Afternoon Edition - 10/17/05

One Side Of The Story
Toledo Ohio Mayor, Jack Ford, never imagined that granting a permit and police escort for a march of a white supremacist group calling themselves America’s Nazi Party would result in the rioting and disaster that ensued in his city Saturday. In the end, the march could not take place and over 65 protesters were arrested. The supremacist group alleges the white people in the community were being harassed by black gang members. There was an 8 p.m. curfew issued for the city for the duration of the weekend. One black resident blamed city officials for allowing such a march to take place, while a spokesperson for the Nazi group blamed the police for losing control of the situation. Most news stories portrayed the black community as wild and unruly.

The Poppies Will Make Them Sleep
Months ago my parents visited and I joked about giving them a sleep aid to knock them out for a few hours. …uh, that was a joke folks. Anyway, Medeco has produced a new study that shows the use of sleep aids is increasing among young adults and even school-age children. The report showed that the number of 20-44 year olds using sleep aids doubled between 2000 and 2004. More dramatic was the stat that said 10-19 year olds were using sleep aids 223% more often than in years past. The study also highlighted the use of sleep aids by women was much more prevalent than by men.

Hard Facts Unknown
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse held a conference in September to discuss, among other issues, the prevalence of HIV and high risk behavior in gay men misusing erectile dysfunction drugs – street names include: Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. The conference discussed how there appears to be a link between the “hard-dick” drugs, substance abuse and risky sex. “What’s unclear is if the substance abuse comes first, or after taking impotence drugs,” said David Purcell, a senior behavioral scientist from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. “We can’t say because the information we have comes from studies done for another reason and stumbled onto the erectile dysfunction issue,” he added. HIV positive men tend to use the “woody” drugs to combat the effects of their antiviral medications, while substance abusers use it to maintain an erection. Before prescribing erectile dysfunction drugs all at the conference agreed that a sexual history and STD exam should be performed on every patient to insure patients with a history of issues get proper treatment. The drug makers, who were represented at the CDC conference, do not want a label placed on their product warning users that the use of the erectile dysfunction drugs can lead to HIV and STDs since they feel there is no direct link between the drug and the infections.

On Blast
An estimated 46% of men over 40 suffer from erectile dysfunction. Would you encourage your partner to use a drug to help with the condition or would you simply deal with the soft member? How important is it for your partner to maintain an erection?

Keep passin’ the open windows…