STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – April 6, 2021 – Amy Dresner is a journalist, author and former comedian as well as a recovering addict and alcoholic. She was a regular columnist for the addiction/recovery magazine The Fix.com for 7 years. Her first book, “My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean,” was published by Hachette in 2017 to rave reviews from critics and readers alike. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice? and when did you stop using? A. Drug of choice was crystal meth and coke but I drank a lot as well. I’ve…
Author: Leonard Buschel
A FAREWELL TO SANITY – April 1, 2021 – He also had a fraught relationship with his mother, who dressed Hemingway as a girl when he was a child. Hemingway’s third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn, would later attribute Hemingway’s difficulties with women, including infidelity, cruelty and abandonment, to his relationship with Grace. As Gellhorn would write years after the collapse of their marriage and Hemingway’s death, ”Deep in Ernest, due to his mother, going back to the indestructible first memories of childhood, was mistrust and fear of women.” Seeking adventure and an escape from his suburban life, Hemingway left home…
LISTEN – HUNGRY GHOSTS – April 1, 2021 – The White House plan drew praise from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who represents one of the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. “I have long pushed to expand access to medication-assisted treatment,” Hassan said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the White House to get this done.” In the briefing Thursday, LaBelle outlined a vision for addiction policy that would shift the government’s response away from law enforcement and drug arrests toward healthcare and treatment. The plan notes that President Biden has called for an end to…
WATCH – LONG OVERDUE CONVERSATION – April 3, 2021 – As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States, Floyd, the father of two young daughters, started using again: he lost his job as a nightclub security guard because of quarantine shutdowns, he was hospitalized for several days after an overdose, he found out he had the coronavirus. On the day he died, his neck trapped under the knee of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin for more than nine minutes, he had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, toxicology reports later showed. “We got addicted and tried really hard…
WATCH – 18 DIFFERENT JAGGED LITTLE PILLS – April 2, 2021 – “What’s the point of a $5 million contract that I have to walk on eggshells and jump through your hoops — which is already impossible — to obey if I’m dead? What the f–k is the point of having the money if I’m not here anymore because I was going to die of a pill overdose or suicidal thoughts?” In February, Margera asked fans to boycott “Jackass 4.” He is now contemplating taking legal action. “I didn’t want it to come down to this, but, I mean, I…
IT’S SO CLOSE TO THE MOUTH – March 27, 2021 – The old adage claiming alcohol “goes straight to the head” is actually true according to new research. Scientists say booze breaks down in the brain, rather than the liver. The finding turns previous theories upside down and scientists believe it holds the key to combating binge drinking and alcoholism. Researchers hope the results could also one day be used to treat conditions such as strokes, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. “Alcohol metabolism may be regulated directly in the brain,” says lead author Dr. Li Zhang, of the National Institute…
LISTEN – ATTRACTION NOT COERCION – MARCH 31, 2021 – The Washington Post has been running a series about reimagining public safety, and one of the guest columnists is Kassandra Frederique, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. She believes it’s time to once and for all end the war on drugs, and joined Seattle’s Morning News to discuss why. “And so we are pushing to end the drug war, and for us that means not just ending the arrest for simple possession and low level sales, but us having a meaningful conversation about how do we disrupt the…
SYSTEMATIC BREAKDOWN – March 24, 2021 – In a spectacular display of stigma related to the disease of addiction and its treatment, there has not been a rush to expand capacity, address decades of old workforce shortages, or properly prepared for the tidal wave of death and destruction now washing onto the shores of California. And now, the state’s failure to understand the critical role that licensure for the profession plays in attracting and maintaining the workforce has come home to roost. We are behind; far behind in developing the resources needed to treat addiction. In California, one voice stands…
DEATH REDUCTION – April 3, 2021 – Doctors or nurses based at SIFs provide treatment or give referrals to treatment for people with opioid addiction. In my work as a buprenorphine doctor, many of my patients say before meeting me they were unable to find a place to access medication for their addiction. They continued using drugs not because they wanted to but because they could not find treatment. SIFs offer a way to meet people where they are at and provide them with what they need, directly linking them to life saving care. SIFs open the door to…
LAUGHTER HEALS – April 2, 2021 – The thing about being a standup comedian is that you can never turn off that part of your brain, not even when you are trying to kill yourself. Margaret Cho learned this in 2013 when she attempted suicide in a hotel room, using a shower curtain rail. “It started bending and I was like: Oh shit, I’m too fat to kill myself, so I had to get down,” says Cho. “I thought: I’ll go on a diet and I’ll try again when I reach my goal weight, which means I’m never going to…
WATCH – TIME TO WINE DOWN – April 2, 2021 – Between 2019 into 2020, reports of women binge drinking rose amid the COVID-19 pandemic — now many, particularly mothers, say they’re reevaluating their relationship with alcohol in hopes to put an end to a hazardous health trend. In 2019, Lainy Warnecke made it 47 days without having a drink after becoming “sober curious.” She said she eventually went back to consuming alcohol in moderation, though when the pandemic hit, the mother of two found herself pouring a drink every single day as she worked a full-time job remotely along…
ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD…TO REHAB – April 1, 2021 – Martin is initially the most hesitant of his pals, but soon he’s discreetly taking sips of vodka at school. He delivers a passionate, welcomed lecture about drunk politicians who won major wars (Winston Churchill). He reconnects with his wife (or at least, they have sex in a tent). He vacations with his family. At first, the whole group thrives as well, coaching soccer teams to victory and mentoring their students with real compassion and understanding. Another Round unfolds like a night out: It starts off joyous and limitless, and…
MORE THAN A SPIKE LEE JOINT – March 31, 2021 – Anyone with a previous marijuana conviction that would now be legal under the law will have the rap expunged or be re-sentenced. And New Yorkers will now be legally allowed to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis outside the home and up to 5 pounds at home — and can smoke pot in public where smoking tobacco is permitted. However, smoking weed is not permitted inside schools, workplaces or cars. The law takes cannabis off the list of controlled substances and allows those who are 21 and older…
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” —Diane Ackerman
HAPPY TEARJERKER – March 23, 2021 – Thomas was convicted of crimes that led to probation. He said he served in the Navy for seven years and had PTSD and anxiety. He said at one point he tried to kill himself by overdosing on meth, but he survived. Then someone told him about Reincarnation Cottages.”I’m happy to be here,” said Thomas. “I have no regrets coming to this place.””We wish Landon nothing but the best. He’s fantastic,” said Niki Shelton, Thomas’ HR Manager at XCaliber International. Thomas has a new job thanks to the program and his manager said Thomas…
“HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?” – March 26, 2021 – Perhaps the language of mental health is burgeoning because actual mental health is declining. According to one report, nineteen per cent of adults experienced a mental illness between 2017 and 2018, an increase of 1.5 million people from the previous year. covid-19 has correlated with soaring rates of depression and anxiety, especially among young people. (In one study, conducted last September, more than half of eleven-to-seventeen-year-olds in a screening of 1.5 million said that they’d thought about suicide or self-harm “nearly every day” for the past two weeks.) A growing awareness of…
SOBRIETY IS ON THE MENU – March 25, 2021 – Glass explained she had been addicted to several different drugs for 19 years, including pain killers, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. She said she has now been sober for 17 months and credits the support she gets through the small groups for keeping her on the right path. “If somebody like me that was an IV drug addict for a lot of years, that had given up on everything I love and value in my life, came off the bike path, I was unemployed, I was locked up in jail, I…
“I AM AL-ANON” – MARCH 25, 2021 – Michael Douglas is opening up about one of his biggest struggles as a father. Speaking to AARP the Magazine, the “Wall Street” actor, 76, got candid about son Cameron’s drug abuse and revealed that he learned to set boundaries as a result. “Set boundaries, big and small. My older son, Cameron, was a drug addict and ended up serving seven-and-a-half years in federal prison,” the actor told the outlet, per Entertainment Tonight. “That was hard, having to protect myself and my family and tell my older son that if you feel like…
LIGHT MY FIRE! – March 20, 2021 – No matter what art form you are obsessed with, we all are on the hunt for that next seed idea sending us on our next artistic journey. Most often we stumble upon these little gems unexpectedly. For most of us, that happens far too infrequently. Here is how to open your channels to hearing your muse speak to you more often. more@KolibriFilms
“QUARANTON”? – March 22, 2021 – Good thing stretchy pants aren’t visible on Zoom. For many Americans, buttoning one’s jeans has gotten increasingly harder during the pandemic, and researchers have now estimated just how many pounds people under shelter-in-place orders tended to gain. The research letter, published Monday in JAMA Network Open, opens by explaining 45 US states put such orders in place from March 19, 2020 to April 6, 2020. To get a sense of the impact of that period, researchers used data from a heart study in which 269 participants weighed themselves using Bluetooth-connected smart scales between Feb.…
YOU MEAN DEATH REDUCTION – March 23, 2021 – Coworkers eventually helped me contact author Van Asher, who gave me a color copy. Asher, 51, is currently the harm reduction coordinator at Housing Works’ Cylar House. For decades he’s been on the frontlines of harm reduction work around Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the neighborhood where I live and where I first started learning about harm reduction a few years ago through the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center. With St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction, Asher has made 1,500 copies of The Young Injectables since it came out in 2019.…
STARTS WITH AN “F” ENDS WITH A “K” – March 25, 2021 – “The dirty truth is that they are relying on algorithms to purposely promote conspiratorial, divisive or extremist content so that they can take money, make money in ad dollars, and this is because the more outrageous and extremist the content, the more engagement and views these companies get from their viewers,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., the chairman of the full committee. In 2020, Facebook’s profits rose 58 percent to $29.1 billion. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, saw its profit rise 17.5 percent to $40.3 billion last…
LISTEN – BONDING OVER BEANS – March 27, 2021 – Coffee at KYUK takes a look at sobriety through the eyes of Tiffany Hall, executive director of Recover Alaska, and Alice Qannik Glenn, producer and host of the podcast “Coffee and Quaq.” Both guests talk about what it means to take on a sober lifestyle, and the different ways of thinking and talking about it. Recover Alaska has many resources available on their website, recoveralaska.org, including links to various podcasts in this series on sobriety. Coffee and Quaq can be found at coffeeandquaq.com. more@KYUK
MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 1997 – Lyrics I never thought you’d be a junkie because heroin is so passe.But today, if you think that I don’t know about depression and emotional pain,You’re insane, or you’re a fool who hasn’t paid attention to a word that I say.In a way, I can’t help but feel responsible, I always knew that you were insaneWith your pain, but I never thought you’d be a junkie because heroin is so passe, hey. Heroin is so passe, hey.Herion is so passe, hey, hey.Aaaah So passe nowadays.You never thought you’d get addicted, just be cooler in an…
NEW JERSEY SOBER…FUHGGEDABOUTIT! 3/29/2021 – Editor’s note: Last week, we at Addiction & Recovery eBulletin reported on singer Demi Lovato’s decision to be “California Sober,” which entails imbibing “moderate” amounts of alcohol and marijuana. While neither we nor anyone else can take Ms. Lovato’s inventory – she alone can decide whether she is a full-fledged alcoholic or addict that must completely abstain from drugs and alcohol – we were concerned by this announcement. For starters, as a pop music star, Ms. Lovato has outsized influence over young people – many of whom, like the rest of us, have or will develop troubling…
WATCH – REAL CELEBRITY SOBRIETY – March 25, 2021 – The talk show host, 50, asked the fashion designer what it was like ‘staying sober’ during this ‘challenging year.’ Jessica hasn’t had a drink since she first went sober over three years ago, and didn’t allow the stress of 2020 to get in the way of her journey. The star revealed she could not do it without having her 41-year-old husband Eric Johnson by her side: ‘Eric and I, both, we look at each other, like, we could not have drank through this.’ Simpson is currently promoting the paperback release…
WATCH – CALIFORNIA SOBER HITS UTAH – March 25, 2021 – Shane Ericksen, who owns Men’s Tribal House, says medical cannabis maintenance has proven to be a harm reduction tool to treat things like chronic pain and PTSD. A doctor assess every new resident to see if they need a cannabis treatment plan. Roughly half of the 27-bed home use it and must get their medicine from a medical cannabis pharmacy. Ericksen says it calms the body and mind, and prevents relapse — especially when hard times come up. “They’re not going to run down the block and get heroin,”…
FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE OF SELF – March 27, 2021 – Most any recovering addict will confirm that when in active addiction you are a slave to your substance [or behavior] of choice, whether that’s alcohol, pornography, gambling, or drugs. Your entire life is consumed by that compulsion. more@AddictionRecoveryeBulletin
STILL SCORING! – March 24, 2021 – Throughout that football season, Favre noted taking pain pills became “constant,” admitting the dosage increased as the months went on. The night before the next season began, the former NFL star had a seizure, which was later linked to his addiction. “I’d never had a seizure before that. As they dug deeper, [the doctor] found out that I had an addiction to pain pills, but I didn’t tell him how much,” Favre said. “I said, ‘OK, I’ll stop taking them,’ but I continued to take them.” The former athlete had a second seizure…
STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – March 25, 2021 – David Marion is a certified interventionist, public speaker, founder of The Life Recovery Coach and author of Addiction Rescue; The NO-BS Guide to Recovery. As a Nationally Certified Intervention Professional (NCIP) and a Nationally Certified Recovery Coach (NCRC), he is dedicated to helping those battling substance abuse onto a path of sustained recovery and fulfilling lives. A recovering addict himself who lost his marriage and relationships to substance abuse he is “uniquely qualified” to introduce others to a clean and sober way of life. Q. If you are in recovery, what…