Prescription medication abuse is rising in Ontario County

    The article I found for this blog is from MPNnow.com, which I believe is a Canandaigua, Ontario County, NY based news website.  As above, the title of the article is Prescription Medication Abuse is Rising in Ontario County.  I chose this article because I thought it dovetailed nicely with the most recent Rural Medicine lecture regarding prescription drug abuse in rural areas. 

    Per the article, prescription drugs are the 2nd most abused drugs nationwide, after marijuana.  It is evident that this national problem is also manifesting in local communities.  Lt. Brad Falkey with the Ontario County Sheriff's Office supports this claim stating that prescription drug abuse has increased over the past 5 years.  In addition, of the almost 300 drug related cases this department handles annually, approximately one half were prescription drug related.

    This article notes that prescription drugs are easily accessible, as one can procure such drugs via the internet or from pain clinics.  Prescription drug abuse is also widespread and can be seen in college campuses and the community at large involving people of all ages and backgrounds.  The most commonly abused prescription drugs include: pain relivers like vicodin, barbituates and benzodiazepines, and stimulants such as ritalin.

    Clearly, prescription drug abuse is a problem, so what is next? The Partnership for Onatrio County Inc. which is a private community based not for profit agency is actively bringing together a myriad of people in order to reduce and ultimately prevent prescription drug abuse.  Such people include those in education, public health and law enforcement.  The goal is to bring together a variety of people who can provide community outreach such as holding workshops and hosting school programs in order to efffectively attack the growing problem of prescription drug abuse.

    This is important information to be aware of as a practitioner as it is not only critical to be knowledgable about community problems, but also to be connected with the initiatives aimed at reducing such issues. 

Climate Change Already Challenging Farmers, Utilities

   I found a thought provoking article "Climate Change Already Challenging Farmers, Utilities" in the Democrat and Chronicle, a Rochester, NY based newspaper.  This article address the issue of global warming and its resultant negative effect on farmers, specifically noting a Clifton Springs, Ontario County, NY dairy farm.  Essentially, this article states that while global warming is still not ironed out politically, it is evident that both agriculture and utility companies have had to deal with the consequences of a warming planet and the subsequent weather disruptions.  

    Apparently, there is a bill called the Farm Bill, which has failed to address the negative impact climate change has had on agriculture as it continues to provide sizable subsidies to large agribusiness while simultaneously neglecting to encourage adaptive measures such as sustainable farming.  The article addresses a specific effect of climate change seen in a dairy farm in Clifton Springs, Ontario County, NY.  As a result of this years drought, the pastures which ideally serve to provide plentiful nutrition for the cows ultimately dried up, forcing the dairy farm to discontinue the production of raw milk.  In addition, crop insurance rates have increased as strong waves of heat and drought sweep in and continue to destroy crops.  The article concludes with the following statement "Scientists and meteorologist overwhelmingly concur: Warmer weather and its effects are here to stay.  Political debate distracts from the attention -- and responses -- these trends warrant."
    It is quite clear that climate change has had and will likely continue to have detrimental effects on farmers and farming communities as addressed by the article.  This fact is strongly connected to the mental health of farmers.  As the social and economic bases on which farming communities depend, erodes, the propensity for the manifestation of mental health problems is greatly increased. This article, and the most recent Rural Medicine lecture regarding the mental health of farmers prompted me to further research this topic.  I found a great article in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health entitled "Climate Change and Farmers' Mental Health: Risks and Responses." While this article focuses on the effect of climate change on Australian farmers' mental health, the information appears to extend past the specific article subject.  In essence the article proposes that increased socioeconomic disadvantages, reduced access to health services as seen when communities decline, combined with a stoical mentality characteristic of farmers, can ultimately increase the prevalence of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and legal substance misuse i.e. alcohol and tobacco.
   In conclusion, utilizing information from the Australian farmer study, and the local Clifton Springs, Ontario County, NY devastation, I am lead the believe that the climate change in Clifton Springs may in fact effect the overall mental wellbeing of the farmers and those in the community. I look forward to continuing researching this topic in Ontario County, NY.