Tagged: drugs

A new study showing a major increase in Tennessee babies born addicted to drugs has prompted the state Health Department to require hospitals to report that information. A health department working group found the number of babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or NAS, has increased ten-fold over the past decade. NAS can result from a mother’s drug use, including alcohol and withdrawal drugs like methadone. Henry County Medical Center's Rhonda Carnell says it’s important for healthcare providers to know the signs.

An influential Indiana lawmaker says he'll introduce legislation that would reduce penalties on people found in possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Republican state Sen. Brent Steele of Bedford plans to introduce a bill next session that would make possession of 10 grams or less an infraction, rather than a criminal misdemeanor. Ten grams is equivalent to about one-third of an ounce or roughly enough to make 20 to 30 marijuana cigarettes.

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth has help secure $375,000 in federal funds to fight youth substance abuse.

The $375,000 in federal funding will be divided up among three different community groups that work to prevent drug abuse among teenagers and young adults in Louisville. The funding is part of a larger $76.7 million investment in the Drug-Free Communities Program, which was established in 1997 to help mobilize local individuals and organizations to prevent youth substance abuse.

Tomy Baker Molloy is coordinator for the Seventh Street Corridor PAL Coalition, which will get $125,000 of the grant. She says the funding is a needed investment that will help turn young people away from harm.

"It’s vital for our organization. We work in the Park Hill, Algonquin and Old Louisville neighborhoods where youth are typically disenfranchised and not so engaged," she says.