Authorities Warn About New Danger in Cocaine

A veterinary drug that is unsafe for humans is being used to dilute most of the cocaine that is being shipped into the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

Levamisole has been found in at least eight hospital admissions where people got sick after using powdered or crack cocaine, and in 90% of 200 patients who tested positive for cocaine.

Levamisole poisoning symptoms include fever, infection and swollen glands.

"We need people to know that you're not getting pure cocaine anymore. You're exposing yourself to the effects of an anti-parasite drug instead of cocaine," one official with the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration told the Chronicle. "You're not getting high off cocaine, you're getting sick off of levamisole."

"Youth and Alcohol" Forum Planned Jan. 8

You’ve been hearing a lot on the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition’s TV and radio commercials about how underage drinking brings a lot of families together tragically. But it can bring communities together to take positive action.

Underage drinking is the subject of a community forum on Friday, Jan. 8 called “Youth and Alcohol: How Do We Keep Our Children Safe and Healthy?” The forum will be held at 11 a.m. in the first-floor conference room at the Historic Federal Building, 324 7^th St., Moundsville. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.

The forum is being sponsored by the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, the Marshall County Family Resource Network (FRN) and the West Virginia Center for Civic Life. In 2009, the Center for Civic Life had picked Marshall County for a pilot project to build citizen involvement in preventing underage drinking. Marshall County was one of only three West Virginia counties picked to participate in the project. Since then, the Center for Civic Life held a daylong training in Marshall County on how to moderate community forums and then smaller community forums have been held on underage drinking. A discussion guide, “Youth & Alcohol: How Do We Keep Our Children Safe and Healthy?” was prepared by the FRN and the Center for Civic Life. Copies of the discussion guide will be distributed at the Jan. 8 forum. A copy can also be found at the Marshall County FRN’s Website, www.marshallcountyfrn.com.

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition is focusing on underage drinking in one of its major multimedia public-service campaigns, which began in December 2009. Beyond Marketing created the TV and radio commercials, and the billboards. The marketing campaign was funded through a Drug Free Communities Grant from the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy.

For more information about the Jan. 8 forum or to register, please contact the FRN at (304) 845-3300 or email marshallcountyfrn@comcast.net.

Cabell County Drug Prevention Summit Jan. 21

The Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership is sponsoring the 4th Annual Cabell Drug Prevention Summit on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010.

The summit will be held from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena Conference Center, in Huntington.

The title is "Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse in Our Community." This year's drug prevention summit will focus on the growing trend of prescription drug abuse and communitywide solutions. The partnership invites you to learn more about prescription drug abuse and how the community can work together to reduce this trend.

Prescription drug misuse is the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. In small doses, prescription and over-the-counter medications, when used improperly, can affect motor skills, judgment and the ability to learn. While in large doses or when mixed with other prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, or alcohol, serious health risks, including respiratory failure, can occur.

In West Virginia, overdose was the leading cause of death for those under age 45 in 2006, the highest rate for this cause of death in the United States. About 250,000 West Virginians use prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes.

The day includes a panel on prescription drug abuse and misuse; a session on policy, program and personal practices and a discussion panel and public forum. Among those participating are State Sen. Evan Jenkins, Huntington police chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook, Dr. William Webb of Oasis Behavioral health and Dr. Wayne Coombs of the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center.

Continuing Education Units are available for an afternoon session but those applying must register before Jan. 14 by calling (304) 523-8929 or emailing anne.mcgee@unitedwayrivercities.org.

For more information, please see here.

Paper Says West Virginia Should Consider Criminal Penalties Against Women Who Use Drugs While Pregnant

Almost a fifth of all babies born in West Virginia have been exposed to drugs or alcohol before being born, according to a new study by Marshall University.

The study checked umbilical cords from eight West Virginia hospitals to find that the rate of substance abuse among pregnant women is higher than the 5% Marshall University researchers believed previously. One of the hospitals was in Wheeling.

"We've seen a tremendous increase in the number of mothers who are on drugs," said Dr. David Chaffin, a Marshall University obstetrician who was quoted in an Associated Press article about the study. National studies have found that 10%-14% of babies are exposed to substances in the womb but those studies and the Marshall one can't be directly compared because they use different methods.

The Intelligencer of Wheeling said 15% of babies tested in Wheeling show alcohol use by their mothers. That's the highest rate of alcohol use in West Virginia, the paper said.

In an editorial, The Intelligencer said that should be a part of the governor's recently announced substance-abuse strategy.

"The governor and other state officials should take a realistic look at the problem and find some way to combat it," the Intelligencer wrote. "If that means criminal penalties against women who intentionally put their fetuses at risk, so be it."

It is an issue that West Virginia's neighbor, Kentucky, is struggling with as well.

Latrisha Whitelatch Interviewed on "Comcast Local Edition"

Substance abuse prevention director Latrisha Whitelatch appeared on "Comcast Local Edition," which airs on Comcast's HLN in Ohio and Marshall counties, during the month of December. Whitelatch talked about the work of the Marshall County Family Resource Network, the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition and the Marshall County Winter Carnival on Dec. 31.

You can see the entire five-minute interview with WTRF/Comcast Local Edition's Stacy Rich below, or you can check out the video on YouTube here.

Marijuana Making Comeback With Teens

Marijuana is becoming more popular among teens, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said in the "Monitoring the Future" study of the nation's 8th, 10th and 12th graders that was released Monday by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Fewer 8th and 10th graders perceive "great risk" in using marijuana and disapproval of marijuana use is also declining, ONDCP said. Marijuana use among youth has been flat for the past three years after several years of declines.

Other findings:

-- Seven of the 10 most-abused drugs by high school seniors are prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Twenty percent of 12th graders used marijuana within the past month, up from 18.3 percent in 2006.

-- Inhalant use among 10th graders has increased.

-- Teens alcohol use has declined but it's still the most commonly abused substance.

-- Fewer 10th graders see binge drinking as harmful and fewer high school seniors see problems with having one or two drinks daily.

"The 2009 Monitoring the Future study is a warning sign, and the continued erosion in youth attitudes and behavior toward substance abuse should give pause to all parents and policymakers," Kerlikowske said in a statement. "Considering the troublesome data from other national and local surveys, these latest data confirm that we must redouble our efforts to implement a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to preventing and treating drug use."

For more information, see the ONDCP news release here.

In Marshall County, the Anti-Drug Coalition has been seeing some disturbing trends as well. According to the 2008 PRIDE Survey of students, 6th to 8th graders report their first use of alcohol as 11 and marijuana is 12. The survey found that 3.1 percent of Marshall County students said they used marijuana within the past year. Among 9th through 12th graders, 15.6 percent used marijuana within the last year.

For information about Marshall County trends from the 2008 PRIDE Survey, please see here.

Should TV and Radio Stations Accept Marijuana Advertising?

Medical marijuana has been decriminalized in 13 states, even though it's still illegal under federal law. That has put media outlets into a bind when it comes to deciding whether to accept advertising from marijuana dispensaries. The Poynter Institute writes about that issue today.

The Denver Post and a Sacramento radio station, for example, are accepting advertising. A Denver alternative weekly paper is even running reviews of marijuana dispensaries.

The National Association of Broadcasters isn't taking a stand on whether stations should take the ads or not. NAB executive vp Dennis Wharton said the trade group's legal experts say there doesn't appear to be an law preventing a station from airing a medical marijuana ad. Yet the Poynter Institute said that the station should think about what kind of reaction the public would have and check with its own lawyers.

Kentucky Courts Review Cases Involving Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs

The Louisville Courier-Journal writes that Kentucky's Supreme Court is looking again at a decision involving a mother and a newborn who both tested positive cocaine after the child's birth.

Ina Cochran had been charged following her daughter's birth but the charge was later dismissed on the grounds that an unborn child doesn't qualify as a person in the state's penal code. Now the indictment has been brought again after an appeal by prosecutors.

"It would be absurd to recognize the viable fetus as a person for purposes of homicide laws but not for the purposes of statutes proscribing child abuse," said the Kentucky attorney general. That includes pregnant mothers who abuse drugs, they say.

But others, including Cochran's lawyers and women's groups, say that such prosecutions will discourage women from prenatal care and hospital births.

Times Profiles A. Thomas McLellan

The New York Times profiles A. Thomas McLellan, who became deputy director of the Office on National Drug Control Policy in August.

McLellan was professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on addiction when he was asked by vice president Joe Biden to join the government. For McLellan, the issues are not just professional. His youngest son died at age 30 last year from an overdose; his older son has been in residential treatment and his wife is a recovering cocaine addict.

"I thought it was some kind of sign, you know," McLellan told The TImes. "I would never have done it. I loved all the people I've worked with, I loved my life. But I thought maybe there's a way where what I know plus what I feel could make a difference."

More of the story here.