Greenville Considers Alcohol Policy in Parks
With the exception of the Bradford Creek golf course, alcohol is prohibited at parks across Greenville, NC. A potential policy change, brought up at the City Council’s August meeting, would allow people to sell and drink alcohol in designated locations. And only for specific events. So far the Greenville City Council unanimously approved postponing a decision on whether to allow alcohol in five parks. The councilmembers wanted to give people enough time to better understand the proposal which allows alcohol under heavy restrictions at Town Common, River North Nature Center, Magnolia Arts Center, the area of Eppes Recreation Center leased…
Burlington Working on Prescription Drugs Abuse
As prescription drug abuse continues to grow in North Carolina and across the country, one local police department is opening permanent drop boxes to help people get rid of unwanted medicine. Jennifer Kaffenberger has made it her mission to educate people about the dangers of taking other peoples’ medicine. In 2011, her son, Harry Cohen, was the star quarterback at Burlington’s Williams High School. Cohen accidentally overdosed and died after taking his grandmother’s methadone pain medication. “When people think of overdose, they think ‘Oh, he took the whole bottle’ or ‘He took it because he wanted to get high,’” Kaffenberger…
Chapel Hill Bars Working to Improve Alcohol Law Compliance
The North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, a branch of the State Bureau of Investigation, will hold a Be A Responsible Seller, or BARS, training event for local Alcoholic Beverage Control-licensed businesses August 28th, 2014. The event will be hosted by the Chapel Hill Police Department. The program is free for ABC-licensed businesses. Law enforcement officers will educate bar staff on alcohol regulations. The Chapel Hill class typically focuses on dealing with fake identifications, selling to already intoxicated customers, general laws and regulations and the sale of alcohol to underage bargoers. Click HERE for more information on this story. …
DEA Placement of Tramadol Into Schedule IV
Tramadol is an opioid analgesic and is most commonly abused by those addicted to narcotics, chronic pain patients, and health professionals. Tramadol was approved for marketing in the United States as a noncontrolled analgesic in 1995 under the trade name of Ultram®. Until recently, it had remained an uncontrolled substance. Starting August 18, 2014, tramadol is now a schedule IV controlled substance, and will be regulated as such moving forward. Supporters of this ruling have been concerned about the abuse potential and have referred to tramadol as a ” ‘loop hole’ drug which is addictive, abused and diverted, but which…
CADCA Launches Prevent Rx Abuse Online Toolkit
CADCA’s Online Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit contains facts, strategies and tools to prevent and reduce teen Rx medicine abuse in your community. This newly revised toolkit is based on CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Effective Community Change. Incorporating these strategies will help you formulate, modify and implement your prevention and intervention strategies. Click on the image to check it out!
Percentage of Drinkers Receiving Treatment
Alcohol problems can impact a person’s life in many ways: economically, physically, and psychologically. When facing these kinds of problems, an individual may choose to pursue alcohol treatment. Research shows, however, that of all the people with an alcohol use disorder, only about 15 percent ever receive treatment. Why do so few people receive treatment? We know that the majority of those with alcohol dependence do not perceive a need for treatment. It’s important that researchers and health care professionals recognize this disparity in perceived need in order to help those who would benefit from treatment. A recent study sheds some…
NC Communities Discussing Rx Drug Abuse
Representatives from the Lee County Department of Social Services, Central Carolina Hospital and Emergency Medical Services, a number of treatment and medical centers and various faith and community organizations came together to discuss the problems of overdose and prescription pill abuse facing Lee County. This meeting included a presentation about the different populations affected by prescription drug abuse and overdose and stressed that a combined effort across all spheres of a community was necessary to prevent accidental overdose death. Click HERE for more information.
NC Senate Approves CBD Oil for Medical Treatment of Seizures
State lawmakers on Thursday approved a measure to allow the use of CBD oil for medical treatment of seizure disorders, sending the proposal to Gov. Pat McCrory. McCrory said Thursday evening that he would sign the measure into law. “This law will help ease the suffering endured by children from whom no other treatments are effective against their seizures,” he said in a statement. “I want to congratulate the General Assembly for crafting a bill that not only improves the lives of many North Carolina children and their parents, but also provides common-sense regulation and facilitates clinical research at our…
Governor McCrory Creates Task Force to Combat Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking
Governor Pat McCrory signed an executive order that creates a multi-agency task force aimed at reducing substance abuse and underage drinking. The Governor’s Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking Prevention and Treatment Task Force will build on statewide prevention, treatment and enforcement initiatives implemented by the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Commission, Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Division, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) System. As a part of this initiative, six UNC campuses that will take part in a pilot program that will emphasize prevention and treatment: East Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina…
Pharmaceutical Company Makes Bold Move in the Name of Prevention
A prescription cough syrup that some celebrities like to mix with soda and hard candy is being pulled from the market. The cough syrup-soda concoction is often called “sizzurp.” Actavis, one company that makes a cough syrup containing codeine, says it is making the “bold and unprecedented decision” to stop selling it because of how celebrities have glamorized its recreational use. The problem is, Actavis is just one of several drug makers that produces cough syrup containing codeine, a powerful narcotic, so sizzurp use among celebrities and young people who emulate them will likely continue. New York News