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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Drugs

Bill would allow psychologists to write prescriptions

January 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

An apparent lack of available psychiatrists has led to a bill that would allow psychologists – with special training – to prescribe medication to patients with mental illnesses.

Missouri Families for Access to Comprehensive Treatment – or MO-Fact – was joined by psychologists, patients with mental illnesses and other proponents of the bill at the state capitol Jan. 14 to rally support for the bill.

Thomas Parquette, Executive Director of MO-Fact, says this bill would save lives because many with mental illnesses who don’t receive the care they need in a timely fashion end up committing suicide. He says there were 710 suicides in Missouri last year, many of which could’ve been prevented if victims with mental illnesses could’ve sought more immediate and accessible prescription-drug treatment.

Parquette says the statewide average of attempted suicides is about two per day.

State Rep. Bob Dixon (R-Springfield) and Sen. Jack Goodman (R-Mount Vernon) are co-sponsors of the bill.

Both legislators say they’ve tightened language in the bill to alleviate concerns that prevented the bill’s passage last year.

Dr. Roy Holden, a former state legislator and practitioner, also spoke in support of the bill. He says primary health physicians in Missouri prescribe 80 percent of mental health drugs and that the psychopharmacological training that would be required by psychologists, according to the legislation, would well exceed that which general practitioners currently receive in medical school.

Donna McArthur, a mental health patient, described her journey through depression and how the current system "holds patients hostage."

She sees a psychologist once a week for an hour but had to travel 80 miles round-trip to see a psychiatrist, who spent 20 minutes with her before ultimately misdiagnosing her as being bi-polar and put her on lithium. The visit to the psychiatrist, as well as being extremely inconvenient, was a huge financial burden, McArthur says.

"My psychologist probably knows more about me than my mother," she says, yet the current system allows psychiatrists to analyze patients, diagnose them and prescribe medication after only a brief, expensive visit.

Dr. Holden says there are a decreasing number of psychiatrists in the field, which could lead to months of waiting for patients who need to be on drug therapy.

Missouri would become the third state to allow psychologists prescriptive authority if the bill is signed into law. New Mexico and Louisiana already have laws in place, which proponents say have been successful – and the military implemented the practice seven years ago, successfully treating soldiers overseas.

For more, visit mofact.com.

Filed Under: Health / Medicine Tagged With: Drugs, Missouri State, Springfield

Former Bearcat point guard waives hearing

November 4, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

A preliminary hearing for former Northwest Missouri State  point guard Lance Sullivan for facing drug distribution charges was waived, meaning he will give his plea of guilty or not guilty next week in court. 

Sullivan was charged with distributing a controlled substance to a minor in May, a Class B felony.  The charge carries a punishment of no less than five years and no more than 15 years in jail. 

Sullivan was the former MIAA Freshman of the Year in 06-07 and the Bearcats second leading scorer last season.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Basketball, Drugs, Northwest Missouri State

Two ex-KU players busted by NBA

September 4, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

ESPN the magazine is reporting that a source has informed them former Kansas basketball players Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were kicked out of the NBA’s rookie transition program on Wednesday after being caught in their hotel room with marijuana and women.

Sources tell the magazine that both players were sent home and had been fined $20,000 apiece and could be suspended at the start of the NBA season.

Chalmers is a guard on the Miami Heat and Arthur is a forward on the Memphis Grizzlies.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Basketball, Drugs

Former Royal to be released from federal pen today

June 4, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

Willie Aikens Former Royals player Willie Aikens will be released from federal prison today on his way to a halfway house in Kansas City.  He played eight seasons with the Royals. 

Aikens was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1994 for crack cocaine distribution which was a strict penalty because it was thought crack defendants were more violent.  He hopes one day to get a job in Major League Baseball.  Aikens talked the Kansas City Star about trying to turn his life around.

He became the first player to have two multi-home run games in the same World Series. 

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Baseball, Drugs, Kansas City Royals

Former Cardinal gets three years probation

April 7, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

2-28 Spiezio.jpg Former Cardinal Scott Spiezio was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and hit-and-run, in a California courtroom today.

As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Spiezio must also pay $390 in fines, attend an alcohol program, go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, perform 80 hours of community service, and pay an undisclosed amount to a victim-witness emergency fund.

Charges of battery, assault, driving under the influence while blood is more than 0.08 percent alcohol and assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm were dismissed.

The Cardinals released Spiezio on Feb. 27 after he was charged in the case. The Cardinals have agreed to pay Spiezio’s $2.4 million salary for this season plus a $100,000 buyout of next season’s option. He is now playing for the Atlanta Braves’ minor-league team in Richmond, Va.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Baseball, Drugs, St. Louis Cardinals

Former Cardinal Speizio gets a chance with Atlanta

April 1, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

How would Speizio look with a blue goatee? Former Cardinal Scott Speizio signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.  They’re giving him an opportunity to show that he’s cleaned up his life.  He was released this spring by the Cardinals after he was charged with six counts in leaving a car accident, while drunk and trying to beat up a friend. 

"I am very embarrassed and sorry for what happened in the offseason," Spiezio said in a story on the Braves’  website . "I have taken steps, including treatment, to ensure it will not happen again. I have taken full responsibility, and I am making restitution to the people I have hurt. I am very appreciative of the second chance I’ve been given. The Braves have made no promises to me, except to give me the opportunity to prove that I have made amends and that I can still perform at this level."

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Baseball, Drugs, St. Louis Cardinals

Former Royals catcher linked to cocaine operation

March 31, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

Santiago played one year with KC Federal investigators have seized a suspected Kansas City Plaza drug dealer’s luxury car that turns out be owned by former Kansas City Royals catcher Benito Santiago . 

Last week, Jacques Lavigne pleaded guilty to running a multi-million dollar cocaine operation for the last 20 years around the Plaza area.  According to prosecutors, Lavigne imported up to 154 pounds of cocaine into Kansas City between 2002 and 2007.

Federal and state records show the 2003 Mercedes Benz that Lavigne drove is owned by Santiago.  The former major league catcher has not been charged in the high end cocaine operation.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Baseball, Drugs, Kansas City Royals

Anti-Drug Bill Would Ban RU 486 in Missouri

March 7, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

A bill designed to crack down on meth manufacturing and prescription drug trafficking has picked up a controversial measure as it works its way through the Capitol. The Drug Monitoring Act also contains a provision that would ban the sale of RU 486, the abortion pill, in Missouri.

Rep. Ray Salva (D-Sugar Creek) tells colleagues during House floor debate on final passage, "I do not apologize to anyone for taking advantage of this bill opening up that section allowing me to present an amendment to outlaw RU 486, the abortion pill."

Salva added the amendment during preliminary consideration of the bill. The bill had widespread support at the time, receiving 107 votes with only 49 state representatives voting against it. It seemed assured of easy passage.

Support for HCS HB 1619 , The Drug Monitoring Act, eroded during debate on final passage. It nearly died on the House floor. A drumbeat of criticism shook support. In the end, only 84 representatives voted in favor of the bill, two more than the minimum needed for passage in the House.

Several representatives expressed concerns that the bill would undermine the privacy rights of Missourians. The bill, in its attempt to crack down on prescription drug trafficking in Missouri, would require pharmacies to report certain prescriptions they dispense to the State Department of Health. The department would record those transactions in a data base. Critics say the state has no right to know that information and worry that the data base would become public.

The bill has survived. It now moves to the Senate for its consideration.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Legislature, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Abortion, Department of Health, Drugs

Drug Monitoring Bill Clears House … Just Barely

March 6, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

Worries about an erosion of privacy rights erode support of the Drug Monitoring Act and nearly kill the bill in the House.

Supporters hang on to enough votes to barely pass the bill and send it to the Senate. Critics claim supporters cannot assure Missourians that the drug data base the bill establishes will be kept confidential.

The preliminary vote on the bill gave it 107 votes. Several representatives switched on final approval and support eroded to 84 votes, two more than the minimum necessary to pass the House. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Filed Under: Legislature Tagged With: Drugs

Spiezio Cut By Cardinals, Charges Filed

February 28, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

Scott Spiezio The Cardinals have said enough is enough.  Just a couple of hours after an arrest warrant had been issued for infielder Scott Spiezio in Southern California, the Cardinals cut him from the team.  The team is still on the hook for his $2.3 million dollar salary and his buyout for 2009.

Back to the main issue of the arrest warrant, which stems back to an incident on December 30th. Six charges have been filed ranging from driving under the influence, hit and run with property damage, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and assault and battery.

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak told the Cardinals website , “I think when you look at the past year, it becomes the sum of the parts.  We were in a situation here after learning what we learned today, we felt we were at a crossroads. And we felt it was in the best interest of our organization and in Scott’s to go separate ways.”

You’ll remember Spiezio missed time last year from the team for substance abuse issues.  Both Mozeliak and manger Tony LaRussa said they were aware that Spiezio had an accident, but were not aware that alcohol was involved.

 

 

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: 2008 Spring Training, Baseball, Drugs, St. Louis Cardinals

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