Tag: News

Colorado Cannabis Bill Aims To Ease Restrictions For Parents

Parens of children who depend on cannabis-based medications for epilepsy and other medical conditions are championing the new bill.

A Colorado bill aims to make it easier for parents of children enrolled in the state’s medical marijuana program to get the cannabis-based medications that their children need.

According to current state law, children in the medical marijuana program — who are often severely ill — can have only one primary medical marijuana caregiver who is permitted to pick up his or her cannabis medications, according to Westword.com.

Having to choose just one parent who has this permission can be stressful for families like that of Christine and Matthew Cerrato, whose four-year-old son Ethan uses cannabis to treat epilepsy and other medical conditions.

Because their son in so young and medically fragile, the Cerratos need to travel 80 miles to secure his medication, which is not sold locally. This is complicated by the fact that Ethan is often in the hospital: He was there 11 times just last year.

“For the first year, I was the caregiver. But when we’d be at the hospital, I couldn’t just leave this small child, who is sick yet also very cognitively aware, with strangers. But on the other side, what else can I do, let him lapse in treatment? There is this really bizarre gap here,” said Christine. Matthew is Ethan’s primary medical marijuana caregiver, so only he can go to the dispensary.

“We’ve got other kids and have to take care of groceries and meals. Matt has the availability to go [to the dispensary], but if he’s sick or occupied, he still needs to go, even though I’m totally healthy and able-bodied to do this myself,” Christine said. She pointed out that although their family can manage, other parents find the situation even more complicated to navigate.

“But we’re still lucky: We’re part of this gap that is married, in the same home, and Matt’s not traveling for work. We’re able to manage it, but I’ve had friends in the cannabis community go through ugly divorces… . Whatever the parental situation might be, it just doesn’t make sense,” she said.

When Christine posted her frustrations on Facebook one night, State Representative Matt Gray answered. After learning more about the issue he introduced the bill to allow both parents to be medical marijuana caregivers. The measure will be considered this week, but Gray says he doesn’t anticipate any opposition.

“This is a common-sense idea. The idea that one parent can give their kid medicine and the other can’t is kind of ridiculous,” he said.

Christine hopes the strange law changes soon.

“We’re all busy. Both of us being able to make Ethan’s purchases just makes things run more smoothly,” she said.

View the original article at thefix.com

25 January 2019
Man Founds Non-Profit Yoga Recovery Group

“I knew that financially a lot of people in recovery couldn’t afford yoga, and I felt that was unacceptable. So I started the foundation…”

There are many roads to recovery, and for Taylor Hunt, yoga has been a profound piece of his path. Yoga was so instrumental for Hunt that he founded the Trini Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Ashtanga yoga to the lives of those working for addiction recovery.

Hunt spent 10 years addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was in rehab four times, and in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Hunt says, “I was emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially bankrupt. Physically, I was maybe 130 pounds, and I’m 6 foot 3. I wasn’t eating. Spiritually, I was no longer connected to anyone, and I felt like I’d left God. Everyone gave up on me. I was clinically depressed and struggled with anxiety. I had switched from alcohol and pills, and I was using black tar heroin, literally putting needles in my arms.”

He is now 37 years old and 12 years sober, and the founder and a teacher with the Trini Foundation. This organization has given 100 people in recovery scholarships for yoga classes around the country.

In The Columbus Dispatch, Hunt outlined the history behind the Trini Foundation. Hunt had been clean and working in a 12-step program with a sponsor for six months when a woman in a meeting approached him and offered to teach him yoga. He declined, and she persisted in offering, until Hunt’s sponsor said it seemed like Hunt was going to do yoga after all.

Hunt found that yoga affected a deep change in his experience of life. After his first class, he recalled, “I remember having this feeling like I was just a human trying to do the best that I could, and I felt like I had some value as a person. And that was the first time I’d felt like that. And from that day I never stopped doing it. It has given me clarity. I get a clear picture of who I am, in the present moment.”

Hunt said, “I became an Ashtanga yoga teacher 10 years ago. I wanted to make sure other people could do the 12 steps and take yoga, do them together, because it can give you a completely different equation. I began believing that I didn’t have to live in this pattern of addiction and relapse that a lot of people in the 12-step program struggle with.

But I knew that financially a lot of people in recovery couldn’t afford yoga, and I felt that was unacceptable. So I started the foundation in 2016 because I wanted to be able to give the addict who might not ever have an opportunity to go to yoga a good excuse to go. It’s a tool to save lives. So we raise money so we can provide scholarships to people who are addicts.”

The Trini Foundation is working to reach an impressively wide and diverse group and includes programs dedicated to working with those in prison and in underserved communities, as well as working in conjunction with rehabilitation centers to provide the therapeutic value of Ashtanga yoga to those who would accept it.

View the original article at thefix.com

25 January 2019
Glenn Close Discusses Mental Health Stigma

The “Damages” actress spoke about the stigma surrounding those with mental health issues during a recent lecture.

Golden Globe winner and vocal mental health advocate Glenn Close took another opportunity to speak on the dangers of stigma against mental illness during a recent lecture in central Ohio.

The renowned actress was invited to speak as part of the Jefferson Series, described as “a collection of stimulating forums featuring some of the world’s most compelling and esteemed thinkers” that takes place in New Albany, Ohio each year.

During her lecture, Close talked about mental illness in her family and about her book Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness. Her sister, Jessie Close, has bipolar disorder and Glenn Close herself has dealt with depression at times throughout her life.

However, due largely to stigma against mental illness and a silence around the issue within their family, Jessie remained undiagnosed until the age of 50.

According to a CBS interview from March 2018, Glenn Close was alarmed to discover how often those with bipolar disorder die by suicide and realized that she could have easily lost her sister.

According to an analysis published in the US National Library of Medicine, researchers have found that anywhere from 25 to 60% of people with bipolar disorder have a history of attempting suicide. In the general adult population in the US, the rate of attempted suicide is 0.5%.

These revelations led the two Close sisters to establish the anti-stigma foundation Bring Change 2 Mind in 2010. Glenn Close has since used her fame to speak out against the stigma surrounding mental illness that kept her family quiet on the issue for so long.

“I come from a family that had no vocabulary for mental illness,” Close wrote in 2016. “Toxic stigma and the social mores of the time made any conversation about possible mental health issues taboo. The lack of conversation was very costly.”

In addition to the sisters’ illnesses, Jessie Close’s son, Calen, has schizophrenia and spent two years in a hospital for those with mental health issues.

In her recent lecture, Close encouraged people to examine their own attitudes around mental illness that might be preventing them from seeking help or offering help to a struggling family member.

“You have to examine yourself to see whether you have any kind of stigma that’s just been inadvertently fed into you and then realize your family member can lead a viable life,” she said. “You can have a life, but you have to get help. And the sooner you get help, the better your life will be.”

View the original article at thefix.com

25 January 2019
Top DEA Agent Accused Of Laundering Over $7 Million In Drug Money

The former DEA agent allegedly kept $7 million of money laundered from drug sales in a business account.

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who oversaw a high-profile undercover operation has been linked to a $7 million money-laundering scheme involving Colombian drug cartels.

Five current and former law enforcement officials told the AP that Jose Irizarry—who left the DEA in 2017—may be the co-conspirator in a recent federal case in which former DEA informant Gustavo Yabrudi pled guilty to laundering money for cartel members as part of an undercover contraband operation.

Yabrudi claimed that he and the co-conspirator kept $7 million of money laundered from drug sales in a business account. Investigators are also investigating Irizarry’s second wife, who is related to a top money-laundering suspect in Colombia.

The information about Irizarry came about as part of a plea agreement between the Venezuelan-born Yabrudi and federal prosecutors who were overseeing the case in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to court records, Yabrudi—who worked as an informant for the DEA between 2010 and 2016—and Irizarry allegedly opened a bank account to direct deposits from a network of cartel contacts who sought to filter drug money through a contraband merchandise operation overseen by Irizarry for the DEA.

Irizarry allegedly used a variety of means to launder the money, including shell companies and a variety of goods—including electronics and textiles—which were exported to Colombia for resale in pesos, which were then given to the cartel members.

According to Yabrudi’s plea agreement, the two men opened a secret account through which $7 million in drug cartel funds flowed over a period of six years. Yabrudi admitted that he withdrew money from the account to give to the co-conspirator, who according to the aforementioned officials, was Irizarry.

“None of these deposits, nor the use of the funds that followed were officially sanctioned DEA operations,” wrote federal prosecutors in court filings.

The AP noted that Irizarry, who was once a highly regarded agent, had come under scrutiny by DEA officials over a series of questionable decisions and connections. While conducting the undercover contraband operation, Irizarry reportedly bought an expensive home and vehicle, and hosted parties involving sex workers.

Irizarry’s marriage to his second wife, Nathalia Gomez, has also caught the attention of investigators due to her familial relationship with Diego Martin, whom the AP labeled as Colombia’s “contraband king.” Martin allegedly bought shipping containers filled with goods using drug money. Martin has remained out of the law’s grasp by serving as an informant for various U.S. law enforcement entities.

The current whereabouts of Irizarry, who resigned from the DEA in 2017 after being recalled to Washington, D.C., are unknown. The AP noted that calls to a cell phone which officials said belonged to him went unreturned, as did calls to Gomez. It is also unknown if Irizarry has been charged in regard to the allegations.

View the original article at thefix.com

25 January 2019
CBS Rejects Medical Marijuana Super Bowl Ad

“It’s a public service announcement really more than it is an advertisement,” said the medical marijuana company’s head of marketing.

Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl LIII, there’s one industry that’s been shut out of advertising during the big game—medical marijuana.

The Super Bowl ad would have been fairly tame, introducing three people who have benefitted from medical marijuana and urging viewers to call their representatives to request changes to cannabis laws. CBS, however, wasn’t having it.

“CBS will not be accepting any ads for medical marijuana at this time,” the network told Acreage Holdings, an investment company that’s established in the cannabis industry, according to USA Today.

Although medical marijuana programs are legal in 33 states and Washington, D.C., cannabis remains a Schedule I substance that is banned by federal law as well as the rules governing the National Football League. The president of Acreage admitted he wasn’t shocked that the ad was rejected.

“We’re not particularly surprised that CBS and/or the NFL rejected the content,” said George Allen, president of Acreage. “And that is actually less a statement about them and more we think a statement about where we stand right now in this country.”

Acreage has operations in at least 15 states and has high-profile former politicians on its board of advisors, including former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner and former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld. Allen said the company is accustomed to navigating inconsistent laws—and attitudes—regarding marijuana.

Allen said, “One of the hardest parts about this business is the ambiguity that we operate within. We do the best we can to navigate a complex fabric of state and federal policy, much of which conflicts.”

The ad—which would have cost Acreage $5.2 million for a 30-second spot—was focused more on advocacy than on sales, said the company’s chief marketing officer.

“It’s a public service announcement really more than it is an advertisement,” said Harris Damashek. “We’re not marketing any of our products or retail in this spot.”

The ad featured three people: a military veteran who used marijuana to cope with pain, a man who was on opioids for 15 years before switching to cannabis, and the mother of a child with a seizure disorder who said that medical marijuana saved her son’s life.

Then the words “The time is now” appear, and viewers are urged to call their representatives in Congress.

Allen said, “Look, from my third-grade government class, we live in a representative democracy. In theory, our elected officials are supposed to support legislative action that is in keeping with the will of the people.”

Damashek plans to release the ad online eventually.

“It’s not quite ready yet, but we anticipate and look forward to getting the message out far and wide.”

View the original article at thefix.com

25 January 2019
Rob Lowe Talks Replacing Alcohol With Exercise

“It became an outlet for all of the tension, stresses, compulsivity. I funneled the addiction, frankly, into that,” said the Parks & Rec actor.

More than 28 years ago, actor Rob Lowe hit the gym to convince himself that he didn’t have a substance abuse problem. As long as he could run breakneck sprints—a quarter-mile in 60 seconds—he told himself he was okay, Lowe said in a recent interview with Men’s Health.

Although he never lost the ability to do the sprints, at some point his alcohol abuse was undeniable. When he got sober 28 years ago he made exercise his coping mechanism.

“It became an outlet for all of the tension, stresses, compulsivity,” said Lowe, who got sober when he was 26. “I funneled the addiction, frankly, into that.”

Today, workouts are still part of the recovery program that Lowe works every day. His mornings begin with a run or a spin routine, before doing weights or circuit training. He forces himself to be present in the moment, giving himself a mental as well as a physical workout, sans music.

“I don’t want to have the smoothie stand. I don’t want to look at beautiful women when I work out. I like the forced mental solitude of it,” said Lowe. “Inevitably, it will force you to start working through things you’re not going to if you’re listening to Jay-Z.”

His sons, who are 23 and 25, introduced him to surfing, and now he is more skilled at the sport than they are. It appealed to him because it complements his recovery.

Lowe said, “You’re always chasing a high that you’re probably not going to ever repeat. Conditions change, so no waves ever just stay the same. Nothing can ever stay the same. Nothing.”

However, Lowe’s love for exercise isn’t all about high-brow beliefs. He admits that he loves to look good, saying, “Men deny having vanity—that’s the greatest vanity. Not me. I’m vain as fuck.”

In addition to his workouts, Lowe maintains a strict diet inspired by Atkins. He also does intermittent fasting, replacing breakfast with a mid-morning snack.

Lowe, who is now 54, says he feels just as good as he did when he was newly sober in his late twenties. “I feel exactly like that guy,” he said. “And I see him.”

In 2015, Lowe took to Twitter to celebrate 25 years of sobriety. He wrote, “To those struggling with addiction, there is true, real hope. 25 years ago today, I found recovery; and a life of promise. #Grateful”

View the original article at thefix.com

24 January 2019
Opioid Use May Be Tied To Intestinal Disorder In Newborns

A new report explores the connection between opioid use and the intestinal birth defect.

Infants whose mothers use opioids during pregnancy are at risk for a host of issues from small head size to dependency on the drugs. Now, a new report suggests an additional health concern for babies exposed to opioids: a possible increased risk of gastroschisis, a birth defect that causes infants to be born with their intestines outside their bodies.

The report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that rates of gastroschisis are increasing around the globe, something that doctors had reported anecdotally. Instances of the condition rose 10% when researchers compared two periods, 2006 to 2010, and 2011 to 2015.

During this time, the rates of infants born exposed to opioids also increased. The report authors found that gastroschisis was more common when the rate of opioid use was also more common.

“Gastroschisis prevalence was higher in areas with high and medium opioid prescription rates, compared with that in areas with low rates,” the authors of the review wrote. “This ecologic analysis supports the findings from a large case-control study, which suggested that self-reported prescription opioid use in the first trimester was associated with gastroschisis.”

Although researchers looked at the rate of prescription opioids — not illicit opioids — the findings suggest a connection between opioid use and the birth defect, and researchers said there is a need for more information about how opioid use may contribute to gastroschisis.

“These findings provide compelling evidence of the need to better understand the potential contribution of opioid exposure in the etiology of gastroschisis as well as the possible role opioids have played in the observed increases in gastroschisis,” the authors wrote.

Speaking with Live Science, Dr. Saima Aftab, medical director at the Fetal Care Center at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, said “there’s something changing” in the prevalence of gastroschisis. Although the condition can be corrected with surgery, infants face risks with their digestion early on. Babies with the condition may have to be hospitalized for months following their delivery and surgery.

Because the CDC report does not provide any concrete answers about why and how opioids may contribute to gastroschisis, the authors said it will be important to conduct more research into the correlation.

“The findings … can be used to prioritize basic science, public health, and clinical research on opioid exposure during pregnancy and its potential impact on birth defects,” they wrote. “Having a better understanding of all possible effects of opioid use during pregnancy can help provide evidence-based information to health care providers and women about the potential risks to the developing fetus.”

View the original article at thefix.com

24 January 2019
How Results-Driven School Culture Affects Teachers’ Mental Health

Researchers talked to teachers on long-term sick leave as a result of struggling with mental health for a new study.

More and more UK teachers are beginning to struggle with their mental health as a result of changing expectations in the profession.

This information comes from a new study, Forbes reports. Researchers have determined that the results-driven culture in schools, as well as a heavy workload, changing policies and lack of support from higher-ups, is leading teachers to be more prone to stress, anxiety and depression and is also causing a decrease in their self-esteem.

The authors of the study have referred to the results-driven culture as “managerialist.” The authors explained that it has led to teachers not being able to encourage “active learning,” leading them to feel as if they are failing their students and themselves.

“The result is teachers feeling they are being driven out of the classroom, and in some cases attempting suicide, due to the pressure of work,” Forbes states.

In their research, study authors talked to teachers on long-term sick leave as a result of struggling with mental health. They also spoke to leaders in schools who had dealt with mental health struggles among staff members.

According to Forbes, many of those interviewed stated that the focus on results and targets has changed the position of teachers and has altered their ability to form relationships with students.

Many also noted that increasing amounts of paperwork have added to their workloads and that they felt they were always under pressure to reach unrealistic expectations while also not being allowed to participate in the decision-making process about expectations.

One teacher, according to Forbes, stated that a new leader at the school had “immediately set about changing everything, didn’t take advice from anybody.”

Another teacher stated that teachers have lost the ability to respond to students’ needs, saying “there seems to be a loss of spontaneity that teachers used to have” and adding that “it’s all confirming to syllabus and rigor of that syllabus rather than responding to the children.”

According to Gerry Leavey, the director of the Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing at Ulster University and principal investigator on the study, a decrease in self-esteem and teaching effectiveness was commonly brought up in interviews.

“This tension is often internalized and impacts on teachers’ identity,” he said. “It often pits taking care of themselves and the non-academic needs of pupils against management duties and targets. Too often, this leads to stress and mental health problems.”

Lead author Dr. Barbara Skinner told Forbes that when it comes to policy changes, the mental health of teachers must be considered.

“Educational reforms, and the rigidly prescribed organizational and management structures that accompany them should be weighed against their impacts on professional identity and personal well-being,” she said.

View the original article at thefix.com

24 January 2019
Confusing Law Led to Marijuana Arrests In California

A recent high-profile stop has led to a lawsuit by two former highway patrol officers who now operate a cannabis transportation business.

Recreational cannabis may be legal in California, but complex laws in the state mean officers are still regularly pulling people over and seizing marijuana. In fact, in 2018, California Highway Patrol officers seized more cannabis than they had any other year since 2014.

According to The Sacramento Bee, a recent high-profile stop has led to a lawsuit by two former highway patrol officers who now operate a cannabis transportation business, Wild Rivers Transport. Rick Barry, 48, and Brian Clemann, 47, were stopped and their car was searched after a canine indicated the scent of marijuana. Although the two didn’t have cannabis in the car, they did have $257,000 in cash, which officers took and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.

Now Barry and Clemann are suing the highway patrol, hoping a judge will rule that local and state law enforcement can’t interfere in the legal transport of marijuana.

“It appears the [California Highway Patrol] will stop at nothing to disrupt the lawful and legal transport of items involved in the medicinal cannabis industry,” they said in a press release. “Although all our invoices, licenses, and required paperwork were in order, the [California Highway Patrol] spent several hours trying to come up with charges for our lawful activity.”

In California, the Bureau of Cannabis Control announced Jan. 16 that marijuana deliveries and transports can take cannabis anywhere in the state, “provided that such delivery is conducted in compliance with all delivery provisions of this division.”

The specifics of California’s marijuana laws — which have the potential to influence a massive industry — have taken time to work out.

“These approved regulations are the culmination of more than two years of hard work by California’s cannabis licensing authorities,” Bureau Chief Lori Ajax said in a press release. “Public feedback was invaluable in helping us develop clear regulations for cannabis businesses and ensuring public safety.”

Law enforcement was not pleased with the decision, according to David Swing, president of the California Police Chiefs Association.

“We are deeply concerned with the adoption of the new cannabis regulations, which allow for the delivery of cannabis anywhere in the state. We are already having trouble enforcing a new and complex industry, and this allowance will only make enforcement even more difficult,” he said.

A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said that agencies need to be able to stop black-market transports.

“In order to legally transport cannabis in California for commercial purposes, a person must possess the appropriate (Bureau of Cannabis Control) license and comply with the [Bureau of Cannabis Control] administrative regulations,” the spokesperson said.

View the original article at thefix.com

24 January 2019
Anne Hathaway Vows To Stop Drinking Until Son Is Older

Hathaway says before she stopped drinking she had been touring rum bars on the island Mauritius, an experience she doesn’t remember.

Anne Hathaway hasn’t had a drink since October—and she plans to keep it that way for the next 18 years.

According to USA Today, the actress made the announcement on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday (Jan. 22). Hathaway says she plans to stay sober until her 2-year-old son, Jonathan, is grown.

While Hathaway has never been in the spotlight for excessive drinking or partying, she says she still feels that stopping is the right decision when it comes to the effect it could have on the way she parents.

“I’m going to stop drinking while my son is in my house just because I don’t totally love the way I do it and he’s getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the mornings,” Hathaway told Ellen. “I did one school run one day where I dropped him off at school. I wasn’t driving, but I was hungover and that was enough for me. I didn’t love that one.”

Hathaway says before she stopped drinking, she had been traveling on the island Mauritius, with her Serenity co-star Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves. The friends had been touring rum bars and Hathaway tells Ellen that she doesn’t recall much of it.

“Wow, and how was that?” Ellen asked, referring to the travels.

“I don’t remember,” Hathaway replied. “I have no idea.”

Hathaway added that while she enjoys their company, she simply couldn’t keep up with the drinking.

“They’re both cool, and I just can’t drink as much as them,” she said. “We drank the night away, and then I had to go to a meeting with Steven Knight, our director, the next day, and I was just kinda—have you guys ever had to do a meeting hungover? I was just kinda stumbling in with one eye open and I was trying to convince him about certain things about my character.”

Hathaway says at the end of the meeting, she told Knight she was hungover.

“He just goes, ‘Oh, really? I couldn’t tell,’” she told Ellen. “And then two days later we had another meeting and I showed up and he said ‘Oh, now I can.’”

View the original article at thefix.com

24 January 2019