From the desk of Cathy Jordan, FLCAN President. Click to visit home page.

http://takeaction.realreformact.com/o/2012/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1377150

My thoughts are with you..

When I think about evacuating, cannabis is a big concern.

Whether you are a qualified patient using cannabis from a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC) or using cannabis from a trusted source, evacuating with cannabis is a traumatic choice.

Legal patients with medication from an MMTC are on my mind today. Several of the southern dispensaries have already closed for storm preparation. I’ve asked several law-makers what patients should do and have gotten no response so far.

Using cannabis in a shelter is a legally grey area. The Morgan Amendment specifically bans public consumption of cannabis. Shelters are by their very nature PUBLIC. Lawmakers have made an exception to the public consumption ban for school-aged children using low-THC. No one considered what happens if a patient needs to take shelter during a mandatory or voluntary evacuation. Senator Bradley was quoted last year saying he didn’t believe a patient would be arrested for using legal cannabis in an emergency.

Based on FLCAN’s experience, here is what we recommend:

If you are a legal patient:

Take your letter of recommendation from your doctor, and/or your Health Department card with you during the evacuation.
If you are evacuating out of state, unless the state where you stay has a reciprocal agreement in their medical marijuana law, you face the same penalties as any other cannabis user in that state. Your medical card will give you a defense.
Bring a three week supply of your medication in original containers, like any other medicine.
If you intend to use a vaporizer pen to administer your cannabis medication, identify yourself as a special needs patient when checking into a shelter.
If you are using other forms of cannabis from an MMTC there is no reason to identify yourself; if asked, don’t lie.

A legal patient who follows the above steps should have no problem safely using their recommended dose of cannabis during the evacuation. IF you or someone you love does have problems during the evacuation related to using lawfully recommended cannabis contact Florida CAN.

State medical cannabis programs are expanded through the courts. Whether you stay, leave or take an arrest, a patient who is denied the right to use cannabis when seeking shelter from a hurricane will have a day in court.

Here are some suggestions to aid in your defense or a legal challenge:

Decide if you are going to comply and stay in the shelter; leave the shelter with your medicine or face an arrest in advance. If you are considering an arrest, have an arrest plan.
Put things in writing. Start a detailed log or journal about the encounter – who, what, when, and where – while it is fresh in your mind.
Get names and contact information of witnesses.
Write down the time, date and name of each ‘official’ you encounter even if they are only an official volunteer.

We are actively seeking attorneys who will defend patients should their rights be denied.

Here at Florida Cannabis Action Network, we care about people who need to use cannabis, those who want to use cannabis, and those who are already using cannabis ahead of the law.

Lawmakers postponed the first week of committee hearings in Tallahassee, due to Hurricane Irma. We were prepared with a letter writing campaign for the Senate Health Committee on Opiates and planned to attend the hearing for updates from the Department of Health on the implementation of the new medical cannabis program.

We are asking for your help to fund our expenses in Tallahassee during the upcoming legislative session. It costs us over $20,000 annually to be your voice for cannabis consumers in Tallahassee. Businesses care about the bottom line; FLCAN cares about you.

Find shelter from the storm; believe in our power to overcome; and when we come out the other side, give generously to Florida CAN. We never want another person punished for their use of cannabis.

Be safe,

Jodi James,
Executive Director

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Florida Cannabis Action Network | Leading The Grassroots Since 1998
Anonymous Donations to P.O. Box 360653, Melbourne, FL 32936 | Tel: 321-253-3673

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DEA Head Will Resign In Light of All Those DEA Sex Parties

https://en.upost.info/31363939323638393932

Michele Leonhart, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is reportedly due to announce her resignation sometime very soon. Leonhart is said to be resigning over a scandal in which DEA agents attended sex parties paid for by drug cartels and oftentimes thrown in the DEA’s own taxpayer-funded living spaces.

Virtually every major TV news outlet seems to have been tipped off by an unnamed “senior White House official” that Leonhart is announcing her resignation; ABC news reports that the announcement could come as early as this afternoon.

Leonhart, who didn’t attend any drug-cartel-sponsored sex parties herself, has spent her career in law enforcement: she became a DEA agent in the 1980s, was the DEA’s first female Special Agent in Charge and was appointed as DEA administrator by President Obama in 2010. She ran into controversy even before the unfortunate sex party booboo, reportedly criticizing President Obama’s statement that marijuana is pretty similar to alcohol and saying that drug cartel violence in Mexico against children and civilians somehow means the drug war is working.

Leonhart’s resignation is not a surprise: last week, 22 members of the House Oversight Committee from both sides of the aisle issued a statement saying they’d lost confidence in her leadership. The statement called Leonhart “woefully unable to change or positively influence the pervasive ‘good old boy’ culture that exists throughout the agency.”

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This is AG Bondi on interview this AM on Fox News abt 10 AM (09/09/2017)… AG Bondi is talking about all the emergency regulation in Florida when there is an emergency.

One of those emergency regulations was issued by Gov Scott on Sept 5th

Gov. Rick Scott asks POTUS to declare pre-landfall emergency

Additionally, in response to the Governor’s Office Executive Order, OIR has notified all entities writing health insurance in the state of their statutory obligation to allow for early prescription refills. OIR is also coordinating with the Agency for Healthcare Administration and Department of Health.

AG Bondi states in this interview how it should be mandatory that all human beings should have access to ALL ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES.. According to Gov Scott’s Executive Order… that should include PRESCRIPTIONS.

AG Bondi gave out the phone number to her office to file complaints on businesses that fail to honor these emergency regulations  866-9-NOSCAM

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Genetic Panel Test May Help ID Optimal Opioid Dose Needs

http://www.empr.com/painweek-2017/multi-variant-opioid-dose-chronic-pain-at-risk-addiction/article/686840/

Some pain patients may require higher doses for pain control due to genetic variations found in their pain receptors

According to results of a study presented at PAINWeek 2017, a high percentage of severe chronic pain patients had genetic variations in dopamine receptors and a low variation in opioid receptors, possibly explaining why some patients may require increased doses of opioids for pain control.

The study performed genetic testing on 70 patients with severe chronic pain that were unresponsive to standard medical therapy and required >100mg/day of morphine equivalence for pain control. Buccal swab was used to obtain test samples and 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were analyzed. The 4 categories of genetic markers included in the panel were receptor binding and activity (including dopamine, opioid, serotonin, and galanin receptors), neurotransmitter transporters, central nervous system (CNS) enzymes, and cytochrome P450 enzymes. 

Results of the study found that genetic variations in the 3 dopamine receptors tested (DRD1, DRD4, DOR) were observed in 97 to 100% of patients included in the analysis. The study authors also reported that only 17 to 30% of patients were found to have genetic variations in the opioid receptors tested (OPRK1, OPRM1, and MUOR). Additionally, it was found that only the dopamine receptor makers had >90% genetic variation, suggesting that potent stimulation of the opioid receptors was required to obtain pain relief for these patients.

“These results suggest that since the dopaminergic pathway was defective, these pain patients relied on potent stimulation of their opioid receptors to obtain adequate pain relief,” the study authors add.

Based on the results of this study, some severe chronic pain patients may require higher doses of opioids for pain control due to genetic variations found in pain receptors. The study authors add, “These findings need to be investigated in other groups of pain patients who require high dose opioids to determine if dopaminergic defects are an underlying, genetic cause of high dose opioid requirements in some chronic pain patients.”

Read more of MPR’s coverage of PAINWeek 2017 by visiting the conference page.

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Pharmacy, retailers front and center as Florida preps for Hurricane Irma

http://www.drugstorenews.com/article/pharmacy-retailers-front-and-center-florida-preps-hurricane-irma

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http://www.portlight.org/home.html

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Grandma Says Mom in Apparent Joliet Murder-Suicide Complained ‘Body Felt Like It was On Fire’: Report

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Mom-in-Apparent-Joliet-Murder-Suicide-said-Body-Felt-Like-It-was-On-Fire-Grandma-Says-442353713.html?fb_action_ids=10213560297382698&fb_action_types=og.comments

A Joliet mother who is believed to have killed herself and her twin daughters in an apparent murder-suicide had complained her “body felt like it was on fire” before the horrific killings, the children’s grandmother reportedly said. 

In an interview with the Joliet Herald-News, Norma Henning said 41-year-old Celisa Henning had been experiencing health problems since a previous car crash and had seen roughly two dozen doctors, even visiting Mayo Clinic, before her death. 

Norma Henning told the publication her daughter-in-law was “at her wits’ end” but the family “never suspected something like this.” 

The mother and her twin daughters Makayla and Addison, who were just shy of their sixth birthday, were found dead earlier this week in their south suburban home, according to authorities.

Celisa died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and Makayla and Addison Henning each died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Will County Coroner’s office. Their final causes and manners of death will be determined at a later dates pending police, autopsy and toxicological reports, officials said.

Police are currently investigating the triple shooting as apparent murder-suicide. 

Just after 3 p.m., officers responded to a death investigation at the home in the 400 block of North Reed Street in Joliet, according to a statement from Joliet police. When officers arrived they were met by a family member who directed them inside the home, where they witnessed the disturbing scene police described only as “tragic and horrible,” authorities said.

“This is an on-going investigation into a very tragic incident,” Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said.

Witnesses said the father of the children made the gruesome discovery and called police Monday afternoon, though authorities did not immediately confirm that information. 

“It’s kind of crazy,” said neighbor Jesus Franco. “I don’t know why this happened. We never seen things like this happen in this area… never.” 

The twin sisters were just getting ready to start kindergarten at a nearby Catholic school, neighbors said. 

Adele Bryant said the children would play with her dog in their yard and she would come over often to let them play. She had even recently brought the girls a back-to-school gift, a package of art pencils and paper, saying they were excited for their first year of kindergarten. 

“I just wrote them a little note and wished them a happy school and hopefully they would become great artists, they loved drawing,” she said.

Bryant said the family seemed “very normal” and she was “shocked” when she heard the news.

“It’s a very sad loss to have a family erased,” she said. 

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk also offered his condolences “to the family and friends.”

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Opioid abuse expert skeptical of pill timing cap effectiveness

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/36316948/opioid-abuse-expert-skeptical-of-pill-timing-cap-effectiveness

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) –

It’s just one tool, but it’s being marketed to help you avoid medication mistakes.

Timer Caps are being sold at CVS Pharmacy stores nationwide. The product is gaining exposure as a new report surfaces, showing an increase in overdose deaths this summer in Arizona.

According to an Associated Press report, preliminary data appears to show the rise in deaths, even after Governor Doug Ducey declared a health emergency to address the national opioid epidemic affecting Arizona.

Like a stopwatch, Timer Caps resets every time you close the container and begins to displays time passed since last closed, the product website said.

But Timer Caps are very similar to setting a reminder on your phone, or the many other applications out there, including things like MedMinder, according to Stephanie Green, VP of Nursing for CODAC Health Recovery Wellness.

Studies are still being done to figure out its effectiveness.

Timer Caps put out a news release saying the product can help “reduce medication errors.”

But Green said it would be misguided to assume the path to opioid abuse is simply a mistake.

“It’s assuming that a person is just accidentally mistaking their medication and that if they had a gentle reminder, they would take it appropriately. It’s totally ignoring the behavioral patterning behind intentional misuse of medication,” she explained.

The latest AP report states health officials can’t confirm a definitive increase in deaths until final cause reports are available. But the state report released Wednesday showed Arizona had 280 suspected opioid deaths from mid-June through Aug. 24. A previous report noted 790 opioid total deaths in 2016.

The AP report also said that the state reported there were more than 2,300 suspected overdoses during that period throughout all but one of Arizona’s 15 counties.

Green said she does see the positive outcome for someone using the Timer Caps.

“For those who are genuinely, innocently mistaking their medications, yes, it’ll help them. Because it deters their risk of becoming dependent or abusing or misusing medication. However, for someone who is intentionally doing it, it’s not going to offer any sort of assistance. They’re not going to pursue or purchase it. Even if they’re family purchases it they’re probably going to throw it away. This is not a behavior change.”

She believes the Timer Caps could be beneficial for a spouse, child, parent or caregiver, who wants to keep a closer eye on the patient’s prescription pill use.

Green believes the next logical step for prescription opioid overdose protection would be limited refills.

“Looking at the way we’re filling prescriptions at the pharmacy is going to be imperative. Going to the pharmacy and being able to get 30, 60, or 90 opioid prescription pills is what’s really lending to the problem that we’re experiencing as a society. These medications are not meant for long-term use. They’re meant for short-term pain resolution. If pain persists past six to eight weeks, we need to look at different causes of that pain.”

Arizona Department of Health Services officials say the latest report underscores the urgency to take action. The report includes a series of recommendations for law enforcement, opioid legislation, and medical education curriculum across Arizona, the AP said.

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The Staffers Handling Health Care for Your Senators

www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/senate-health-care-staffers/

As we said in the Guide, the person answering the phone when you call your member of Congress’ office will be a staff assistant or intern. You should always ask for the Senator’s legislative assistant who handles that particular issue for the Senator. In this case: health care. Often times, you’ll be put through to that person’s voicemail. Leave one. And then use the information below to send a follow-up email. Note: updated on July 6 to reflect new BCRA numbers.

Interactive map on the above LINK

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