A recent analysis released by the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission reinforces concerns about the prison population impacts of the habitual offender bill.
Justice
animal welfare, civil law and procedure, criminal law, disability, drug policy, family law, freedom of speech, guardianship, gun violence, housing law, immigration, indigenous agenda, lgbtq rights, policing, privacy, sexual child abuse, terrorism, women's rights
Prescription Medication Abuse
Will, I’ve been meaning to write and thank you for working to tighten rules for prescription pain medication. As a social worker, I have encountered tragic situations of families ruined by prescription drug addiction. Most poignant was a juvenile court investigation for a family involved with DCF. The mother was getting monthly prescriptions for her …
Coyotes on the Loose
There has been recent publicity regarding the presence of coyotes, particularly in various of Belmont’s big woods, which pose a threat to pets and people of small stature. This is a regional problem and could be addressed by the Commonwealth without great expense, rather than by placing yet another burden on individual municipalities.
Feb 14 Federal HELP Committee Hearing on IOM Pain Report
On February 14 the U.S. Senate H.E.L.P. Committee will hold a Congressional hearing to review the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 report on pain, Relieving Pain in American: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research. A little piece of Massachusetts trivia about this report. The chairperson of the IOM committee was Philip Pizzo, MD, …
Continue reading “Feb 14 Federal HELP Committee Hearing on IOM Pain Report”
Support on drug bill
Will, This is such an important issue and I am so glad your are taking it on!! We have two family members who continue to be negatively affected by prescription pain killers which makes me very aware of the tight line one walks, starting from the very first prescription. Not that your bill addresses this but …
Limiting drugs to those who really need them
Will – while I appreciate the severity of this issue, as a practicing oncologist this bill would place significant constraints in terms of managing my patients. oncology patients frequently require long term narcotics, and I usually write several of these prescriptions daily. To stop and have to review each patient, every time, would be onerous …
Continue reading “Limiting drugs to those who really need them”