Word: oneness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
There are more of these pain clinics here in Broward County than there are McDonald's restaurants: 115 so-called pill mills, vs. about 70 of the burger franchises. And that profusion contributes to one big problem: there is no tracking system to prevent patients from getting multiple pill prescriptions at once and immediately, because the clinics hand out the pills rather than making people go to a pharmacy. The business card of the Broward Pain Clinic announces, "Dispensing on Site!" - a service that's also trumpeted by dozens of other clinics. Because of that, cocaine is no longer king...
...from 248 in 2005, according to published reports. Alarmed by the spread of the clinics, Palm Beach County commissioners just passed a moratorium to keep new clinics from opening while officials try to hammer out a solution. Other local governments are passing similar moratoriums. A commissioner in one city, Delray Beach, wants to require patients to be fingerprinted when they pick up their pills, for better monitoring. (See how to prevent illness...
...passed a law that is supposed to create a database to track pain-pill purchases - as 38 other states already have. And there's more legislation in the pipeline this year, including laws that would make it illegal for anyone other than a doctor in good standing to run one of the clinics, ban advertising by the clinics and limit how much pain medicine can be dispensed at one time...
...legislating good intentions is one thing. Real solutions are harder to come by. Although the state has approved a database to track pill dispensing, there is no dedicated funding source - the legislation merely gave officials the ability to seek grants for it. The Broward County grand-jury report concluded that the monitoring program should be "swiftly implemented and adequately funded, by any means necessary." But that's a tall order in a state hard hit by the recession. (See the most common hospital mishaps...
...One of the unexpected effects of the drought in Yunnan has been to give the Dai this opportunity to return to the roots of a festival that has been largely co-opted by visitors to the province. Traditionally, Cable explains, water-splashing was not as essential to the New Year as other rituals like the slaughtering of buffalo. "But," she says, "animal sacrifice isn't great for tourism." What's more, the Dai did not always engage in unruly street battles using buckets filled to the icy brim and unforgiving water pistols. Writes Thai folklorist Phya Anuman Rajadhon: "The water...