STILL ALIVE! – Oct. 6, 2023 – In fairness, this couldn’t have come as news. It was, he says, the fourth time in recent years he had been taken to hospital in an ambulance, suffering from breathing difficulties: the most recent had occurred a mere two weeks prior to his meeting with the doctors. On each previous occasion, a doctor had presented him with the same ultimatum, which Stone had declined to believe, discharging himself from the hospital against their orders, going home and calling one of his many dealers, even if it took him an hour to struggle from…
Author: Leonard Buschel
…WHEN WE WERE WRONG… – Oct. 5, 2023 – Character defects such as impatience, irritability, avoidance, blaming, etc., are never fully abolished, especially when we are “hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.” Humans always have room for improvement, which is why people in recovery have the humility to strive for “progress, not perfection.” Life is messy and amends are naturally needed from time to time. Let’s compare how a person with alcohol use disorder and a person working the tenth step respond to treating someone with unwarranted irritability to illustrate changes that occur in recovery. To begin, a person with alcohol…
“There are degrees of happiness. You go from one to the other and then back again. It’s hard to be completely happy when those around us are suffering and groaning from hunger…” – Bob Dylan
VIDEO – REWIRED THIS! – Sept. 18, 2023 – “It’s surprisingly hard to think of nothing at all”, is one of my first thoughts as I’m lying in the maw of a machine that is scanning my brain. I was told to focus on a black cross while the functional Magnetic Resonance Imagine (fMRI) machine does its noisy work. It also feels impossible to keep my eyes open. The hum of the scanner is somewhat hypnotic, and I worry a little bit that drifting off will affect how my brain appears on the resulting images. As a science journalist I’ve…
PHOTO ESSAY – Sept. 25, 2023 – Despite his heavy drug use and history of physical illness, he was able to survive on his body partly thanks to Denmark’s healthcare system, which provides several services to people with addiction. In 2012, the country introduced five drug consumption rooms, specialised clinics where people can receive injections safely and under medical supervision. A 2016 evaluation of the programme found that patients were “predominantly satisfied with the facilities” and “experienced a sense of social acceptance while inside”. Pedersen was a patient of one of these clinics. Everyday, the nurses gave him two…
CRIMES OF GREED – Sept. 18, 2023 – Officials assert the schemes may have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, while sparking wide-reaching fraud investigations, dozens of indictments, and an overhaul of billing practices by Arizona’s Medicaid agency for crucial mental health and addiction treatment services. Officials say the scheme has disproportionately affected Native Americans, with many left hundreds of miles from their families who remain back on reservations in northern Arizona, New Mexico and as far as Montana. Navajo Nation leaders declared a public health emergency and created a task force to scour the sweltering streets of Phoenix…
AUDIO – TRAVESTY – Sept. 15, 2023 – For months, fraudulent sober living homes have been targeting tribal reservations across the western U.S., including the Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache Tribe, coercing vulnerable people into coming to facilities in Phoenix. The group homes then billed Arizona’s Medicaid program for treatments that were often never provided, while leaving those in their care in unsafe environments. After he disappeared, Jones says she only sporadically heard from Andrew, who is originally from Blanding, Utah. “I called (the) Shiprock police station,” she says. “And they said, ‘Okay, we have found the address of…
GOOD NEWS (IS HARD TO FIND) – Sept. 15, 2023 – That is the good news, to be taken with a more sobering projection that Arlington County is not seeing a similar decline in fatal overdoses. As of this time last year, Siqveland says Arlington had the same number of fatal overdoses as it does now: 15. Arlington County has been significantly affected by the opioid epidemic wreaking havoc on the country and the region, where the Inova health system estimates some 32% of adults have a family member or friend with an addiction. In response, the county has joined…
YOU HAVE MONEY ALREADY – Sept. 29, 2023 – Flexibility An effective counselor possesses the ability to adapt their worldview and has a profound comprehension of multicultural issues within therapeutic settings. Each client brings their unique background, experiences, and level of involvement in the therapeutic relationship, thus the capability to switch perspectives based on each client is a crucial skill that needs to be honed early. Yet, an additional important aspect of flexibility is recognizing when a counselor and their client may not be compatible. The ability to express when things are off track, and then propose to refer the…
ON THE ROAD…TO RECOVERY – Sept. 15, 2023 – When asked why Addiction Treatment Services opted to add mobile unit services outside of the main hub in Traverse City, she said “it’s needed.” “People struggle with wanting to be sober but not being able to access the resources, like get up to Traverse City even once a month. They might not have the financial means to do that — whether it be gas or whatever it is,” she said. “Bringing the strategic plan for the mobile unit was like putting our clinic on wheels so we could get out…
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? – Sept. 22, 2023 – If the wine bottle wasn’t cheap compared to the other gifts Cabrera received, the gesture seemed odd considering he’s a recovering alcoholic. Cabrera, being his joking self, playfully acted like he was drinking from the wine bottle he was given by A’s manager Mark Kotsay. He saluted the crowd, raising the bottle of wine, and went back to his dugout. Social media users had a field day. “Um, aside from it being a cheap gift to a retiring player, Miguel Cabrera is a recovering alcoholic and spent months in a treatment…
VIDEO – TELLING IT LIKE IT IS and WAS – Sept. 29, 2023 – Mountain Comprehensive Care hosted its second ‘Recovery Rally’ with community partners. The rally gives those battling addiction access to resources and a chance to hear stories of recovery. “When I was in treatment, I used to watch powerful speakers come in and that’s what gave me hope, and I seen if I could do it, it was possible for me as well,” said Jessica Renner with Lake Cumberland Recovery. One of the ways organizations reach people is through sharing stories and leaving the microphone open…
IT’S COMPLICATED – Sept. 25, 2023 – One limitation to the study is because the data came from previous studies and the findings are correlative, the authors could not conclude causation. Stubbs also noted there are many ways to look at brain imaging, which makes looking at the data more complicated. Fox said that despite the extensive data points, narrowing down a specific circuit fills in a gap from previous studies done in the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, bringing targeted neurostimulation to treat addiction, like transcranial magnetic stimulation, closer to patients in a clinical setting. “This study connects…
THE OPPOSITE? – Sept. 28, 2023 – Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment isn’t popular at the moment. Measure 110, the citizen initiative that removed serious legal penalties for all illicit drug possession and directed millions of dollars of state resources toward harm-reduction and treatment programs, has been painted by local and national media as insufficient at best and destructive at worst since its implementation in 2021. News stories this summer portrayed Portland as afflicted by rising opioid overdose rates and suggested that Measure 110 played a role in their increase. Though 58% of Oregonians voted for the legislation in 2020, in…
VIDEO – FRIENDLY HOUSE – Sept. 29, 2023 – September is ‘National Recovery Month’ so California Live’s Lawrence Zarian visits L.A.’s ‘Friendly House,’ a recovery facility helping women treat substance & alcohol abuse since 1951. WATCH@NBCLosAngeles
AS IT SHOULD BE – Sept. 27, 2023 – I certainly didn’t make things easy for my parents. By the time adolescence struck, my status as a difficult child was well-established. I rebelled at every turn. In time, I ran away from home and lived in Long Beach for a year and half, at which point I got picked up and placed in a correctional school for girls. Even at the correctional school I found the ways and means to drink — we made our own hooch. Eventually, I returned home and went to high school, where I promptly…
VIDEO – SHE DIDN’T HAVE TO CRASH – Sept. 28, 2023 – “Brittany was just a very loving person,” Jenny Hallett said. “She was a straight-A student her entire life, and that was due to her own drive.” Jenny Hallett’s daughter came to live with her after she split up with her boyfriend and tried to get back on her feet. It didn’t take long for her mom to realize there was a bigger problem. “My son called me at work one day and said that she was talking to people that weren’t in the room,” Jenny Hallett recalled.…
TOGETHER MAGIC CAN HAPPEN – Sept. 28, 2023 – The Community Paramedicine Program has been a stepping stone to recovery by providing counseling and services to families battling addiction, connecting patients to needed resources and administering Narcan, which can prevent deaths from opioid overdose. Tthe success of the Paramedicine Program has depended on its relationship with like-minded, altruistic charities in Clay, many of whom were in attendance at the event last weekend. One charities was the Oxford House, an international network of democratically-ran, self-sustaining recovery homes. Members pay their share of rent and bills, vote on house rules attend…
VIDEO – OUT OF HERE – Sept. 28, 2023 – TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A judge has weighed in on the struggle for sober living residents to stay at a Southside hotel and apartment complex, which isn’t good for them. Ocotillo management says it received an order from a city magistrate to shut down. Its letter to those remaining at the complex says that Magistrate Honorable Thaddeus Seamon sent an order Wednesday, September 26, that Ocotillo Apartments and Hotel immediately cease and desist operating as a hotel or apartment building. All guests must vacate within ten days of…
VIDEO – GROWING UP – Sept. 28, 2023 – Now he’s honouring the work he’s done for the past couple of years in getting to a healthy place mentally and physically. On 26 September, the 45-year-old music icon took to Instagram to share his achievement. “Today is a very special day for me,” he said in the video. “And it’s been one hell of a journey. A lot of bumps in the road, a lot of highs, a lot of lows. But today is two years sober for me.” McLean expressed immeasurable gratitude for his sponsors and supporters who’ve motivated…
I DO, I DON’T, I WILL, I WON’T – Sept. 22, 2023 – I’m now 49 years of age, and after 22 years of psychoanalysis that is still ongoing, 13 years of which I was heavily medicated on psychotropics, I am now medication free and am learning how to live and work with my personality “disorder” in a reflective, insightful and productive way. I no longer self-destruct through alcohol, pills, food, compulsive spending, or risky sexual behaviors. It is entirely possible to live and thrive as a “borderline personality” in this world. My first psychotherapist diagnosed me with borderline personality…
WITH JUDGMENT-FREE COMPASSION – Sept. 28, 2023 – “Overdose has touched so many Maryland families, including my own,” said Lt. Gov. Miller. “We need to create a seat at the table for everyone as we continue to identify ways to reach those who need support. Whether it’s state government, community organizations, local partners, or individuals, we all have a role to play in combating the overdose crisis and saving lives – and we can all start by carrying naloxone and recognizing the signs of an overdose.” Lt. Gov. Miller currently chairs Maryland’s Inter-Agency Heroin and Opioid Coordinating Council, which…
VIDEO – WILL IT WORK? – Sept. 19, 2023 – Primary elements of the strategy include: Reducing the international supply of illicit opioids, reducing the supply of opioids in the United States, attacking the enablers of the drug trafficking organizations and working with the private sector to better stop drugs from getting into the United States. HSI hopes to specifically work with international partners to curb drugs being brought into the United States, according to the report. Due to HSI’s robust international presence, they can do that. Domestically, they will increase the number of HSI task forces designed to…
SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL – Sept. 27, 2023 – Interestingly, Davidson has been on tour since the beginning of the month, sharing the stage with comedy icons Jon Stewart and John Mulaney. During his ongoing stand-up gig, the 29-year-old comic openly discusses his recent stint in rehab, revealing that it marks his seventh visit. Notably, a reporter from The Sun who attended one of his tour dates earlier this month noted that in addition to discussing rehab, Davidson also talks about his experiences with marijuana, mushrooms, acid, and ketamine. According to one of Davidson’s friends, “Pete regularly goes to…
CHAMP CHANGE – Sept. 19, 2023 – Mickelson has been relatively quiet since Walters’s comments became public. Mickelson returns to competition this week with Saudi-backed LIV Golf outside Chicago. Walters said he formed a gambling partnership with Mickelson in 2008 that lasted until 2014. Two years later, Walters was indicted in an insider trading case that partly involved stock tips that prosecutors alleged he passed to Mickelson. Walters says he never gave Mickelson inside information and could have avoided prison if Mickelson had testified on his behalf. Mickelson appears to reference Walters in his post. “If you ever cross…
21 A VERY SPECIAL NUMBER – Sept. 29, 2023 – Asked if this is a song that he has had since 2002 and is just now getting it out there now, Richard said: “No. I put myself in my shoes back in the day when we were writing lyrics. I was writing lyrics with, Sam Tinnesz and Mark Jackson and Ian Scott, the other songwriters on the record. And we were just talking about like how bleak it is when you’re an alcoholic and how hard it is. Most people die from this disease — 95% of us die…
VIDEO – THE ULTIMATE BOTTOM – Sept. 28, 2023 – New research from the University of Calgary shows that people addicted to marijuana are more likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes or other cardiovascular episodes compared to those without cannabis use disorder. The study, published Wednesday in Addiction, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, found that adults who misuse cannabis have a 60% higher risk of experiencing their first heart attack, stroke, or other major cardiovascular event. “Our study doesn’t provide enough information to say that cannabis use disorder causes adverse cardiovascular disease events, but we can go so far as…
IS TRUMP NEXT? – Sept. 29, 2023 – Tesla founder Musk, 52, had a conversation on X Spaces with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, 39, on Thursday in which they discussed Brand. Musk gave his two cents, saying that there needs to be a “conviction.” “It can’t be guilty until proven innocent. Because obviously we’re just sort of in the witch burning phase here; just being declared a witch is enough to make you a witch and be burnt,” the father of 11 explained. The billionaire added that “anyone could be accused at any time of false charges, and we…
CHAMPION PILL PUSHER – Sept. 24, 2023 – Winfield-Gates allegedly filled large volumes of cookie-cutter prescriptions for the opioids hydrocodone 10-325 mg and oxycodone 30 mg and for carisoprodol, alprazolam and promethazine with codeine, often in combination, knowing these controlled substances were likely to be diverted or abused. The jury convicted Winfield-Gates Wednesday of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances. She is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11, 2024. At that time, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, the DOJ said.Investigators said Winfield-Gates was the last remaining defendant charged in…
BE A HERO – Sept. 28, 2023 – We spoke with Lisa Hendy, a canyon district ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, where she oversees all of the park’s backcountry rangers and river patrol (she was formerly the first woman chief ranger of the Great Smoky Mountains). We interviewed Tom Gill, a lifeguard with 30 years of experience and vice president of the United States Lifesaving Association. We also spoke with Dr. Matthew Levy, deputy director of operational medicine and EMS and associate professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. READ@NYTimes