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The life and death of a pothead
ack when I was a teenager I began to see people I knew, and then even my close friends, begin to experiment with alcohol and drugs. I was a good kid. I made good grades, didn’t get in much trouble at school or at home. But as most teenagers want to fit in, I wanted to join in the apparent “fun” they were having. First up on the list was marijuana. And just like that I had found my muse - my green goddess Mary Jane. I graduated high school while maintaining my grades and a good part-time job. After
“I’ll be like Willie Nelson.” school I worked full-time and attended college, all the while still smoking weed. Although I did not complete college I was still able to land some great jobs. I found success in a fulfilling career and traveled our beautiful country from coast to coast. I drove nice vehicles, purchased my first home at 25, and maintained a flawless credit record still smoking weed. I had some good relationships and
some bad ones. Meanwhile, I watched some of those same friends that I wanted to be like in my younger years get in trouble and get involved with heavy drinking and more serious drugs. I watched other friends put it all down and become responsible, successful adults. But not me. I kept on smoking. As I approached 30, I saw the number of my friends who were still willing to partake in my smoking sessions dwindle down. And the number of my friends who gave me a hard time Please see POTHEAD page 2
The War on Drugs: is it over?
I
f it is, the victory may have a hollow ring, not unlike the U.S. military’s exit from Vietnam: “Let’s just declare victory and get the hell out of here.” But that does, indeed, seem to be the tenor of recent legislation near and far. Drug use certainly does not seem to be on the wane, but anti-drug laws are gradually changing. The world is a patchwork quilt of legality here, strict laws there, and lax enforcement elsewhere (see map, page 2). This is especially true in the case of marijuana. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana and more are likely to follow suit.
The danger in such a trend is that it could send the message that marijuana is actually medicine, albeit a harmless, state-sanctioned, recreational one. While researchers are far from unanimous in branding marijuana a “gateway” drug that leads to the use of harder and more dangerous drugs, the fact remains that it would be difficult to defend, from a health perspective alone, deliberately inhaling smoke from any substance into your lungs on a regular basis. While no one in the legislative or medical community is encouraging wholesale marijuana use, there are those who would point to the enormous cost — trillions of dollars
Watch the documentary film “Breaking the Taboo” at AugustaRx.com/news
JANUARY 4, 2013
Editor’s note: Healthcare is a whole new ballgame with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). How will healthcare providers be affected? What about patients? And how about employers who provide health coverage as an employee benefit? How will Medicare and Medicaid recipients be affected? We have enlisted the assistance of two experts to help us navigate this altered landscape. Look for the first installment of a monthly column by Trisha Whisenhunt, a Certified Medicare Counselor with the CSRA Area Agency on Aging on page 9. And below, the debut of an every-issue column by Russell Head, an expert consultant in matters of employee benefits and healthcare reform.
Healthcare Reform & You N
by Russell T. Head
ow that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, let’s talk about Healthcare Reform. The world of health care as we know it has changed and will continue to change over the next few years. On one side, hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and all medical ancillary providers must adopt the new rules and regulations of healthcare delivery. On the other side, insurance carriers, HMO’s, provider sponsored organizations, co-ops, and benefit consultants must adopt and adapt to the new Federal guidelines under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In the middle of it all are the consumers, patients, and businesses both small and large. To be in compliance with PPACA what does a business need to do in 2013? Here is a summary of a few of the regulations affecting small business: • Health plans and issuers of health plans must provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to plan participants during open enrollment. • Beginning March 1, 2013, employers must provide all current employees and future hires with a written notice about the new
Please see THE WAR page 2
Please see REFORM page 3
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