WATCH – What we worry – Jan. 13, 2021 – “When you give them $600 they’re going to really take it to the limit and that really will raise your chances of losing your life,” said Thomas Gooch, the Prevention Director for Street Works- an HIV advocacy center. Among its services Street Works runs a certified needle exchange program. “We provide clean syringes for individuals who use the syringes. We also dispose used syringes. We provide treatment referrals to where we try to get people into alcohol and drug treatment to help them out.” Gooch said Nashville drugs that were…
Author: Leonard Buschel
WATCH – High profits – Jan. 9, 2021 – “Despite all the market challenges, everything from COVID to supply chains and beyond, Maine has done a really good job getting this market up and running,” said Thomas Winstanley, vice president of marketing for Theory Wellness, which has locations in South Portland and Waterville. “Cannabis is becoming part of the social fabric.” Nearly a third of U.S. states have approved legal adult use marijuana. That includes several states with longer established marijuana programs and four that just went legal in the 2020 elections and are developing programs. But only Maine…
Is it worth it? – Jan. 13, 2021 – “Many people have palpitations and dizziness, but one of the bad things about atrial fibrillation is that it’s asymptomatic and can lead to other problems such as stroke. In many people, a stroke is the first manifestation of the disease,” she added. People with atrial fibrillation are thought to have a 5% to 7% annual risk of stroke. The risk of heart failure – when the heart pumps too weakly – follows a J-shaped curve with alcohol intake, meaning that it is lower for people who drink a little than…
WATCH – Teach Your Children Well – Jan. 12, 2021 – Taylor’s family said this summer two former classmates overdosed together. Her father, Todd Grzybinski, says he can list at least a dozen kids within the last six months that he knew or someone knew that had died of a drug overdose. Todd launched the website Know More to help parents whose children are trying drugs and struggling with addiction. more@Fox2Now
The healing has begun – Jan. 13, 2021 – “For the first time, you’ll be able to see my chronicle of struggle and ongoing healing from my point of view. I’m grateful that I was able to take this journey to face my past head-on and finally share it with the world.” The first two episodes of “Dancing with the Devil,” which will span the three most recent years of the singer’s life and career, are available for free via Lovato’s YouTube channel starting March 23. The “OK Not to Be OK” artist added via Instagram, “Thank you to…
Good book – Jan. 13, 2021 – Stewart is no outsider when it comes to addiction and recovery. At the age of forty, he found himself homeless and hopeless. With only a few possessions and dollars to his name, addiction left this once-successful businessman bankrupt spiritually, emotionally, and financially. He entered rehab program after program – and after his twelfth program, Stewart had a self-acknowledged breakthrough that helped him overcome his addiction and reclaim his life. In “Free Yourself from Yourself”, he shares this breakthrough through twelve spiritual principles. Throughout the book, Stewart shares his personal story of addiction and…
No one is too small to grow – Jan. 13, 2021 – So, do the same for a human being,” she said. In December, Kőrösi self-published “Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered.” The book culminates months of interviewing more than 50 individuals from around the U.S. and a handful of other countries. Each story delves into what addiction is and how it impacts the lives of those closest to the disease. One anecdote is of Kőrösi’s own life — she recalls losing her uncle in a drunk driving accident at a young age. As addictions continue to claim more…
A New Dawn Coming – Jan. 13, 2021 – Feeling means knowing deep down that these were the heinous acts of truly free people ― people who operated without fear of consequence. And feeling meant acknowledging that I, and others who look like me, may never be that free. At the end of my drinking, I wasn’t partying or getting turned up. I wasn’t glamorously brandishing a martini during cocktail hour. For me, there was no such thing as “a” glass of wine with dinner (actually, who needs dinner)? In the end, I was drinking round the clock, and I…
Not Without Blemishes – Jan. 13, 2021 – “Since the onset of COVID, alcohol use skyrocketed as a coping mechanism. Everyone’s looking for relief. People drink for relaxation, to calm nerves, to sleep, as a ritual, to escape boredom, depression, a past event, or a present problem. They drink socially and as a reward. It easily becomes a habit. People believe drinking relaxes us, but it’s really just dulling the brain and our ability to analyze and process information. Ultimately it causes us to zone out and not care,” she said. Temin specializes in helping clients with goals, habits,…
Stick with the Winners! – January 15, 2021 – Dr. Allen Berger’s professional career spans over 49 years, since 1971. After returning from a combat tour of duty in Vietnam in 1971, USMC Corporal Berger became a counselor at the Koneohe Marine Corps Air Station – Drug Exemption Program, helping fellow marines who were returning from Vietnam with drug problems discover recovery. This experience inspired him to become a clinical psychologist. A daunting task for a high school drop-out. In 1987 his dream came true when he graduated from UC Davis with a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Dr. Berger…
WATCH – On Everyone’s Mind? – Jan. 23, 2020 – “And we can’t say that it’s a good thing for everything to go on living. In a very simple demonstration that if we enable everybody to go on living, we overcrowd ourselves. So therefore, one person who dies in a way is honourable because he’s making room for others. We can also look further into and see that if our death could be indefinitely postponed, we would not actually go on postponing it indefinitely because after a certain point we would realize that isn’t the way in which we wanted…
WATCH – The Steps Are the Same – Jan. 11, 2021 – Keep in mind that addiction does not discriminate among gender. However, women face different physiological and psychological challenges when opting to get back to normalcy. It includes addiction progression, denies and shame, and the need for community. When talking about addiction progress, keep in mind that women mobilize drugs and alcohol faster than men. It means that they develop the addiction quickly. Also, women are natural caregivers, so they feel guilt and shame while accepting substance abuse. Lastly, they are less solitary in comparison to men and…
Where there’s a Wil, there’s a way – Jan. 12, 2021 – Wheaton also mentioned interacting with his wife Anne before passing out from consuming too much alcohol. He woke up the next day and asked his friend Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick to seek out help for his alcoholism. As part of his recovery, the actor talked about healing himself from past traumas with poor reception from his parents. He wrote about leaning on his immediate family and Hardwick during the difficult times. more@CBR
Covid Wing Available – Jan. 13, 2021 – According to State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan, on Dec. 3, there were 13 coronavirus infections in residents and 14 among staff at the center. By Dec. 22, the number of infections reported at the center had risen to 103 (67 residents, 36 staffers). The person noted that the hotel’s website has been under construction for a year and that the phone number is always busy. She said website reviews only occur on holidays and conjectured that perhaps they let a few guests stay there occasionally to keep up the “facade.” “Also,…
Abstinence Becomes Them – Jan. 13, 2021 – Helping smack down that notion is Danny Trejo who, at 52 years sober, recently filmed a PSA on behalf of CRI-Help, an L.A.-based nonprofit treatment center. The spot finds the former inmate turned boxer turned actor fighting his demons — literally and figuratively — in and out of the ring. “I got honest. I got clean. You can too,” Trejo says in the spot, which debuted in December. Musselman says that the start of a new year often leads people to survey their decisions and life goals, especially after “indulging” around…
LISTEN – More Must Be Done! – JAN 11, 2021 – Two health crises will confront President-elect Joe Biden when the Democrat takes office on Jan. 20: the coronavirus pandemic and the opioid epidemic. WCPN reports that treatment providers hope Biden will make the addiction crisis a top priority. more@NPR
WATCH – Getting More Out of Life – Jan. 17, 2021 – Rob Lowe is Willie Geist’s virtual guest on this weekend’s “Sunday Sitdown” for “Today”, and he reflected on the wildness of his younger years — and how they ultimately led him to a life of sobriety. “I was a teen idol, young movie star and an alcoholic [with] a lotta money, and it was a great mix. What could possibly go wrong?” Lowe joked. “But when I was done, I was done.” He got sober at 26, and admitted he “barely” recognized his Brat Pack-era self. “It is…
WATCH – Shrinking from Responsibility – Jan. 14, 2021 – A federal prosecutor explained this case was different than other high-profile pill mill cases in the Middle District, acknowledging there was insufficient evidence of medical fraud. They added that given Edwards’ limited scope as a psychiatrist, he did not prescribe opioids and he was in his 70s, all factors that they believed warranted a reduced sentence. Prior court records outlined allegations of Edwards’ excessive prescribing habits, writing prescriptions for addictive drugs outside the course of general medical care. Records cited pharmacists at 11 different pharmacies, seven in Opelika and four…
LISTEN – Women Suffer More – January 14, 2021 – From the earliest days of the pandemic, social media has been flooded with jokes and memes about turning to alcohol to cope. But 10 months later, many are reevaluating their relationship to alcohol in a very serious way, some spurred on by the popularity of so-called “Dry January.” Studies have shown that people are indeed drinking more during COVID-19, but the change is most dramatic in women. Dr. Kamala Greene Genece is a clinical psychologist specializing in addiction who works at Partnership to End Addiction and Wholeview Wellness. Holly Whitaker…
While we all gently weep – Jan. 16, 2021 – On Thursday, HHS officials did just that: physicians are no longer required to have a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine — just a DEA registration that nearly every doctor in the country already needs to prescribe drugs. “The medical evidence is clear: access to medication-assisted treatment, including buprenorphine that can be prescribed in office-based settings, is the gold standard for treating individuals suffering from opioid use disorder,” Adm. Brett P. Giroir, assistant secretary for health, said in a news release. “Removing some of the certification requirements for an X-waiver for physicians…
“The world being illusive, one must be deluded in some way if one is to triumph in it.” —William Butler Yeats
Dr. Feelgood – Jan. 12, 2021 – Hart knows this. He knows about the discomfort his readers might feel when they encounter his full-throated endorsement of opiates for recreational use. He offers the information in a spirit of radical transparency because he believes that if “grown-ups” like him would talk freely about the role of drugs in their lives, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in, a mess brought about by our ruinous drug policies, which have had such profound — and profoundly unequal — consequences for those who fall afoul of them. For Hart, it wasn’t always…
WATCH – Not fast enough – Jan. 1, 2021 – “You’re talking about really sick people with a chronic progressive life-threatening brain disease who are presenting for care, they’re going to be admitted into care. And then the paperwork process will occur after they’re already there,” Davis said. In fact, in 2019, Chelsea asked two times, months apart, for inpatient treatment before giving up the wait. “What we know about people in active addiction is they’ve got this window of willingness for treatment and that window is fleeting. And if we do not provide care for folks within that window…
Read the fine print – Jan. 2, 2021 – Alternative to Meds Center been tackling antidepressant withdrawal for over 15 years. We have published evidence regarding our success. Our staff, including licensed professionals and founding members, have overcome similar struggles, which is why we do this work. After working with over 20,000 cases, we have found that each person needs a unique combination of support. Some people are neurotoxic in a way that debilitates neurochemical balance, some require lifestyle modification including diet changes, exercise, and supplementation, and some people have genetic polymorphisms or even medical conditions that can be…
WATCH – OD Ideation? – Jan. 1, 2021 – That’s the grim, unfortunate reality of the drug, that Roy and Wendy Plunk know all too well. “I mean, I’m never going to be the same, you know? Part of my heart is gone,” Roy Plunk said. The Plunks say their son, Zach Plunk, overdosed and died from fentanyl back in August 2020. Zach was known for playing football for Hamilton High School, and Roy and Wendy say his life took a turn a few years back. “He got addicted to it and we just could not get him off of…
Rolling joints, not hundreds – Jan. 4, 2021 – Aware of earlier findings that social isolation triggered spikes in drug use, researchers at New York University’s Langone Health Center wanted to quantify what social distancing measures imposed during New York’s lockdown in the spring did to that city’s party scene. Among the 128 adults surveyed, large majorities reported using less cocaine (78.6 percent), less MDMA (71.1 percent) and less LSD (68 percent). Even those who still use cocaine reported using less of it, and less frequently. Only one drug surveyed showed a large, across-the-board increase: 35 percent of respondents reported…
Prisoner of greed – Jan. 2, 2021 – Li would later become known as a notoriously reckless supplier of lethal drugs — the first doctor in New York state to be convicted of killing his patients with pills. For $150 in cash, which he would slip into his white coat pocket, Li freely wrote out prescriptions for potent narcotics to anybody willing to pay, virtually no questions asked. “It’s very mechanical,” said one witness at his trial, according to “Bad Medicine: Catching New York’s Deadliest Pill Pusher,” by Charlotte Bismuth which was published by One Signal. “He’s doing it to…
OPINION by Ryan Hampton – Dec. 31, 2020 – Recovery works — I’m living proof — but it requires community-based, long-term support. Connections, whether with friends and family, support groups or other types of programs, are critical to recovery. The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted support and services, amplified stress and anxiety, and added physical distancing requirements to people already feeling isolated. Those factors have made it even harder for people to take the first step toward remission from substance use disorder. As a result, experts have called for more resources and heightened intervention to reduce substance use disorders since…
BOOK: Approved literature – Jan. 5, 2021 – Paramahansa Yogananda made an indelible impression on the spiritual landscape of the United States. Arriving in America in 1920 from his native India, he established Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) that same year. Throughout his ministry, he taught the underlying unity of all the great faith traditions—devoting himself to fostering greater harmony and cooperation among all religions, races and nationalities. He brought the knowledge of yoga and meditation to millions through his public lectures and writings, as well as through the many SRF meditation centers he established throughout the world. In 2014, an…
LISTEN – Staying sane and sober – Jan. 1, 2021 – When Vladimir Celestin and his extended family realized they couldn’t get together on Christmas, they got creative. “My cousins on my father and my mother’s side, we decided to put a sort of presentation for my grandmother, as well as my other aunts and uncles,” says Celestin, who has only seen his parents and grandmother in Long Island, N.Y., once since the pandemic began. The presentation included old photos and video clips from past holidays and vacations gathered by family members, who live in different places. He says the…