“New York inmates with substance use problems – 85 percent by prison officials’ own count – find themselves in a Catch 22,” said Megan McLemore, health and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Many can’t get timely treatment, making them vulnerable to being punished with segregation. And once there, they are barred as a matter of policy from the treatment they need.”

The report is based on more than 50 interviews with current and recently released inmates, as well as prison treatment program staff and correctional health, drug treatment, and harm reduction experts in New York and other states.

One case profiled in the report is that of David A., who is currently serving three years in isolation for prison drug violations. Despite pleading for treatment, David was recently sentenced to an additional two years in the box for a marijuana violation. In 2008, New York State spent $20 million on alcohol and drug treatment in the prisons.

“These programs are being paid for by New York taxpayers, so should be effective and rigorously evaluated,” McLemore said. “The current policies make no sense from either a security or public health perspective.”

Sentencing inmates to years in isolation for drug infractions while denying them access to treatment can amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in violation of the United States’ international human rights obligations.

“Discipline should be proportionate to the offense, and should never prevent prisoners from getting the treatment they need,” McLemore said. “This only makes the problem worse, for both the inmates and the prison system as a whole.”

At a Capitol news conference with New York State legislators Jeff Aubry, Felix Ortiz, and Ruth Hassell-Thompson, McLemore called on state lawmakers to provide greater oversight of prison drug treatment, stating that the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) should be more involved in designing and evaluating prison drug programs. The Department of Correctional Services has conducted few evaluations of its own treatment programs.

Despite overwhelming evidence that medication-assisted therapy is the most effective treatment for opiate addiction, the majority of New York State prisoners dependent on heroin or other opiates have no access to methadone or buprenorphine, Human Rights Watch said. The report also documents New York’s failure to implement effective HIV and hepatitis C prevention programs.

“Prisons in California, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and many other places are making condoms available and providing methadone or buprenorphine without compromising security,” said McLemore. “There is no legitimate reason why New York State cannot do the same.”

As New York State lawmakers push for reform to “Rockefeller” mandatory-minimum drug laws, Human Rights Watch called for changes to current substance abuse programs and disciplinary practices as well.

“Reforming the Rockefeller drug laws to prevent drug users from being sentenced to long prison sentences is critically important,” said McLemore. “But timely and effective programs must be available to serve the inmates still in prison.”

The morning-after pill, actually two pills taken in sequence, can block a pregnancy if taken soon after intercourse. It works best if taken within 24 hours but is effective up to 72 hours after intercourse. Prompt access is imperative; any delay in reaching a doctor to get a prescription can render the drug useless.

Judge Korman lays out in detail the continuous efforts by the Bush administration to prevent easy access to the pill by requiring a prescription, contrary to prevailing medical opinion. The World Health Organization and a slew of American health groups had urged that the pill be made available without prescription and without age restrictions, and virtually all major industrialized nations did so years ago. The drug has no serious long-term side effects, just mild short-term effects like nausea or abdominal pain in some users. The health benefits of preventing unplanned pregnancies or abortions far outweigh any likely downside.

Yet the Bush administration, through the Food and Drug Administration, found excuse after excuse for delaying a decision and narrowing its ultimate scope, presumably to placate Mr. Bush’s base of social and religious conservatives. At various stages, the agency’s leadership, sometimes after consulting the White House, dictated decisions that ran counter to what its scientists and advisory groups were recommending. It was only after the Senate threatened to hold up confirmation of a new F.D.A. commissioner in 2006 that the agency finally approved sales without prescription to women 18 and over, provided the drugs were kept behind the counter.

We called that decision “an acceptable compromise” because it finally made the drug more accessible. But Judge Korman notes that there is “overwhelming evidence” in F.D.A. files that 17-year-olds can use the drug safely without medical supervision.

The harder question is whether to remove all age and other restrictions, potentially allowing children as young as 11 or 12 to take the drug without medical supervision. The judge sensibly left that issue to the F.D.A., which can presumably be trusted to make a fair assessment now that it will be under new leadership.

Because so little was known about it by community leaders and parents, meth use had been Sandpoint’s dirty little secret until the march came into existence, said LPO student Samantha Potter.

“I think people have started to pay attention,” she said. “(The event) shows people that even in a place like Sandpoint, meth is a problem.”

Potter, along with hundreds of fellow students, parents and community members, packed Sandpoint Community Hall to hear cautionary tales from recovering meth addicts and drug specialists.

The day’s keynote speaker, former meth addict Shelly Mitchell, shared her experience of losing everything to drug addiction.

A one-time cheerleader and student body president, Mitchell’s life began to spiral out of control when she started experimenting with meth during college. After several years of hard-core drug use and numerous trips to jail, Mitchell found herself in the hospital, covered in third degree burns from a meth-fueled chemical fire.

Mitchell lost her four children to foster care, her freedom and the feeling in her hands as a result of the fire, but was able to slowly turn her life around and use her harrowing story to help keep kids off the drug.

“I’m here today to warn you about meth, and for those who have tried it, I’m here to show you where it can lead,” Mitchell said. “Remember that you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do. Don’t let one of those things be meth.”

For the second year in a row, addiction specialist Dr. Gary Hopkins used his years of experience in the field to tell students how quickly a recreational drug habit can lead to a debilitating dependency.

“This isn’t about being smart or stupid,” Hopkins said. “This is about addiction.”

Hopkins, a recovering addict himself, was able to use his unique experience on both sides of the issue to explain what he called the “chaotic lifestyle” of a meth user.

“The crazy things we do as addicts are just beyond description,” Hopkins said after playing a video of a real meth bust.

At the conclusion of the event, students held colorful signs warning against meth use as they marched up and down First Avenue.

According to a Shelby Police report, an employee at the Shelby Women’s Clinic told police she was contacted by a Walmart pharmacist who said a patient of the clinic tried to fill an altered prescription.

When the suspect presented it to be filled at Walmart, the pharmacist there reportedly noticed something was awry.

Thinking it to be altered for Vicodin, the pharmacist called the clinic to verify the prescription, read a report by Shelby Police Ptl. G.C. Gentry.

They were told it was in fact altered and not to fill it, read the report.

Reports indicate the clinic employee said the suspect is a “frequent abuser of prescription drugs.”

In a separate incident, a K-Mart pharmacist said Wednesday that a male suspect known by at least three aliases defrauded several drug stores over a period of time.

Reports indicate he used a fake prescription at K-Mart in November to obtain 90 Hydrocodone pills. The paperwork was only recently discovered.

Authorities were told it’s been done before by the same suspect, using the same aliases and last name.

A bill that would legalize the drug for medicinal use is currently making its way through the legislature.

Those that oppose the bill fear that drug abuse would soon follow. Supporters say that it should be in the hands of physicians. LeAnn Wallace has the story.

“Permanent pain just controls everything.”

5 years ago K.K Forss was driving to the Twin Cities from his home in Ely.

“The disc had burst in my neck and when it did that I guess it caused some permanent damage to my spinal cord.”

After multiple surgeries, medications, treatments, and more than 3 years of sleepless nights, Forss says the pain became unbearable.

“I was so tired of just wanting to die and I was so tired of being stuck in bed, not moving, not doing anything, I had no life.”

After trying dozens of medications with little success and horrible side effects, Forss says he finally slept through an entire night after experimenting with marijuana with a neighbor.

“Since then I’ve been able to finally be up and do more things, teaching photography.”

Senator John Marty is an author of the bill, which would allow patients or designated caregivers to possess up to 2–point–5 ounces of marijuana and up to 12 plants.

“A lot of people are being tortured with pain and this bill can offer them some relief and we outta give it to them.”

The medical community has its supporters as well as its detractors.

The Food and Drug Administration opposes it and the American Cancer Society says the effects of pot are mixed.

The Minnesota Medical Association is neutral.

Doctor George Wagoner of Michigan says marijuana eased his wife’s pain as she suffered through chemotherapy.

“This worked as dramatically as any medicine I’ve seen in 30 years of practice. I think it’s unconscionable to have such an effective medicine unavailable for those who can benefit from it.”

Police and politicians have historically put their foot down as distribution of pot is against federal law even in states where it is legal.

However, President Barak Obama says he won’t interfere with that.

“The bill has already passed through several committees and lawmakers say it has a decent chance of passing if Governor Pawlenty doesn’t veto it. In Saint Paul, LeAnn Wallace, the Northland’s News Center.”

Governor Pawlenty says he will VETO the bill if law enforcement still opposes it.

Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of NORML, told CNN “our donation boxes started to flood” after Obama laughed off a Web question about whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation. St. Pierre said traffic to the group’s Web site has “increased precipitously” since Thursday.

“About half of the donation comments have a reference to Mr. Obama’s comments,” St. Pierre said. “As far as I’m concerned, he could show up every single day and rag on marijuana.”

Admittedly, the group isn’t a fundraising juggernaut: NORML averages about $900 in donations daily, a total that jumped to $3,500 in the 24 hours since Obama joked about pot at the town hall.

But St. Pierre said the anger among marijuana legalization advocates is real.

“Many of them were profoundly disappointed because many of them with great enthusiasm supported Obama from the point of his announcement to when he became president,” he said.

St. Pierre acknowledged that marijuana legalization is “by no means at the top of national concerns” like two wars and a troubled economy. However, he said the online question was a serious one, arguing that marijuana legalization would help law enforcement officials cut costs. He also said a legal marijuana industry, like tobacco and alcohol, would create billions in tax revenue for the government.

St. Pierre believes the president and his attorney general, Eric Holder, will be friendlier to marijuana advocates than the previous administration, but he said he knows the topic remains “political dynamite” for any elected official.

“Obama does not want to be dragged down and become the point of cultural jokes and cultural digs because he is giving deference to a subject matter to that this date has been thought of as less than serious,” he said of the president’s town hall answer. “However, I think what he is probably going to find out, through his handlers, is that he really, really disappointed people in a way that he maybe has never done as politician.”

The report, released last month, describes a number of principles of drug abuse treatment for criminal justice populations (see box below). A question-and-answer section addresses the needs of women and adolescents in the criminal justice system who have drug-addiction problems.

Approximately 70 percent of people incarcerated in prisons and jails have used drugs regularly during their lifetimes as compared with about 9 percent of the general population, according to the report, and for every dollar spent on addiction treatment, there is a $4 to $7 reduction in cost attributed to drug-related crimes.

The report confirms that drug abuse is costly in many ways: in 2002, costs related to drug abuse reached $181 billion, including $107 billion associated with drug-related crime. Other costs include those related to emergency room visits, unemployment, reduced productivity, and child abuse and neglect.

Inmates who are released with untreated substance use disorders are much more likely to reoffend, according to the report, which indicates that a thorough assessment of inmates should include a drug abuse history and a mental health evaluation, and services should address “issues of motivation, problem-solving, and skill-building for resisting drug use and criminal behavior.”

Though the report advocates for increased treatment of inmates with drug addiction, it does not address the funding of such treatment.

Treatment must follow inmates into the community after their release, Nora Volkow, M.D., NIDA director, told Psychiatric News. ”Before going to jail, many of these people have alienated their families, lost their jobs, eroded their social supports—so when they are released, they return to the community with little or no support, and without support, the chances of them succeeding will be very low.”

Important aspects of treatment in and out of jails and prisons may combine training in problem solving, coping with stress in constructive ways, and developing cognitive skills and skills to resist the lure of drugs and engaging in criminal behavior.

Only an estimated 20 percent of U.S. inmates with substance use disorders receive some treatment while incarcerated, Volkow pointed out. Judges may decide to incarcerate drug-addicted offenders instead of sending them to treatment programs because the resources to pay for treatment are lacking or there are no programs available in the community.

For treatment to be successful, treatment providers and criminal justice supervisors must work together closely to ensure that treatment plans meet correctional-supervision requirements and the inmate’s needs. For instance, the report states, “abstinence requirements may necessitate a rapid clinical response such as more counseling, a targeted intervention, or increased medication to prevent relapse. Ongoing coordination between treatment providers and courts or parole and probation officers is important in addressing the complex needs of these re-entering individuals.”

In addition, the report acknowledges that many inmates with substance abuse problems also have comorbid mental disorders and recommends that inmates with either a substance abuse or other mental disorder be assessed for the presence of the other and treated appropriately.

Treatment adherence can sometimes be problematic for inmates with drug problems so implementing a system of rewards can motivate them to continue with treatment, according to the report.

Said Volkow, “We tend to do things that are positively reinforced. These reinforcements don’t have to be large—even a ticket to the movies can have an impact.”

Volkow recalled visiting a drug court in Pennsylvania where the presiding judge acknowledged the success of offenders who had been participating in substance abuse treatment programs. “Everyone, including the treatment providers who were present, applauded,” she noted, and some of the inmates who received the recognition were moved to tears.

“One of the most powerful reinforcers of humans is acceptance by a group,” she observed.

Orange County Sheriff’s deputies noticed Gore’s blue Toyota Prius going over 160km per hour on a California route early Wednesday, police said.

When they pulled him over, they smelled marijuana, searched the auto and allegedly found much of the drug and several additional addictive prescription medicines including Valium.

Sheriff’s section spokesman Jim Amormino said Gore’s son did not have prescriptions for any of the drugs. He was released on $20,000 bail paid by his sister, media reported yesterday.

The arrest comes just days before Al Gore senior is due to take part in a worldwide serial of concerts to alter awareness of global warming, “Live Earth.”

The junior Gore, who lives in Los Angeles, has a record of drug and traffic violations. In 2003, he was charged with possession of marijuana in Maryland after police stopped him for driving without headlights on.

The girl snuck out of her parents’ home, near Hays Park, at almost midnight and met the boy and his mother in the park. The mother drove them to her home and gave beer to the girl, the boy, two of the boy’s friends and his two younger brothers.

While the children drank, one of the friends tried to touch the girl unsuitably. She passed out and woke up nude around 4 a.m.

It was not immediately realized where the mother was during the party, but she was about to drive the girl home when her son reportedly told the girl she should see a doctor because they had sex while she was unaware. The mother drove the agitated girl home, where the girl told her parents. The girl’s mother called the police.

One boy faces a second-degree rape charge and the other faces indecent liberties. The other boys at the party were not questioned and did not seem to be involved with the sexual activity.

It is not certain what will become of the boy’s mother, but minimally she’s looking at providing alcohol to minors.

Just days originally, she had gone to the wakes for two local young men, both of whom overdosed on opiate.

“It is hard to use the word celebrate, especially when people are still dying,” Peterson, said. “People will continue to die until something is done.”

The unprecedented express budget signed by Deval Patrick included $100,000 to assist Learn to Cope, the support group, instruct more programs and support groups for families crossways the state.

Province Allegorical Allen McCarthy, who pressed for the resource, said the decision by the state to give Learn to Cope the money “speaks volumes to the need for those types of services.”

“It underscores the need to help the families deal with this before tragedy starts,” he said. Local lawmakers got behind McCarthy’s effort to include the money in the budget.

The funding follows a four-day Enterprise report, “Wasted Youthfulness,” detailing the toll opiate dependence has taken on the region.

A scrutiny of ending certificates in 28 local communities by the cover found 74 people died of opiate-related overdoses, including opiate, between Jan. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2006.

Also, OxyContin and its chief ingredient, Oxycodone, has been tied locally to at least 16 deaths during that same span.

OxyContin has also been even to an increase in heroin utilization as abusers turn to the cheaper anodyne once the dependency takes hold.