Posts Tagged: addiction
Opinion
OPINION – Non-opioids could have a life changing impact on the approximately 5 million Americans living with opioid use disorder today, but they could also be an invaluable tool in our effort to effectively treat acute pain patients. This is an incredible opportunity, but we will only realize the full benefits of non-opioids if we make them easily accessible to the public – meaning it’s time for a legislative solution.
Opinion
OPINION – The opioid epidemic in California is an urgent matter that requires immediate action, particularly with regards to its effects on veterans and their families. It is time for lawmakers in Sacramento to take decisive action and stand up for our veterans in their time of need. We need leaders – policymakers who will lead by example and influence – to optimize better treatment methods for our veterans and help tackle an untapped salient issue, long overdue.
News
Long ignored or blocked by local officials and confusing laws – while tacitly expected to provide care for severely mentally ill relatives – families are mobilizing in growing numbers, exerting major influence over state legislation and public policy, and protesting county resistance to strong new laws mandating intervention, care and treatment.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a proposal for a $3 billion bond measure aimed at the 2024 ballot, to fund housing for people with severe mental illness. At the same time, Newsom asked the legislature to revise 2004’s Proposition 63. Author and journalist Dan Morain joined us to talk about the two proposals, the half century of policy and politics that got us to where we are today, and shared his own personal story of a family member unable to live on his own after a devastating accident.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by Dr. Janet Coffman of Healthforce Center at UCSF, and Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director of CBHDA. They describe the serious challenges facing the state’s mental health and substance abuse programs, and what is needed to grow and retain a behavioral health workforce that reflects California’s diverse populations.
Opinion
OPINION: A key focus of this year’s California legislative session is the nation’s opioid crisis, and rightly so. According to the California Healthcare Foundation, an estimated 2,000 Californians died of an opioid overdose in 2016. The opioid epidemic confronting California and the rest of America is a growing public health crisis from which no state is immune.
Opinion
OPINION: By accelerating the development and deployment of alternatives to oil, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard—which the Air Resources Board will consider this week —helps untangle us from regimes that do not share our values. It helps make our nation stronger by weakening regimes that use oil to pay for their murderous acts, and makes the world a little bit safer.
News
On Oct. 23, 2013, San Diego physician Dr. Scott D. Greer submitted urine and hair samples to an investigator for the Medical Board of California, which oversees physician licensing and discipline. Laboratory tests found the samples to be positive for opiates and oxycodone, but not for alcohol. Nearly one year later, on Sept. 8, Greer was placed on probation for seven years by the board. His license was suspended for 30 days, effective Oct. 24