Thread: Feds, state officials comment on St. Clair, Bibb mouth swabs, blood sample road block

Feds, state officials comment on St. Clair, Bibb mouth swabs, blood sample road blocks


By William Thornton | wthornton@al.com

on June 10, 2013



PELL CITY, Alabama -- State and federal officials are commenting about the nature of road blocks that took place this weekend in St. Clair and Bibb counties collecting blood samples and mouth swabs.Jose Ucles, a spokesman for the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, said the survey did not collect DNA, but those taking the information asked for a breath sample, an oral fluid sample and a blood sample. In Alabama, those giving samples were paid $50 for blood samples and $10 for mouth swabs.

[ POLL: Would you voluntarily submit DNA, blood sample for government study at roadblock? ]

According to Ucles, the Office of Drug Control Policy is contributing funding and support for the study, which is going on in 60 sites around the nation. The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation is conducting the tests through this fall. St. Clair and Bibb county officials said this would be the only time the road blocks are conducted this year."Participation is voluntary," Ucles said. "All data is anonymous."

St. Clair County authorities said they were attached to the survey through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Jim Plott with the department said ADECA only provided contacts to the NHTSA, but "had no involvement in the study and no ADECA funding was used."

The samples, Ucles said, were used to measure whether drivers had the presence of over-the-counter, prescription and illegal drugs in their systems, or alcohol and the driver's individual blood alcohol concentration.
Ucles said there were four previous national roadside surveys conducted in 1973, 1986, 1996 and 2007, but this is only the second time a survey has obtained data on drug use by drivers.

The survey used deputies to stop traffic, he said, for traffic safety.
"If you're doing roadblocks and asking people to stop, you have to have the deputies there to make sure everything is safe," he said. "It's not about detaining anybody, because the survey is voluntary and anonymous. It's about making sure the traffic is safe in that area."

If you were stopped in one of the roadblocks, or took part, and would like to talk, emaileastalabama@al.com.

http://blog.al.com/east-alabama/2013...comment_o.html

USA TODAY TOUTS ANTI-GUN RESEARCH BY SOROS-LINKED ADVOCACY GROUP



by DR. SUSAN BERRY
9 Mar 2013

A study that concluded that gun violence costs Americans at least $12 billion per year was published on the front page of USA Today on March 5th. The research was conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), an anti-gun advocacy group based in Maryland that received funding through the Tides Foundation, an organization that is funded by George Soros.

Results of the study reportedly showed that deaths and injuries due to gunfire cost society $32 per gun when considering the costs of court proceedings, insurance, and hospitalizations paid for by government programs, particularly Medicaid.

Ted Miller, author of the research, performed a similar study 20 years ago with funding from the National Institute of Justice. Following the Newtown, Connecticut shooting in December of last year, Miller decided to calculate again the costs of gun violence to society.

“I was surprised,” Miller said. “Back in 1994, the costs of drunk driving were substantially higher, but it has reversed.”

Miller said he found that total costs per injury had at least doubled or come close for medical care, psychiatric care, court proceedings, and insurance. In 1992, for example, he found that medical care for a fatal shooting averaged $14,500, while in 2010 the cost was $28,700.

According to Miller, Medicaid covers about 28% of hospital admissions for firearm injuries, 37% of hospital days, and 42% of medical costs. In a related study, Miller said he found that even if people were not on Medicaid at the time of the gunfire injury, about 8% were enrolled in Medicaid afterward. He concluded that “about half of the medical costs borne by Medicaid may be the best estimate.”

Neither Miller, nor USA Today, mentioned that PIRE has advocated against alcohol andtobacco and for increased regulation and tax hikes on items identified as harmful by public health experts.

In contrast, the National Rifle Association reported in January that the number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is at an all-time high, upwards of 300 million, while the firearm accident death rate has fallen to an all-time low, 0.2 per 100,000 population, down 94% since the all-time high in 1904. NRA states that, since 1930, the annual number of firearm accident deaths has decreased 81%, while the U.S. population has more than doubled and the number of firearms has quintupled.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journal...Advocacy-Group

Lighting up the lines to Montgomery now.