Category Archives: Drug Dependency

ORANGE (AP) Nadia Lockyer, the estranged wife of state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and a former Alameda County supervisor, was charged with drug possession and child abuse after police found her with methamphetamine in an Orange County house where she was staying with her 9-year-old son, prosecutors said Wednesday. The charges are the latest in a series of public substance abuse and relationship struggles faced by Lockyer, 41, who until recently was considered a rising star in Northern California government. Bill Lockyer, 71, the states former attorney general and current treasurer who helped his wife with campaign funding when she won her supervisor seat in 2010, has filed for divorce and is seeking joint custody of their son. She resigned from the seat in April following a string of bizarre public incidents that she blamed on chemical dependency. Police in Orange received a tip last week that led them to a house where Nadia Lockyer was staying with relatives, district attorneys spokeswoman Farrah Emami said. Lockyer wasnt home, but officers found methamphetamine with paraphernalia used for smoking it. Later when they found Lockyer, she showed objective signs of meth intoxication and she was arrested, Emami said. Lockyer pleaded not guilty Aug. … Continue reading →

BALTIMORE, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --AmeritoxSM, the nation's leader in Medication Monitoring Solutions, today announced that national experts in pain management will hold a Lunch Symposium during PAINWeek in Las Vegas to discuss best practices and consensus recommendations for urine drug monitoring of patients on long-term opioid therapy the most current and comprehensive recommendations of their kind. Intended to answer key questions that physicians may have about medication monitoring for chronic pain patients on long-term prescription regimens, the Symposium will be held from 12:30 2 p.m., Friday, September 7, at the Condesa Room in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and led by national experts and co-authors of "Recommendations For Urine Drug Monitoring For Patients On Long-Term Opioid Therapy": "Our goal in creating these consensus recommendations was to bring uniformity to the use of pain medication monitoring an increasingly important tool for physicians, as they work to provide relief to patients suffering from chronic pain, while also protecting patient and public safety," said Dr. Peppin. "As doctors who are trying to treat people with pain come under increasing scrutiny, practitioners are being required to monitor patients through Urine Drug Monitoring. These recommendations can help assure practitioners who may not feel completely … Continue reading →

SACRAMENTO The deaths of four clients of a Riverside County residential drug-treatment program highlight the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs inability to enforce its rules, according to a state Senate investigation. State law does not permit Californias several hundred residential drug-treatment centers to provide medical treatment. The report by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, though, discovered repeated cases of centers advertising medical care and accepting seriously ill patients. The deaths at A Better Tomorrow program on Irongate Way in Murrieta occurred in 2008, 2009 and 2010. State regulators absolved A Better Tomorrow of any wrongdoing in the March 2008 death and did not investigate two more deaths in 2009 until after the fourth death in 2010. In November 2010, the state moved to shut down the Murrieta facility but the house in which the program operated already had been foreclosed upon. A Better Tomorrow continues to operate programs around Southern California, including Riverside County, according to the firms website. Two former employees told the reports author that the same type of activity continues elsewhere. The company did not respond to requests for comment via its website and by phone. Tuesdays report recommends that state lawmakers consider … Continue reading →

Nadia Lockyer, the estranged wife of state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and a former Alameda County supervisor, was charged with drug possession and child abuse after police found her with methamphetamine in an Orange County house where she was staying with her 9-year-old son, prosecutors said Wednesday. The charges are the latest in a series of public substance abuse and relationship struggles faced by Lockyer, 41, who until recently was considered a rising star in Northern California government. Bill Lockyer, 71, the state's former attorney general and current treasurer who helped his wife with campaign funding when she won her supervisor seat in 2010, has filed for divorce and is seeking joint custody of their son. She resigned from the seat in April following a string of bizarre public incidents that she blamed on chemical dependency. Police in Orange received a tip last week that led them to a house where Nadia Lockyer was staying with relatives, district attorney's spokeswoman Farrah Emami said. AP Lockyer wasn't home, but officers found methamphetamine and paraphernalia used for smoking it. Later, when they found Lockyer, she showed "objective signs" of meth intoxication and she was arrested, Emami said. Lockyer pleaded not guilty Aug. 30 … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA's) Department of Family Medicine/Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine, and MediciNova, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (MNOV) and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced approval and funding by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, of a Phase 2 clinical trial studying the use of MN-166 (ibudilast) for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction. Building on an ongoing UCLA MN-166 Phase 1b safety trial, NIDA has now awarded grant funding for a statistically powered Phase 2 outpatient study in methamphetamine addicts. MediciNova will provide drug supply and regulatory support for the Phase 2 trial. "UCLA has long recognized the danger of methamphetamine abuse, and NIDA has actively supported our research on understanding methamphetamine's effects on the brain and behavior in order to develop prevention and treatment strategies, including medications," said Steven Shoptaw, Ph.D., Professor, UCLA Departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. "Methamphetamine addiction is a tremendous societal burden and also contributes to healthcare costs from premature conditions such as heart attacks … Continue reading →

The directors of The Employment Source and the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce say they are concerned about a growing trend: Individuals unable to enter the job market because they cant pass initial drug screenings. Its a real frustration for local companies because of the large number of applicants that fail a drug screening, said Scott Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce. Local companies have brought the issue to his attention, Robinson said. Now, The Employment Source and the chamber, along with other organizations, are working together to conduct a survey to identify work force needs in the county. Robinson said they hope to learn exactly how much drugs and alcohol are interfering with the county work force. Liz Carter runs Elizabeth Carter Consulting, based in New Concord. She specializes in training in the oil and gas industry. A former human resources coordinator for a large oil and gas company, Carter said there is a problem. Based on my personal experience, I would say that at least one out of 15 potential employees would test positive for pre-employment drug testing. However, most employees are aware that they will have to test for a … Continue reading →

Sept. 1, 2012, 4 a.m. A GEURIE man has escaped combined maximum jail sentences totalling 24 years after pleading guilty to firearm and drug possession charges in Dubbo Local Court. Adam James Edwards, 27, faced Magistrate Andrew Eckhold on two charges of possessing unauthorised firearms, two charges of possessing ammunition without authority, two charges of failing to keep a firearm safely and one charge of possessing a prohibited drug. The charges involved a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun, an air rifle and a quantity of cannabis. The court heard the unauthorised firearm charges were aggravated by the fact the shotgun was loaded with ammunition and stored in a cupboard. A solicitor representing Edwards said there were no children in the house. Magistrate Eckhold said it would not be hard for anyone to find a shotgun wrapped in a pair of jeans. The solicitor said Edwards used cannabis for pain associated with a back condition. He has halved his drug use and would be willing to participate in drug and alcohol programs, the solicitor said. Magistrate Eckhold said medication prescribed by a doctor would be more effective for pain relief than an illegal drug associated with major health problems. You have a … Continue reading →

Whats wrong with you people? Welfare is not a black thing, and its not a single-mom thing. American-style welfare is a host of programs that the colonies originally imported from the Brits to give a handout and a hand up to poor folks. Unfortunately, the 1929 stock crash, Great Depression and two world wars exacerbated our nations economic problems and highlighted the hand-to-mouth straits facing ordinary Americans. Today, the welfare system is a plethora of programs including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, Medicare and other health-care subsidies, food stamps, housing subsidies, and feeding programs in schools. The Women, Infants and Children program, commonly known as WIC, targets pregnant women and young children. Employment programs are wrapped into the welfare bundle as well, helping to hand out big public bucks to organizations and businesses that espouse job training and counseling programs. There are also handouts for clothing, transportation and day care. We have a moral obligation to help the truly needy. But dependence on government help can become a drug. When hustlers find loopholes, they also find it easier to get paid by pretending they are in search of self-reliance rather than getting out there, pounding the pavement and … Continue reading →

Published: 10:28AM Tuesday August 28, 2012 Social Development Minister Paula Bennett - Source: ONE News Drug testing beneficiaries will be "too expensive and it won't work", the Green Party says. Details of the Government's welfare reforms were announced this morning, with Social Development Minister Paula Bennett warning unemployed beneficiaries required to look for work that they would face sanctions if their recreational drug-taking interfered with their ability to accept jobs. "Recreational drug use is simply not an acceptable excuse for avoiding available work," she said. The current welfare system allows unemployed beneficiaries to decline an application for a job if it requires an initial drug test. The Ministry of Health is warning that the move will cost the Government up to $14 million dollars a year, while only saving around $7 million. Bennett predicts better savings than the Ministry of Health. "The savings are estimated around $10.5 million so we certainly think it's more about savings than cost." However, Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said all of the advice she has received says its "too expensive and it won't work". Original post: Job-seekers to lose benefits for failed drug tests … Continue reading →

Paula Bennett Social Development Minister Paula Bennett announced today pre-employment drug testing would take effect from next July and beneficiaries with work expectations would face sanctions if they refused to apply for drug-tested jobs. Around 40 percent of the jobs listed with Work and Income require drug tests and the policy will apply only to those with a work expectation attached to their benefit and only for available work opportunities requiring drug tests. Currently an unemployment beneficiary can decline to apply for an available drug-tested job, because they won't pass the test, without consequence. Work and Income have announced they will reimburse employers for test failures but beneficiaries who fail a test will have the cost of the drug test deducted from their benefit. "Where people fail a drug test or refuse to apply for a drug tested job, they must agree to stop using drugs or their benefit will be cut by 50 percent. They will be given 30 days to allow any drugs they have taken to leave their system. "Where they fail a test or refuse a second time, they will have their benefit suspended until they agree that they will provide a 'clean' drug test within … Continue reading →