Recent Articles:
Below are past articles previously published in Drugs & Addiction Magazine. These are filled with current and relevant information and statistics and can be used as great conversation starters with youth.
It’s Bell Let’s Talk Day!
January 30, 2019Former Insys CEO pleads guilty to opioid kickback scheme
January 17, 2019Resolve to Detox Your Social Circle
January 16, 2019Easing test anxiety boosts low-income students’ biology grades
January 15, 2019Craving insight into addiction
January 14, 2019People with low self-esteem tend to seek support in ways that backfire, study finds
January 10, 2019Ban on cigarette sales in NYC pharmacies starts Jan. 1
January 9, 2019Too many problems? Maybe coping isn’t the answer
January 8, 2019Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14
January 3, 2019Sexting Teens
December 19, 2018Screen Addiction: Today’s Biggest Threat to Schooling?
December 19, 2018Texting Etiquette & Safety: 5 Rules for Keeping Your Kids & Teens Secure & Drama-Free
December 17, 2018Amnesty International: Indigenous Peoples’ rights
December 17, 2018New Canadians sworn in as Winnipeg museum celebrates International Human Rights Day
December 13, 2018Statement by the Prime Minister on Human Rights Day
December 12, 2018Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms
December 12, 2018The Illustrated Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
December 11, 2018Homeless man with terminal cancer donates to holiday toy drive
December 10, 2018Boy gets Colorado town to overturn snowball fight ban
December 6, 2018Fortnite addiction is forcing kids into video game rehab
December 5, 2018Clarity on Cannabis
December 4, 2018Mental health education recommended for RCMP members following inquest
November 30, 2018Social Media – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence
November 28, 2018Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
November 27, 2018#GIVINGTUESDAY TODAY ONLY YOUR GIFT CAN BE MATCHED
November 27, 2018The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
November 26, 2018#ENDViolence in schools
November 23, 2018Statement by Minister MacLeod on National Child Day
November 22, 2018November 20th marks National Children’s Day across Canada
November 21, 2018National Child Day
November 20, 2018Facts & Figures
November 16, 2018The Push For Change®
November 15, 2018Winter Giving 101
November 14, 2018First came the stroke, then the inspiration…
November 13, 2018Canadian Youth Speakers Bureau: Scott Hammell
November 9, 2018John Connors’ brilliant IFTA Award speech
November 9, 2018Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone
November 8, 2018This teen pizzeria employee traveled 3 hours to deliver pizza to a man with terminal cancer
November 6, 2018Video captures joyful law student’s reaction to passing her bar exam
November 5, 2018MADD Canada launches annual red ribbon campaign in Halifax
November 2, 2018Nova Scotia’s Health Department says talks underway for province’s first overdose prevention site
October 31, 2018Crystal meth eclipsing opioids on the Prairies: ‘There’s no lack of meth on the street’
October 29, 2018Opioids Don’t Discriminate: An Interactive Experience.
October 26, 2018Guelph police warn drug users of spike in purple fentanyl
October 25, 2018What exactly are you inhaling when you vape?
October 23, 2018Study ADHD Medication Overdoses
June 14, 2018A Cry for Guidance
January 18, 2018Your Friend’s Substance Abuse
September 15, 2017Depression
September 15, 2017Methamphetamines
September 15, 2017Alcohol
September 15, 201725 Healthy Ways to Feel Better
September 15, 2017Former Insys CEO pleads guilty to opioid kickback scheme
January 17, 2019BOSTON (Reuters) – The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics Inc (INSY.O) pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid medication and has agreed to become a government witness.
Michael Babich, who resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiracy and mail fraud charges after entering into a cooperation deal with prosecutors.
His plea comes less than three weeks before five former Insys executives and managers including John Kapoor, its onetime billionaire founder and former chairman, face trial after being charged with participating in the scheme.
Babich, 42, faces up to 25 years in prison. But the Arizona resident could receive a more lenient sentence by testifying at Kapoor’s Jan. 28 trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Wyshak in court said Babich committed his crimes at Kapoor’s direction.
Kapoor and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Beth Wilkinson, Kapoor’s lawyer, had no comment after attending Wednesday’s hearing.
Prosecutors allege that from 2012 to 2015, Kapoor, Babich and others conspired to pay doctors bribes in exchange for prescribing Subsys, an under-the-tongue fentanyl spray for managing severe pain in cancer patients.
Fentanyl is an opioid 100 times stronger than morphine.
Prosecutors said Insys paid doctors kickbacks in the form of fees to participate in speaker programs ostensibly meant to educate medical professionals about Subsys that were actually sham events.
Prior to working at Insys, Babich had worked at Kapoor’s venture capital firm.
Insys in August said it had agreed to pay at least $150 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. The company has said it has taken steps to ensure it operates legally going forward.
Sears chairman prevails in bankruptcy auction
Prosecutors called the case a major example of their efforts to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017.
Babich’s plea comes after Alec Burlakoff, Insys’ former vice president of sales, pleaded guilty in November and agreed to testify as a government witness.
Babich is married to a former Insys sales representative, Natalie Babich, who in 2017 pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay kickbacks.
She testified last month at the trial of Christopher Clough, a former physician assistant in New Hampshire accused of accepting kickbacks from Insys. A federal jury in Concord, New Hampshire, convicted Clough on Dec. 18.
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot
www.reuters.com