Author: Leonard Buschel

CHICO MALO OF RECOVERY – JUNE 29, 2021 – An assistant director stopped him that day on the set. “You have a good look,” the crew member said. “Can you play a convict?” Funny question. He got hauled into a police station for the first time… more@LATimes

FAMILY MEMBERS DIE TOO – June 28, 2021 – Fatal overdoses like Keeley’s have increased steeply in recent years. During the year ending in November 2020, approximately 92,000 people died of a drug overdose in the U.S. — a stark increase over 2019, when approximately 70,630 people died of overdoses. There was a particularly unprecedented rise in overdoses once the pandemic hit. Some of the most impacted groups have been Black and Indigenous communities. While federal data are flawed in terms of delineating which drugs and drug combinations were involved in overdoses, the increase in deaths is clearly significant. Republicans…

TOXIC – June 29, 2021 – “As troubling and extreme as Britney’s circumstances may seem,” Erica Schwiegershausen wrote in The Cut, “much of what she recounted — such as being medicated without consent and subjected to involuntary psychiatric evaluations and institutionalizations — likely feels familiar to anyone with experience of mental illness.” What broader lessons can be drawn from Spears’s story about the way Americans with serious mental illnesses can be stripped of their rights, and how should the system change? Here’s what people are saying. For some people struggling with a serious mental illness, involuntary commitment can be salutary,…

RUNNING ON INDICA – July 2, 2021 – “I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson told NBC on Friday. “I know what I did. I know what I’m supposed to do and am allowed not to do, and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse. I’m not looking for any empathy in my case.” According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)’s rules on the matter, an athlete who tests positive for marijuana — or anything else they consider a “substance of abuse” — will receive a three-month sanction as long as it was…

INSTA-FILTERED BEAUTY –  JULY 1, 2021 – Norway has passed a law targeting photo editing in an attempt to address body image issues in society. The new law mandates that content creators disclose when they’ve retouched or added a filter to a photo. Any photo where “a body’s shape, size or skin has been changed by retouching or other manipulation” must be marked as edited, the legislation declares. In addition to advertisers, the law also stipulates that celebrities and social media influencers must label altered images if they are paid or benefit in some way from the post. The new…

A SCIENTIST ON THE EDGE – June 9, 2021 – But he also opposes the ostensibly humane but actually disempowering notion of addiction as a disease. This wrongheaded idea views addiction as if it existed only in a person’s brain and body and not in the person’s mind and soul—and community. Stanton has fought this battle for half a century as an independent scholar with no institutional position or funding. He has lived his life the same way he practices his profession—principled, adventurous, purpose-driven, and always “on the edge.” He tells this tale with bold confidence and defiance about…

“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone, who with their soul, encourages another to be brave and true.”—Charles Dickens, 1812-1870

WATCH – FAKE PILLS = REAL DEATH –  June 30, 2021 – The agency says many of the deaths are people ages 20 to 29. Most have gotten it from a family member or friend who, apparently, did not know what they were giving out. (Video above: Overdose death leads to ‘mass production’ of counterfeit pills in Greenville County, DEU says) South Carolina officials say Greenwood and Union counties are the state’s blue pill overdose hot spots. Apparently, Greenwood and Union counties are concerning because they have the most overdoses from these pills per capita. more@WYFF4

JUST STAY ALIVE – June 23, 2021 – Now, some are embracing a new approach to treatment – harnessing the power of harm reduction and a new view of relapse – to provide effective, responsive treatment with the goal of truly meeting the person where they are on their road to recovery. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, harm reduction is a “set of ideas and interventions that seek to reduce the harms associated with both drug use and ineffective, racialized drug policies.” Harm reduction removes the assumption that there is only one path to recovery – and may question…

INSANITY OR TODAY’S REALITY – June 21, 2021 – In 2016, after an investigation by ProPublica and AL.com, Alabama lawmakers amended the law to protect mothers who took drugs prescribed by doctors. Dana Sussman, an attorney at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said that bill made it clear state leaders did not want prosecutions against mothers with legal prescriptions. Alabama authorities have prosecuted hundreds of women for drug use during pregnancy in the last decade, but this may be the first case charging fraud because a woman allegedly didn’t tell her doctor about a pregnancy, Sussman said. Prescription fraud cases…

SAVE LIVES, WIN MONEY – June 21, 2021 – With drug use rising, society requires new prevention approaches. The not-for-profit Center for US Policy (CUSP), in partnership with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the North Carolina-based not-for-profit Community Impact NC (CINC), announced a national contest to identify the “Top 5 Emerging Practices to Prevent Substance Misuse.” “We are searching for initiatives that account for COVID and its consequences, and show promise in preventing substance misuse,” said Michael C. Barnes, CUSP chairman. As part of the nationwide contest, CADCA will solicit its 5,000 community coalition members to…

SEEING ISN’T BELIEVING – JUNE 21, 2021 – In November 2020 another family buried their son. Ricardo Muñoz was a 27-year-old man battling schizophrenia for five years. After refusing to take his medication, Muñoz had begun to experience a mental episode During this episode, Munoz’s mother and sisters called a crisis hotline, the non-emergency police number, and eventually 911 in an attempt to find help. In the 911 call, Munoz’s sister said that Ricardo was being aggressive, attempting to enter the house, and mentally ill. The police believed they had a domestic disturbance and shot and killed Muñoz minutes after…

WATCH – LIVED TO TELL – June 23 – PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Roxxanne Newman is in a good place today but she didn’t know a few years ago that she’d ever make it here. “I woke up had been homeless for a whole year straight and I was so tired, and I said to myself, ‘I can’t do this anymore. It’s too much’,” said Newman. Addicted to opioids and other drugs, Newman said she overdosed 29 times. “The last time I ever used was an overdose,” she said. “When I overdosed, it happened really fast, and you don’t…

IT’S ALL IN CRACK AND WHITE – June 24, 2021 – The Biden administration has again voiced support for ending a law that punishes possession or distribution of crack cocaine far more severely than for powder forms of the drug. “The current disparity is not based on evidence,” acting ONDCP Director Regina Labelle told Congress on June 22. “It has caused significant harm for decades, particularly for individuals, families and communities of color.” Biden himself played a key role in establishing this disparity in the 1980s, during his time as a US Senator. In the decades since, it has resulted…

SHE’S A SCREAM – June 25, 2021 – “I’m the child of movie stars. I watched my parents get face lifts and neck lifts,” Curtis told PEOPLE in the ’90s podcast hosts Jason Sheeler and Andrea Lavinthal on this week’s episode. “I watched their work diminish, I watched their fame not diminish. And the contradiction of a lot of fame, but not a lot of work, is really hard to navigate for people. Very hard to be famous but not be doing the thing that made you famous. And that for the rest of your life, you’re famous for something…

DEATH FOR SALE – June 24, 2021 – Patrick Radden Keefe, who provides the quote above, explains the whole epic shit storm of disgrace in his new book, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Keefe is an award-winning New Yorker writer who has previously put out other critically acclaimed works, such as the Orwell Prize-winning, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (2019) and, The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream (2010). The first thing the reader wants to know is what Keefe can add…

WATCH – BE KIND TO HUMANKIND – June 24, 2021 – The National Institutes of Health says people who identify as LGBTQ+, scientifically noted as a sexual minority, often face social stigma, discrimination, and other challenges not encountered by people who identify as heterosexual, scientifically referenced as the sexual majority. They also face a greater risk of harassment and violence. As a result of these and other stressors, sexual minorities are at increased risk for various behavioral health issues, the experts explained. “In 2015, sexual minority adults were more likely than sexual majority adults to be past year users of…

LAST CALL? – June 23, 2021 – And while other populations of employees — such as LGBTQ or BIPOC workers — can find support at work and even create additional community through Employee Resource Groups, those dealing with substance abuse or addiction may feel increased levels of isolation. By breaking the stigma of addiction or teetotalism, Merriwether says, employers can re-level the DEI landscape through education to encourage safe conversations in the workplace around an uncomfortable topic. One tangible avenue for positive change involves rethinking booze-soaked company outings and parties — especially as a post-pandemic return to offices may…

MUSICAL INTERLUDE – “White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)” is a song by Melle Mel, released in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel’s signature tracks. The bassline is taken from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band. more@YouTube

KICKS YOU IN THE GUT – June 22, 2021 – So, like you just said, this book deals with a lot of heavy issues, especially when it addresses mental illness. Did you consider it cathartic to write? Yes, I did. And now that I’m publicizing it, and it’s out to the world, it’s kind of a new type of catharsis because I’m speaking publicly about having mental illness. And so, this is an opportunity to raise awareness and really come to terms with some of my own bias and stigma about mental illness. Which is why I’ve hidden it for…

EVERY DAY IS SPECIAL – June 24, 2021 – “One year ago today I quit drinking,” O’Connell wrote, in a lengthy post on Instagram. He went on to reveal that he’s long struggled with the substance, and pointed to Annie Grace’s book This Naked Mind as a resource that helped him get sober. “I used to see posts like this and be like ‘WTF? HOW?’ And, look, everyone is different. I did not do [Alcoholics Anonymous] which has worked for so many. I read a book,” he said. The Netflix star revealed This Naked Mind deconstructed “alcohol’s power over our…

IF YOU CAN STILL EVEN SPEAK – June 21, 2021 – During the follow-up, participants were given standard cognitive tests that measured three things: processing speed (for example, solving simple math problems), verbal memory (word recall), and higher-level skills that show how well different parts of the brain are working together. The longer people used marijuana, the worse they did on all three fronts. However, after accounting for other factors that could affect brain performance, such as education level, only the association between long-term marijuana use and verbal memory persisted. Specifically, for every five years that someone uses marijuana,…

HISTORY CONTINUES – June 23, 2021 – The alarming parallels between the 19th- and 21st-century opioid crises in the United States are not limited to iatrogenesis. Both crises exhibit a history of troubling racial inequalities in access to opioids as well. Addiction was far more common among White Civil War veterans than among Black veterans, who lacked equitable access to opiates. This pattern presaged the opioid underprescribing experienced by Black Americans in recent decades.1 Thus, the history of the Civil War–era opiate addiction epidemic not only reveals the deep historical origins of iatrogenic opioid addiction in the United States, but…

DESPERATE – June 23, 2021 – Emergency rooms are not typically places you check in for the night. If you break an arm, it gets set, and you leave. If you have a heart attack, you won’t wait long for a hospital bed. But sometimes if your brain is not well, and you end up in an ER, there’s a good chance you will get stuck there. Parents and advocates for kids’ mental health say the ER can’t provide appropriate care and that the warehousing of kids in crisis can become an emergency itself. What’s known as emergency room…

YOU CAN BE TOO THIN – June 24, 2021 – “Unfortunately for a woman, if you’re underweight, you look ‘good’, that’s all I ever got,” she said. The desire to be thinner ended up having an impact on her health and Lisa felt she was constantly sick as a result. “When I was too thin, I was sick all the time, with colds, sinus infections, some kind of flu. I was always sick,” she said. Most of us probably know Lisa Kudrow as the upbeat and quirky Phoebe Buffay from the hit ‘90s sitcom Friends. While her character provided…

WATCH – CO-OCCURING SOLUTIONS – June 23, 2021 – Mental health cases have grown in recent months: 41.5 percent of U.S. adults had anxiety or depressive disorder in February, compared with 36.4 percent in August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The percentage of adults who said they needed but did not receive care for mental health issues also increased during the period, from 9.2 percent to 11.7 percent. Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus, said increased internet access can help address some of those needs. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.),…

ROTTEN AT THE TOP – June 24, 2021 – During that time, Special Master Cohen said, “The Delaware litigation was, of course, related to Walmart’s prescription policies, since shareholders sought (and obtained) access to corporate records relating to those policies. Walmart’s claim that its nationwide no-fill list is outside of the geographic scope of the MDL discovery order was fully inconsistent with the plain wording of (the order) and its animating logic.” As a result, plaintiffs were allowed to depose two additional Walmart witnesses for one and a half hours each as a condition of the company’s sanction. The…

VROOM! VROOM! – June 22, 2021 – “Talking about mental health makes it seem less threatening, and a bit more normalized – it’s so important for people to accept that they might have some issues to work through without any shame,” said Goode, whose legal name is Samuel Geggie, in a release. “I haven’t really been able to speak on mental health since having a public platform, and a lot has changed in terms of the help I’m getting and the way I treat myself.” The runner up on season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race spoke with the medical director…

MOMMY AND DADDY’S LITTLE HELPER –  June 24, 2021 – “American parents have struggled with professional and family-related strain, disruption and competing demands throughout the pandemic,” said Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice president, research and total wellbeing, LifeWorks. “In addition to their own adjustments, parents have also needed to support changes their children have made over the past year. We have consistently seen that the mental health of parents has been more compromised than non-parents through this pandemic, and this data shows that they are also more prone to unhealthy coping mechanisms.” In May, the research found that…

HANGING OUT WITHOUT THE HANGOVER – June 24, 2021 – One year into the coronavirus pandemic, after months of gaining weight and feeling groggy, Mayra Ramirez stopped drinking. And this summer, she’ll mark a new milestone for her sobriety: a completely alcohol-free vacation. Ms. Ramirez, 32, spent the first 12 months of the pandemic working remotely from a tiny Brooklyn apartment, drinking every weekend and many weekday evenings as well. In March, like many others during this hard year, she realized her drinking was spiraling beyond the merely social kind. She has now been sober for three months. So when…