________________________________________
Study Finds Secondhand Smoke Can Harm Newborn Brain Development
A new study concludes that exposure to secondhand smoke can harm the developing brain of newborns. Researchers found exposure to active or secondhand smoke affected newborn babies’ ability to inhibit stimuli that can harm the central nervous system, according to HealthDay.
The study, published in Early Human Development, included 282 healthy babies, who were examined two to three days after birth. The study found 22 percent of the mothers smoked during pregnancy, while 6 percent were exposed to passive smoke. Babies exposed to secondhand smoke had poor motor development. Those exposed to active smoking were less able to regulate motor and sensory behavior.
“Newborns who have had intrauterine exposure to nicotine, whether in an active or passive way, show signs of being more affected in terms of their neurobehavioural development,” researchers Josefa Canals and Carmen Hernández said in a press release.
________________________________________
Synthetic drugs, real consequences: Fake pot pushers change formulas faster than law enforcement can keep up
All Maurice Gartman remembers is that the woman he loved for more than 60 years was taken from him in a car crash.
Alexander Worrall, the 19-year-old Boynton Beach resident who crashed into the Gartmans in December was impaired, under the influence of synthetic marijuana, police say. Investigators believe it may be the first DUI manslaughter arrest in Palm Beach County in which the driver was allegedly impaired by fake pot.
“She’s gone and I’m still here,” Gartman, 85, said of his wife, Evelyn, who was 82. “I still have my children, but I don’t have her anymore.”
A blip on the nation’s drug scene just a few years ago, synthetic drugs now are a multibillion-dollar business. But because of the complexity of the drugs’ composition — including multiple combinations of chemicals — federal, state and local law officials are frustrated by limits in making arrests and getting prosecutions.
‘Mr. Nice Guy’ meets ‘Operation Log Jam’
Palm Beach County was at the center of a national drug raid in July, when three men were arrested on federal charges of producing and distributing synthetic cannabinoids, compounds which mimic the effects of marijuana when smoked. The men — Dylan Harrison, John Shealy and Michael Bryant —are accused of selling the fake pot known as “Mr. Nice Guy,” a brand well-known in the synthetic drug community. Their arrests were part of the first nationwide investigation into fake pot. “Operation Log Jam” targeted big sellers of fake pot and bath salts — the newest and trendiest ways to get high. The trio has since been released from federal custody after posting expensive bonds. While the investigation dismantled dozens of manufacturers, officials are still struggling to get the product off the shelves of convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops.
Most fake pot is packaged as herbal incense, which is sold legally but is marked as not for human consumption. Yet it’s a given that people buy these products to get high, law enforcement officials say. And even when legislators update laws to outlaw the combinations of chemicals, manufacturers quickly change them. Dustin Yeatman, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s manager of chemistry and toxicology, said the drugs have had a “greater prevalence” in the county for the past two years. He and his team analyze all drugs that are confiscated, primarily for DUI and sexual assault cases.
But Yeatman says proving whether the chemicals found in fake pot are an analogue — which mimic an already banned substance — is both expensive and time-consuming. For example, Yateman said it costs the lab $500 and a little over three months to determine that a chemical found in Mr. Nice Guy is one that mimics a banned substance. By the time Yeatman can prove makers of fake pot are using banned chemicals or ones that mimic banned ones, savvy producers have moved on.
“There is no quality control. There is no legislation. It’s not governed by the FDA,” he said. “They can just move from one to another with very little down time.”
Feds, state, local officials trying to keep up
But law enforcement officials say they are trying their best.
President Obama in July signed the Synthetic Drug Prevention Act, banning compounds found in synthetic marijuana, stimulants and hallucinogens by identifying them as controlled substances. A new Florida law that went into effect in early July added 92 chemicals to a list of previously banned synthetic marijuana substances. And in early July, Palm Beach County commissioners considered a ban on the sale of synthetic marijuana and bath salts. They directed the county attorney to research a ban and the commission is expected to make a decision in October.
County Commissioner Karen Marcus said in interviews that the measure would be modeled after an ordinance approved recently in Broward that blocks businesses from selling or displaying synthetic marijuana. While the bans are a move in the right direction, one Louisiana mother says it’s not enough.
“I don’t understand why our government locally and nationally cannot get a (handle) on this,” Julie Sanders said. “They obviously aren’t ahead of the game. The manufacturers are, and it needs to be turned around the other way.”
Sanders’ 20-year-old stepson, Dickie, shot himself in 2010, days after snorting Cloud 9 bath salts. He first took them on a Monday evening. He became increasingly paranoid into Thursday, when he grabbed a kitchen knife and cut his throat.
“I don’t know what I just did. I didn’t mean to hurt myself; what is going on?” Dickie screamed, according to his father, Richard, who rushed his son to the hospital.
Despite surviving the initial mutilation, while the Sanders were sleeping, Dickie took a .22 rifle and shot himself in the head.
“Dickie would never have taken his life if he was not under the influence of this drug,” said Julie Sanders, an emergency room doctor. “I would never want to wish this on another family: the tragedy that we’ve gone through over this drug that was sold over the counter.”
Users of fake pot hope it will have the same effect as real marijuana, whose active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, Yeatman said. But those who believe that are sorely mistaken.
“The components are 20 to 100 times more potent than THC,” said Yeatman, adding that the synthetic components attach to the brain better than THC does.
Smokers of fake pot experience increased euphoria, rapid heartbeat, impaired memory, affected motor coordination and a “significant amount” of paranoia, Yeatman said.
Compounds in driver’s system were illegal
It’s unknown what type of effect fake pot had on Alexander Worrall, the man charged in the Gartmans’ crash at the corner of Old Boynton Road and South Military Trail in suburban Boynton Beach. But Worrall’s arrest report reveals some detail of what happened that day. Worrall told investigators that he was driving about 45-50 mph when he ran a red light. He added that he suspected the “PA microphone” on the driver’s floorboard had played a part in him not being able to stop. But investigators said they were unable to recreate an instance in which the microphone would prevent braking. Further, there was no damage to the microphone.
“It is probable that the driver … mistakenly stepped on the microphone instead of the brake,” the investigator wrote.
Worrall also will face charges of DUI with serious bodily injury and possession of a controlled substance because the compounds of fake pot found in his system were illegal at the time of the crash. Since the crash, Maurice has settled into a life without the woman with whom he fathered three children. He lives in Hollywood now, and there are “lots of things” to keep him busy. But he still misses the woman he fell in love with when she was 17 and he was 20, Maurice said.
“She was beautiful,” he said. “She was the best.”
WHAT IS SYNTHETIC POT?
Plant material that has been laced with man-made chemicals meant to immitate the “high” from marijuana. Some believe synthetic components in fake pot are 20 to 100 times more potent than THC. Smokers of fake pot can experience increased euphoria, rapid heartbeat, impaired memory, affected motor coordination and a “significant amount” of paranoia.
________________________________________
Substance Abuse in Uniform: Some Good Outside Advice
There’s a lot of really good stuff in the Institute of Medicine report released Monday on substance abuse inside the U.S. military. Much of the coverage focused on the problems of substance use after 11 years of war. I’d rather drill down on several of the report’s key recommendations:
“Recommendation 4: Policies of DoD and the individual branches should provide evidence-based diagnostic treatment and treatment processes.
The lack of integration of substance use disorder care, with behavioral health care and medical care, is highlighted in the report. One of the challenges, at least in the Army, the service I know best, is that substance abuse treatment does not belong to the medical department. It used to belong to personnel and now to Installation Management Command. This has been a continuous source of tension. For example, the latest advances in treatment of addictions are not part of treatment practice.
Recommendation 8: DoD should encourage each service branch to provide options for confidential treatment of alcohol use disorders.
Another issue is that referrals to substance use treatment are not confidential; referrals are reported to command. The Army started some options of confidential self-referral in a pilot program a few years ago. The IOM report encourages more of these, a positive move.
Recommendation 11: The individual service branches should restructure their SUD [substance use disorder] counseling workforces…
Bottom line: we need more physicians and other licensed providers in the mix. When I was on active duty we tried to improve the delivery of SUD care, but were hampered by many organizational and cultural barriers. Confidentiality was an enormous issue. Commanders wanted to know whether their service members were in treatment for substance abuse. We understood why the commanders wanted to know, but knew that service members shunned treatment if their command would find out. Likewise, service members worried about their security clearances. We were always trying to hire more substance abuse counselors, but the hiring process in the government is very cumbersome. Anyway there were not enough trained providers, which is why workforce growth is so important.
Let’s hope this independent report from some of the nation’s leaders in substance abuse will help.
Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/20/substance-abuse-in-uniform-some-good-outside-advice/#ixzz272E6O66H
________________________________________
Forget Fake IDs: Can Kids Buy Alcohol on eBay?
ABC News
The online marketplace eBay is a popular site for bidding on rare finds and selling your own household treasures, but resourceful teens might also find another use for it: scoring booze. While eBay prohibits the sale of all alcohol with the exception of some wines sold by licensed wine sellers, it does allow for the sale of collectible alcohol containers. The site's alcohol policy states that the seller of the container "will take all appropriate steps to ensure that the buyer is of lawful age in the buyer's and seller's jurisdiction."
But that didn't stop one teen who worked with "20/20" from obtaining alcohol through the site. We asked Xander, 13, to head to the site and try to buy liquor there. One vendor refused to sell his product when Xander and a "20/20" producer declined to send a copy of an ID showing that the buyer was of legal drinking age. But Xander was able to successfully place an order with two other vendors.
"All I had to do was type in vodka on the search bar, click one button and it can send it to my house," Xander told "20/20." (A "20/20" producer paid for the purchases.)
Weeks later, five bottles of vodka arrived at Xander's front door.
In a statement to "20/20," eBay reiterated its policy that it prohibits the general sale of alcohol and only allows sales of wine by pre-approved, licensed sellers.
"Sellers are required to take all appropriate steps to ensure that the buyer is of lawful age. We prohibit the general sale of alcohol and we have zero tolerance for anyone who violates our policies. When violations occur, we take appropriate action as we have done in this case," the company said. The company said it has taken action against the two vendors who sold alcohol to Xander.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that many Internet alcohol vendors fail to verify that customers are of legal drinking age. In a report on a study released in May, researchers said that underage study participants successfully ordered alcohol online 45 times from popular vendors, including eBay.
"With just a few clicks on their computer or smartphone, kids can order alcohol delivered to their home," lead study author Rebecca Williams, a research associate at UNC, said after the study's release. "We were amazed at how easy it was for minors to buy alcohol online."
Williams said that researchers found listings on eBay that were not in line with the site's own criteria for what constitutes an alcohol-related collectible. The site states that the contents of the collectible must not be intended for consumption, that the value of the item is in its container, not its contents, and that the item must not be available in any retail outlet.
"Our simple searches revealed countless unrestricted listings by the sellers of common liquors that clearly didn't meet any of the criteria, such as varieties of Bacardi rum available at any liquor store," Williams said.
In its statement to "20/20," eBay said "We continue to strengthen our policy enforcement efforts to ensure a trusted marketplace for our customers." What remains unclear, Williams said, is how often teens today are actually using eBay and other online retailers to purchase alcohol. A 2006 study sponsored by the wine industry found that just 2 percent of teens reported buying alcohol online. Williams said she hopes to do her own study on the subject, through a nationally representative survey, next year.
Study Finds Secondhand Smoke Can Harm Newborn Brain Development
A new study concludes that exposure to secondhand smoke can harm the developing brain of newborns. Researchers found exposure to active or secondhand smoke affected newborn babies’ ability to inhibit stimuli that can harm the central nervous system, according to HealthDay.
The study, published in Early Human Development, included 282 healthy babies, who were examined two to three days after birth. The study found 22 percent of the mothers smoked during pregnancy, while 6 percent were exposed to passive smoke. Babies exposed to secondhand smoke had poor motor development. Those exposed to active smoking were less able to regulate motor and sensory behavior.
“Newborns who have had intrauterine exposure to nicotine, whether in an active or passive way, show signs of being more affected in terms of their neurobehavioural development,” researchers Josefa Canals and Carmen Hernández said in a press release.
________________________________________
Synthetic drugs, real consequences: Fake pot pushers change formulas faster than law enforcement can keep up
All Maurice Gartman remembers is that the woman he loved for more than 60 years was taken from him in a car crash.
Alexander Worrall, the 19-year-old Boynton Beach resident who crashed into the Gartmans in December was impaired, under the influence of synthetic marijuana, police say. Investigators believe it may be the first DUI manslaughter arrest in Palm Beach County in which the driver was allegedly impaired by fake pot.
“She’s gone and I’m still here,” Gartman, 85, said of his wife, Evelyn, who was 82. “I still have my children, but I don’t have her anymore.”
A blip on the nation’s drug scene just a few years ago, synthetic drugs now are a multibillion-dollar business. But because of the complexity of the drugs’ composition — including multiple combinations of chemicals — federal, state and local law officials are frustrated by limits in making arrests and getting prosecutions.
‘Mr. Nice Guy’ meets ‘Operation Log Jam’
Palm Beach County was at the center of a national drug raid in July, when three men were arrested on federal charges of producing and distributing synthetic cannabinoids, compounds which mimic the effects of marijuana when smoked. The men — Dylan Harrison, John Shealy and Michael Bryant —are accused of selling the fake pot known as “Mr. Nice Guy,” a brand well-known in the synthetic drug community. Their arrests were part of the first nationwide investigation into fake pot. “Operation Log Jam” targeted big sellers of fake pot and bath salts — the newest and trendiest ways to get high. The trio has since been released from federal custody after posting expensive bonds. While the investigation dismantled dozens of manufacturers, officials are still struggling to get the product off the shelves of convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops.
Most fake pot is packaged as herbal incense, which is sold legally but is marked as not for human consumption. Yet it’s a given that people buy these products to get high, law enforcement officials say. And even when legislators update laws to outlaw the combinations of chemicals, manufacturers quickly change them. Dustin Yeatman, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s manager of chemistry and toxicology, said the drugs have had a “greater prevalence” in the county for the past two years. He and his team analyze all drugs that are confiscated, primarily for DUI and sexual assault cases.
But Yeatman says proving whether the chemicals found in fake pot are an analogue — which mimic an already banned substance — is both expensive and time-consuming. For example, Yateman said it costs the lab $500 and a little over three months to determine that a chemical found in Mr. Nice Guy is one that mimics a banned substance. By the time Yeatman can prove makers of fake pot are using banned chemicals or ones that mimic banned ones, savvy producers have moved on.
“There is no quality control. There is no legislation. It’s not governed by the FDA,” he said. “They can just move from one to another with very little down time.”
Feds, state, local officials trying to keep up
But law enforcement officials say they are trying their best.
President Obama in July signed the Synthetic Drug Prevention Act, banning compounds found in synthetic marijuana, stimulants and hallucinogens by identifying them as controlled substances. A new Florida law that went into effect in early July added 92 chemicals to a list of previously banned synthetic marijuana substances. And in early July, Palm Beach County commissioners considered a ban on the sale of synthetic marijuana and bath salts. They directed the county attorney to research a ban and the commission is expected to make a decision in October.
County Commissioner Karen Marcus said in interviews that the measure would be modeled after an ordinance approved recently in Broward that blocks businesses from selling or displaying synthetic marijuana. While the bans are a move in the right direction, one Louisiana mother says it’s not enough.
“I don’t understand why our government locally and nationally cannot get a (handle) on this,” Julie Sanders said. “They obviously aren’t ahead of the game. The manufacturers are, and it needs to be turned around the other way.”
Sanders’ 20-year-old stepson, Dickie, shot himself in 2010, days after snorting Cloud 9 bath salts. He first took them on a Monday evening. He became increasingly paranoid into Thursday, when he grabbed a kitchen knife and cut his throat.
“I don’t know what I just did. I didn’t mean to hurt myself; what is going on?” Dickie screamed, according to his father, Richard, who rushed his son to the hospital.
Despite surviving the initial mutilation, while the Sanders were sleeping, Dickie took a .22 rifle and shot himself in the head.
“Dickie would never have taken his life if he was not under the influence of this drug,” said Julie Sanders, an emergency room doctor. “I would never want to wish this on another family: the tragedy that we’ve gone through over this drug that was sold over the counter.”
Users of fake pot hope it will have the same effect as real marijuana, whose active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, Yeatman said. But those who believe that are sorely mistaken.
“The components are 20 to 100 times more potent than THC,” said Yeatman, adding that the synthetic components attach to the brain better than THC does.
Smokers of fake pot experience increased euphoria, rapid heartbeat, impaired memory, affected motor coordination and a “significant amount” of paranoia, Yeatman said.
Compounds in driver’s system were illegal
It’s unknown what type of effect fake pot had on Alexander Worrall, the man charged in the Gartmans’ crash at the corner of Old Boynton Road and South Military Trail in suburban Boynton Beach. But Worrall’s arrest report reveals some detail of what happened that day. Worrall told investigators that he was driving about 45-50 mph when he ran a red light. He added that he suspected the “PA microphone” on the driver’s floorboard had played a part in him not being able to stop. But investigators said they were unable to recreate an instance in which the microphone would prevent braking. Further, there was no damage to the microphone.
“It is probable that the driver … mistakenly stepped on the microphone instead of the brake,” the investigator wrote.
Worrall also will face charges of DUI with serious bodily injury and possession of a controlled substance because the compounds of fake pot found in his system were illegal at the time of the crash. Since the crash, Maurice has settled into a life without the woman with whom he fathered three children. He lives in Hollywood now, and there are “lots of things” to keep him busy. But he still misses the woman he fell in love with when she was 17 and he was 20, Maurice said.
“She was beautiful,” he said. “She was the best.”
WHAT IS SYNTHETIC POT?
Plant material that has been laced with man-made chemicals meant to immitate the “high” from marijuana. Some believe synthetic components in fake pot are 20 to 100 times more potent than THC. Smokers of fake pot can experience increased euphoria, rapid heartbeat, impaired memory, affected motor coordination and a “significant amount” of paranoia.
________________________________________
Substance Abuse in Uniform: Some Good Outside Advice
There’s a lot of really good stuff in the Institute of Medicine report released Monday on substance abuse inside the U.S. military. Much of the coverage focused on the problems of substance use after 11 years of war. I’d rather drill down on several of the report’s key recommendations:
“Recommendation 4: Policies of DoD and the individual branches should provide evidence-based diagnostic treatment and treatment processes.
The lack of integration of substance use disorder care, with behavioral health care and medical care, is highlighted in the report. One of the challenges, at least in the Army, the service I know best, is that substance abuse treatment does not belong to the medical department. It used to belong to personnel and now to Installation Management Command. This has been a continuous source of tension. For example, the latest advances in treatment of addictions are not part of treatment practice.
Recommendation 8: DoD should encourage each service branch to provide options for confidential treatment of alcohol use disorders.
Another issue is that referrals to substance use treatment are not confidential; referrals are reported to command. The Army started some options of confidential self-referral in a pilot program a few years ago. The IOM report encourages more of these, a positive move.
Recommendation 11: The individual service branches should restructure their SUD [substance use disorder] counseling workforces…
Bottom line: we need more physicians and other licensed providers in the mix. When I was on active duty we tried to improve the delivery of SUD care, but were hampered by many organizational and cultural barriers. Confidentiality was an enormous issue. Commanders wanted to know whether their service members were in treatment for substance abuse. We understood why the commanders wanted to know, but knew that service members shunned treatment if their command would find out. Likewise, service members worried about their security clearances. We were always trying to hire more substance abuse counselors, but the hiring process in the government is very cumbersome. Anyway there were not enough trained providers, which is why workforce growth is so important.
Let’s hope this independent report from some of the nation’s leaders in substance abuse will help.
Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/20/substance-abuse-in-uniform-some-good-outside-advice/#ixzz272E6O66H
________________________________________
Forget Fake IDs: Can Kids Buy Alcohol on eBay?
ABC News
The online marketplace eBay is a popular site for bidding on rare finds and selling your own household treasures, but resourceful teens might also find another use for it: scoring booze. While eBay prohibits the sale of all alcohol with the exception of some wines sold by licensed wine sellers, it does allow for the sale of collectible alcohol containers. The site's alcohol policy states that the seller of the container "will take all appropriate steps to ensure that the buyer is of lawful age in the buyer's and seller's jurisdiction."
But that didn't stop one teen who worked with "20/20" from obtaining alcohol through the site. We asked Xander, 13, to head to the site and try to buy liquor there. One vendor refused to sell his product when Xander and a "20/20" producer declined to send a copy of an ID showing that the buyer was of legal drinking age. But Xander was able to successfully place an order with two other vendors.
"All I had to do was type in vodka on the search bar, click one button and it can send it to my house," Xander told "20/20." (A "20/20" producer paid for the purchases.)
Weeks later, five bottles of vodka arrived at Xander's front door.
In a statement to "20/20," eBay reiterated its policy that it prohibits the general sale of alcohol and only allows sales of wine by pre-approved, licensed sellers.
"Sellers are required to take all appropriate steps to ensure that the buyer is of lawful age. We prohibit the general sale of alcohol and we have zero tolerance for anyone who violates our policies. When violations occur, we take appropriate action as we have done in this case," the company said. The company said it has taken action against the two vendors who sold alcohol to Xander.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that many Internet alcohol vendors fail to verify that customers are of legal drinking age. In a report on a study released in May, researchers said that underage study participants successfully ordered alcohol online 45 times from popular vendors, including eBay.
"With just a few clicks on their computer or smartphone, kids can order alcohol delivered to their home," lead study author Rebecca Williams, a research associate at UNC, said after the study's release. "We were amazed at how easy it was for minors to buy alcohol online."
Williams said that researchers found listings on eBay that were not in line with the site's own criteria for what constitutes an alcohol-related collectible. The site states that the contents of the collectible must not be intended for consumption, that the value of the item is in its container, not its contents, and that the item must not be available in any retail outlet.
"Our simple searches revealed countless unrestricted listings by the sellers of common liquors that clearly didn't meet any of the criteria, such as varieties of Bacardi rum available at any liquor store," Williams said.
In its statement to "20/20," eBay said "We continue to strengthen our policy enforcement efforts to ensure a trusted marketplace for our customers." What remains unclear, Williams said, is how often teens today are actually using eBay and other online retailers to purchase alcohol. A 2006 study sponsored by the wine industry found that just 2 percent of teens reported buying alcohol online. Williams said she hopes to do her own study on the subject, through a nationally representative survey, next year.
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