{"id":43154,"date":"2017-07-24T15:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T23:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=43154"},"modified":"2017-07-26T14:33:08","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T22:33:08","slug":"fda-moving-on-opioids-which-are-also-now-associated-with-with-increased-cases-of-hepatitis-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/doctrine\/fda-moving-on-opioids-which-are-also-now-associated-with-with-increased-cases-of-hepatitis-c\/","title":{"rendered":"FDA moving on opioids, which are also now associated with with increased cases of hepatitis C"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0<\/em>
\nRaw opium
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

The US FDA is hoping to reduce opioid addiction:<\/p>\n

July 24, 2017<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration, as part of a sweeping overhaul in how it regulates opioid painkillers, plans to look to some unusual allies to limit the flood of the addictive pills — health insurers and companies that manage prescription drug benefits.<\/p>\n

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb plans to meet in September with the benefit payers and insurance administrators, groups the FDA hasn\u2019t typically worked with in its role as a drug regulator. The plan, Gottlieb said, is to stem the tide of addiction to the pills by limiting the number of people exposed to them in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people who become addicted to opioids are medically addicted,\u201d Gottlieb said in a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg in New York. \u201cThe way to reduce the rate of new addiction is to reduce the rate of exposure, and the way to reduce the rate of exposure is to make sure people are receiving prescriptions when it\u2019s only medically appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gottlieb, who was picked by President Donald Trump earlier this year to lead the agency, said he views it as part of his mandate to tackle the opioid crisis, as well as other issues such as drug costs. The sessions with insurers and pharmacy managers will be his first official meetings with\u00a0health-care companies, he said. The agency doesn\u2019t have regulatory authority over insurance companies, which are largely overseen by state regulators or other departments within the Health and Human Services Department.<\/p>\n

Millions of Pills<\/h3>\n

More than 240 million opioid prescriptions<\/a> were dispensed in the U.S. in 2014, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Deaths from opioid pain pill overdoses in 2015 totaled almost 23,000<\/a> in the U.S., double the number a decade ago, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-07-24\/trump-s-fda-chief-takes-wide-aim-at-opioid-addiction-crisis<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to addiction, notice something else about the opioid problem:<\/p>\n

\n

Hepatitis C: The public-health worry lurking behind the opioid epidemic<\/h2>\n

July 24, 2017<\/p>\n

The national hepatitis C transmission rate among IV-drug users increased by 350 percent from 2011 to 2014, the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show.<\/p>\n

The state Department of Health Services reports that opioid overdoses killed more than two Arizonans a day last year, with heroin causing almost half of those. Gov. Doug Ducey declared a public-health emergency June 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The opioid crisis and the increase of hepatitis C bring to mind the following prophecy:<\/p>\n

\n

15 <\/span>However, if you do not obey the Lord<\/span> your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: …<\/p>\n

20 <\/span>The Lord<\/span> will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 <\/span>The Lord<\/span> will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. (Deuteronomy 28:15,20-21, NIV)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The USA certainly does not obey God’s commands, but it should (see also The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Back in 1976, the old Worldwide Church of God published the following:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Psychoactive Drugs<\/strong>
\nTechnically speaking, a drug is any substance (other than food) that by its chemical nature affects the structure or function of a living organism.
\nDoctors usually refer to a drug in terms of its ability to treat physical and mental diseases. They stress the therapeutic value. But many laymen now focus on the negative connotations of the word. For them, “drug” has become a four-letter word of the worst kind, an epithet, an obscenity. When used in conversation it provokes strong emotional reactions. It’s a good word to start an argument with, or even a fight. <\/span><\/p>\n

Medicine and Menace<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You encounter a lot of this when discussing drugs. They can relieve pain, prevent infection and save lives. That’s good! But they can also destroy bodily tissue, impair healthy bodily metabolism, enslave by addiction and ultimately kill. That’s bad!
\nThe drug problem would be greatly simplified if drugs were not ambivalent, if they were very selective in their effects. If only drug X eased pain, but was not addicting, if only drug Y helped people relax but didn’t adversely affect the brain or the liver.
\nBut drugs don’t work that way. Rather, their effects are varied and often ambivalent \u2014 they have the potential to simultaneously hurt or harm, depending on a number of variables. Because any drug can play both the role of medicine or health menace, any description of its effects is bound to sound like a “that’s-good, that’s-bad” routine.
\nMorphine presents a good example of a “that’s-good, that’s \u2014 bad” story. It came into widespread use as a pain-killer during the American Civil War (1861-65). So effective was it as an analgesic for wounds and amputations that physicians sometimes referred to it as “G.O.M.” \u2014 “God’s own medicine.”
\nThat’s good!
\nBut in time morphine was found to be addicting \u2014 prolonged use followed by abstinence led to agonizing withdrawal symptoms. “God’s own medicine” turned out to be “the Devil’s own misery.” Hundreds, if not thousands (accurate statistics are hard to come by), of war veterans inadvertently became drug addicts.
\nThat’s bad!
\nBut that’s the nature of opiates. And it illustrates a fundamental principle of pharmacology: any drug can be dangerous depending on the dosage, the duration of use, its purity and many other factors. No drug is completely “safe.”
\nRecognizing this, the Federal government under the Controlled Substances Act regulates drugs according to their potential for abuse. The drugs are listed in five schedules in descending order of proven abuse potential and current medical usage.
\nSchedule I lists drugs deemed to have great abuse potential and no legitimate medical use. The score or so drugs on this list include heroin, LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and marijuana.
\nSchedule II lists drugs with great abuse potential that have legitimate medical uses. Drugs in this list can come under production quotas, and telephone and refillable prescriptions are prohibited. The psychoactive drugs listed here include the opiates such as morphine and synthetic opiates such as methadone and Demeral, certain barbiturates of the short-acting type, methaqualone and amphetamines. Altogether over 1300 drug preparations are listed!
\nSchedules III, IV and V list drugs with correspondingly less proven abuse potential. The widely used tranquilizers Librium and Valium are in Schedule IV \u2014 a classification the manufacturers have protested. Altogether over 3600 drug preparations are covered by these three schedules.
\nThe list is not static. On the basis of new evidence and accumulated experience, drugs are often being added to the list. And drugs already listed are sometimes moved to higher schedules, indicating greater proven abuse potential.
\nThe dual nature of drugs guarantees that the debate over their benefits versus hazards will continue for some time. (Graunke DP. The Dilemma of Drugs. Worldwide Church of God, 1976)
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The reality is that many have physical and spiritual pain and they reach out to drugs for relief. This tends to be addictive.<\/p>\n

While the USA is facing an opioid epidemic, that it is hoping to fight, it is in the process of increasing its marijuana epidemic, which many US states are encouraging.<\/p>\n

Mind altering drugs are not the answer. Truly repenting and turning to the true Jesus<\/a> and the coming Kingdom of God<\/a> are.<\/p>\n

But governments do not wish to acknowledge that.<\/p>\n

Some items of possibly related interest may include the following:<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast<\/a> This is a free draft\/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation<\/a>.
\nMarijuana: Should a Christian Get High?<\/a> There is increasing acceptance of the use of marijuana. How should Christians view this? Here is a related video titled How Should a Christian View Marijuana?<\/span><\/a>
\nAlcohol: Blessing or Curse?<\/a> This is an article from the old Good News<\/em> magazine that attempts to answer this question.
\nBinge Drinking, Health, and the Bible <\/a>Many college students and others overindulge in alcohol. Are there health risks? What does the Bible teach? A related video is also available: Binge Drinking and the Bible<\/a>.
\nHow to Overcome Depression and Discouragement <\/a> This is an article by Paul Krautmann & John Siston.
\nShould Christians Smoke Tobacco or Marijuana?<\/a> Is smoking a sin? What does the Bible teach? What have COG leaders written? Can smokers change? What about marijuana?
\nWhy Were You Born?<\/a> Why did God make you? Herbert W. Armstrong<\/a> wrote this as a booklet on this important subject. You may also wish to read the article What is Your Destiny?<\/a> or watch the video, also titled <\/span>What is Your Destiny?<\/a>
\nBuilding Character: Going on to Perfection<\/a> Once you have accepted Jesus, do you need to strive for perfection and build character? A related video sermon is available: <\/span>Going on to perfection and building character<\/span><\/a>.
\nWhat is the Meaning of Life?<\/a> Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? If you would like to watch videos covering subjects of this article, you can click on the following links: Why YOU? Why Do YOU Suffer?<\/a> and <\/span>What is the meaning of your life?<\/a><\/span>
\nReal Conversion<\/a> Many think that they are converted Christians. But are they? Would you like to know more about conversion?
\nFalse Conversion!<\/a> Have you really been converted? Herbert W. Armstrong<\/a> wrote an article on this important subject–but more scriptures have been added to it. How can you tell false conversion? A related video is also available: False Conversion<\/a>.<\/span>
\nAre You Being Called by God?<\/a> Norman Shoaf wrote various points to consider.
\nIs God Calling You?<\/a> Alfred E Carrozzo wrote this.
\nWhat Did Christ Mean \u0013 Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen?<\/a> This article was by Raymond McNair.
\nChristian Repentance<\/a> Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance<\/a>.
\nJust What Do You Mean — Repentance?<\/a> Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong<\/a> wrote this as a booklet on this important subject. <\/span>
\nThe Gospel of the Kingdom of God<\/a> This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World\u2019s False Gospel<\/a>, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments<\/a>, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution<\/a>.
\nUSA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses<\/a> Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
\n<\/a>Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada?<\/a> There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future.
\nWho is the King of the West?<\/a> Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el Rey del Occidente? \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profec\u00eda del tiempo del fin?<\/a>
\nWhen Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2017, 2018, or 2019?<\/a> Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the \u201cbeginning of sorrows\u201d? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: \u00bfPuede comenzar la Gran Tribulaci\u00f3n en 2016 o 2017? \u00bfEs el Tiempo de los Gentiles?<\/a> You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives<\/a> and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020?<\/a> A shorter video is: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Raw opium COGwriter The US FDA is hoping to reduce opioid addiction: July 24, 2017 The Food and Drug Administration, as part of a sweeping overhaul in how it regulates opioid painkillers, plans to look to some unusual allies to limit the flood of the addictive pills — health insurers and companies that manage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctrine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t