Since late 2014, when the California Department of Corrections launched a statewide program to end the flourishing market for illegal drugs in its penitentiaries, drug use has actually increased. The $8 million plan, which included the purchase of drug-detecting scanners and drug-sniffing dogs, was put […]
For the estimated 2.2 million Americans suffering an addiction to prescription painkillers or heroin, federal regulations have it made it difficult to get legal access to a medication that can save their lives. Buprenorphine + Naloxone ease the physically painful squeeze of opiate addiction when […]
This November, registered California voters will decide whether or not to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), aka Prop 64, received official clearance in June from the Secretary of State’s office after the initiative surpassed the 600,000 signatures […]
The average American medicine cabinet is generally a time-lapse snapshot of who suffered what and how long ago. According to a study released in JAMA Internal Medicine, 66 percent of people keep leftover, unused medications after they’ve stopped using them. Many of these unused prescription […]
Almost four decades ago, the then governor of California signed into law a bill requiring prisons to make punishment and incapacitation, rather than rehabilitation, the primary goals of state penal facilities. As a result, the prison population went from around 20,000 people to 172,000 and […]
Here’s an interesting fact that many people are likely unaware of; regardless of what illness the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a medication for, physicians are free to prescribe that same drug for any other condition they deem medically appropriate. This practice, referred to […]
In rural Southeastern Indiana, the city of Austin is home to a small community of 4,200 citizens. The quaint township has had an operating post office since 1854. Now, however, the city is home to one of the worst outbreaks of HIV in U.S. history. […]
Pushback against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as simply a psychological condition rather than a physical brain injury began about 10 years ago. The attachment to the emotional horrors made sense. But the idea that soldiers exposed to the rigors of combat were not sustaining unseen […]
Resistance to change is a normal human impulse. Even in the worst of circumstances, the familiar is often more comfortable than trying to rework a bad situation. When meaningful change does occur, as it has in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a small fishing town just shy of […]
An estimated 24 million people suffer from addiction or dependency to drugs and alcohol in the United States. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that only 11 percent – 2.6 million – receive the treatment they need. The PHP […]
