Author: The Fix

"Teen Mom OG" Star Ryan Edwards Arrested For Alleged Drug Possession

The arrest comes at a tumultuous time for Edwards who just announced that he quit Teen Mom OG over a network dispute.

Reality television star Ryan Edwards was arrested on July 23 on what appeared to be charges of drug possession.

Edwards, who recently announced that he and his spouse, Mackenzie Edwards, were leaving MTV’s Teen Mom OG series, was arrested and booked in Hamilton County, Tennessee on what was described by the county sheriff’s office as “previous charges or other reasons,” but listed in its inmate system as possession of a controlled substance.

Edwards, who on a 2017 episode of the series appeared to fall asleep at the wheel of a moving vehicle while allegedly under the influence of Xanax, was previously arrested in March of 2018 for violating probation related to 2017 charges for heroin possession.

According to E! News, no bond was set and Edwards is due in court on August 6.

Radar Online reported that the July 23 arrest was prompted by a petition to revoke for violation of the 2017 charge. He allegedly missed a May 21, 2018 court date, for which a warrant was issued for his arrest. Edwards is alleged to have resisted arrest when officers arrived for him on July 23.

The arrest comes at a tumultuous time for Edwards, who announced just three days prior to the arrest that he quit Teen Mom OG over the network’s alleged decision to write him and Mackenzie Edwards out of the series.

Mackenzie—who announced in March 2018 that she and Edwards were expecting their first child—told E! News on July 20 that MTV allegedly “told us they don’t want to show Ryan as a recovering addict.”

Edwards also alleged that his ex-girlfriend, Maci Bookout, with whom he has a nine-year-old son, refused to participate in filming for the series unless he left Teen Mom and returned to rehab.

“Maci can’t speak to Ryan and Ryan can’t speak to Maci—that was a mutual decision,” said Mackenzie. “But she doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives.” Edwards had previously sought treatment in May of 2017 after the heroin possession charge that year.

The March 2018 arrest for probation violation, which took place at Edwards’ home, also came shortly before Bookout filed for two orders of protection against Edwards, one for her current husband, Taylor McKinney, and the other for Bookout and her three children.

As Us Weekly noted, court documents show that Bookout alleged receiving threatening voicemails from Edwards, who also reportedly appeared at their son’s baseball game while under the influence of heroin and threatened to harm her. A judge granted both orders.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Maryland Hit With Record Number Of Fentanyl Deaths

“It’s terrifying that we’re at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don’t even know where the peak is,” said Baltimore’s health commissioner.

Maryland hit a sobering new milestone last year: The state saw more fentanyl deaths than ever before. And this year, it turns out, is already on track to set another disquieting record.

Of the state’s more than 2,200 intoxication deaths last year, roughly 90% were opioid-related and more than 1,500 involved fentanyl, according to health department data.

“It’s terrifying that we’re at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don’t even know where the peak is,” Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore’s health commissioner, told the Associated Press.

But that’s not true across the board. While fentanyl fatalities soared from 1,119 in 2016 to 1,594 last year in a more than 40% jump, heroin deaths are down 11% in the same period.

Prescription opioid fatalities are down a bit too, though cocaine deaths have jumped up some 49%. Most of that is likely due to the increasing appearance of fentanyl mixed in with coke, state officials said, according to the Washington Post.

Overall, the “large majority” of the fentanyl deaths occurred in Baltimore, the notoriously drug-riddled Charm City. There, 573 people died of fentanyl overdoses. Four years earlier, the city saw just 12 such fatalities. “That’s a 5,000% increase in four years,” Wen said.

The new data comes just over a year after Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in light of the ongoing opioid epidemic.

“We need to treat this crisis the exact same way we treat any other state emergency,” he said in a press conference at the time, while announcing an influx of roughly $50 million in funding to combat the problem. “As this crisis evolves, so must our response to it.”

The crisis in Maryland mirrors struggles playing out in states across the country as overdose deaths are driven up by the prevalence of dangerously strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl and the even stronger carfentanil.

So far, the problem doesn’t seem poised to improve in 2018. The first three months of the year notched up 653 accidental drug deaths in the state—and 500 of them involved fentanyl, state data showed.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Jeff Sessions: DOJ Won't Back Down On Marijuana Laws

“States have a right to set their own laws and will do so, and we will follow the federal law,” Sessions said.

At a Boston press conference about a federal sting operation that busted about two dozen people on immigration fraud, reporters went a bit off topic and asked U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about individual states’ rights to create and enforce their own marijuana laws.

Sessions was clear in his anti-marijuana stance, affirming that under his purview the Department of Justice will follow federal marijuana laws. “States have a right to set their own laws and will do so, and we will follow the federal law,” Sessions responded to the question.

Earlier this year, Sessions wrote a memo that reversed a decision by the Obama-era Department of Justice to be more hands-off when it comes to states that have legalized marijuana. “The previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission,” he wrote.

The question at the Boston press conference was pertinent because two years ago, the state of Massachusetts legalized marijuana, but as of now still has not set up systems for its retail sale and purchase in the state. If Sessions goes after Massachusetts dispensaries, it would be disastrous for such a budding industry.

“The American republic will not be better if there are marijuana sales on every street corner,” Sessions expanded on his answer.

The sentiment was reflective of a statement the attorney general made during a 2016 Senate hearing: “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Despite the threats he’s made about marijuana, Massachusetts cannabis regulators are not worried. They’re confident even after they start retailing marijuana in their state, that the federal government will not intrude.

Steve Hoffman, the chairperson of the Cannabis Control Commision, believes that a recent statement from one of Sessions’ federal attorneys, Andrew Lelling, seems to suggest that federal policy still resembles the previous hands-off policy.

Federal focus around marijuana enforcement, according to Lelling, is focused on three things: making sure marijuana isn’t being passed to illegal markets, making sure it isn’t being distributed to minors, and cracking down on criminals seeking to transport marijuana across state lines.

Hoffman is confident that the measures Massachusetts is putting in place will address these three priorities and thus the state will not draw Sessions’ ire.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Man Sues Prison For Addiction Medication Access

The 30-year-old at the center of the suit started using painkillers as a teen and was prescribed Suboxone five years ago.

Last week, the ACLU sued Maine’s prisons and one county jail over their continued refusal to give addiction medication to inmates.

Zachary Smith, who is scheduled to go to prison in September, filed a federal lawsuit targeting the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and Maine Department of Corrections, claiming violations of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and also of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Denying needed medication to people with opioid use disorders serves absolutely no good purpose, and actually undermines the important goal of keeping people off of opiates,” ACLU of Maine legal director Zachary Heiden said in a statement. “Going to prison shouldn’t be an automatic death sentence, but that is the chance we take when we cut prisoners off from adequate medical care.”

Failure to provide medication can lead to painful forced withdrawal and increase the risk of overdose.

The 30-year-old at the center of the suit started using painkillers as a teen and was prescribed Suboxone five years ago. “If I did not get on buprenorphine I’d probably be dead,” he told the Bangor Daily News.

He was denied access to his medication last year during a short stint in the county jail. So, once he knew he had prison time in his future—a nine-month sentence for domestic assault—Smith and the ACLU wrote a letter to the state’s correctional system requesting that he continue to receive his medication behind bars.

When they got no response, they filed suit.

Although medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is considered the standard of care on the outside, many county jails and state prisons refuse to provide it. In Maine, according to the Bangor paper, only Knox County Jail provides Suboxone, though the Penobscot County Jail offers another alternative, the injectable treatment Vivitrol.

Prison officials declined to comment.

“If we’re being sued, I can’t speak about that,” Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick told the Press Herald. “Once they’ve filed, I’m not able to comment.”

Though the legal action could be ground-breaking for Maine prisoners, it’s not the first of its kind. In June, the ACLU of Washington launched a class-action suit against a jail there for denying inmates access to methadone and Suboxone as part of a policy the organization called “harmful, unwise and illegal.”

“The ADA prohibits singling out a group of people because of their disability and denying them access to medical services to which they would otherwise be entitled,” the organization wrote at the time. “The Whatcom County Jail has a policy of denying people with (opioid use disorder) the medication they need while providing necessary medication to everyone else, which is discrimination.”

Two months earlier, advocates in Massachusetts publicly pondered a lawsuit there, even as federal prosecutors announced an investigation into whether failure to provide addiction medications is a violation of the ADA.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Anthony Hopkins On Alcoholism: I Was Disgusted, Busted & Not To Be Trusted

“I still cannot believe that my life is what it is because I should have died in Wales, drunk or something like that.”

It may be hard for some to imagine Anthony Hopkins as anything but a talented actor, but at a recent LEAP (Leadership, Excellence and Accelerating Your Potential) conference he shared how his alcoholism and lack of passion in acting could have left him a failure… or dead.

He revealed to an audience of high school and college students that he is incredibly thankful he was able to stop drinking when he did. He explained why he started in the first place.

“Because that’s what you do in theater, you drink,” he said. “I was very difficult to work with, as well, because I was usually hungover.”

Hopkins described himself in this era as “disgusted, busted and not to be trusted.” But at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a woman offered him what became life-changing advice: “Why don’t you put your trust in God?”

After taking the words to heart, Hopkins said he lost all desire to drink. If not for these transforming words, Hopkins believes his life would have turned out drastically different.

“I believe we are capable of so much,” he told the audience. “I still cannot believe that my life is what it is because I should have died in Wales, drunk or something like that.”

He also revealed that he grew up an “uptight loner” who was bullied and “not all that bright” when it came to his studies. He even admitted he went into theater because “he had nothing better to do.”

Despite all these struggles, he’s managed to become an Academy Award-winning actor. He posted about his life philosophy in a Twitter post that featured a photo of himself with Dr. Bill Dorfman, the founder of the LEAP Foundation: “Live life as if it’s impossible to fail.”

This isn’t the first time Hopkins delivered this message to an audience. In a 2017 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he expounded the virtues of persistence.

“Keep going, never give up,” he said on the show. “We get questions in our head and little voices that put us down when we were kids. Get over that. That’s what I had to do—get over whatever troubles.”

He mentioned that he keeps a photo of himself as a young boy on his phone, telling it, “We did okay, kid.”

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Jackie Kashian: From Drunk Driver to Hero of This Story

I would love to just check out with booze. But whatever I want to check out from will still be there when I sober up – plus whatever drunken stealing, screwing or hitting I did while I was drunk will have to be fixed.

Last summer, I had a 12-step sponsor who counted performing as a relapse: weed, alcohol, stand-up comedy. Those were the things I needed to stay away from. She promised I was building a foundation for a life “more profound than pussy jokes.” But that’s not a life I want. Without comedy, and before comedy, I never cared about my life enough to even want to stop drinking. This summer, my sponsor is a fellow comedian, but one who started comedy in sobriety. So I’m asking all my favorite sober stand-ups how they do comedy and stay sober. AT THE SAME TIME.

On Jackie Kashian’s website, there is a page of the advice she was given in 1986 as a new comic. It ends with: “You are a sweet, intelligent, powerful, exuberant comic.” Watching her perform at the Portland Maine Comedy festival a few weeks ago, I couldn’t come up with a more fitting description, other than to add on what she’s gained through the years: powerhouse. And one she rarely mentions: sober.

I first came across Jackie when I moved to NYC three years ago and began listening to her second podcast, “The Jackie and Laurie Show.” Jackie and her cohost Laurie Kilmartin had been there, done that, and sold the t-shirts. They are authentic, wise, and most importantly, hilarious. I spent my first year in the city feeling invisible, drinking intermittently (I bombed at an open mic! Time to throw away seven months and GET WASTED!) and waiting for their next episode to come out.

Her latest album may be called I Am Not the Hero of This Story, but she’s certainly a hero of mine.

The Fix: How did you get sober and continue to do comedy?

Jackie Kashian: I stopped drinking and “got sober” after I got my second DUI. One in Minnesota and one in California. So they both counted as “first DUI’s” because different states and we do not—still to this day and counting—have a national ID card. I couldn’t go on the road for three months which helped me get a solid block of time of me not drinking at comedy clubs in town. I would go do sets, get a Diet Coke and last as long as I could after the show. It wasn’t that long because watching people you like get drunk is not attractive. And not getting drunk was not fun.

Note: no one else was psyched when I got drunk… just me.

When I first went back on the road I was terrified. I was doing a run of one-nighters in Illinois and ended up featuring the week with this guy (I can’t remember his name but it was a city and a name, like Boston Bill but it was Charleston Chuck). He was a real road dog guy in the fact that he only worked the road. His stand-up was good for the one-nighters and I was worried he was going to be one of those guys that encouraged shots and tried to get laid. Turns out… that guy? He was 15 years offa the booze juice. And he was super supportive. So he didn’t get drunk. He didn’t cheat on his wife after the show and we had a couple brunches that week. It made me realize that it could be done. It was an awesome coincidence that helped a lot. And a friend of mine who’s sober also sent me on the road (it was a three week run) with 21 envelopes, one to be opened each day. Inside was the name of a famous writer, comic or whatever person who was sober. That was inspiring too.

What is the hardest thing about being sober in showbiz?

The hardest thing about being sober around comics and showbidness is that I have a constant committee meeting in my head telling me I’d be further along if I partied with so and so. I’m sure if I wanted to sleep around, the meeting minutes would be about how I’d get more work if I slept with more random dudes. It’s not true by the way. When I stopped drinking I was mostly scared of not being funny anymore. It turns out that life is, actually, more absurd stone cold sober.

What is the best?

The best thing about being sober is not being in jail for driving drunk. I’m sober so the things I get from not being drunk all stem from the fact that I drove drunk every night I drank. I never did have one shot and a beer. See how I didn’t just type one beer? I needed to add the shot. And I did stand-up at least four times a week and stand-up is most often in places with booze. So at least four nights a week I was drunk driving. The best results of not doing that… hell… let’s list them after not being arrested. I wake up without a hangover at a reasonable hour (let’s go with 9am because I’m a comic). Even if I screw around much of the day I can still be awake and writing and sending avails and asking for jobs and shows for two hours a day. That bare minimum of a work ethic gets me 40 weeks of work a year.

How do/did you deal with hanging around/with other comics?

I don’t do late hangs and have recently just been organizing brunch hangs with comics. I love hanging with comics and comics love an 11am something. So I invite comics to meet me at a diner around 11am every week and we riff and bust each other and talk shop and eat eggs. It’s the best.

Advice for the chronically relapsing comic?

Comics (and people, but comics a lot) are certain, because they’re so smart, that they can practice, think or work around the problems. I tried to stop drinking for a couple years before it took this time. I used to “practice” turning down drinks. Some woman once said to me a couple things: “Who’s offering you drinks in your mind?” She was right, because I was buying my own drinks. And “No is a complete sentence.” You don’t need to practice it. “No thank you” if you’re feeling polite.

How do you feel about selling booze (part of the job of a comedy show) as a former heavy drinker?

I am so interested in what everyone else is drinking. Saw a guy the other night at a comedy show – he had five glasses of wine. How do I know? I don’t remember counting them but hot damn, I was. I’m not a prohibitionist if that’s what you mean. I say, drink as long as you can. You’ll know if it’s screwing up your life. You know. I tell my nieces and nephews “if you treat it with the right amount of wariness you might last longer than me.” Unsaid is, “cuz yer probably a crummy drinker like me and will have to quit eventually.” Ah well.

Anything else?

Other than that… it’s a simple idea to not drink. But things that are simple are not easy, right? It’s like you’re banging your head against a door. It’s the right door but that doesn’t mean that your head doesn’t hurt. I don’t know if that analogy works. But maybe you get it. It’s a simple idea… but I have to remind myself all the time that I don’t drink. Because I would dearly love to check the fuck out and booze is really good at making that happen. But whatever I want to check out from will still be there when I sober up – plus whatever drunken stealing, screwing or hitting I did while I was drunk will have to be fixed. So I’ll have double the nonsense to fix. Sober is preferable to fixing double the nonsense. Best not have the drink.

***

I spent some time last spring after my winter relapse (like an old familiar scarf that you’re also allergic to) introducing a joke about alcoholism by saying, “If you’re thinking of buying me a drink after the show, don’t!” But when I read Jackie’s answers to my questions, I realized that scenario was only happening in my mind. Nobody was thinking of buying me a drink after the show. Except for me, trying to put the responsibility on the audience.

Recovery is not about running from all you love so you can hide away in a safe space with no triggers. That former sponsor who told me to stay away from comedy was a would-be photographer with almost ten years clean – and still not feeling ready to pursue that dream. Recovery is about taking away the thing that is slowing you down – the active addiction- so that all is left is to run towards what you love.

Jackie is fond of saying: “Tonight I get to do my favorite thing in the world, stand-up comedy.” If you’re still searching for your passion, check out Jackie’s original podcast, Dork Forest. It’s 476 episodes of people talking about their favorite things in the world.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
People With Depression Miss Fewer Days In Supportive Workplaces

Researchers examined workplace policies and even varying gross domestic product for a recent global study on working with depression.

People with depression miss fewer days of work if they are employed somewhere that supports them in their illness, a new study has found.

The study, published in The British Medical Journal, looked at workers in 15 countries. It found that workers with self-reported depression who have managers who support and assist them miss fewer days of work, lessening the economic impact of their disease.

“Working in an environment where managers felt comfortable to offer help and support to the employee rather than avoid them was independently associated with less absenteeism and more presenteeism,” the authors concluded.

Supportive workplaces might have formal policies for handling mental health issues, time-off policies that allow for mental health episodes, or a system for referring people to mental health care. All of these can result in fewer missed days of work and therefore a lower economic impact of depression.

“We know that supportive managers and workplace practices are associated with greater openness and disclosure, in addition to more positive attitudes towards employees with depression,” the study authors write.

In addition to looking at differing workplace policies, the study authors looked at differences in support for depression in countries with varying gross domestic product (GDP). In countries with lower GDPs, people with depression were more likely to miss days of work, possibly because there are fewer resources available than in countries with higher GDPs.

“Country contextual factors such as country GDP and financial resources can also influence the availability of support and potential for investment,” authors wrote.

While this might be expected, study authors found that managers’ reactions to employees with depression were “at least as important” as a country’s GDP in predicting how often the employee would miss work.

Researchers also examined how social pressures impacted employees’ presence at work. They found that employees with depression were less likely to disclose their condition in Asian countries compared with Western countries, likely because of stigma around mental health in those places.

“Workplace policies and practices are likely to reflect broader sociocultural attitudes and beliefs about mental health and societal values about investment in prevention and support for people with mental health problems,” authors wrote.

“This may influence workplace culture in relation to openness and comfort in discussing mental health issues. Previous research has shown that a cultural context which is more open and accepting of mental illness is associated with higher rates of help-seeking, antidepressant use and empowerment.”

View the original article at thefix.com

28 July 2018
Opioid Prescribing Varies Widely By Region, Study Shows

In some states, patients were up to three times more likely to be prescribed opioids.

Whether or not patients are prescribed opioids in the emergency room and how many of the pills they get varies widely by region, according to a new study, suggesting that despite increased awareness about the dangers of opioids there is still plenty of room to cut down on unnecessary prescribing.

According to Science Daily, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine examined insurance claims to see how patients presenting with sprained ankles were treated for pain.

In some states, patients were up to three times more likely to be prescribed opioids. Researchers also found that people who received more opioid pills were five times more likely to fill an additional opioid prescription over the following six months.

“Although opioids are not—and should not—be the first-line of treatment for an ankle sprain, our study shows that opioid prescribing for these minor injuries is still common and far too variable,” said M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology at Penn who led the study.

“Given that we cannot explain this variation after adjusting for differences in patient characteristics, this study highlights opportunities to reduce the number of people exposed to prescription opioids for the first time and also to reduce the exposure to riskier high-intensity prescriptions,” Delgado said.

The study examined more than 30,000 patient records and found that 25% were given opioids.

“Although prescribing is decreasing overall, in 2015 nearly [25%] of patients who presented with an ankle sprain were still given an opioid, a modest decrease from 28% in 2011,” Delgado said. “By drilling down on specific common indications as we did with ankle sprains, we can better develop indicators to monitor efforts to reduce excessive prescribing for acute pain.”

Researchers found that there was a huge variation between states in the percentage of patients given opioids. For example, only 3% of patients received an opioid prescription in North Dakota, compared to 40% in Arkansas. If states with above-average prescribing were reduced to the average amount, 18,000 fewer opioids pills would be prescribed each year.

In addition, if all patients were given the smallest supply of opioids, usually 10-12 pills, there would be a significant reduction in the number of pills distributed.

“Simply making these amounts the default setting electronic medical record orders could go a long way in reducing excessive prescribing as our previous work has shown,” Delgado said, noting that the concept could be expanded to other areas of care.

“It would be great to see analyses such as ours replicated in other settings, such as post-operative prescribing, where prescriptions are higher intensity. In these settings there may be greater opportunities to decrease transitions to prolonged opioid use by reducing excessive prescribing.”

View the original article at thefix.com

27 July 2018
Could Ketamine Replace Opioids In The ER?

A new study examined whether ketamine could work as an alternative to opioids for pain relief in an emergency room setting.

Ketamine could be a viable option for acute pain relief, working at least as well as morphine, according to a new medical review.

“Ketamine appears to be a legitimate and safe alternative to opioids for treating acute pain in the emergency department. Emergency physicians can feel comfortable using it instead of opioids,” Dr. Evan Schwarz, senior study author, said according to Medical News Today.

Schwarz led a team of researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who reviewed the experience of 261 patients who were given only ketamine to treat their pain in the emergency room.

The researchers found that ketamine was as effective as morphine for pain relief. There were no severe adverse affects reported, although ketamine did have a higher instance of minor adverse affects. Overall, however, the study authors concluded that ketamine is an effective pain relief tool.

“Ketamine is noninferior to morphine for the control of acute pain, indicating that ketamine can be considered as an alternative to opioids for ED short‐term pain control,” study authors wrote.

Ketamine, which is a well-known party drug, was approved for medical use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970. Since then it has been used as an anesthetic. It is also sometimes used in conjunction with opioids for pain relief. However, the new study indicates that low-dose ketamine can provide pain relief even when it is used alone.

With more healthcare providers looking for alternative pain treatments that do not involve opioids, this is a promising finding. Ketamine is not addictive and does not cause respiratory depression, two conditions that are the main risk factors when using opioids to treat pain, particularly in older patients.

The study looked at a relatively small number of patients. However, authors said that its findings indicate that more research is needed into using ketamine as a potentially safer pain-relief option for acute pain.

“Opioids are commonly prescribed in the emergency department (ED) for the treatment of acute pain,” study authors wrote. “Analgesic alternatives are being explored in response to an epidemic of opioid misuse. Low‐dose ketamine (LDK) is one opioid alternative for the treatment of acute pain in the ED.”

Ketamine has been showing promise for treating a variety of conditions. Earlier this year, ketamine nasal spray was shown to quickly reduce suicidal ideation in patients being treated in the emergency room.

View the original article at thefix.com

27 July 2018
Massive Study On Driving High To Take Place In California

The study aims to give law enforcement more accurate parameters in which to determine a driver’s intoxication level after using marijuana.

As marijuana gains legal status in more states, one of the central concerns among legal, law enforcement and medical professionals remains how cannabis use may impact driving.

Studies vary as to whether driving under the influence of alcohol or pot presents more of a danger, which has prompted institutions like the University of California-San Diego to seek hard data on the subject.

As High Times has reported, the school’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) is currently recruiting individuals to participate in its hands-on study of cannabis’ impact on driving, which requires them to ingest smokeable marijuana before using the center’s driving simulator.

The goal is to provide both police and laboratories with more accurate parameters on which to determine a driver’s intoxication level after using marijuana.

The study, which according to High Times, is the largest of its kind to date, requires potential candidates to make an initial appointment with researchers to determine eligibility.

If accepted, the participant is paid $50, and returns for a full day assessment, during which they are given a joint to smoke; the study involves a variety of joints rolled on the site, as High Times indicates, and with varying amounts of THC, including ones with none of the psychoactive agent at all.

Participants then use the center’s driving simulator and complete iPad-based performance assessments, which focus on memory, attention and motor skills. A field sobriety test is then given before blood and saliva samples are collected from them. Once all the data has been obtained, participants are paid an additional $180.

The goal of the study is not to determine if one’s driving can be impaired by using marijuana, but rather, to determine the duration and level of impairment.

“If you smoked this morning, are you impaired throughout the day?” said Tom Marcotte, co-director of the CMCR. “Are you impaired for a couple of hours? Or are you not impaired? We’re trying to answer that.”

Ultimately, the researchers hope to improve field sobriety tests for marijuana use, which in their current form are used by law enforcement but considered unreliable in regard to determining THC levels in breath or fluid samples. In some cases, field sobriety tests cannot be used as evidence to determine whether a driver was impaired while behind the wheel.

View the original article at thefix.com

27 July 2018