FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog

Flap has his handicap picks here, SCOTUS: Short List.

CNN via Huffington’s Post has their take here, A Change at the Supreme Court.

Some additional sites to consider:

ConfirmThem, BenchMemos and NominationBlog

Under pressure from state governments and local law enforcement agencies, the pharmaceutical industry is changing the chemical formulation of cold and allergy OTC medicines to prevent their ingredients being converted into Methamphetamine.

“This is the direction we’re moving,” said Elizabeth Assey, spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in Washington, D.C., a lobbying organization for the cold medicine industry.

Pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in a number of over-the-counter drugs such as Sudafed and Sinutab, can be extracted by boiling down cold medicines. Toxic chemicals are then used to turn the substance into meth.

More than a dozen states already have restricted access, either by allowing only pharmacies to sell drugs with pseudoephedrine or making retailers sell them from staffed counters. A May report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found a 50 percent drop in the number of meth labs in Oklahoma and Oregon, two of the first states to enact such restrictions.

But law enforcement officials and others believe that reformulating the drugs can reduce the problem even more, by helping shut down the small labs operating nationwide.

Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of Sudafed and other leading pseudoephedrine products, plans by January to reformulate up to half of them with phenylephrine.

Leiner Health Products, which supplies generic cold and allergy drugs to retail chains such as Costco, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart, began shipping new products containing phenylephrine in June.

McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, also is considering reformulation of a variety of its products, along with other major manufacturers, including Wyeth and Schering-Plough.

And the world’s largest producer of phenylephrine — Boehringer-Ingelheim of Germany — says it can boost production capacity for the substitute ingredient by enough so the entire U.S. supply of pseudoephedrine could be replaced by 2006.

However, the t pharmaceutical companies are moving cautiously to make sure substitutes are effective, and to await proposed federal legislation - Combat Meth Act - that could affect how they reformulate some of their products, said Assey, of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

“It’s the first step in a long process, from an industry standpoint,” she said.

Phenylephrine differs from pseudoephedrine by a single pair of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, a tiny but important difference that makes it virtually impossible to transform phenylephrine into methamphetamine.

“Structurally, when just looking at the chemistry, they are very, very similar,” said Kate Farthing, an Oregon Health & Science University pharmacist.

But if cooks at illegal labs try to convert phenylephrine into methamphetamine, they get only a useless variation, Farthing said.

Pseudoephedrine

Vs. Phenylephrine

Flap looks for the drug companies to drag their feet while exerting their lobbying muscle on the federal Combat Meth Act.

However, the states like Iowa and local law enforcement agencies who have been dramatically impacted by this Meth scourage will keep the pressure on the Congress.

A change in formulation would end the spread of the MOM and POP labs.

Now, what will the Congress do about the importation of Methamphetamine from Mexico?

Flap has found a few great summary pages of the Ballot Measures which will comprise the majority of the November Special Election called by Governor Schwarzenegger. Around the Capital has California Ballot Measures November 8, 2005 Election and Bruce McPherson, California Secretary of State has 2005 Initiative Update.

So, let’s do a series of round-up posts on the measures:

Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy. Waiting Period and Parental Notification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Proponents: Paul E. Laubacher and Barbara R. Laubacher (916) 381-5222

Amends California Constitution to bar abortion on unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor’s parent/legal guardian, except in medical emergency or with parental waiver. Permits judicial waiver of notice based on clear and convincing evidence of minor’s maturity or minor’s best interests. Physician must report abortions performed on minors and State shall compile statistics. Authorizes monetary damages for violation. Minor must consent to abortion unless mentally incapable or in medical emergency. Permits judicial relief if minor’s consent to abortion is coerced. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: The net costs of this measure to Medi-Cal and other programs are unknown, but are probably not significant in the context of the total expenditures for these programs.

The text of the measure is found here.

Latest California Field Poll June 23, 2005:

Voters are narrowly supportive on this issue – 48% in favor and 42% opposed among all voters, and 48% Yes and 43% No among likely voters.

“Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy; Waiting Period and Parental Notification” initiative Republicans, conservatives, Christians and voters who are not college graduates are very much infavor of the parental notification of the teen abortion initiative. On the other hand, Democrats, liberals, moderates, college graduates, those under age 50 and voters affiliated with non-Christianreligions or with no religious preference are opposed.

Flap handicaps a close race on this initiative.

The Pro-Abortion groups will demagogue on an infringment of a women’s “Right to Choose” because they do not want to experience any decline in surgical abortion or adjunct services revenues.

If the Christian Right and Pro-Life Catholic voters turn-out they may be able to tip the balance in favor. If they stay home, it loses.

Has the Governor taken a position on this one?

Flap’s guess is he will stay away from it due to his Pro-Choice leanings and Squishy nature.

Cross-Posted to The Bear Flag League Special Election Page