.  “But I think every parent in this room would beg for help from a system that is failing our children.”

Source: http://www.bettyfordcenter.org/recovery/featured-home/alarming-prescription-d...

Today you can be the seeds of change by taking a look into the chemical dependency counseling field. Centaur University offers one of the fastest certification programs to help you become a chemical dependency counselor and start making a difference! 

 

Aggressive Acts Against Heroin

It's really easy for those not involved in chemical dependency counseling to sign off the Drug War as something useless and pointless, but it's not until you read the stories of the lives affected that you take a second look at things. 

"With heroin becoming cheaper than a six-pack and as easy to obtain as pot, police and prosecutors are turning to more aggressive tactics against the drug, dusting off little-used laws to seek murder charges against suspected dealers and provide for longer prison sentences. 

Angry suburban parents are joining the effort, too. They've organized anti-drug rallies and founded organizations to spread the word about heroin in affluent areas where it is usually considered a distant, unlikely threat.

The more assertive approach is not entirely new to the drug war, but it's being adopted more widely and in more areas that have rarely been so bold - comfortable residential communities. "We are going to treat every overdose scene like a crime scene. We are going to treat every overdose as a potential homicide," said Stephen Wigginton, U.S. attorney for southern Illinois. "Heroin is the bullet."

Once associated with rock stars and inner-city junkies, heroin has become far more dangerous and accessible in recent years. Mexican cartels a half-decade ago created a form of the drug so pure it can be snorted or swallowed instead of injected, making heroin more appealing to teenagers and suburbanites who don't want the stigma of shooting up.

The extreme purity - often 50 percent or higher - means today's heroin is far deadlier than in the past. As a result, heroin deaths have spiked over the past few years in some parts of the country. Few places have been as devastated as the St. Louis area, where the city and county reported 116 heroin deaths in 2010 and 194 last year. The increase was even more pronounced across the Mississippi River in Illinois' Madison County, where the death toll has climbed from just five in 2008 to 26 last year. Part of the problem is availability. "Heroin is easier to get than marijuana now," said Jim Shroba, the Drug Enforcement Administration agent in charge of the St. Louis office. It's also cheap: A "button" of heroin - enough for one person to get high - can cost as little as $6. In the St. Louis suburb of Troy, Ill., young Shannon Gaddis finished off a snow day last year by snorting heroin. The overdose killed her.

The death of the animal-loving high school cheerleader "put this issue sharply into focus," said Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons. "It showed us this was really happening in a way that would have the most serious and unfortunate consequences."

About a year ago, St. Louis County police began warning of the drug's risks at heroin town hall forums, which were held in small meeting rooms. The response was so great that the gatherings now fill high school auditoriums. Similar meetings are being conducted throughout the region. Authorities are also redoubling their efforts to get users into rehab. St. Louis County officers now provide a small card to everyone arrested for heroin with a 24-hour phone help number on one side and police contacts on the other - in case they want to turn in their dealer.

But the most intense efforts are focused on heroin dealers such as Tavis Doyle of East St. Louis, who was sentenced to life in prison in August for providing the heroin that killed a man. Prosecutors say Doyle refused to let anyone call 911 after the victim collapsed and instead tried to revive him by putting frozen meat in his pants.

In the five years before Gibbons became state's attorney, Madison County filed just one case of drug-induced homicide. In the 15 months since, Gibbons has filed six. Among those charged was 20-year-old Taylor Kennedy, who is accused of supplying the heroin that killed Gaddis. He's awaiting trial. Gaddis was "like a lot of other victims and other young people that have gotten involved with heroin - kids from good families and good schools, with seemingly a bright future ahead of them," Gibbons said. "But one step down the path to drug addiction can be the last step."

Parents are fed up and pushing back. Marilyn Smashey of Lake St. Louis lost her son, Taylor Wade Green, to an overdose in 2009. She grieved for 18 months, then decided to join the fight, starting her own foundation called STL Heroin Help. She speaks out against the drug at community meetings, high schools and anti-heroin rallies.

Near Chicago, Brian Kirk also is working to warn parents of heroin's danger. He co-founded the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization with another father who lost a son to heroin. The foundation is hosting an anti-heroin rally April 13 at Lewis University in suburban Chicago.

Matt Kirk first started sneaking cigarettes as a pre-teen, then moved to marijuana and prescription pills. As for heroin, Brian Kirk admits missing the warning signs. Matt, who played hockey since he was 5, gave up the sport midway through his sophomore year of high school. Brian Kirk dismissed carpet stains in the family's $300,000 home as simply careless spills by his son. Only after the teen died did he learn that the marks were actually from heroin-induced vomiting. In the months before the death, the older Kirk recalled, his son was "always telling me he's sick," enough to routinely miss a day of school a week. "I never put it all together," Brian Kirk said. In April 2009, Kirk found his son dead on the basement floor at 18. Under his body was a drug needle. "To this day, I still can't believe it," Kirk said"

By JIM SUHR and JIM SALTER

Associated Press Originally published Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8:02 AM 

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...vastation.html

Today you can be the seeds of change by taking a look into the chemical dependency counseling field. Centaur University offers one of the fastest certification programs to help you become a chemical dependency counselor and start making a difference! 

"Off Label"

Another great post from SoberLiving.com on a documentary about "legal highs" and the threat they can be. Prescription drugs and legal highs are a bigger killers in the U.S than hard drugs! This is nothing new to the chemical dependency counseling community, but it's time to raise awareness!  

"This documentary offers a glimpse into the practice of using drugs like Provigil for purposes that they weren't originally intended for.

“Off Label”, a film by Portland, Oregon filmmakers Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, has been selected by theinfluential Tribeca Film Festival for its upcoming competition event in mid-April in the category of best documentary.    The film’s title refers to the increasingly common practice of using prescription drugs in ways not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palmieri and Mosher have interviewed “misdiagnosed patients, professional guinea pigs, recreationaldrug users, and soldiers struggling with PTSD”, according to the Festival’s synopsis, and “exposes the breadth of off-label drug use (in) an overmedicated, misdiagnosed, and drug-addled America.”    

For instance, the drug Modafinil, developed in France in the 1970s but more widely known after 2001 as the brand name Provigil, was originally meant for the treatment of narcolepsy and other related sleep disorders.  That remains its sole, narrowly-defined, FDA-approved use. 

But the wide array of off-label medical uses for Modafinil include treatment of ADD, Parkinson’s, cocaine dependence, an entire subcategory of psychological conditions from depression to schizophrenia, and the treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis. It’s been known to be used as a sports doping agent.  It’s even prescribed for jet lag.  It’s evidently widely used by medical students to reduce the need for sleep.  Studies suggest that it can reduce appetite effectively, and there are a half-dozen other experimental uses. 

However effective and promising, though, every script written by a doctor for off-label use of Modafinil undermines the role of the FDA as gatekeeper.  This means potential abuse and increased risk to patients.  In the United States it is perfectly legal for physicians to prescribe medications in dosages, or for uses, which are not FDA approved.  The practice of medicine is regulated by the states.    The drug companies, however, cannot promote off-label use.  It hasn’t escaped the drug companies’ attention that the expensive and enormously time-consuming drug approval process keeps them out of some very lucrative markets for their products.  They’ve responded by breaking FDA regulations, for instance the illegal off-label marketing of Bextra and three other drugs, for which Pfizer paid a criminal fine of $1.2 billion in September 2009.  This was the largest criminal fine of any kind in American history.  They’ve also responded with a U.S. District Court challenge filed last October, claiming that restricting their marketing of off-label uses of their products amounts to a restriction of their right to free speech under the First Amendment."

Source: http://www.soberliving.com/blog/2012/03/21/off-label-documentary-portland-tri...     

If you want to fight against death by drugs then let Centaur University help you create the career of a lifetime by getting you certified for chemical dependency counseling! 

Another look at the "War on Drugs"

The subject has always been a back and forth battle between people in and out of the chemical dependency counseling community. This is a very gray subject, which in this article, Latin America calls the War on Drugs a failure.

"On April 14 and 15, heads of state and government from across the Americas, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and their Latin American and Caribbean counterparts, will gather for a two-day 'Summit of the Americas' in Cartagena, Colombia, and the 'War on Drugs' will top the agenda.

On July 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared what has come to be called the "War on Drugs"Latin America's leaders are unified in calling the 'War on Drugs' a failure and in seeking alternatives to prohibition.

However, nobody expects the Barack Obama administration to provide leadership on the issue in an election year.

In 2004 Obama said: "The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws… we need to rethink how we operate the drug wars." Since then, he has shown little appetite to engage in the debate.

The Guardian reports:

Watershed Summit will Admit that Prohibition has Failed, and Call for More Nuanced and Liberalized Tactics

A historic meeting of Latin America's leaders, to be attended by Barack Obama, will hear serving heads of state admit that the war on drugs has been a failure and that alternatives to prohibition must now be found.

One diplomat closely involved with the summit described the event as historic, saying it would be the first time for 40 years that leaders had met to have an open discussion on drugs. "This is the chance to look at this matter with new eyes," he said.The Summit of the Americas, to be held in Cartagena, Colombia is being seen by foreign policy experts as a watershed moment in the redrafting of global drugs policy in favor of a more nuanced and liberalized approach.

Otto Pérez Molina, the president of Guatemala, who as former head of his country's military intelligence service experienced the power of drug cartels at close hand, is pushing his fellow Latin American leaders to use the summit to endorse a new regional security plan that would see an end to prohibition. In the Observer, Pérez Molina writes: "The prohibition paradigm that inspires mainstream global drug policy today is based on a false premise: that global drug markets can be eradicated." [...]

One diplomat closely involved with the summit described the event as historic, saying it would be the first time for 40 years that leaders had met to have an open discussion on drugs. "This is the chance to look at this matter with new eyes," he said.

Latin America's increasing hostility towards prohibition makes Obama's attendance at the summit potentially difficult. The Obama administration, keen not to hand ammunition to its opponents during an election year, will not want to be seen as softening its support for prohibition. However, it is seen as significant that the US vice-president, Joe Biden, has acknowledged that the debate about legalizing drugs is now legitimate.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil and chairman of the global commission on drug policy, has said it is time for "an open debate on more humane and efficient drug policies", a view shared by George Shultz, the former US secretary of state, and former president Jimmy Carter."

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/08-0

If you are interested in getting your counselor degree extremely fast to become a chemical dependency counselor, then feel FREE to visit CentaurUniversity.com!

Police Make Large Synthetic Marijuana Bust

I wanted to post this news article to the chemical dependency counseling community and warn people about how dangerous synthetic drugs can be. Here's an article where police found over 500 pounds of K2. 

"TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hillsborough Sheriff's detectives are investigating a warehouse that they say is a hub for synthetic marijuana distribution in Tampa.

On Wednesday, Hillsborough officials say they found about 500 to 600 pounds of K2, a drug commonly known as synthetic marijuana.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is investigating possible safety hazards, along with Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Fire Marshal's Office.

Authorities say the substance was being soaked in chemicals at the warehouse.

Marketed as "herbal incense" not intended for human consumption, K2 is made of plant material soaked in chemicals."

Source: http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/state/story/Synthetic-marijuana-operation-u...

 

If you are interested in getting your chemical dependency counseling certification extremely fast to become a chemical dependency counselor, then feel FREE to visit CentaurUniversity.com!

New US Anti-Drug Agency Opens

This is always good news for the chemical dependency counseling community and I thought I should pass it along...

"SOFIA, Bulgaria—A U.S. anti-drug agency has opened a new office in Bulgaria, which lies on a major drug trafficking route linking Western Europe, the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart attended the opening in Sofia on Tuesday and praised the growing U.S. partnership with Bulgaria in fighting the flow of drugs.

The Balkan country, a European Union member since 2007, has stepped up border inspections as part of its efforts to join the visa-free Schengen area in Europe.

Last year, Bulgarian officials seized a total 423 kilograms (931 pounds) of heroin and 361 kilograms (794 pounds) of amphetamines at the country's borders.

Leonhart said the DEA, which now has 85 offices around the world, will assist the Bulgarians with intelligence and technology."

Source: http://www.publicopiniononline.com/nationalnews/ci_20315815/us-anti-drug-agen...

If you are interested in getting your counselor degree extremely fast to become a chemical dependency counselor, then feel FREE to visit CentaurUniversity.com!

First to Fall

This is one of the first of many to come in the new Bans that the UK is setting up for the "legal highs" over there. Those involved in chemical dependency counseling and addiction psyiology have noticed a spike in the usage of "legal highs"

"A DANGEROUS chemical sold as a legal high has become the first drug to be temporarily banned after being referred to the Government by Swindon police.

Methoxetamine, known as MXE or mexxy, was referred to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) earlier this month by several forces, including Wiltshire Police, after it was linked to two deaths in Leicestershire and a surge in hospital admissions locally.

Now the chemical, used as an alternative to Class C drug ketamine, will be made illegal for up to 12 months before Government advisers decide whether it should be permanently controlled.

In its report to the Home Office, the ACMD said while there had been no confirmed deaths related to the substance in the UK, use of mexxy can lead to agitation, a fast heart rate and unsteadiness on the feet, which are rarely seen with ketamine or other recreational drugs.

The decision also means police can search those suspected of possessing mexxy and anyone caught producing, supplying or importing it could face 14 years in prison.

Wiltshire Police Chief Inspector Paul Granger welcomed the decision and said officers would be actively enforcing the new ban.

“We are very pleased the Government, as a result of our submission, has taken the step to ban mexxy,” he said.

“We will be robustly enforcing the ban in order to protect drug users and the community from it. By working with the Community Safety Partnership and health bodies, we have taken the lead in Swindon.

“We can never reiterate enough that just because you are buying Eric-3 or whatever else, you may not know what is in it. We have found them mixed with Class A drugs and if you get caught with Class A it is a whole different ball game.

“Mexxy does make people behave in bizarre, out-of-character ways and you don’t know how you are going to react.”

Chief Insp Granger said police would look to target suppliers and importers in the crackdown on the drug.

He said: “What we are most interested in is the people who are trafficking it.

“They are selling it in packets labelled not for human consumption or for animal use and there is a good reason for that.

“They are drug dealers effectively and we now have the powers to tackle them.”"

Chemical first to fall under new ban order

7:10pm Sunday 1st April 2012 in News By Scott D'Arcy

Source: http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/new...new_ban_order/
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If you are interested in getting your counselor degree extremely fast to become a chemical dependency counselor, then feel FREE to visit CentaurUniversity.com!