Executive Summary: 7th Biennial Statewide Survey of Drug and Alcohol Use Among California Students in Grades 7, 9 and 11

This survey and report was prepared by WestEd under Contract #96-4375 from the Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, as legislated by the Health and Safety Code section 11605. We are indebted to Attorney General Bill Lockyer for his support of this survey and his recognition of the importance of ongoing monitoring of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by California youth as a guide to prevention and intervention efforts. In the Attorney General\u27s Crime and Violence Prevention Center, Daphne Hom served as the Project Manager. Support also was provided by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs; the California Department of Education, Healthy Kids Program Office; and the Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, Epidemiology Branch

Women\u27s Rights Handbook

This booklet is being distributed to inform Californians about the rights of women as citizens, workers, students, spouses and consumers, and to provide other valuable information related to these rights. In recent years, and largely as a result of the work, dedication and organization of women, the courts and legislatures have taken positive steps to insure the equal treatment of women in our society. This booklet has been prepared by the Office of the Attorney General as a general summary of women\u27s rights in several important areas, such as employment, education, credit, health care and domestic relations

Women\u27s Rights Handbook

This booklet is being distributed to inform Californians about the rights of women as citizens, workers, students, spouses and consumers, and to provide other valuable information related to these rights. In recent years, and largely as a result of the work, dedication and organization of women, the courts and legislatures have taken positive steps to insure the equal treatment of women in our society. This booklet has been prepared by the Office of the Attorney General as a general summary of women\u27s rights in several important areas, such as employment, education, credit, health care and domestic relations

Change and Continuity in the Role of State Attorneys General in the Obama and Trump Administrations

During the Trump Administration, state attorneys general (AGs) have become entrenched as integral policymaking actors in the United States. Their expanding policymaking role fits broader patterns of polarized politics, as partisan coalitions of AGs are increasingly willing to sue the federal government, a trend that gathered steam in the Obama Administration and has reached a crescendo in Trump’s first year. However, state AGs do cooperate, particularly in corporate litigation to address allegedly widespread, illegal behavior. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of multi-state lawsuits and Supreme Court amicus briefs, we identify continuity and change in how AGs have employed their powers, by examining their activities during the first year of the Trump presidency and placing these activities in the context of previous administrations. This analysis is accompanied by a pair of case studies, one on conflictual AG environmental litigation and another on bipartisan efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Both demonstrate AG’s prominent policymaking power, a power unlikely to abate anytime soon

A description of Medical Examiner prescription-related deaths and prescription drug monitoring program data

BackgroundThe Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have declared prescription drug abuse an epidemic in the United States. However, demographic data correlating prescription-related deaths with actual prescriptions written is not well described. The purpose of this study is to compare toxicology reports on autopsy for prescription-related deaths with Prescription Drug Monitor Program (PDMP) data.MethodsThis is a retrospective analysis comparing 2013 San Diego Medical Examiner data on 254 unintentional prescription-related deaths obtained for 12 months before death with data from the California PDMP. Data were analyzed on age, sex, whether there was information on the PDMP, types and quantities of prescribed medications, number of pharmacies and providers involved, and whether there was a match between the Medical Examiner toxicology report and data from the PDMP.ResultsIn 2013, there were 254 unintentional prescription-related deaths; 186 patients (73%) had PDMP data 12 months before death. Ingesting prescription medications with illicit drugs, alcohol, and/or over-the-counter medications accounted for 40% of the unintentional deaths. Opioids were responsible for the majority of single medication deaths (36; 70.6%). The average number of prescriptions was 23.5 per patient, and the average patient used 3 pharmacies and had 4.5 providers. Chronic prescription use was found in 68.8% of patients with PDMP data.ConclusionsThe PDMP data highlight important patterns that can provide valuable insight to clinicians making decisions regarding types and amounts of medications they prescribe. Although there is no guaranteed solution to prevent prescription-related deaths, PDMP data can be useful to prevent coprescribing and medication interaction and by following best clinical practices

Postconviction DNA Testing: Recommendations for Retention, Storage and Disposal of Biological Evidence

On January 1, 2001, a new postconviction testing law was enacted in California. This law, which provides a mechanism for inmates to seek postconviction DNA testing of evidence, creates a new safety check on our criminal justice system that will ensure wrongly convicted persons have the ability to prove their innocence through the use of newly developed technology. It is the goal of the Postconviction Testing/Evidence Retention Task Force and the California law enforcement community to offer full and fair access to postconviction testing for meritorious claims. Implementation of postconviction testing procedures raises significant questions regarding evidence retention which law enforcement agencies and the courts will need to address. I formed this Task Force in order to provide guidance to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and the courts, on which the core responsibilities for implementation fall. Its charge was to develop consensus about the likely impact of the new law and to provide information, in the form of non-binding recommendations, to assist agencies in complying with its mandates. The non-binding recommendations compiled in this report address evidence handling and storage issues under California\u27s new postconviction testing law. The Task Force\u27s deliberations and final recommendations were informed by current best practices among California law enforcement for evidence handling and storage