It's a case of a drug that was widely used for medical use in the 18th, and 19th centuries for pain, and centuries before that in other parts of world, now declared by the Fed, harmful because of abuse. Like Pot, opioid is just as harmful when used for recreational purposes. It is amazing to me how two drugs which actually work for pain, is outlawed, while other so called pain killers causes more trouble than worth like aspirin that causes stomach issues.
To better understand what is opioid we look at the drug itself, and history behind it, to do that we turn to wikipedia on the subject. Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, treating addiction, reversing opioid overdose, suppressing cough, and suppressing opioid induced constipation. Extremely strong opioids are approved only for veterinary use such as immobilizing large mammals. Opioids are also frequently used non-medically for their euphoric effects or to prevent withdrawal.
The side effects of opioids may include itchiness, sedation, nausea, respiratory depression, constipation, and euphoria. Tolerance and dependence will develop with continuous use, requiring increasing doses and leading to a withdrawal syndrome upon abrupt discontinuation. The euphoria attracts recreational use, and frequent, escalating recreational use of opioids typically results in addiction. An overdose or concurrent use with other depressant drugs commonly results in death from respiratory depression. (read more)
News related stories....
WH: Remarks by President Trump Before a Briefing on the Opioid Crisis
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 8/ 17
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Secretary Price, for your work to address the crisis of opioid, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines. It is a tremendous problem in our country, and we're going to get it taken care of as well as it can be taken care of, which hopefully will be better than any other country which also has the same problems or similar problems.
Nobody is safe from this epidemic that threatens young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural communities. Everybody is threatened. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and opioid overdose deaths have nearly quadrupled since 1999. It is a problem the likes of which we have not seen.
Meanwhile, federal drug prosecutions have gone down in recent years. We're going to be bringing them up and bringing them up rapidly. At the end of 2016, there were 23 percent fewer than in 2011. So they looked at this scourge and they let it go by, and we're not letting it go by. The average sentence length for a convicted federal drug offender decreased 20 percent from 2009 to 2016.
During my campaign, I promised to fight this battle because, as President of the United States, my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people and to ensure their safety. Especially in some parts of our country, it is horrible what's going on with opioid and other drugs. But the opioid is something that nobody has seen anything like it.
Today, I am pleased to receive a briefing from our team on ways we can help our communities combat this absolutely terrible epidemic and keep youth from going down this deadly path.
The best way to prevent drug addiction and overdose is to prevent people from abusing drugs in the first place. If they don’t start, they won't have a problem. If they do start, it's awfully tough to get off. So we can keep them from going on, and maybe by talking to youth and telling them, "No good; really bad for you" in every way. But if they don’t start, it will never be a problem.
We're also working with law enforcement officers to protect innocent citizens from drug dealers that poison our communities. Strong law enforcement is absolutely vital to having a drug-free society. I have had the opportunity to hear from many on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, and I'm confident that by working with our healthcare and law enforcement experts, we will fight this deadly epidemic and the United States will win.
We're also very, very tough on the southern border, where much of this comes in. And we're talking to China, where certain forms of manmade drug comes in, and it is bad. And we're speaking to other countries and we're getting cooperation, but we're being very, very strong on our southern border and, I would say, the likes of which this country certainly has never seen that kind of strength.
So we're going to do our job. We're going to get it going. We've got a tremendous team of experts and people that want to beat this horrible situation that's happened to our country -- and we will. We will win. We have no alternative. We have to win for our youth. We have to win for our young people. And, frankly, we have to win for a lot of other people, not necessarily young, that are totally addicted and have serious, serious problems.
Comments about Opioid from our Congressional delegation.
HEALTH CARE: Gearing up for Bipartisan Hearings, Sen. Murray Hears Health Care Stories in Tour Through SW Washington, Visits Military and Veteran Families in Tacoma, Opioid Treatment Clinic in Longview.
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 9/ 17
(Longview, WA) – Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, traveled through southwest Washington state this week to sit with families, doctors and providers to hear their experiences and learn more about how access to affordable, high-quality health care has impacted their lives and communities. Days after helping lead her colleagues to defeat the disastrous Trumpcare bill and announcing upcoming bipartisan committee hearings on health care, Sen. Murray made stops in Tacoma and Longview to hear directly from Washington state families and share their experiences with her colleagues in the Senate as they begin work to shore up the individual insurance markets and improve health care for everyone. According to the Governor’s office, under Trumpcare Washington state would have $4.3 billion less per year to cover health care and Medicaid related expense by its full implementation in 2028, a shortage that would risk coverage for 600,000 Medicaid recipients, 24,000 veterans and families, and access to life-saving services for 22,500 seniors and disabled individuals.
“Patients, families, doctors, and providers across Washington state reached out to me and made their voices heard last month to beat back Republicans’ Trumpcare plan that would have changed Medicaid as we know it and raised coverage costs because they saw how it risked care for the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Sen. Murray. “As a voice for our state in the United States Senate, I will continue listening to their concerns, sharing their stories, and fighting for strong investments that will help make health care more accessible, more affordable, and higher quality for people across Washington state and the country.”
On Monday, Sen. Murray visited Tacoma Community College to meet with members of Tacoma-based nonprofit Partnerships for Action Voices for Empowerment, or PAVE, and sat with active duty servicemembers and military veterans with medically-fragile children to discuss their experiences accessing life-saving care, including talking about the challenges they face meeting their children’s’ short and long-term medical needs while also navigating frequent relocations, and sharing their concerns about how deep cuts to Medicaid proposed by President Trump, which are a major pillar of Trumpcare, would hurt their ability to care for their children after separating from military service. Sen. Murray then traveled to Longview on Tuesday to visit PeaceHealth St. John’s Medical Center and tour their opioid use disorder clinic to learn more about how they are combating the opioid epidemic in Cowlitz County through medical treatment. After the tour, Sen. Murray heard from doctors and clinic staff about the local impact of the opioid crisis and discussed their ideas for how the federal government could better support patients and medical professionals’ working to end opioid abuse.
In addition to her visits in Tacoma and Longview, Sen. Murray also made stops during the week to help dedicate Tacoma Housing Authority’s newest affordable housing development, the Bay Terrace, celebrate the rehab of the Columbia River’s Jetty A near Ilwaco’s Cape Disappointment, a critical investment in the Columbia River’s waterway infrastructure that supports commercial and recreational activity throughout southwest and central Washington state, and commemorate the grand opening of the Portland VA’s newest primary care clinic for veterans in Vancouver.
In other crime related stories...
From the FBI FILES: Stopping a Violent Burglary Ring
Jewelry Store Heist Began with Kidnapping
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 7/ 17 (link source)
Timothy Forbes was a career criminal who specialized in robbing jewelry stores. He and his crew had progressed from smash-and-grab thefts to what they considered a more reliable method: kidnap store employees and force them to provide after-hours access to the jewels.
In the spring of 2013, members of the burglary ring conducted surveillance on employees at a Fairfield, Connecticut jewelry store, going so far as to attach a GPS tracking device under one of their cars to learn where they lived.
Around 9 p.m. on April 11, 2013, three of Forbes’ crew, wearing masks and gloves, forced their way into an apartment in Meriden, Connecticut, brandishing handguns. The terrified victims—two of whom worked at the Fairfield jewelry store—were bound with duct tape, and their heads were covered with pillowcases, towels, and jackets. The kidnappers then forced the jewelry store employees into a vehicle and drove them to the store while a remaining kidnapper stayed behind to guard the other victims.
Forbes arrived at the store in a separate vehicle, and the thieves proceeded to steal jewels, watches, and loose diamonds estimated to be worth more than $3 million. After the robbery, Forbes notified his associate at the apartment, and the victims there and at the store were left bound as the criminals made their getaway and fled the state.
The kidnapping and robbery had gone off without a hitch, and Forbes thought he had considered all the angles. What he failed to anticipate, though, was how an alert neighbor and strong law enforcement partnerships would undo his careful plan.
When the victims were able to free themselves, they called the police. Meriden Police Department officers conducted interviews and did an initial neighborhood canvass the night of the robbery. A resident came forward with information he wasn’t sure was relevant but that “broke the case open,” said Special Agent Jennifer Berry, who worked the investigation from the FBI’s New Haven Division.
The neighbor told police that one night nearly two weeks before the kidnapping, he noticed a suspicious silver car on the block with out-of-state license plates. One man was sitting in the driver’s seat, and another man was on the ground next to what turned out to be the vehicle of one of the victims. The neighbor dialed 911 but hung up when the suspicious car drove away.
When the car returned 30 minutes later, the neighbor used a pair of binoculars to write down the New Jersey license plate number. He thought maybe the men in the car were buying or selling drugs. It was later learned that Forbes and one of his crew had been trying to remove the GPS tracking device from the victim’s car.
Investigators quickly identified the silver car as a rental vehicle, and with that information identified the woman who rented the car. Through the phone number she used on the rental application, investigators were able to tie Forbes and his crew to the robbery and kidnapping.
“Through detailed analysis of cellular phone records,” Berry said, “we knew exactly when Forbes was in the parking lot where the neighbor spotted him and dialed 911. Eventually we were able to show where all the thieves were before, during, and after the robbery based on calls that were made. That evidence was compelling.”
Forbes had been on something of a robbery spree. He had been involved in at least three other similar jewelry store robberies, including a 2012 theft in York, Pennsylvania in which a jewelry store owner was shot and permanently disabled. (Forbes was sentenced in 2016 to 14 years in prison for his role in that robbery.)
Within six weeks of the Connecticut kidnapping and robbery, Forbes and his four associates were arrested. “The concerned neighbor who wrote down the license plate saved us months of work,” Berry said, “and who knows how many more robberies the ring would have done during that time?”
“This case is a great example of partnership,” Berry explained. “The local police departments in Fairfield and Meriden conducted victim interviews, the Connecticut State Police helped process crime scenes, and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted us with the extensive cell phone analysis. Everybody worked well together.”
Of the more than $3 million in stolen jewels, Berry said, “very little was recovered.” Forbes and his crew—who had all grown up together in Allentown, Pennsylvania—were fond of gambling and high living.
In January 2017, Forbes pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery, and the use of a firearm during the Connecticut robbery. Last month, a federal judge sentenced the 35-year-old to 19 years in prison. His crew had been previously sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to nearly 15 years for their roles in the kidnapping and robbery.
“This was a really good case,” Berry said, “because we were able to get a lot of bad guys off the streets. We couldn’t have done it without this great partnership and the help of a concerned citizen.”
TEN MOST WANTED: MARK ANTHONY PONCE
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution - Capital Murder
On September 17, 2014, Mark Anthony Ponce allegedly kicked in the front door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment in Dallas, Texas. Ponce allegedly shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend, who was visiting at the time. Ponce immediately fled the scene of the crime.
After a local arrest warrant was issued for Ponce, he was charged with capital murder on September 18, 2014. A federal arrest warrant was issued on November 19, 2014, by the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, after Ponce was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/mark-anthony-ponce
DHS: Six Things You Probably Didn't Know About FPS
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 9/ 17 (source link)
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a law enforcement, physical security and intelligence agency within DHS that serves on the front lines every day to prevent, protect, respond to and recover from terrorism, criminal acts, and other hazards threatening the U.S. government, federal employees and public visitors in more than 9,000 federal facilities. Their unique capabilities allow daily government operations to run smoothly. As symbols of U.S. strength and leadership, federal buildings can be a strategic target to those who wish to cause harm, which makes FPS’ services critical to the DHS mission of protecting the homeland. Here are some things you might not know about FPS:
1.) Their core mission is to protect people who work in, and visit, federal facilities.
All across the country, FPS inspectors and special agents work to ensure the safety and security of more than 1.4 million employees and visitors in over 9,000 federal facilities.
FPS inspectors are law enforcement officers who work closely with the agency leaders to assess what security risks their building faces, and then create tailored security plans to help agencies combat those risks for the safety of their employees and visitors. For example, FPS inspectors make sure buildings have items like security cameras, locked entryways, x-ray machines, and other countermeasures. FPS also has special agents who investigate threats made to federal employees, investigate stolen items, and investigate any major incident or emergency that occurs on federal property.
2.) Every day around the country, they conduct an “Operation Shield” to catch adversaries off guard.
Daily, and with little notice, FPS officers increase their patrols at random federal government buildings to enhance the protection of the individuals inside. This provides a highly-visible law enforcement presence to deter terrorist and criminal activity, and also gives FPS an opportunity to engage with federal employees, visitors, and facility security managers. During Operation Shield, FPS also tests the effectiveness of security countermeasures at that building.
3.) FPS officers have important teammates to help accomplish their mission: Highly-trained K-9 partners
FPS has explosive detection canines across the country to help prevent and detect explosives and other materials that may cause harm to people at federal buildings. FPS canines are primarily Labradors, and go through intensive training with military and police K9 teams, including other agencies from DHS.
These furry law enforcement dogs are widely used throughout the country and often support state and local police who may not have dogs who can detect explosives. An FPS canine and its human officer are full-time teammates. After a hard day’s work, and even once it retires, the canine goes home to live with its FPS officer.
4.) They Teach Federal Employees How to Respond to Active Shooters
FPS provides federal employees with training on how to respond to an active shooter in their building. Teaching employees to “Run, Hide, Fight,” this informative presentation explains important life-saving actions each employee can take in that situation. How do FPS officers know so much about this? Because FPS officers respond immediately to reports of active shooters at federal government buildings, and go through extensive training programs each year to prepare themselves for that day. Officers learn how to assess a shooter quickly, and work as a team to eliminate the threat.
5.) They are peacekeepers who protect your First Amendment rights.
As symbols of government, federal facilities are often the place where citizens congregate to express their concerns about an issue, often in the form of mass demonstrations or protests. When this happens, FPS law enforcement officers are on-site to ensure that all citizens can express themselves in a safe and peaceful manner. When demonstrations start to become violent against others, or disruptive to government operations, FPS officers will step in to regain the peace.
6.) They cannot accomplish the mission alone, and they help others accomplish their missions in return.
FPS works closely with many other local and state law enforcement agencies, as well as other federal law enforcement agencies, to get the job done. FPS sits on a variety of interagency working groups and task forces, such as the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. As joint partners, FPS works with these agencies to assess and respond to threats, escort government leaders, enhance security measures at major events, and much more. For example, FPS works with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to provide security at the immigration port-of-entries along the nation’s borders. FPS teams up with the U.S. Marshals Service to protect the exterior of federal courthouses.
Daily Bible Verse: “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7 NKJV
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