Mexican Drug Cartels Have Infiltrated All Of These US Cities 30,000 Canadians are homeless every night - Canada Despite sporadic success in addressing homelessness in Canada, little progress has been made toward a permanent cross-country solution, says a national report into the extent of the problem. The report's initial numbers tell a grim story. Among the report's findings: At least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year. Those numbers come from the Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN) and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the groups behind what they call the first extensive national report card on homelessness. Their look at the state of homelessness in Canada found that annual shelter use did not change substantially from 2005 to 2009, while the average stay grew longer. As a result, the report's authors say, it's time the country shifted its focus from crisis management — from things like emergency shelter beds and soup kitchens — to more permanent solutions. "The reality is it isn't the best we can do at all." Who is homeless? Degrees of homelessness
How the drug war hurts everyone Something as massive and amorphous as America’s War on Drugs can be difficult to imagine in concrete terms. This web of failed policies is so huge, so persistent and so deeply woven into the fabric of our nation that it’s hard to envision an alternative — or even appreciate what the conflict is currently siphoning resources away from. That’s why the past week has been so important for the cause of ending the drug war — because it has provided three tragic examples of how that war harms not only its dead and/or incarcerated victims, but also how it makes society as a whole more susceptible to horrific crimes. In Boulder, Colo., for example, the Daily Camera reports that “the University of Colorado announced a new plan to snuff out the Boulder campus’s 4/20 smoke-out, warning that police will ticket pot smokers at this month’s event.” That’s a key point: Focusing police resources on safety is distinctly different than focusing them on the drug war.
Obesity in Canada - Healthy Living To share this page just click on the social network icon of your choice. [Previous Page] [Table of Contents] [Next Page] The main focus of this report has been to highlight new data and findings concerning the prevalence of obesity in Canada, as well as to summarize our current understanding of its determinants and the health and economic burden. General principles Even though scientific knowledge is still evolving and incomplete, waiting for the “perfect solution” may not be an option, and decisions about how best to address obesity at a population level must be made. Approaches to combat obesity can be categorized into three streams: health services and clinical interventions that target individuals,community-level interventions that directly influence behaviours, andpublic policies that target broad social or environmental determinants. In practice, these are not mutually exclusive categories but, rather, overlapping and complementary lines of action. Individual-based interventions
The US Has Sent 200 Marines Into Guatemala To Directly Combat The Drug War Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network NOPREN At a Glance NOPREN is a thematic research network of the Prevention Research Centers Program. Its mission is to conduct transdisciplinary nutrition- and obesity-related policy research and evaluation along a policy change continuum (see below). The work of NOPREN members helps foster understanding of the effectiveness of policies related to preventing childhood obesity through improved access to affordable, healthy foods and beverages in a variety of settings including communities, workplaces, healthcare facilities, childcare institutions, and schools. What are Nutrition and Obesity Policies? Policies that affect the nutrition environment and influence lifestyle choices and behavior. Examples include: (adapted from McKinnon RA et al.”Considerations for an Obesity Policy Research Agenda” Am J Prev Med 2009.) Relevant Policies Relevant policies may be enacted at the local, state, federal, or tribal level and typically include: Click here to download a full summary of NOPREN Terms of Use
The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think | Johann Hari It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned — and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted. It seems obvious. It seems manifestly true. If we truly absorb this new story, we will have to change a lot more than the drug war. I learned it from an extraordinary mixture of people I met on my travels. I had a quite personal reason to set out for these answers. If you had asked me what causes drug addiction at the start, I would have looked at you as if you were an idiot, and said: “Drugs. One of the ways this theory was first established is through rat experiments — ones that were injected into the American psyche in the 1980s, in a famous advert by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The advert explains: “Only one drug is so addictive, nine out of ten laboratory rats will use it. This isn’t theoretical.
Canadian Obesity Summit | May 1-4, 2013 PAR-12-257: Time-Sensitive Obesity Policy and Program Evaluation (R01) Part 1. Overview Information Key Dates Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Table of Contents Part 1. Part 2. Section I. Obesity is a major contributor to many serious health conditions that increase morbidity and mortality and reduce quality of life. This FOA is intended to encourage and support research in which a unique and time sensitive opportunity has arisen to collect baseline data and then prospectively assess effectiveness of an imminent policy or program designed to prevent or reduce obesity in a given population (e.g. designed to reduce energy intake, increase activity, or decrease sedentary behavior). For the purposes of this FOA: Several distinguishing features of the obesity program and/or policy research evaluation must be articulated in the grant application: 1. 2. 3. Other