Biography/Memoir

Mexico’s ‘drug war’ is really a war against journalists—waged by the government

All told, since 2007, some 200,000 Mexicans have been killed in the “drug war.” It’s a war against environmentalists, too: In January, an indigenous anti-deforestation activist, Isidro Baldenegro López, who won the Goldman Environmental Prize—the same award given to Honduran activist Berta Cáceres before her murder—was executed in Chihuahua. ​ “At least 104 journalists have…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

He took opioids to manage his chronic pain. When his doctors took them away, he didn’t want to live anymore.

Just this year alone, more than a dozen states and 100 counties have sued drug companies for deceptive marketing of painkillers to pain patients, downplaying the risks … Some doctors are abruptly ending prescriptions [of opiates they previously prescribed] even when patients have been stable on high doses for years, throwing them into withdrawal —…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Why banning Kratom is not the answer

We should not be hoodwinked into mistaking a ban for actual beneficial policy, or conned into believing eliminating kratom would alleviate or even address drug-related issues so impactful to millions of American families. -Ryan F. Estevez* As psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist who has worked for years in emergency rooms, community health centers, and prisons, I am…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Random drug testing now in play for University of Oregon student-athletes

andom drug testing is now in play for University of Oregon student-athletes.​ (*note : article published in 2012, current policy can be found here) In the past, UO only tested student-athletes when there was “reasonable suspicion.”  Now, all student-athletes are subject to “unannounced random drug testing throughout the entire year, including summer sessions,” according to the proposed…

READ MORE