drugs

Majority Support Medical Pot in New NEJM Poll

Kristin Gourlay — Wed, 29 May 2013 21:10:07 +0000

To recommend, or not to recommend, medicinal marijuana? That's the question recently posed in a New England Journal of Medicine interactive online poll. To get a feel for physicians' opinions, NEJM presented readers with a fictional clinical situation. Here's the scenario:

The Silver Boom: More Seniors Seek Treatment, But Fewer Options

Kristin Gourlay — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

House Considers Banning Fake Marijuana, Bath Salts

Kristin Gourlay — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The General Assembly is scheduled to hear testimony today on legislation banning drugs like synthetic marijuana and bath salts. The proposed legislation comes from Rhode Island's Attorney General.

Marijuana, Addiction Hot Topics on Smith Hill

Kristin Gourlay — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:22:49 +0000

There's lots going on, legislatively speaking, in the world of addiction and especially marijuana (including the fake kind). At stake: whether marijuana will be legalized (it's already approved for medical use in the state) and whether fake marijuana will be banned.

A place to sober up, instead of ER, for "frequent fliers"

Kristin Gourlay — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:14:48 +0000

A proposal is taking shape to divert frequent users of emergency rooms into a substance abuse treatment facility, instead. Rhode Island’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare has pitched a pilot program for Providence that would transport drunk or high people to a sobering center. Staff there could then connect them with more treatment or housing and job services. Dale Klatzker heads The Providence Center, one of the state’s largest community mental health organizations. He says marshaling the resources to address this social problem will be difficult.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lydia Rogers — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:25:35 +0000

Heavy winds, heavy rain, and warmer than usual temperatures. We have an interesting start to the day. State education officials are defending standardized test scores as a requirement for high school diplomas. These stories and more on the RIPR Morning News Podcast.

Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please email us, we'd like to hear from you. news@ripr.org

Another RI compounding pharmacy shuttered

Kristin Gourlay — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:00:00 +0000

(PROVIDENCE, RI) Another compounding pharmacy in Rhode Island has been shuttered and the pharmacist in charge barred from practicing. And once again, cleanliness and record-keeping played a part.

85 years later, penicillin still vital for Rhode Islanders

Kristin Gourlay — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:33:43 +0000

85 years ago, Alexander Fleming discovered some mold growing in one of his petri dishes. In his lab at Oxford, Fleming noticed a substance the mold produced inhibited the growth of some species of bacteria. But the substance was difficult to work with, and the discovery lingered untapped for many years.