Health - Historic survey to shed light on drug use

Fairfax Media, owner of The Sunday Age , is partnering with the Global
Drugs Survey, created by Adam Winstock, a psychiatrist and researcher
based in London, to help create the largest and most up-to-date
snapshot of drug and alcohol use in Australia, and how we compare with
others.
Dr Winstock said last year's survey, which 15,000 people filled out
globally, including 500 from Australia, showed that, for many, drug
use was characterised by confusion and dishonesty.
''People are appalled at knowing how their druguse compares to other
people,'' he said.
''My favourite statistic from last year was 20 per cent of people who
were alcohol dependent using the World Health Organisation screening
tool thought their drinking was average orless than average.''
Nearly 40 per cent of people who had been asked about their drug use
by their GP either lied and said they never used drugs, or downplayed
their use. About 22 per cent of alcohol drinkers did the same.
The survey is being launched in Australia today, and will also be run
in the US, in partnership with NBC, and in Britain with The Guardian ,
Mixmag and the Gay Times .
Dr Winstock said he created the project to capture a broader snapshot
of drug use than is usually available.
''Most governments are interested in drug-use patterns among the
sickest and most disadvantaged.
''But that represents a fraction of the people who use drugs,'' he said.
Results of the survey have been published in the British Medical
Journal , The Lancet and Addiction , and have helped produce a project
called the drugs meter, where people canfind out how their drug use
compares with that of others.
New research shows drug and alcohol treatments have increased in
Australia over the past year, with alcohol the drug most likely to get
people into trouble.
Almost half the drug treatment episodes in the 2010-11 financial year
were for alcohol problems, according to data released by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
There were about 150,500 treatment sessions in that time, up from
about 145,600 the year before.
You can take part in the global drugs survey overthe next month by
goingto theage.com.au. The Australian results will be published
exclusively by Fairfax early next year.
Drugs covered by the survey include cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis,
ketamine, mephedrone, alcohol, tobacco, ''legal highs'' and
prescription medicines such as temazepam and opioid painkillers. The
survey is anonymous and secure, and takes about 20 to 25minutes to
complete.

Health - Dangerous new drugs sold on web 'silk road'

DANGEROUS new psychoactive drugs are emerging in Australia at a
breathtaking rate, say experts conducting groundbreaking research into
online drug sales.
The drugs can be toxic tothe brain and are often untested on humans,
and unsuspecting users are buying them without knowing what they
contain or what effect they will have.
About four new chemicalsubstances, and 10 retail outlets selling them
to Australians, are emerging each month, Tasmanian researchers have
found.
And research by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has
found that the "silk road", an online black-market trading site, is
expanding at a similar rate.
A senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania, Raimondo Bruno, said
the size of the online drugs market, and the risks posed by the
drugs,scared him.
"People are dabbling in a wide range of substances we don't really
have a lot of human data on," he said."Some of these products are
known to be neurotoxic, even in animals."
Dr Bruno said there appeared to be two types of sales: specific
chemicals, for which more than 78,000 searches originate in Australia
each month, and "blended" drugs, forwhich about 18,500 searches are
made.
He said the blended drugs, sold under generic brand names, were
particularly unpredictable. "Almost all the drugs we're talking about
haven't had any history of human testing - a coupleare failed
antidepressants or otherdrugs," he said. "
Because the blends don'tstate the content, or they state misleading
content, you can buy something one week and go back to the same seller
and buy the same brand and it can be different."
Dr Bruno will present hisresearch at the Australasian
ProfessionalSociety on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference in Melbourne
on Wednesday.
The executive director ofthe Australian National Council on Drugs,
Gino Vumbaca, said the new drugs posed a significant risk,
particularly as long-termhealth outcomes were unknown.
"A lot of these drugs are marketed as a legal alternative, and people
think they're legal and that there's less risk," he said. "They assume
it's gone through some kindof pharmaceutical procedure."
He said research indicated most of the new compounds were coming from
China and India, and retailers knewif someone was hurt by their
products there were plenty more users to take their place.
A researcher at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the
University of NSW, Joe Van Buskirk, who is also presenting at the
conference, said he had found an average of about 15 new sellers a
fortnight on the silk road willing to ship drugs to Australia.
The silk road exists on what is known as the ''dark'' or ''hidden''
web,operating on a membership basis and using an alternative currency.
"In order to sell anything, or even buy anything, you have to gain the
trust of the forums beforehand,'' Mr Van Buskirk said.
International and domestic sellers sold there, although international
sellers offered cheaper prices.
He said the drugs sold tended to be older drugssuch as cannabis, which
he was surprised to find was the most common product.
Figures from the Australian Customs and Boarder Protection Service
show cannabis isthe second most common drug caught in cargo and postal
importation, with the number of captures increasing by 86 per cent in
the past three years.

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Can he do tayammum on intensely cold days in the case of janaabah?

Can I pray after doing tayammum in the case ofjanabah on intensely
cold days, knowing that I do not have the ability to purify myself
immediately? In additionto that, I get ill because of the cold that
affects my back, which affects me a great deal.
Praise be to Allaah.
The person who becomes junub and wants to pray must washhimself with
water, because of the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"If you are in a state of Janaaba (i.e. after a sexual discharge),
purify yourselves (bathe your whole body)"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
But if a person is unable to use water because there is none
available, or it is available but using it will make his sickness
worse, or because it is very cold – and he has no means of heating it
– then he may do tayammum with dust instead of doing ghusl with water,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"But if you are ill or on a journey, or any of you comes after
answering the call of nature, or youhave been in contact with women
(i.e. sexual intercourse), and you find no water, then perform
Tayammum with clean earth"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
The verse indicates that a sick person who will be harmed by using
water, such as if doing ghusl will lead to his dying or his sickness
getting worse, or his recovery being delayed, should do tayammum.
Allaah has told us how todo tayammum, as He says:
"and rub therewith yourfaces and hands"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6] And Allaah has told us the reason for this law, as
He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah does not want toplace you in difficulty, but He wants to
purify you, and to complete His Favour to you that you may be
thankful"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
It was narrated that 'Amribn al-'Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: I experienced a wetdream on a cold night during the campaign of
Dhaat al-Salaasil, and I was afraid that if I did ghusl I would die,
so I did tayammum, then I prayed Fajr with my companions. They
mentioned that to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and he said: "O 'Amr, did you lead your companions in prayer when
you were junub?" I told him what had kept me from doing ghusl and I
said: "I heardAllaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 'And do not
kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allaah is Most
Merciful to you' [al-Nisa' 4:29]." The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled and did not say anything.
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 334; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
Abi Dawood.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth indicates that it is permissible for the one who thinks
that using water will kill him to do tayammum, whether that is because
of cold or some other reason, and it is permissible for the one who
has done tayammum to pray with those who have done wudoo'.
Fath al-Baari, 1/454
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
If you can find warm water or you are able to heat the cold water, or
you can buy water from your neighbour or from someone else, then you
must use that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So keep yourduty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can"
[al-Taghaabun 64:16]. You have to do whateveryou can, whether
buyingthe water, heating it or whatever ways will enable you to do
wudoo' as prescribed with water. If you are unable to do that and the
cold is severe and is posing a danger to you, and there is no way for
you to heat it or to buy some warm water from those who are around
you, then you are excused, and tayammumis sufficient for you, because
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can"
[al-Taghaabun 64:16]
and:
"and you find no water, then perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub
therewith your faces and hands"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
The one who is unable to use water comes under the same ruling asone
who cannot find any water.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 10/199,200
You have to wash whatever you can of your body, such as washing the
hands, feet and so on, so long as that will not cause you any harm,
then do tayammum.
We ask Allaah to grant you a speedy recovery, and to make what has
befallen you an expiation for your sins and cause you to rise in
status.
And Allaah knows best.

Can a person who has a cold or a cough be prevented from attending prayers in congregation for fear of harm and infection?

We know that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
did not allow those who had eaten onions or garlic to attend prayers
in congregation, so what about those who have the flu, if their
attendingprayers in congregation will lead to others becoming infected
because of the spread ofgerms due to their continual sneezing? What
about those who have continual coughing, if they attend the khutbah on
Friday and keep coughing and disturbing the people around them so that
they cannot hear the khutbah because of that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Al-Bukhaari (855) and Muslim (564) narrated from Jaabir ibn 'Abdillah
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever eatsgarlic or onions, let him
keep away from us, or keep away from our mosque and stay in his
house."
Muslim (567) narrated that 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased
with him) delivered a khutbah oneFriday in which, among other things,
he said: O people, you eat two plants which I find to be nothing but
repugnant, this onion and garlic. I remember the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), if he noticed their smell
coming from a man in the mosque, he would issue orders that he taken
out to al-Baqee'. Whoever eats them, let him cook them to death.
The fuqaha' have stated that it is makrooh for the one who has eaten
garlic or onions to attend the mosque and that it is mustahabb to
expel him therefrom. Some of them are of the view that it is haraam
for him to attend and it is obligatory to expel him. They added to
that one who has an offensive smell such as body odour or halitosis
and those who work in slaughterhouses and thelike, if they have a
smell that bothers other worshippers.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said in at-Tamheed (6/422):
The hadeeth mentioned also indicates that the one who has eaten garlic
should be kept away from the mosque and should be expelled therefrom,
because the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "He should not approachour mosque or our mosques because he
annoys us with the smell of garlic." If the reason for expelling him
from the mosque is that he causes annoyance, then by analogy anyone
who annoys his neighbour in the mosque because he has a sharp tongue
and insults the people in the mosque, or he has a foul odour because
of the nature of his work, or hehas a disease that may harm others
such as leprosy and the like, andanything that causes annoyance to
people if itis present in one of theirneighbours in the mosques and
they want to expel him from the mosque and keep him away from it, they
have the right to do that so long as the reason for doing so is
present, untilit is no longer present. Once that reason is no longer
present, he has the right to return to themosque. End quote.
Thus it is known that it isessential to ward off annoyance and harm
from the worshippers. If they are bothered by one who has a cold or a
cough, and that cannot be treated by means of medicines that would
reduce it and lessen the annoyance and harm – of which there are
manynowadays – then he should not attend the mosque until that which
is bothering other worshippers has gone away. If he can pray at the
edge of the mosque or in the courtyard, he may do so.
In the margin of Asna'l-Mataalib (1/262) it says: If he has an
offensive odour and he is able to stand outside the mosque in such a
way that he does not cause annoyance, then it is appropriate that he
should be obliged to attend Jumu'ah. End quote.
Secondly:
If a man has a sickness that Allah, may He be exalted, has made mixing
with people affected by it a cause of contracting that sickness, which
is what is called a contagious disease, then he is excused for not
attending Jumu'ah and prayers in congregation,lest he harm other
worshippers. In fact he may be prevented from entering the mosque
until his illness has gone away, because the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) forbade bringing a sick individual among
healthy ones, as al-Bukhaari (6771) and Muslim (2221) narrated from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "No sick one should
be put with a healthy one."
For more information onthe issue of contagion, please see the answer
toquestion no. 45694
Dr. Sulaymaan ibn Waa'ilat-Tuwaijri, a member offaculty at Umm al-Qura
University was asked about a man affected with a contagious disease
(such as measles)– is he obliged to pray inthe mosque with the
congregation?
He replied: One of the excuses that waive the obligation to pray in
congregation and to attend Jumu'ah is sickness, if recovery from this
sickness will bedelayed or if it will be made worse. That also
includes contagious diseases, the harm of which may be passed to
others. In this case the individual is excused and is not obliged to
pray in congregation because of his sickness and because of the fear
of contagion, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) forbade the one who has eaten garlic or onions to come to
the mosque lest the people be bothered by his smell, and this one
(i.e. the one who is sick) is obviously more bothersome than one who
has eaten something that has an offensive smell. And Allah knows best.
May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon
his family and companions.

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