So What? State Medical Marijuana Laws Linked to Lower Prescription Overdose Deaths

(See the New Education Video on Marijuana)

So the news today is bogus and incomplete in the continuing pursuit to get everyone in the U.S. legally stoned who wants to smoke pot. The excitement about medical marijuana is that, where legal, overdose deaths from prescription painkillers is lower. Of course, medical marijuana is almost never prescribed for pain, but the article doesn't say this. Medical marijuana is only used to treat:

•Muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis
•Nausea from cancer chemotherapy
•Poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or (rarely!!--nerve pain)
•Seizure disorders
•Crohn's disease

There are 100 ways to treat pain. So already, the stories are incomplete. Let's use our brains a bit.

Important issues this report did not discuss is what about those who do not smoke POT and the use of Marinol? Marinol is THC legally prescribed. So where this medication is used, is the prescription abuse rate also lower there? More research needed folks. Or are marijuana users refusing to use Marinol and don't want it because they want to get high? Or perhaps they abuse narcotics and pills and marijuana makes it easy to get high so they abuse the hard stuff less?

The news today would have you believe the "medical marijuana" treats medical conditions like pain, and more people die from not have medical marijuana, and do so with painkillers in states where pot isn't legal, because obviously they need medical marijuana to better treat their pain and avoid the risk of painkiller ODs.
Fact: Nothing could be further from the truth.

Research legal Heroin. The above might be said for it too. Where Heroin is administered, painkiller deaths would naturally be lower among this population! Ask the Brits. Of course, prescribing Heroin is a big problem across the pond. But they do have plenty zombied heroin users, like Colorado with pot users. So, let's not get run away with the spoiled bananas just yet. We need to peel back this story being supported, funded, and touted the stoner lobby.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/622353/?sc=mwhn

What's in a Name: Compulsive Use of the Internet, Internet Addiction, etc?

Although the term “Internet Addiction” is commonly used in mainstream literature, education forums online, and awareness materials, the term is not officially recognized as an addiction or medical diagnosis, yet. There are two reasons for this: 1) Addiction (or disorder) is a term reserved for an bona fide medical condition included in psychiatric, medical, and other diagnostic guides and manuals, and 2) the term has historically been used to describe dozens of different related syndromes associated with the compulsive use of technology in general that are important to distinguish. The preferred term is “compulsive internet use”. Other forms of compulsive use of technology include Facebook and social media use, gambling online, gaming, viewing pornography, online shopping, and financial trading. Any of these may impact and reduce workplace productivity, also known as “time theft”. Beyond electronic discovery of time consumed online, the most common productivity issue is work assignments not delivered on time, lying about use of time on the job, or lying about use the Internet for important business purposes. To document productivity issues, assign your employee measurable goals like a certain number of widgets or tasks that must be completed on time, very week.

Take It to Your Employees: Thinking Positive Gets More Done

Get Workplace Wellness Handouts Here. The power of positive thinking leads to increasing your productivity, not just feeling hopeful and upbeat. Positive thinking fires up a can-do attitude, reduces stress, attracts others (resources) to you, and causes you to be task-focused, proactive, and have more energy. All contribute to improved productivity. Whatever your workload, positive thinking can often remove the drudgery from it. A positive mental attitude rubs off on others, making it more likely they’ll interact with you and others in the same way. This positive contagion is well understood by employers, which means that many employers will first hire you for a positive attitude and teach you the job skills later. A positive mental attitude is not something that magically appears; you must acquire a positive attitude and then maintain it. Explore how to create a positive mental attitude and maintain it and watch the results and impact on your life over the next 30 days. The classic on this topic is Norman Vincent Peale's "Power of Positive Thinking", but the latest book to arrive (March 2014) that examines this topic worth taking a look at is Positive Thinking: The Ultimate Guide To Mastering Positive Thinking (Positive Attitude, Positive Affirmations... by Chuck Winslow

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Brookhaven National Laboratories Traditional EAP (Internal) CLOSED...and Transformed!

It appears another internal EAP has been obliterated into a transformed approach to identifying and resolving performance problems associated with troubled employees, dangerous workers, and behavioral risk by being closed down and its services contracted out to Magellan Healthcare and it's web portal. Send your stories about the "transformation" of the EAP field to publisher@workexcel.com. Need help at BNL? Registration required.

Communicate More to Boost EAP Utilization

Hey many of you EAPs are not communicating enough. On LinkedIn, I ruffled a few feathers by saying the most important job you have as an Employee Assistance Professional is marketing, not counseling. It was a little tongue in cheek to make the point. You must communicate monthly with employees in the work organization. It is pure marketing fact and theory. If you don't, you will lose top of mind positioning. Here is what you need send to employees in your internal newsletter that I hope you use for marketing.

Insert this:

"If you think that the EAP only helps employees with mental health or substance abuse problems, think again. EAPs improve productivity by helping employees whose personal concerns affect their job performance. Also, EAPs do a lot more than simply acting as sounding boards. Think about the EAP when you need confidential help with job and career concerns, boss issues, co-work negativity, fear of job loss, difficulty pleasing management, needing to know more about how demonstrate leadership, severe teenager issues, health resources, making a tough decision, difficulty finding time for yourself and work-life balance, arguing too much with a spouse or loved ones, inability to make ends meet, financial concerns, eldercare matters, workplace-adjustment challenges, workplace-relationship issues, or finding helpful resources in the community. If in doubt about whether the EAP can help with an issue or concern, be sure to ask."

Deliver this message and your utilization will increase. If you are interested in getting an EAP newsletter or just trying one out, go here and use FrontLine Employee for three months..let me know how it goes.

Supervisor Training: New and First-Time Supervisor Training Video, Power...

Lets give you the first skill unabridged!
Here are all 13 Addition Skills

Functional Alcoholism: ("The Drinking Doesn't Bother Me")

“Functional alcoholic” is a destructive term that everybody has heard.  Generally, the term is used by those who are aware of the alcoholic’s drinking pattern, but wish to avoid feeling responsible for confronting it by denying its problematic impact.

There is no such thing as a functional alcoholic just like there is no such thing as functional cancer.  This term is an example of enabling. It is a term of convenience created by enablers. In a sense, all alcoholics -- if they’re alive -- are functional.  It’s a matter of degree.  This term is destructive because it helps the alcoholic avoid being confronted and it works for the enabler quite well.

Functional alcoholic means the coworkers behavior doesn’t bother you.  Indeed, others  may see the same alcoholic as quite dysfunctional -- particularly family members.  Don’t use this term to describe alcoholics.

Do you need a supervisor or employee substance abuse awareness training for employees? Visit the two hour DOT Drug and Alcohol Training Program for Supervisors for Reasonable Suspicion at http://workexcel.net/reasonable_susp.hml