Utah gears up to implement nation's lowest DUI limit

New Year's Eve revelers in Utah could find themselves with more than a hangover as 2019 dawns. If they drink and drive, they could end up on the wrong side of the nation's newest and lowest DUI threshold.

The 0.05 percent limit goes into effect Sunday, despite protests that it will punish responsible drinkers and hurt the state's tourism industry by adding to the reputation that the predominantly Mormon state is unfriendly to those who drink alcohol. The state's old limit was 0.08 percent, the threshold in most states.

The National Transportation Safety Board also backs the change, and many in the hospitality industry worry that other states will follow suit. Utah was among the first to adopt the now-standard 0.08 threshold decades ago, and lawmakers in four states — Washington, Hawaii, Delaware and New York — have floated measures to lower their DUI limit in recent years. None has passed. 

Feds say heroin, fentanyl remain biggest drug threat to US

Drug overdose deaths hit the highest level ever recorded in the United States last year, with an estimated 200 people dying per day, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Most of that was the result of a record number of opioid-related deaths.

The DEA’s report also noted that methamphetamine is making its way into communities where the drug normally wasn’t heavily used, the report said. Chronic use of meth, a highly addictive stimulant, can cause paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations and delusions, studies have shown. 





4 THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT JUUL AND NICOTINE ADDICTION  
 

1. JUUL has a higher nicotine content than many other e-cigarettes.

2. The ability to hide JUUL enables frequent use.

3. Kids are attracted to flavored e-cigarettes and believe they are less harmful.

4. Kids are attracted to flavored e-cigarettes and believe they are less harmful.





2 Million U.S. Teens are Vaping Marijuana

E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but many of the battery-powered devices can vaporize other substances, including marijuana. Results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high.

The rise in teenagers using e-cigarettes has alarmed health officials who worry kids will get addicted to nicotine, a stimulant, and be more likely to try cigarettes. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration gave the five largest e-cigarette makers 60 days to produce plans to stop underage use of their products.


Synthetic Pot Seen as a Public Health Danger

What is synthetic marijuana and why is it so dangerous? 

 

HEALTH NEWS FROM NPR

June 20, 2018  

A New Wave Of Meth Overloads Communities Struggling With Opioids

What we have in America is a Polysubstance Epidemic.

The Opioid Crisis is now compounded by the resurgence of methamphetamine use, an addiction that's even harder to treat, and can lead to troubling, violent behavior.

In the 2000s, the last time meth use surged across the country, people would often "cook" meth in toxic and explosive labs typically set up in bathrooms, kitchens or abandoned buildings.

In response, Congress enacted the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act in 2006, which regulated the sale of certain over-the-counter drugs, like pseudoephedrine, used in cooking meth. Meth use declined, seizures by law enforcement fell, and meth labs started to disappear.

Now, meth is back, and not just in Ohio. Communities around the country are raising the alarm.

The Drug Enforcement Administration confirms that Mexican drug dealers have taken over the market for meth in the U.S.