Author: Leonard Buschel

PERFECT SUMMER VACATION? – May 27, 2021 – “I have been aware of the harm done to immigrant communities by drug policy since working on the deportation issue in the Azores since the 1990s,” he said. “Most of the U.S. permanent residents repatriated to the islands were the result of felony convictions for crimes related to substance use disorder. Had these individuals received treatment and not criminal records, they would have been allowed to stay in the U.S. and build back their lives.” This has also led to secondary problems, including the inability of migrants to seek assistance for fear…

WATCH – WITH MORE THAN PRAYER – MAY 25, 2021 – If trying to roust the potential overdose victim verbally, and then with a sternum rub fails, Buelhman then sticks the narcan dispenser up the nostril. The Narcan comes in a two-dose box, and it’s recommended to wait 2-3 minutes before giving the second round if needed. But Buehlman says with the powerful opioid fentanyl, sometimes even just two sprays wont’ cut it. “Because there aren’t ill effects from mistakenly administering Naloxone, it makes it very easy and safe to administer,” said Dr. Hillary Kunins Last year the Department of…

WATCH – GRINDING TO A HALT – May 26, 2021 – Speaking about her past trouble’s on Wednesday’s edition of Morning Live, Kerry explained that she thinks she is lucky to still have her life after surviving years of drug abuse and addiction. She opened up about her struggles but added a positive outlook for the future, saying that she hopes the fact that she has managed to turn her life around and even buy a house may inspire others to take control over their lives. She said: “I mean technically I should be dead and I’m really proud…

WATCH – IT’S NEVER TOO LATE! – May 26, 2021 – For the past 35 years, Bob Nylund’s family and friends told him to write a book about his interesting life of overcoming alcohol addiction. It took until the age of 93, some advice from a ‘guy in a coffee shop’, and a winter full of boredom ahead for the Ironwood native to start writing. His first book only took him 3 weeks to write. After reading his book, Bob’s daughter Greta encouraged him to write more. He now has 3 published books; Life of a Recovering Alcoholic … and…

WATCH – BLAME IT ON WALTER WHITE – May 24, 2021 – This is “the high pure form” that’s meant to be smoked. The other popular form is a white odorless and bitter-tasting crystalline powder that can dissolve easily in water or alcohol.” We’re seeing hundreds of pounds of that coming through the laboratory, and that’s one of the areas where we cooperate with other agencies like the DEA,” says Miller.Peter Stout is the President & CEO of Houston Forensic Science Center. He says the number of cases that they’re getting has not changed that much, but its makeup…

THE BEST INTENTIONS…? – May 28, 2021 – And they did succeed in significantly shrinking the medical supply: since 2011, opioid prescribing has been cut by more than 60 percent. Unfortunately, however, as medical use declined, the total number of overdose deaths more than doubled between 2011 and 2020. Indeed, even before the pandemic, more overdose deaths had occurred since prescribing began to fall than took place while medical opioid use was soaring. The fact that cutting the medical supply could potentially make matters worse didn’t seem to factor in to the calculations of those who supported this approach.…

WHERE SHOULD THEY GO? – May 29, 2021- The city responded to more than a month of complaints and numerous Post queries by erecting barriers on Tuesday, closing off the northwest corner to both legal and illegal uses, while cops in recent nights have boosted their presence. But neighbors are still incensed by the condition of the park and what they believe are token efforts by the city to return it to lawfulness. “The zombies are now near the fountain, as well as next to the chess [southwest] corner. They’ve simply moved up about 200 meters from the now shuttered…

“For the human soul is virtually indestructible, and its ability to rise from the ashes remains as long as the body draws breath.” —Alice Miller

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES – May 22, 2021 – The word valedictorian comes from the Latin vale dicere or “to say farewell.” So it is a goodbye speech, but also a “Look at what we’ve done” speech. And what seniors have done this year has never been done before. From start to finish, this school year has been under a cloud. At some schools, the doors never opened and learning took place not in thousands of classrooms but in millions of bedrooms and kitchens, on back porches and in parking lots or wherever the WiFi signal was strongest.…

CHECK THE DSM-5 – May 17, 2021 – “But you can also look within a person’s life across people,” he continued, “and say that the average mental health state for people is to not be in a state of diagnosable disorder.” We apply the same way of thinking to physical health conditions, since “the average state of health for most human beings is to not be experiencing a cold or the flu.” Thankfully the mental health struggles that most of us face will be temporary—“sort of like wave,” as Schaefer described them. “They surge, they crest, and then for most…

TIME WILL TELL – May 19, 2021 – THOUGHTS REVEALED: Millions of patients for the first time can easily read their doctors’ case notes, thanks to a new federal mandate that opens up online access to information that’s long been hidden from their view. But for some, the early results have been unsettling, writes POLITICO’s Mohana Ravindranath. Patients have reported that physicians’ unfiltered assessments include language they find condescending, stigmatizing and cavalier. One person seeking help for pain said the doctor’s notes minimized the suffering and labeled the patient a drug seeker. Another patient who recently had a miscarriage said…

WATCH – ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – May 16, 2021 – As it turned out, Sertürner got addicted while doing the research. And although he sounded the alarm, people didn’t listen. Within a couple of decades morphine was being mass produced by a major German pharmaceutical company. And it quickly became clear that Sertürner’s theory was wrong. People could be just as addicted to morphine. So what did they do about it? Make heroin. No, seriously. They made heroin. Heroin was also really effective at treating pain, but at an even lower dose. So again, scientists reasons that not needing as…

CALIFORNIA SCAMMING – May 16, 2021- After years of study, a first-of-its-kind coalition of more than 50 groups — including the California Hospital Association, California Medical Association, county health directors, public safety officials and family-based organizations — intends to change that. The Behavioral Health Alliance’s new Blueprint for Behavioral Health offers a new path forward for addiction treatment and much more. The need for a new approach can be seen in public parks, under freeway overpasses and even in sober living homes. ragedy has provided a most unwelcome clarity. “What I’ve learned is that the better places aren’t these private…

MORE THAN SMACK – May 17, 2021 – The study doesn’t cover the past year, in which the COVID-19 pandemic thrust national economies into crisis and reshaped how millions of people work. But its authors note that overwork has been on the rise for years due to phenomena such as the gig economy and telework — and they say the pandemic will likely accelerate those trends. “Teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work,” Ghebreyesus said. “In addition, many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to…

SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO DONUTS – May 17, 2021 – Walls, 50, has served the Long Branch Police Department for 19 years, but he was immediately suspended without pay after his arrest. He is facing multiple criminal counts, including second degree “risking widespread injury” and third degree “manufacturing CDS (methamphetamine).” He faces a total of 60 years in prison if convicted on all charges. “The officers in our agency risk their lives daily to protect and serve our residents,” said Acting Long Branch Police Chief Frank Rizzuto. “It is disappointing beyond measure that one of our officers could have risked…

NOT TIME TO GO ‘HOME’ YET –   May 18, 2021 – “A medication-first approach allows patients to first be stabilized on medication, and then be brought into the right level of care to fit their needs — therefore decreasing the risk of overdose and relapse.” Medication-assisted treatment can increase retention rates in treatment and patients’ ability to gain and maintain employment, as well as reducing the need for inpatient detox, improving birth outcomes among pregnant women, sustaining recovery and reducing opioid overdose, Kuehl said. Kuehl pointed to research finding that new users of syringe programs are five times more…

STILL IN ACTION – May 19, 2021 – Daisy Carter of Jackson is the executive director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of the Central Mississippi Area (NCADD), a nonprofit that raises public awareness about addiction. A native of Jackson, Carter graduated from Wingfield High School in 2002 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Jackson State University in 2007 and master’s degree in public policy and administration from JSU in 2015. Executive director at NCADD since 2015, Carter’s career has also included work at the Mississippi State Department of Health in preventative health services. Carter…

PINING THE BOTTLE FOREVER – May 19, 2021 – Dustin Rhodes marked his 13th year of sobriety on Wednesday. The AEW star posted to Twitter on Wednesday announcing that he’s been clean and sober for the last 13 years, writing: “Very proud of me today!! Today marks my 13th anniversary for being clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. Absolutely living my best life now!” You can see his post below, along with reactions and messages of support from talent like Sonny Kiss, Kane, Jerry Lynn, Lance Storm, Erick Redbeard, Nyla Rose, Ricky Morton, Rebel, Leyla Hirsch, and Mikey…

STAY FREE: BE YOUR OWN COMPANION – May 14, 2021- “Clients really did reach out to us,” Ms. White said. And that was even though it was up to her, Mr. Lecorchick and Mr. Bielskie to enforce consequences. Ms. White sent a client to detox a day after he admitted using heroin after a family member died from Covid. “If you did anything substance-abuse-related, we came in with a response.” In New Jersey, the response was always drug treatment, inpatient or outpatient.That has not always been the case with Swift, Certain and Fair. The blueprint for it was created in Hawaii.…

BIG PHARMA IN BIG TROUBLE – May 21, 2021 – Alexa Perivolotis, program director at Alyssa’s Place, said the message of the series, which is aimed at showing how the fallout from drug addiction can affect anyone, is especially timely as the COVID-19 pandemic health safety restrictions are lifted. “There’s definitely been an uptick — at least in the last month or so — of overdoses in (the area), especially in Fitchburg and Worcester,” she said. “The isolation for people has not been good. The lack of connection also hurts because people need to be around other people who…

WATCH – NEIGHBORHOOD LOVE – May 21, 2021 – McClure is an open book when it comes to her road to recovery after drug addiction. On the app, she shares her struggles and more importantly, her victories. She has narrowed life down from taking it one day at a time to taking it one moment at a time. “I want to inspire people to keep going. Life is not over,” McClure said. That’s because in the past, her drug addiction cost her everything — including custody of her children. What’s even worse is she lost their father to an overdose.…

WATCH – DON’’T USE NEEDLES MUSICAL INTERLUDE – Lou Reed and David Bowie live performance of the classic 1967 Velvet Underground song, I’m Waiting for the Man, written by Lou Reed. more@YouTube

STICKS AND STONES… – May 18, 2021 – The audience cheered and clapped. And then the MC there at the MGM Grand announced my name and the whole auditorium just booed and hissed,” Leaf, who has since recovered from substance abuse and now works for ESPN, said on the “Charges with Rex Chapman” podcast. “And it’s not like that hadn’t happened before,” the 45-year-old said. “You’re playing football and you’re on the opposing team’s field. But you’re wearing armor. My addict brain heard, ‘Not only are you a terrible football player, but you are an awful human being.’” That…

GETTING IT ON FILM – May 10, 2021 – “They promised me that they were going to tell it the way it was, and I trusted them, and I’m glad I did because they’re an awesome company,” she said. At its height about 30 years ago, Arnold’s operation raked in about $200,000 each week, allowing her to buy a ranch and run a biker bar, the Wild Side, in Ottumwa. As narrator in “The Queen of Meth,” she said she earned “in a few minutes” what she now earns in a day. “It was too easy,” she said. She…

WATCH – WITHOUT PILLS OR INJECTIONS – May 14, 2021 – “Overdoses, which were already increasing hugely over the last few years, increased even more for the corona pandemic,” Dr. Alex Kral, an infectious disease epidemiologist, tells KPIX. Elizabeth Cook reports. more@CBSSanFrancisco

LISTEN – IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD – May 23, 2021 – For decades, the field of psychiatry has been placing emphasis on the wrong domain—the mind or the psyche—when brain imaging teaches us that mental health is really brain health. Over the last 30 years, my colleagues and I have built the world’s largest database of brain scans related to behavior. We have performed more than 170,000 brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans, which measure blood flow and activity in the brain. It has become crystal clear to us that as psychiatrists we are not dealing with…

THANK GOD – May 9, 2021 – It’s been a long, strange trip in the four decades since Rick Doblin, a pioneering psychedelics researcher, dropped his first hit of acid in college and decided to dedicate his life to the healing powers of mind-altering compounds. Even as antidrug campaigns led to the criminalization of Ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms, and drove most researchers from the field, Dr. Doblin continued his quixotic crusade with financial help from his parents. Dr. Doblin’s quest to win mainstream acceptance of psychedelics took a significant leap forward on Monday when the journal Nature Medicine published…

WATCH – REMEMBER WHEN LUNCH WAS COCAINE? – May 17, 2021 – In Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series “Halston”, Ewan McGregor plays the late American fashion designer Roy Halston who became the face of an international brand but almost lost it all with a spiralling addiction to drug and alcohol. Having gotten sober years ago, McGregor says he’s more than familiar with Halston’s struggles. “I understand it, addiction. And I’m not judgmental about it, you know? Because I’ve walked that path for so many years, and it’s very cunning and you will absolutely live in denial, you know? People can’t…

KETAMINE IS MY FRIEND – May 17, 2021 – With Lamar’s reported current solution, he believes he has found the best way to helping him maintain his sobriety, telling GMA, “I call it the healthy high.” His treatment has also helped him maintain a more positive outlook on life. “I don’t wake up looking to do lines … or waking up in a dark place or feeling unfulfilled,” the former Lakers star shared. “When Kobe [Bryant] passed away, you know, the old Lamar, that’d have been every excuse in the world for me to go get high, [but] doing…

WATCH – MORE HEADS NEED BEDS! – May 17, 2021 – While restrictions and mandates have been lifted, and vaccines are being distributed, many centers said they are starting to see an uptick in people coming back for help. “I think we’re going to be seeing some stark reminders of just how deadly addiction is,” said Steve Wildsmith with Cornerstone of Recovery. He said he knew the pandemic would come with a lot of changes and challenges. Self-isolation and social distancing restrictions brought several new challenges for people who were to having someone at their side during recovery. Those…