Author Archives: VirgiliCarpente

Tom Vilsack Is a Little Worried That Trump Forgot the USDA Exists

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

While writing this post about the chaos surrounding the US Department of Agriculture transition, I was tempted to title it, “What the hell is Trump getting up to at the USDA?” Apparently, outgoing USDA chief Tom Vilsack has the same question.

In its emailed morning news roundup for December 14—you can listen to the audio version here, starting at the 32 second mark—the trade journal Agri-Pulse reported on its recent exit interview with Vilsack. In it, he took a poke at the Trump transition team. The USDA chief expressed disappointment that Trump has yet to appoint his successor and complained that “we haven’t had much activity from the transition team,” even as his own staff has been developing materials to prep the new team for taking over the agency.

“I think we’ve had one person here for a few hours and then that person was told he couldn’t do the job,” Vilsack said, an apparent reference to Michael Torrey, the food industry lobbyist Trump tapped to lead the USDA transition a month ago. Torrey abruptly quit a week later after Trump announced a ban on lobbyists working in the transition.

“And then we had a second person and we’ve seen him like once, and that’s it,” Vilsack added. That would appear to be a reference to Joel Leftwich, who took over the role of USDA transition a few days after Torrey’s exit. In addition to his transition duties, Leftwich now works for the Senate Agriculture Committee, but he served as Pepsi’s top DC lobbyist from 2013 to 2015.

“It’s a little puzzling why, given the magnitude and the reach of this department, that people haven’t been more engaged, given the opportunity to learn,” Vilsack said.

Meanwhile, Trump isn’t close to deciding on who he’ll tap to take over from Vilsack, reports the trade journal Southeast Ag Net. Mounting speculation recently settled on Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) as the likely pick, but that crumbled Monday, with reports of dissension among Trump’s ag advisers and whispers that Heitkamp would decline the job anyway.

See the article here: 

Tom Vilsack Is a Little Worried That Trump Forgot the USDA Exists

Posted in FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tom Vilsack Is a Little Worried That Trump Forgot the USDA Exists

More Americans Misused Painkillers Last Year Than Live in New York City

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Last year, nearly half of the US population used a prescription pain reliever, stimulant, sedative, or tranquilizer, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One in 14 Americans older than 11 misused or abused the drugs; 1 in 21 misused painkillers. The high numbers may help explain why drug overdoses now kill more people each year than car accidents or gun violence.

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA

Based on responses to 68,000 surveys, the report examined the use of psychotherapeutic drugs, including pain relievers (like Vicodin, OxyContin, or Percocet), tranquilizers (Xanax, Soma), stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin), and sedatives (Ambien, Lunesta).

Prescription painkillers, which fuel the ongoing opioid epidemic, appeared in particularly high numbers. About 5 percent of those older than 11 had misused the medication—meaning they took a medication that wasn’t theirs or used a prescription for the wrong purpose. Most of them got the drugs from a friend or relative.

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA

The high numbers are especially concerning because occasional misuse can give way to substance abuse disorders. About 2.7 million people, or 1 percent of the adult population, have a prescription drug use disorder. More than three-quarters of them are addicted to painkillers, as the chart below shows.

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA

For Kim Johnson, the director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the major takeaway was the need for more addiction treatment options. “Despite everything that we have been doing, most people that need treatment still don’t get it,” she says. “Every time someone dies, I wonder: Did they try to get treatment and not find it?”

The Obama administration called for more than $1 billion to expand prescription painkiller and heroin addiction treatment services in fiscal year 2017; Congress has not yet decided on the budget.

See the original post:  

More Americans Misused Painkillers Last Year Than Live in New York City

Posted in Casio, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More Americans Misused Painkillers Last Year Than Live in New York City