I read your link to The Better Pill. The fact that buprenorphine is not made by a pharmaceutical company is very interesting. That fact explains why not more doctors are trained to administer it.

After reading the article, I could not help thinking about my own buracratic experience with methadone. In 1991 our five-year old daughter died from cancer. In the months before her death, we dealt with pain medications. Morphine has adverse side affects, so we tried methodone and it relieved her pain without making her “loopy.” When the time came that she was not able to take medication orally, we had to switch to a different medication. Because methadone was used by drug addicts, it was very difficult to get for intravenous use. Needless to say, finding the right intravenous medication was difficult. If we had had access to intravenous methadone the transition would have been easier.

According to the article The Better Pill, it seems that methadone has run its course in helping addicts. If methadone was marketed for cancer pain, it might be more accessible to those who could really benefit from its advantages for managing pain.

My son Tyson alerted me to this April 05 article in Wired about bupe:

The Bitter Pill: Buprenorphine could end heroin addiction, curb disease, and cut crime. But bureaucrats, doctors, and much of the treatment industry are just saying no. A case study in why the best technology doesn’t always win.

I wonder if it’s gotten any better. The drug company’s web site only lists 11 physicians currently licensed in Minnesota.

I didn’t realize this. I see on the Wikipedia entry for cannabis it says:

While many drugs clearly fall into the category of either Stimulant, Depressant, Hallucinogen, or Antipsychotic, cannabis, containing both THC and CBD, exhibits a mix of all sections, leaning towards the Hallucinogen section due to THC being the primary constituent.

Brendon- In your post #26, your first paragraph is certainly logical, and, I think, reasonable expectations. The unfortunate thing I have observed about government is that it is usually illogical and seldom meets reasonable expectations.

- Oxycotin and heroin are both considered pain-relievers.

- Oxycotin has the same effect as heroin when crushed.

- Vicodin and codeine are also considered pain-relievers.

- They are all a part of the class of drugs known as opiates.

- Users tend to have a preferred drug.

- Users seek drugs that offer the same effect.

- Physical addiction happens rapidly with opiates.

(On a side note, patients who have surgical procedures are many times sent home with pain-relievers. Many times they do not use all the pills and the remaining pills sit idle and forgotten in the medicine cabinet. These pills have become the target of some teens and/or their friends looking to get high. Please check your medicine cabinets and those of elderly relatives for these types of pills and dispose of them.)

- Marijuana is considered a hallucinogenic like LSD

- Chemicals in the brain under-produce in mental illness.

- Drugs tell the brain what chemicals to produce.

- The symptoms and responses of mental illness and drug use are the same

- The behavioral patterns of addiction tend to happen all at once.

- The reasons for experimental substance use and addiction are the same, but what happens when use occurs is different.

Carol Falkowski and Sarah Shippy both emphasized the importance of parents and kids keeping the lines of communication open. From what they said and what I heard at the second breakout session I attended—“From a Kids Point of View”—I see that advice to mean that parents should not shut their teens out or be unwilling to discuss difficult topics with their teens. On the flip side, parents should also not try to be their child’s “best friend.”

Since the event, I have taken the advice of the presenter and looked at the National Institute on Drug Abuse website.

http://www.drugabuse.gov

Much of the information she presented plus more can be found on that website.

I could not stay for another breakout session but wished I had had time to attend the one where recovering young people talked about their experiences.

This is just my observation about people I saw in attendance at the meeting: Many of them are dedicated, involved parents who have devoted many years to child-rearing but whose lives have still been touched by serious drug and alcohol problems. I have attended Family Education classes with many of the mothers I saw on Tuesday night (beginning almost twenty years ago); other parents I came to know through our children’s mutual activities such as the Northfield Youth Choir. I have seen many of them time and time again at school conferences, district band concerts, and other activities. And they keep showing up at these meetings.

I think something more needs to be done besides telling parents to be involved with their kids and keep communication open. That’s what the parents at Tuesday’s meeting have been trying to do for years. When things are going wrong, kids typically want their parents to leave them alone and often don’t think their parents have anything worthwhile to say.

What can we do beyond trying to address these problems on an individual level? Support groups certainly could help parents who feel as if they are struggling alone, but I think we also need to make sure that other key community players, such as law enforcement and adults who are responsible for our children’s well-being at school (and not just at the high school, but at the middle school, the ALC, and ARTech), are doing all they can. In the Drugs 101 session, Scott Robinson said it’s not possible to win the war on drugs but that we can win the battle. I think it is time for Northfield to define the battle that this town wants to fight, and then devote our efforts and energies to that goal. And the battle needs to be on a larger scale than within individual families.

One absolutely key aspect of the battle, obviously, is reducing the supply of drugs in this community. How can this be accomplished? Would it be possible to agree that this is one of the most important battles for us to face right now, and then do so?

I hesitate to write because, like many others, I would guess, I feel as if I have so few concrete suggestions. I am writing anyhow, though, because it seems so crucial to maintain this discussion, and perhaps to elicit participation from others who might have valuable ideas. There are many young people in this town who need help. There are many parents who are worried, sad, or discouraged. But most of them are not ready to give up. What can we do that will really make a difference?

Regarding your questions, and reminding everyone that I am no legal scholar, I would guess that in these circumstances, there is no way Ms. Falkowski should be able to deny being recorded. 1. Free, public event 2. Public setting 3. Open to all 4. Talk given by a public official 5. Containing data presented (and probably gathered) under the auspices of a public agency 6. Being recorded by public media 7. Said recordings are not commercial products.

I think there are other circumstances where a public official should be able to speak “off the record”, but these were not those circumstances. Obviously, there would be something very wrong with someone recording her conversation with a friend as they took a stroll in a public park, for instance. That’s perhaps an oversimplified example.

If a movie were being shot that happened to include parts of the speech, then that movie’s producers would probably need to get a release, whether it’s a public official or not.

The only thing I think might have been confusing to her would be the nature of the organizations recording her. Technically, this blog isn’t public media; although, I would think Northfield TV, at least, would have been hard to confuse with a non-public entity.

My advice (with hindsight being 20/20): I actually would have recorded it anyway and used the material. I don’t think there’s any recourse Ms. Falkowski could have had to stop you using material gathered in the above-listed circumstances. Provided, of course, you were using them in an honest manner and not in a commercial product.

I yield the remainder of my typing to those of more learned judicial backgrounds.

My personal opinion is that if what you are going to say is accurate and has applicable information for people, and is not a source of income for you, then why try to hide it? The whole episode just seems to fan the flames of suspicion in Northfield, and I certainly don’t think we need any more winds blowing on that wildfire. It will be interesting to see how Ms. Korbel answers your inquirey, Griff.

Can you email me your comments? I’ll make sure they get added here. Thanks a ton for continuing to try, and again, my apologies.

To: Wes Kooistra, wes.kooistra@state.mn.us
Subject: Carol Falkowski’s drug presentation in Northfield

Dear Commissioner Kooistra,

I wanted to inform you that many Northfield area citizens and community leaders were very unhappy this week when Carol Falkowski, Director of the Chemical Health Division in your Minnesota Department of Human Services, did not allow her Tuesday, Oct. 30 community presentation on drugs to be recorded for community access television and other local media.

Please see this link for my entire explanation of what transpired, and some of the reaction from local citizens.
http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/2629/

Ms. Falkowski’s presentation was quite good and needs to be seen and heard by many more parents and youth in the area. Unfortunately, we now have no way to do this, which is very disappointing.

If you have questions, I’d be very happy to speak to you about this by phone, as would others, I’m sure, who work with the local organizations who hosted the forum. I’d be happy to put you in touch with them via phone and/or email.

Sincerely,

Griff Wigley

Co-host, Locally Grown
http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/

1133 Heritage Drive
Northfield, MN 55057 USA
Office: 507/573-4535
Mobile: 507/319-5541
IM (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google): griffinjay
Skype: griff_wigley

Shippy provides chemical dependency treatment services for the school district and to the general public. She explained the services she provides, including how one can qualify to pay for the services if they can’t afford them.

One parent, who indicated that she had a child affected by the opiate addiction (I think) told Shippy she felt “betrayed” and asked for an explanation of when the problem in town surfaced and how it was communicated. Shippy said that she first noted a big problem with Oxycontin about fifteen months ago. She said community groups, including the police, were told about it then. She said that in her experience, Oxycontin is always associated with heroin. She said she noted the heroin problem increasing about eight months ago. She also said that the numbers–150 to 200 opiate users in town, were accurate. IIRC, she said that the problem first surfaced in high school aged kids, but most of those affected were not enrolled in the school system.

A couple people asked about drug testing kits, for testing their kids, asking about specific types of tests. I just found this to be incredibly sad, what else can I say?

Another parent said she wished there was a parent support group in town for families struggling with this problem. I remember this was a suggestion at the Armory meeting sponsored by the Key as well. Anyone have any ideas on how to start such a group?

Reginaldo, one of the sites that Carol Falkowski referenced was:
http://www.drugabuse.gov/
This site has a Spanish tab that might be useful to you.

This story has two angles - one, what those who attended heard; and two, why more people weren’t able to hear the presentation (i.e., understanding the reason for the media restrictions).

I assume the school district (funded by property taxes) had to pay something to get Ms. Falkowski down here to speak, but I haven’t called to verify that. Does anyone know? If so, then it’s certainly a legitimate question to ask as a citizen.