| Jail closure leads to new problem: Detention Center won't take intoxicated individuals
FARMINGTON — Less than a week after the Farmington City Jail closed, police officers ran into a problem: The San Juan County Detention Center won't take people picked up for public intoxication. "You have to take them to a treatment facility," San Juan County Corrections Administrator Tom Havel said. There's no law against public intoxication in New Mexico or the city of Farmington. While police take most of those detainees to Four Winds Addiction Recovery Center, a few are on a do-not-admit list because of communicable disease or a history of violence. The legal no man's land became a problem earlier this week, Police Chief Jim Runnels said, when an officer was tied up for hours looking for a place to put a detainee. "Luckily, it doesn't happen a whole lot. If it did happen a whole lot, the city might have to get into the protective custody business," Runnels said.
Court makes it easier for patients to enter rehab
Pennsylvanians battling drug and alcohol addiction will not need a second opinion from their HMO before entering treatment programs, a state appeals court ruled. In a unanimous decision released Thursday, Commonwealth Court ruled that group insurance companies and HMOs must cover drug and alcohol treatment costs for policy holders referred to detoxification, rehabilitation and outpatient programs by a doctor or psychologist. The ruling will help about 15,000 state residents with private insurance who seek substance abuse treatment each year, said Deborah Beck, president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania. It's a really important decision that I think gives power back to doctors and psychologists, said Beck, whose Harrisburg-based organization represents licensed treatment centers and school-run counseling programs.
Recovery program can keep families together
Substance abuse is a family issue, even if what makes the news is celebrities going it alone.
Actress Lindsay Lohan might not have to worry about keeping a family together while dealing with her addiction, but that isn't the case for many people who need help, such as the 928,000 Pennsylvanians who abused controlled substances in 2005, according to estimates by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
And in Lancaster, there is a treatment program that helps women to deal with family and recovery at the same time, by keeping mothers and their children together.
Vantage, at 208 E. King St., allows women to bring their children, up to age 12, with them when they enter rehab, so they don't risk having them placed in foster care while they are away.
Jamie Oliver's leftovers go off
MORE than half the young down-and-outs who started apprenticeships with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in Melbourne failed to finish. Eleven of the 20 who started the Fifteen Melbourne program dropped out, the Herald Sun can reveal. One relapsed into heroin addiction, two have struck trouble with the law, one slumped back into homelessness and another threw it in to work in a pastry shop. The TV series Jamie's Kitchen Australia charted the first four months of the 16-month apprenticeship scheme, aimed at helping the young disadvantaged. But youth workers said the conditions were too tough. Youth welfare worker Les Twentyman said young people felt more pressure to perform under the public's gaze. "If they're not successful, it can throw them into further depression," Mr Twentyman said.
Rehab Becomes Reality for Singer Winehouse
British singer and husband enter treatment at secret location for heroin and cocaine abuse.
A family feud has prompted Rehab singer Amy Winehouse to seek help for her drug addiction problems, reports Brit tabloid The Mirror. The 23-year-old British performer and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, confessed to their escalating addictions to cocaine, heroin, and alcohol to his parents on Friday. This confession followed on the tail of Winehouses Wednesday collapse. The singer was rushed to the hospital after reportedly taking a dangerous cocktail of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and alcohol.
But after Fridays admission to Georgette Civil and her husband, Giles Fielder-Civil, the couple were back to their wild ways. Winehouses best friend, Juliette Ashby, discovered bits of burnt foil, which she suspected were the remnants of a heroin bender.
Alcohol sting yields only one violation
An alcohol sting conducted at 27 locations in Vacaville Thursday yielded a single violation, police said. Renee Huie, 41, a clerk at the Arco AM/PM in the 1400 block of Alamo Drive, was cited on suspicion of selling alcohol to a minor. The business was also noticed for the violation, which may result in an administrative action and possible fine by the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, police said. The Vacaville Police Department is committed to the safety of the community and ensuring local businesses comply with all state and local regulations concerning the sale of alcohol and tobacco products. Additional sting operations will be conducted to ensure continued compliance. Anyone with information regarding youths obtaining illegal substances is asked to call the Youth Services Section of the Police Department at 449-6086 or 449-1820.
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