Methadone - Addiction

"News and Views" is a selection of articles and feedback from you pertaining to many different areas affecting your life. - It will include the latest updated news on a variety of
medications, methadone, pending legislation, chronic pain and much more. We are very interested in receiving articles from our viewers and feedback. You are a very important part of of the website. We want you to take an active part in what is printed. -We are very interested in your views and hope that you will share them with us. We can learn alot just from really listening to each other. No pretending here - please share what is important to you. We give you our promise no one will laugh at you. - - Isn't that right Argon?

Let me to introduce you to Argon. He will be in charge of "News and Views." - - - He promises to provide a variety of articles for you to read. Just as I said above-He wants to hear your views too. He is defintely unique and I think you will enjoy communicating with him. If you have any articles or editorials you would like to share, please send them to ChangeYourLife@MedicalAssistedTreatment.com.

If it easier for you - feel free to fax them to 770.428.5791. Thank you. We hope to hear from you soon.

My name is Argon and as you can see in "News And Views." We are trying to arrange all our material so you can find what you are looking for easier. We have some unique, interesting material, and alot of new presentations that you you are going to love. I will be here too. Most of you know Argon is my alias and I do march to the beat of a different drummer. Join me?

"VISITOR FROM THE PAST"

I had a dream the other night,I didn't understand. A man walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand.

His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by my bed.
He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low, he said:

"We fought a revolution, to secure our liberty.
We wrote the Constitution, as a shield from tyranny.
For future generations, this legacy we gave.
To the land of the free and the home of the brave."

The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you'd always keep.
But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were asleep.

Your freedom gone, your courage lost, you're no more than a slave.
In the land of the free and home of the brave.

You buy permits to travel, and permits to own a gun,
Permits to start a business, or to build a place for one.
On land that you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent.
Although you have no voice in choosing, how the money's spent.

Your children must attend a school that doesn't educate. Your Christian values can'tbe taught,according to the state.

You read about the current news, in a regulated press.
you pay a tax you do not owe, to please those who assess.

You've given your control, to those who do you harm,
So they can padlock churches, and steal the family farm,

And keep our country deep in debt and put men of God in jail,
Harass your fellow countrymen, while corrupted courts prevail

."Your public servants don't uphold the solemn oath they've sworn.
Your daughters visit doctors, so their children won't be born.

Your leaders ship artillery and guns to foreign shores,
And send your sons to slaughter, fighting other people's wars.

"As I awoke he vanished, in the mist from whence he came.
His words were true, we are not free, we have ourselves to blame.

For even now as tyrants, trample each God-Given Right.
We only watch and tremble, too afraid to stand the sight."

Adapted from a poem by Helen Paulk
Reprinted By Permission

We need heroes!!! Are there any left? I can see injustice all around but I see more women standing up for what is right then men. We opened the website to give you a chance to voice the injustice you see. We gave you a platform to speak from and yet we receive very little feedback - - - what is wrong? - - - - Do you all want to be doormats the remainder of your life? Is there anything at all you are willing to give your life for? If there is I would like to hear about it? Send it to my attention at the address above. Thank you.

I started out with a poem that says exactly what I would like to say to you. I want to know what interests you but I want to provide interesting articles that will hold your attention but educate you at the same time. You need to be kept up-to-date on what is happening - we will give you the truth here and soon we will be adding even more kinds of information in different areas to keep you coming back. We want all of you to contribute, we want your feedback. Argon©

Updated: 9 August 2005 Written By: Argon©

Legislation may give hope, help to addicts.

A bill signed into law by President Bush last week has rescinded the cap on how many opiate-addicted patients a clinic can treat with medication containing the chemical buprenorphine. - - While the immediate effects of the law in the Boise area are slight, local doctors and advocates say the potential for change has them feeling hopeful.

Buprenorphine was approved in late 2002 by the Food and Drug Administration as an opiate-dependence treatment, and has been proven to be less addictive than the popular treatment methadone in weaning addictions to Heroin and painkillers like OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin.

Two years before its approval, The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 limited the number of patients a Facility could treat with narcotic treatments containing buprenorphine to thirty -regardless of how many Doctors on staff were trained to dole out medication.The limiti imposed sometimes caused long waits for local addicts, said Grant Belnap, a Doctor who administers the medication Suboxone, which contains buprenorphine.

Currently, Idaho has no Methadone Treatment Facilities, and the nearest one to Boise is in Ontario, Oregon. However, Three Independent Practitioners in the Boise area have been federally certified to administer Suboxone. All three took an eight-hour class learning about the drug, its interactions and effects in order to be approved to prescribe Suboxone, and have only been administering it to local addicts for a matter of months.

"It's not a benign treatment," Belnap said of the drug. "You have to know how to use it. It's safer than methadone, since there's no risk of overdose."

Belnap says his patient base consistently runs in the high twenties, and he has capped out with the allotted thirty patients "several times." He went on to say if an individual patient cap were lifted for Physicians, he would exceed thirty patients on a regular basis.

"It's a word-of-mouth treatment," he said. "As word gets out, more people come in."

Patrick Dwyer and Kristina Harrington are the two other Doctors in town who are certified to administer Suboxone treatments. Harrington, who operates through Omega Mental Health Psychiatry, treats patients in a local hospital and has yet to reach her cap of thirty patients in the nine months she has been prescribing Suboxone. Her partner, Dwyer, started doling Suboxone in an outpatient clinic through Omega last month.

"I've only had a couple of heroin addicts. It's primarily people who get addicted to pain medications either if they have chronic pain or getting supplies over the Internet," Dwyer said. "It's amazing what you can get over the Internet." Belnap and Harrington agree that the majority of their patients seek treatment for pain-killer addictions rather than Heroin. Belnap estimated the balance to be about 60 percent to 40, painkillers to Heroin.

Suboxone is often covered by Health Insurance Plans, including through the Hospital where Harrington works, she said. - - But Dwyer said, He wasn't sure whether Insurance provided full coverage for the drug in his Outpatient Facility. The drug is also on the state Medicaid formulary.

All three doctors were unaware of the recent legislation, and as of Friday the news that Congress had unanimously passed the measure and President Bush signed it into law had not gained much national recognition. - - - But given the drug's upside, Harrington said that Suboxone's obscurity isn't likely to last.

"I'm baffled (by) the thirty-patient cap on individual doctors," Harrington said. "Initially, it was a somewhat controversial medication, but as people are using it and seeing how well it works, it will become less controversial. It's a lot safer than methadone."

Buprenorphine drugs like Suboxone differ from methadone in that the latter is a full opiate, Belnap said. According to the FDA, Suboxone is less risky, since the buprenorphine is cut with naloxone, which guards against abuse of the drug.

Belnap said Suboxone is a "partial-agonist," which does helps patients not feel withdrawal symptoms from opiates. "If opiates or a substance like heroin are a key that fits into a lock that is your chemical receptors in the brain," he said, "it turns the lock and lights up your brain to get the euphoric effect." Suboxone, on the other hand, fits in that same lock, and "turns it just enough to stop cravings and stop withdrawal. So not only does it stop cravings, but it prevents you from using other opiates while on it."

Melanie Curtis, a local Rehabilitation Coordinator at the Supportive Housing and Innovative Partnerships, said she sees an under-served need in the community when it comes to heroin addiction, but she and her opiate-addicted patients were unaware of this treatment.

"There's an upsurge in heroin use in this area and people have a difficult time finding help," she said. "I definitely think it's understated. Heroin use is a lot higher than what's indicated in the state numbers."

According to numbers from the Department of Health and Welfare,only thirty-five people in Idaho reported they had used heroin during fiscal year 2002-2003, the most recent data available. Those numbers are down from 94 in FY 1999-2000, although the Department's Substance Abuse Program Manager, Pharis Stranger, admitted the numbers only represented people, treated by " Government-Run Programs" and who listed Heroin as their "Primary Drug."

"This is under-represented, especially with those addicted to prescription drugs," Stranger said. "If they don't come into the public system to get treatment, we are not capturing them in the numbers."

"We definitely have an epidemic that's in crisis proportions," . . . . Curtis said of Heroin use. "Here we've seen people where their drug of choice may be Heroin, but if they can't get their hands on it, so (they) will turn to methamphetamine, which is the biggest problem Drug here."

Boise doesn't have a Detoxification Center, which Curtis said is local addict's most pressing need. Currently, she is spearheading efforts to raise funds for such a facility.

"The key infrastructure is not here for treatment," she said. "We don't have the things we need to start the recovery process. - - - I think that's why they're not seeking help-because they don't think it's out there." URL for this story:

http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=103017

Written By: Lara Wylde 10 August 2005

Suboxone® enters the bloodstream from under the tongue.

*Always take your SUBOXONE exactly as prescribed by your doctor.
*Before taking SUBOXONE, it's a good idea to drink some water to moisten your mouth. This helps the SUBOXONE tablets dissolve more easily.
*If your dose is one SUBOXONE tablet, place it under your tongue, lean your head slightly forward, and let the tablet dissolve completely.
*SUBOXONE is absorbed into the bloodstream through the veins under the tongue

*If your dose is 2 tablets, place both of them under your tongue, 1 on the left side and 1 on the right side (you can use a mirror to make sure the tablets are in the proper places). ° Lean your head slightly forward, and let the tablets dissolve completely.

*If you have more than 2 tablets to take, put the next tablet(s) under your tongue after the first tablets have dissolved SUBOXONE takes a short time (about 5 to 10 minutes, but sometimes more) to dissolve completely.

*Don't chew or swallow the tablets, because less SUBOXONE will be absorbed into your bloodstream, it will not work as well, and your withdrawal symptoms could worsen.

*Talking while the tablets are dissolving can interfere with how well SUBOXONE is absorbed. You may want to do something that doesn't require talking, such as reading or watching television, while waiting for the tablets to dissolve. Let your family and friends know that you won't be able to answer them, or talk to them on the phone during this time.

SUBOXONE SAFETY INFORMATION

*If you miss a dose of SUBOXONE, take it as soon as possible. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the next dose at the regular time, unless your doctor instructs you otherwise.

Injecting SUBOXONE is dangerous and can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, painful or collapsed veins, blood clots, and increased risk of infection.

Your friends and family should be advised that an ambulance should be called right away in the event that you become extremely sleepy, the pupils of your eyes become like pinpoints, you feel faint or dizzy, or your breathing becomes much slower than normal.

It is important that you take your SUBOXONE® or SUBUTEX® (buprenorphine HCl sublingual tablets) with your other medications exactly as you are directed by your physician.

Abuse of your medications while on SUBOXONE® or SUBUTEX®can cause death.

A number of deaths have occurred when patients have injected buprenorphine, usually together with benzodiazepines. While using SUBOXONE or SUBUTEX, do not use benzodiazepines, tranquilizers,or sedatives unless your Doctor prescribed them for you. Do not drink alcohol while taking SUBOXONE® or SUBUTEX®.

http://www.Suboxone.com

How do you feel about pregnant
women being jailed because they
are addicted ? What if the woman
was over-weight? Obesity certainly
will harm the fetus just as much -
then let's think about alcohol, it is
legal and much more dangerous...
kick in cigarettes, what will be next?

A judge in Racine County, Wisconsin, has ordered a pregnant woman addicted to OxyContin to be jailed, saying that the fetus needs to be protected from the mother's addiction.

The Associated Press reported May 12 that Judge Charles Constantine ordered Rachael Lowe, 20, to be confined while county officials gather medical records for a hearing next week. Lowe has been held at St. Luke's Hospital since April 29.

The woman's husband, Michael, asked the court to free his wife, saying she is
scheduled to enter an Intensive Outpatient Treatment program and also needs
an Obstetrical Exam.

Wisconsin law allows pregnant women to be held in hospitals if they are found to be addicted to alcohol or other drugs that could harm their unborn children.

The judge criticized officials for moving slowly on the case, but when Michael Lowe asked why his wife should be punished for the Government's mistakes? Constantine replied: "Don't get me started. You know why she's suffering? Because she's 29 weeks pregnant and the child is in the uterus with a drug cocktail. You wouldn't be here unless your wife didn't have a substance-abuse problem."

Michael Lowe said his wife had sought help voluntarily, and the conefinement sent a bad message to other pregnant addicts. "Why detain her and hold her locked up in a psychiatric ward for wanting to better herself? I don't understand that," he said.

Visit http://www.jointogether.org for complete news and funding coverage,resources and advocacy tools to advance effective drug and alcohol policy,prevention and treatment.

Reference: Associated Press 12 May 2005

Please ladies let me hear how you feel on the issue above. It is an issue we must make room in our lives for--because it is not going away. I personally don't be-lieve children should see their Mothers jailed - the consequences will reach far and wide and destroy a lot of lives. Please let me hear from you. If you have any ideas of how it should be handled to make the pregnancy safe for the fetus, Mother and family - then you are the ones I want to hear from. Thank you. Argon §

Pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma lied about its painkiller OxyContin and thus forfeited the patent to the drug, a U.S. appeals court has ruled. The decision opens the door to other companies making generic versions of the drug.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington,D.C. ruled in favor of Endo Pharmaceuticals, which sought to invalidate Purdue's OxyContin patent and begin making a generic version of the drug. Purdue has made about $1.5 billion in annual OxyContin sales over the past five years.

The three-judge appeals panel upheld a lower-court ruling saying Purdue had falsely claimed in its patent application to have clinical evidence that OxyContin was easier for doctors to use than other pain-relief drugs. In addition to allowing for generic oxycodone drugs to be made and sold, the ruling exposes Purdue to possible litigation totaling billions of dollars.

Already, 65 separate lawsuits have been filed by insurers and others, asking that Purdue be forced to give back excessive profits derived from the improper patent on OxyContin.

Purdue officials said they would appeal the latest decision to the full Court of Appeals. "Purdue believes that the court's decision is contrary to principles of patent law," the company said.

June 8, 2005 New York Times

Oxycontin® SR 10mg 20mg 40mg 80mg
(Oxycodone HCL controlled-Release) Tablets

Virginia Grand Jury Mulls Criminal Charges Against Purdue Pharma

A federal grand jury in Virginia is considering whether to press criminal charges against executives of Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin.

They allegedly misrepresented the drug's potential for addiction, the New York Post reported June 12.

The grand jury is reportedly looking at the conduct of four or five top officials of the Stamford, Conn.-based pharmaceutical company, who prosecutors contend were involved in concealing the dangers of OxyContin while aggressively pushing salespeople to market the drug.

Charges could include fraud and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, the latter of which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Experts said this would be the first time that pharmaceutical executives face criminal charges for selling narcotics.

"This company has lied about everything," said attorney Paul Hanly, who represents a former Purdue employee called to appear before the grand jury. "My understanding is that the [grand jury] was convened because of the misrepresentations that Purdue made from the get-go."

This article is online at http://www.jointogether.org/y/0,2521,577602,00.html