Author: Leonard Buschel

STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – April 9, 2021 – Amanda Marino is a Certified Intervention Professional (CIP), Certified Recovery and Life Coach, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Alternative Medicine. She is one of the co-founders of Next Level Recovery Associates alongside her partner, Blake Cohen. Utilizing their expertise, experience and passion, Amanda and her team strive to fill gaps that are currently present in the pre and post treatment process. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice? and when did you stop using? A. I became clean, sober and stable on February…

BY DOING WHAT? –  April 5, 2021 – The crisis is national, but the struggle is personal—deeply personal,” he said. Biden became the third sitting U.S. president to address the Rx Summit, joining President Donald Trump in 2019 and President Barack Obama in 2016. Former President Bill Clinton also spoke at the Rx Summit in 2018. In its latest projections, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 88,000 individuals died from a drug overdose in the U.S. between August 2019 and August 2020, a 27% increase year-over-year that Biden said has been largely driven by social isolation and…

WATCH – A NEW “DAWN” WITHOUT ALCOHOL – April 8, 2021 – Alcohol consumption has increased during the pandemic and it could be putting many women at an increased risk of breast cancer. A growing group of women are pushing back against the wine-to-unwind culture. more@CBC

IF IT REALLY WORKS, WHY NOT? –  April 5, 2021 – Once dismissed as a fringe, counterculture vice, psychedelics are rapidly approaching acceptance in mainstream medicine. These drugs uniquely change the brain, and a person’s awareness of experiences, in the span of just a few hours. This fast-acting shift could be useful in mental-health treatments, and research is already supporting this notion. Just one dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, was recently shown to ease depression and anxiety in cancer patients—an outcome that lasted for years after their trip. Researchers are recognizing that psychedelics can provide a…

THEY BE TRIPPIN’! – April 6, 2021 – A bill to decriminalize psychedelics in California and create a working group to study broader reform advanced through a Senate committee on Tuesday. The panel also approved separate legislation to allow communities in the state to temporarily open safe consumption sites for illegal drugs. The Senate Public Safety Committee approved the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D), by a vote of 4-1. If enacted into law, it would remove criminal penalties for possessing or sharing a wide range of psychedelics—including psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, ibogaine, LSD and MDMA—for adults 21 and older.…

SHE’S NINETEEN – March 29, 2021 – Adolescents and teenagers who experiment with marijuana and prescription drugs are more likely to get hooked on them than young people who try these drugs for the first time when they are college-aged or older, according to a new analysis of federal data. The research suggests that young people may be particularly vulnerable to the intoxicating effects of certain drugs, and that early exposure might prime their brains to desire them. The findings have implications for public health policymakers, who in recent years have called for increased screening and preventive measures to reverse…

BOOK REVIEW – April 8, 2021 – In a 2017 email, Mortimer Sackler, son and namesake of one of the three brothers who co-founded Purdue Pharma, requested a $10 million loan—and “a possible additional $10 million…MAX”—from the family trust to fund his lavish lifestyle, with instructions to keep the cash infusion secret from his relatives. “Start off with saying I am not happy,” he wrote to a psychiatrist and “leadership confidant” named Kerry Sulkowicz. “I am falling significantly behind financially.” The heir was prepared to sell off “artworks, jewelry, stock positions,” but it would not be enough to get him…

WHAT WOULD BILL W. DROP? –  April 8, 2021 – After years of daily opioid use, Kevin was finally succeeding at his recovery. In 2011, he moved into a halfway house, got a sponsor, and started going to 12-step meetings every day. But there was a problem. The experience that had brought on his newfound dedication to sobriety was a stay at a clinic in Mexico, where he took the psychedelic drug, ibogaine. When others in his programs would ask what detox program he went to, and he was honest about it involving a psychedelic drug, he got mixed responses.…

BLACK TAR: THE NEW DIGESTIF? –  April 10, 2021 – Dr. Hart argued that most of what you think you know about drugs and drug abuse is wrong: that addiction is not a brain disease; that most of the 50 million Americans who use an illegal drug in a given year have overwhelmingly positive experiences; that our policies have been warped by a focus only on the bad outcomes; and that the results have been devastating for African-American families like his own. Much of the blame, he said, falls on his own profession. “We in the field are overstating the…

NO MORE ZOOM GLOOM – April 8, 2021 – “You could hear the plopping of her poo,” he recalls. “She put the camera back on her face like nothing happened.”) Meetings were attacked by Zoom bombers. Hate speech filled the chat. The screen was hijacked with porn. A troll showed us his butt. It was disheartening. I heard a story about someone relapsing after a meeting that was bombed with racist hate. It made them feel unwelcome, and they drank over that feeling. Eventually we figured out rules, passwords, and waiting rooms, and enlisted moderators. Things got more manageable. But…

“The curse turned to grace when the hurt turned to faith.” —DMX (Dec. 18, 1970 – Apr. 9, 2021)

I’VE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP –  March 31, 2021 – Development of drug use later in life may be connected with prescription of pain relief medication, which poses a risk for misuse if not appropriately administered. Increasing tolerance to opioid analgesics due to use of other substances can also impact on adequacy of pain relief. A lack of health insurance can force older people to obtain substances for pain relief from illicit sources. The widespread prescription of benzodiazepines among older people and the risk of overuse is also a well-known problem. Polypharmacy – the mixing of five or…

A YEAR IN THE LIFE – April 1, 2021 – The new report, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA pediatrics, adds to mounting evidence showing adolescents are more vulnerable to substance use disorders than young adults, increasing the need for early screening and drug prevention education, health experts say. “We know that young people are more vulnerable to developing substance use disorders,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA director and lead author of the study analysis. “Though not everybody who uses a drug will develop addiction, adolescents may develop addiction faster than adults.” Researchers at the NIDA, a part of…

ANOTHER STATE GOES TO POT –  April 1, 2021 – New Mexico was set to become the 16th state to legalize recreational marijuana after the Legislature passed a bill on Wednesday, joining a national movement to rethink antidrug laws that are increasingly seen as impediments to racial justice and the economy. Under the New Mexico law, people over 21 would be permitted to have up to two ounces of marijuana, and individuals could have six plants at home, or up to 12 per household. Sales would begin no later than April 2022 and be taxed at 12 percent, eventually rising…

SAVE THE COUNTRY – April 2, 2021 – Price wrote that her decision to get sober came after she “started drinking more frequently again” during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the late summer and early fall of 2020. “The election and the political climate and the cyber bullying and threats were wearing on me,” she wrote. “I thought about wiping my social media accounts off the face of the earth and retreating to the Mt. Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles, the place Leonard Cohen had studied with the Buddhists and became a monk for a brief time.” But Price,…

KIDS SAY THE DAMNEDEST THINGS – March 30, 2021 – When adolescents are online, they adapt to a different set of social norms than when they’re interacting with their peers in person. Oftentimes, they are more aggressive or critical on social media because of the anonymity they have online and their ability to avoid retaliation. Additionally, cyberbullies may feel less remorse or empathy when engaging in these behaviors because they can’t see the direct impact of their actions. “The perpetrator doesn’t get a chance to see how damaging their bullying is and to learn from their mistakes and do something…

WATCH – THE MIRACLE OF MEN – March 24, 2021 – Now, they’re ready to take their efforts a step further by creating a structured sober living facility in Southern California that’s equipped with a “community of retail and restaurant employment opportunities,” Schneidman told Fox News. It will be geared toward anyone who is struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction. The caveat? They have to be willing to do the work to turn their life around, he said. “This structured sober living that I went through taught me how to become a man,” Schneidman said. “And that’s what I want…

LISTEN – LOVE IS THE FIRST STEP – April 5, 2021 – He has been in and out of rehab numerous times over the last two decades and has had long periods of sobriety between relapses. It’s also a story about a family’s love and loss. Biden was 2 years old when his mother and sister died in a car crash. Hunter and his brother, Beau, were seriously injured but survived. Biden writes that his addictions entered a particularly dark phase after Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. It got to the point where in an intervention in early…

ESSAY/OPINION/AL-ANON SHARE – March 27, 2021 – My brilliant and weirdly eccentric father, who I thought was the most interesting man in the world, indulged in a combo of pills and alcohol. Even as a teenager, I wasn’t attracted to the boys who turned their homework in on time and were on track with post-high school scholarships and a career path lined up. I was drawn to the brooding, artistic boys with plenty of attitude and a love of partying. I had to drive my senior prom date home because he got drunk on the giant Tequila Sunrise he’d made…

WATCH – SINGING SOBER – March 29, 2021 – Of all the pop stars, Pellow seemed such an unlikely addict – so clean-cut, bouncy and upbeat. After being outed by the tabloids in 1999, he never denied his problems. But he always liked to accentuate the positive. He would smile his famous smile, admit he had had a rough old time of it and hurdle the tricky stuff. He preferred talking about his solo albums, his performances in West End and Broadway musicals and his blessed life. And talk he can – Pellow is smart, informed, funny, obsessed with music…

SICK OF SCHOOL – April 1, 2021 – Campbell Stowell, another first-year student, reiterated these worries. “My depression and anxiety are at their peak,” said Stowell, describing how the simplest of tasks such as attending a virtual class or finding a Zoom link feel “overwhelming most days.” “I am constantly stressed with the lack of breaks and navigating online school,” Stowell said. “I am more worried about my mental health than getting COVID-19.” An MHS counselor at UHS — who Stowell said is “very supportive” — has helped her find a therapist in the Madison area; yet, Stowell remains frustrated…

HAPPY AS HELL – March 25, 2021 – “I had tried to avoid the word addiction when I was writing ‘Salt Sugar Fat,’” he said. “I thought it was totally ludicrous. How anyone could compare Twinkies to crack cocaine was beyond me.” But as he dug into the science that shows how processed foods affect the brain, he was swayed. One crucial element that influences the addictive nature of a substance and whether or not we consume it compulsively is how quickly it excites the brain. The faster it hits our reward circuitry, the stronger its impact. That is why…

A YEAR IS A YEAR, WELL DONE – March 30, 2021 – She continued, “When I found out that I was in fact going to be on the show I thought to myself that it may be a good time to stop drinking again but it was much too hard to stop and I wasn’t ready after all I just started again and I wanted to ‘enjoy’ myself.’ I always knew there was a stigma around alcoholism and addiction but I didn’t realize just how terrible the stigma was, especially for women, until the show aired.” “This year of dealing…

WRESTLING FOR LIFE – April 1, 2021 – “Honestly, the drug thing, (stopping drugs), kind of happened when I got the call that I could go back to WWE because that lifted my spirits a lot. I was like, ‘Damn, well, I don’t want to f*ck up anymore.’ Then, seeing this little girl randomly at a grocery store, I looked like do-do. I was really, really skinny and it was a really bad time and stuff. She looked at me like I was a superhero, like I was Wonder Woman or something. Obviously, she doesn’t read social media, so she…

WATCH – BAD MONEY AFTER GOOD – April 1, 2021 – She said the correlation became clearer when checks rolled out. Some people relapsed or would stop showing up for treatment. “Engagement specialists, recovery coaches, we start reaching out to these people even if that means going to their homes,” she said. “It’s a very difficult time right now.” El Rio Medical Director of Specialty Behavioral Health Christina Arredondo said the isolation and uncertainty of the pandemic continues to impact those with substance use disorders. “Have lost jobs, have lost insurance, and lack of insurance you can lose medical care.…

HEALING AND HOPE – April 2021 – The Guest House, located on a rustic estate in Silver Springs, has been in operation since 2016. It is one of the nation’s leading centers for treating addiction and destructive behaviors. Located on 52 oak-shaded acres, the Guest House provides an idyllic setting with a unique and personalized treatment program that addresses any self-defeating behavior – from drug addiction and sex addiction to anxiety and depression. The program, though, does not only focus on the particular addiction or other self-defeating behavior, but also, as Judy put it, “on the trauma and the underlying…

CATCH HER IF YOU CAN – April 2, 2021 – Runaway Princess: A Hopeful Tale Of Heroin, Hooking and Happiness is a true story, laced with wicked humor and much pathos, of Mary Goggin’s Irish Catholic upbringing, drug addiction and prostitution, and the multitude of characters she encountered along the way to ultimately finding joy. Mary Goggin is a New York based actor born to Irish Emigrants and raised in the Bronx. Mary attended high in Ireland and is recovering nicely from sexual repression. In 1992 Mary discovered that she is an actor and has since performed in Broadway, Off-Broadway and…

THREE BULL-MASTIFFS IN A CORNER KITCHEN – April 2, 2021 – Like a pea pushed down a snowy mountain, is how Sam Batley describes his spiral into addiction. From the age of 15, his consumption of substances gained momentum: the amounts grew and the sober time in between shrunk, until he was using every day. “The cycles of behaviour I was developing in my teens would be the foundation of repetition going into my adult life,” Batley, 30, says. That cycle of trying to mend an internal issue – grappling with feelings of guilt and shame – with external stimulation…

WATCH & LISTEN – BEING SOBER IS VERY COOL –  April 2, 2021 – After almost a decade of steady touring and hustling to make their harmonious indie-rock group Communist Daughter one of Minnesota’s great shoulda-been bands, Johnny and Molly Solomon just wanted to get off the road and live in isolation for a while. “Little did we know that every musician would be forced into the same boat,” Johnny Solomon said. The married musicians also didn’t foresee just how isolated they’d be — that their new home would literally be “off the road” — when, in 2019, they started…

BUSINESS OF GREED – March 30, 2021 – Prosecutors say more than $350,000 in suspected kickbacks were paid to Moore by the sober living home operators. The money was “covered up by bogus contracts for ‘marketing’ services,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The sober living homes were able to submit claims to health insurers tied to the new patients Moore is accused of bringing them, prosecutors allege. In one recorded conversation cited in court filings, Moore and a sober living home employee reportedly discussed the cash value of the “clients” Moore had allegedly helped place in the facility. Prosecutors…