 We're On!
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Spread the Word
Twelve states have 911 Good Samaritan Laws, which grant immunity from drug possession charges to overdose witnesses who call 911. This needs to be on posters in high school and college hallways!
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The Blogosphere
Check out these sites/posts you may have missed:
New Rx Drug Law, ISTOP, shepherded into existence with help from my friend Avi Israel, is in full effect in NY State. Hear our discussion about this here.
My appearance on Read my Lips (Starts at 30:32) went very well. She told me she loved Defining Moments and couldn't put it down.
Shelly's Story, a short video about a nineteen year old girl who died a heroin addict. It could happen to anyone. Get out the tissue box.
CA Senate Bill 727 text is here. It proposes a "pharmaceutical product stewardship program."
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Be responsible about your pain management.
Lock up your meds!
 Don't let the neighborhood get their illegal prescription drugs from you unwittingly. If you have a house cleaner, a baby sitter, a teenager, dinner parties, anyone at all in your house and you take prescription meds, lock them up!
RxDrugAddict.com friends get a special deal with RxDrugSafe. Check it out on my website!
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Greetings!
There are one-hundred deaths a day due to prescription drugs. This is an epidemic of unbelievable proportions, and I'm trying, with so many others, to put the brakes on it. Denise Cullen lost her son Jeff in August of 2008 to a deadly combination of prescribed Xanex and illegally obtained morphine. Margaret Alexander lost her son Glenn after he spent more than $50,000 on Oxycontin to feed an addiction that started during an extended hospital stay after a motorcycle wreck. Both of these women have turned their losses into other's gains. I was joined by this great duo on the April 9th broadcast of Afflicted by Addiction. We talked about GRASP, Grief and Recovery After Substance Passing, a support group that they are both a part of. Currently there are 50 groups in 24 states. These women do such impressive work. You can hear the interview with Denise Cullen and Margaret Alexander here. The bravery of these parents turned activists is inspiring, and, while I'm sorry we're in this, I'm so glad we are in it together. Enjoy this newsletter and, please, pass it on to your friends.
Best regards,
Bradley V. DeHaven
brad@rxdrugaddict.com
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Health, not criminal issue
One of Denise Cullen's primary goals as an activist following the tragic loss of her son to drugs is to change the way people view drug addiction and drug addicts: "It's a health issue, not a criminal issue," she says.
I totally agree. In both of my books I have stated that addiction is not a crime and it should not be treated as a crime. The stuff addicts do to support their habits is an outgrowth of their addiction, their medical condition, and locking them up with lifetime criminals can't be the solution.
In some related good news, an article in the Sac Bee on April 23 explained that California has cut the number of state prisoners incarcerated for drug related crimes in half during the last two years.
Jeffery Callison (now corrections spokesman, and once Insight show-host) is quoted in the article as saying "Keeping lower-level drug offenders closer to their families and communities where they can take advantage of local programs and receive drug treatment makes more sense than sending them to prison where they are surrounded by more hardened criminals." (Sac Bee, page A3, 4/23/13)
Turns out, the Federal Government and California are on the same track. Read more on my blog.
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Brandon Update
Brandon's 20th friend has died.
It hurts, but every day he understands his value. He loves himself now and knows he has dodged a bullet. They call him the one-percenter down at the police station because he got out and for two and a half years he has stayed out.
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And please, forward this to your friends and others who you think would get something from it. Thanks! |
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