Link between mental illness & chronic physical conditions

A report from SAMHSA provides new numbers which reaffirm that adults who have a mental illness also have higher rates of certain physical illnesses than the general population.  Adults who had any mental illness, serious mental illness or major depressive episode in the past year had increased rates of high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.  The report also shows significant differences in emergency department use and hospitalization rates.  For example, 47.6% of adults with serious mental illness in the past year used emergency departments as opposed to only 30.5% of those without a serious mental illness. To read more, click here.

new chemicals in "spice" averting prosecution

Ohio and other states, along with the DEA, have made it a crime to have or sell a laundry list of chemicals that are sprayed on herbs with compounds that mimic the active ingredient in marijuana.  This synthetic marijuana, known as “spice,” has been linked to illnesses and deaths with symptoms that include seizures, hallucinations, vomiting, anxiety and an accelerated heart rate.  Spice is commonly sold in colorful packets as “herbal incense” and is smoked to get high. However, prosecutions of three of the largest spice busts in Virginia have hit roadblocks because the spice that police seized does not contain banned chemicals listed in state law due to manufacturers using new chemicals. Authorities in Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Alaska have encountered similar problems.

stryve: youth violence prevention

STRYVE (Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere) is a national initiative, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which takes a public health approach to preventing youth violence among young people ages 10 to 24 before it starts. To support this effort, STRYVE Online provides communities with the knowledge and resources to be successful in preventing youth violence. Resources include:
• Access to the latest information and tools
• Effective strategies based upon the best available evidence
• Training and technical assistance
• Online community workspaces
• Connections to other communities

heroin in ohio so prevalent it's "falling out of the sky"

A story by the Associated Press in March described to the nation that the heroin problem in Ohio is so prevalent it is "falling out of the sky," according to a report released in March by ODADAS.  The data also finds children as young as 13 are now starting on the drug, considered a cheap substitute for prescription painkillers.  Regions across the state saw increases in heroin abuse during the past six months, with availability in Cleveland considered at epidemic levels. The top reason for the increase comes as people addicted to painkillers realize that heroin is cheaper and easier to obtain.  A separate report released this month by the Ohio Department of Health cited 338 heroin-involved deaths in 2010, or one in every five drug overdose deaths in the state.  To read the full ODADAS report, click here.

juvenile sex offender notice & registration struck down

A ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court in early April struck down portions of Ohio's sex offender law Tuesday, finding that ongoing registration and notification requirements for juveniles are unconstitutional.  The ruling held that for a juvenile offender who remains under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the Eighth Amendment forbids the automatic imposition of lifetime sex offender registration and notification requirements.  The court also found that the blended juvenile/adult sentencing directives of the so-called Adam Walsh Act violated the defendant's constitutional right to due process of law.