"Health & Medical News"

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A bill under consideration in Kansas wouldn’t make medical marijuana legal, but could provide some legal protection to users facing charges of marijuana possession, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported Jan. 29.

The measure would allow judges to consider medical use as a defense if marijuana users presented documentation from a doctor about the drug’s medical benefits. It would not decriminalize or legalize marijuana possession, however.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A high-school student born to a drug-using mom has proposed a law that would require welfare applicants in California to submit to testing for illicit drugs, and the state Assembly will soon be considering the proposal.

The City News Service reported Jan. 12 that R.J. Feild, a sophomore at Jurapa Valley High School in Mira Loma, proposed the law as part of a “There Ought to Be a Law” contest sponsored by Assemblyman John J. Benoit.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A local law that allows Mendocino County, Calif., residents to grow up to 25 marijuana plants for their personal use will go before voters for review in June, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Jan. 8.

Measure G, the marijuana-decriminalization law, was approved by voters in 2000. But a recent protest movement led the county Board of Supervisors to vote 4-1 in favor of placing the measure back before voters.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — Congressional patience with the pace at which physicians are adopting electronic prescribing seems to be wearing thin. House and Senate lawmakers have introduced legislation that would mandate e-prescribing for Medicare beginning in 2011.

At a Dec. 4, 2007, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, lawmakers also expressed frustration with the lack of movement toward allowing e-prescribing of controlled substances.

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Addiction recovery and parity advocate Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) is reconsidering his decision to retire at the end of his current term in Congress, Roll Call reported Dec. 19.

Ramstad,?  a rare Republican moderate in the House of Representatives, announced his intention to retire in September, but has been pressured by GOP leaders — who fear the loss of his seat to the Democrats — to run for a 10th term in Congress. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, praised Ramstad’s ability to work with Democratic and GOP colleagues and said he would be “delighted” if Ramstad ran again.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Even as U.S. lawmakers, jurists and policymakers have eased some mandatory drug sentences, Canada’s Justice Minister is proceeding with a plan to introduce the concept to the Canadian justice system, the Regina Leader-Post reported Nov. 28.

A pair of Canadian government reports concluded that mandatory minimum drug sentences don’t work, with one 2005 study concluding, “Minimum sentences are not an effective sentencing tool: that is, they constrain judicial discretion without offering any increased crime prevention benefits.”

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A bill to repeal Rhode Island’s mandatory drug sentences, passed by the legislature but vetoed by Gov. Don Carcieri, could come up for debate during a special legislative session, the Providence Journal reported Oct. 26.

The agenda for this week’s special session of the General Assembly has not been finalized, but advocates are hoping the mandatory-minimums issue is included. Rep. Joseph Almeida, who sponsored the legislation, slammed Carcieri’s veto. “Why doesn’t he listen to the people,” Almeida said. “Isn’t this the house of the people?”

Popularity: unranked [?]