A new study shoots down the notion that medical marijuana laws can prevent opioid overdose deaths, challenging a favorite talking point of legal pot advocates. Researchers repeated an analysis that sparked excitement years ago. The previous work linked medical marijuana laws to slower than expected increases in state prescription opioid death rates from 1999 to 2010. The original authors speculated patients might be substituting marijuana for painkillers, but they warned against drawing conclusions. Still, states ravaged by painkiller overdose deaths began to rethink marijuana, leading several to legalize pot for medical use. [continues 409 words]
A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening health concerns about the new popularity of vaping among teens. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but many of the battery-powered devices can vaporize other substances, including marijuana. Results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high. Vaping is generally considered less dangerous than smoking, because burning tobacco or marijuana generates chemicals that are harmful to lungs. But there is little research on e-cigarettes' long-term effects, including whether they help smokers quit. [continues 367 words]
Illinois must add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of diseases eligible for medical marijuana treatment, a Cook County judge ordered Tuesday in a sternly worded ruling that also said the state's public health director engaged in a "private investigation" that was "constitutionally inappropriate." In a lawsuit filed by an Iraq war veteran, Judge Neil Cohen ordered Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav Shah to add PTSD within 30 days. It's the first decision among eight lawsuits filed by patients disappointed with across-the-board rejections by Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration of recommendations from an advisory board on medical marijuana. [continues 386 words]
Chicago (AP) - The green-typeface slogan "WE'ED like to be your doctor!" - unmistakably weed-friendly - has attracted hundreds of medical marijuana patients in less than a year to Dr. Bodo Schneider's clinics in southern Illinois and suburban Chicago. In New Jersey, Dr. Anthony Anzalone has a similar following at his three clinics, marketed online with a marijuana leaf logo and a "DrMarijuanaNJ" web address. The two marijuana-friendly doctors in states with similar laws face starkly different treatment by government regulators. When it comes to oversight of boundary-pushing doctors, enforcement practices vary in the 23 states allowing medical cannabis. [continues 731 words]
Families Say It Works for Epileptic Seizures; Doctors Still Skeptical Chicago (AP) - Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois' medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures. Gross lives and works in Illinois. His wife, Nicole, moved with their two sons so their 8-year-old could legally swallow a quarter-teaspoon of marijuana oil each day. While the medical evidence is thin, some parents - including the Grosses - say marijuana works for their children and they're willing to experiment. [continues 477 words]
CHICAGO (AP) - Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois' medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures. Gross lives and works in Illinois. His wife, Nicole, moved with their two sons so their 8-year-old could legally swallow a quarter-teaspoon of marijuana oil each day. While the medical evidence is thin, some parents - including the Grosses - say marijuana works for their children and they're willing to experiment. [continues 454 words]
In the Industry, the Situation Is Called the "Immaculate Conception" Issue. Chicago (AP) - As more states legalize medical marijuana, there's one stage in the process nobody wants to talk about: the part where people still have to break the law. After growers obtain licenses, plan for security and build facilities, they then must obtain their first seeds or cuttings - while regulators turn a blind eye. "It has to be hush-hush," said Bradley Vallerius, an attorney focused on the emerging industry in Illinois. "I've seen the moment where the client realizes this is a problem" - and wonders how they're supposed to get started. [continues 311 words]
CHICAGO -- As Illinois' new medical marijuana program gets underway, potential patients, growers and retailers have questions. State officials plan to hold three town hall meetings across Illinois to provide answers, particularly about the application process, which starts next month. Multiple sclerosis patient Marla Levi of Buffalo Grove plans to apply for the required ID card so she can buy marijuana legally from a state-approved dispensary. She's found that the drug helps relieve the rigidity in her legs, she said. She wants to attend one of the meetings to get more information. [continues 220 words]
White People Are More Likely Than Minorities to Get Narcotics From Emergency-Room Doctors, a Study Found. CHICAGO -- Emergency-room doctors are prescribing strong narcotics more often to patients who complain of pain, but minorities are less likely to get them than whites, a new study finds. Even for the severe pain of kidney stones, minorities were prescribed narcotics such as oxycodone and morphine less frequently than whites. The analysis of more than 150,000 emergency-room visits over 13 years found differences in prescribing by race in both urban and rural hospitals, in all U.S. regions and for every type of pain. [continues 521 words]
Gore Arrest: More Taking Rx Drugs, Sometimes From Medicine Chest Drug abuse experts say the arrest of Al Gore's son underscores the growing problem of prescription drug abuse among America's youth. College students use the stimulant Adderall, an attention deficit drug, to get a speedy high or pull all-nighters. The other drugs police say they found in Al Gore III's possession -- marijuana, Xanax, Valium and Vicodin -- also are campus favorites, experts say. "Al Gore's son is just like everyone else's," said Dr. Donald Misch, director of health services at Northwestern University in Evanston. "The only thing missing was the No. 1 abused drug, which is alcohol." [continues 251 words]
CHICAGO -- Drug abuse experts say the arrest of Al Gore's son underscores the growing problem of prescription drug abuse among America's youth. College students use the stimulant Adderall, an attention-deficit drug, to get a speedy high or pull all-nighters. The other drugs police say they found in Al Gore III's possession -- marijuana, Xanax, Valium and Vicodin -- also are campus favorites, experts say. "Al Gore's son is just like everyone else's," said Dr. Donald Misch, director of health services at Northwestern University in Evanston. "The only thing missing was the No. 1 abused drug, which is alcohol." [continues 495 words]
Former Vice President's Son Charged Abuse of Prescription Drugs Has Risen Among 18- to 25-Year-Olds CHICAGO -- Drug abuse experts say the arrest of Al Gore's son underscores the growing problem of prescription drug abuse among America's youth. College students use the stimulant Adderall, an attention deficit drug, to get a speedy high or pull all-nighters. The other drugs police say they found in Al Gore III's possession -- marijuana, Xanax, Valium and Vicodin -- also are campus favorites, experts say. "Al Gore's son is just like everyone else's," said Dr. Donald Misch, director of health services at Northwestern University in Evanston. "The only thing missing was the No. 1 abused drug, which is alcohol." Students commonly pair pills with beer and cigarettes, experts say. They trade tips about the effects of prescription drugs on networking sites like Facebook and trade pills they've stolen from home medicine cabinets, ordered on the Internet or taken from friends with legitimate prescriptions. Prescription drug abuse among 18- to 25-year-olds rose 17 percent from 2002 to 2005, according to the White House drug policy office. In 2004 and again in 2005, there were more new abusers of prescription drugs than new users of any illicit drug. [continues 249 words]
CHICAGO -- In its first report aimed at improving how the criminal justice system deals with drug addicts, the National Institute on Drug Abuse offered 13 guidelines yesterday for what works and what fails. The key is understanding that drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior, and that it requires carefully monitored, personalized treatment, including access to medication such as methadone after the drug offender is released into society, the institute said. "What does not work? Putting a person who is addicted to drugs in jail for five or 10 years and thinking that will cure him with no treatment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the antidrug abuse agency. "The likelihood of that person relapsing is very high." [continues 310 words]
CHICAGO -- In its first report aimed at improving how the criminal-justice system deals with drug addicts, the National Institute on Drug Abuse offered 13 guidelines Monday for what works - -- and what doesn't. The key is understanding that drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior, and that it requires carefully monitored, personalized treatment, including access to medication such as methadone after the drug offender is released into society, the institute said. "What does not work? Putting a person who is addicted to drugs in jail for five or 10 years and thinking that will cure him with no treatment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the anti-drug-abuse agency, part of the National Institutes of Health. "The likelihood of that person relapsing is very high." [continues 336 words]
100 Fatalities From Fentanyl-Laced Narcotics Reported In MD., 7 Other States CHICAGO // U.S. drug czar John Walters said today that federal agents, working in cooperation with the Mexican government, have closed down a lab in Mexico that might be the main source of the powerful painkiller fentanyl that has killed heroin users in eight states. Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it's still not clear whether the fentanyl was mixed with heroin at the lab in Mexico or after it entered the United States. Fentanyl-laced cocaine also has turned up in some cities, he said. [continues 388 words]
CHICAGO -- U.S. agents, working in cooperation with the Mexican government, have closed down a lab in Mexico that might be the main source of a powerful painkiller that has killed at least 100 heroin users in New Jersey and seven other states, the federal drug czar said yesterday. John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it's still not clear whether the painkiller, fentanyl, was mixed with heroin at the lab in Mexico or after it entered the United States. [continues 243 words]
Authorities Believe Raid Hit Source Of Pain-Killer Used In Deadly Heroin CHICAGO - U.S. and Mexican authorities have closed a Mexican lab that might have been the main source of a powerful pain-killer that has killed heroin users in the Harrisburg and Philadelphia areas and six other states. Those authorities also warned yesterday that millions of deadly doses of fentanyl-laced heroin might still be on America's streets. The mixture has caused at least 100 confirmed deaths from Philadelphia to Chicago in recent months. The Harrisburg area had two deaths and at least 20 overdoses from heroin cut with fentanyl in April, authorities said. [continues 452 words]
Federal agents, working in cooperation with the Mexican government, have closed down a lab in Mexico that might be the main source of the powerful painkiller fentanyl that has killed heroin users in Pennsylvania and seven other states, U.S. drug czar John Walters said Monday. Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it's still not clear whether the Lehigh Valley Local Links Mobile News | Subscribe Online | Order Reprints fentanyl was mixed with heroin at the lab in Mexico or after it entered the United States. Fentanyl-laced cocaine also has turned up in some cities, he said. [continues 169 words]
CHICAGO -- Federal agents, working in cooperation with the Mexican government, have closed down a lab in Mexico that might be the main source of the powerful painkiller fentanyl that has killed heroin users in Pennsylvania and seven other states, U.S. drug czar John Walters said Monday. Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it's still not clear whether the fentanyl was mixed with heroin at the lab in Mexico or after it entered the United States. Fentanyl-laced cocaine also has turned up in some cities, he said. [continues 359 words]
Pediatricians should speak out in support of needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV among injection drug users, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a toughened policy statement. Doctors also should discuss HIV risk with their teenage patients "with a nonjudgmental approach" and offer confidential help if local laws allow, the group says in the statement appearing Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "If we can help young people avoid a chronic illness that we have no cure for, I would hope people would embrace that idea," said the lead author, Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid of Chicago's John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital. [continues 277 words]
