DEVIOUS FAMILY EXPOSED – Aug. 18, 2023 – As the most dangerous drug introduced by this institution to the American public was Oxycontin, these combating miniseries tread the history of the overwhelming abuse and chokehold that this devious clan had on innocent people across the United States. Alongside detailed and traumatizing stories that revolve around the retellings of abuse victims, viewers also follow along with public officials who try, with all their might, to stop the overwhelming supply and reach of this debilitating narcotic. Dopesick sprang out of a non-fiction investigative work with the same name that was written…
Author: Leonard Buschel
BOOK REVIEW – Aug. 23, 2023 – Quick Fixes is organized into brief essays, each nominally about a specific drug—alcohol, cocaine, meth—and its social significance. Fong dwells little on the pharmacological effects of these substances, and only some on the experience thereof. Rather, he prosecutes his case that drugs are primarily tools, either of social control or, on occasion, of personal liberation. To his credit, this approach produces an admirable skepticism of drugs. Fong is willing, for example, to skewer the over-prescription of amphetamine for ADHD, despite the fact that many of his Jacobin-subscribing readers are probably on it. He…
END OVERDOSE – August 31 we observe International Overdose Awareness Day, a day to remember those we’ve lost to overdose, acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind, and renew our commitment to end overdose. WATCH@YouTube
VIDEO – JACKPOT OR JACKED? – Aug. 21, 2023 – In 2023, one of the biggest stories journalists across the country will be covering is the millions of dollars being distributed from settlements of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies. These are dollars that city, county, and/or state policymakers will be charged with spending to mitigate the harms of the overdose epidemic in communities big and small. But this story won’t come and go. Over the next 18 years, local journalists will be tasked with covering how the money is spent and holding their community leaders accountable for…
“Come on down!” – Bob Barker, Dec. 12, 1923 – Aug. 26, 2023
TRIAL & ERROR – Aug. 10, 2023 – The research study into the drug was then fully terminated in May 2023 – just weeks before the federal order to shut down all human trials on June 12. According to clinicaltrials.gov, the individual who died by suicide was assigned to the placebo arm of the study – meaning that they weren’t actually receiving the drug. Their identity has not been confirmed, nor did the New York State Psychiatric Institute confirm specifically that the patient died during the trial. It was also not confirmed if the patient who died was previously…
AUDIO – GOT GOOD INSURANCE? – Aug. 9, 2023 – When he first filed the lawsuit July 25, attorney Trevor Crossen said he didn’t realize that Praxis Landmark Recovery was a qualified medical provider under Indiana malpractice law. That means it’s shielded from malpractice claims that exceed $1.5 million in damages. In addition to compensatory damages, this lawsuit seeks punitive damages, which are typically of a larger dollar amount that’s meant to punish the defendant. The complaint now alleges that patients suffered “severe personal injuries” because of unsafe, unsanitary and hazardous conditions. He said he is still hearing from people…
THEIR STILL AT IT – Aug. 11, 2023 – When a bad actor exploits their position for personal gain, they not only shatter our trust, they harm vulnerable patients,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release Friday. Padidar’s alleged activity was uncovered when an employee who had helped with the scheme came forward a month or two after being fired by the doctor in 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed with Santa Clara County Superior Court. The charges against him include obtaining opioids by fraud, issuing prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose, forging and issuing a prescription,…
VIDEO – WITH COURAGE AND MORALS – Aug. 15, 2023 – Quinn had helped Goldin form a grassroots group called P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), which brought attention to the Sacklers’ pivotal role in the deadly opioid epidemic and shamed art institutions worldwide into ending their association with the family. (Goldin became addicted to OxyContin after taking it for tendonitis in 2014.) And when Purdue declared bankruptcy and pushed to limit liability for the family, Quinn formed a creditor’s committee that called itself the Committee on Accountability. “Purdue Pharma, as a corporate entity, pled guilty to two crimes a…
POVERTY? POVERTY OF SPIRIT? – Aug. 11, 2023 – Coco said if there were people around her, people she could spend time with and do activities with, there would be fewer chances for her to continue using. “You know how they have like (big) brothers, sisters? They should have that for adults. There’s a lot of people here who don’t have family, so if they don’t have somebody like that, that won’t actually help people,” Coco said referring to the role caseworkers and support systems currently play. Another woman nearby, Mya, said her addiction began with curiosity. “Fentanyl was…
SHE’S BIG IN INDIA – Aug. 12, 2023 – Mahesh Bhatt’s entry in the family week to meet daughter Pooja was one of the biggest highlights. Among many things they talked about, one of them was his new found respect for Pooja. He praised her for being calm and going out of the way to do household chores. He told her, “You have made me feel proud. I am seeing you as a person here. When a student becomes better than the teacher then in our customs the teacher bows down to the student.” This got them both emotional. Mahesh…
NO LONGER A SACRAMENT – Aug. 14, 2023 – But despite these dangers, the potency of the products currently on the market is largely unregulated. In 1995, the average concentration of THC in cannabis samples seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration was about 4 percent. By 2017, it was 17 percent. And now cannabis manufacturers are extracting THC to make oils; edibles; wax; sugar-size crystals; and glass-like products called shatter that advertise high THC levels in some cases exceeding 95 percent. Meanwhile, the average level of CBD – the nonintoxicating compound from the cannabis plant tied to relief from…
IT’S A DRUG – Aug. 17, 2023 – Whenever attention is paid to these problems, marijuana advocates reflexively swat them away. This is understandable: It took decades to dispel stereotypes about the drug and to persuade the public that adults should be free to choose whether to consume it, as they do with alcohol. Most Americans, it turned out, agreed with them. It’s unreasonable to expect this to change any time soon. But leaders in the cannabis industry would be wise to acknowledge the real harms their products are causing and to embrace regulation for their industry, including to ensure…
COMING CLEAN—NOT GETTING CLEAN – Aug. 14, 2023 – This is common for the thousands of babies born in Australia to mothers who used ice late in their pregnancies, with agonising withdrawal symptoms leading to feeding difficulties. ‘They can have real issues with the coordination of their jaw which means that they can’t suck at the bottle or the breast,’ midwife Elvira Earthstar, of the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Service at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne said. ‘These babies can also present with tremors or jitters. So just a real pronounced shake in their hands.’ The difficulty with…
EVERYONE LOVES DUCK SOUP – Aug. 14, 2023 – While anhedonia may be complex, that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for those who are affected by it. For instance, research shows that talking therapies which focus on reward processing could help reduce anhedonia. A recent pilot study also found that a new type of talk therapy called augmented depression therapy may work better than cognitive behavioural therapy in treating depression. This is because augmented depression therapy specifically targets anhedonia by having patients focus on both their negative and positive experiences. Further, antidepressants that target neurotransmitters involved in the reward system…
OPINION: Ryan Hampton – Aug. 15, 2023 – I’ve been living in recovery from opioid use disorder for eight and a half years, and this might be a weird thing to say about addiction, but I feel lucky—like I dodged a bullet. I was addicted to opioids in Florida throughout the early 2000s, during the heyday of pill mills that flooded the streets with powerful pharmaceuticals like OxyContin. I say I’m lucky because this was just before the drug supply turned into a toxic sludge of potent fentanyl analogues, mysterious tranquilizers, and deadly counterfeit pills. Sometimes I wonder what it…
LIFE: THE BEST DESSERT OF ALL – Aug. 16, 2023 – Kevin Foehrkolb was tending bar on a routine Saturday night last September at Kent House Irish Pub in Towson, Md., when he heard a commotion from the corner booth where a group of regular customers were playing the card game Magic: The Gathering. “They were the type to drink beer, not get rowdy or do shots,” he said. When he ran over, he saw that one man’s face had turned yellow and his eyes had rolled back in his head. He was overdosing. From behind the bar, Mr.…
DIVERSITY MATTERS – Aug. 15, 2023 – With addiction, we normally think of hard drugs, but people can be addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and even sugary food. Addictive drugs pump up levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain, causing a pleasurable “high”. The brain sees that as a reward for consuming the drug and connives to get more. Addiction results in a high rate of preventable deaths. Opioids alone account for some 100,000 victims in the US each year. The social costs run into hundreds of billions of dollars. People with addiction typically develop tolerance to their drug of…
HIGHER POWER WORKING OUT – Aug. 16, 2023 – “Today marks the day before the day I was told I most likely have breast cancer. It marks the day before I went for my second opinion and was then sent on to have various scans ahead of my diagnosis a few days later,” she began, referring to her August 2022 diagnosis of early triple-positive breast cancer. “Today also marks the day I stopped drinking alcohol,” she added. Hainsby then explained that she initially made the decision to ditch drinking to ensure that she stayed as healthy as possible while undergoing…
VIDEO – STAR IS REBORN – Aug. 16, 2023 – But it wasn’t until 2009, when Bradley played the lead role in The Hangover that he became a household name. He recalls: “I felt like I had a breakthrough when I was in a Dell computer commercial. “The Hangover was pretty career-changing. “I was 36 when that happened so I was already in the game ten years when that happened. So I didn’t get lost in fame.” Bradley turned to alcohol and cocaine after severing his Achilles tendon and leaving American action series Alias, from which he “got fired slash…
AUDIO – MINDFULLY – Aug. 17, 2023 – Research shows that activities that induce a state of flow—intense focus and absorption in a challenging task—cause the brain’s self-monitoring centers to deactivate. This ‘flow state’effectively silences your inner critic and allows complete immersion in the task or activity at hand without self-judgment. Seek out leisure activities like cooking, gardening, writing, cleaning, or exercise that fully engage your skills at an optimal level. The more time you spend activating flow states, the less mental bandwidth anxiety has to creep in. Thought Flagging: Anxiety frequently fuels recurring negative thoughts and cognitive distortions.…
LISTEN – ADDICTIVE MINI-SERIES – Aug. 15, 2023 – It was a kismet twist of fate that Netflix’s limited series Painkiller premiered in tandem with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reassess Purdue Pharma’s $6 billion bankruptcy deal. The six-episode series premiered on August 10 and quickly jumped to No. 1 on the English TV List with more than 7.2 million views (35.9 million hours viewed), and it’s landed in the Top 10 in 72 countries. Starring Matthew Broderick and Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba, the story details the origins of the opioid crisis. It unravels the OxyContin…
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – Aug. 13, 2023 – You’d think all the health and nutrition classes I was taking to become a dietitian may have swayed me away from alcohol as a college student, but alas, they did not. Even post-graduation and into my early career, I didn’t recognize alcohol was sabotaging various parts of my life, including my diet. In reality, it wasn’t until I got sober that I discovered how drinking affects your diet firsthand. Everything changed—from the people I hung out with to the places I went. Even how I socialized. I didn’t realize…
VIDEO – CLEAN and INSPIRING – Aug. 15, 2023 – She adds: “I phoned this woman who I knew was clean and it was if she was expecting my call. She goes ‘Oh hi Davina’. And i was like, ‘I was just wondering if you were going to a meeting tomorrow?’ She’s like ‘Yeah yeah, I’m going at six o clock … come meet me there. Come along, if you want.’” Davina says, “She didn’t ask me what was going on, she didn’t ask, which was exactly right.” Davina says she visited her friend the next day at work…
VIDEO – DON’T BLAME THE HIPPIES – Aug. 14, 2023 – A tongue-in-cheek ad for the tour claims: “You’ve read the headlines. You’ve seen the Tweets, now get close and personal to the Doom and Squalor of downtown San Francisco. “How can a city with a $14.6 billion annual budget be a model of urban decay? How can it spend $776.8 million per year on police and have no rule of law to show for it? “Discover the policy choices that made America’s wealthiest city the nation’s innovative leader of housing crisis, addiction crisis, mental-health crisis and unrepentant crime…
VIDEO – HORRIFYING – Aug. 16, 2023 – Kensington has gained international attention for its excessive public drug use and has become a focal point for high crime and poverty in the City of Brotherly Love. The neighborhood had among the worst violent and drug crime rates citywide over a 30-day period ending Aug. 14, according to data compiled by The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I couldn’t imagine the customers to my business having to come through all this chaos just to support my business,” Rodriguez, a business owner himself, told Fox News. “Who wants to come down to this neighborhood…
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AT RISK! – Aug. 15, 2023 – They found that, on average, teenagers who started smoking by 14 years of age had markedly less gray matter in a section of the left frontal lobe linked to decision-making and rule-breaking. Gray matter is the brain tissue that processes information, and contains all of the organ’s neurons. While brain development continues into adulthood, gray matter growth peaks before adolescence. Low gray matter volume in the left side of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex may be an “inheritable biomarker” for nicotine addiction, say researchers—with implications for prevention and treatment. In addition,…
VIDEO – DON’T BECOME YOUR GRANDPARENTS – Aug. 16, 2023 – A new study suggests that the brains of teenagers who take up smoking may be different from those of adolescents who don’t take up the habit — data that could help treat and prevent nicotine addiction from an early age. A research team led by the universities of Cambridge and Warwick in Britain and Fudan University in China found that teens who started smoking cigarettes by 14 years of age had significantly less grey matter in a section of the brain’s left frontal lobe. Tuesday’s findings, published in…
ONE HABIT AT A TIME – March 31, 2023 – Slouching: Why you might do it: You may have slouched when growing up because you were self-conscious or taller than others or developed breasts before your peers, and the posture stuck. Or you might just be tired and stressed (understandable). How to break it: Take dance lessons, Pilates, or yoga to strengthen your deep abdominals and upper-back muscles (these muscle groups can grow weak when underutilized, but are essential to maintaining healthy, pain-free posture). Starting with a super-simple shoulder-shrug exercise―think of touching your shoulders to your earlobes―is an even easier…
SOBRIETY TAKES OVER – Aug. 14, 2023 – Leah opened up about her struggles with drug dependency during a November 2018 episode of her podcast “Life Reboot” and revealed the issue was sparked during her labor with daughter Addie in 2013. “It was actually the scene, they were talking about how we were being flirty and trying to get back together but honestly, the entire scene was about the botched spinal tap and how Jeremy [Calvert] had to carry me from one room to the next because I couldn’t walk,” Leah said during the podcast episode. “I just went…