General

/General

Here you will find topics ranging from current events that affect public health in Arizona to overall information about the Arizona Department of Health Services

Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Filed

By | June 14th, 2011|General|

Today I was served with a lawsuit that challenges the State (and the Department) for not implementing the dispensary portion of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.  The case, filed in the AZ Court of Appeals, asks a judge to order us to follow the rules that we published on April 14 and begin accepting dispensary [...]

Fed’s Release New Plan to Control Prescription Drug Abuse

By | June 14th, 2011|General|

More than 1,100 Arizonans died from drug poisoning, which is more than the number of Arizonans that die in car accidents every year.  This isn’t just an Arizona public health crisis, it’s a national one.  Last week the federal government released a new plan to address the national prescription drug abuse epidemic and announced new [...]

Maricopa Integrated Health System Goes Smoke Free

By | June 10th, 2011|General, Prevention|

The Maricopa Integrated Health System has been recognized as a QUITZone for going smoke-free.  Our Bureau of Tobacco & Chronic Disease and the UA Healthcare Partnership honored them this week for their efforts to “walk-the-talk” in promoting healthy lifestyles and combating the health and cost burdens of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. To help achieve a [...]

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Wildfire Update

By | June 10th, 2011|General, Preparedness|

I’m sure you know that a few wildfires are still burning in AZ, including the massive Wallow fire. The Governor signed a Declaration of Emergency on Monday this week, releasing some state funds to help with the response efforts and opening the State Emergency Operations Center, which is coordinating and directing the state emergency response activities.  You [...]

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Who is Bob Koch?

By | June 7th, 2011|General|

Robert Koch was a German physician that’s considered one of the primary founders of microbiology- setting the foundation for loads of public health interventions that have drastically improved our quality of life.  He was the first scientist to verify the Germ Theory of Disease (in 1876) by showing that anthrax is caused by a bacteria [...]

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Top 10 Public Health Accomplishments 2000 – 2010

By | June 6th, 2011|General, Preparedness, Prevention|

The major public health achievements of the first 10 years of the 21st century included improvements in vaccine preventable and infectious diseases, reductions in deaths from certain chronic diseases, declines in deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes, and more, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 10 domestic [...]

Arizona Mexico Commission

By | June 4th, 2011|General|

The Arizona Mexico Commission was started by then Arizona Governor Paul Fannin in 1959 to improve partnering between Arizona and Sonora in a wide range of areas.  It’s evolved over the years to become a premiere and unique cross-border nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for residents of [...]

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Dispensary Application News

By | June 1st, 2011|General|

A prospective dispensary applicant came to our offices this morning in an effort to submit an application for a dispensary registration certificate.   We declined to accept the application because, as I wrote on Friday, we won’t be accepting dispensary registration certificate applications until the outcome of legal action filed last week. There were several members [...]

AZ Medical Marijuana Program Update

By | May 27th, 2011|General|

In light of recent communication from the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, the Governor asked the Attorney General to file a suit this week asking for a declaratory judgment from a federal court regarding the legality of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and our Rules. We had been planning to begin accepting dispensary applications beginning next [...]

Celebrating Women’s Health

By | May 26th, 2011|General, Prevention|

With all the things that have been going on I somehow neglected to write about Women’s Health Week - which was a couple of weeks ago.  The theme this year is “It’s Your Time” and serves to remind women to take time out to take care of themselves.   Women in all parts of the world [...]

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