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Public hearing planned on medical marijuana
New Mexicans will be able to have their say on proposed rules for the state's medical marijuana program.
The state Department of Health announced Thursday that it will hold a public hearing Sept. 8 in Santa Fe to take comments on regulations that would set up rules for patient identification cards and a regulated system for licensing, distributing and manufacturing medical marijuana.
The state law that took effect in July 2007 allows marijuana for pain or other symptoms of specified debilitating illnesses. The department has approved 169 people for medical marijuana, including 40 with spinal cord damage, 39 with HIV-AIDS, 36 with cancer, 28 with multiple sclerosis, 14 with epilepsy and 12 with glaucoma.
New Mexico has been careful in drafting its regulations because no other state has developed rules for a distribution and production system, Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil said.
The state proposes two types of licensed producers: a qualified patient who can produce a defined supply for personal use only and a nonprofit private entity operating a facility limited to 95 mature plants and seedlings at any time.
The health secretary will consider the needs of qualified patients and public safety in determining the number and location of licenses.
The regulations include measures to prevent unauthorized marijuana use by requiring criminal background checks for applicants, security measures for facilities and a warning that unauthorized use will be referred to state law enforcement.
The hearing also will take public comments on the proposed rules for the identification card program, the third hearing on that part of the program.
That plan would let patients possess six ounces of medical marijuana as a supply for three months. Patients with a license to produce could have four mature plants and 12 seedlings.
The department has made several changes in the draft proposal based on previous comments, including adding definitions for usable marijuana, adding an appeal and revising a monitoring system to be more respectful to patients. New Mexicans will be able to have their say on proposed rules for the state's medical marijuana program. ... more -
Scientific Progress or Has Big Brother Gone too far?
Should parents be required to have their babies undergo genetic testing?
The governor of Pennsylvania just signed a new law mandating newborn screening for six genetic and metabolic conditions. "Pennsylvania now joins many other states that screen for at least 29 conditions at birth."
Is this a sign of progress, or has government stepped too far?
Should parents be required to have their babies undergo genetic testing? ... more -
FEMA buys 500,000 plastic coffins, stored outside Atlanta.
Why would FEMA order all those coffins? Atlanta is home to the CDC, and one of the nations largest airports and transportation hubs.
http://www.polyguardvaults.com/index.cfm?ID=9
add to that the appearence of several fully operational detention camps across the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9dqe6s_JQ4&feature=...
Yet somehow all this information has escaped the monkey media.
If the people of this country don't wake up quickly it will be far to late. My advice to you is be prepared. You have the right to bear arms, use it, you have the right to defend your home and family, get ready to be forced to do so. This is a direct attack on the American people, will you let them lead you away to a re-education center or will you go down fighting ? This is the NWO in full scale attack on your country, your democracy, and your life. There are many more of us out here . And this is fast becoming an Orwellian nightmare. Will you follow as sheep or stand against tyranny as MEN? Why would FEMA order all those coffins? Atlanta is home to the CDC, and one of the nations largest airports and transportation hubs. ... more -
Patient's insurance canceled hours before life-saving brain operation
Caitlin Jackson recently was diagnosed with the disorder Chiari malformation, which causes her excruciating headaches and fainting spells. The condition eventually destroys motor skills and memory.
"I constantly have to have somebody around me," Jackson told Tampa Bay’s 10 News. "I can't even stay at home for five minutes."
She was hours from getting the necessary surgery for her condition when her insurance company, Aetna, waited too long to approve the operation, giving the green light 15 minutes too late. By the time it sent approval, Jackson had lost the operating room to another patient and her surgery had to be rescheduled.
But Aetna then told Jackson it would not cover the surgery at all, saying her benefits had run out and leaving her to cover the $113,000 surgery.
Jackson told Tampa Bay’s 10 News that while her family is in talks with lawyers about appealing the insurance company's decision and while Aetna reviews her case, she has put her life on hold.
"I just have told myself. I have to get through this. I have to pray my way through it," Jackson told Tampa Bay’s 10 News.
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Caitlin Jackson recently was diagnosed with the disorder Chiari malformation, which causes her excruciating headaches and fainting spe... more -
Cancer Survival Depends on Where You Live or Your Skin Color
Your odds of surviving cancer depend on which country you live in. And, in the United States, it also depends on whether you're black or white, a new study finds.
Economic differences among countries, access to health care, and the availability of cancer treatments feed the disparities in survival, the report said.
"There is a very wide global range in the odds of survival after a cancer diagnosis," said lead researcher Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Great Britain. "Some of the range is understandable on the basis of the relative wealth of these countries," he added.
The study also confirms the disparity in cancer survival among blacks and whites in the United States, Coleman said. "The differences are large across the U.S.A., and even in different metropolitan areas," he said.
... there's a big disparity in cancer survival rates between whites and blacks in the United States, and it favors whites. Your odds of surviving cancer depend on which country you live in. And, in the United States, it also depends on whether you're black ... more -
Sad pets need love and exercise - not drugs
The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior-modification and “lifestyle” drugs specifically for pets. America’s animals, it seems, have very American health problems. More than 20 percent of our dogs are overweight; Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved by the F.D.A. last year as the country’s first canine anti-obesity medication. Dogs live 13 years on average, considerably longer than they did in the past; Pfizer’s Anipryl treats cognitive dysfunction so that absent-minded pets can remember the location of the supper bowl or doggy door. For lonely dogs with separation anxiety, Eli Lilly brought to market its own drug Reconcile last year. The only difference between it and Prozac is that Reconcile is chewable and tastes like beef.
Doggy diet pills may be plainly absurd, but scientists in an expanding field known as behavioral pharmacology say that the combination of new drug therapies and progressive training techniques can solve problems that in the past almost always resulted in euthanasia. The supposed effectiveness of psychiatric medicines in treating mood and behavior issues is prompting new questions in the centuries-old debate over what, exactly, separates mankind from the beasts. If the strict Cartesian view were true — that animals are essentially flesh-and-blood automatons, lacking anything resembling human emotion, memory and consciousness — then why do animals develop mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones and that respond to the same medications? What can behavioral pharmacology teach us about animal minds and, ultimately, our own?
Marketers have a new name for the age-old tendency to view animals as furry versions of ourselves: “humanization,” a trend that is fueling the explosive growth of the pet industry and the rise of modern pet pharma. Americans forked over $49 billion for pet products and services last year, up $11.5 billion from 2003; other than consumer electronics, pet products are the fastest-growing retail segment. The market expansion is being driven both by more pets and by more spending per pet, especially by affluent baby boomers whose children have graduated from college. A third of the total spending, and the fastest-growing category, is health care, with treatments formerly reserved for people — root canals, chemotherapy, liposuction, mood pills — being administered to pets.
“I get asked all the time, ‘What is it with this humanization — do we suddenly love our pets a whole lot more?’ ” says David Lummis, who analyzes the pet industry for the market research firm Packaged Facts. “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet.”
Humanization has pharmaceutical companies salivating like Pavlov’s dogs. Surveys by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found that 77 percent of dog owners and 52 percent of cat owners gave their animals some sort of medication in 2006, both up at least 25 percentage points from 2004. Sales of drugs for pets recently surpassed those for farm animals. Eli Lilly created its “companion animal” division at the beginning of 2007 and over the next three years hopes to release several other drugs. Pfizer, whose companion animal revenues have grown 57 percent since 2003 to nearly $1 billion, hopes to develop medications for pain, cancer and behavioral issues. Most consumer spending is still on traditional pet medications like antiparasitics, but Ipsos, a marketing research firm, estimates that at least $15 million was spent on behavior-modification drugs in the United States in 2005. The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and ph... more -
100 most unhealthy foods in the American diet
Looking for some healthier foods to eat than your usual fare? It may be wise to first figure out what not to eat. Unfortunately, many of the best-tasting foods in America are terrible for us. Whether they are high in calories, fat, sugar, sodium or some other nasty additive, America’s 100 most unhealthy foods.
Some of the foods on this list are obviously unhealthy, though you may be surprised by a few. (It is the stealthy ones that can really get us at times.) Also included - beverages, as well as the worst dishes from popular American chain restaurants, to round out the list.
Common Household Foods
1. Baked Beans
2. Campbell’s Condensed Soups
3. Chicken Pot Pie
4. Hot Dogs
5. Luncheon Meats
6. Ramen Noodles
7. Saltines
8. White Bread
9. White Pasta
10. White Potatoes
Drinks
11. Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake
12. Cocktails
13. Coffee
14. Diet Soda
15. Eggnog
16. "Fruit Juice"
17. "Fruit" Smoothie
18. Irish Coffee
19. Liquor
20. Red Bull
21. Soda
22. Starbucks’ Java Chip Frappuccino
23. Whole Milk
Snacks
24. Chocolate
25. Coffee Cake
26. Cookies
27. Corn Chips
28. Doughnuts
29. French Fries
30. Ice Cream
31. Lunchables
32. Potato Chips
“Health Foods”
33. Bagel and Cream Cheese
34. Bran Muffin\
35. Dried Fruit
36. Fruit Cocktail (canned / syrup)
37. Granola Bars
38. Low-Fat Salad Dressing
39. Margarine
40. Microwave Diet Meals
41. Olive Oil
42. Pasta Salad
43. Pretzels
44. Protein Bars
45. Tuna Fish Sandwich
46. Turkey Burger
47. Yogurt Cups
Condiments
48. Butter
49. Honey Mustard
50. Jellies/Jams/Preserves
51. Ketchup
52. Mayonnaise
53. Sugar
54. Salt
55. Soy Sauce
56. Tartar Sauce
Allergens
57. Dairy Products.
58. Eggs
59. Fish
60. Gluten
61. MSG
62. Peanuts
63. Shellfish
64. Soy
65. Wheat
Applebee’s
66. Grilled Steak Caesar Salad
67. Riblets With Beans, Coleslaw and Fries\
68. Southwest Philly Roll-Up With Salsa\
Burger King
69. Double Whopper
70. Double Whopper With Cheese
71. King Size French Fries
Chili’s Grill & Bar
72. Awesome Blossom
73. Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad
74. Chicken Crispers
75. Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie
Kentucky Fried Chicken
76. Chicken and Biscuit Bowl
77. KFC Original Recipe Chicken
78. Popcorn Chicken
79. Poutine
McDonald’s
80. Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips
81. Chicken McNuggets.
82. Crispy Chicken Club Meal
83. Deluxe Breakfast With Syrup and Margarine
84. Premium Grilled Chicken Meal
On the Border
85. Beef and Chicken Quesadillas
86. Border Sampler
87. Corona Extra Dinner
88. Dos XX Fish Tacos
89. Grande Taco Salad With Taco Beef
90. Stacked Border Nachos
Outback Steakhouse
91. Aussie Cheese Fries
92. Bloomin’ Onion
93. Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
94. Melbourne Porterhouse
Quiznos
95. Classic Italian Sub
96. Tuna Melt
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
97. Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
98. Chicken Portobello
99. Double Macaroni ‘n’ Cheese
100. Spaghetti & Meatballs (With Meat Sauce)
[visit link for detail] Looking for some healthier foods to eat than your usual fare? It may be wise to first figure out what not to eat. Unfortunately, many ... more -
The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1
Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality. In fact, some of the most inexpensive things you can buy are the best things for you. Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have ... more
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Vasectomy Vacations
With the cost of medical procedures rising, a lot of patients are leaving the country to seek medical care and many big insurance giants are entertaining or implementing programs that pay for at least part of a medical costs abroad. With the cost of medical procedures rising, a lot of patients are leaving the country to seek medical care and many big insurance gian... more
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National disaster, right under our noses.
Today I met a man ( around 60 yrs old) wearing a shirt that read Clean Coal on the front and Abundant, Cheap and Clean on the back. As I passed him I asked " Did Santa Clause bring you that shirt? " He replied "F#*kin' treehugger" I laughed as I walked away. How lucky was this man that I don't believe the marijuana B.S. either. Today I met a man ( around 60 yrs old) wearing a shirt that read Clean Coal on the front and Abundant, Cheap and Clean on the back. As... more
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Deadly racism in healthcare
After conducting a series of experiments designed to discover what, if any, prejudice doctors hold towards their African-American patients, researchers have concluded that racism may not be the worst consequence blacks face in the emergency room.
Blacks are far less likely to have primary care physicians, leading to more visits to the emergency room, rushed medical care, and longer times spent sick, between symptoms and diagnoses.
"A 2000 study demonstrated that doctors rated black patients as less intelligent, less educated, more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to fail to comply with medical advice, more likely to lack social support, and less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than whites, even after income, education and personality characteristics were taken into account."
Worse still, studies suggest that while doctors may not overtly discriminate between black and white patients, more subtle forms of racism still exist which may very well threaten the lives of African-American patients:
"It turns out the doctors didn't harbor any overt bias or prejudice. But the results of the IAT and the outcome of the heart attack scenario told us something quite different: More doctors subconsciously attributed negative traits to blacks (thinking them "uncooperative" or "bad") than whites. Worse was the way these biases translated into clinical decisions. While doctors diagnosed more blacks with a heart attack, they ended up prescribing treatment for blacks and whites in essentially equal numbers, meaning that black patients having heart attacks were going untreated. Further, as the degree of bias toward blacks increased, so did their likelihood of not getting treated."
After conducting a series of experiments designed to discover what, if any, prejudice doctors hold towards their African-American pati... more -
In India, it pays to use public toilets
- It pays to use a toilet in southern India, as residents are earning close to a dollar a month by using public urinals, a scheme launched by authorities to promote hygiene and research in rural areas.
Dozens of people are queuing up to use toilets in Musiri, a remote town in Tamil Nadu state, where authorities have succeeded in keeping street corners clean with the new scheme, The Times of India newspaper said on Sunday.
"In fact, many of us started using toilets for urination only after the ecosan (ecological sanitation) toilets were constructed in the area," said S. Rajasekaran, a truck cleaner. - It pays to use a toilet in southern India, as residents are earning close to a dollar a month by using public urinals, a scheme laun... more -
Healthcare is no longer an issue,
What happened to healthcare? Vague references to political stances on healthcare are all that have survived from being a key issue.
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Healthy San Francisco still working out kinks
It's been a year since San Francisco initiated its Healthy San Francisco program, which aims at providing universal health care to its residents. There are still some problems to be solved regarding it (an actual timeline, who to induct into the program first, etc.), but the whole concept of a single city taking on a project such as this is remarkable. Do you think other cities should be taking this kind of initiative, or be waiting until the federal government goes for it? It's been a year since San Francisco initiated its Healthy San Francisco program, which aims at providing universal health care to its... more
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EU plans cross-border healthcare
The European Commission has unveiled a healthcare package designed to make it easier for patients to get medical treatment elsewhere in the EU.
Under the proposals, patients would not have to get their doctor's approval for non-hospital care abroad. The European Parliament and EU governments must approve the rules for them to take effect. The European Commission has unveiled a healthcare package designed to make it easier for patients to get medical treatment elsewhere i... more -
Doctor holds patient hostage until she pays her bill
"A doctor named John Drew Laurusonis and two of his assistants in Georgia have been accused of locking a woman in an examination room "when concerns arose about her ability to pay the bill." The three were indicted last week on charges of false imprisonment for the October 4th, 2007 incident. For several hours, the staff refused to allow her to leave, locking her in for periods of time, [her attorney Joseph] Fried said. They had her log into her bank records from a computer while she was there, he said.
"They said, 'Don't you have anyone who loves you who can come and help you? Because you're not leaving until this bill is paid,'" Fried said. "They made her feel like she was a criminal. She was made to feel like she couldn't leave without something bad to happen to her."
One reason the patient couldn't pay was that she was charged nearly eight times more for the visit than she was initially told by clinic employees, from $98 to $755. The patient, Frances Bales, was described as "less assertive than other people" — by her attorney, no less.
We hope Bales remembers to bring a Taser or pepper spray to her next appointment. In fact, maybe all patients of Dr. Laurusonis should make sure friends and family know where they're going and how long they expect to be gone, just in case there are any billing problems."
Thanks to Deborah! "A doctor named John Drew Laurusonis and two of his assistants in Georgia have been accused of locking a woman in an examination room ... more -
Life and Sex Work in Portland, OR
There's the anecdote about Portland having the most strip clubs of any city in the US. Along with these strip clubs there are a lot of women doing sex work in and around the city. How do they feel about it? How do they do it? Who are they? And where do they get the support they need. This short looks at sex work and the social services agencies that have gathered together to provide services and resources for a very present, and yet hidden and dismissed, group of women working in Portland. There's the anecdote about Portland having the most strip clubs of any city in the US. Along with these strip clubs there are a lot of... more
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Investigation into relationships between pharmaceutical industry, FDA & medica...
Takes a look at why patented drugs are so readily prescribed by doctors, the role insurance companies and HMO's play in promoting compliance, and the problem of rising health care costs. An in-depth investigation into the symbiotic relationships between the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA, lobbyists, lawmakers, medical schools, and researchers, and the impact this has on consumers and their health care.
One and a half hour show...grab your iced tea and sit back : )
Takes a look at why patented drugs are so readily prescribed by doctors, the role insurance companies and HMO's play in promoting comp... more -
America's next great disaster - Socialized Medicine
Let's put this one under the law of unintended consequences. Most of the progressives I know rail against tax breaks for corporations. If the Government nationalizes the healthcare system it would be the largest piece of corporate welfare ever given. If Uncle Sugar is going to cover you why should your employer, union or pension plan continue to pay?
Anyone who wants the government to run the healthcare system has not spent enough time at the DMV. At least with the DMV you can make choices to avoid the government, you can ride the bus or a bike. Maybe that's why the DMV is so gawd awful to force us to go green. With healthcare you got no choice, at some point you have to go to the doctor and then Big Brother has you. The government taking over the health care system would be a blunder almost as grand as George and Dick's Excellent Iraq Adventure and in the long run it would be about 1000 times as expensive.
We have all heard the mantra of the enlightened progressives; free and equal health care for all. Is that the big change Obama is bringing? Giving a Dr. Frankenstein jolt of electricity to the failed policies of Hillary Clinton from the early 90's? Why not, after all he is employing a lot of the same old hacks the Clinton used to employ and now have on their enemies list. Obama has said there is no reason the same package that covers congress shouldn't be available for the general population.
Well friends, it ain't gonna happen. At no time in the future will you or I get free healthcare equal to what your local congressman gets.
At no point will you get that or anything near the same health care Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins get from their exclusive club called the Screen Actors Guild. SAG refuses to allow their peon low-income members access to the same health care system the big boys and girls get. You see if SAG gave access to its healthcare to all its members it would cost so much that the union would have to get a ton more cash from its big earners. As much as the Clooney's and the Penn's of Hollywood pay lip service to helping the little guy they really don't give a big rat's backside when it comes to reaching into their own pockets in anything other than a superficial way.
Let's take Obama's proposal to increase the income tax on the top one percent of earners to almost fifty percent of the earnings plus and extra point or two on money over $250,000 for the social security system. If SAG did the same to its top earners, took fifty percent of all salaries over one million dollars (the Obama government would do it for all earners over $250,000) to provide health care for all SAG members - Robert Redford and Sharon Stone could get by on the four or five million a movie they have left over. Even after the government took their fifty percent of the fifty percent they had left over they could still live a pretty cushy life. But since the actor's union is run by the same fat cats who would have to pony up under this scheme the chances of it happening are about the same as Obama picking Clarence Thomas as his running mate. Let's put this one under the law of unintended consequences. Most of the progressives I know rail against tax breaks for corporations.... more -
Health Care and Ghosts of War
Speaking in a time of war, Martin Luther King Jr. said: "Somehow this madness must cease."
Forty-one years later, young soldiers are returning to the United States from terrifying zones of carnage. The old claims of a justified war have melted away. So have the promises of a humane society back home.
"Until we remove the motive of profit from the financing of health care, we cannot and we will not resolve our current health care crisis."
"Any group that proposes reform policy that maintains the use of for-profit insurance companies in a so-called free market is being driven by one single motive - to protect the golden coffers of their share of the $2 trillion cash cow!"
Speaking in a time of war, Martin Luther King Jr. said: "Somehow this madness must cease." ... more
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