PHILLY NEEDS A FEW – June 5, 2024 – The proposal comes from real estate firm CSC, which owns the historic Brutalist student housing complex. The company describes itself as one of the largest landlords in Mexico and has been expanding in the United States in recent years by acquiring large, vacant properties in high-value. ”The largest stand-alone behavioral health company in the U.S.” — mirrors the self-description of Acadia Healthcare. After initially exploring a life science use or student apartments, CSC decided to go in a radically different direction on the parcel just north of The Mason that…
Author: Leonard Buschel
BAD COMBO – June 2, 2024 – “Drunkorexia,” a portmanteau of the words “drunk” and “anorexia,” refers to a worrisome trend that combines alcohol abuse and disordered eating behaviors. Some researchers believe that it may represent a new eating disorder while others find that it cannot be solely classified as either an eating disorder or a substance abuse disorder. Research shows that behaviors associated with drunkorexia include fasting, binge drinking and getting drunk. Although not yet an official medical diagnosis, the term highlights a planned pattern of behavior where individuals restrict their food intake, engage in excessive exercise or…
PHARMAPILLS – May 31, 2024 – For as long as the federal government has worked to support substance use treatment, it has operated on a simple premise: Addiction medicine’s objective is to help people using drugs stop — completely and forever. In public statements, official agency guidance, new regulations, and even in instructions to pharmaceutical companies about how to develop new addiction treatments, “Ideally, you don’t want people to expose themselves to a situation that could lead to overdoses and death,” said Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, casting every instance of illicit fentanyl…
TOXIC PEOPLE – June 6, 2024 – Addiction, anxiety and sex reversal have been reported in species by researchers as a range of substances contaminates ecosystems. From brown trout becoming “addicted” to methamphetamine to European perch losing their fear of predators due to depression medication. Drug exposure is causing significant, unexpected changes to some animals’ behaviour and anatomy. Female starlings dosed with antidepressants such as Prozac at concentrations found in sewage waterways become less attractive to potential mates, with male birds behaving more aggressively and singing less to entice them than undosed counterparts. The contraceptive pill has caused sex…
IT’S NOT? – June 6, 2024 – The concept of food addiction aligns with the neurobiological model of addiction, which illustrates that addictive substances hijack the brain’s reward system, leading to compulsive use and loss of control. Neural responses to highly palatable foods similar to responses to substances like cocaine and heroin. Moreover, individuals with food addiction often exhibit behavioral patterns opens in a new tab or window consistent with addiction, such as tolerance (needing more of the substance to achieve the same reward), withdrawal symptoms (negative emotions or physical symptoms when cutting back), and continued use despite negative…
THE INTERNET IS DANGEROUS? – June 4, 2024 – Romance scams affect thousands of people each year. In 2022 alone, nearly 70,000 individuals in the United States reported falling victim to these scams, resulting in a staggering $1.3 billion in losses, according to the Federal Trade Commission. This represents a 78% increase from 2020. As Dr. Louise Stanger, a renowned expert in the field, points out, “These scams can happen to anyone, regardless of their intelligence or education level. Stanger, the founder of All About Interventions, was part of a think tank in March 2021, “Addressing the Challenge of…
SO MUCH THANKFULNESS – June 5, 2024 – The 58-year-old Virgin Radio presenter was diagnosed with skin cancer in August 2023, and was given the “all-clear” after eight weeks of treatment, undergoing surgery to remove a malignant growth from his leg. “Happy Soberversary to us,” Evans wrote on Instagram under a picture with his wife and professional golfer Natasha Shishmanian. One year alcohol free today. Feels amazing. Year 2 starts tomorrow.” Many of the radio host’s famous friends congratulated the couple on their achievement. “It’s quite a thing isn’t it…to drop the alcohol. I’m finding people’s reactions interesting. Congrats…
CAN BEING ALIVE? – June 2, 2024 – My caffeine-fuelled prickly sweats are noticeably gone. I hate to come over all Mark Zuckerberg so early on in proceedings (although I am available to battle Elon Musk, should anybody call on my services), but I don’t drink caffeine. In fact, I haven’t really drunk caffeine since I got pregnant… Many people – particularly women – I know are venturing into sobriety, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen the same swing towards caffeine-free living. To give up alcohol in this beer-soaked, prosecco-popping, pub-oriented culture is doubtless a radical act and…
ANYTHING CAN HELP – June 6, 2024 – Michael Crowley was among the first cohort of a new program being offered in Plymouth Housing buildings that ties small financial rewards to reducing, or eliminating, substance use. It’s called “contingency management,” an inscrutably dry name for trying the carrot instead of the stick to help people fight their addictions. Seattle City Hall’s interest comes as King County sees a record number of overdose deaths, the majority of which involve both fentanyl and methamphetamine. More than 1,330 people died of overdoses in 2023. So far in 2024, nearly 500 people have…
AN ENDING NO ONE DESERVES – June 3, 2024 – William, 63, killed by fentanyl and found in his ninth-floor unit in February 2023. Richard, 61, discovered in an apartment with multiple drugs in his system two and a half weeks later. David, 68, three days after that, also dead from fentanyl. This was one death, Mr. Robinson said, he couldn’t bear to witness. “I feel like I work at the morgue sometimes, not in an apartment complex.” Over the past six years, as Baltimore has endured one of America’s deadliest drug epidemics, overdoses have fallen surprisingly hard on…
VIDEO – AMERICAN TRAVESTY – May 31, 2024 – “Although large numbers of U.S. adults are bereaved due to overdose, they may not be as visible as other groups who have lost loved ones to less stigmatized health issues. Movements to build support for policy change to overcome the devastating toll of the overdose crisis should consider the role of this community.” A recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that more than 321,000 children in the United States have had parents die from overdoses in just the past decade. Economic costs associated with the opioid…
DYING FOR PROFITS – June 5, 2024 – The drinks include Pink Lemonade, Yellow Lemonade and Yellow Lemonade X, as well as a flavoring product called Cola Flavoring Base. The company does not sell canned drinks directly to customers. The lemonades were recalled because the company did not disclose they contained food dyes Red 40 and Yellow 5. Both of the chemicals contains benzidine, a human and animal carcinogen permitted in low, presumably safe levels in dyes. However, companies must declare if products contain it. According to the FDA, ingestion of free benzidine raises the cancer risk to just…
YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM YOURSELF – June 5, 2024 – A turning point came after a bad episode that prompted some harsh advice from Zoratto’s therapist. “After sharing my story a bit, he told me, ‘Luc, you can’t be drinking again.’ He spoke to me in a way no one had before, and I was very thrown off by that. At first, I still resisted …However, the therapist helped Zoratto open his mind to sobriety by having him join group therapy. Zoratto says he was “shocked” by the members and their stories. “It was a bit of a…
IS THERE A SURGERY OR MEDICATION? – June 4, 2024 – If addiction is a disease, why isn’t everyone in treatment? The origin of addiction is unique for each person, Dr. Bloch says. And both your underlying biology (nature) and your environment and choices (nurture) play a role. In fact, as much as half of addictions seem to be inherited, says Dr. Bloch, which makes the stigma even more confusion. People struggling with addiction often avoid healthy, culturally appropriate behaviors and engage in harmful, dangerous activities to fill their “need,” explains Dr. Bloch. This can include driving while intoxicated.…
EGBDV – June 6, 2024 – This week, the “Old Days” artist was approached by a paparazzo in the Malibu area, per a report from TMZ, and asked about his experience in rehab. Durk was notably candid with his answers, noting that he wants to “embrace” talking openly about getting sober “because it helped me a lot. “It was tough at first but it ain’t that tough because I really knew what I wanted,” Durk said. “I knew what was holding me back. I wanted better. I wanted to be a better man, a better father, a better leader.…
PASSING IT ON – June 6, 2024 – Oden is a sober coach and the East Coast coordinator for the Remote Sober Support Network, a free online program that provides daily virtual meetings for alcohol and drug addicts in recovery.“I had always said to myself that when I retired, I would work with addicts,. “I didn’t begin drinking until I was almost 40,” said Oden, who is now 78. “I was fired from two jobs because I was an alcoholic. They never said they fired me for that—they let me go for non-performance. But the basic reason I couldn’t…
TV WORTH WATCHING – June 3, 2024 – “The Bear” is so harrowing that one of the two best episodes of the season, “Fishes,” covers a past holiday dinner with Carmy and his dysfunctional family, including his brother (Jon Bernthal), five years before his death. Its comic relief is a pre-dinner prayer from guest comedy actor contender John Mulaney. It’s rare to see a TV comedy finding humor in suicide and addiction. The other most impressive episode is “Forks,” which follows Richie (Ebon MossBachrach) as he’s trained at everything — from cleaning forks to working a kitchen — at…
DON’T WE ALL – June 3, 2024 – Miley Cyrus is one heck of a performer—but it doesn’t come without some hard work. In a new interview, the singer opened up about how her health is paramount to her career and she has a few unconventional methods for keeping up such a clean lifestyle. “My mantra is, like any athlete, ‘Practice how you perform,’” she explained. “So that’s why I practice in my heels.” Swapping out her sneakers for stilettos isn’t just about getting stronger, however. Cyrus noted that working out in a cute outfit—which includes Gucci heels for…
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON? – June 9, 2024 – TV director Adam Nimoy has written a memoir, ‘The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy’. “I was going to Alcoholics Anonymous and learning about how to deal with my dad,” Adam said. “He just had so much anger. And I just had a lot of difficulty with him … I had pulled away from him… “The letter was him expressing a lot of frustration and anger with me and about him, his attitude about me,” Adam explained. “It was very devastating for me to get the letter. But…
ONLY 1 STEP NEEDED – June 4, 2024 – Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland report that obese folks with drinking issues who took the drugs to shed pounds had an up to 56% reduction in re-occurrence of alcohol use disorder over one year later, compared to those not using the meds. “This is very promising news in that we may have a new therapeutic method to treat alcohol use disorder,” said lead researcher Rong Xu. She’s a professor of biomedical informatics at the Case Western’s School of Medicine. Prior data has suggested that something about GLP-1…
TAKE THE HIGH ROAD SOBER – June 22, 2023 – Ariana Grande’s brother, Frankie Grande, is celebrating 7 years of sobriety on June 16 and exclusively spoke to Us Weekly about his journey. “My life is completely changed, and the crazy thing about the way that I used to drink and use was that no one really knew how bad it was.” Frankie described himself as “a very high-functioning addict,” which masked his alcoholism from friends and family and made his own denial of his drinking problem easier. By the time the GLAAD board member realized his addiction had…
GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD – June 5, 2024 – The decisions mark a reversal of fortune for MDMA. FDA granted the drug an expedited review process in 2017 based on encouraging early reports about its ability, in combination with talk therapy, to alleviate the PTSD that afflicts millions, including some military veterans. That possibility has been a centerpiece of the recent renaissance of medical research on psychedelic drugs. (MDMA is often termed a psychedelic, though it is less likely to produce some effects, such as visual hallucinations, that are typical for classic psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin.) Ongoing…
NOT IN A GOOD WAY – June 5, 2024 – A new study has possibly captured that objectively, finding that for teens diagnosed with internet addiction, signaling between brain regions important for controlling attention, working memory and more was disrupted. The behavioural addiction brought on by excessive internet use has become a rising source of concern since the last decade. The criteria for clinical diagnosis of internet addiction in the included studies were “one’s persistent preoccupation with the internet, withdrawal symptoms when away from the internet, and sacrificing relationships (for) time to spend on the internet over an extended…
OH MY – June 6, 2024 – The popular sugar substitute xylitol, commonly used by those wanting to lose weight or who are diabetic, is associated with an increased risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack and stroke, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal. Researchers found that those who had suffered a cardiovascular event had high blood levels of xylitol. Researchers also studied xylitol’s effect on clotting using human whole blood and platelets, and found that xylitol caused platelets in the blood to clot. They then tested how fast the blood clots…
VIDEO – THE HAPPIEST TAVERN ON EARTH – June 5, 2024 – Drinking is among the most popular adult activities at Disneyland Park, Downtown Disney, and Disney California Adventure Park. Though the overwhelming cost naturally limits most guests, some ignore the exorbitant price tag or sneak in alcohol to get drunk at Disneyland Resort. Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort have increased alcohol availability at the Disney parks. Though Disneyland Resort isn’t likely to ban alcohol anytime soon, cast members are cracking down on inebriated guests. On Tuesday, Lindsey (@lindseyonthedaily on TikTok) shared this video of security escorting…
KEPT COMING BACK – June 4, 2024 – I think the glimmer of hope was when I started putting in the work and I started to, whether it was work, a program, or talk to my treatment team and build relationships there.” The “Heart Attack” singer reflected on how much her life has changed since focusing on her health, which included five in-patient mental health treatments. “It has something that every single time I walked back into a treatment center, I felt defeated,” Demi explained during a panel at The Center For Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian’s annual benefit…
LEGALIZE EVERYTHING – June 4, 2024 – He dropped a bottle of gin and then sucked the spilled liquid off the floor with a straw. She recently ventured out of the residential program in search of booze and promptly wound up in a hospital with a broken arm she still can’t explain. One fact they’re both clear on: Without the innovative city venture, they would be dead by now. Under MAP, as the initiative is known, up to 20 homeless people with severe alcohol use disorder are housed in a former hotel and given predetermined doses of liquor at…
VIDEO – WHO CAN YOU TRUST? – June 6, 2024 – For the study, the team examined 144 sudden cardiac arrest survivors. Seven patients within this group had consumed one or more energy drinks near to the time that the cardiac event occurred. The study did not prove that drinking energy drinks directly causes cardiac arrest, the scientists warn people—especially those who may be genetically at risk of heart problems—should consume them in moderation. Lead investigator of the study Michael J. Ackerman, a genetic cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, said in a statement: “Although the relative risk is small and…
“He not busy being born is busy dying.” – Bob Dylan, b. 1941
JOGGING MATTERS – May 29, 2024 – When McCoy wasn’t shooting up, he was often tripped out on prescription painkillers, which he leached from his father, who lay in a hospital bed dying from pancreatic cancer. Drugs offered McCoy an escape from his fractured reality; he could numb his emotions as he watched the man he most looked up to fade away. And he could temporarily purge the thought of being a self-described hopeless junkie. McCoy never considered the consequences of his destructive habits until, through a series of trials and tribulations, he entered into sobriety in 2017. In…