VIDEO – WE CAN ALL HEAL – Aug. 9, 2024 – When asked why he drank, Randall listed a couple of reasons. On bad days, he drank to relieve his stress and frustration. On good days, he drank to celebrate. It wasn’t until he started feeling more and more depressed toward the end of the day that he asked himself, “Do I want to live the rest of my life like this?” The answer was no. He didn’t want to keep this going. That’s when he checked into an intensive outpatient program at the University of Utah, now known…
Author: Leonard Buschel
VIDEO – ARTICULATE ADDICT – July 31, 2024 – Trish Barasa does not reflect the typical life of an addict. She is a parent of two children and has a master’s degree. But beyond the surface, she has struggled with addiction to painkillers. Barasa, who is now clean, shared her struggles with addiction, her agonizing and emotional account reflecting on her journey to recovery as she battled chronic pain and painkiller addiction. CONTINUE@YouTube
BIG MISTAKE – Aug. 8, 2024 – A man who made his living investigating crimes is now going to prison for committing them,Alex Kassem was a “criminal in disguise” who hid money in his bulletproof vest and drugs in his evidence bag while using his marked vehicle to bring them to Texas. In February, a jury convicted Kassem of trafficking heroin and laundering cartel drug money while working as an investigator for the Waller County District Attorney’s Office. “Alex Kassem was a criminal in disguise,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams said after the trial. “He cloaked…
ENJOYING THE GOOD LIFE – Aug. 4, 2024 – On Saturday (August 3),the 46-year-old musician took to his social media to share a quote from Thomas Edison, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time”, and he included the following message: “7 years today, no drugs no booze. Former THREE DAYS GRACE and current SAINT ASONIA frontman Adam Gontier is celebrating the seventh anniversary of his getting sober. A little over two years ago, Gontier spoke to the Razor 94.7 and 104.7 radio station about the…
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON – Aug. 2, 2024 – Rob Lowe has talked about his experience working with his son, John Owen Lowe, on their Netflix series Unstable. During an appearance on The View, the Hollywood star joked that his son ‘could have worked at Jamba Juice’ instead of pursuing an acting career. John Owen studied science technology at Stanford University, a fact that’s reflected in the series, which takes place in a biotech lab. I thought he was going to come out of there [Stanford] and like cure cancer and work in a lab! No, no! Ana Navarro…
UNLIKELY HERO – Aug. 4, 2024 – Downey Jr has been clean since 2003 and lives in Malibu with his second wife, Susan Levin, and their two children. They share their pastoral estate with alpacas, pygmy goats, horses and other farmyard animals, a million miles from Downey Jr’s former hell-raiser days. The actor spent a year in prison and his father gave him cannabis aged six. So how did he end up rescuing the comic book giant’s Hollywood empire, not once but twice? Robert Downey Jr was once considered a lost cause during a drug-fuelled period in the 1990s…
VIDEO – GREAT INTERVIEW – Aug. 9, 2024 – Olympic wrestling is underway in Paris. Angle took home the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. As Angle constantly reminded fans during his WWE interviews, he won with a “broken freakin’ neck.” “It’s the granddaddy of them all. I mean, if you’re going to win anything, the most difficult tournament to win is the Olympics, in wrestling or any other sport. “I didn’t let the good times soak in — the opening ceremonies, staying in the Olympic Village. I was on assignment. I was…
VIDEO – DOING GOD’S WORK – Aug. 8, 2024 – Freedom Lighthouse has operated a thrift store near their container home site and addiction recovery center for nearly two years. CONTINUE@WLOX
THE SOBER LIGHT ON THE HILL – Aug. 8, 2024 – “I will prove with time and actions that I will work hard to fulfill my commitment to be a good husband and father,” he said. When he completes his jobs at hand, his wife will accompany him to the US to seek treatment at a rehabilitation centre.“I’m already in my 50s, I need to think clearly about how to face myself before facing everyone else. I hope to come back as a better person.” CONTINUE@8Days
VIDEO – STRANGER THINGS! – July 2024 – Jamie Campbell Bower in this clip talks about being open about his past struggles and needing people. He talks about his sobriety and how talking about it helped. CONTINUE@YouTube
VIDEO – AND SO CAN YOU – Aug. 8, 2024 – It’s 84 degrees, and 27-year-old Brody Williams is running in pants. But he’s not here to make a fashion statement, he feels lucky to be alive. “So it started for me when I was probably about 12 years old … My dad was never really in my life a whole lot,” Brody said. “We started doing drugs together, which, you know, was kind of nice. Because at some point I was like, ‘Hey, I’m finally getting my father’s attention and affection.’” Deep down, Brody knew it wasn’t the…
ARE YOU ENJOYING POISON? – Aug. 9, 2024 – Erythritol and other artificial sweeteners are common replacements for table sugar in low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, and “keto” products. “This research raises some concerns that a standard serving of an erythritol-sweetened food or beverage may acutely stimulate a direct clot-forming effect.” Erythritol is classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority as a GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”) ingredient, allowing its use without restriction in food products. This is primarily because it is a sugar alcohol found naturally in fruits and vegetables and a byproduct of…
ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE? – Aug. 8, 2024 – Andy Rayburn made history Tuesday, as did the customers at his marijuana dispensary on the first day of recreational cannabis sales in Ohio. At Amplify in Cleveland Heights, he stood outside and greeted customers while basking in the novelty of the day. The day was the culmination of nine months of Ohioans waiting to buy marijuana legally. Fifty-seven percent of voters passed an initiated statute last November that allows adults aged 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of flower and 15 grams (which is…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – Oct 23, 2009 – (344,852,895 views) Lyrics: Memories consume, like opening the woundI’m picking me apart again You all assume I’m safe here in my room Unless I try to start again I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose ‘Cause inside, I realize that I’m the one confused I don’t know what’s worth fighting for or why I have to scream I don’t know why I instigate and say what I don’t mean I don’t know how I got this way, I know it’s not alright So, I’m breaking the…
TRIBUTE VIDEO – DEAD CAN DANCE – July1973 – This wonderful performance from July 1973 appears on the Live at the Keystone albums, but with one big difference. This one does not have the David Grisman mandolin overdub. While I love David’s work, Jerry’s “hidden” guitar work on Positively 4th Street is too gorgeous to not share. Check it out. You’ll love it, I’m sure. CONTINUE @YouTube
AUDIO – POWERFUL WOMAN – Aug. 8, 2024 – Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening. At my Sixth Annual Opioid Summit in Auburn, I gave an update on my Administration’s actions to prevent drug use and help people suffering from substance use disorder recover. I told them how last year, drug overdose deaths declined by 16 percent in Maine, the first time in five years of an annual decrease. My Administration is doing all we can, reasonably and responsibly, to stop drugs from reaching Maine; to prevent substance use disorder at an early age;…
VIDEO – TALKING AND WALKING THE TALK – Aug. 8, 2024 – Rachael Keegan says childhood trauma led her to addiction. And along the way, she says she abused every kind of drug, from opioids to meth. “At a certain point, it turned into, I just threw all these substances in me trying to take myself out. Like I honestly didn’t care if I died,” Keegan said. Keegan says her worst moment is what finally led her to get clean. “I burned my life completely to the ground. I ended up in a rock bottom moment where it was…
VIDEO – HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? – Aug. 8, 2024 – Shut down amidst a fraud probe, Evergreen Recovery’s closure leaves vulnerable clients in unsafe conditions. CONTINUE@YouTube
AUDIO – VERY IMPORTANT – Aug. 8, 2024 – This approach of broadening access has worked elsewhere. In the ’80s and ’90s, France pushed this treatment to address its heroin crisis and saw overdose deaths drop by 79 percent in four years. The U.S. effort has fallen flat. By the end of 2023, the total number of patients on this livesaving medication hardly changed. Why? This episode is the first in a new three-part miniseries from Radio Atlantic—Scripts—about the pills we take for our brains and the stories we tell ourselves about them. Listen to the story here… CONTINUE@TheAtlantic
VIDEO – COMPASSION AND LOVE – Aug. 8, 2024 – The county opened a shelter with more than 20 beds and social and medical services on offer and launched a program to offer addiction treatment to people brought to municipal courts for minor drug charges. “No longer are police officers most concerned with arresting anyone…” The overdose-reversing drug is now stocked at schools, on school buses, and in other public areas. “We have worked very hard to put naloxone into the hands of the people that are on the ground,” she said. The number of naloxone doses administered by…
VIDEO – THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME – Aug. 5, 2024 – Machine Gun Kelly opens up about his incredible journey to sobriety, celebrating one year sober after a challenging rehab stint. In this heartfelt revelation, MGK shares the struggles and triumphs he’s faced along the way, offering a glimpse into his personal battle and inspiring story of recovery. Discover how this transformative experience has impacted his life and career, and hear his message to fans and others struggling with addiction. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more updates on your favorite celebrities! CONTINUE@YouTube
PUTTING SOBRIETY FIRST – Aug. 3, 2024 – Affleck allegedly felt that Lopez’s decision to start a spritz business was “rubbing his face in it” after the Good Will Hunting star worked hard to become sober following stints in rehab. “Ben had to fight to get his life back after overcoming alcohol.”This was one of the things that broke the camel’s back. But Ben saved his sobriety.” It seems very likely that this one issue alone has not led to the rumored divorce, but it it thought to be a major contributing factor. According to a previous report from…
THE NERVE – Aug. 7, 2024 – Purdue Pharma, the company best known for fueling the opioid crisis by misleadingly marketing the infamous painkiller OxyContin, received approval on Wednesday for a new auto-injector device used to reverse opioid overdoses. The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Zurnai also underscores Purdue’s continued effort to play a role in the nationwide response to the opioid crisis. Primarily, amid the overdose epidemic, Purdue is viewed as a national villain. Its questionable marketing tactics for OxyContin, in particular, are blamed for turbocharging, beginning in the late 1990s, a wave of opioid addiction. The…
BETTER THAN ANTABUSE – Aug. 8, 2024 – Prof Celia Morgan, who is leading the trial, said the initial stages had found participants stayed away from alcohol for longer. She said: “We think that ketamine helps to catalyse the psychological therapy, partly because of the unique subjective effects that you get from the drug. People find themselves having these quite weird experiences, often having out-of-body experiences, so they look at life from a different perspective, and that is very useful.” One participant, Alex, said it had helped him stay sober following 20 years of daily drinking. He said: “I…
NUDE IS ALWAYS BETTER – Aug. 9, 2024 – According to the Sleep Foundation, sleeping in the buff can ‘improve health, partner intimacy, anxiety, and self-esteem’ as well as helping ‘your core temperature cool faster and lead to better sleep’. Dr David Rosen, a sleep medicine specialist, said: “Keeping cool at night is a simple way to improve sleep quality. For those who prefer to sleep with a thick and warm comforter, sleeping naked is a good way to counterbalance that extra warmth.” I mean, if it’s going to help you sleep better and feel better then why not?…
PROFESSIONAL BULLSH*T? – Aug. 2024 – To help patients and their loved ones find the most suitable places to begin their recoveries, Newsweek partnered with Statista for the fifth edition of America’s Best Addiction Treatment Centers. The ranking awards 400 inpatient, long-term and residential addiction treatment centers in the 25 states where these facilities are most numerous. For the first time, this year’s installment includes four regional lists to cover the states that were not surveyed individually. Each center was assessed across three criteria: accreditation data provided by SAMHSA, reputation surveys from medical professionals and administrators in the field…
“We are not great powers. But we are light. Nobody can put us out.” – Ursula K. Le Guin, 1929–2018
BAD DOCTOR – July 25, 2024 – Federal officials reported that 32-year-old Jasmine McGregor and 35-year-old Jhenelle Lewis of Paterson admitted to conspiring with Dr. Lisa Ferraro to illegally prescribe oxycodone pills.McGregor and Lewis both confessed to knowingly and intentionally conspiring with Ferraro to distribute controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice. The doctor wrote prescriptions for 90 pills of 30mg oxycodone each, which were then split between Ferraro, a recruiter of fake patients, and the fake patients themselves. One of these so-called patients had been in jail for nearly two years yet received over 5,300 pills…
ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? – July 30, 2024 – I know what you’re thinking. These days it feels like everything is an “addiction”: video games, plastic surgery, tattooing, pornography, piercing … and now drama? Come on. I’m with you; it sounds farfetched. But unfortunately, you can be addicted to drama. It’s not as uncommon as you think. We’ve all heard the term “drama queen,” but psychologists call this maladaptive personality trait “NFD” (Need For Drama). It’s also known colloquially as being a “drama addict.” My boyfriend and one of my best friends called me out for creating unnecessary…
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT – July 27, 2024 – Young people are increasingly choosing not to drink alcohol, according to the latest statistics. But what about when it comes to festivals, which are usually synonymous with drinking? They are also hosting Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at the festival in Henham Park. Best friends Megan and Charlotte are having a great time at the festival while sober. Megan is “an addict in recovery” and has not drunk for two years. She now only socialises with people who are of a similar mindset. “There is definitely a sober movement, and there’s not…