Tulalip News

12 Things Doctors May Not Tell You About the Drugs They Prescribe

By Jennifer, WAKE UP! www.wakeupnow.org

When physicians prescribe medication they do so after a thorough evaluation of their patient. It is up to the patient to educate themselves on safety warnings and potential dangers associated with taking the drug.
1. Many prescription drugs including pain and anti-anxiety medications can be addictive.

2. Just because a controlled drug is legal to prescribe, doesn’t make it safer than illegal drugs.

3. A teenager’s brain continues to develop until age 24, which increases their risk of addiction 8 fold.

4. Taking a prescription drug that doesn’t belong to you is a FELONY.

5. Sharing, selling or giving someone a controlled prescription drug is a FELONY. You are seen as a drug dealer/trafficker, with a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

6. Driving a vehicle under the influence of controlled prescription drugs is legally the same as a DUI (Driving Under the Influence “of alcohol”)

7. Never adjust the dosage of a medication that was prescribed to you. Depending on the controlled substance, it can lead to withdrawal symptoms including: difficulty breathing, confusion, exhaustion, decreased heart rate, anxiety, insomnia, muscle tremors, physical dependence, and even life-threatening consequences.

8. Mixing controlled substances can be dangerous – make sure your physician is aware of all medications and herbal supplements you are taking. Your doctor may not have access to the names of medications prescribed by other physicians. Mixing controlled substances can lead to overdose and death.

9. Do not mix alcohol with controlled substances. It can cause: drowsiness, dizziness; increased risk for overdose; slowed or difficulty breathing; impaired motor control; unusual behavior; and memory problems.

10. Don’t just throw unused medicine in the trash. There are specific guidelines provided by the government on how to dispose of medication. To learn more visit:
http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm#GuidelinesforDrugDisposal

11. Keep track of when you take all medications – this will minimize the chances of taking double doses, or missing a dose.

12. Don’t discuss what medications you are taking with anyone but your medical or mental health team, and keep the medications in a secure place at all times. Prescription drug abuse of controlled substances has become an epidemic in the United States. Often these medications are stolen from medicine cabinets and nightstands. Addicts have been known to break into homes where they suspect they can find meds, as well as assault someone who is in possession of the prescription medication they desire.

WARNING: New Synthetic Drug Called Amped

By Jennifer, WAKE UP!, www.wakeupnow.org

Ladybugs are said to bring luck, but there’s nothing lucky about a new type of synthetic drug called amped, also known as exuberance powder. Marketed as a “ladybug attractant,” people use the substance to get high much like “bath salts” or other amphetamine-like drugs.

While high, some of the side effects include:

Increased blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Paranoia
Extreme violent behavior
Hallucinations
Delusions

Law enforcement and lawmakers are playing catch-up with these synthetic products, as many of the chemicals used to make these substances are not yet outlawed.

The consumption of these substances is increasing fast. In 2011, the American Association of Poison Control Centers said there were 6,138 calls regarding exposure to bath salts, compared to 2010 when there were only 304.

For a poison emergency in the U.S. call 1-800-222-1222
American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Veteran NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen Leaves Government to Fight Climate Change and Keystone XL

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The Keystone XL pipeline is in James Hansen’s sights as the famed climate scientist retires from NASA, where he has worked for more than 40 years, in order to spread the message about climate change full-time.

The veteran scientist, who has been arrested at least four times at rallies against the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, will step down this week, NASA said in a statement on April 1. For the past 46 years Hansen has worked at the agency’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, from which perch he has spread the word about the changing climate and its effect on future generations. He has headed the institute since 1981.

“His departure … will deprive federally sponsored climate research of its best-known public figure,” The New York Times reported, but added, “At 72, he said, he feels a moral obligation to step up his activism in his remaining years.”

He has already done plenty during his years at NASA, including testifying before Congress and predicting many of the changes that are taking place today. In fact, as The Washington Post reports, he was among the first to warn Congress, back in 1988, that greenhouse gases threatened to cook the Earth, in testimony that “was one of the first and clearest public statements on global warming.”

“It is time to stop waffling so much and say that the evidence is pretty strong that the greenhouse effect is here,” he told Congress then, according to The Washington Post. He also predicted ice melt, cautioned that the risks of sea-level rise were being underestimated by science, and said that the international community is not adequately addressing climate change. Most recently he has been extremely outspoken against further development in the Alberta oil sands of Canada, particularly the Keystone XL pipeline that is under review by the U.S. government and opposed by many tribes.

To do this he “plans to take a more active role in lawsuits challenging the federal and state governments” for not issuing stricter emissions standards and for the governments’ support of extracting sludgy bituminous crude from the Alberta oil sands in Canada, The New York Times said.

“If we burn even a substantial fraction of the fossil fuels, we guarantee there’s going to be unstoppable changes,” Hansen told The New York Times, warning of a tipping point for Earth. “We’re going to leave a situation for young people and future generations that they may have no way to deal with.”

Aboriginal Language Gets Official Status in Nunavut, Canada

Source: Indian Country today Media Network

As of April 1, Inuktitut became an official language of Nunavut, putting it on par with English and French in the territory.

“This level of statutory protection for an aboriginal language is unprecedented in Canada,” said the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage in an April 2 news release.

The passage of the Official Languages Act has been five years in the making. This act takes the place of the Northwest Territories Official Languages Act, which recognized only English and French as official languages. The older act did give “a lesser set of rights to seven aboriginal languages, including Inuktitut,” according to Uqausivut, a comprehensive language plan. But, as the plan points out, “This does not reflect the realities of Nunavut, where a majority of people speak neither English nor French as their first language, but a single Aboriginal language.”

To help support public agencies in becoming compliant with the new act, the Department of Culture and Heritage will provide $5 million for Inuit language initiatives.

“I am proud that Inuit in Nunavut now have a clear statement of their inherent right to the use of the Inuit language in full equality with English and French,” said James Arreak, Minister of Languages, in the press release.

Marysville/Tulalip Relay events kick off April 6

By Kirk Boxleitner, The Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — Before the Marysville/Tulalip Relay For Life returns to Asbery Field on June 29-30, Relay teams and organizers are offering the community a cavalcade of activities and opportunities to contribute, starting with the “Team Captain Experience” event on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stillaguamish Senior Center.

“The American Cancer Society is passionate about giving tools and information to our Relay teams to help them be successful,” said Stephani Earling, community relationship manager for the Great West Division of the ACS. “This event is designed specifically for Relay team captains, and will include powerful information about the latest in the fight against cancer, tips to make the biggest personal impact you can, networking opportunities, food, fun and more.”

Marysville/Tulalip Relay team captains will be joined at the event by those from Arlington, Stanwood, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens and Camano Island who will be treated to a speakers’ panel on the best practices for getting their teams and communities motivated. Earling advised the team captains to RSVP at least a couple of days before the event by logging onto www.relayrumble.org/westernwa.

Earling explained that such measures, to provide an additional push to get folks interested and involved, tie into this year’s Relay theme of “Relay Big,” which is likewise reflected in the Marysville/Tulalip Relay organizers’ goals of recruiting 80 teams to raise $200,000 this year.

“The ACS does a great job of furnishing participants with the tools and resources to conduct successful Relays, but I’ve already seen great energy from Marysville and Tulalip,” Earling said. “These communities’ levels of awareness about cancer research, and the steps that are being taken to fight back, gives me a lot of hope. They’re on an awesome trajectory.”

The Relay activities on Saturday, May 18, aim to keep that momentum going with “Bark For Life,” “Paint the Town Purple” and “Brewin’ Up the Cure.” For the third year, “Bark For Life” will also return to Asbery Field, from 9 a.m. to noon, for a fee of $20 per dog.

“We’re anticipating a great turnout,” Earling said. “Last year, we had about 35 dogs and their owners attend, and we raised more than $4,000.”

Those who are interested in attending the event, starting a team or making a donation can go to http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/BFLFY12GW?fr_id=46074&pg=entry, or go to www.relayforlife.org and search for “Marysville.”

Earling expressed equal optimism about “Paint the Town Purple,” which gives businesses in the downtown Marysville area the opportunity to decorate their storefronts, in the week leading up to “Bark For Life,” to show support for the Bark and Relay For Life.

“These events are an awesome way for these area businesses to come together for the common cause of bringing awareness to finding a cure for cancer,” said Earling, who elaborated that “Brewin’ Up the Cure” is the coffee stand-specific part of “Paint the Town Purple.” “Each coffee stand will be able not only to decorate their stands, but also to sell little paper stars and moons to their customers, which will be displayed in their windows. All the money raised will go toward the Marysville/Tulalip Relay.”

Earling encouraged participants in both “Paint the Town Purple” and “Brewin’ Up the Cure” to come up with fun and wild decorations and displays, since Relay organizers are framing it as a friendly competition and will be recognizing the businesses who raise the most money and have the best decorations.

In the meantime, Marysville/Tulalip Relay Committee meetings start at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, and Relay team captains meet at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month, at the Marysville Holiday Inn Express’ banquet room, across the parking lot from the hotel itself.

Everything comes together at Anacortes Salmon Derby

The seventh running of the Anacortes Salmon Derby over the weekend was the best in the event’s history by almost any measure, and arguably one of the top state fishing tournaments, period, in recent memory.

Great weather, no wind, plenty of fish, heavyweight winners, well over a thousand anglers on the water — and always with that incomparable San Juan Island scenery as a backdrop. Very good stuff.

Those who believe that to fish a derby seriously you gotta put herring over the stern had their particular prejudice reinforced by first-place winner (21.52 pounds) Scott Fowler of Burlington. As he accepted his check for $15,000, Fowler said, “We fish bait, and it takes bait to catch big fish.” The herring was plug cut, according to derby board chairman Jay Field, and the fish was caught at Point Lawrence on the derby’s first day.

Second place and $5,000 went to Rich Olson of Everett, whose salmon weighed 19.42 pounds. Jay Murphy of Puyallup was third, winning $2,500 for his 19.1-pound salmon.

Last year’s first-place fish was slightly larger than Fowler’s, at 21.7 pounds, but the 256 total fish weighed was a record for the event and far outclassed 2012’s total of 211 chinook.

Jennifer Payne of Friday Harbor won the Women’s Division, with a 14.69-pound blackmouth, while Seth Baumgarten of Mercer Island nailed the Youth Division, at 16.52 pounds. Field said every youngster entered took home a prize.

There seemed to be no particular hot spot Saturday or Sunday. The catch was pretty well scattered over most of the productive spots, Field said, and even those who managed to camp on the banks before the early-morning ebb took fish.

A new addition to the derby was enthusiastically received, Field said. “GAFFF,” the Great Anacortes Fishing Film Festival, made its debut with home video fishing footage to entertain the 500-plus in attendance.

Winner of the Pro Division was charter owner and radio show host Rob Endsley of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Craig, Alaska. Winner of the Amateur Division was Jim Ramos of Sedro-Woolley, while Steve Chamberlin was voted by the audience as the Silver Horde Anglers’ Choice winner for his geat action footage and sound track.

The derby — a sellout every year — is sponsored by the Fidalgo-San Juan Islands Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers, and proceeds fund scholarships to benefit young adults pursuing careers in fishery management or a related field. The derby has disbursed more than $163,000 in scholarships and grants during the past six years.

Kids’ spring fishing

Put a kid and a fishing rod together and you create a great thing. Toward that end, the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club, Puget Sound Anglers, has announced its spring schedule of free or low-cost trout fishing events for youth in the Everett area. The events are co-sponsored with other state and local organizations.

First up, April 17, is a kids’ trout fishing class at Silver Lake’s Sullivan Park in south Everett, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The $5 class covers all the basics novice anglers should know to fish trout successfully in our local lakes. For pre-registration call Everett Parks and Recreation at 425-257-8300, ext. 2.

Next is a free kids’ trout pond, April 27-28, at the Evergreen Recreation and Sportsmen’s Expo at Evergreen Fairgrounds in Monroe. Trout left from the event, sponsored by Les Schwab and the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Youth Organization, will be placed in Lake Tye.

May 4 brings the popular kids’ fishing event at Jennings Pond in Marysville’s Jennings Park. It will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Open to youth 5 to 12 years old, fishing is free but sponsors ask that a can of food be donated at the event for a local food bank. There will be a one-fish limit until noon, when it opens to all kids and has a 5-trout limit. The event is co-sponsored by John’s Sporting Goods, Marysville Parks, Kiwanis and others.

May 11 is the Silver Lake kids’ fish-in at Sullivan Park. It runs 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for children ages 4 to 14 years. The event is free this year, but pre-registration with EvParks is required by calling 425-257-8300, ext. 2. There’s a 600-kid limit, and ESSC spokesman Jim Brauch said it will fill up.

On May 18 is the kids’ fishing event at north Gissberg Pond, Twin Lakes County Park, adjacent to the west side of I-5 at Smokey Point, north of Marysville. It’s free, open to ages 5-14, and there’s no registration required. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Everett Club stocks this one heavily and usually includes a nice scattering of big ‘bows in the 2- to 5-pound class. The North Pond is, by law, open to juveniles only.

Fishing seminars

Cabela’s Tulalip greets the 2013 spring fishing season with a selection of free fishing seminars, presented by local experts. Dates are April 13-14 and times are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Highlights include: Finding fish with Lowrance (Nick Kester); getting into trout fishing (Ryan Bigley); lingcod 101 (Gary Krein); targeting early season kings (Nick Kester); preparing for summer steelhead (Jim and Jennifer Stahl); reading trout water and fly casting for all ages (Federation of Fly Fishers); tuna fishing for the advanced angler; and a fly casting walk-in clinic with the FFF.

While there, check out the 2013 Northwest Salmon Derby Series grand-prize boat/trailer package.

For a full schedule of seminars and other Fishing Classic events, visit www.cabelas.com/tulalip or call 360-474-4880.

Cowlitz River

The fishery for late-run winter steelhead on the Cowlitz has produced pretty well recently. A state creel check last week tallied 45 boat fishermen with 17 steelhead. Bank anglers didn’t fare as well, and only a sprinkling of spring chinook was recorded.

Columbia Basin trout

A bunch of lakes in the Columbia Basin opened to early trout fishing on April 1, and state biologist Chad Jackson in Moses Lake gives a rundown on a few of them:

The Pillar-Widgeon chain, in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, should be fair to good for rainbow. North and South Teal, among the “seep lakes” south of Potholes Reservooir were rehabilitated in 2010 and restocked each year since with rainbow fry. Many of those fish will be in the 12-inch range this year and fishing on both lakes should be good.

Dry Falls Lake near Coulee City is a selective-gear “quality” lake which should offer some of the best early-season action in the area, especially for catch and release anglers. It’s a one-fish limit water, but anglers average close to 10 trout per trip when catching and releasing, Jackson said. Most are 12 to 14 inches, but the lake carries a fair percentage of larger trout to 20 inches or better, plus a few brown and tiger trout to spice the mix.

Jackson said Upper and Lower Hampton are always popular, but are suffering from an infestation of nuisance fish and scheduled for rehab this fall. They hold a few large trout for those with the patience to work for them, Jackson said.

County districts will wait and see on charter schools

By Jerry Cornfield, The Herald

We’re getting a clearer idea this week of where Washington’s first charter schools may open, and it’s not likely to be Snohomish County.

A dozen school districts from Sequim to Spokane and Tacoma to Port Townsend told the state Board of Education they’re want to be able to authorize and oversee these publicly funded, privately managed schools.

Though each must still turn in applications, these 12 districts are signaling a desire to get in on the ground floor of this newest venture in education.

None of them is in Snohomish County where 53 percent of the voters backed Initiative 1240 last November even as it seemed like 100 percent of teachers and school board directors did not.

In the county’s larger districts, school leaders are taking a wait-and-see attitude knowing full well they can apply later to become an authorizer. There is concern about time and energy required for overseeing a charter school and the possibility a legal challenge will be filed to delay or derail the law.

“As a board, we discussed charter schools during the election season, and post election, and decided to hold off putting in an application to become an authorizer this year,” said Ann McMurray, president of the Edmonds school board. “We’ll watch to see the experience of other districts in the state.”

Marysville School Board publicly opposed the initiative, and its directors haven’t softened their stand in the five months since the election.

Board president Chris Nation said there are innovative schools in the district, such as the Tenth Street Middle School, which offers a music-based curriculum to 180 students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

“It is not something we pursued or are interested in at this particular time,” he said.

Directors of the Everett Public Schools had not discussed the matter before Monday’s deadline for getting into the initial round.

“We have not had that conversation. We don’t intend to have that conversation in the near future,” said board president Jeff Russell, adding it could come up during planning sessions in August.

All three presidents said administrators and teachers are consumed with mandates to deploy evaluation processes for teachers and principals and implementing new standards in English and math known as Common Core.

“These have a huge and immediate impact on our school community,” McMurray said.

But, Nation said, if somebody did launch a charter school in the district “we would wholeheartedly support them.”

The nine people who could make that happen are on the state Charter School Commission, which meets for the first time today in Olympia.

These are political appointees — three each from the governor, speaker of the House and Senate president — who embrace charter schools and are empowered to authorize them anywhere in the state.

The commission will be competing for business with the school districts as the law only allows up to eight schools a year and a maximum of 40 over five years.

Even if school districts in Snohomish County aren’t rushing to ride the first wave, commissioners might be so inclined if the right charter comes its way.

Coal train traffic to be studied

By Bill Sheets, The Herald

People who oppose a plan that would bring more trains carrying coal through Snohomish County might have one more firearm in their arsenal by next year.

The Puget Sound Regional Council, a regional transportation planning group, has decided to spend up to $100,000 to study the economic effect — particularly with regard to traffic — of more trains running through the central Puget Sound region.

The planning group, headed by a board of 32 elected officials from Snohomish, King, Pierce and Kitsap counties, studies trends and sets priorities for spending of federal transportation dollars in those areas.

The $650 million Gateway Pacific terminal would be built at Cherry Point north of downtown Bellingham. It would generate 4,400 temporary, construction related jobs and 1,200 long-term positions, according to SSA Marine of Seattle, the company proposing the plan.

Those jobs, however, would likely be concentrated in Whatcom County, meaning that if the study focuses on the economic effect of more traffic backups at rail crossings in the affected counties without the benefit of more nearby employment, it’s not likely to paint a pretty picture of the plan.

Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson, a member of the regional council board, said the study would give local officials some hard numbers to bring to the table. A draft environmental study on the plan is expected to begin sometime in 2014. That study is expected to include economic issues.

“An economic analysis on Whatcom County is one thing,” Stephanson said. “This will do an economic analysis for the Puget Sound region, per se.”

Rick Olson, a spokesman for the regional council, acknowledged that the study applies to a proposal outside the regional council’s jurisdiction.

Still, “there are hundreds of at-grade rail crossings in our region,” he said. “We have communities up and down our four county region who are interested in this study.”

The regional council board members’ vote March 28 to approve money for the study was unanimous, Olson said.

This includes the four Snohomish County board members who were present: Stephanson, Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers, Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine and Mukilteo City Councilwoman Emily Vanderwielen.

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is also on the board but was not present at the meeting, Olson said. In February, Reardon announced his intention to resign as county executive at the end of May. He has yet to submit a resignation letter, however.

The Gateway Pacific terminal would serve as a place to send coal, grain, potash and scrap wood for biofuels to Asia. Trains would bring coal from Montana and Wyoming across Washington state to Seattle and north to Bellingham.

The terminal is expected to generate up to 18 more train trips through Snohomish County per day — nine full and nine empty.

Proponents, including U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, point to job creation. Opponents say the plan could mean long traffic delays at railroad crossings and pollution from coal dust.

Craig Cole, a spokesman for SSA Marine, offered a brief comment on the regional council study.

“Rail is one of the underpinnings of our economy,” along with ports, airports and roads, he said.

Several conservation groups on Tuesday announced plans to sue Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and several top U.S. coal producers, claiming they spill coal into Washington state waterways in violation of federal law.

Railroad spokeswoman Courtney Wallace, in a written statement, said the lawsuit was without merit.

“BNSF is committed to preventing coal dust from escaping while in transit,” she said.

The approval process for the terminal is expected to take at least a couple of more years. Three different agencies are involved in reviewing the terminal plan: the state Department of Ecology, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Whatcom County.

About 14,000 people registered comments on the proposal at hearings and in writing from September through January. More comments will be taken after the draft environmental study is done and before the final study begins.

Meanwhile, the Puget Sound Regional Council expects to finish its study by next February.

“Our study will help jurisdictions up and down the corridor and individuals in the region communicate on that draft,” Olson said.

The regional council plans to advertise in May for a consultant to do the economic study.

Herald writer Noah Haglund and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Toothtastic Dental Camp at Tulalip

Join the Society of American Indian Dentists, UW School of Dentistry and the Tulalip Tribes for a dental career exploration day for middle and high school students

Saturday, June 1, 2013 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Tulalip Tribes Gymnasium

Federal court holds Interior Secretary retains authority to make trust land acquisitions for Alaska Natives

This decision is a victory for all Alaska Tribes.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

On March 31, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an important ruling in Akiachak Native Community, et al. v. Salazar that affirms the ability of the U.S. Secretary of Interior to take land into trust on behalf of Alaska Tribes and also acknowledges the rights of Alaska Tribes to be treated the same as all other federally recognized Tribes.

In 2006, four Tribes and one Native individual—the Akiachak Native Community, Chalkyitsik Village, Chilkoot Indian Association, Tuluksak Native Community (IRA), and Alice Kavairlook—brought suit to challenge the Secretary of the Interior’s decision to leave in place a regulation that treats Alaska Natives differently from other Native peoples. On behalf of our clients, NARF and co-counsel Alaska Legal Services Corporation sought judicial review of 25 C.F.R. § 151 as it pertains to federally recognized Tribes in Alaska. This federal regulation governs the procedures used by Indian Tribes and individuals when requesting the Secretary of the Interior to acquire title to land in trust on their behalf. The regulation bars the acquisition of land in trust in Alaska other than for the Metlakatla Indian Community or its members. Plaintiffs argued that this exclusion of Alaska Natives—and only Alaska Natives—from the land into trust application process is void under 25 U.S.C. § 476(g), which nullifies regulations that discriminate among Indian Tribes. The State of Alaska intervened to argue that the differential treatment is required by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).

This decision is a victory for all Alaska Tribes. The ruling will allow Alaska Tribes to petition the Secretary to have non-ANCSA lands placed into trust and the opportunity to enhance their ability to regulate alcohol, respond to domestic violence, and generally protect the health, safety, and welfare of tribal members. To read the court’s opinion, click here.