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From the Los Angeles Times

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Prescription painkillers outpace heroin, cocaine in OD deaths

by Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times

November 1, 2011

Overdose deaths from abuse of prescription painkillers in the U.S. now outnumber deaths involving heroin and cocaine combined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.

In 2008, drug overdoses caused 36,450 deaths in the U.S. One or more prescription drugs were involved in 20,044 of these deaths, CDC researchers wrote in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Opioid pain relievers, including oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone, were involved in 14,800. In 1999, only about 4,000 people were killed by overdosing on this type of drug, the CDC said.

Death rates among non-Hispanic whites and American Indians were three times higher than rates in blacks and Hispanic whites, and were highest among people ages 35 to 54. People in rural counties were about twice as likely to overdose on prescription painkillers as people in large cities.

Sales of the drugs soared along with the death rates, rising fourfold from 1999 to 2008.

In 2010, 4.8% of Americans 12 years or older used opioid pain relievers nonmedically -- that is, without a prescription or purely for the feeling the drug causes. The report calculated that by 2010, "enough opioid pain relievers were sold to medicate every American adult with a typical dose of 5 mg of hydrocodone every four hours one month."

The CDC recommended interventions including tracking prescription patterns, tracking overdoses, and limiting reimbursements to reduce inappropriate prescribing, but cautioned that officials "must strike a balance between reducing misuse and abuse and safeguarding legitimate access to treatment."

Visit the CDC to read more about prescription painkiller overdoses.

The research paper published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is available here.

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-prescription-drug-overdose-deaths-20111101,0,3720275,print.story

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Georgia militia members arrested, accused of plotting ricin attack

Federal officials arrested four members of a Georgia militia group Tuesday, alleging that the men were planning to attack state and federal buildings with guns and explosives.

They say the men also intended to deploy the deadly toxin ricin in some cities, including Atlanta; one suspect described a plan to blow the substance out of a moving car on the freeway.

The affidavits against the four men -- Frederick Thomas, 73, Dan Roberts, 67, Ray H. Adams, 65, and Samuel J. Crump, 68 -- do not specify the group to which they belonged, indicating only that they were "members of a fringe group of a known militia organization" called the "covert group," which held clandestine meetings in the northeast Georgia foothills.

Unbeknown to the men, the group was being monitored by a government source who recorded its meetings, and, later, by an undercover federal agent pretending to be an arms dealer.

"While many are focused on the threat posed by international violent extremists, this case demonstrates that we must also remain vigilant in protecting our country from citizens within our own borders who threaten our safety and security," U.S. Atty. Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement.

One of the monitored meetings took place in March in Cleveland, Ga. In it, Thomas allegedly discussed a novel he had read on the Internet that described an antigovernment group's deadly attack on Justice Department attorneys.

"Now of course, that's just fiction, but that's a ... good idea," Thomas said, according to an affidavit.

Thomas went on to describe a "bucket list" of government workers, politicians, corporate leaders and members of the media who he thought needed to be "taken out" to "make the country right again," according to the document.

"When it comes to saving the Constitution, that means some people gotta die," he allegedly said at one point.

Over subsequent meetings, the men discussed carrying out a number of criminal acts, including murder, theft and assassinations, according to a Justice Department statement, which described the evolution of the alleged plot from there in this way:

In May and June, Thomas and Roberts met with an undercover federal agent pretending to be a dealer in silencers and explosives. They agreed to buy some items; Thomas discussed how they would use them to get back at the government for "treasonous" activities.

In a September meeting of the group, Crump said he wanted to make 10 pounds of ricin to "disperse ... in various United States cities, including Atlanta," and "described a scenario for dispersing the ricin ... in which the toxin would be blown from a car traveling on the interstates."

Last month, Adams allegedly provided Crump with a sample of the beans used to make ricin. On Saturday, Crump told the informant he was going to "shell the beans that week."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested all four men Monday. Thomas and Roberts were charged with conspiracy to receive unregistered firearms. Crump and Adams were charged with attempting to produce a biological agent for use as a weapon.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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From Google News

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Residents encouraged to get involved in community policing programs

The detachment is seeking volunteers for three community policing programs, but particularly for the Speed Watch and Citizens on Patrol ( COPS ) programs. Those programs have seen membership dwindle over the last few years, said Cst. Ambie Verbruggen, community policing/crime reduction officer for the Dawson Creek RCMP , and one of her priorities is to see more members of the community get involved.

“ I think citizen involvement is very important,” said Verbruggen. “Having the numbers we have, the police can't be everywhere and see everything, so having citizens out there with their eyes and ears, taking care of our city, is so important.”

She said Speed Watch involves training members of the public how to use radar equipment and record statistics to help police officers enforce speed limits, specifically in school zones and high-collision areas, but also wherever volunteers feel the program is needed. She said it is a non-enforcement program, so volunteers would not make any contact or communication with motorists, but rather simply record their speeds.

She said volunteers are usually accompanied by on-duty members so that the “three-strikes-your-out” principle is in effect, which gives motorists three chances to reduce their speed. If a driver fails to reduce his or her speed appropriately after passing a school zone sign and a Speed Watch board – which displays the speed of a passing vehicle – it would up to the discretion of the officers on site whether to administer a ticket.

Verbruggen said the program usually only requires only a couple of hours early in the morning or late in the afternoon on weekdays to monitor school zones, or a few hours on a weekend to monitor playground zones, but is designed to be flexible to accommodate volunteers.

COPS is probably the program that is in most desperate need of members, she said. The program involves one or two volunteers taking their vehicle and patrolling city streets to look for any suspicious activity.

“ You're not expected to get yourself involved physically at all, just to observe and report anything suspicious to the police,” said Verbruggen. “It's just more sets of eyes out on the roads, helping to deter thieves and even catch them sometimes.”

She said having that presence out on the streets can be significant in discouraging theft, vandalism and other property crimes, and volunteers have also been very helpful in the past in locating stolen vehicles. She added volunteers support uniformed officers in other ways, such as the recent “Lock-Out Auto Crime” campaign that involved members distributing information pamphlets to vehicle owners with tips on how to prevent thefts from vehicles.

She said the cost of fuel for participating in the program is reimbursed by South Peace Traffic Services. The program is usually in effect during evenings and weekends, and there is one, hour-long meeting on the first Tuesday of every month that members are encouraged to attend.

Both the Speed Watch and COPS programs require volunteers to be 19 years of age or older, and to complete a criminal record check. Applications can be picked up and dropped off at the local detachment at 1230 102 Avenue, and more information can be obtained by calling Cst. Ambie Verbruggen at 250-784-3775.

Verbruggen said while the Rural Crime Watch program has more members than the other two programs, the detachment would certainly appreciate involvement from any interested citizens from rural communities in the Dawson Creek area.

http://mile0city.ca/article/news/2011/11/01/residents-encouraged-get-involved-community-policing-programs

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