"Health & Medical News"

Washington — Medicare is facing a long-term financial meltdown, but health policy experts said Congress is not likely in this election year to take the broad actions needed to keep the program sustainable.

Both the physician and hospital portions of the program are in trouble, according to the 2008 Medicare trustees report, released late last month. Part B, of which spending on physician services constitutes about 30%, does not face insolvency because it automatically is funded by general tax revenues and beneficiary premiums.

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Federal researchers say that about 5 percent of 12- to 25-year-olds have misused over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to get high, MSNBC reported Jan. 9.

Both the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration have warned about the growing abuse of DXM- and codeine-based medications that in high doses can cause hallucinations and other problems. The medicines can be mixed with soda or sports drinks to create concoctions dubbed “Syrup,” “Purple Drank,” or “Lean.”

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U.S. drug czar John Walters recently warned that Canadian suppliers are shipping ecstasy pills laced with methamphetamine across the border to the U.S., the Windsor Star reported Jan. 4.

“Historic progress against ecstasy availability and use is in jeopardy of being rolled back by Canadian criminal organizations,” said Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). “Desperate to develop their client base, they are dangerously altering a product for which demand by youth and young adults had plummeted and are exploiting vulnerabilities along our shared border. This is alarming for the youth of both Canada and the United States.”

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