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

Next Fiscal Year’s Budget Series – pt 2

By | January 25th, 2011|Behavioral Health, General, Licensing|

On January 15, 2011, the Governor released her proposed budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2011. Our part of the budget in the link above is on pages 105 through 111.  You kinda need to be a budgeteer to understand some of it, so I’ll try to distill it down a little [...]

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Next Fiscal Year’s Budget Series

By | January 24th, 2011|Behavioral Health, General|

On January 15, 2011, the Governor released her proposed budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2011. Our part of the budget in the link above is on pages 105 through 111.  You kinda need to be a budgeteer to understand some of it, so I’ll try to distill it down a little [...]

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Medical Marijuana Public Comments Available

By | January 12th, 2011|General|

Medical Marijuana Public Comments Posted We received more than 1,500 comments on our initial proposed rules to regulate medical marijuana.  All the comments (over 1,000 pages) are posted on our http://www.azdhs.gov/prop203/ website for viewing.  Our team is very busy reviewing the comments and suggestions looking for good ideas that will help build a more effective program. By [...]

Medical Marijuana Public Comments

By | January 7th, 2011|General|

So far, we’ve received well over 1,300 comments on the Informal Draft Rules that we posted December 17.  Our first comment period ends today.  We’ll be reviewing the comments and revising our initial draft over the next couple of weeks.  We’ll be releasing new draft rules for public comment on Monday, January 31, kicking off our [...]

Dead Bats

By | January 5th, 2011|General|

The Department is helping investigate a recent die off of bats in the Tucson Area. About 70 bats were found dead at the overpass near Speedway and Pantono. Initially, there was concern that the animals may have died from rabies, as rabies is always a concern when bats are downed or behaving strangely. However, a [...]

New Year’s Resolutions & Public Health

By | December 31st, 2010|General, Prevention|

Our Tobacco Prevention Program will be hitting targeted audiences (lower income Arizonans) a few days before New Years and during January with smoking cessation messages. There’s no better time to motivate folks to quit smoking than January because that’s the time of year when people generally set health goals for themselves.  The ads (funded by [...]

Masters in Public Health Program Comes to the Valley

By | December 30th, 2010|General|

The new Phoenix-Collaborative MPH in Public Health Practice program as well as a distance learning Graduate Certificate in Public Health are two great options for individuals looking to advance their knowledge about public health. The Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice is a new interdisciplinary program that prepares students to develop the public [...]

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Flag Drops on First Medical Marijuana Comment Period

By | December 17th, 2010|General|

One of our top priorities as we implement the AZ Medical Marijuana Act over the coming months is to ensure that we develop good Rules (called Administrative Code) so we can regulate medical marijuana effectively.  Rules that are clear, objective, well-researched, and that balance competing interests are absolutely critical in order to effectively implement a responsible [...]

Prescription Drugs – a Double Edged Sword

By | December 12th, 2010|General|

When taken as directed for legitimate medical purposes (and prescribed appropriately) prescription drugs can be safe and effective at treating illnesses and conditions. However, the increasing rates of prescription drug abuse are a growing and now urgent problem, especially among young people.  Powerful prescription drugs are often available and easily accessible in many, if not [...]

All Systems Go for Friday

By | December 10th, 2010|General|

Our preparation for the implementation of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act is on track.  We've made a great deal of progress on all fronts over the last couple of weeks.  The informal draft of the Administrative Code that we'll release next Friday is really starting to gel.  We've got the key elements hammered out and our [...]