Alternative Horizon
OHIO 72 hour driver intervention program

3/3/12 – Prescription Drug Drop Off

In collaboration with Independence Police Department & US Drug Enforcement Administration AHCC will be hosting a Prescription Drug Drop-Off day so the community can safely dispose of unused and out-dated medication left over in medicine cabinets.

The details are as follows:

Where:           Alternative Horizon Counseling Center
6497 Brecksville Road
Independence, OH 44131

When:             March 3, 2012 From 10am-2pm

What:              Free & Open to the public, just drop off:

Expired, unwanted and unused prescription medications—please do not remove labels. Cross out personal information but keep medicationinformation legible

 Over the counter medication and samples

 Medicated ointments and lotions

 Inhalers & Patches

 Liquid medicines in leak proof containers


Prescription Drug Drop-Off Day

In collaboration with Independence Police Department & US Drug Enforcement Administration AHCC will be hosting a Prescription Drug Drop-Off day so the community can safely dispose of unused and out-dated medication left over in medicine cabinets.

The details are as follows:

Where: Alternative Horizon Counseling Center
6497 Brecksville Road
Independence, OH 44131

When: July 30, 2011 From 10am-2pm

What: Free & Open to the public, just drop off:


Momentum Builds Against Alcohol Energy Drinks

 

Four Loko

The onslaught of national attention to Alcohol Energy Drinks (AEDs), dubbed “blackout in a can” by many, continues to pick up steam.

After a series of national media reports from the New York Times, ABCCBS and other major outlets about several recent alcohol poisoning cases linked to AEDs, the products are back in the news full-force.

In 2008, a group of state attorneys general, aided by The Center for Science in the Public Interest and other groups, successfully pressured Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to drop premixed, sweetened alcohol energy drinks from their product lines.

Since then, AEDs with even higher alcohol concentrations, such as Joose and Four Loko, have gained popularity with college-age and younger youth as a cheap and easy way to get drunk. The sugary, fruit-flavored beverages mask the flavor of alcohol, and the caffeine fuels a dangerous perception of being able to “party all night” – that is, drink harder and longer.

Fast-forward to the last few days, with AEDs getting renewed attention from many corners of the media as colleges, state alcohol control boards, and advocacy groups spring into action.

Here are a few current highlights:

Stay tuned, everyone. This story is just getting off the ground


Any Drinking Raises Risk of Traffic Accidents, Researchers Say

Even one or two alcoholic drinks can increase the risk of getting into an automobile accident, even if it’s not technically drunk driving, according to Italian researchers.

Reuters reported Sept. 10 that individuals who consumed one or two drinks within 2-6 hours of driving more than doubled their risk of getting into an accident. Having more than two drinks tripled the risk of a crash.

Researcher Stefano Di Bartolomeo of the Università degli Studi di Udine and colleagues drew their conclusions from interviews of emergency-room patients who had been in car crashes; drivers were asked about their alcohol and food consumption prior to the crash, as well as how much sleep they had gotten.

The study also found that drinking combined with sleep depravation greatly increased the risk of a crash.

The study was published in the Sept. 1, 2009 issue of the journal BMC Public Health.


Doctors Say Alcoholic Energy Drinks Dangerous

October 26, 2010

News Summary

Some doctors say drinks that combine alcohol with caffeine should be banned because they’re dangerous, ABC News reported Oct. 20.

Marketed in large, colorful cans under names like Four Loko, Joose, and Torque, the drinks are popular among college students. The 23.5-ounce canned drinks can contain 12 percent alcohol and 156 milligrams of caffeine, and have encountered increasing criticism. Attorneys general in more than one state are concerned that they’re being marketed to minors, a New Jersey college banned them, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is deciding whether or not the drinks are legal. 

Dr. Robert McNamara, who directs the emergency medicine department at Temple University, recently encountered his first-ever case of a healthy 19-year-old whose heart attack seemed to be linked to consuming alcoholic energy drinks. “This is a dangerous product from what we’ve seen,” McNamara said, who said other doctors had told him about similar cases. “It doesn’t have to be chronic use. I think it could happen to somebody on a first time use.”

“I’m mad as hell,” said Doctor Mary Claire O’Brien of Wake Forest University. “These drinks are not safe.”

O’Brien, who is a professor of emergency medicine and public health, recently completed a study that showed that consuming alcohol with caffeine was more harmful than drinking alcohol alone. Those who consumed both were at least two times as likely — compared to those drinking alcohol without caffeine — to be hurt, need medical attention, take sexual advantage of another, or accept a ride with someone who was inebriated.

“They can’t tell that they’re drunk,” O’Brien explained. “What this behavior gets is a wide awake drunk.”

The FDA has said that, under regulations governing food additives, caffeine can’t be mixed with alcohol. It is currently evaluating whether the drinks should remain legal, but no deadline has been set for a decision.

“FDA intends to evaluate the information submitted by the manufacturers and other available scientific evidence as soon as possible in order to determine whether caffeine can be safely and lawfully added to alcoholic beverages,” said Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA.

Phusion Projects, which manufactures Four Loko, told ABC News, “No one is more upset than we are when our products are abused or used unlawfully. But Four Loko is neither the sole contributor to alcohol abuse, nor will additional restrictions on it solve the problem.”


September is National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month!

September 1st marked the begining of National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month! 

Read more about it here:

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/About-Recovery-Month.aspx


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2010 Alternative Horizon Counseling Center