Dr. Government

New Hampshire governor signs medical marijuana bill into law

"New Hampshire on Tuesday became the 19th state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. 'This legislation is long overdue and comes as a relief to the many seriously ill patients throughout New Hampshire who will benefit from safe access to medical marijuana,' said Matt Simon, a New Hampshire-based legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project. The Republican-led New Hampshire legislature approved a similar medical marijuana bill last year, but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. John Lynch. The governor claimed the proposed law would be abused by those who didn’t really need the drug." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Hampshire governor signs medical marijuana bill into law

Doctor returns Viet Cong soldier’s bone 40 years after amputation

"The arm was handed back to ex-soldier Nguyen Quang Hung, who now plans to use it to claim a war veteran’s pension. 'After some research, it turns out that you can take bones in your suitcase,' said US doctor Sam Axelrad, adding that he packed the arm into his luggage — not his carry-on — 'and it went all the way through with no problems.' 'You can’t send a body without authorisation, but bones, yes,' he added. Some three million Vietnamese civilians and soldiers died during the war, which also claimed the lives of almost 60,000 American soldiers before ending in 1975 with Vietnam’s reunification." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoctor returns Viet Cong soldier’s bone 40 years after amputation

Austrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

"Children were physically and mentally abused for decades at a former Austrian children’s home and city authorities knew about it but did nothing, a commission charged with investigating the allegations said Wednesday. The violence went beyond the severe education techniques of the time and clearly violated regulations on children’s homes which forbid beatings, Helige said, confirming that rapes also took place. Unusually, all files from the home were destroyed after its closure so the report relied heavily on interviews with some 220 people, including former staff and children from the Wilhelminenberg home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

Nursing home staff allegedly abused elderly Alzheimer’s patients

"Twenty-one current and former employees of a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients in Georgia, including its owner, face a total of more than 70 criminal charges for allegedly abusing elderly patients, authorities said Tuesday. The abuses included employees restraining patients with bed sheets and subjecting them to 'inhumane and undignified conditions' at Alzheimer’s Care of Commerce, about 60 miles north of Atlanta, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In 2012, a Congressional report showed that patients suffer abuse or neglect in one in three nursing homes in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNursing home staff allegedly abused elderly Alzheimer’s patients

Justice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children

"The U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Florida on Monday, accusing health officials of violating the Americans with Disabilities act by placing almost 200 handicapped minors in nursing homes usually used for elderly residents, Mother Jones reported. Florida is the 12th state sued by the department over alleged mistreatment of physically or mentally disabled residents in the past four years. The Miami Herald reported that while the state has increased patient care payments to $550 per day for children placed in nursing homes, lawmakers also cut $6 million from a program allowing residents to get private health care at their homes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children

Doctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

"Doctors at a Moldovan state-run hospital used household tools, including an electric drill and pliers, to perform surgery in a video leaked to local press and published on the Internet, prompting outrage among the public and government officials. Prime Minister Iurie Leance ordered Healthcare Minister Andrei Usatii on the same day to investigate the incident. Usatii, in turn, told local television that while the use of household tools was allowed in certain circumstances, the hospital in question had adequate specialized equipment. Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 4 million, is one of the poorest nations in Europe with an average monthly wage of about $300." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

Cannabis for Elders: A Precarious State

"Ailments ranging from chemotherapy side effects, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain and even malnutrition are being treated with cannabis, a promising alternative for seniors who are increasingly susceptible to the dangerous side effects and growing dependency of multiple prescription medications. But as many move into assisted living facilities, questions arise on the use of medical marijuana behind their doors. Muddied by its illegal status at the federal level, social stigma, and often hesitant attitudes of administrators who in some cases fear losing funding for allowing a controlled substance on their property, medical marijuana presents a list of challenges for seniors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCannabis for Elders: A Precarious State

Move over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database

"The massive, centralized database will include information such as income and financial data, family size, citizenship and immigration status, incarceration status, social security numbers, and private health information. It will compile dossiers based on information obtained from the IRS, Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration, state Medicaid databases, and for some reason the Peace Corps. The hub will be used on a daily basis by so-called Navigators, but there are only sketchy guidelines on how they will be hired, trained and monitored." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMove over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database

Obamacare, Simplified

"The process for determining subsidy eligibility could require 21 different steps, involving at least five separate entities—the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, and state exchanges—and utilizing a process called the Income and Family Size Verification Project. Yet the Obama Administration believes spending more money will solve the problem. Just for the IRS implementation of Obamacare, the Administration requested $439.6 million for nearly 2,000 bureaucrats." Continue reading →

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Dubai offers gold to fight obesity epidemic

"Dubai's government will pay residents in gold for losing those extra pounds as part of a government campaign to fight growing obesity in the Gulf Arab emirate. The 30-day weight-loss challenge was launched on Friday to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours. For every kilogram dropped by Aug. 16, contestants who register from Friday can walk away with a gram of gold, currently worth about $42, Dubai's civic authority announced as part of its 'Your Weight in Gold' initiative." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDubai offers gold to fight obesity epidemic