USA USA USA – Jan. 4, 2022 – In the year ending in April 2021, fentanyl claimed the lives of 40,010 Americans ages 18-45. That’s more than car accidents (22,442), suicide (21,678), COVID (21,335), and cancer (17,114). “What is driving these behaviors in the illicit market is clearly just profit, it’s greediness,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Because fentanyl is used as a cheap cut it has managed to find its way into nearly every drug supply in the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says last year, 75% of…
Author: Leonard Buschel
LAS VEGAS BLUES – Jan. 8, 2022 – “That’s the date I protect,” Remillard said on a recent afternoon from the crepe restaurant he owns that is a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip. He agreed on that Monday to stay sober, stop gambling and help counsel those facing the same predicament. “All we can do is help each other,” he said, a task that has been made even more difficult by the unrelenting stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A lot of people have been alone and struggling with their addiction. They’re not alone.” Unlike more visible addictions,…
STEPS INTO THE RIGHT CORNER – Jan. 15, 2020 – One of the most immediate things he noticed within the first week of no longer drinking was a huge improvement in his sleep. “I used to think I needed to drink to have a good sleep, but in fact, it’s the opposite,” he says. “Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it actually impairs your sleep; it increases your heart rate throughout the night.” This had a knock-on effect where he would feel more energetic and alert during the day, enabling him to get more done and, as he…
AUDIO – LIVE AND PROSPER – Jan. 23, 2022 – The U.S. is facing the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history, but there is hope. Research shows most people with addiction do survive and recover, especially when they get quality treatment. Would you like some good news? Yeah, me too. We’ve been reporting on the epidemic of drug deaths in the U.S. More than 100,000 fatal overdoses last year alone. Here’s the good part. This morning, we’re going to turn to a surprising and hopeful part of the story. Research shows most people with substance use disorder survive…
AS SAFE AS FIRE – Jan. 13, 2022 – Marijuana comes from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. It’s often made from the dried leaves and flowers of the plant and even the seeds and stems. It contains a chemical called THC, which is a psychoactive chemical. While many people use marijuana (it’s the third most commonly used addictive drug, after tobacco and alcohol) most won’t become addicted. About 1 in 10 people who use marijuana will become addicted; when they start using before the age of 18, the number increases to 1 in 6. more@VeryWellHealth
HOW MANY? – Jan. 12, 2022 – In 2000, UCLA sleep researchers discovered that human narcolepsy – a condition where people are overwhelmed with daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep – was caused by a loss of roughly 90% of the 80,000 brain cells containing hypocretin (also called orexin), a chemical messenger important in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness. Typically, people with narcolepsy are treated with drugs that for most people would be highly addictive, but interestingly these patients show little, if any, signs of drug addiction or withdrawal themselves. The lack of hypocretin-producing neurons and addiction…
SOMETHING NEW? – Jan. 23, 2022 – As evidence-based drug treatment and interventions became increasingly difficult to obtain during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, fatal overdoses in the United States skyrocketed to their highest level ever. While the Biden administration has said it will broaden access to harm reduction and treatment, experts say the money that has been set aside isn’t doing enough to slow the rising pace of overdose deaths in this country. U.S. policies have long skewed toward punishing people struggling with substance use rather than looking for ways to treat them – a strategy…
VIDEO – CHILDHOOD IS DANGEROUS – Jan. 13, 2022 – “I walked into my son’s room at 8 o clock in the morning and found him dead,” Puerta said. The Santa Clarita, California, resident is now dedicated to keeping the drug out of the hands of young people. “I’ll never see him get married or have a family of his own. I will never be a grandfather,” Puerta said. Last month, police confiscated vape pens laced with fentanyl from students at least two American high schools. One in Madisonville, Tennessee, and another in Norwalk, Connecticut. 19-year-old Johan Pleitez of…
WIN SOME, LOSE PLENTY – Jan. 13, 2022 – It wasn’t long ago when sports gambling discussions were limited to Saturday morning sports talk radio shows. My, how times have changed. Turn on your local sports radio station, segue over to ESPN or hop on an internet discussion forum and you’ll find these mediums are now saturated with sports gambling information. Though wagering on sports certainly provides an opportunity to make some quick cash, it can also spur a debilitating addiction if left unchecked. With online sports betting officially making its debut in New York over the weekend, concerns…
AND DRINKING ISN’T? – Jan. 12, 2022 – Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly marked a year of being sober last month after admitting she had reached her “lowest point”. At the time, the 22-year-old said alcohol wasn’t helping with her mental health, which was her main priority. After sharing her journey with fans, the influencer has been asked many questions about her new life without booze. In an Instagram Q&A this evening, she discussed the good and bad side of staying sober. One of her followers asked: “How important is it to cut out alcohol when you struggle daily with…
“Perhaps, somewhere, some day, at a less miserable time, we may see each other again.” ―Vladimir Nabokov
HARM REDUCTION – Jan. 8, 2022 – This is really about expanding access to health and wellness services,” he said of the initiative, a $730,000 pilot program seeking up to six contractors. The main purpose of the vending machines is to curb overdoses across the city by increasing the availability of naloxone, a drug that works to quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. “Every four hours there’s an overdose here,” Dr. McRae said. “This is something that doesn’t allow for people to die every hour.” As they have across the country, opioid deaths in New York City,…
DISCRIMINATION RUNS DEEP – Jan. 4, 2022 – The consequences of stigmatizing people with these diseases can be severe. People who face public stigma are less likely to seek treatment, see reduced career opportunities and can receive lower quality of care than the general population. Judgment from others also leads people with addiction to look down upon and even apply stereotypes to themselves – a process known as self-stigma. “Self-stigma is defined as internalized stigma,” DePue said. “When we have any type of attribute, identity or characteristic that places us into a stereotypical group, or rather, a group with…
I DARE YOU TO READ THIS – Jan. 2, 2022 – The following week, on a day trip to Sandbridge Beach, further insight was revealed to me. Sitting in a colorful chair, root beer in hand, an urge came to post a picture of my sandy legs, ocean waves parenthesized by my splayed feet, a book of Allen Ginsberg’s poetry between them. In other words, excellent fodder for Instagram. But devoid of any outlet for this imagined photo, questions about the purpose of social media content were illuminated. Who was I creating this for, and why? Did it matter…
PIVOT NOT DIVOT – Jan. 3, 2022 – “They are always told to go get help, usually at a 12-step meeting,” Chung told Verywell. “The more separation between people, the less chance of healing through support groups.” This sentiment was shared by Dale Parker, MA, LPC, program director at Sandstone Care, who works with youth. “Young people were disengaged and they were having trouble making connections through the screen,” Parker told Verywell. more@VeryWellHealth
WHY WOULD IT? – Jan. 3, 2022 – “I revived a guy who OD’ed on the street this morning on my way to work,” says Pichardo, speaking matter of factly outside her workplace — Prevention Point — one of the largest needle exchange sites in the US. “Unfortunately, overdoses happen everyday in this neighbourhood.” It is not just Philadelphia. On average more than 270 people — the equivalent of 10 or 12 high school classes — overdosed and died in the US every day in the year to April 2021. This added up to a new record annual toll…
TO EACH HER OWN – Jan. 3, 2022 – R felt differently. Spurred on by the muscle tone and clarity he was reclaiming, he kept going, and going, and going. On day 328 of sobriety (at time of writing) he has saved 115,200 calories and lost a stone, as calculated by his Try Dry app. He has also saved £2,110. “I can see the difference in myself so I feel more positive about my body image,” he tells me over a glass of alcohol-free mulled wine one December evening. “Mentally, I feel sharper and more focused.” I am incredibly…
SOLD – Jan. 5, 2022 – Granite Recovery Centers, which operates two residential addiction treatment centers and several sober living homes in Southern New Hampshire, has been acquired by BayMark Health Services, a Texas-based company that already operates here. BayMark has more than 300 facilities in the United States and Canada, including medication-assisted treatment facilities in Hudson, Newington, Salem and Somersworth, N.H., that offer methadone and Suboxone, as well as counseling, for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Granite Recovery Centers was represented by Covington Associates Investment Banking and legal advisers Nixon Peabody in the deal, which was announced…
WATCH – MAYBE THEY’RE NOT THERE – Jan. 5, 2022 – Margaret Pederson who works as a counselor for the Horizon Recovery and Counseling had overcome addiction herself and she offered up advice for those looking to turn their lives around as well. “Just ask for help,” Pederson said. “That’s the biggest hurdle, is picking up that phone because sometimes it feels like it weighs 500 pounds.” more@KSNB4
ADDICTED TO FOLLOWERS? LIKE JESUS – Jan. 6, 2022 – “Weed is a very powerful drug. I don’t care who the f*** says it’s not a drug, it’s a f***ing drug, okay?” Paul said aggressively. “That’s how we’re starting the episode, fine.” Paul explained that he decided to stop smoking on Christmas Eve 2021 “for some reason.” His team applauded his decision, clearly pleased with his choice to stop smoking marijuana entirely. Paul described his struggle as a “back and forth with marijuana,” noting that in the past he’d rarely — if ever — partaken in the drug. Yet,…
WATCH – AA OBSOLETE? – Jan. 6, 2022 – Ewer kept showing up. Along the way she lost over 170 pounds. But according to Ewer, fitness isn’t the biggest thing she gained at FTR. Rather, it’s a community that loves and supports her. And the chance to serve others. “Most of the people at the gym are young. I’m 46 so at first I thought, there’s no way that I have a role here, but when I came I realized that I actually did have a role. I was 300 pounds but I had long term sobriety and a…
BEAN THERE DOPPIO THAT – Jan. 7, 2022 – Instead of going from six caffeinated cups of tea, coffee or cans of energy drinks per day, start with five, then four and so on. Until you reach a level at which you feel comfortable. Using decaffeinated versions or coffee and tea can be extremely useful in this transition. more@BirminghamLive
WHAT’S NEXT? MOUNTAIN BOOZE? – Jan. 6, 2022 – Ready-to-drink spirits represented $741 million in U.S. retail-store sales in 2021 through Dec. 25, more than double the sales over the same period a year earlier, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Bump Williams Consulting. For Coke, the venture presents a chance to earn additional revenue from a small brand—a strategy that differs from that of its rival PepsiCo, which is throwing one of its flagship soda brands into the alcohol arena. For Constellation, the deal is an opportunity to expand in the canned-cocktail category. Constellation, whose brands…
FOLLOW THE MONEY – Jan. 7, 2022 – Instead, money is going toward things like referring people to treatment, overdose antidote kits and housing. Measure 110 diverts millions of dollars in Oregon marijuana tax revenue from schools, police and other services into support for people with addiction. But because marijuana is federally illegal, Oregon fears funding addiction treatment directly would jeopardize federal money that helps pay for treatment through the Oregon Health Plan. Subsidized by the state and federal governments, the Oregon Health Plan covers physical, dental and mental health care — including addiction treatment — for low-income residents.…
NO MORE HANGOVERS? – Jan. 7, 2022 – But in the last five years, coinciding with the popularity of Instagram, more and more people are sharing their sobriety stories. And none of them looks like someone who struggles with an alcohol problem. That’s the first thing to notice. We are not seeing “rock-bottom alcoholics” who look like they have no choice but to quit. Instead, we are seeing people who do not look on the outside like they have a problem with alcohol but nevertheless are making the choice to quit drinking. Let me explain what I mean by…
STARDOM HAS ITS PRICE – Jan. 6, 2022 – Pulled out of school at 12 to join the vaudeville circuit with her father, Seville-born dancer Eduardo Cansino , Rita never had friends her own age. “Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse,” recalled the star, who was then known by her birth name, Margarita Cansino. “That was my girlhood.” There were darker goings-on as well. Although her mother, Volga Hayworth, tried to protect her, Rita later told Orson that her father sexually molested her when they were on the road — and she remained permanently scarred by the experience. “Because her father was…
LISTEN – VACANCY – Jan. 7, 2022 – “High Point’s admissions team provides all callers with the BSAS hotline, but with many programs not accepting admissions, there isn’t much that can be done at the present time,” said Hillary Dubois, chief of communications and prevention services for High Point. “While the pandemic is a major health crisis, individuals struggling with their substance use/mental health appear to be. impacted the most.” High Point served nearly 20,000 patients in all of its programs in the last fiscal year, and Dubois says this is the most significant disruption in its services since…
SO CAN PRISON – Jan. 5, 2022 – Tempest’s design is straightforward and draws primarily from two practices with established psychological benefits: cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. The former seeks to help members rethink their relationship to alcohol, while mindfulness techniques have been used to reduce cravings for drugs and make practitioners less reactive to triggers. Within its overarching structure, Tempest offers members a number of ways to personalize their participation. Lessons are released on a weekly basis and take roughly two hours to complete on average. There are weekly, hour-long support-group calls, which function not unlike AA meetings…
FAITHFUL TO THE MASTER – Jan. 6, 2022 – Speaking with Spain’s Mariskal Rock about his ongoing sobriety in a recent interview, Halford explained that temptations are still all around him, even 36 years later. “I think about it all the time. It’s an addiction. When I’m watching the Phoenix Cardinals play on TV the other day, there’s constantly adverts for beer and for alcohol and stuff. And I know it’s there. And it’s a temptation. So you have to have all of the mental tools ready to get you through that instance. ‘Cause it’s all about instances,” relayed…
WATCH – WHAT GOES AROUND… – Jan. 7, 2022 – “It’s understandable that it’s taken a while to get past the stigma, but … I think within the next year, we’re going to see more federal funding and less of a hesitation,” Johnson says. In 2021, even the director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins made headlines for praising psychedelics’ potential as a therapeutic treatment option. “Expect more of that flavor at the NIH, expect less risk aversion,” says Johnson, saying it’s shifted from being viewed as radical to a worthy avenue to explore given the promising…