Online database lets you research the side effects of common psychiatric drugs

(NaturalNews) If you have ever seen a commercial for a pharmaceutical drug, you are probably familiar with the long list of dangerous side effects that are rattled off in the last five seconds of the advertisement, just after viewers are told how Drug “X” is going to save their lives, improve their memories or give them unlimited energy. What was that? Did he just say that pill might cause bleeding out of my eyes? Drug companies do a great job – and spend a lot of money – to ensure that most consumers aren’t aware of the harmful side effects of common drugs prescribed for conditions like depression, heart disease, arthritis, ADHD or high blood pressure. Unfortunately, the result of this has created a society where the average person with a health problem is captivated by the promises delivered in clever advertising. There is a drug for everything? All I have to do is talk to my doctor? How convenient. But what if there was a way to take back control of our lives and our health? What if, despite talking to your doctor, you still have questions or concerns about the safety of a drug? The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) has a database that allows you to do just that. It’s called the Psychiatric Drug Database, and it allows consumers to research the potential side effects of common psychiatric drugs, such as Ritalin or Wellbutrin. While the database is limited to psychiatric drugs, this type of public information portal represents a significant step in the right direction to help patients find unbiased information and make informed decisions about their health. The database allows you to search by drug and will retrieve information about adverse reactions reported by patients who have taken the drug, international warnings and studies that have been done on the drug and what side effects different age groups or genders have experienced. For example, a search of the effects of Ritalin on 18-30 year old women retrieved 89 reported cases of adverse side effects. These effects including anxiety, fatigue, hypertension, tremors, chest discomfort, nausea, panic attacks, cardiac murmurs, aggression, suicide attempts and completed suicides. The results are broken down by case and list specific symptoms and reactions caused by the drug in each reported case. Another search of Zoloft and its effects on young children included cases of cerebral disorders, upper respiratory tract infections, sleep disorders, vertigo, hallucinations, psychomotor hyperactivity and suicidal ideation. The database only includes information on cases that were actually reported to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System between 2004 and 2008. Based on the FDA’s own estimates, only about 1 to 10 percent of adverse drug side effects are even reported to the FDA. The CCHR’s database, therefore, represents only a small margin of the population that has been affected by adverse side effects of pharmaceutical psychiatric drugs. Visitors to the site will also notice an interesting anecdote that describes how the definition of poison – a substance that causes death or harm when consumed by a living organism – clearly characterizes the drugs listed in the database. Consumers are encouraged to research potential problems of a drug before agreeing with their doctors to start a course of therapy. To find more information about a particular drug, visit www.cchrint.org/psychdrugdangers Sources for this article include http://www.cchrint.org/psychdrugdangers/

Breast cancer drugs may stop cancer, but they also cut life short due to toxicity

(NaturalNews) Here’s another case of a so-called “wonder drug” heavily promoted by Big Pharma having a darker side than anyone knew. It turns out aromatase inhibitors (sold under the names Femara, Aromasin, and Arimidex), widely prescribed to huge numbers of women who’ve been diagnosed with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, could be so toxic in the body they do nothing to prolong life — and might even shorten it. Based on the findings of several studies, most doctors now recommend one of the aromatase inhibitor (AIs) after women with estrogen-positive breast cancer have initial treatment with surgery and often chemotherapy and radiation therapy. An AI medication has been considered a better choice than the other anti-estrogen treatment, tamoxifen, because AIs have been thought to have more benefits and fewer serious side effects. However, research just published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concludes that the toxic impact of aromatase inhibitors apparently explains why breast cancer patients taking AIs don’t live any longer than women taking tamoxifen. Bottom line: the study suggests that even if AIs slow down or halt the growth of estrogen driven breast cancer, women may lose their lives not to a malignancy — but to the negative impact the drugs have on their bodies. AIs block the enzyme aromatase, which turns the hormone androgen into small amounts of estrogen in the body. So they reduce the amount of estrogen available that can stimulate the growth of estrogen-driven breast cancer cells. This class of drugs doesn’t halt ovaries from making estrogen, so AIs are only used in post-menopausal women. The medications are normally prescribed as an alternative to tamoxifen or after earlier treatment with tamoxifen (which often has intolerable side effects). Overall, AI therapy alone is associated with a reduction in breast cancer recurrence — but doesn’t result in women living any longer. What’s more, the drugs have been found to produce a host of concerning adverse toxic effects on the body. And it’s this toxicity that may explain the lack of overall survival benefit in postmenopausal breast cancer patients, according to researchers Eitan Amir, of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, and colleagues. The research team conducted a systematic review of all randomized trials which compared AIs and tamoxifen in postmenopausal women. Using results from seven trials involving 30,023 breast cancer patients, the scientists performed a meta-analysis of the data. The results showed that, compared to tamoxifen, longer use of AIs was associated with more heart disease and bone fractures. However, tamoxifen users had higher rates of blood clots and cancer of the womb. There were no differences in the risk of stroke or other types of cancer. Overall there was no survival benefit to AIs, even though the drugs seem to have a positive effect on breast cancer recurrence. The researchers concluded that the toxicity of AIs was most likely behind the drugs failure to prolong life. Using tamoxifen first and then switching to AIs for 2 to 3 years was associated with a lower risk of death unrelated to breast cancer compared to the use of either AIs or tamoxifen alone. The scientists speculate that this is because switching between the two drugs lowers the toxicity of AIs in the body. In an accompanying editorial, Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., Shannon Puhalla, M.D., and Rachel C. Jankowitz, M.D., of the UPMC Cancer Center at Magee-Womens Hospital, concluded that doctors should “..choose initial endocrine therapy for the individual patient with careful attention to the risk of breast cancer recurrence, the risk of toxicity, and comorbidities.” As NaturalNews has reported extensively, a host of research is pointing to far safer and even non-toxic natural therapies than mainstream medicine’s current standard breast cancer treatment strategies. For example, there is evidence parsley and other plants may contain phytochemicals that help stop breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/032410_parsley_tumors.html). Vitamin D (http://www.naturalnews.com/032222_breast_cancer_vitamin_D.html) appears to hold great promise in the fight against breast malignancies, too. For more information: http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/ http://www.naturalnews.com/breast_cancer.html

Study pushes dangerous drug as urinary infection cure, but cranberries work better

(NaturalNews) A just published study emphasizes that the super strong Big Pharma antibiotic combo trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (dubbed TMP-SMX, for short, and marketed as Bactrim, Bethaprim, Cotrim and Septra) appears to be more effective for repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs) than the time proven natural remedy of cranberries. This research headed by Marielle A.J. Beerepoot, M.D., from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam might sound like great news for women who need help to beat UTIs. After all, these infections cause a host of unpleasant symptoms including burning on urination and pelvic pain. But when you take a closer look at what the research actually shows, the phrase “junk science” comes to mind. Cranberry extract fights urinary tract infections and, what’s more, the drug that is being hyped as superior is actually loaded with dangers. Background information in the journal article noted that UTIs are common in women, affecting nearly 50 percent at some point in their lives; up to 30 percent of women develop urinary tract infections that recur over and over. Mainstream medical doctors frequently prescribe antibiotics as a preventive measure for UTIs for countless women who don’t even have an infection. “However, this may lead to drug resistance not only of the causative microorganisms but also of the indigenous flora,” the authors wrote. They pointed out that studies of cranberries and cranberry products can prevent recurrent UTIs. In fact, NaturalNews has reported numerous times about the health benefits of cranberries and how they can specifically treat UTIs.For example, in previous studies, scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) discovered cranberry juice creates what the researchers called an “energy barrier” that has the amazing power to prevent disease-causing microorganisms from starting an infection. This barrier changes the thermodynamic properties of infection-causing germs in the urinary tract. Simply put, the bacteria are then unable to hook onto cells and cause illness (http://www.naturalnews.com/023802_juice_cranberry.htm). The new study, just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine , aimed to directly compare cranberries with TMP-SMX to see which works best for UTIs. The research subjects were 221 premenopausal adult women who had reported at least three symptomatic UTIs in the previous year. Half took either TMP-SMX (480 mg at night, plus one placebo capsule twice daily) or cranberry capsules (500 mg twice daily, plus one placebo tablet at night) for one year. The scientists checked the participants clinical status once a month and for three months after stopping the study medication by taking urine and feces samples. The research subjects also filled out a questionnaire and submitted urine samples when they experienced urinary tract infection symptoms. At 12 months, the average number of clinical recurrences was 1.8 in the TMP-SMX group and 4.0 in the cranberry capsules group. Recurrence occurred, on average, after eight months in the drug group and after four months in the cranberry capsules group. So the conclusion, according to the media statement, was that the antibiotic used in this study appeared to be more effective at preventing UTIs than cranberry capsules. But wait a minute. The cranberry capsules did work against UTIs, even at a fairly low dosage, although they didn’t work as strongly as the drugs. And only capsules of cranberry were used. Isn’t it possible cranberry juice, the whole fruit or a larger dosage would have increased effectiveness? Absolutely. In fact, in an accompanying commentary, Bill J. Gurley, Ph.D., from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, pointed out that “supplements such as cranberry capsules may not demonstrate optimal efficacy due to issues with poor water solubility and the type of metabolism that occurs.” For example, he explained, cranberry capsules might have a low level of bacteria-fighting chemicals in the dosage used that may have affected the study’s results. There was also a huge downside to taking TMP-SMX. Turns out, antibiotic resistant rates tripled in the disease-causing germs found in the women who took the drug. Dr. Gurley noted that just one month into the study, antibiotic resistance for Escherichia coli was higher than 85 percent in the TMP-SMX group but less than 30 percent in the cranberry capsule group. “Such a marked reduction in antibiotic resistance certainly favors the therapeutic potential of cranberry as a natural UTI preventative,” he wrote in the editorial. Another important point to consider about the new study that supposedly concludes Big Phama’s prescription drug beats the natural alternative: while cranberries are side effect free, not so with the TMP-SMX antibiotic. A few problems you can experience from the drug are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or headache muscle weakness, mental/mood changes, new lump/growth in the neck (goiter), low blood sugar, neck stiffness, seizures, liver damage, lung injury, and vaginal yeast infections. For more information: http://jama.ama-assn.org/ http://www.naturalnews.com/cranberries.html

Heartworm drugs for pets; Big Pharma’s cash cow

(NaturalNews) In a seemingly diabolical plot, veterinarians and pharmaceutical companies have teamed up in a marketing campaign to frighten pet guardians into giving year-round heartworm preventatives to their cats, as well as dogs. These so-called experts say they’re doing this to improve protection for individual pets, but the facts say their motives may be less pure. With few exceptions, heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are a completely seasonal problem, so there is no reason to give heartworm medicine to ANY pet year-round-except to make money for those who make and sell it! Those financially-motivated folks say the number of cases will rise unless everybody gives the medications. They rationalize this by citing statistics on how most people don’t use the products, and proclaiming that the number of unprotected dogs will surely cause even more disease. However, despite years of many animals being given unnecessary drugs and many more who aren’t, the prevalance of heartworm has not really changed. In fact, a recent headline in a veterinary publication trumpeted, “Heartworm now found in all 50 states”–as if it was a triumph! While that statement may be technically true, the survey did not differentiate between all dogs testing positive for heartworm, and dogs testing positive for heartworm that came from somewhere else! The increase in positive-testing dogs may be attributable to the widespread dispersion of heartworm-infected dogs after Hurricane Katrina, rather than a true increase in the level of disease. Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes. Heartworm larvae, called microfilaria, live in the blood and are sucked up by the bug. Once inside the mosquito, they must further develop before they can infect another dog. For that to occur, outside temperatures must remain above 57 degrees F, day and night, for a certain period of time (but at least 8 days). The warmer the temperature, the faster the larvae will mature. If the temperature drops below the critical level, larval development will stop, but the larvae don’t die, development will re-start at the same point when the weather warms back up. Larvae reach their infective stage in 8 to 30 days (the latter being the insect’s entire lifespan-if the larvae haven’t matured by then, they will die along with the mosquito). It should be obvious that during seasons and in areas where there are no mosquitoes, there is no risk of heartworm. Evidently that little fact escaped the attention of the veterinarian who prescribed heartworm protection — in December-for a puppy living high in the Colorado mountains. At that altitude, temperatures are never warm enough for heartworms! On this map, heartworm risk is shown by the month when the use of heartworm preventatives should begin. In most states, protection should be continued through November or December. In the Michigan UP, preventatives are suggested from August through October. Within 150 miles of the Gulf Coast and other areas in pink, prevention is recommended from April through January. In the red areas of southern Texas and Florida, year-round preventatives may be needed. Local conditions may vary from year to year. Global warming, hurricanes/flooding, and other factors may increase the mosquito population and thus influence heartworm risk. (This map is a very loose approximation only, and is not intended to be used exclusively to determine risk.) http://www.naturalnews.com/images/US-Heartworm-Map-1.jpg When an infected mosquito bites a dog or cat, the microfilaria are deposited on the skin, where they then crawl into the bite wound and enter the bloodstream. Inside the body, they grow and progress through other larval forms. In dogs, the heartworm’s natural host, larvae migrate to the heart and eventually develop into adult worms. In cats, full-grown worms can develop (but not reproduce). A cat cannot transmit the disease. Adult heartworms are over a foot long when grown (in 6-8 months), but it takes only 1 or 2 to fill up a cat’s tiny heart and cause serious problems. However, in 80% of infections, the cat’s own immune system kills the larvae at an earlier stage, and clears the infection. However, heartworms don’t have to be full-grown to cause problems. In cats, a respiratory condition can develop. Not-quite-full-grown microfilaria can get stuck small blood vessels in the lungs, where they can cause significant inflammation and damage. This uniquely feline condition is called Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease, or HARD. Symptoms are similar to asthma; and it’s possible that some “asthmatic” cats are misdiagnosed with an immune-mediated disease instead of a parasite. Even so, about half of infected cats never develop any signs of heartworm disease at all. And while the disease causes serious damage to the lungs, much of the damage may be reversible by the body’s normal healing processes. Chronic and sequential infections have not been studied. Indoor cats are, of course, less likely to be bitten by a mosquito, but anyone who’s ever been around them knows that the little buggers can be quite persistent, so it isn’t impossible. In one study, 25% of heartworm-positive cats were reported to be indoors-only. Outdoor cats are at higher risk not only for heartworm but also for feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV or feline AIDS), and all the other parasites, injuries, and diseases common to outdoor cats. However, keeping all pets indoors during prime mosquito-feeding time (late afternoon an evening) will greatly reduce the risk of a bite. Heartworm preventative drugs do not kill adult heartworms, but they do kill microfilaria up to a certain stage of development. Currently it is believed that larvae under 6 weeks old are affected. This means that in order to prevent heartworms from reaching adulthood, the preventative can be given up to 6 weeks after the mosquito bite occurs, and still work. The recommendation is to give the drugs every 30 days, purportedly because once-a-month dosing is easier for most people to remember (and, coincidentally, it also sells more drugs!). The most common preventative drugs for heartworm are ivermectin (Heartgard) and selamectin (Revolution). While these drugs are generally considered “safe and effective” at the low doses used for heartworm prevention, there are always exceptions. Signs of toxicity associated with ivermectin include: depression, ataxia (balance problems or unsteady walk), and blindness. Selamectin is also used to treat ear mites and some intestinal worms; adverse reactions include hair loss at the site of application, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle tremors, anorexia, lethargy, salivation, rapid breathing, and contact allergy. Most veterinarians hand out heartworm preventatives like candy; but there is a serious and growing problem of resistance of heartworms to these drugs. This means that we are selecting for “superworms” that will be able to survive and grow even in animals on heartworm preventatives (despite Big Pet Pharma’s denials that this is happening). As with all cases of drug resistance, the correct response is to reduce use of the drug and reserve it only for when it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, the veterinary profession and drug industries have decided to go for profits instead, and are continuing to call for all pets to be on medications all year round. This is bad science, and it is bad policy. The Big Pet Pharma folks are very protective of the income from heartworm drugs, and will apparently stop at nothing to increase profits. Merial, maker of the popular heartworm preventative Heartgard, was repeatedly warned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop exaggerating the effectiveness of the product (which has been declining for at least a decade). Moreover, a fired Merial executive filed suit against Merial, claiming that the company deliberately lied for years, not only about the product’s effectiveness, but also the true number and severity of adverse events. Pfizer’s Animal Health division alone, which makes the heartworm preventative Revolution as well as vaccines and other animal drugs, is valued at $10 billion to $16 billion (and may soon be sold to Merial or another competitor!). If you feel you must use heartworm prevention products, get them from your veterinarian. Surveys have found mislabeled, expired, imported, and counterfeit products being sold from other sources. Follow dosage instructions and do not over-treat. NEVER, EVER use a heartworm product made for dogs on a cat. The components are different between dog and cat products, and dog products can kill a cat in a matter of hours. Many cats have suffered and died this way.

Pharmageddon: Prescription drugs are killing America’s youth

(NaturalNews) No parent wants to lose a child, but when one dies from something that should be very preventable, the heartbreak and tragedy is compounded. Such is increasingly the case with prescription drugs – they’re killing our youth. Sarah Shay and Savannah Kissick, of Morehead, Ky., best friends since high school, were both victims of what experts and the White House are describing as an epidemic of prescription drug deaths . Sarah died in 2006 at the tender age of 19; Savannah just three years later, at 22. Since the medications they were using were prescribed by physicians, some experts believe they carry some sort of legitimacy. But the fact is they are being abused by young people just the same as drugs that are illegal – more so even, in some cases. “I don’t think the kids have any idea how addicting the substance is,” Karen Shays told the BBC in an interview. “Before they know it, bam! They’re addicted.” Drugs like Xanax, Oxycodone, Klonopin and Hydrocodone are routinely being abused more and more in Kentucky in particular, but in other parts of the nation too, by teenagers and young adults. So bad is the problem that the state has set up rehabilitation centers, where a huge number of addicts – more all the time – are being treated. So bad is the addition that some kids have even turned to crime to feed it. Some of the kids say they could have likely found other drugs to feed their habit, but prescription drugs were not only legal but much easier to get. All in all, it’s sort of like Armageddon, but with prescription drugs – a sort of “Pharmageddon,” if you will, as evidenced by Kentucky’s overflowing jails, say state officials. “I believe I can safely say that over 80 percent of the inmates in the Pike County regional detention center are in there for something dealing with their addiction to prescription drugs,” Dan Smoot, director of law enforcement with an organization called Unite – a new and innovative counterdrug that combines police investigations, treatment and education. According to the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy , in a recent report, the problem stretches beyond the borders of Kentucky – and it’s getting worse. “A number of national studies and published reports indicate that the intentional abuse of prescription drugs, such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives, to get high is a growing concern — particularly among teens — in the United States. In fact, among young people ages 12-17, prescription drugs have become the second most abused illegal drug, behind marijuana,” said the study, called, “Teens and Prescription Drugs.” “Though overall teen drug use is down nationwide and the percentage of teens abusing prescription drugs is still relatively low compared to marijuana use, there are troubling signs that teens view abusing prescription drugs as safer than illegal drugs and parents are unaware of the problem,” it said. In particular, the study found: – Teens are turning more and more away from illegal street drugs and instead are taking (and abusing) more prescription medications – so much so that new users of prescription drugs have caught up with new users of marijuana; – Next to marijuana, the next most common thing kids use to get high are prescription drugs; – Teens abuse prescription medications because they mistakenly believe that, since they are prescribed, they provide safe highs; – Most teens get prescription drugs easily and free, usually from friends or relatives; – The most commonly abused drugs by kids are OxyContin and Vicodin; and – Adolescents are more likely to get hooked on prescription medication than are young adults. The study found that teens most likely to abuse prescription medications live in the west and southeast. The most common abuse occurs in the following states: Arkansas (10.3 percent); Kentucky (9.8 percent); Montana (9.6 percent); Oregon (9.3 percent); Oklahoma (9.1 percent); Tennessee (8.9 percent); and West Virginia (8.9 percent). “There’s a reason that prescription drugs are intended to be taken under the direction of a doctor: if used improperly they can be dangerous,” said a recent National Institute of Drug Abuse summary. Abuse of prescription painkillers in general is not new. In fact, such abuse has risen 400 percent between 1998 and 2008. But now it seems, our kids have made a startling discovery – that using prescription meds to get high – is too easy and too accessible. And it’s costing more of them their lives.

AIDS drugs linked to premature aging, dementia, and heart disease

(NaturalNews) A study recently published in the journal Nature Genetics explains that nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs, which are drugs used primarily in Africa and other developing regions of the world to treat HIV and AIDS, are responsible for causing heart disease, dementia, premature aging, and other age-related illnesses. Originally introduced in the late 1980s, many NRTIs have since been replaced in developed countries by newer, and much more expensive, antiretroviral drug cocktails that may be just as damaging. But the older NRTIs are still being used on the poor with HIV and AIDS, and their devastating side effects are only just now beginning to be realized. “It takes time for these side effects to become apparent, so there is a question mark about the future and whether or not the newer drugs will cause this problem,” said Patrick Chinnery, lead author of the study from the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University, to Reuters in a telephone interview. “They are probably less likely to, but we don’t know because we haven’t had time to see.” Scientists observed that the chemical compounds in NRTIs damage DNA in patients’ mitochondria, which are the power producers for cells. When these important structural elements become harmed or destroyed, they are unable to produce energy for cells, which can lead to a host of health problems and eventually death. “The DNA in our mitochondria gets copied throughout our lifetimes and, as we age, naturally accumulates errors,” added Chinnery. “We believe these HIV drugs accelerate the rate at which these errors build up. So over the space of, say, ten years, a person’s mitochondrial DNA may have accumulated the same amount of errors as a person who has naturally aged 20 or 30 years.” The findings illustrate the general fact that the unknown, long-term dangers associated with all types of drugs have not been properly identified. Because NRTIs and most other drugs have never been tested for long-term side effects, it is highly likely that a great majority of them will eventually be identified as damaging in much the same way as NRTIs. Sources for this story include: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110627/hl_nm/us_aids_drugs_ageing

FDA sued to halt antibiotics in animal feed

(NaturalNews) Since the 1950′s livestock have had antibiotics added into their feed to speed up their growth and to prevent and treat illness. However, recently several environmental and public health groups have filed suit against the Food and Drug Administration to try and force the government to stop farmers from routinely adding the antibiotics to the feed. The groups say that the wide spread use of the drugs and the FDA’s allowance of it are dramatically adding to a public health crisis. The crisis being an increase in the prevalence of “superbugs” that infect people but do not properly respond to antibiotics. Margaret Mellon, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, one of the groups who filed the complaint in federal court, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Animals Concern Trust and Public Citizen stated, “the longer we use these drugs, the less effective the arsenal becomes.” Debate has been ongoing for the past 30 years about the use of antibiotics in animal feed. Amid rising concerns the FDA began to question whether they should be used so broadly and on healthy animals. “Anti-modern livestock production groups are trying to compel the FDA to ban antibiotics used to prevent animals from getting sick because those groups have a belief – not scientific evidence – that such FDA-approved animal health products are causing antibiotic resistance in people.” Said Doug Wolf, president of the National Pork Producers Council, and a pork producer from Lancaster, WI. As farming has become more industrialized, farmers have become more reliant on antibiotics because they help animals digest more effectively and stay healthy in crowded conditions. Last year the FDA gave voluntary guidance to farmers, calling the resistant-bacteria problem a “public health issue of some urgency.” Mellon went on to say that the FDA is “trying to jawbone the industry into voluntarily giving up these drugs. I don’t know how they would get the industry to act that way, because it’s against their interests.” Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), the only microbiologist in congress has filed legislation that would ban the use of seven antibiotic classes unless animals are ill or drug companies can prove their use does not harm human health. “We should be able to buy our food without worrying that eating it will expose our families to bacteria no longer responsive to medical treatments.” She stated. Sources for this article include: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/groups-sue-fda-to-stop-addition-of-antibiotics-in-livestock-feed/2011/05/25/AGxfbVBH_story.html

Four decades of drug war tyranny may come to an end with Ron Paul’s new effort to legalize marijuana

(NaturalNews) Four decades of the so-called “War on Drugs” has led only to the suffering of millions of innocents, the crowding of our prisons with non-violent citizens, the utter waste of billions of dollars on law enforcement and the (in)justice system, and the enriching of underground drug gangs who thrive on violence. The outlawing of marijuana in America has been a disastrous political policy and an insane medical policy. It has labeled biochemical addicts “criminals” and thrown them in prisons to be treated like dogs. The War on Drugs, through interdicting street supplies of drugs, has only made the drug gangs wealthier by driving up the value of the drugs that remain readily available. And it is now admitted that the ATF actually placed tens of thousands of weapons directly into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, giving rise to the very gang violence the agency claims to be preventing (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/us-usa-mexico-guns-idUSTRE75E49N20110615). The U.S. government, it turns out, is actually contributing to the drug war violence! Ron Paul, Barney Frank join forces to end the insanity In an effort to end the insanity, Rep. Ron Paul has joined forces with Rep. Barney Frank to introduce legislation legalizing marijuana in America . President Obama, you may recall, promised voters on the campaign trail that he would do this, too, but it seems he’s been too busy bombing Libya and using the U.S. Constitution as a floor mat to bother keeping any actual promises. (GITMO is still open for business, too, in case you haven’t noticed…) Of course, the War on Drugs is a very effective tool of tyranny to be used against the American people. It empowers the DEA and the federal government to conduct surprise searches of any home or business for any reason whatsoever (even without a warrant), it keeps the prison industry overflowing with endless cheap human labor, and it grants the big drug companies a monopoly over all those recreational drugs that are now sold as pharmaceuticals. “Speed,” for example, is now sold as an ADHD treatment for children. Big Pharma is also going after THC chemicals in marijuana and hopes to sell them as prescription drugs. By keeping the War on Drugs in place, Big Pharma is assured a monopoly that even the drug lords haven’t been able to accomplish. An issue that crosses political boundaries One thing that’s especially interesting about the so-called War on Drugs is how the best-informed people on both the left and the right now see it all as a complete fraud. Perhaps that’s why Rep. Ron Paul (Republican) and Rep. Barney Frank (Democrat) are the perfect sponsors of this bill. Each has staked out positions on the opposite ends of the political spectrum for some issues, yet they both agree that it’s time to end the failed Nixon-era policies that have only brought this nation suffering and injustice. Ending the failed War on Drugs is not a conservative idea nor a liberal idea; it’s a principle of liberty whose time has come in America. Because in observing the War on Drugs, the prison crowding, the drug underground economy and all the other unintended consequence of marijuana prohibition, we must ask the question: Is society served in any way by criminalizing marijuana smokers? How does taking a medical addict and throwing them behind bars accomplish anything at all? The prohibition against marijuana accomplishes nothing for society For starters, it halts the contributions of a tax paying citizen. Most pot smokers actually have jobs and pay taxes. They are functioning citizens — lawyers, accountants, musicians, administrators and more. By throwing them in prison, you’re destroying their own ability to participate in the economy while actually placing a new cost burden on the rest of society. Secondly, from a moral perspective, pot smokers need medical support , not criminal indictment. If someone is suffering from a substance addiction, how does throwing them in prison and surrounding them with other addicts and hardened criminals serve any positive purpose whatsoever? Today, U.S. prisons actually function more like criminal training camps where people come out as far more violent criminals than when they went in. So the justice system actually ends up capturing people who are relatively peaceful, tax-paying citizens and then turning them into hardened criminals who are eventually released onto the streets. How insane is that? Wouldn’t it make more sense to allow them to continue to function in society but help them with their drug addiction through a medical / health perspective? Addicts need support, not incarceration. And today’s justice system does absolutely nothing to rehabilitate prisoners. It only makes them far worse criminals. And finally, from an economic perspective alone, can any U.S. state really afford to continue incarcerating people for non-violent crimes that have no victims? Who is harmed with a guy down the street lights up a joint? No one. There are no victims. There is no crime, either, other than the fictional crime the State fabricates to incarcerate people. A “real” crime is a crime that has a victim: A rape, a burglary, a mugging, or a murder. Those crimes deserve proper consideration by the justice system, and people who commit such crimes are precisely the kind of people society can justifiably put behind bars. But carrying a few ounces of marijuana in your pocket — or even lighting up a smoke — violates no person or property. Nor does it violate any moral or ethical principle. It is, in every way, an act that is improperly and unjustifiably criminalized through legal fictions engineered by the state. The solution to marijuana prohibition is finally at hand It is time to end those legal fictions and end the War on Drugs in America. The solution is to: #1) LEGALIZE marijuana across the country. #2) REGULATE marijuana and allow it to be sold through licensed retailers. #3) TAX marijuana sales and use the tax proceeds to fund addiction support programs for those small percentage of users who end up addicted. The results of these actions will be: #1) A COLLAPSE of the drug gangs. If marijuana is suddenly legal, who would bother buying it from a street dealer? #2) A COLLAPSE of drug profits. If it’s legal, the price goes down. Suddenly there’s no more money in trafficking the drug, either, so the drug gangs are instantly out of business. #3) A HUGE INCREASE in revenues to the states from collecting taxes on the legal sale of marijuana. #4) A REDUCTION in young people trying the drug. What teenager wants to try something if it’s LEGAL? Legalizing pot takes all the “fun” out of it for many young people. It’s no longer cool. Kinda boring, actually. And it makes you cough. #5) A SAVINGS of billions of dollars off all the money states are right now spending arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people for possessing marijuana. This money could be used to build schools, roads, job re-education programs and more. And don’t court judges have better things to do than sentence pot smokers? #6) AN END to prison overcrowding. End the sentences for those incarcerated merely for marijuana possession. Set them free and end the prison crowding. Save the prisons for the real criminals such as murderers, child molesters and Wall Street bankers. #7) A FREER, more just society that respects human dignity. If you treat addicts like criminals, you take away their dignity, and your entire society suffers a net loss. By recognizing the humanity behind the addiction, we can restore human dignity to the entire process of how we deal with drug addicts in society today. Action item: Call your Congressman to support this bill! Here’s what you can do right now to help support this bill: Call your Congressman in Washington D.C. and tell them you want to support the bill to end the federal ban on marijuana. The switchboard number is 202-224-3121. If you live in the U.S. or are a U.S. citizen, call this number now , ask to be connected to your Congressperson, and verbally express your support for the bill to legalize marijuana across America. It is time to end the failed War on Drugs, stop the useless incarceration of millions of innocent people, and halt the tyranny of the DEA and other federal agencies that waste billions of dollars every year stalking and assaulting people who merely want to smoke a weed. I don’t smoke weed, by the way, but as a person who believes in the principles of freedom and liberty, I fully support the rights of others to smoke marijuana if they so choose. Similarly, I don’t drink alcohol, but I support the rights of other to drink alcohol if that’s their decision. As a nation, we tried prohibition with alcohol and it was a disaster. Now we’re living through the era of marijuana prohibition, and it is a disastrous failure as well. Isn’t it time we grew up as a nation and allowed people to take responsibility for their own actions as long as they aren’t harming anyone else in the process? Smoke all you want, folks! I’m gonna have a superfood smoothie instead. Sources for this story include: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-introduce-bill-legalize-marijuana-225335489.html

Natural cure discovered for debilitating heart syndrome POTS

(NaturalNews) Imagine simply standing up and feeling your heart speed up more than 30 beats a minute — sometimes it races well over 120 beats a minutes. You also have heart palpitations out the blue and low stroke volume (the amount of blood your heart pumps with each blood). Even the amount of blood in your body is too low. These are the symptoms of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) — dubbed “The Grinch Syndrome” because the majority of patients have a heart that is literally, to use Dr. Seuss’ description of the Grinch’s heart, “two sizes too small.” POTS affects about 500,000 people in the U.S., primarily young women. And while it isn’t life-threatening, it can destroy the quality of a person’s life and cause substantial disability by bringing on symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, inability to stand for prolonged periods of time (chronic orthostatic intolerance) and fainting. But now there’s evidence POTS can be cured without drugs or surgery, according to research just published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Medical Association . It isn’t the easiest “prescription” for many POTS sufferers but knowing they can be cured may be enough to get them started on this natural path to total healing. The treatment? Regular exercise. “The exercise training program is a resounding success in the treatment of POTS,” Benjamin Levine, M.D., senior study author and director at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, said in a statement to the media. As anyone with POTS knows, the condition can cause such dizziness and fatigue that exercise can seem downright impossible. But the researchers figured out a way to help POTS sufferers begin exercising safely. “The unique component is to start training in a recumbent (semi-reclining) position, which is important to those who can’t tolerant standing. This strategy avoids the upright position that produces symptoms. We don’t even let patients stand up to exercise for one or even two months,” explained Levine who is also professor of medicine and cardiology and distinguished professorship in exercise science at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “However, to maintain the benefits these patients will need to incorporate the training program into their everyday lives indefinitely.” There are a variety of recumbent or sitting exercises include cycling with a recumbent bike, rowing and swimming. Dr. Levine and his research team recommend exercise training for POTS patients that progressively increases in intensity, frequency and duration. The training regime, they said, should start with 30 to 45 minute sessions, two to four times per week. Eventually, patients work up to exercising five to six hours each week and they are encouraged to exercise upright when they are able to. For the recent study, the scientists worked with 18 women (average age 27) and one man who completed a double-blind drug trial. The POTS sufferers were randomized to receive either the beta blocker propranolol, commonly prescribed for their heart condition, or a placebo for four weeks. After that time period, the research subjects participated three months of exercise training. There was also a control group of 15 non-POTS healthy participants who participated in the study. The results of the study showed that all POTS patients who completed the exercise training showed improvement in physical function scores. What’s more 95 percent of them showed improvement in their ability to function socially. Every single POTS patient who completed the exercise regime showed an improvement in heart rate responses and over half – 53 percent – were actually “cured” of their POTS. That means their change in heart rate with standing no longer met the diagnostic criteria for the syndrome. More good news for POTS sufferers: aldosterone-to-renin ratio (the regulation of sodium balance, fluid volume and blood pressure) has long been known to be low in people with POTS and the standard drug therapy given these people does nothing to help. But not so with the all-natural exercise regime — the aldosterone-to-renin ration, which plays a critical role in how the body handles changes to blood circulation during prolonged standing, showed a dramatic increase in the POTS patients who worked out regularly. The researchers’ analyses also showed the group receiving beta blocker drugs showed no change in social function scores and very few patients taking the drugs improved their physical function scores at all. “Exercise training is superior to the beta blocker in restoring upright blood circulation, improving kidney function and dramatically improving quality of life,” Qi Fu, M.D., Ph.D., study first-author and assistant professor of internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, concluded in the statement to the media. For more information: www.heart.org/news

World leaders denounce failed war on drugs; call for global decriminalization

(NaturalNews) The “War on Drugs” is a failure, with devastating consequences around the world, and it is time to decriminalize drugs and start treating drug problems as health issues, said a group of prominent former world leaders in a new report released June 1. “Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and 40 years after President (Richard) Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed,” said the report. The Global Commission on Drug Policy responsible for the report includes : former Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso; former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria; Mexico’s former president Ernesto Zedillo; ex-UN chief Kofi Annan; former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve and of the Economic Recovery Board Paul Volcker; former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz; Mario Vargas Llosa; Carlos Fuentes; and Richard Branson. The Commission called for loosening restrictions on marijuana and an “end [to] the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others.” The group of statesmen and prominent intellectuals said punitive measures had led to a situation where “the global scale of illegal drug markets — largely controlled by organized crime — has grown dramatically.” They encourage experimentation by governments with models of legal regulation of drugs (especially cannabis) to undermine the power of organized crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens. “Decriminalization initiatives do not result in significant increases in drug use,” the report said, citing policies in Australia, Holland and Portugal. Another priority, the report said, is to work on treatment. “Let’s start by treating drug addiction as a health issue, reducing drug demand through proven educational initiatives and legally regulating rather than criminalizing cannabis,” Cardoso said. The drug war at home The report provides an international perspective but certainly hits home in the U.S. too. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. With less than 5 percent of the world’s population, we have almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners, according to Troy Williams article in the Fayetteville Observer. Several factors may be to blame for the disproportionate rate, according to experts, but it is clear that a large number of incarcerations are for drug-related crimes. President Richard Nixon officially declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971, and by now it has become the longest and most expensive war in American history. It is impossible to give an accurate account of the “drug war” without spotlighting race. The United States locks up a disproportionate amount of African-Americans by continuing to go after minor drug offenders. The “War on Drugs” has essentially become a war on African-Americans, said Williams. These drug policies overcrowd our prisons and contribute to the growing financial crisis. $100,000 of taxpayer money is spent to support a person sentenced to five years in prison for possession or sale of $50 worth of drugs. That does not include prosecution expenses. The “War on Drugs” may be at a hinging point. While federal officials have maintained their stance — under both Republican and Democratic administrations — throughout the years, state governments and voters have been approving new medical marijuana laws that are at odds with federal drug statutes. Even the changing political tides seem to be working against the “War on Drugs”. The rise of liberty-minded presidential candidates, such as Congressman Ron Paul and Gary Johnson reflect a portion of American society that seeks less government intervention in the lives of citizens. In the first GOP presidential debate held in South Carolina, Paul responded to the debate moderator Chris Wallace’s shock that he would suggest legalizing drugs, such as heroin. “What you’re inferring is, ‘You know what? If I legalize heroin tomorrow, everyone is going to use heroin.’ How many people here would use heroin if it were legal? I bet nobody would,” said Paul, adding sarcastically, “Oh yeah I need the government to take care of me. I don’t want to use heroin, so I need these laws [to stop me.]” Paul’s response was met with applause. “I never thought heroin would get an applause in South Carolina,” said Wallace. Sources for this article include: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/02/former-world-leaders-say-decriminalizing-marijuana-worth-trying/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/marijuana-legalization-is-the-war-on-drugs-working/2011/06/02/AGtC1JHH_blog.html http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Commission http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/06/06/1098429?sac=Home

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