Opinion -- More than Ever, We Need Each Other

by Dr. Gary Welton

My heart aches over the stories I hear about heroin overdoses. Local fathers post stories about their sons and daughters, fatal victims of the heroin market. Police conduct raids. The illegal marketing demand continues to fund Afghanistan poppy farmers. Other illegal drug markets cause societal issues, as meth labs contaminate homes and acreage. A house in my neighborhood is selling for half its former market value because of meth lab damage. More than ever, we live in a drug culture.

When I google “heroin,” however, my top hit is an article by the National Institute of Drug Abuse indicating that nearly half of young people who inject heroin reported abusing prescription opioids before starting to use heroin. As bad as our illegal drug market has become, the potential for the abuse of prescription drugs is a much more pervasive problem throughout America today.
This conversation is frequently fueled by stories about yet another superstar and his/her battles with prescription drugs, the most recent being that of Prince. I am not sufficiently familiar with his pain and challenges to comment on his possible addictions, but I am saddened at his plight and that of millions of Americans who deal with chronic pain.

Whether the pain is associated with migraines, cancer, cancer treatment, performance anxiety, or one of a hundred other issues, I am certain that someone among your friends and family needs the treatment by and benefits from prescription pain medication, in spite of the risks of addiction.
Responsible physicians are careful and cautious about prescribing opiates; sometimes they are too cautious. Individuals suffering from terminal cancer need the assistance; their risk of addiction pales in comparison to their current need. Individuals in hospice care often need the assistance; the short-term benefit overwhelms the challenges of the pending passing. In many applications, however, it is essential for physicians and users to balance the risks and benefits. The opiates are needed, yet they provide challenges associated with possible abuse and addiction. What is the answer?

More than ever, we need each other. I need you to help me make wise choices about the use and possible abuse of the opiates. I need an accountability partner, who will help me monitor my potential for abuse and addiction. I need to draw on your strength and wisdom; we need to make this a team effort.

We need accountability partners in many areas of our lives. When yet additional stories broke this winter about Johnny Manziel and his immature and illegal antics, threatening his NFL career, one of the CBS sport commentators asked where his family and friends were. Where are the mature adults in his life telling him, “Johnny, you can’t act that way. Cut it out.” Johnny needed an accountability partner.

Although we often hear of the rich and famous and their immature self-destruction, all of us are at risk, and especially so when it comes to prescribed opiates. Recognize the risks and ask your family and friends for help and monitoring. The risks will be greatly reduced when we have an accountability partner. More than ever, we need each other.

-- Dr. Gary L. Welton is assistant dean for institutional assessment, professor of psychology at Grove City College, and a contributor to The Center for Vision & Values. He is a recipient of a major research grant from the Templeton Foundation to investigate positive youth development.

Bill to Outlaw Falsifying Drug Test Results

A new bill prefiled in the Missouri House, House Bill 38, would outlaw falsifying drug test results. HB 38 defines the crime as knowingly altering or falsifying drug or alcohol results by using or possessing with the intent to use any substance or device designed to defeat drug tests, submitting a false sample, submitting false documents, or making false material statements with the intent to alter or falsify drug or alcohol tests or test results. Altering or falsifying drug or alcohol tests would be a Class D Felony and persons found guilty would be imprisoned up to four years.

It would also be a crime to manufacture, possess, sell, give away, distribute, produce, or market such biological samples in the State of Missouri for the purpose of falsifying drug or alcohol test results. For the purpose of determining intent, the trier of fact may take into consideration whether or not verbal or written instructions or advice regarding any method of altering or falsifying drug tests or test results accompanied the sale of such adulterants. Persons who violate this section will be deemed guilty of a Class A Misdemeanor.

New bill would force drug dealers to pay taxes

By Brendan Cullerton

(MDN News) -- A House Democrat pre-filed legislation that would force drug dealers to buy taxable stamps in order to sell drugs.

Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, sponsored the legislation and said most of the stamps would not be sold to criminals.

"The experience of states that have this program is stamps are mostly sold to collectors," Roorda said. "Criminals don't buy the stamps because they're criminals."

A similar program already exists in several states, including Tennessee, South Carolina and Kansas, with mixed results.

"We actually have been getting about $1 million in revenue the last three years from this program," said Jeannine Koranda, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Tennessee has actually lost revenue from the program during the last three years, according to its Department of Revenue records. Spokesman Billy Trout said this is because the state Supreme Court has awarded refunds to people who were taxed in prior years.

The states make the most money from penalties enforced when someone is caught with drugs without stamps.

"Of the $1.3 million we collected in 2011, only $600 was from selling stamps," Koranda said.

Roorda said the goal of the bill is to not only increase the revenue to the state, but also to combat Missouri's drug problem.

"We're famous for our methamphetamine problem," Roorda said. "In the St. Louis and Kansas City suburbs we've had an explosion of this China White Heroin that is killing kids every day." 

Gary Munyon Charged Under New Synthetic Cannabinoid Law

Gary Munyon was charged in Worth County Associate Circuit Court with Possession of a Synthetic Cannabinoid. Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Robert Dudick signed a probable cause statement alleging that on March 25th, 2012 on Route YY west of 169 near Grant City, Dudick stopped Munyon for a lane violation. During what Dudick said was a consent search, he found Mr. Marley incense, cigarette papers, a container of Fusion incense, and two containers of Quick Fix Plus. There are many products that are marketed as incense but which produce highs similar to marijuana and which are labeled as not for human consumption. Quick Fix Plus is a synthetic urine that is designed to defeat drug tests.

The probable cause statement by Dudick states that the incense in question was sent to the Highway Patrol crime lab and that it tested positive for controlled substances. The statement said that the defendant admitted that he smoked it to get high, but that he did not think it was illegal to have incense.

In 2011, the Missouri Legislature passed and Governor Jay Nixon signed a law making the sale, distribution, or possession of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cocaine illegal. This law also includes K2, certain bath salts, and other substances. Opponents, especially in the Ozarks, said that the new law amounted to an infringement on peoples' rights, saying that it was no more harmful than beer. Others, however, describe violent and abusive behavior and hallucinations that have lasting effects for days. Greene County, MO had people treated at emergency rooms after K2 was smoked. Supporters argue that passage of the law was necessary because it rose to the level of a public health issue.

This year, in 2012, President Obama signed a bill banning synthetic marijuana and other synthetic drugs at the federal level. It costs around $20 per gram and people spend as much as $100-$200 per week on these products.

But the battle on these substances has just begun. There is no specific list of brands available which constitute K2 in Missouri and there is therefore much confusion over what is legal and illegal. And vendors, especially in the south part of the state, are already turning to K2 alternatives which they say are legal. And a basic question for lawmakers is, how far can the government reasonably expect to go? People can get high sniffing common substances such as glue, paint, lighter fluid, fingernail polish, permanent markets, Whiteout, and deodorants. Yet no reasonable person is arguing that we should ban the sale or possession of such substances.

Former Supreme Court Judge discusses flaws of Missouri's criminal code

(Missouri Digital News) -- Former state Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff said the two biggest problems with Missouri's criminal code are it's complexity and harsh punishments for non-violent offenders.

Wolff said the current code's redundancy has caused a number of problems in the judicial system. For example, there are currently 27 ways to be charged with assault in Missouri, which creates confusion among law enforcement officials and the public.

"If you're going to prohibit things, make things crimes, you have to tell people what it is," Wolff said.

Wolff also said too much money is being spent sending criminals charged with drug use and possession crimes to jail, when rehab would be a cheaper way to address the problem.

"The people we send to prison should be the people we're afraid of, not just the people we're mad at," Wolff said.

A joint legislative committee is meeting to discuss which changes should be made to the code. The committee is led by Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, and Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia. The committee will begin a series of public hearings starting on Sept. 18.   

Editorial: FDA Busts Amish Farmers; Are We Next?

I'm sure that I speak for a lot of people on this matter. I suggest that Barack Obama get his act together and get his FDA under control. It seems that the FDA spent one year and thousands of dollars of our taxpayer money investigating an Amish farm in Pennsylvania which was just trying to make an honest living selling milk to people. This is not the change that we voted for when we voted for him back in 2008.

Give me a break -- why isn't the government going after the real criminals? Let's just give an example of how the government is failing. Around here, there has been a lot of concern raised about the sale of K2, which is a marijuana synthetic. And that may just be the tip of the iceberg, seeing that there are versions such as K4 and several other variants. Yet it seems that Obama and certain advocates of a police state would rather drive mom and pop concerns out of business for the benefit of large corporations while letting the real criminals, those who would sell K2 and other such drugs to our children carry on.

Congressman Sam Graves in a recent news release rightly says that small businesses need new markets in order to compete. I think he should go farther -- I think Congressman Graves, along with Senator Roy Blunt and Senator Claire McCaskill have an obligation to blow the whistle anytime the government spends tens of thousands of our taxpayer dollars and spends one year of their valuable time going after mom and pop businesses and failing to go after the real criminals who would prey on our children. No matter where it happens. Because who knows -- we could be next. Nobody is safe in this day and age.

How would we feel if it were, say, Sheridan Grocery or Country Corners or Modern Day Veterans Bar & Grill who was next on the government's hit list of mom and pop businesses? Certain people in Washington seem to think that our present economic woes are a mental disease of some kind. We need a government who will use their common sense and facilitate people who are trying to make an honest living. We all agree that some rules are necessary for a society to function -- even Ron Paul would only cut the government by 50%. But certain rules that are appropriate for, say, Wal-Mart or Dollar General are not appropriate for mom and pop operations which are simply trying to make an honest living.

Let's suppose for the sake of the argument that the FDA rules in question were completely appropriate and necessary for public health reasons. That still does not justify the thuggish tactics of the FDA, who spent thousands and thousands of our taxpayer dollars and a whole year in undercover investigations treating an Amish family like terrorists or criminals instead of working with them to correct the problem. When the government engages in this sort of thuggery, this vindicates people like Ronald Reagan, who used to say that the worst words one could hear is, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." But when the government works with people like this Amish family to rectify the problem, then there is always a solution.

K2 Alternatives Ban Awaits Governor's Signature

House Bill 641, sponsored by Representative Ward Franz (R-West Plains) was Truly Agreed and Finally Passed Tuesday, May 10, 2011. HB 641 adds all synthetic cannabinoids (K2 alternatives) as well as synthetic cocaine that are being sold as bath salts, to the list of Schedule I controlled substances and make possession of it a class C felony. “I am proud that Missouri continues to be a leader in the fight to protect our children from the harms of these dangerous drugs,” said Representative Franz. “This legislation has sparked a nation-wide investigation by legislatures and law enforcement agencies into the best methods to stop the plague of synthetic drugs. The public has made it clear that they want this issue addressed.” HB 641 is the direct result of the need to close an unintended loophole in last year’s ban on K2, HB 1472. In the wake of the passage of HB 1472, which only banned a specific version of the synthetic cannabinoids, dozens of new versions sprang onto the shelves. All these newly created synthetic cannabinoids as well as the newest synthetic substance called bath salts, which are actually synthetic cocaine, have recently caused great concern among law enforcement because of their popularity among youth because they are known as a “legal high.” “Those manufacturing and selling these substances know that it is not only harmful, but that they are also purposely designed to skirt the law,” said Rep. Franz. “It is frustrating when individuals continue to make and sell this stuff just to make a profit.” Now that HB 641 has received final approval it heads to the governor for his signature. All synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cocaine will become illegal on August 28, 2011—provided no veto.

K2 drug facts

• K2 is labeled as an herbal blend, marketed for home incense, but it is being used for much different purposes and could have potentially dangerous effects. • Although K2 is sometimes marketed as synthetic marijuana, the effects can be 10 times more intense than those from marijuana. The dried herbs come in 3-gram packages of various flavors, including "Blonde," "Pink," "Citron" and "Summit."

• K2 samples test positive for synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073, developed in the mid-1990s by Clemson University researchers conducting lab experiments on mice to test the compounds' effects on the brain. • Authorities are very concerned . . . Some Asian and European countries, including France, Austria and Germany, already banned these products. Now the U.S. has taken action as well. • Many states and municipalities banned these substances prior to the nationwide ban.

• Teenagers have been hospitalized, suffered severe hallucinations, increased heart rate, seizures, and even death. Source: http://www.k2drugfacts.com/info.html • The military has banned possession and use of K2. • K2 or "spice" is an herbal blend, sprayed with synthetic compounds and sold as incense. But, it's being marketed to teens as a way of getting high.

Mike Thomson Co-Sponsors Bill that would Make Many Cold Medicines a Prescription Drug

State Representative Mike Thomson is co-sponsoring a bill that would make pseudoephedrine, a common cold medicine, a Class III drug, meaning that it would only be available through prescription with certain exceptions. That means that if people were to get a cold and they needed medicine for relief, they may have to go to the doctor's office and get a prescription in order to go to the pharmacy. Pseudoephedrine is also a key ingredient in the manufacturing of meth and the purpose of this bill is to make it more difficult for people to make meth and sell it.

The bill classifies a bunch of different drugs as schedule I drugs. Schedule I drugs include drugs that have no accepted medical value and which have a high potential for abuse. Drugs that are schedule I include such drugs as opiates, including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, salts of isomers, esters, and ethers unless specifically excepted whenever the existence of these isomers, esters, ethers, and salts is possible within their specific chemical designation. It gives a long list of specific compounds that would be classified as schedule I.

It also classifies opium derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers unless specifically excepted whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation.

Schedule I drugs would also include materials, compounds, or preparation which contain any quantity of specified hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers unless specifically excepted. Marijuana is specifically included in this list of substances. There is a list of depressants and stimulants as well.

Among drugs that are placed in Schedule II, the DHSS will place substances in Schedule II if it finds that they have a high potential for abuse, but has current accepted medical use in treatment in this country or currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions and the abuse of the substance may lead to severe psychic or physical dependence.

Pseudoephedrine would be placed in Schedule III along with ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. Schedule III would be drugs that are less severe than Schedule I or Schedule II. Dietary supplements, herbs, or natural produces including concentrates or extracts that are not otherwise prohibited by law and that contain naturally occurring ephedrine alkaloids in a matrix of organic materials such that they do not weigh more than 15% of the total weight of the product are excepted. Manufacturers can exempt by rule any product containing these cold medicines if they are formulated to effectively prevent conversion of the active ingredient into meth or its salts or precursors. However, the Missouri State Highway Patrol can find probable cause that such a product does not effectively prevent conversion of the active ingredient into meth and the DHSS can issue an emergency rule revoking the exemption for the produce pending a full hearing.

Casey Guernsey: Drug Testing for TANF Recipients

This week, our work in the House continued to move quickly as we advanced common-sense legislation to help Missouri’s economy and families. A bill I co-sponsored, House Bill 73 seeks to reform the way Missouri pays out welfare benefits to children and families in need. Sadly, around 60,000 children each month are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (or TANF) welfare payments. While this program means well, these benefits are distributed to whoever is registered as the child’s parent, and far too often these “parents” spend money meant to feed their child on themselves. Not surprisingly, if one talks with the individuals actually responsible for administering these welfare programs, they will tell you it isn’t difficult to figure out who the drug abusers are.

One ugly example of how these welfare payments are spent is on drugs and alcohol. In bad cases parents are abusing taxpayer good will on a bad habit that is otherwise meant for hungry children, but in the worst instances pregnant “mothers” who receive the benefits are choosing a bad habit over their child. In the data we have from 2010, there averaged around 85,000 individuals on TANF every month. None of these individuals were tested for illegal drugs as a condition of receiving their money. However, most people can’t get a job today without taking a drug test, yet those who would live off of the work of others are not made to take this same test – it is simply ridiculous.

In addition, numbers from (FY 2008) indicate that only 14.9% of Missouri families receiving TANF welfare payments are participating in some form of work. While there’s no way to know if drug-testing is part of this “work” – it probably isn’t. Even if all of these individuals are drug-tested as part of their work, it is still a very small minority that are tested. Simply put, we can do better and we should do better. If we are going to decide to give assistance to needy children and families there must be some accountability to the taxpayers. Opponents criticized this proposal because they said it lacked compassion and was irresponsible. I feel like one of our greatest responsibilities is to taxpayers and not addressing this issue is abusing the compassion of all those Missourians whose hard earned dollars are helping these families get by. Besides, how is enabling drug abusers with welfare money compassionate to these innocent children?

It is time we took a stand and in the Missouri House of Representatives we have taken the first step. Please join me in supporting HB 73 as it moves to the Senate and hopefully lands on the Governor’s desk for approval. As always, feel free to contact me at (573) 751-4285 or Casey.Guernsey@house.mo.gov. I look forward to your thoughts.

A Moment with Mike for January 19th, 2011

The House got off to a quick start this week with multiple bills heard in committees and resolutions debated and passed on the House Floor. The first resolution debated was HR 39, which calls on the Attorney General to file an independent lawsuit or join 20 state attorneys general in their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care reform legislation. The resolution passed by an overwhelming majority.

The House also adopted HR 38, which is the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 96^th General Assembly. Some of the key rule changes include reducing paper use by distributing amendments on the House floor electronically, giving additional power to the minority party to appoint members to standing committees of the House, and placing a ban on smoking in the East Gallery of the House Chamber. This resolution passed in an unprecedented, bipartisan, unanimous vote. This gives me hope that in the next few months, the House can come together and work effectively to move Missouri forward.

It is clear that Missouri needs to be more focused on creating jobs first and foremost in order to aid our ailing economy. One of the first bills heard in committee last week was HB 45 which focuses on small business relief. This bill would extend the prohibition on new taxes and fees on small businesses for five years. Additionally, for every new job these small businesses create, this bill would allow them to receive tax incentives. A small business may hesitate to expand or employ more people because the various taxes and fees associated with employment are overwhelming to them. This tax incentive should relieve some of this pressure and reward businesses who invest in new employees. According to the US Census Bureau, there are in excess of 100,000 small businesses in Missouri that employ less than twenty people. If this bill could encourage even a small fraction of these businesses to hire one or more new employees, there is a great potential for job growth statewide.

House Bill 73, a bill that has quickly gained a lot of support, was heard in committee last week. This bill seeks to safeguard Missouri tax dollars by preventing individuals who abuse illegal drugs from receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, welfare checks. In the data we have from 2010, we averaged around 85,000 individuals on TANF every month. None of these individuals are presently tested for illegal drugs as a condition of receiving their money. We are committed to making sure that the money this state collects from the taxpayers is spent wisely, not on illicit drugs.

For the next four months I will attempt to keep you informed on issues, bills and the budget process as they occur.

If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 401B State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101

A welfare drug ban advances to Missouri's House

A measure to require drug testing of welfare recipients is one of the first two bills before the Missouri House when it returns on Tuesday (Jan. 18). The measure would require drug testing of either a recipient or an applicant of "Temporary Assistance to Needy Families" (TANF) whom the department suspects of being an illegal drug user. Legislative staff estimates the requirement would cost the state more than $2 million in the first full year of implementation based largely on the estimated costs of conducting the tests. A positive test would result in a one-year ban in TANF benefits. A similar measure cleared the House in 2010 but stalled in the Senate Health Committee.

Opinion: Marijuana and the Marginalization of Prevention

Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Sheridan Express.

by Dr. Stephen Wallace
Dealing a blow to years of work and recent gains in youth drug prevention, Massachusetts has joined a growing, but still short, list of states to decriminalize marijuana possession. At least that is the intention of some 65 percent of voters checking "Yes" on a ballot initiative that makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense (punishable by a ticket) as opposed to a criminal one. And this on the same day that the same voters approved a ban on greyhound racing.
Protect the dogs but throw the kids under the bus. Go figure.
Indeed, opponents of the ballot initiative – which include state constitutional officers, district attorneys, police chiefs, ministers, school superintendents, and major newspapers – say, "We believe that efforts to legalize drugs of any kind represent the wrong direction for Massachusetts and put our children, our families, and our communities at risk."
For its part, the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which backed the measure, points proudly to the monetary savings for police departments, never mind the total national economic cost of drug abuse of $254.8 billion in 2008 or the obvious cost shifting to an already overburdened health care system. For example, Massachusetts' Coalition for Safe Streets says that marijuana is already a primary factor in juvenile ER admissions.
And emergency department episodes involving marijuana almost tripled from 1994 to 2002, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which reports that marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America. In fact, of all youth ages 12-17 in drug treatment in 2000, nearly 62 percent had a primary marijuana diagnosis.
But dollars don't equal sense in this equation. What really matters is the health and safety of our children.
Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke, increasing the risk of chronic cough, bronchitis, and emphysema, as well as cancer of the head, neck, and lungs. It also leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by cocaine and heroin.
In addition, marijuana use affects alertness, concentration, perception, and reaction time, all critical to the safe operation of automobiles.
Yet, alarmingly, SADD research has shown that young people tend to underestimate the dangers of drugged driving, with 15 percent of teen drivers reporting having operated a car under the influence of marijuana.
Other risks, including deteriorating school performance, disrupted relationships, depression, suicide, and crime, can't be overlooked.
Our kids deserve clear, unambiguous messages about the dangers associated with marijuana, the very type of messages that have helped drive down use among Massachusetts high school and middle school students from 50 percent to 41 percent since 2001.
On a national level, annual prevalence of marijuana use has fallen 33 percent among 8th graders and 25 percent among 10th graders during the same time period.
And that is important because turning back the tide of progress in youth drug prevention is not only a Massachusetts issue, but rather one that threatens kids everywhere – especially with other loosening of restrictions on marijuana use being proposed in Congress.
Some supporters of decriminalization point to statistics showing that relaxed laws have not led to an increase in marijuana use (even though 65 percent of students in the SADD study cited the law as the number one reason why they choose not to use drugs). Interesting considering that SAMHSA reports half the states with the highest percentage of new youth marijuana users have medical marijuana programs .
But debates over the data aside, shouldn't our focus remain on reducing use, not on maintaining the status quo?
In What Americans Need to Know About Marijuana, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) shoots holes in a series of "myths" that no doubt perpetuate drug use by young people and embolden even caring adults to send the message that smoking weed is really no big deal. Among them:
· Marijuana is harmless.
· Marijuana is not addictive.
· Youth experimentation with marijuana is inevitable.
In their place, ONDCP advocates for a closer examination of the facts, including the incredibly powerful role that parents can play in keeping their kids drug free by staying involved, setting limits, and enforcing consequences.
The importance of empowered parents in reducing youth drug use cannot be overstated, especially in the face of well-funded state and national campaigns to decriminalize the potent presence of marijuana in too many young lives.
It is, without a doubt, a clear and present danger.
Stephen Wallace, national chairman of SADD and author of the new book Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs, and Sex—What Parents Don't Know and Teens Aren't Telling, has broad experience as a school psychologist and adolescent counselor. For more information about SADD, visit sadd.org. For more information about Stephen, visit stephengraywallace.com.