Attorney General Conway Calls on Sec. Sebelius to Overturn Zohydro Approval

 

 

 

Press Release Date:
Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Contact Information:
Allison Gardner Martin
Communications Director
502-696-5651 (office)

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway joined five other state attorneys general today in calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to overturn the recent approval of Zohydro ER.

“We do not want to see the great strides we have made in Kentucky combating prescription drug abuse reversed,” General Conway said. “For decades, we have fought the disastrous effects of the illegal marketing of the drug OxyContin. Zohydro ER has the potential to exacerbate the prescription pill epidemic, and the FDA’s decision to approve the drug doesn’t make sense.”

A pure hydrocodone pill, Zohydro is five to 10 times more potent than currently available products like Vicodin or Lortab and is set to hit the market this month. The painkiller’s high potential for abuse is what prompted attorneys general from Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia and Maine to send a letter to Sec. Kathleen Sebelius asking her to reverse the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Zohydro. A copy of the letter may be viewed at http://goo.gl/UeYsNU.

In October, the FDA approved Zohydro ER against the recommendation of its advisory panel, which voted 11-2 in opposition because of the drug’s high potential for misuse and its lack of an abuse-deterrent formulation. Additionally, one day before approving Zohydro ER, the FDA recommended reclassifying all hydrocodone products to Schedule II controlled substances because of the abuse potential. Zohydro ER is the first hydrocodone-only opioid narcotic, which is more potent than traditional hydrocodone products that are usually manufactured in a formulation with other non-narcotic analgesics.

“Prescription pill abuse has devastated families across Kentucky,” General Conway said. “The approval of this very potent drug is troubling because, unlike extended-release opioids containing abuse-deterrent properties, there is nothing that would prevent someone from easily crushing or injecting Zohydro ER to get high. The decision is especially concerning given that the FDA’s own advisory panel voted against the drug’s approval.”

In a letter to the commissioner of the FDA last December, General Conway and a bipartisan coalition of 28 other attorneys general asked the FDA to reconsider its approval of Zohydro ER. It also requested that the drug be manufactured with an abuse-proof formula.

General Conway and Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi co-chair the National Association of Attorneys General Substance Abuse Committee.

Prescription Drug Diversion Efforts

Attorney General Conway launched Kentucky’s first and only statewide Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force in August of 2009. The task force has been involved in more than 450 prescription drug diversion investigations, including Operation Flamingo Road, the state’s largest prescription drug bust that resulted in the arrest of more than 500 people.

General Conway also worked closely with Governor Beshear, House Speaker Stumbo, Senate President Stivers and other lawmakers to win passage of landmark legislation in 2012 to prevent the abuse and diversion of prescription pills in the Commonwealth. Since passage of HB 1, overdose deaths in Kentucky declined for the first time in a decade and more than half of the state’s pain management clinics have closed their doors.

In January 2014, General Conway announced that more than $32 million recovered in settlements with two pharmaceutical companies is being used throughout Kentucky to expand substance abuse treatment, including opiate addictions. The settlement funds will create a new treatment center for adults, treatment scholarships, a grant program for new juvenile treatment beds and/or centers, and expanded services for juveniles.

In addition to the work being done here in the Commonwealth, Attorney General Conway reached across party lines to work with Attorney General Pam Bondi in Florida to ensure that her state implemented an electronic prescription drug monitoring system similar to Kentucky’s KASPER system. Together they have worked to shut down the pill pipeline between Florida and Kentucky and to see that all 50 states have prescription drug monitoring programs in place and that all of the programs can share data across state lines.

Keep Kentucky Kids Safe

In 2010, General Conway launched the Keep Kentucky Kids Safe initiative with the Kentucky Justice Cabinet and its Office of Drug Control Policy, Kentucky Pharmacists Association, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), Operation UNITE and concerned parents. Since its launch, Attorney General Conway and his partners have warned approximately 40,000 students, parents and teachers about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

A recent survey has found that the percentage of Kentucky teens misusing prescription drugs has dropped dramatically over the past four years. According to the 2012 Kentucky Incentives for Prevention School Survey, the use of prescription drugs among students without a doctor’s order has decreased steadily among sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders since 2004. The declines have been the most significant since 2008, when the Office of the Attorney General, along with state lawmakers and other agencies across the Commonwealth, began intensifying efforts to fight prescription drug abuse.

As part of the Keep Kentucky Kids Safe program, students are encouraged to participate in an annual statewide video PSA contest created to raise awareness about the risks of prescription drug abuse.

You can follow Attorney General Conway on Twitter @kyoag, visit the Attorney General’s Facebook page or view videos on our YouTube channel.

CONTINUE READING…

Let Us End This Huge Mistake

MSgt Thomas Vance USAF Ret. Published: March 24, 2014 11:02AM

 

 

~~Doctor Michael Privitera, in his op-ed piece in the Kentucky Enquirer titled, ‘Research medical marijuana for epilepsy’, dated 23 March 2014, repeats the myth of marijuana being linked to adverse mental health outcomes with his comment, "Research in recreational marijuana users indicates a risk for learning and behavior".  It is the marijuana and psychosis myth that is loudly touted by the prohibitionists whenever medical or recreational legalization comes up! There is NO link proven between psychosis and marijuana use. This comes from a 2007 Lancet article which reviewed several improperly done studies. The Lancet article is here-
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61162-3/abstract
They are debunked in this article---http://www.alternet.org/story/59500/smoking_pot_won't_make_you_crazy,_but_dealing_with_the_lies_about_it_will
This particular Lancet article was used by Peter Gordon while running for Prime Minister of England. He called for increased penalties for marijuana users as a means to get votes.  It backfired on him and his top medical official quit over it. The myth of marijuana and mental illness started as ‘marijuana causes schizophrenia’ and is now down to, ‘marijuana causes learning and behavior problems in teens’, something that has never been proven. One thing one has to take note of is that all these supposed studies all say, could or might, could indicate, Etc. None say it does. It's another prohibition myth that refuses to die!
The real question one must ask is what about all the other illnesses that children suffer from that can be helped by the medical use of marijuana?   What about their suffering and the suffering of thousands of our citizens that can be helped?  Do they not deserve the same consideration as epileptic children?
In reality much research has already been done on marijuana around the world and some of the discoveries are quite astounding.   Research at Complutense University in Spain has shown that when the cannabinoid THC is introduced to several different cancer cell lines in the test tube, in vitro, the cancer cells die.  This is one of the studies driving current research on marijuana’s effects on cancer.  An article about this can be accessed here-
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/02/18/molecular-biologist-explains-how-thc-completely-kills-cancer-cells/
Marijuana prohibition has been a huge mistake and I would estimate that thousands of Americans have suffered and died unnecessarily because of it.  Let us put this colossal mistake to bed.  Let us end marijuana prohibition in America.

CONTINUE READING…

GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH 2014

GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH 2014

User Rating: / 0

PoorBest

LINKS TO GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH SITES:

Global Marijuana March and 4/20 signup

Portal:Global Marijuana March

FREE DANA BEAL FREE OURSELVES

Global Marijuana March App

PLEASE HELP RONNIE SMITH’S FAMILY!

Brian McCullough via Renee Gibson

Ronnie's sister here. He sent me a message today and I spoke with him a bit ago. It seems that the Dr's. are giving him 2 weeks to live. He said he will be going home with hospice in a couple days. He is still hoping that the oil will help but is sad also. I have created a gofundme page to help me and his son get from KY to CO to be with him. If anyone can help us out it would be much appreciated.

HERE IS THE LINK TO DONATE!
http://www.gofundme.com/7orqn4

HIS FACEBOOK PAGE IS HERE.  PLEASE SEND LOVE AND PRAYERS!

Brian McCullough For the love of God..., please share this far and wide.On group pages and such...

I have to get off line and wont be back till Monday. I want his friends and ours to send healing energy to my buddy.

I can only hope you all will get this message before it's too late.

Peace out, Brian

There’s something about me…

 

Sheree Krider

I do not want to be a politician, nor a lawyer. However, at this point I do wish I had a Law degree!

But I do not want to be put into a position where I can no longer say what I feel is right, but must succumb to the "for the greater good of the people" clause which they use in order to be able to lie to us with a straight face.

I originally came to the USMJParty in 2005 as the Kentucky Chair and Website Administrator. In 2010 I accepted VP of USMJParty although an official Charter was never set up.

In 2011 I appointed William A. Chengelis to Head Chair and Colorado and I resigned the VP position but continued on as Kentucky Chair and help keep up the websites for Kentucky and USMJParty.

Richard Rawlings who was the former Head Chair/President had resigned due to illness, but was still the owner of all of the Websites for the "Party".

Upon his death in February of 2013 I was left with the websites and decided to act as the "Organizer" and Kentucky Chair until such time as the USMJParty sets up an Official Charter and can elect a permanent Head Chairperson.

As Organizer of the U.S. Marijuana Party I can focus on leading the masses thru education and information and get their attention on at least one of the worst Human Rights abuses I have seen in my lifetime with the scope and magnitude of the lies that were spread across virtually the entire GLOBE concerning Cannabis Medications and Hemp, as well as Cannabis for recreational use...

The U.S. Marijuana Party (USMJP) is a "Anti-Prohibition - Repeal and Nullify" Party with regard to Cannabis/Hemp Laws (vs. Legalization - which "leaves" the plant under the total control of the Government and us without any inherit rights to the plant at all). Effectively it is a Pharmaceutical takeover of the plant.

WE ARE MOST IMPORTANTLY A HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY. We need educated - (self-taught is always acceptable), informed, and politically motivated people to run for office under the USMJP. We also need dedicated Chair People and others to set up State Chapters. It is only YOU that can help save our Earth and bring it to peace by petition, voting rights, running for office and activism in whatever form. We are Constitutionalists who believe in adhering to the "Civil Rights" which we were given by the Forefathers of our Country. All of these are important: Human Rights, Civil Rights, Constitutional Rights, Religious Rights, PATIENTS Rights, and many more issues as well, including but not limited to: Global Warming, All other Ecological concerns, Coal Fly Ash and ponds, Fracking, GMO's and their usage. Human Trafficking, Prison abuse, Children's Rights, 1st and 2nd Amendment Rights, etc., (It goes on and on...)

After all, as Gatewood Galbraith once said: "There are only two ways to win a war. One is politically and the other to take it to the streets". I damn sure hope the streets isn't where we end up....

Peace and Prayers to You All!

Sheree Krider

Kentucky Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday to let certain pediatric seizure patients use an oil derived from hemp and marijuana.

 

 

 

FRANKFORT — In a vote that state Sen. Julie Denton said was unimaginable a decade ago, the Kentucky Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday to let certain pediatric seizure patients use an oil derived from hemp and marijuana.

"This was one of those tingly moments you get when you pass a bill that you really know is good for the commonwealth. It is really going to help people's lives," said Denton, R-Louisville.

The 38-0 vote on Denton's Senate Bill 124 is believed to be the first time a Kentucky legislative chamber approved a measure allowing the use of any derivative of hemp and marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The Senate vote occurred as Laureen Vassil of Lexington anxiously looked on in the gallery. Her 15-year-old daughter, Allison, has seizures that are not controlled by medication. She is only able to do first grade work in school.

"I think this bill will help," Vassil said, adding that her family has considered taking Allison to Colorado, where marijuana usage is legal. "But we don't have the means to do that."

The bill would allow the use of cannabidiol, a derivative of hemp, when recommended by a physician practicing at the University of Louisville or University of Kentucky state research hospital.

It also would exempt the oil from the legal definition of marijuana when used in studies approved by the Federal Drug Administration and compassionate-use programs. Such programs use new, unapproved drugs when no other treatments are available.

Debbie McGrath, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana, said she was "thrilled" by the Senate vote.

McGrath said thousands of Kentucky families could benefit from the legislation, which now goes to the House.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the bill does not open the door to unlimited use of marijuana plants for medical purposes, as some lawmakers advocate.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, said he cannot stand "the scourge" of illegal drugs in the state and stressed that SB 124 does not legalize illegal drugs.

He called it a "careful, measured approach" to using hemp and marijuana plants. The Kentucky State Police also supports the bill.

Westerfield said his vote was motivated by a young girl in his district named Clara.

"If I don't take this opportunity to help her, she won't grow up," he said in casting his "yes" vote.

Denton said she thinks the bill has a good chance of winning approval in the House.

"This was drafted with House members as well," she said. "Depending on the committee that it goes to, I think it will have unanimous support or very close to that."

Jack Brammer: (502) 227-1198. Twitter: @BGPolitics. Blog: bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com

READ MORE...