MY OLD KENTUCKY OM – March 13, 2024 – Kentucky’s new attorney general, Russell Coleman, has urged a commission tasked with fighting drug abuse to “step back” from a proposal to invest in a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment for opioid addiction. Kentucky had 2,135 overdose deaths in 2022, down more than 5% from the prior year and the first statewide decline since 2018. The increased prevalence of fentanyl — a powerful synthetic opioid — is blamed by officials as a key factor behind the state’s high death toll. Potent, inexpensive methamphetamine is seen as another significant contributor.…
Author: Leonard Buschel
GREED and VICIOUSNESS – March 14, 2024 – It seemed an unlikely spot for a showdown between Chinese gangsters: a marijuana farm on the prairie in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. On a Sunday evening in late November 2022, a blue Toyota Corolla sped down a dirt-and-gravel road in the twilight, passing hay meadows and columns of giant wind turbines spinning on the horizon. The Corolla braked and turned, headlights sweeping across prairie grass, and entered the driveway of a 10-acre compound filled with circular huts and row after row of greenhouses. Past a ranch house, the sedan stopped outside a…
LIKE OUR RIVERS AND STREAMS? – March 9, 2024 – ”It’s extraordinary,” cardiologist Eric Topol, “I’m a cardiologist for three decades plus and I never envisioned we’d have microplastic in our arteries and its presence would accelerate arteriosclerosis.” From remote regions of Antarctica and layers of sediment untouched by humans to human hearts and even newborn human babies, microplastics are everywhere. READ@Futurism
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.” – Anne Lamott
VIDEO – YELLOW BRICK CLOUD – March 5, 2024 – Cridland said he nearly drank himself to death, but he was inspired by Sir Elton John’s sobriety to do the same. And when the pandemic lockdown came, and he was tempted to return to alcohol, Cridland said Elton John’s music encouraged him to learn how to play the piano and perform in public. Four years later, he is touring the country and performing Elton John’s song in “Tom’s Elton Tribute U.S. Tour.” The tour includes stops in Bradenton, Lakeland and Tampa. You can learn more about the tour here. …
VIDEO – WAR ON DRUG ADDICTS BACK ON – March 3, 2024 – “About four Oregonians a day are dying because of overdoses,” state Sen. Tim Knopp, a Republican and minority leader in the upper chamber, said” on Sunday. “The voters of Oregon were sold a bill of goods through an initiative that was on the ballot, and it decriminalized all hard drugs – fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine,” he said. “Instead of treatment that the voters thought they were going to get for their family and friends who are on drugs and addicted, they ended up getting unbridled drug…
MAKING A DIFFERENCE – March 6, 2024 – Over the next five years, one recovery program in Indianapolis will be getting $5 million, thanks to a donation from a Hoosier philanthropist. Community Health Network announced that Julie Wood – of the Tom & Julie Wood Family Foundation – will be donating to benefit the Community Fairbanks Recovery Center’s Recovery Housing program. This program helps people suffering from addiction, in part by providing access to “safe and sober” apartments. Participants can stay in furnished apartments while getting individualized care and connecting with others in the recovery process. Other benefits of the…
VIDEO – ALL IN THE FAMILY – March 11, 2024 – The 58-year-old took home the title of Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer – and was delighted as he took to the stage. Standing at the podium, with trophy in hand, Downey Jr joked: ‘I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy – in that order.’ March 11, 2024 – The 58-year-old took home the title of Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer – and was delighted as he took to the stage. Standing at the podium,…
FAITH, HOPE AND HIGHER POWER – March 2024 – I’ll admit that the first Al-Anon meeting I attended triggered me. I was irritated by words like loved ones, sponsor, and qualifier. But most of all, the talk of a Higher Power stirred in me a childhood question about who my God was. I was yet to understand why recovery calls on us to be spiritual. I chose to attend Al-Anon meetings to better understand how addiction took hold of my relationship with the man I loved. Addiction clutched him to the point of disfiguring both our souls. We acted in…
SUPREME STAMINA – March 6, 2024 – Georgia Sloan lived half her life in trauma and abuse when she started using drugs. Her mother was addicted. Her father was murdered when she was a child, and her stepfather was abusive. Drug overdoses took away her husband and brother, and while she was in jail her infant daughter died in an accident. Then at age 31 she stopped, setting her on a course for a new life. She got into treatment through Crossroads Ministries and started working at bath products company Musee in Madison County, passing weekly drug tests. In December,…
VIDEO – WRITING IT DOWN – Feb. 28, 2024 – While Chapman was flying high at the NBA level with athleticism and his distinct style of play, he sustained a variety of injuries. He sustained 10 injuries, seven of which required surgery. As a result, Chapman was prescribed Vicodin and then began the downward spiral of his playing career and in some instances, his life. Sitting down in a chair at the Changing Hands Bookstore, Rex Chapman gazed through a near-filled audience who were on hand to support his first book, “It’s Hard for Me to Live with Me:…
GOOD GRADES WITHOUT GIN – Feb. 29, 2023 – There’s enormous pressure at college to drink and not everybody wants to feel that pressure. Substance-free dorms are a tool that can help support and build healthy habits on campus and they’re increasing in popularity among students. At Tufts University in Medford, two student residences are substance-free. Simpson House was renovated in 2023, thanks to a gift from actor and Tufts alum Hank Azaria. The house is named after the animated series he’s worked on for the past 35 five years, The Simpsons. Azaria started his recovery in AA and…
VIDEO ONLY – TIPPING IS ALLOWED – March 6, 2024 – Tony Kent is the lead bartender at Immigrant Son Brewery has been sober for 7 years, and is supporting others through his work with the Cleveland chapter of Ben’s Friends. WATCH@WKYC
VIDEO – KICKING IS THE GOAL – March 6, 2024 – He revealed that he recently attended an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting. Gascoigne said on the High Performance podcast: “If I want to make it a bad day, I’ll go in the pub … I used to be a happy drunk: I ain’t any more, I’m a sad drunk … I don’t go out and drink, I’ll drink indoors.” Paul Gascoigne says he is a ‘sad drunk’ and lives in his agent’s spare room. WATCH@TheGuardian
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME… – March 6, 2024 – A “vast majority” of liver transplant centers use stigmatizing language, such as “alcoholic” or “alcohol abuse,” when describing patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease on their websites “Our team embarked on this investigation driven by both professional observations and personal experiences in the field of liver transplantation, particularly at a time when alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) has become the leading indication for liver transplants,” Wei Zhang, MD, PhD. Zhang continued: “The use of biased terms by health care providers, sometimes unconsciously, can significantly disadvantage these…
ZIP IT – March 5, 2024 – “Our Sex Addiction Treatment Program is rooted in compassion, understanding, and a commitment to holistic healing,” stated Joni Ogle, CEO of The Heights Treatment Center. “We believe that every individual struggling with sex addiction deserves the opportunity to reclaim their lives, rebuild healthy relationships, and cultivate a sense of empowerment and fulfillment.” Sex addiction, also known as compulsive sexual behavior disorder, is a complex and challenging condition characterized by an inability to control sexual impulses, leading to negative consequences in various areas of life. Despite societal misconceptions, sex addiction can have profound…
A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME – March 7, 2024 – More than 200 people representing 37 jurisdictions across the state have participated in one of the seven public meetings facilitated by the Task Force, as momentum and support continues to grow rapidly. That work led to the formation of the California Sober Living and Recovery Task Force. More than 200 people representing 37 jurisdictions across the state have participated in one of the seven public meetings facilitated by the Task Force, as momentum and support continues to grow rapidly. In addition to advocating for legislative reform at the…
VIDEO ONLY – IT’S LEGAL AND CHEAP? – March 5, 2024 – Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in America, and it is also one of the deadliest, with more and more people losing their lives to alcohol-related causes over the last two decades. A new report reveals how the problem has become more acute in recent years. Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins William Brangham to discuss. WATCH@YouTube
IT’S FISHING – March 8, 2024 – Hours wrestling a 200-pound tarpon isn’t everyone’s idea of peace, but it is Jill Sanders. Because when you’re a recovering heroin addict, keeping busy helps. “I don’t have any bad things going on in my life right now, but I want to always reflect on the past and when I do that I get into a dark place and fishing brings me out of it,” Sanders said. “I knew that if I didn’t do something I was going to die,” Sanders said. In 2020 she packed her things and headed for Florida. “I…
VIDEO ONLY – SHE HAS KNOW HOW – March 8, 2024 – The CEO of Nexus Recovery Center is doing her part to empower women on International Women’s Day. WATCH@NBCDFW
NEW ENGLAND TAKEOVER? – Summit BHC has acquired Sobriety Centers of New Hampshire. This marks the private equity-backed substance use disorder provider first move in the New England market. Sobriety Centers of New Hampshire offers detox programs, intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), outpatient programs, residential programs and programs for veterans. The New Hampshire-based provider has two locations and can treat several substance use disorders, including alcohol, opioid, cocaine and other use disorders. Sobriety Centers of New Hampshire is in-network with a number of large providers, including Anthem, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Humana. “We are…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 1969 – “Four Women” a song written by Nina Simone about four different African American women with varying tones of skin ranging from light to dark and how each one represents an African American stereotype in society is the framework for the song. Her vocal career began in 1954 in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, nightclub when the club owner threatened to fire her unless she sang too. The four women who inhabit the song’s four verses are archetypes. One is a caretaker, the next a mixed-race daughter of a white father, the third…
VIDEO – THE SHOW MUST GO ON – March 8, 2024 – Linda, 65, said her sleeping pill usage increased and so did her enjoyment of alcohol, admitting she went from supping a glass a night to a bottle an evening ahead of her 60th birthday. Her battle with alcoholism led to three stints in rehab and clinics until she was diagnosed with a rare allergic reaction to an antidepressant. On Friday’s International Women’s Day edition of Loose Women, Linda thanked the panellists for their support over the years. “You lot, when I had my depression and anxiety and…
VIDEO – PAWS WHEN AGITATED – March 7, 2024 – “I’ve created meaningful friendships. Ozzie is a part of that,” said Abbey Colburn, a client at the Adult and Teen Challenge of Western Wisconsin. Ozzie is in the process of becoming a certified therapy dog, helping members at the Adult and Teen Challenge overcome addiction. “Really, it’s a big comfort for our ladies that their going through whatever issue they are struggling with,” said Kevin Schaler, Executive Director of Adult and Teen Challenge. Studies show that a therapy dog like Ozzie can help people reduce anxiety, improve overall mood, and…
BAN THIS! – March 7, 2024 – A powerful House committee advanced a bill on Thursday that could lead to a nationwide ban against TikTok on all electronic devices, renewing lawmakers’ challenge to one of the world’s most popular social media apps and highlighting unresolved fears that TikTok may pose a Chinese government spying risk. The measure that sailed unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee would prohibit TikTok from US app stores unless the social media platform — used by roughly 170 million Americans — is quickly spun off from its China-linked parent company, ByteDance. If enacted, the…
BY GREED AND POWER TOO! – March 8, 2024 – To sweeten the deal, I-Soon’s chief operating officer, Chen Cheng, suggested arranging the man a drinking and karaoke session with women.“He likes to touch girls,” Chen wrote. Qi Anxin’s HR is a green tea bitch who seduces our young men everywhere and has no morals.” China’s hacking industry rose from the country’s early hacker culture, first appearing in the 1990s as citizens bought computers and went online. I-Soon’s founder and CEO, Wu Haibo, was among them. Wu was a member of China’s first hacktivist group, Green Army — a…
JUST LIKE THE OLYMPICS – March 3, 2024 – . One former official tells Rolling Stone, the White House at that time was “awash in speed.” The anti-anxiety medication Xanax was also a popular, easy-to-get drug during the Trump years, three sources tell us. Neither Xanax nor its generic, alprazolam, is mentioned in the Pentagon report. Knowledgeable sources say that samples of the stimulant were passed around for those contributing lines to major Trump speeches, working late hours on foreign policy initiatives, responding to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, coping with the deluge of media inquiries about that investigation,…
UNLESS YOU SWALLOW IT – March 7, 2024 – Professor David Nutt, director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit at Imperial College London’s division of brain sciences, who researches psychedelics, said in an email that the study results “are very exciting data in what can be a difficult to treat population (anxiety).” While it was not the study’s primary purpose, results did show that MM120 also improved signs of depression, Karlin said. “We saw rapid and robust improvement on depression symptoms in people — depression and anxiety have overlapping disease definitions.” No use of psychotherapy Most research with MDMA and psilocybin has…
DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY – March 7, 2024 – He is one of the most popular and acclaimed actors around, and his tumultuous journey through Hollywood has led to an inspiring story of redemption. Young Robert was exposed to the moviemaking world from childhood. His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a director known for his provocative low-budget films. 1985 was a busy year for Downey. His profile rose as he appeared in Tuff Turf, playing James Spader’s friend, and Weird Science, playing a bully. He also joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, for a single infamous season in…
ELIXIR MY ASS – March 2, 2024 – When Emma first found tianeptine, she had just had her second baby six months earlier and was looking for something to help her lose weight. “I had just started vaping and I went to this gas station where I would get vapes from.” But she bought Neptune’s Fix and Za Za, sold in brightly colored bottles. The small bottles are preferred by struggling addicts who are looking for a safer alternative to street drugs and can be found at corner stores and smoke shops across the country. “There was this new bottle…