Mexican Cartels Are Not Playing Around and They Will Stop At Nothin

Mexican cartels have been ravaging the pristine forests that cover the vast state of California. Unlike anything that has ever been seen, the size of the cartels marijuana fields dwarf any fields planted by the residents of California. As the medical marijuana movement sweeps across the country the cartels have found a way to exploit the relaxed marijuana laws. Plant numbers are of no concern to the cartels who smuggle illegal immigrants into the country to tend 70,000 plant crops on public lands, which end up yielding 35 to 75,000 pounds of marijuana in one harvest. At the end of the day it makes financial sense for the cartels to grow marijuana in the United States, having the product already on this side of the border saves millions in transportation costs. When the marijuana is harvested the cartels can easily move the drug to every major city in the United States. California is finding that it simply does not have the manpower to police these activities.

Brent Wood, a supervisor for the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, said to the AP; "just like the Mexicans took over the methamphetamine trade, they've gone to mega, monster gardens". Methamphetamine production shifted across the border into Mexico a few years back when the United States cracked down on the availability of Pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in Meth. The meth labs created in Mexico were larger than any ever attempted before, reminiscent of the scale of the guerrilla marijuana operations taking place in the States. The cartels are not playing around and they will stop at nothing to get what they desire - billions of dollars.

On top of trashing public lands, the cartels have been holding people hostage on the farms to work the land. The cartels find out where their workers' families are back in Mexico and use their loved ones as leverage to keep them working. "Many of the plots are encircled with crude explosives and are patrolled by guards armed with AK-47s who survey the perimeter from the ground and from perches high in the trees", according to an AP report. How are local authorities supposed to combat this growing threat?

The Final Words Have Been Said About the Death of Brittany Murphy

AP

Well, it seems like the final words have been said regarding the death of actor Brittany Murphy. The Los Angeles Coroner found that Murphy's weight was in the normal range for her height despite the rumors of an eating disorder. The coroner confirmed Brittany's husband, Simon Monjack's, repeated claims that she did not abuse drugs or alcohol; even though there were high levels of pain medication in her system, as well as over-the-counter cold medicine. In the beginning of this month the coroner stated that Murphy died from pneumonia, with multiple drug intoxication and a low-blood count as contributing factors - the death was believed to be accidental but preventable. Preventable?

It is true that people die from pneumonia every day, actually it can be quite common for elderly people to succumb to it. Brittany was a successful young actor who was reportedly healthy and had no substance abuse or mental disorders. It seems like her death was more than avoidable! If drugs were not an issue, then why did Murphy fill a prescription for 120 Vicodin pills 11 days before her death, and only 11 were left when she was found collapsed in her home. No one seems to know why she was prescribed the medication and the prescribing doctor surprisingly cannot be located. No more than four Vicodins are to be taken daily because of the acetaminophen levels, making the max she should have taken in eleven days would be 44 pills instead of 109. Apparently, to no avail, the coroner's officials have tried to find out from Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, if he knows anything about the whereabouts of the missing doctor.

It all seems strange that her death is being ruled an accident when it clearly seems like there is more than meets the eye. It saddening that people would try and cover up the truth about the tragic and needless death of a beautiful star; to say that Brittany was struggling with prescription pain medication would be an understatement and Vicodin certainly played a part in her death. We do not honor Murphy's memory by trying to hide the truth about her life.

Zookeepers Have Sent a Chimpanzee to Rehab in Russia

The word "addiction", is a word that once could only be applied to human beings. The thought of an animal becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol is something hard to believe and is almost comedic. Unfortunately, those animals that are not far down the evolutionary ladder from humans are just as susceptible to developing habits and addictions. Chimpanzees have commonly been used for drug experiments over the years. In one experiment, a chimpanzee was taught to hit a lever in his cage, when hit, a dose of cocaine would be administered. The scientists would gradually change the amount of times the chimp would have to hit the lever to get a single dose. The study was finally canceled when the chimpanzee was witnessed hitting the lever 12,000 times to get one dose of cocaine. Other experiments have been done that allowed the animal a choice between a lever for water and a lever for a morphine solution, as you might guess, the lever for water saw little activity. It's pretty clear that brain chemistry in animals is not too dissimilar from human beings. The main difference between a chimpanzee becoming an addict and human beings, is a matter of perception; no one would ever say that an animal that has become addicted to a substance is : attempting to be different, a rebel, a criminal, from a bad family or the product of socioeconomic disasters. Therein lays the key point about addiction that it doesn't matter where you are from or what you have been through; addiction makes no exceptions for the person you are, it is a disease that countless people are born with.

The Moscow Times recently reported that zookeepers have sent a chimpanzee to rehab in Russia after the chimp named Zhora began begging visitors for booze and cigarettes. Zhora, picked up smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol while performing in the circus. Zhora has been at the whim of visitors to the zoo who find it funny to see her smoke cigarettes and stumble around drunk inside the cage. I fail to see the humor in all this, when an animal is an addict it's "funny", yet, when a human is an addict it is pathetic. Nevertheless, wild animals in captivity are subject to whatever we put them through, if you give a substance to an animal like alcohol repeatedly, dependency is bound to develop.

Now, Zhora is in treatment fighting off the demons that the audience gave her with a smile on their faces - hilarious, right? Animals have little business in captivity to begin with, they have enough environmental stress day to day inside of their cages; to think that humans would work to shorten a life already shortened by giving them drugs. Sad!

Parents Have Started To Crack Down On Universities

Drinking on college campuses takes place every day, in the dorms or at house parties alcohol can be a regular part of collegiate life. Millions of young adults are unleashed upon the world and most parents are aware that their children will probably par take in some illicit activities at some point during their college years. The reality is that some students while partying will get caught, resulting in the campus administrators having to punish the students by making them attend a class or two about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Punishment is not very harsh and there is probably no need for it to be. In the past, parents were rarely informed about their children's extracurricular activities.

Due to privacy laws, when speaking with parents, universities are really only allowed to talk about tuition unless the student is underage and received an infraction. Interestingly enough, schools have had this authority for more than a decade and rarely exercised it unless there were multiple offenses or drugs were involved. It seems pretty clear that campus authorities worry a lot less about alcohol than they do drugs. College drinking is on the rise according to researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism most recent figures. Between 1998 and 2005, the report showed increased binge drinking, drunk driving, and alcohol-related deaths.

Parents have started to crack down on universities, demanding to know when their child has been drinking so that signs can be spotted before things get out of hand. "This semester, Virginia Tech joined a growing list of colleges that notify parents every time a student younger than 21 is caught drinking, drunk or in possession of alcohol. George Washington University also tightened its notification policy last year after a student died of alcohol poisoning", according to the Washington Post. A college campus can be the perfect environment for unknown addictions to spread their wings if they go unchecked, the need for universities to communicate with parents is crucial. Campuses work hard to curb drinking but their programs are relatively ineffective.

The vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, Edward Spencer made a valid point: "Students are more concerned about their parents being notified than they are of the legal consequences". Parents are concerned and they have a right to be, students may be adults, but, it's usually parents paying the tuition. Parents can help colleges with their anti-drinking campaigns; parents can have a huge effect on the habits of their children.

Heroin Drug Abuse Among Teens and Young Adults

Heroin has been sweeping through the suburbs of New York City and is becoming a fast growing trend throughout the northeast. Despite the introduction of cutting agents, chemicals that dilute the strength of the drug providing a bigger yield, toady's heroin happens to be stronger and cheaper than it once was. People are struggling to figure the cause of this new wave of heroin drug abuse among teens and young adults, heroin is commonly thought of only being used by the "low of the low"; this misconception has allowed teen drug habits to progress unchecked, heroin is just such an unbelievable drug for teens to be experimenting with.

Bags of heroin for street purchase are usually marked with a skull and cross bones or words like "Kiss of Death" and "R.I.P". "A bag of heroin can sell for $5 to $25 and induce a six- to eight-hour high, according to officials and former users. Cocaine, by comparison, can cost $40 to $60 for a 30-minute high, while prescription painkillers like Vicodin or OxyContin sell for upward of $40 a pill on the street. The heroin available in the Northeast these days is purer than the kind that ravaged New York City in the 1970s, experts say, and almost certainly as lethal, if not more", according to the New York Times. It is thought that the lethality of the drug plays a large role in teenagers' attraction to it; the idea of cheating death and a sense of invisibility among teens draws many to the drug. According to Bridget G. Brennan, New York City's special narcotics prosecutor, "recent drug raids of so-called heroin mills have yielded hundreds of thousands of bags at a time, up from several hundred bags a year ago".

People are overdosing and dying all over the northeast, many times before anyone even knew they was an addiction problem occurring. In Nassau County, Long Island 25 people died of overdoses just in the first 6 months of 2009; it appears that the number of heroin related overdoses has been doubling every year, making clear the heroin should be a major concern amongst parents, even those in upper-middle class suburbs. Once the hand of heroin addiction grabs a hold of someone, it unfortunately takes repeated pain and suffering before the addict will even consider the remote possibility of seeking out recovery. Very few people have ever managed to "kick" heroin on their own, treatment is usually the only route to freedom with such a powerful drug; often heroin addicts end up checking into treatment multiple times in their life before sobriety sticks to them.

Patrick Kennedy Will Step Down

Congressman Patrick Kennedy with his late father, Senator Ted Kennedy

"Going forward I will continue many of the fights we waged together, particularly on behalf of those suffering from depression, addiction, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder," Kennedy said in a quote drawn from the video by AFP.

Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, will step down and not seek a ninth term in the House of Representatives. Patrick Kennedy is an ambitious statesman who made the suffering his first priority; his work set the ball in motion for serious health care reform. Patrick struggled for years with drugs and alcohol as well as being diagnosed with a debilitating bipolar disorder. When Patrick found sobriety four years ago he made it his personal mission to completely reform health care in America. Kennedy thanked Rhode Island voters for their continued support despite his dealings with addiction. "When I made missteps or suffered setbacks, you responded not with contempt, but compassion. Thank you for all the times you lifted me up, pushed me forward and filled my heart with hope".

In 2008, Kennedy founded and heads up, the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus; he worked hand and hand with Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici in the creation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Kennedy, in short, has become the voice of the addiction community in a number of ways; he has battled to help the disenfranchised at every opportunity.

Retired Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.), commented on Kennedy's decision to step down, "a huge loss for people with mental illness and addiction, as Patrick Kennedy was their greatest champion in Washington". Ramstad co-sponsored the House version of the parity bill; he understands better than most the caliber of statesmen that Rhode Island and the whole nation will be losing. There are many United States citizens that suffer from the disease of addiction, in many ways, it takes an addict to understand an addict; there are not many politicians who have the back of the addicted and mentally disabled. During his career, Patrick Kennedy fought for reforms in: health care, juvenile justice, the parity bill, and he secured the channeling of more federal funding for addiction programs.

"Patrick's courageous admissions of his own struggles with bipolar disease and alcoholism have helped reduce the stigma of these diseases, and his personal recovery has been a great inspiration to many people. Were Patrick Kennedy's uncle, President Kennedy, still alive and were President Kennedy to write a sequel to Profiles in Courage, his nephew Patrick would occupy a full chapter", said Ramstad.

U.S. Army Soldiers With Alcohol Problems

High stress jobs have always been a contributing factor to the amount of alcohol consumed by employees. The military has always struggled with how to handle alcoholism both at home and in war zones. In 2009, over 9,000 soldiers got treatment for alcohol abuse, this treatment consisted of regular trips to a counselor; the number of soldiers needing assistance with their alcohol problems is up from 6,000 in 2003. Multiple tours in Iraqi combat zones have had a direct effect on the number of U.S. Army soldiers with alcohol problems; combat stress has caused the number of diagnosed alcohol problems to double since 2003.

The military offers soldiers the opportunity to seek help for their addictions, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. Soldiers who seek help will not have that information put into their permanent records which will keep their career intact. This is a pretty amazing thing, no longer will alcoholism be a cause for promotion denial; having notes of alcoholism in one's record use to keep soldiers from ever advancing career wise. Lots of soldiers discover they have an alcohol problem in the worst of environments; swift action to help these individuals is extremely necessary.

In the 1990's the Army banned the use of alcohol in combat zones; which resulted in fewer alcohol related disciplinary problems with soldiers overall. Unfortunately, those military units that were charged with going back into combat a second or third time found the stress too much to handle, alcohol was an easy solution. Drugs, for the most part, are easy to detect making them an unlikely choice amongst soldiers for stress relief. When soldiers get back from combat, they end up hitting the booze twice as hard as they did before being deployed.

It is great that the military offers some support for those struggling with alcohol. However, it does appear that they would rather sweep alcoholics under the rug than have their records and the military's record smeared. Just seeing a counselor once a week will hardly have any long term effect towards recovery.