It used to be you'd have to start every debate thinking: compromise. Now, the only constraint is their good judgment.''
Former Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Orlando, who Speaker of the Florida House from 2000 to 200.
Today’s Miami Herald article “Veteran senator won’t toe the line,” http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/25/1943608_p2/veteran-senator-wont-toe-the-line.html clearly points out the power shift in Tallahassee. The new GOP leadership is flexing its ideological muscles. No one will be allowed to think or act independently. Its the party line or political exile. Senator Fasano, a strong supporter of Governor’s Christ Senate campaign, had to endure the punishment straying from the ideological talking points. Fasano took to the Senate floor during last week's half-day special session and railed against a GOP blueprint for fixing Medicaid. The symbolic ``memorial'' resolution informs Congress that Florida plans to steer its Medicaid patients into managed care networks, an idea that has gained popularity in the state House. ``This is more than intent. We are setting policy today by doing this,'' scolded Fasano, a 16-year legislative veteran. ``This should have gone through committees. If you think you got a few phone calls last year, put people in an HMO and the phones will be ringing off the hook.''
But Fasano's protests were quickly drowned out by a GOP stampede in favor of the bill. In the new Senate, where newcomers value business and economic development over Fasano's populist consumerism, he has morphed from conservative stalwart to moderate maverick.
Lets not forget that Senator Fasano was also the sponsor of the pain clinic legislation that cracked down on facilities freely dispensing medications that are being used by drug abusers who were doctor-shopping. Fasano also was critical of the Legislature for passing the new rule-making bill, arguing it needed more study. As a result the state Department of Health now must determine whether the new rules exceed the threshold and require a legislative sign-off -- if they have a $1 million adverse impact over five years on economic growth, competitiveness, employment, investment, job creation or regulatory costs. For now, the upshot is that the rules are stalled. What will happen in the meantime? "What's going to happen is nothing," said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. "And seven more people will die each and every day until the Legislature ratifies these rules that are being approved by the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health."
I wish we would have more outspoken politicians in Florida like Senator Fasano who think and act according to their conscience and not according to party discipline.
History provides a treasure trove of failed attempts to scuttle dissent and to impose rigorous party discipline. I hope that Floridian’s learn soon to regret their electoral choices. Otherwise we will be in big trouble.
Yours truly,
Bernd
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Florida Legislature Delays Crackdown on Pain Clinics
In today’s Sun Sentinel front page article entitled “Crackdown on pain clinic stalls again” http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-11-19/health/fl-hk-pain-clinic-rules-delayed-20101119_1_millions-of-narcotic-pills-pain-clinic-pills-for-drug-dealers Bob LaMendola reports how the Republican dominated legislature voted to delay the implementation of tough new pain clinic regulations. Subsequently, the unscrupulous clinic operators and drug dealers in white coats, wrongly called “doctors,” can continue to churn out prescriptions for powerful painkiller. As a result an average of seven Floridians per day will die from prescription drug overdose. The legislators seem to be more concerned with ideological correctness and purity than the somber facts detailed in a recent report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released June 30th 2010 http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/News/June-2010/2009-Report-by-Florida-Medical-Examiners-Commissio.aspx:
• Prescription drug deaths monitored by the state Medical Examiner's Office continued to climb to 2,488 last year. That's an average of seven deaths per day.
• Oxycodone was the cause of 1,185 state deaths in 2009, a 26 percent increase from the year before and a whopping 249 percent increase from 2005.
• Deaths caused by some illegal drugs declined. Heroin deaths decreased by 20 percent to 111. And cocaine deaths decreased by 18.4 percent to 529.Law enforcement officials have attributed the opposing trends to the fact that prescription drugs are much easier and cheaper to obtain than illegal drugs.
• Prescription drugs account for 79 percent of all drug occurrences in this report when Ethyl Alcohol is excluded. Oxycodone occurrences increased by 23.8 percent in 2009 and deaths caused by Oxycodone also rose by 25.9 percent when compared to the previous year.
So what happened? According to the article the Legislature on Tuesday had taken action to override Gov. Charlie Crist's veto of HB 1565 that was passed during the 2010 legislative session. The bill, which now becomes law, says that proposed rules having significant financial impact – more than $1 million over five years – on small businesses such as pain clinics could not take effect until legislators ratified the rules. Because the pain clinic rules were not in effect on Tuesday, state officials said they cannot be enforced. One of the law's sponsors, Rep.Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said he was not thinking about pill mills. The law aims to scrutinize rules that drive up regulatory costs and stop businesses from coming to Florida. As for the impact on pill mill rules, Gaetz said: "The benefits of the rulemaking bill outweighs some of the modest inconveniences." It appears to me that Mr. Gaetz lives in another universe than most of us have to live in. In his world reality has to be adapted to fit his political theory. In his world government regulation can only do harm and never do good. In his world pain clinics are successful businesses contributing to the overall economy and more regulations will drive them away from our state. He seems to forget that the regulations were carefully crafted by Democrats and Republicans to PROTECT our citizens from those unscrupulous businesses, which contribute to the DEATH of seven Floridians a day!! Now the proposed rules must be submitted to the Legislature by Feb. 4 to qualify for consideration. Those that don't make it would have to wait until the 2012 legislative session. I am not only outraged by this political checkmate but also deeply concerned about its adverse impact on public health. This issue is too important to allow politicians to gamble away the lives of Florida’s citizen. We need to return to pragmatism and sound reasoning to address and resolve the problem of prescription drug abuse in Florida. Ideological grandstanding will only worsen the situation. We do not have much time left and the clock is ticking.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD,FAAFP,FASAM
Board certified Family Physicians & Addiction Specialist
Member of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Implementation and Oversight Task Force
• Prescription drug deaths monitored by the state Medical Examiner's Office continued to climb to 2,488 last year. That's an average of seven deaths per day.
• Oxycodone was the cause of 1,185 state deaths in 2009, a 26 percent increase from the year before and a whopping 249 percent increase from 2005.
• Deaths caused by some illegal drugs declined. Heroin deaths decreased by 20 percent to 111. And cocaine deaths decreased by 18.4 percent to 529.Law enforcement officials have attributed the opposing trends to the fact that prescription drugs are much easier and cheaper to obtain than illegal drugs.
• Prescription drugs account for 79 percent of all drug occurrences in this report when Ethyl Alcohol is excluded. Oxycodone occurrences increased by 23.8 percent in 2009 and deaths caused by Oxycodone also rose by 25.9 percent when compared to the previous year.
So what happened? According to the article the Legislature on Tuesday had taken action to override Gov. Charlie Crist's veto of HB 1565 that was passed during the 2010 legislative session. The bill, which now becomes law, says that proposed rules having significant financial impact – more than $1 million over five years – on small businesses such as pain clinics could not take effect until legislators ratified the rules. Because the pain clinic rules were not in effect on Tuesday, state officials said they cannot be enforced. One of the law's sponsors, Rep.Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said he was not thinking about pill mills. The law aims to scrutinize rules that drive up regulatory costs and stop businesses from coming to Florida. As for the impact on pill mill rules, Gaetz said: "The benefits of the rulemaking bill outweighs some of the modest inconveniences." It appears to me that Mr. Gaetz lives in another universe than most of us have to live in. In his world reality has to be adapted to fit his political theory. In his world government regulation can only do harm and never do good. In his world pain clinics are successful businesses contributing to the overall economy and more regulations will drive them away from our state. He seems to forget that the regulations were carefully crafted by Democrats and Republicans to PROTECT our citizens from those unscrupulous businesses, which contribute to the DEATH of seven Floridians a day!! Now the proposed rules must be submitted to the Legislature by Feb. 4 to qualify for consideration. Those that don't make it would have to wait until the 2012 legislative session. I am not only outraged by this political checkmate but also deeply concerned about its adverse impact on public health. This issue is too important to allow politicians to gamble away the lives of Florida’s citizen. We need to return to pragmatism and sound reasoning to address and resolve the problem of prescription drug abuse in Florida. Ideological grandstanding will only worsen the situation. We do not have much time left and the clock is ticking.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD,FAAFP,FASAM
Board certified Family Physicians & Addiction Specialist
Member of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Implementation and Oversight Task Force
Friday, November 19, 2010
Synthetic Cannabinoid Testing
Attached some important information regarding synthetic cannabinoid testing.
Yours
DrBW
Redwood Toxicology Laboratory announces oral test for three synthetic cannabinoids
(11/18/2010)
News release
Santa Rosa, CA - Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, Inc. (RTL) announced it now offers one of the first lab-based tests for the detection of synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250 in oral fluid/saliva.
Synthetic cannabinoids are compounds functionally similar to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principle active ingredient of cannabis, and are widely abused throughout the U.S. These chemicals are sprayed on herbal material and sold as "synthetic marijuana" under a variety of brand names.
RTL currently tests for synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073 metabolites in urine, and very high positive rates (30 - 35%) have been found in court-ordered juvenile probation departments throughout the U.S. RTL's percent positive information and epidemiological data should prove useful to policymakers trying to pass legislation to control and ban the distribution, sale and use of synthetic cannabinoids.
The manufacturers of these products are constantly changing the psychoactive ingredient(s) to get around existing laws, and synthetic cannabinoids like JWH-250, JWH-019, JWH-081 and CP47 497-C8 are now found in various preparations. However, RTL's high positivity rate on JWH-018 and JWH-073 indicate they are still the main psychoactive chemicals used.
RTL's new synthetic cannabinoid oral fluid test will utilize the most sophisticated, sensitive and specific equipment and technology available, LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry) to provide parent drug confirmation of JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250.
"The high positivity rates that we are finding in urine really emphasize the need to offer more laboratory analytical solutions to detect the predominant synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids," said Sumandeep Rana, Scientific Director, RTL. "That's why we developed and validated an analytical method to detect JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250 in saliva."
Added Rana: "A wide array of parent synthetic cannabinoids can be detected in saliva, and we are working on adding more compounds to the saliva test. Saliva is easier, more convenient and less invasive to collect than blood and urine. It's difficult to adulterate or dilute and ideal for recent-use detection. Plus, the use of saliva allows us to stay current with the ever-changing array and combinations of synthetic cannabinoids being manufactured and distributed by designer drug 'chemists'."
Wayne Ross, Chief Toxicologist for RTL said, "Our lab is at the forefront of researching and identifying synthetic cannabinoids. In an effort to monitor and deter use and abuse of these compounds, RTL is continually testing products distributed on the Internet and in outlets such as gas stations and 'head shops'."
More information, including a list of synthetic cannabinoids, is available athttp://www.redwoodtoxicology.com/services/synthetic_cannabinoid_testing.html.
Yours
DrBW
Redwood Toxicology Laboratory announces oral test for three synthetic cannabinoids
(11/18/2010)
News release
Santa Rosa, CA - Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, Inc. (RTL) announced it now offers one of the first lab-based tests for the detection of synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250 in oral fluid/saliva.
Synthetic cannabinoids are compounds functionally similar to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principle active ingredient of cannabis, and are widely abused throughout the U.S. These chemicals are sprayed on herbal material and sold as "synthetic marijuana" under a variety of brand names.
RTL currently tests for synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073 metabolites in urine, and very high positive rates (30 - 35%) have been found in court-ordered juvenile probation departments throughout the U.S. RTL's percent positive information and epidemiological data should prove useful to policymakers trying to pass legislation to control and ban the distribution, sale and use of synthetic cannabinoids.
The manufacturers of these products are constantly changing the psychoactive ingredient(s) to get around existing laws, and synthetic cannabinoids like JWH-250, JWH-019, JWH-081 and CP47 497-C8 are now found in various preparations. However, RTL's high positivity rate on JWH-018 and JWH-073 indicate they are still the main psychoactive chemicals used.
RTL's new synthetic cannabinoid oral fluid test will utilize the most sophisticated, sensitive and specific equipment and technology available, LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry) to provide parent drug confirmation of JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250.
"The high positivity rates that we are finding in urine really emphasize the need to offer more laboratory analytical solutions to detect the predominant synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids," said Sumandeep Rana, Scientific Director, RTL. "That's why we developed and validated an analytical method to detect JWH-018, JWH-073 and JWH-250 in saliva."
Added Rana: "A wide array of parent synthetic cannabinoids can be detected in saliva, and we are working on adding more compounds to the saliva test. Saliva is easier, more convenient and less invasive to collect than blood and urine. It's difficult to adulterate or dilute and ideal for recent-use detection. Plus, the use of saliva allows us to stay current with the ever-changing array and combinations of synthetic cannabinoids being manufactured and distributed by designer drug 'chemists'."
Wayne Ross, Chief Toxicologist for RTL said, "Our lab is at the forefront of researching and identifying synthetic cannabinoids. In an effort to monitor and deter use and abuse of these compounds, RTL is continually testing products distributed on the Internet and in outlets such as gas stations and 'head shops'."
More information, including a list of synthetic cannabinoids, is available athttp://www.redwoodtoxicology.com/services/synthetic_cannabinoid_testing.html.
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