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Maricopa County tackling 3 major health issues
One of public health’s primary jobs is to identify the biggest health issues faced by residents and develop strategies to educate and prevent those issues from causing harm. We take a different view than health care.
Arizona could be first state to perform randomized controlled clinical trials of ‘magic mushrooms’
Arizona could be the first state to conduct randomized controlled clinical trials of “magic mushrooms.”
Criminal justice reform should set up ex-prisoners to succeed
About 95 percent of prison inmates will eventually be released from custody and will return to our communities. They could be the person standing next to you at the grocery store or your neighbor across the street. While always keeping public safety first in mind, we should all agree that more should be done to set them up to succeed after incarceration. That must be the goal of any criminal just[...]
Dearth of treatment services, ‘outmoded’ approach plague dually diagnosed patients
Treatment services are severely lacking for people who are diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorders, and what some criticize as an outdated approach throws up obstacles in times of need.
Groups join in condemnation of bill to repeal, replace Obamacare
As the U.S. Senate mulls over the Republicans’ health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, local opponents are crying foul on behalf of a variety of people facing cuts to their Medicaid coverage.
$3.5 million allocated for high school substance abuse prevention
The Governor’s Office for Youth, Faith and Family will release about $3.5 million in new funding for substance abuse prevention programs for high school youth — a key demographic to target when tackling Arizona’s opioid epidemic.
Arizona gets federal funding for substance abuse
Arizona is getting a $7.5 million federal grant to tackle substance abuse problems in five counties across the northern half of the state.
Drug demand reduction a key issue in border security
The fight against border drug trafficking must address reducing demand, federal and Arizona law enforcement officials told a congressional panel in Phoenix.
Judge rules pot dispensaries must have doctors
An Arizona judge has ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries must employ a physician as a medical director to help oversee operations.
‘Spice’ no safe marijuana alternative
The toxic substance is widely available in smoke shops and liquor stores, as well as in wide supply on the Internet, advertised as “state legal.” Along with that description, companies promoting Spice should add “unsafe” and “potentially lethal” on the packaging.
A failure to rehabilitate
Arizona spent $121 million on drug- and alcohol-treatment programs in 2008, but a report by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office indicates the programs have failed to change the behavior of most substance-abusing patients. Nearly half of the patients who began substance-abuse treatment during the past three years dropped out before finishing the programs.
