The Air Force led the way with the first announcement of confirmed spice testing. Following is a summary and links to each military branch and their stance on Spice testing.

The Air Force first announced in February, 2012 that they will begin testing for Spice, AF using urine tests to detect ‘spice’ use

The Air Force announced in March, 2012 that it will begin testing for spice with its own equipment.  In 2011, they outsourced the testing to a civilian lab, but started in March, 2012 they will do their own tests and they said  “We have the capability to test 2,900 specimens per month.” According to an article in Air Force Times

Navy posted its Synthetic Drug Urinalysis Operating Guide online on April 4, 2012.  In an article on the Navy official website, this quote sums up their position on Spice testing and their seriousness:

“In March 2012, the Navy announced that it has begun random testing of urine samples for synthetic chemical compounds like Spice. The Navy’s capacity for testing for designer drugs will continue to expand. During fiscal year 2012 the Navy will invest $1.73 million to test for synthetic chemical compounds and expects to increase that amount to $2.9 million in fiscal year 2013.”

Marines could face testing for spice as of March, 2012, they had not instituted testing of Marines, but said they are “working with researchers to develop urinalysis that can detect spice and similar illegal substances known as synthetic cannabinoids”.  The article did not state why the Marines could not use the technology already developed by the Air Force who started testing the earliest of all the military branches.

The Army is funding a study by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner to determine spice use in the military and has allocated $180,000 to find out how widespread the use is.  The Study Underway to Assess Usage Rate of Synthetic Cannabinoids will “involve testing 10,000 randomly collected Army specimens – 5,000 each from the Tripler Army Medical Center, HI and Fort Meade, MD”, but it does not clearly say if the specimens will still have the name associated with it or if it is anonymous.  There is not current data stating that the Army is doing synthetic cannabinoid testing.

Earlier this year, the Coast Guard Academy expelled 14 cadets for spice use, see Coast Guard Academy weeds out cadets, however, the report did not say if they were found with random testing or some other method.  Considering that the Coast Guard is responsible for enforcing the maritime drug laws, you should assume that they will follow suit with the Air Force or Navy, however, there is no reports that they are currently random testing for spice.

All the Armed Forces have started 2012 with a serious commitment to synthetic drug testing and making sure that they have the technology in-house to keep up with the ever changing compounds that make up spice and synthetic cannabinoids.  We can only expect for them to continually increase the random testing and their disciplinary approach to spice.

Everyone knows that smaller companies are not as likely to drug test as larger companies are, so it usually is the answer for an avid user who is looking for employment, but cannot run the risk of being tested. Small businesses usually choose not to drug test their employees because it is too expensive or difficult, which is far from the truth.

Small businesses are at a huge disadvantage by not drug testing. For fear of expenses and difficulty coming with the testing, they do not have drug testing programs in place, but they are the target employer for a substance abuser. Having an employee that is an illicit drug user can not only have a negative effect on you, but your business as well. The amount of time invested in training a new employee is a major cost to a business and you don’t want to find out months later that your new employee has a drug problem.

If smaller businesses take the time to implement drug testing policy, they can ensure a safer and more productive work environment. Taking precautionary measures to secure your business and its workforce are crucial steps to ensure honesty and productivity from your workers, and it does not have to come at a great expense.

Having a drug testing policy is like using a dummy security camera to prevent theft in that it might just prevent drug users from applying to your company. Even adding a line to your job ads that says “must pass a drug test prior to hiring” can help you eliminate some potential applicants that know they cannot pass a drug test or posting a sign in the lobby or area that people apply for jobs that states that “This is Drug Free Workplace” or “We Conduct Drug Testing”.

Workplace and employee safety are huge issues that must be considered by any business owner. However, these concerns do not mean that they require large sums of money to produce the wanted results. Implementing drug testing is an inexpensive and effective way to give you peace of mind when it comes to your business.  If you want to learn more about starting a drug free workplace at your small business visit the SBA Drug Free Workplace for more resources and links.

Considering that the quantity of prescription painkillers sold to pharmacies, hospitals, and doctor’s offices was four times larger in 2010 than in 1999, it’s no surprise that more and more prescription painkiller overdoses are occurring.  Looking at it from a world view, the United States consumes over 80 percent of the world’s opium which is the active ingredient in painkillers, however we only have 4.6 percent of the world’s population.

According to the Los Angeles Times, drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States. One of the problems concerning prescription painkillers is how easy they are to get ahold of. Doctors are far too eager to write prescriptions for painkillers to help patients cope with pain.

Many doctors fail to take into consideration whether patients who are prescribed painkillers will become addicted to them. When doctors fail to look at the full medical history of a patient and whether the patient has a susceptibility to addiction, they are putting the patient’s health at risk.

Another problem concerning prescription painkillers is the relaxed attitude people have about taking them. Since they are prescribed by a doctor, people are under the faulty assumption that they are safer to take, and less addictive, unlike many of the illicit drugs sold on the streets.

So, who is to blame? When it comes to who is responsible for the rising number of prescription painkiller overdoses—more than one culprit is involved. Many overly aggressive pharmaceutical companies make false claims about their products and use psychological tactics to convince doctors how their patients can greatly benefit from using these pharmaceutical drugs.

However, the doctor’s office isn’t the only place where prescription painkillers are easily obtained.   According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NHSDUH), an annual survey that includes information from interviews with thousands of people about their drug habit, most opioid painkillers are obtained from family or friends, over 69% do not get their painkillers from medical sources, but from family or friends.

Even though the majority of users get their painkillers from family and friends, the finger still points back to pharmaceutical companies and doctors who are allowing so many of these deadly drugs in the hands of people.  For a non abuser who has had any surgery in the last year, most have a bottle of oxy sitting in the medicine cabinet which can easily be stolen by someone visiting your home or given to a friend who asks for them.

Prescription drugs are one of the top drugs of choice for high school students because they are easier to obtain than both marijuana and alcohol since they can be found at home.  One of the new late night party trends taking place in cities throughout the United States are parties known as pharm parties. Pharm parties are parties where teenagers experiment with any number of prescription medications to obtain a high. Combine taking prescription painkillers with heavy alcohol consumption and you have a deadly cocktail of controlled substances—that can kill a person.

Many people fail to consider just how addictive and deadly prescription painkillers can be. According to the Center for Disease Control prescription overdose deaths have tripled in the last decade, with 40 people dying every day.

Prescription painkillers are easily attainable by just about anyone, regardless of age or socioeconomic status.  Doctors and healthcare professionals need to stop prescribing prescription painkillers to every patient who complains about pain and limit the number of pills in each prescription.  The healthcare industry needs to take an active role in educating each patient about the potential dangers of prescription drug abuse and actively limit the supply given to a patient. Until then, more and more prescription overdoses will occur and more people will die from this growing form of drug abuse.

So much has been done over the years, with progress continuing to be made every day.  The ongoing efforts made by researchers, healthcare professionals, non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, activists, and people all over the globe have decreased the number of new cases and helped thousands of people to receive life-saving treatment. Still, 30 years after the disease was discovered, we are still fighting to stop it.

Hopefully you are not like me. I know how terrible the disease is but I can honestly say that I have become disconnected from it over the years. Besides purchasing a RED shirt from the Gap a few years ago, I can’t say that I have done my part.  Like most other people I can make the excuse that it’s tough in this economy to support every good cause and I do my best, but AIDS kind of fell by the wayside. And is it just me, or do we not hear as much these days about the AIDS cause as we used to?

Apparently it is not only me who has become complacent.

“It’s very striking that in the wealthy countries there is a perception that AIDS is over — there is far less investment in education programs.  The availability of treatment has resulted in a complacency which is becoming really dangerous.  Considering that today we’ve got as many new infections in Western Europe and North America as 10 years ago, there is no excuse for that.”  said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS.

The annual AIDS Epidemic Update released on November 28th 2011 predicted there will be 45,000 new cases this year in North America and 30,000 in Western Europe. Nearly 1.5 million people in the industrialized countries will be living with the AIDS virus by the end of the year. I guess we need to move AIDS back to the front burner. This fight ain’t over yet.

Today is World AIDS Day and this years’ theme is “Getting to Zero.” Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths.  I watched “Beginning of the End of Aids”, the One Campaign to end AIDS by 2015 LIVE on YouTube:

Speeches were given by George Bush, Bill Clinton, President Obama, Bono, Alicia Keys and several others. The work of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) was mentioned as well as the dynamic plan announced by Hillary Clinton in early November stating that if three key interventions are taken, there may be a possibility of breaking the cycle of new HIV infections. The three interventions are prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, and antiretroviral treatment as prevention.

Some other interesting points in the speeches today:

• Clinton stated that countries that were providing aid monies need to make sure that the money is spent in the country and on the people that it was intended for. He said that currently only about 50% of funds are used how they were intended.
• We need to continue to invest in AIDS treatment and prevention programs. We need countries that promised to provide the contributions to actually do so and other countries that haven’t been involved previously, need to get involved.
• Clinton also stated that the pharmaceutical companies producing the antiretroviral treatments in the US need to be negotiated with. They currently produce on almost a sliding scale – they charge the wealthier countries more for the drugs than they do for the developing nations. He recommended that politicians negotiate for the US to receive the drugs at the lower generic costs for the next 2 years until the economy improves.
• Churches need to take a more active role with HIV/AIDS education, testing and providing care for patients or children of patients.
• There is still a stigma associated with AIDS which has a profound effect on the epidemic’s course. The WHO (World Health Organization) cites fear of stigma and discrimination as the main reason why people are reluctant to be tested, to disclose their HIV status or to be treated.
• We still do not encourage HIV testing enough. An unwillingness to be tested for HIV means that more people are diagnosed late, when the virus has already progressed to AIDS, making treatment less effective and causing early death.

After hearing the speeches for the campaign today, it does really seem possible that we can put an end to AIDS within the next few years as long as we continue fighting. Hearing a story told by Bono brought a tear to my eye. He described a time that he was visiting an AIDS canteen in Africa and discovered that all of the activists working there were HIV positive themselves and were not being treated. When the drugs arrived to the canteen the activists began fighting over the drugs and who would get them [as you would expect]. [As you wouldn’t expect] they were not fighting for the drugs for themselves; they pledged that they were the least important persons. They wanted the drugs for the victims they were there fighting for.

So as this World Aids Day continues we need to go beyond wearing the red ribbon, keep fighting and Get to Zero.

 “Overdoses involving prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels and now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined.”  CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.

To gain a better understanding of how this type of overdose occurs; let’s take a look at what causes prescription painkiller deaths.  Prescription painkillers bind to receptors in the brain, decreasing a person’s perception of pain and creating a feeling of euphoria. Many people find themselves becoming physically dependent and addicted to these prescription painkillers.

Problems arise once the body becomes dependent on painkillers. The body no longer functions properly unless it has prescription drugs in its system. This is when people begin taking them for the high they provide, rather than using them to cope with pain.

Little by little, the user needs to increase the dosage in order to produce the same euphoric feeling they initially felt–and to help them cope with withdrawal symptoms. Larger doses of prescription painkillers slow down breathing to the point that breathing all together stops. When this happens an overdose occurs.

Some populations are considered to be at a higher risk of overdosing on painkillers. The Center for Disease Control reports that more men than women die from prescription painkiller overdoses, and is it more common among middle-aged adults between the ages of 35-54 years of age. However, age is not the only factor that determines whose at risk for overdosing on prescription painkillers.

Whites and American Indian or Alaska Natives are more likely to overdose on prescription painkillers.  Government studies have shown that about one in ten American Indian or Alaska Natives age 12 or older have used prescription painkillers for nonmedical reasons during the past year.  Compare this to the broader population where painkiller abuse averages one in twenty for whites and one in thirty for blacks.

Additionally, low-income populations as well as those who live in rural areas are also at risk of overdosing on prescription painkillers. According to the Center for Disease Control, a Washington State study found that 45 percent of people who died from prescription painkiller overdoses were Medicaid enrollees and that people on Medicaid are prescribed painkillers at twice the rate of non-Medicaid patients.

Each year, more and more people are being prescribed prescription painkillers and are at risk for becoming addicted to them. The Center for Disease Control reports that in 2010, more than 12 million people used prescription painkillers without a prescription, and for non-medical reasons, meaning they took them for the high they produced.

Painkiller overdoses account for 15,000 deaths a year. That’s 40 people who die daily from this type of overdose. Back in 1999, 4,000 people died of prescription drug oversdose, therefore, we have experienced almost a 4 times increase in a decade.  Not only is this information alarming, but what’s even more disturbing is that very little is being done about preventing this type of addiction and potential overdose from occurring.

There is no sugar coating the truth, prescription painkillers are killing people. To stop this deadly form of drug abuse from taking more lives additional precautions need to be taken. Patients need to educate themselves about prescription painkiller drug abuse and ask their doctors additional questions about medications being prescribed. The ultimate responsibility lies with doctors and healthcare officials who need to stop prescribing these highly addictive drugs so easily and quickly — and find alternate treatments to help patients cope with pain.

“The common perception that PSA-based early detection of prostate cancer prolongs lives is not supported by the scientific evidence” task force co-vice chair Michael L. LeFevre, MD, MSPH, professor of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by both cancerous (malignant) and noncancerous (benign) prostate tissue which helps to liquefy semen. It is normal for a small amount of PSA to enter the bloodstream but high amounts usually signify the possibility of cancer, since cancer cells usually produce more PSA than benign cells. But PSA levels can also be higher in men that have enlarged or inflamed prostate glands so there is more that needs to be considered than just a PSA score. Other factors to be considered are your age, prostate gland size, changes in PSA levels, and use of medications that may affect PSA such as finasteride (Propecia, Proscar), dutasteride (Avodart) and even some herbal supplements.

So to test or not to test, that is still the question, right? If you are experiencing symptoms such as trouble urinating, decreased force in the stream of urine when urinating, blood in your urine, blood in your semen, swelling in your legs, discomfort in the pelvic area or bone pain you should see your doctor immediately.  Also if you are at high risk and have a family history of cancer, or if you discuss the pros and cons with your doctor and want the screening for peace of mind, then go for it.

While this new study from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force may suggest decreased screening, here is what other groups suggest for PSA screening:

• American Cancer Society suggests men at normal risk should discuss the benefits and risks of testing beginning at age 50, and men in risk groups should begin talking to their doctors at 45.

• American College of Physicians and the American College of Preventive Medicine suggest discussions between men and their doctors starting at 50.

• American Urological Society suggests a baseline screening test at 40, annual screening in all men beginning at 50, and annual screening after 40 for men in known risk groups.

The prostate cancer group ZERO-The Project to End Prostate Cancer had this response to the new report

“Today’s decision of no confidence on the PSA test by the U.S. government condemns tens of thousands of men to die this year and every year going forward,” Skip Lockwood, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.

All the confusion and conflicting information leaves one to wonder where do we turn for trusted, reliable information regarding our health?  To this question, we don’t know.

Results were recently released from over 4.5 million drug tests performed in 2010 and for the first time a detailed break down of methamphetamine positives state by state.  In 2010 the national average of methamphetamines positivity was .10% which is the same rate as 2009.  The five year trend nation wide has been in decline since 2006 when the methamphetamine positivity was .16%.

Among the 42 states with sufficient data to compare to the national average for positive workplace drugs tests for methamphetamine in 2010, those notably above were:

Hawaii – 410% greater than the national average
Arkansas – 280% greater than the national average
Oklahoma – 240% greater than the national average
Nevada – 180% greater than the national average
California – 140% greater than the national average
Wyoming – 130% greater than the national average
Utah – 120% greater than the national average
Arizona – 100% greater than the national average
Kansas – 80% greater than the national average

The East and Northeastern regions of the US are much lower than the national average for methamphetamine prevalence in the workforce with New York falling well below the national average.

The DNA sequencing was performed by Medicinal Genomics (source: Bloomberg News). The company was founded by Kevin McKernan, a former member of the Human Genome Project, specifically to decode marijuana’s DNA. The goal is to tap into the therapeutic properties of marijuana so as to create treatments for cancer and pain that will help patients without getting them high. Marijuana has been shown to be useful (for example, a compound in marijuana has been shown to reduce the size of tumors in rats) but its negative and psychoactive properties have led people to shy away from it as a legitimate medication.

One of the goals of the project is to learn enough about marijuana to selectively breed the plant. These new strains of marijuana would ideally lack the psychoactive properties of marijuana as it exists today. According to Scientific American’s Nature News blog, McKernan sees the sequencing as an important advancement into the still growing medical marijuana market.

Deriving useful medicines from illegal drugs is not a new art – morphine, codeine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are all derived from opium. Many cultures around the world use what we classify as illegal substances to treat illness. At the moment marijuana is somewhat unique in that a marijuana drug test will not come up as positive for a variety of medicines and other legal products (only the HIV medication Sustiva registers as a positive on our test).

Medical marijuana has been legalized in a number of states because of its effectiveness as a medicine. Hopefully the sequencing of its genome can lead to further development of marijuana’s therapeutic properties and the improvement of a great many lives.

* Well, a sketch of it. You can read more about the Human Genome Project here.

The episode touched on a number of aspects of pill distribution and addiction.  Pill mills accepting cash, untracked scripts for generally absurd doses of OxyContin (160 mg!), and the elderly selling their drugs were all key parts of the drama.  (I guess I should now say:  SPOILER ALERT).

One of the most interesting things about the episode was watching Oxy addiction play out.  Addicts in withdrawal have been portrayed in TV and the movies before, but this is the first time I have personally seen an “Oxy addict” on TV.  Said addict (again, SPOILER ALERT!) seizes up during interrogation and has to be taken to the hospital, where he hallucinates and is being treated before he can enter a rehab clinic and go through medathone or suboxone treatment.  It’s the same nasty stuff we’ve seen year for years, just this time playing out with a legal drug.

I won’t ruin the whole episode, which you can still catch online at A&E’s website.  You might not believe me by this point, but I am actually not affiliated with A&E…it was just interesting to see an episode about oxy addiction play out on TV Sunday night.

Anyone else out there see it?  What did you think?

Sentencing those convicted of crack cocaine possession has been a thorny issue for years and years.  Prior to the Fair Sentencing Act, cocaine and crack cocaine possession were treated dramatically differently (they are still treated differently to this day, just not as much).  Someone with five grams of crack cocaine automatically received a five year mandatory minimum prison sentence.  Ten grams would get you a ten year mandatory minimum sentence.  To receive the same sentences for possession of cocaine, you would have to be in possession of five hundred or a thousand grams, respectively.  At the time this 100 : 1 ratio was supported by public fears about the addictiveness and violence associated with crack cocaine.

And yet, cocaine and crack cocaine are both just…cocaine.  Certainly the way you administer it changes the intensity of its effects, but the chemical remains the same (for example, our test for cocaine works equally well for both forms so you can think of it as a crack cocaine drug test).  The harsh sentencing for crack cocaine possession was also affecting the black community far more than other groups.  On top of that, the severity of the sentencing was pushing a lot of people into the US prison system.  The 12,000 prisoners who now could be eligible for sentence reductions make up about 6% of the prison population.

The sentence reductions are an application of the Fair Sentencing Act’s general reforms.  The disparity between crack cocaine and cocaine sentencing is now 18 : 1 instead of 100 : 1.  Those incarcerated for crack offenses will be eligible to have their sentences brought in line with the new rules by a federal judge.

While some Republican lawmakers have their reservations about the retroactive sentencing, and Congress could intervene between now and Nov. 1 when it goes into effect, it seems unlikely that they will.  The Fair Sentencing Act was passed with bipartisan support, and will most likely by slow-walked by Attorney General Eric Holder, who would like the new rules applied to about half of the potentially eligible prisoners, those without weapons offenses or long criminal histories.