NOT EXACTLY VERY CHRISTIAN – Oct. 31, 2023 – The Education Department says 7,547 students enrolled in its doctoral programs from Nov. 1, 2018, to Oct. 19, 2023. The government is fining the school $5,000 for its misrepresentations to each of those students. The letter to Mueller says that in the few instances that Grand Canyon University did disclose that students might have to take additional courses to complete their doctorates, the disclosures were often incomplete or they were buried in fine print or in long documents, and that those rare disclosures did not address its other misrepresentations or explain…
Author: Leonard Buschel
STEPS TO HEALTHINESS – Nov. 3, 2023 – She continued, “Personally, to do this I needed to stop drinking alcohol because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction and quite honestly I was exhausted. I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor. I wanted to live as a leader does and break cycles to advance forward— never looking back with regret and remorse over any choice I have made and would make for the rest of my time here within this beautiful world.” READ@BuzzFeed
BORROW MONEY – Nov. 1, 2023 – The study also found that just one-third of those billions is borne by the government, with the remainder falling on the shoulders of individuals and the private sector. In Ohio, an epicenter of the opioid crisis, the state’s Department of Commerce is taking a one-of-its-kind approach to aiding families financially impacted by addiction, by making sure the people handling their money are educated about it. When surveyed by the department, 45% of Ohio’s financial advisers said they were aware of a client of theirs, or a client’s family member, that was struggling…
VIDEO – MISTAKES MATTER – Oct. 31, 2023 – Lannie Duong, a clinical pharmacist based in California, is one of the key organizers of the protests. She said that, along with sickouts and walkouts, members have discussed protesting at the corporate headquarters of Walgreens and CVS, which are in Deerfield, Illinois, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, respectively. Those protests are scheduled for Wednesday. The protests are that much more notable because the pharmacists don’t have a union and aren’t asking for better pay. They primarily want their employers to hire more staff to alleviate the workload and to eliminate policies…
OPINION: TIME WILL TELL – Nov. 1, 2023 – I can’t stand moral puritans who sniff about free will and justify the deaths of addicts by saying they are “chosen”. Anyone who has known or been a person with substance issues knows that “choice” is a very spurious concept in active addiction. Even if we were to accept that an addict “chooses” to destroy themselves, is bringing about your own ruin not devastating enough to warrant our sympathy? Oscar Wilde said, “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell,” which seems to me a…
“No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.” – Mark Twain, 1835-1910
VIDEO – NUDGE FROM THE JUDGE – Oct. 25, 2023 – McEwen lives in eastern Ohio along the West Virginia border and participates in the Steubenville Municipal Mental Health Court. When she was evaluated by health professionals for the program, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenic symptoms. She says she remembers feelings of anxiety and depression as a teen that were calmed by using drugs. “I started about a month after graduating high school, and it was like a hurricane. Every drug that was around I was consuming,” said McEwen. Over the next five years, she was “overdosing…
VIDEO – THAT’S THE WAY SOBRIETY WORKS – Oct. 22, 2023 – McDaniel had been open about his story in the past. When the Falcons were playing in Super Bowl 51 against the Patriots, he spoke to Tom Pelissero — then with USA TODAY — about his battle and detailed how members of the Atlanta coaching staff, including Dan Quinn, got him the help he needed to get sober. He also explained as a part of that story that he showed up to work on Saturdays “smelling like booze.” And when he was in Cleveland, head coach Mike Pettine…
GIVING BACK – Oct. 25, 2023 – “Hopefully, they can relate and be able to see how he overcame the struggles in his life and can really help motivate them and to inspire them to do things differently,” Robinson High School Counselor Mindy Hancock said. Students spent their class time in the auditorium as Sousa emphasized how drug use and abuse is a completely different ball game now. “There are drugs out there that you think is just a joint or marijuana, but that is laced with Fentanyl and, then, that’s it,” Sousa said to the students. “That’s it.…
WINNING – Oct. 26, 2023 – The 71-year-old Saban explained to party boy Pat that his own partying days were over when he and Miss Terry had kids and they started to get older and looking to him to set an example. Don’t drink,” Saban said. “I used to drink. When we had kids and when my kids were growing up, I decided I didn’t want to set that kind of example for them. I just quit drinking, and probably the best thing I ever did. Never have a hangover. Never feel bad. Just don’t do it.” McAfee, a…
INSANELY SAD – Oct. 24, 2023 – The drug-related death of a Los Angeles model has been ruled accidental after her body was found inside her luxury apartment last month. Nichole Coats, 32, died on Sept. 10 as a result of “cocaine and ethanol toxicity,” according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner. Her body was found by family members when they came to check on her after she failed to return their calls and texts. At the time, the Los Angeles Police Department told PEOPLE her death was not being treated as a homicide. However, Coats’ family was…
VIDEO – BEAUTIFUL VISION – Oct. 25, 2023 – The high school dropout earned her GED and enrolled at Honolulu Community College.“I had a lot of catching up to do and a big hole to climb out of,” she said. McComas did more than go to class and pass her exams. She became the president of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, a student advocate for the Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy, and an award and scholarship recipient. She immersed herself in her studies.“I know that the way to able to make choices and to be able to have an option…
AUDIO – ANN FARABEE – Oct. 18, 2023 – She and I spent much of the next day at the funeral home. Standing by the casket, she cried constantly and uncontrollably. I just sat with my head down, unable to offer encouraging words, like a mother should. For some reason, I glanced up and saw the vase with a single rose that she had sent to the funeral home for him. It had a card attached with the words she had requested, Love U 4-Ever. The word love, however, was replaced with a picture of a heart. I stared…
BUSINESS AS USUAL – Oct. 26, 2023 – Sokari “Momma” Bobmanuel, 63, was sentenced to 14 years in prison following her conviction at trial for conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances. Alantha Stewart, 42, was sentenced to 10 years in prison following her guilty plea to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances. According to court documents, from May 2018 to August 2019, Bobmanuel was the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Cornerstone Rx Pharmacy (Cornerstone), which illegally distributed nearly 160,000 opioid pills, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, often based on prescriptions issued by co-conspirator Jonathan Rosenfield, M.D., and others…
HOLDING HANDS – October 25, 2023 – Historically, dating has been deeply entwined with going out for a drink. But what happens if one of the two dating parties has opted for a life of sobriety? What are the pros and cons of replacing substance use with romance, or what is the effect of infatuation on the brain? Oct. 25, 2023 – The forty-sixth episode (Apple Podcasts link here and Spotify link here) of “Strangers on the Internet” with co-host and psychologist Michelle Lange features California-based social worker and addiction specialist Felicia Hermle. Historically, dating has been deeply entwined with going out for a drink. But what happens if one…
VIDEO – LOVING THE SOBER LIFE – Oct. 24, 2023 – His dreams of being a United States Marine and coming back to Laredo to be a Texas State Trooper came to an end, so, he became a drug dealer. “It was exciting, it was like living in a movie,” said Chavarria. It wasn’t only a rush of selling drugs but also the high he got from consuming opioids. His family became secondary, while his drug addiction was first. Ricardo suffered a heart attack eight years ago and tried to quit drugs three times. It wasn’t until six years ago…
IF YOU BAKE IT, THEY WILL COME – Oct. 2023 – From as far back as I can remember food was difficult. Every time my family ate at a restaurant, it never failed. I barfed after every meal. “Alah, Ag sar sarwa manen.” Translation: She’s throwing up again. It was just expected. I walked to the bathroom, barfed, and returned. And we just carried on.As an adult, food issues took a different turn. Instead of under-eating and being underweight, I swung the other direction. Each year, my clothing size would go up. I’d have to buy new clothes, but I…
FAVORITISM? – Oct. 27, 2023 – We examined more than 200,000 visit records of patients treated for pain, taken from a representative sample of U.S. emergency departments from 1999 to 2020. Although white patients were far more likely to be prescribed opioid medication for their pain, we found no significant differences across race in either the type or severity of patients’ pain. Furthermore, racial disparities in pain medication remained even after we adjusted for any differences in insurance status, patient age, census region or other potentially important factors. Our analysis of prescribing trends spanning over two decades’ worth of…
DANGER IN THE USA – Oct. 25, 2023 – “It is interesting that these products have hidden ingredients that are used to reduce swelling and inflammation,” Tsourounis said. “I don’t know if this was intentional, but it seems suspicious that a product marketed to reduce joint pain and inflammation contains prescription-only ingredients that are used for this purpose.” Certain products also contained antihistamines including cyproheptadine and chlorpheniramine. hese types of products are likely targeted toward underserved and immigrant communities, added Pieter Cohen, MD, a primary care physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who…
MORE – Oct. 24, 2023 – Since the 80s, Goldin has been working hard. Last year, the Laura Poitras-directed documentary about her life, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, was nominated for an Oscar. At the same time, her six-room retrospective, and nine volume box-set, This Will Not End Well, opened at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, which continues to travel internationally. Last Thursday night, in celebration of the posthumous publication of Sketchbook September 1977, Goldin read from the collection of Lankton’s journal entries filled with acute insights on gender and art. Afterwards, I followed her into a quiet office where…
NEFARIOUS MULTI-TASKING – Oct. 21, 2023 – A female NYPD officer who boasted about how much she loved her job was busted this week for allegedly dealing large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl and heroin, while on duty, federal officials said. Grace Rose Baez was arrested along with Cesar Martinez, of Yonkers, and charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of narcotics, U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said. Baez, 37, and Martinez, 42, allegedly tried to sell the narcotics to a federal informant between Oct. 9 and Oct. 29, officials said. READ@NYPost
BEAN THERE DONE THAT – Oct. 27, 2023 – Although caffeine can have a positive impact on focus and energy, consuming too much of it can give way to some unpleasant implications, Kevin Shah, M.D., cardiologist and director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at University of Utah Hospital, tells The Messenger. “People may experience side effects including insomnia, anxiety, palpitations and headaches, among others,” Dr. Shah says. Certain people might be more susceptible to these side effects, Dr. Shah adds. “Some people are more sensitive to side effects, which is usually related to genetics. Otherwise, pregnant women and younger…
THE SADDEST – Oct. 29, 2023 – Mr. Perry’s character, Chandler Bing, was a successful executive known on the show for his witty and sardonic personality. “Friends” has endured decades after it first aired in 1994, gaining popularity among young audiences in recent years. Mr. Perry’s career in television spanned nearly four decades, with his earliest credit in 1979, when he was a young child in an episode of the cop show “240-Robert,” according to IMDb. Mr. Perry had a history of addiction and related medical problems that, by his accounting, led him to spend more than half his…
VIDEO – FOR THE BETTER! – Oct. 26, 2023 – Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said alcohol-free beer was a huge area of growth in the UK, with sales of no and low-alcohol beers more than doubling since 2019. “More pubs than ever before now offer at least one alcohol-free beer,” she said. Alcohol-free drinks at pubs and clubs made Emily Williams’ journey to sobriety more manageable. The 26-year-old gave up two years ago, at the age of 24, and has not looked back. “There are really good options, and it’s so good to…
VIDEO – 5.4.3.2. … NONE – Oct. 22, 2023 – “I began hiding drinking far more than I ever had before. I was hiding bottles of wine around the house, I was drinking at work,” she said. “A bottle of something in the laundry basket or under the bathroom sink became part of life. At this time, no one knew that I was drinking at all.” As the problem got worse, it became harder to hide, and had a bigger impact on her health. “I was also beginning to feel really sick. I had stomach pain—this turned out to be…
VIDEO – TREAT DON’T COMMIT – Oct. 23, 2023 – Branch was arrested last summer on drug possession charges. When she was taken to a police station, she was offered the option to have her charges dropped if she agreed to meet with a drug counselor.That approach is thanks to the city of Chicago’s Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program, an initiative launched in 2018 to offer those arrested for low-level drug offenses a chance to have their charges dropped if they agree to meet with a drug counselor.Thresholds, a substance abuse treatment organization, has counselors embedded in 25 police stations throughout…
“Just like a slot machine!” – Oct. 25, 2023 – Experts who study internet use say that the magnetic allure of social media arises from the way the content plays to our neurological impulses and wiring, such that consumers find it hard to turn away from the incoming stream of information. David Greenfield, a psychologist and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction in West Hartford, Conn., said the devices lure users with some powerful tactics. One is “intermittent reinforcement,” which creates the idea that a user could get a reward at any time. But when the reward…
DO THEY EVEN CARE? – Oct. 22, 2023 – When that option ended on Sept. 30, the two states which used it — South Dakota and Tennessee — steered their Medicaid recipients with substance use disorder toward treatment facilities not subject to the “IMD exclusion,” state officials told POLITICO. The House Energy and Commerce Committee proposes to repeal the 1965 rule in the SUPPORT Act reauthorization bill it approved in July. The bill from the panel’s Health Subcommittee chair, Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), also would prohibit states from disenrolling people from Medicaid when they are incarcerated, so their coverage would automatically…
WHO’S CRIME? – Oct. 23, 2023 – The nation’s largest drugstore chains, Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens, will shutter more than 1,500 stores, leaving millions of Americans without access to healthcare in ‘pharmacy deserts.’ ‘These closures are disproportionately affecting communities that need pharmacies most.’ CVS is set to close the doors on 900 of its stores by the end of 2024, 10 percent of all its shops, as part of their online strategy. The major drugstore chain is coming to the end of a policy launched in 2021 which will see 300 stores closed each year – meaning 900…
THAT’S A TRUE STORY – Oct. 27, 2023 – The article detailed the various techniques that the pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics used to push its highly addictive fentanyl-based painkiller Subsys into the marketplace, including employing an attractive, charismatic staff of motivated sales reps, and recruiting doctors to recommend the drug to other prescribers via its “speaker program.” Ostensibly a marketing tool, the speaker program was actually a front for bribery. Key figures in this story—which Hughes later expanded into the nonfiction book The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup—included Insys founder John Kapoor, sales manager Alec…