Investing in Medical Research: Why We Must Embrace the Audacity of Hope

In the summer of 2004, then-U.S.Senate candidate from Illinois Barack Obama galvanized the nation with a message centered on the hope, promise,and power of the American dream. He said Americans possess the "audacity of hope," which, as much as any phrase of recent origin, describes the impetus behind both the conduct and support of medical research. This is not mere rhetoric. More than the citizens of any other nation, Americans support medical research. Today, there are approximately 35 million Americans ages 65 and older who, because of improvements in health care and nutrition, are more likely than ever to be healthy, vigorous, and productive

Review of Western Australian drug driving laws

In 2007, the Western Australian Road Traffic Act 1974 was amended to allow for new police enforcement practices designed to reduce the incidence of drug driving. The Road Traffic Amendment (Drugs) Act 2007 made provision for two new offences: driving with the presence of a prescribed illicit drug in oral fluid or blood, and driving while impaired by a drug. The prescribed drugs were methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis). As part of the new laws, statute 72A was inserted into the Act requiring that the Western Australian State Government undertake a review of the amended legislation after 12 months of operation. This report provides a review of the amended legislation and the associated drug driving law enforcement. It includes a process review of the roadside oral fluid testing and drug impaired driving enforcement programs; an analysis of testing, offence detection and legal penalty data pertaining to the first year of operation of the new drug enforcement measures; and a report on consultations with various stakeholders. These form the basis for recommendations on possible improvements to the processes and legislation related to the deterrence of driving after drug use among Western Australian drivers.J.E. Woolley and M.R.J. Baldoc