VIDEO – MAKE MORE MOVIES – Dec. 31, 2022 – In 1999, Stricklin said he had a near death experience that changed his life forever. He was drinking with friends when one of them made a bet that Stricklin could not finish a full bottle of an alcoholic drink named ‘DeKuyper Hot Damn!’, a drink that’s 100 proof alcohol. Stricklin said he took the challenge and downed the entire bottle. He passed out and his friends immediately called 911 then gave him two eggs to drink to quickly flush the alcohol out of his system. The nurse at the hospital…
Author: Leonard Buschel
A WOMAN’S STORY – Dec. 30, 2022 – But for Henry, being inducted into The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is an especially big deal. It’s about academic success — “NSCS is more than just a symbol of academic achievement; it is a distinction of honor,” said Scott Mobley, the honor society’s executive director — but it also represents a long road … a road from getting kicked out of Drug Court, from shooting up meth with plans — hopes, even — to die, from losing everything, to taking back life and making good on promises made to one’s self.…
VIDEO – THE PUBS WERE NOT HAPPY – Dec. 30, 2022 – ‘You young people, don’t give up, just keep in there, just keep fighting. Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid,’ he said in a video in 2020. Hopkins started out in British theatre in 1960 and got his big break internationally in the 1968 historical drama The Lion In Winter opposite Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn. Hopkins was a bit of a hellraiser as a young man and has admitted to being ‘drunk’ and ‘hungover’ a lot of the time early in his career. However,…
TRIP NOT TRIPLE SEC – Dec. 26, 2022 – The CIIS has trained roughly 800 students in the psychedelic program since 2016, Phelps said. And with receptiveness toward psychedelics growing, more practitioners are seeking out instruction. The program tripled in size after expanding to add a training site in Boston last year, she said. Phelps estimates that at least 8,000 newly trained therapists will be needed in the next decade. “We decided we need so many therapists trained, and there’s so few people on the planet who know how to use this effectively, that we started training people even…
AUDIO – GREEDY WHITE COLLAR MURDERERS GO FREE – Dec. 29, 2022 – According to the complaint, AmerisourceBergen executives knew prescription pills shipped to Florida and West Virginia were being diverted and “sold in parking lots for cash.” The DOJ also alleges two people in Colorado who improperly received opioid pills shipped by the company “subsequently died of overdoses.” In a statement, AmerisourceBergen denied any wrongdoing. The company accused the Justice Department of “cherry picking” alleged problems that existed at a handful of pharmacies out the tens of thousands of pharmacies served by the company. Click@NPR
TAOISM LIVES – Dec. 30, 2022 – Rather than focus on addiction, topics in meetings instead focus on trauma healing, coping strategies, grounding techniques and the importance of building supportive community, Hicks says. “Because of this, people struggling with nearly any habitual pattern that has become problematic can and do find something useful in these meetings.” The holidays and New Year can be difficult for those in recovery, Hicks says, so Zen offers meeting topics that address “the impact of drinking holidays and anniversaries related to our traumas and/or our sobriety. We will host a meeting about setting attainable goals…
BEST COUNTRY SONG EVER – Dec. 25, 2022 – “When things happen and you succeed beyond your wildest dreams and you’re playing all these great shows and the parties are going on,” he told Hoda Kotb on the Today show. “Then you’re married and you have kids. And all of a sudden your wife looks at you and says, ‘You know, you’re getting a little overboard and you need to make some decisions.’ It makes a big impact on you.” Speaking with Esquire about his decision to get sober in 2008, McGraw revealed that he was “getting out of [bed]…
THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – Dec. 25, 2022 – The “I Will Always Love You” singer was found unconscious in a Beverly Hilton suite, submerged in the bathtub on Feb. 11, 2012. Paramedics performed CPR but she was unresponsive and died at age 48. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office reported that her death was accidental and caused by drowning and the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.” Toxicology results found additional drugs in her system including Benadryl, Xanax, and cannabis. The Arista records founder still remembers when Houston auditioned for him by singing the song,…
TAKE IT SLOW – Dec. 28, 2022 – Silent killer. A 2008 study found that excess fructose consumption was linked to an increase in the odds of acquiring a condition called leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone that tells the brain that you are full. Imagine eating a big meal but never experiencing a sense of fullness. No leptin signal translates into consuming extra calories, which in turn means excess weight gain. Why is sugar called a “silent killer?” Because its negative side effects occur without symptoms or warning bells. If you’ve gained weight in the past year and can’t…
WALL STREET GETS OFF EASY – Dec. 29, 2022 – The federal Controlled Substances Act requires pharmaceutical distributors to monitor their customer orders and notify federal officials of any that may be of unusual size or ordering patterns that could suggest the drugs are being diverted for illegal uses. During nearly a decade, between 2014 and 2022, the suit alleges, the Pennsylvania-based company did not report hundreds of thousands of suspicious drug orders. For example, AmerisourceBergen distributed drugs to two pharmacies in Florida and West Virginia and allegedly knew that those drugs were likely being sold in parking lots…
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON – Dec. 31, 2022 – ’m afraid to announce the bar is closed. There will be no refreshments on this journey. Apologies for the inconvenience,” declares a smug voice over the Tannoy on the 6.15am from King’s Cross to Edinburgh. Inconvenient isn’t remotely close to what this is. It is a cock-up of catastrophic proportions and the very last revelation needed on a five-hour train to rehab. An announcement of an Isis-led mariachi band joining at Newcastle would have been more palatable. This has to be the single most agonisingly long journey anyone has endured:…
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK THERE IS GOD – Dec. 29, 2022 – Another way it’s like two different worlds are this; I exist in the regular world with other people and families around us, but then I also exist in my world where one child’s needs dictate and affect every.single.thing. About me, my marriage, my other kids, my relationships with people outside our house … just everything. Our special needs world is expected to fit with the regular world around us, but the truth is it rarely does. Nobody understands except for other families that have kiddos like yours, and…
VIDEO – YOU DRIVE MORE – Dec. 29, 2022 – If you’re hoping to get into shape, improve your mindset and memory, or even get better sleep in 2023, taking part in Dry January might be the best thing for you. According to the University of Sussex’s research, led by psychologist Dr Richard de Visser, people who participated in Dry January were still drinking less by the following August. And even if you do fall back off the wagon on the first day of February, there are still some impressive health benefits that kick in almost immediately. According to Alcohol…
“Show me someone who never gossips, and Ill show you someone who is not interested in people.” – Barbara Walters, Sept. 25, 1929 – Dec. 30, 2022
VIDEO – LOVE YOUR MOTHER – Dec. 16, 2022 – Tough as a Mother is a statewide campaign that launched in May 2020, and has been working to decrease the stigma around maternal substance use disorder. In the last two years, the number of resources for mothers seeking addiction recovery has grown across the state. “We actually have soon to be seven programs statewide where pregnant and parenting women can go to treatment with their children, and not have to choose between parenting and recovery,” said Kallen Thorton. Click@CBSNews
VIDEO – NEW DOCUMENTARY – Dec. 20, 2022 – In the trailer for the documentary, Odom sits down with TMZ founder Harvey Levin and recollects that dark chapter in his life. “Drugs, that was my girlfriend,” Odom says. “I had a wife and cocaine.” Odom further explains that his former wife, to whom he was married from 2009 until their divorce was finalized in 2016, knew about his drug addiction for “part” of their marriage. “I had to tell her,” he says. “You can’t hide that.” Kardashian stood by her husband through some of the worst periods of his life.…
I SECOND AND THIRD THE EMOTION – Dec. 20, 2022 – Although many adolescents can use social media or game without issues, it can become problematic and compulsive for some. For those affected, the addictive behavior tends to split down traditional gender lines, with girls more likely to be addicted to social media, and boys to gaming. “Across the globe, a small subset of people who game and use social media can lose control over that behavior, and they can start to see a lot of negative consequences,” said Amanda Giordano, lead author of the study and an associate professor…
VIDEO – PUBLISH AND LIVE – Dec. 19, 2022 – “Writing is my therapy,” she says. “If you’re new to recovery and you pick this book up, it will kind of guide you to how the program works, what you have to do and what to expect. When I first came into recovery I had a hard time with it, especially being bilingual, native and kind of different, so I wrote something that would help someone understand.” Click@WABI
UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT – Dec. 19, 2022 – After the argument, Williams passed out on the facility’s couch and Hill then went to sleep in an empty bunk bed. Williams and Hill did not have permission to be at the facility due to being kicked out for prior incidents. Deputies made contact with the duo who was extremely intoxicated. Click@WKRG
STARLIGHT CAN BLIND – Dec. 14, 2022 – As a result of substance abuse, the once-promising career of the voiceover actor fell by the wayside. And drugs and alcohol became the most important things in Redmond’s life. Here is the sad truth about Redmond O’Neal’s childhood and downward spiral. Growing up as Farrah and Ryan’s child sounds like it would be an idyllic experience. To the public, they were glamorous and had the world at their fingertips. But behind closed doors, there was much more going on than what met the eye. Click@TheThings
IT MUST HAVE BEEN GOOD SHIT – Dec. 15, 2022 – When that man became unresponsive, officials say Gonzales initially ignored concerns of other men in the cell who wanted to call for help, but ultimately relented. “The victim received three doses of Narcan and was hospitalized, eventually recovering from the overdose,” the release stated. On September 29, Gonzales was found guilty by a jury of possession of a controlled substance, knowingly bringing a controlled substance into jail and knowingly possessing a controlled substance while in jail. Click@KTLA
WORTH EVERY DOLLAR – Dec. 20, 2022 – The Kalispell clinic is allowed to use $300,000 of their grant in a 20-week treatment course. During that time, participants could get gift cards or vouchers worth up to $1,966.50. Patients are able to earn an incentive each week by attending treatment and passing urine tests. The amount they are awarded increases with each success. These motivational incentives are called contingency management, known to be the only evidence-based intervention for methamphetamine use disorder. Oxytocin was the only clinic in the county approved to use treatment-funded contingency management. In November, at least…
VIDEO – WHAT A LIFE – Dec. 20, 2022 – Shields – who had a body double for nude scenes – remembered thinking: ‘Why do I have to look at this? I’d never seen one before. I’m not going to start now.’ Shields and Atkins (last name Bomann) portrayed teenage cousins Emmeline and Richard Lestrange, who find love while living in an isolated tropical paradise after being marooned as children. ‘We were wearing little strips of clothing and my hair was taped on to my body to cover the boobs, which were very minimal anyway,’ the Holiday Harmony actress recalled.…
LEGALIZE BANKING – Dec. 21, 2022 – The $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill unveiled Tuesday includes all kinds of expenditures, but it does not include the SAFE Banking Act, a bipartisan measure that would undo federal restrictions that make it difficult for legal cannabis businesses to access financial services. “The fact that there was speech after speech and tweet after tweet about how cannabis policy was a priority and we know they were very certain that the votes are there, but it just was never brought to the floor, is of course disappointing,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Florida-based Trulieve…
SHE GOT GAME – Dec. 23, 2022 – “I became an alcoholic in my late teens and early 20s and joined the rave scene. I then started taking ecstasy four or five times a week, and alcohol basically every day for years. “I was taking speed and all sorts of drugs to the point where I had spent half of my life on drink and drugs. “I ended up with a heroin addiction. “I got medication to come off that and I tried Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, but none of them really worked for me.” Around three years ago…
MEDIA: NEW BOOK – Dec. 22, 2022 – The book allows readers to understand that drug addicts are not degenerates but normal people who took foolish decisions which led them to a very dark place. The book makes readers understand that at some point addiction to drugs is not a choice but a compulsion. The book also offers tips to overcome drug addiction and rise above it stronger than before. What is really unique about this book is that it is useful to all kinds of people such as drug addicts, family and friends of a drug addict, general…
AUDIO – ONE MAN’S STORY – Dec. 23, 2019 – I got the preliminary word from my doctor by phone while driving alone upstate from the city to join my wife, Brooke, at our country place. After the call, I found myself overwhelmed by the beauty of the passing late-August land. At mile eighty-one of the New York State Thruway, the gray silhouettes of the Catskills come into view, perfectly framed and proportioned. How many times had I seen and loved the sight? How many more times would I? I thought of Thomas Cole’s paintings, from another angle, of those…
VIDEO ONLY – Dec. 21, 2022 – Time to take care and help others. Click@KMVT
PROUD AS PAPADAM – Dec. 23, 2022 – Pooja Bhatt recently also celebrated 31 years of Sadak with a special throwback post. “The fact that I am in Ooty shooting for a new show in the same location where we shot the majority of the film feels bitter-sweet! Thank you to everyone who marked the date and gave me a reminder. Your love and memories of the film keep it alive. That’s the magic of the movies. They bind us irrevocably. Gratitude to my father without whom none of us would have had this milestone in our lives and…
FRY – NOT GET FRIED – Dec. 22, 2022 – “When women are substance abusers or alcoholics, you lose not only that woman, but you lose that generation of her children,” Fox said. “And I feel very strongly that when women get in touch with their maternal instincts, they can really push through and stay sober.” Fox battled with substance use disorder throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Addiction was very poorly understood at the time, and often blamed on moral failure as opposed to chemical dependence. “I had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals back in the day, before…