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  • Huge Cannabis Industry Deal Suggests Federal Legalization Could Be Close

    Huge Cannabis Industry Deal Suggests Federal Legalization Could Be Close

    Rumors of federal cannabis legalization have been brewing ever since key anti-cannabis leaders have left the White House.

    A multi-billion dollar deal between two big cannabis companies could signal that the end of prohibition is near, according to an article in Forbes.

    Canopy Growth, the biggest cannabis company in the world, recently signed a $3.4 billion agreement to acquire the well-known U.S. medical marijuana firm Acreage Holdings.

    However, this deal will not go into effect until after cannabis becomes federally legal in the country.

    Industry experts are now speculating that such a big deal between cannabis companies that are powerful enough to have lobbyists in Washington, D.C. could mean that there is a yet-unannounced plan to legalize the drug soon—perhaps even within the year.

    “Our right to acquire Acreage secures our entrance strategy into the United States as soon as a federally-permissible pathway exists,” reads the Canopy Growth press release on the merger.

    Mike Adams of Forbes and Cannabis Now notes that the company that makes Corona beer owns 37% of Canopy Growth’s equity and has been working with them to make THC-infused beverages in Canada. It looks like “Big Alcohol is becoming Big Cannabis,” Adams writes.

    Rumors of imminent federal cannabis legalization have been brewing ever since shakeups in the White House have removed some key anti-cannabis leaders and replaced them with individuals with a more accepting view on the drug, which remains in the federal Schedule I classification alongside heroin.

    In November 2018, former House Rules Committee chairman Pete Sessions lost his bid for re-election. Sessions was known for blocking any pro-cannabis legislation that came up, which he could do in his position as chairman. With him gone, as well as former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, there is now a clear path for legalization.

    “This is the first Congress in history where, going into it, it seems that broad marijuana reforms are actually achievable,” said Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment early this year.

    At the same time, in February the World Health Organization (WHO) called on the UN to reclassify cannabis to recognize the substance’s medical applications. Like in the U.S., the UN still has cannabis under its most tightly regulated classification and considers it to be “particularly dangerous.” WHO argued in their report that the current classification has fallen behind modern research.

    “The World Health Organization has proposed rescheduling cannabis within international law to take account of the growing evidence for medical applications of the drug, reversing its position held for the past 60 years that cannabis should not be used in legitimate medical practice,” the report reads.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jails Struggle With Being The Nation’s Primary Detox, Treatment Centers

    Jails Struggle With Being The Nation’s Primary Detox, Treatment Centers

    One Massachusetts sheriff estimates that 80 to 90% of the prisoners in his jail have a substance use disorder.

    By some estimates up to two-thirds of prisoners in county jails around the country have some sort of substance use disorder, which has made jails the nation’s primary detox and treatment centers, a role they are often ill-equipped for.

    “It was never traditionally the function of jail to be a treatment provider, nor to be the primary provider of detoxification in the country — which is what they have become, so with the opioid epidemic, jails are scrambling to catch up,” Andrew Klein, a research scientist with Advocates for Human Potential, a company that works with jails to facilitate treatment, told NPR.

    Peter Koutoujian, sheriff of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, says that jails have become a catch-all system for people who fall through the cracks. 

    “We have not been able to get our hands around it because, quite honestly, society has not gotten its hand around either preventing [drug-addicted] people from coming into our institutions or supporting them once they get back outside,” he said. “The fact is you shouldn’t have to come to jail to get good [treatment] programming. You should be able to get that in your own community so you don’t have to have your life disrupted by becoming incarcerated.”

    And yet Koutoujian estimates that 80-90 percent of prisoners in his jail have a substance use disorder. 

    Increasingly, jails are stepping up to try to figure out how to help people get treatment while they are locked up. The National Sheriff’s Association recently put out guidelines for delivering medication-assisted treatment in jails. Still, many law enforcement officials are wary of using medication-assisted treatment, the established best practice for treating opioid addiction, because the medications can be diverted or abused in the jail. Only about 12 percent of jails offer MAT, but that is good progress, Klein said. 

    “Although this number is not the majority of jails, five years ago it was zero. And the number is increasing every week,” he said. 

    In order to save lives, jails need to consider not only keeping people sober when they’re inside, but also how to help them stay sober once they’re released, said Carlos Morales the director of correctional health services for California’s San Mateo County. 

    “We know if you are an opiate user you come in here, you detox, and you go out — it’s a 40 percent chance of OD-ing,” he said. “And we have the potential to do something about it.”

    However, Koutoujian said that MAT alone is not the answer. 

    “Medication-assisted treatment is very important but people have to remember if you do the medication without the treatment portion — the counseling and the supports — it will fail. And we will just fall prey to another easy solution that just simply does not work.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Harm Reduction Advocate Who Lost Son To Overdose Joins Drug Policy Alliance

    Harm Reduction Advocate Who Lost Son To Overdose Joins Drug Policy Alliance

    In her new role, Joy Fishman is working on behalf of the legacy of both her husband, who invented naloxone, and her son.

    Her husband invented naloxone. But that wasn’t enough to save her son from a fatal opioid overdose. Now, Joy Fishman channels her grief through advocacy for harm reduction policies toward drug use.

    To further her important work—including expanding syringe access programs in Florida—Fishman has joined the Drug Policy Alliance as its newest board member.

    The drug policy organization announced in early April that Fishman will be joining its Board of Directors.

    Her late husband, Jack Fishman, was the first to synthesize naloxone in 1961. In 1971, the drug was approved by the FDA. But Fishman never profited from the enormous potential of the opioid antagonist. He let the original patent expire and did not reapply for one, allowing Big Pharma to get a hold of it.

    Demand for the lifesaving medication significantly expanded over the last decade as the opioid epidemic’s death toll increased. Through the advocacy of organizations like the Drug Policy Alliance, naloxone has become a household name.

    Last April, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged more people to carry naloxone so they may be equipped to save a life. “Each day we lose 115 Americans to an opioid overdose—that’s one person every 12.5 minutes,” said Adams. “It is time to make sure more people have access to this lifesaving medication, because 77% of opioid overdose deaths occur outside of a medical setting and more than half occur at home.”

    In 2003, it wasn’t as easy to access naloxone. That year, Joy’s son Jonathan died from a heroin overdose. “It never even occurred to us that naloxone could save Jonathan,” Joy said to the Huffington Post in 2014. “Back then we didn’t think of naloxone as a household item. Doctors weren’t writing take-home prescriptions for it. It was hard for Jack to get naloxone even though he invented it!”

    Jack Fishman regretted that he couldn’t prevent the death of his stepson. “One of Jack’s greatest sadnesses was that he couldn’t save my brother,” said Julie Stampler, Jonathan’s sister. “Jack had invented naloxone so many years ago that he had no connection to it anymore.”

    With her new role at the Drug Policy Alliance, Fishman is working on behalf of the legacy of both her husband and her son. Expanding access to naloxone is just one of her goals.

    At the 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, Fishman accepted the Norman E. Zinberg Award for Achievement in the Field of Medicine on behalf of her husband.

    “I don’t want any more mothers to experience the same pain I have,” she said. “I’m not a fearless person, but I have drawn strength from the Drug Policy Alliance and their work. I feel such immense gratitude to be able to collaborate with them to honor the life of my son and to fulfill the promise of my husband’s work.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger Told Son To Skip Pot, Get High On Life

    Arnold Schwarzenegger Told Son To Skip Pot, Get High On Life

    Arnold’s son Patrick took to Instagram to reveal a conversation with his dad that led him to stop smoking marijuana.

    Movie star and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger terminated his son’s pot habit with some well-timed fatherly advice. 

    Four years ago Arnold Schwarzenegger told his son Patrick, now 25, to skip the weed and get “high on life” after Patrick showed up to Easter brunch stoned. 

    Patrick shared the story on Instagram this weekend, which fell on both Easter and 4/20. 

    “FUN STORY: Few years ago (4 exactly) showed up lil high to Easter brunch… classic. My old man asked why… said ‘I dunno makes thing more fun.’”

    Arnold wasn’t convinced and told his son he shouldn’t need drugs to appreciate life.  

    “He replied how much more fun do you need to have, life is so good. I’m high on life. I never want anything that would take me out of my current life. Being high on life is better then [sic] anything else,” Patrick recalled in his Instagram post. 

    The off-handed conversation had a lasting effect on Patrick, who is following in his dad’s footsteps and working as an actor and model. 

    “Haven’t smoked since then… just HIGH ON LIFE NOW,” he wrote. “Happy & healthy & can’t thank god enough to see another day!” he wrote alongside a smiling selfie of him flashing a peace sign. “Happy 4/20 sorry if that was a buzz kill lol.”

    Schwarzenegger was serious about smoking pot when it came to his family, but as governor of California was relatively pot-friendly.

    When he was governor he downgraded the penalty for possessing pot, long before recreational cannabis use became legal in the state. However, at the time he wasn’t ready to speak out in favor of legalization. 

    “Well, I think it’s not time for that, but I think it’s time for a debate,” he said in 2009, according to the Guardian. “I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues [are worth considering]… I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs. What effect did it have on those countries?”

    During Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilder years he appeared in a documentary taking a hit of marijuana. 

    He also joked about sharing a joint with Obama back in the 1970s, something that never actually happened. However, Schwarzenegger made an elaborate sketch about how the then-president wouldn’t share. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Trump On Opioid Epidemic: We're Making Tremendous Progress

    Trump On Opioid Epidemic: We're Making Tremendous Progress

    Trump discussed the opioid epidemic and addiction treatment funding during the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit.

    This week, the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit convened in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual summit (April 22-25) is attended by everyone who has a stake in the national drug crisis—people from the mental health field, law enforcement, health care, government, research and people in recovery.

    Among this year’s speakers are James Carroll, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. President Barack Obama and Patrick Kennedy have also attended the conference in years past.

    On the third day of the summit (April 24), Donald Trump and First Lady Melania came to address the summit.

    “Everyone here today is united by the same vital goal—to liberate our fellow Americans from the grip of drug addiction and to end the opioid crisis once and for all. It’s happening. It’s happening,” said Trump.

    The president outlined his administration’s efforts to mitigate the crisis thus far.

    “My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you, to support you and fight right by your side, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

    Trump cited the unprecedented amount of funding dedicated to fighting the opioid crisis under his administration—including a two-year plan to use $6 billion to fight opioid abuse—and didn’t hesitate to take credit for making “a tremendous amount of progress” in pushing back the deadly epidemic.

    “We have results that are unbelievable. Numbers that I heard, two weeks ago, that I was shocked to hear. We’re making tremendous progress,” he said.

    Naturally, the border wall was a highlight of Trump’s anti-drug plan. The president claimed that 90% of heroin is coming through the southern border, and said that construction is “probably ahead of schedule” on building “almost 400 miles of wall built by the end of next year.” The barrier will have a “tremendous impact on drugs coming into our country,” Trump promised. “You’re going to see some very, very big differences in the coming months.”

    Another feature of his plan to mitigate the painful effects of drug abuse across the U.S. was negotiating “a very big trade deal” with China—where “almost all fentanyl” comes from, according to the president—to prevent the synthetic opioid from being shipped to the U.S.

    In October 2017, Trump declared that the opioid crisis was a public health emergency.

    While he has brought attention to the national opioid crisis, critics aren’t convinced that the government’s anti-drug efforts have actually made a dent.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Health Damage From Addiction An Issue For Many In Sobriety

    Health Damage From Addiction An Issue For Many In Sobriety

    A recent study examined the medical burdens that people in recovery face from alcohol or drug abuse.

    For many recovering from addiction, the damage done to their health remains an issue well into sobriety. Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute in Boston carried out a study that examined the medical burden of people in recovery from alcohol or drug abuse.

    Published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the paper included over 2,000 subjects in active recovery from the 2017 National Recovery Survey.

    Around 37% of this sample had received a diagnosis of one or more of these medical issues: liver disease, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, tuberculosis, and diabetes, cancer and hepatitis C.

    David Eddie, PhD, is a research scientist and the lead author of the published study. He told Medical News Today, “The prodigious psychological, social, and interpersonal impact of excessive and chronic alcohol and other drug use is well-characterized. Less well-appreciated is the physical disease burden, especially among those who have successfully resolved a significant substance use problem.”

    The conclusion of the study was that COPD, heart disease and diabetes all were more prevalent in the recovery sample group than in the general population.

    The type of substance most associated with the respondent correlated with the burden of the disease.

    Some examples listed in Medical News Today include: hepatitis C correlated to the opioid and stimulant groups (versus the alcohol group); HIV and sexually transmitted infections correlated to the stimulant group than the alcohol group; heart disease appeared the least in the opioid group; diabetes was least seen in the marijuana group, and there was no notable difference found in the prevalence of tuberculosis and COPD.

    Chronic inflammation may be an underlying association between drug or alcohol abuse and physical disease. Alcohol is known to be problematic; the World Journal of Gastroenterology states that chronic usage of alcohol can lead to systemic inflammation.

    Certain findings were expected, while others were surprising. Further research is needed to pinpoint the variations between expected cause and effect.

    Eddie noted an example to Medical News Today, “Those citing cannabis as their primary substance did not have lower rates of alcohol-related liver disease than participants who primarily used alcohol. It may be that these individuals had prior histories of heavy alcohol involvement.”

    In this study, the participants had a 4% to 7% higher risk of having two or more chronic illnesses, with factors such as additional substance use 10 or more times, being older when developing a disease, and the time in life when recovery began.

    Not surprisingly, factors like younger age, social stability and economic resources greatly reduced the risk of ongoing disease.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Forced Addiction Treatment Law in Massachusetts Under Scrutiny

    Forced Addiction Treatment Law in Massachusetts Under Scrutiny

    Section 35 has drawn criticism and legal action from patients who allege inhumane conditions while committed.

    A Massachusetts law that allows the courts to involuntarily commit an individual with substance use disorder to prison is under fire over allegations of improper and inadequate conditions.

    It has, to date, generated two lawsuits against the Bay State.

    Coverage of the law, known as Section 35, on NPR’s health news program Shots and elsewhere detailed support for involuntary commitment by law enforcement and individuals who view it as a “last resort” to save their family members from substance abuse.

    But Section 35 has also drawn criticism and legal action from both patients, who allege inhumane conditions while committed, and their family members, including one woman whose son committed suicide after his commitment.

    As the NPR feature noted, Section 35 allows family members, physicians or law enforcement to petition the courts to commit an individual to substance abuse treatment without securing their permission.

    The petition must present “clear and convincing” evidence that the individual in question has an alcohol or substance use disorder, and is likely to commit serious harm to themselves or others because of that disorder. 

    If the court grants the petition, male patients in Massachusetts are committed to one of three locations, including the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center (MASC), which is a minimum security prison in Plymouth. Women are sent to one of four addiction treatment facilities, but a lawsuit filed in 2016 bars the state from sending them to correctional institutions. 

    The use of prisons as treatment facilities is at the heart of most concerns regarding Section 35. More than 6,500 Massachusetts residents were placed in involuntary treatment in the 2018 fiscal year—and while 37 states currently have statutes similar to Section 35, the Bay State is among the few that send involuntarily committed patients to prisons or jails for addiction treatment. 

    Patients and their family members have alleged that conditions at such locations are, at best, inadequate to properly handle addiction treatment. In several cases, the prisons have reportedly subjected involuntarily committed patients to harsh conditions: a lawsuit filed against the state by 10 men committed to MASC alleged that they were subjected to strip-searches, placed in solitary confinement for minor infractions, and saw violent fights between other inmates—all while receiving minimal counseling or mental health treatment.

    The NPR coverage also detailed the case of Sean Wallace, whose mother Robin committed him to a 90-day program in a state prison. She recalled his fear that he would be unable to continue with methadone treatment while committed, but because of her experience as an addiction treatment counselor, Wallace said, “I couldn’t conceive that there would be an opioid treatment program that would not provide medication-assisted treatment.”

    As NPR noted, Sean’s concerns were well-founded. Not only was he unable to continue with methadone, he was frequently placed in solitary confinement for no apparent reason. Upon his release, Sean struggled with adjustment. Anxiety issues led to hospitalization and another jail sentence before he took his own life.

    His mother told NPR that she believes his time in involuntary commitment was a contributing factor.

    The Massachusetts Department of Correction told NPR in an emailed statement that the huge demand for treatment has some centers turning away individuals who refuse voluntary commitment, and placement in prisons provides a solution.

    The piece also quoted Denise Bohan, who said that involuntary commitment saved her son’s life.

    “This is a last resort,” she said. “This is a desperate act of just trying to save your child’s life.”

    While families continue to weigh the option of placing a substance-addicted member in such a program, state officials are considering whether to remove correctional facilities from Section 35 due to a growing understanding that addiction requires medical treatment and not incarceration.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Doctors Put Woman In Deep Coma To Treat Her Depression And It Worked

    Doctors Put Woman In Deep Coma To Treat Her Depression And It Worked

    The woman said she noticed a significant difference after the second treatment.

    People suffering from severe depression oftentimes don’t feel like they care if they live or die. That’s the state that Heather B. Armstrong was in when she agreed to participate in an experimental depression treatment that induced a deep coma to try to reset the brain and treat her depression. 

    “If it means I don’t have to feel this way through the rest of my life, let’s maybe do it?” Armstrong said of the treatment in an interview with The New York Post. 

    The treatment mimics brain death by inducing a deep coma for 15 minutes at a time over 10 sessions. This “burst suppression” essentially shuts down the brain’s neurological communications before starting them back up, resetting neurological functions that may contribute to symptoms of depression. Doctors who help anesthetize patients call the deep sedations “the abyss.”

    Armstrong wrote about her experience in a new book, The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live.

    “Quieting is a polite way of saying ‘taking down to zero,’” Armstrong writes. 

    Although the thought of the treatment was terrifying—doctors used the anesthetic propofol to sedate Armstrong and the opioid fentanyl to help her cope with headaches induced by the process—Armstrong quickly saw results. 

    “It was after the second treatment when I suddenly realized, ‘Oh, I showered without even thinking about it!’ After the third treatment… I started doing my hair and wearing cleaner clothes,” she said.

    Halfway through the treatment cycle, “I was sitting outside watching my kids playing, and I actually felt happy,” she said. 

    Armstrong wasn’t alone in her success. She was one of 10 people who took part in a study run by the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute. Of those, six people experienced significant relief from their depression symptoms.

    Doctors believe the treatment works in a similar way to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by targeting the brain’s neural networks. However, the treatment appears to avoid common complications of ECT, including memory loss. 

    Researcher Dr. Brian J. Mickey said in the afterword of Armstrong’s book. “This study… could be the beginning of something new, but the true benefits of Propofol for treatment-resistant depression remain unknown. Much work still needs to be done.”

    It has now been two years since Armstrong underwent the treatments, and she says that her depression symptoms have stayed at bay. By undergoing brain death again and again, she has rediscovered life. 

    “I’m better than ever,” she said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Vows To Decriminalize Heroin, Other Opioids

    Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Vows To Decriminalize Heroin, Other Opioids

    Yang also vowed to legalize marijuana on April 20, 2021.

    Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang outlined his position to decriminalize drugs such as heroin and non-prescription fentanyl when found in small amounts during a CNN town hall on Sunday.

    The candidate, who is relatively unknown in a crowded and growing field of Democratic presidential hopefuls, is running on a number of unusually progressive positions, including a $1,000 per month universal basic income for all U.S. citizens. He also fully supports the complete legalization of marijuana across the country.

    At the town hall, Yang described the opioid crisis as a “plague” and called out the U.S. government for being “complicit in enabling this opioid epidemic,” saying it “stood by while Purdue Pharma dispensed hundreds of thousands of OxyContin prescriptions as a non-addictive wonder drug.”

    “We need to decriminalize opiates for personal use,” Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang says. “I’m also for the legalization of cannabis” https://t.co/bW5PJhIGsH #YangTownHall pic.twitter.com/Z6jJQbfGKD

    — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 15, 2019

    He recalled an exchange he’d had with a high school student whose friends had gotten their hands on fentanyl patches and were now addicted to opioids.

    “How can we get them treatment when they’re afraid they’re going to get sent to jail if they step up and say, I have a problem?” Yang asked on behalf of the student. He then brought up the example of Portugal, which decriminalized all opioids as long as an individual doesn’t have more than a week’s supply of the drug. “Then, instead of referring you to a jail cell, we refer you to treatment.”

    Yang specified that this policy would include heroin. However, he is not currently in favor of decriminalizing cocaine, because “the addiction has very different features.”

    Yang has also vowed to pardon all non-violent cannabis-related crimes after legalizing the drug on April 20, 2021 and high-fiving every released prisoner on their way out.

    Currently, all major Democratic presidential candidates support cannabis legalization. President Donald Trump has expressed support for decriminalization, though he said he would leave the issue up to the states. No other candidates have expressed support for opioid decriminalization.

    A recent Emerson poll found that Yang is polling at 3%, just ahead of Senator Cory Booker. Despite founding multiple start-ups, including the non-profit Venture for America, Yang is running without political experience. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jim Carrey And Ariana Grande Share An Exchange About Depression

    Jim Carrey And Ariana Grande Share An Exchange About Depression

    The pop star shared a quote by Carrey about depression and the award-winning comedic actor reached out to her on social media.

    This month, pop star Ariana Grande shared that she is going through “hell” at every concert, reliving the trauma of recent years.

    In 2017, Grande survived a terrorist attack at her concert at Manchester Arena in England that killed 22 people and wounded 59. The following year, her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, succumbed to a fatal overdose. All while the media and fans scrutinized her whirlwind relationship with SNL cast member Pete Davidson.

    She recently shared a quote by author Jeff Foster on her Instagram Story about depression.

    “Depression is your body saying, ‘I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you’ve created in the world. It’s too much for me. You should think of the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest.’ Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character that you’ve been trying to play.”

    The singer attributed the quote to actor Jim Carrey, who responded in kind.

    “I read your lovely mention of me and things I’ve said about depression. A brilliant teacher and friend, Jeff Foster was OG on the ‘Deep Rest’ concept. I admire your openness. I wish you freedom and peace. I feel blessed to have such a gifted admirer. Happy Easter!”

    The singer, a die-hard Jim Carrey fan, thanked the actor for his kindness. “Thank you for taking the time to share this with me. You are such an inspiration. I can’t wait to tattoo this tweet to my forehead,” she responded.

    Earlier this month, Grande shared her brain scans with fans on Instagram, comparing them to images of a “healthy brain.” But the lit-up areas of her brain indicated the effects of PTSD.

    She followed with a note to fans. “Didn’t mean to startle anyone with my brain thingy. It just blew me away. I found it informative and interesting and wanted to encourage y’all to make sure you check on your brains/listen to your bodies/take care of yourselves too.”

    In an exchange with a fan on Twitter last week, the singer revealed that performing feels like “hell.”

    “Making [music] is healing. Performing it is like reliving it all over again and it is hell,” she wrote.

    Grande is currently on tour to promote her two albums Sweetener and thank u, next. She just performed at Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California, where she was joined on stage by *NSYNC, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.

    View the original article at thefix.com