In This Issue: Summit Spotlight: Sponsors, exhibitors make Summit possible. When. Where. What. On the Website

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1 Volume 4, Issue 9, November 20, 2014 In This Issue: 1. Scientists close in on non addictive opioid painkillers 2. WHO recommends naloxone 3. Students using vapor pens to smoke marijuana 4. DEA uses civil action against New York physician 5. California voters deal blow to prisons, drug war Summit Spotlight: Sponsors, exhibitors make Summit possible With this issue, we are pleased to welcome those businesses and organizations that are sponsoring or exhibiting at the 4th annual National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, to be held April 6 9, 2015, at The Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. There are still sponsorships and exhibit hall spaces available, but these are expected to sell out quickly. View the 2015 Sponsors, click here. View the 2015 Exhibitors, click here. Reminder: Registration discount deadline Save $300 off regular conference rates by sending in your registration by Sunday, November 30, Group registration discounts are available When Monday, April 6 Thursday, April 9, 2015 Where The Westin Peachtree Plaza 210 Peachtree Street NW Atlanta, GA What The National Rx Drug Abuse Summit is the largest national collaboration for individuals impacted by Rx Drug Abuse. Inquisit, in collaboration with Operation UNITE, presents the 2015 National Rx Drug Abuse Summit. On the Website Event Registration Hotel Reservations Become A Sponsor Become An Exhibitor View 2014 Presentations Contact Us For more information about registration, click here. 1/6

2 This Week's Top Stories 1. Scientists close in on non addictive opioid painkillers Stay Connected By Laura Ungar, USA Today Opioid painkillers have long been the gold standard for severe pain, but they come with a terrible dark side: They are the main culprits in a prescription drug abuse crisis that has killed thousands across the nation and spawned a resurgence of heroin. Scientists are closing in on creating medicines that could relieve severe, chronic pain without getting people hooked raising hopes as well as skepticism among those fighting drug abuse. Connecticut based Cara Therapeutics recently released research showing its opioid drug is far less likely to cause patients to feel high than a control medicine considered to have a low potential for abuse. Bob Twillman, deputy executive director of policy and advocacy for the American Academy of Pain Management, said he can envision Cara's drug eventually being prescribed instead of commonly abused painkillers such as oxycodone. Related Story: Trial shows new opioid alternative could be less addictive, Forbes Magazine. Click here. 2. WHO recommends naloxone to prevent 20,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. By Tom Miles, Reuters More than 20,000 deaths might be prevented every year in the United States alone if Naloxone, used to counter drug overdoses, was more widely available, the World Health Organization said on November 4. Few countries have such good data as the United States, but the WHO estimates about 69,000 people around the world die each year from overdoses of heroin or other opioids, with Iran, Russia and China known to have high 2/6

3 numbers of opioid users. Naloxone, a generic drug, is used to counter overdoses of heroin and prescription opioids including Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Codeine and Tramadol. 3. Students in Colorado using vapor pens to smoke marijuana By the Daily Mail Students have found a new way to sneak marijuana into schools by using vapor pens that allow them to smoke without giving off the drug's distinctive smell. Since Colorado legalized the drug, school administrators have had to fight back against students who finding creative ways to get high during class. Edibles and inhalers that have been turned into makeshift bongs were two of the first ways that caught on, but now vapor pens are causing a more difficult problem because they are the most discrete. 4. DEA files civil action against New York physician for issuing prescriptions without a legitimate medical need By The Long Island News The New York State DEA announced the filing of a civil action by the United States against Lawrence Womack, 48, an Islip Terrace, New York, based physician. In the civil action, the United States alleges that between January 2011 and June 2013, the defendant wrote 241 prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances, specifically for oxycodone, methadone and fentanyl, in the absence of any legitimate medical need. The complaint alleges that in writing these prescriptions the defendant disregarded patients' toxicology screens that indicated 3/6

4 potentially lethal drug interactions. In addition, the complaint alleges that the defendant conducted periodic breast examinations in exchange for continued prescriptions and/or increased amounts of opioids, including oxycodone. 5. California voters deal blow to prisons, drug war By Matt Sledge, Huffington Post California approved a major shift against mass incarceration on November 4 in a vote that could lead to the release of thousands of state prisoners. Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it's expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions Sponsors Become a Sponsor or Exhibitor for the 2015 National Rx Drug Abuse Summit. Click here for information guide. 4/6

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