Asleep at the wheel – Oct. 7, 2020 – The FDA estimates that 92 million benzodiazepine prescriptions were dispensed from U.S. pharmacies in 2019. In addition, an estimated 50% of patients in 2018 took benzodiazepines for two months or longer, even though the recommended use is no more than a few weeks or months, according to FDA statistics. Patents have expired on familiar brand names like Xanax, Klonopin and Ativan, meaning versions can now be manufactured by pharmaceutical companies that make lower-cost generic drugs. Today, there are about 20 companies in the U.S that manufacture these medications. All will need…
Author: Leonard Buschel
We tweet, we like, and we share… – Oct 9, 2020 – Director Jeff Orlowski (“Chasing Ice,” “Chasing Coral”) devotes much interview time to Tristan Harris, formerly a Google design ethicist and now head of the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit whose mission is to “reverse human downgrading by realigning technology with our humanity.” Harris clarifies how and why social media’s manipulation is so malevolent – addicting and isolating users while harvesting their personal data – explaining, “If the service is free, then you are the product.” That’s why the algorithms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, etc. have…
He did it his way… – Oct. 10, 2020 – Hueftle rediscovered his love of running in 2017, something he did successfully in high school at middle distance. Upon returning to the sport he set out to become one of the best Paralympic sprinters in the U.S., and in three short years he has become a bona fide contender to compete in the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2021. “I am not going to lie and tell you this has been easy, because it is not. But I knew if I kept drinking, I would lose it all,” said Hueftle, 35.…
Life is Hell – October 9, 2020 – I first binged on food when I was ten. I used my pocket money to buy a family-sized bag of crisps, a box of cookies and four croissants. I sat on a bench in a deserted park and ate it all. I’d always been fat, but as soon as the binging started I ballooned. At 12, I was admitted to a weight-loss clinic because my family didn’t know how to deal with me. When I asked the dietician at the clinic about the binging and my difficult relationship with food, she simply…
Love Never Dies – Oct 9, 2020 – Toni Cornell — armed with a mission to end the stigma associated with addiction — is honoring her late father, rock star Chris Cornell. On Friday ahead of World Mental Health Day, the 16-year-old and her brother Christopher launched an informative new podcast titled Stop the Stigma: Tackling the Stigma of Addiction Through Education. The series comes as part of their national advocacy campaign addressing the discrimination faced by individuals battling substance abuse. The podcast, which will explore how stigma is hampering efforts to combat addiction, is in partnership with the…
“…whatever/ returns from oblivion/ returns to find a voice.” —Louise Gluck
So we stay online longer? – Oct 7, 2020 – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have put their weight behind a measure to decriminalize all drugs in Oregon. The couple contributed $500,000 to the campaign, which would also earmark a significant amount of state cannabis tax revenue toward substance abuse treatment. Measure 110, the ballot item in question, aims to change the narrative around drug use in the state. Instead of treating drug users as criminals, campaign organizers believe substance abuse should be treated as a public health issue. “The war on drugs has created stereotypes…
Episode 3: Rebels “Maintaining sobriety through 2020 and beyond” Sober artists discuss the pandemic, creativity and Zoom rooms. Thursday, Oct. 22, 5pm PT, 8pm ET FREE: Click to Register
Time to read? Time to read – Oct. 2, 2020 – I recently came to terms with my own problematic relationship with alcohol, and my one solace has been in books. I’ve dug into memoir after memoir, tiptoed into the hard science books, and enjoyed the fiction from afar. The following are a smattering of the books about alcoholism I’ve found meaningful. Trigger warnings: addiction and alcoholism, amid other mental illnesses. The first book on this list was the one to really set my mind toward easing off the alcohol. Did you know that getting blackout drunk on the…
WATCH – Moms are the saddest – Sep 27, 2020 – On Sunday, Coleman’s family held a birthday party and balloon release in Chris’ honor at Lees Lane Park. His mother has also created a support group called Chris Rest Easy Son to help other families who are struggling. Four years ago, Rhonda Coleman’s son passed away from a heroin overdose at just 20 years old. Now, she wants to stress to the public how wide-ranging drug addiction is and how families can get help. more@WDRB
LISTEN – Public Radio – Sep. 28, 2020 – For those experiencing homelessness, navigating life during coronavirus brings some unique challenges. “The fact that the current opiate epidemic isn’t being addressed with the same type of force of any type of epidemic that is killing a particular group of people in of itself sort of speaks to forms of prejudice that is triggered by stigma against those people who may be suffering,” said Jeffrey Schonberg, a lecturer in the department of Anthropology at San Francisco State University Schonberg is also a fellow at the Berkeley Center for Social Medicine…
Doing the right thing – Sep. 30, 2020 – When images of Delonte West emerged online showing the former NBA star begging for money, the basketball community instantly rallied behind him. Fans, TV personalities and big-name players all urged the NBA to step in an help the struggling 37-year-old who had clearly fallen on hard times. West, who enjoyed an eight-year career in the NBA, has clearly fallen on hard times recently after various footage emerged of him begging on the streets and even being beaten up. It’s understood West made upwards of $16 million during his time with the…
Lock them up! – Sep. 30, 2020 – “We need to stabilize the city now and there is a lot of anxiety,” Cuomo said. “I have seen this city go through cycles. Most of the younger guys—you’ve only seen an upcycle. You don’t remember what the city was like because you weren’t born. In the 60s, when it was really bad, and the ‘70s.” The governor’s remarks were markedly different from his rhetoric earlier in the briefing, when he questioned why an armed police officer would be the responding authority during 911 calls regarding substance abuse or mental health issues.…
It’s Complex – 2020 – The mother wound is not a specific diagnosis — although it can hurt so much that you’re sure it warrants one. While both daughters and sons can feel the impact of the under-mothering that leads to the mother wound, it’s typically considered a mother-to-daughter wound. Thanks to psychologist Mary Ainsworth and her attachment theoryTrusted Source, we know that the trust that a mother instills in childhood positively affects not only the child’s present, but also their future relationships. Meaning, a child who acquires the mother wound is most likely to perpetuate this type of…
Remember Hash? – Sep.30, 2020 – LAS PALMAS, Spain (Reuters) – Spanish authorities have seized about 30 tonnes of hashish hidden in four sailing boats, in their biggest drug bust at sea, local authorities said on Wednesday. Nine Bulgarian and Russian citizens were arrested in the raid. “The logistical capacity of the Bulgarian criminal organizations’ top leaders engaged in drug trafficking in recreational vessels has been hit, preventing new routes from emerging or that they take advantage of the pandemic,” police and tax authorities said in a statement. Earlier this year 4.6 tonnes of hashish were seized in two…
WATCH – Time to stretch… – Oct. 1, 2020 – The organization has provided free athletic activities and a sober support community to more than 36,000 people across the United States. Now, clients can log on to free virtual classes offered throughout the day — everything from yoga and strength training to meditation and recovery meetings. “We hadn’t done virtual programming before, but we pretty quickly learned that it allowed the Phoenix to offer programs to rural communities that we historically couldn’t reach,” Strode said. The group now has people in recovery joining classes from all across the US,…
WATCH – No Escaping – Oct. 2, 2020 – “Running is a big part of my sobriety tool kit. I use it when I’m having a hard day or I feel triggered,” said Rosales. For about ten years, Rosales said she suffered with addiction to alcohol, she’s almost two years sober. The runner said it wasn’t easy to run her first couple of races but said the medals she won at the end of her races were tangible proof of what she’s overcome. “To me it illustrates simply taking action. No pun intended put a step at a time and…
Stigma in high places – Oct. 1, 2020 – “Addiction is a medical condition that affects millions of Americans each year, irrespective of any demographic. It is a disease, not a moral or character failing,” Marvin Ventrell, CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, told The Daily Beast. “It is inappropriate, harmful, hurtful, and irresponsible when a public figure or person of influence disparages people suffering from addiction.” “Pointing out a father because his son may have struggled in the past with a substance use disorder is wholly unconstructive and serves to perpetuate misconceived perceptions of addiction,”…
REVIEW: Sounds atrocious – Oct. 1, 2020 – The credits that follow serve as our quick-fire backstory on Ava, a former high valediction voted “Most Likely To Succeed” who went off the rails after a DUI incident. She joined the military, was honorably discharged and took up arms with a mysterious organization that’s never really explained—all we know is that they send Ava to off people all over the world. Her handler Duke, played with gusto by John Malkovich, is a stand-in father figure for Ava, who attempts to reconcile with her real family in between missions. It’s all a…
Safe at Home – Oct. 2, 2020 – Later that season, Johnson hit a solo homer off Jim Kaat in the fourth inning of a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the decisive seventh game of the World Series, making a winner of Koufax, who threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. Johnson, born on Sept. 22, 1934, in Lexington, Ky., had his best season in 1966, hitting .272 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs in 152 games for the Dodgers. In a 2001 interview with The Times, Johnson said he gave his World Series ring to a…
Billions and Billions – Oct. 4, 2020 – With the launch of OxyContin, in 1995, Purdue unleashed an unprecedented marketing blitz, pushing the use of powerful opioids for a huge range of ailments and asserting that its product led to addiction in “fewer than one percent” of patients. This strategy was a spectacular commercial success: according to Purdue, OxyContin has since generated approximately thirty billion dollars in revenue, making the Sacklers (whom I wrote about for the magazine, in 2017, and about whom I will publish a book next year) one of America’s richest families. But OxyContin’s success also sparked…
How sweet it is… – October 1, 2020 – The case was brought before the court by Subway franchisee Bookfinders Ltd. which claimed that the bread Subway served qualified as a “staple food,” which, in Ireland, means that the bread would be exempt from value-added tax (VAT), thereby saving Subway money. The ruling, which was handed down on Sept. 29 by the five-judge Irish Supreme Court, said that the bread’s sugar content — which is five times higher than what was set out in Ireland’s Value-Added Tax Act of 1972 — is too sugary to meet the legal definition…
Stick with the Winners! – October 1, 2020 – Laura Martella is an accountability and certified recovery coach with over 20 years of active sobriety. She has a strong track record for creating sustainable change in the lives of her clients.Laura’s 90 day one on one accountability program teaches her clients how to transform their daily habits into acts of intention and self care. Her personalized plan offers practical and relatable guidance on how to simplify “ eating clean “ in today’s world of unlimited choices. Laura reminds us there is no “magic pill, shake or powder.” Her comprehensive program…
Lightweight – October 3, 2020 – “She was like, ‘Baby, I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen anybody drink that much. Like, you’re kind of scaring me,’” he quoted her saying, noting she asked him whether he would wake up. Furlan, who is Lee’s fourth wife, was a viral star on Vine and now has over 2 million Instagram followers. She opened up about her relationship with the rocker on the Netflix documentary “The American Meme.””I met someone who I can trust because I didn’t trust anybody that I’ve dated before. I’d say Tommy is my…
Groovy – October 1, 2020 – On September 21, the City Council of Ann Arbor, Michigan voted unanimously to decriminalize naturally occurring psychedelics. It becomes the fourth US city in two years to adopt such a reform. However, lawmakers added a late amendment to the resolution that alters its scope. Commercial manufacture and sales, driving under the influence, “public disturbance” and distribution in schools will remain firmly illegal. The city also calls upon the Washtenaw County prosecutor to stop charging people for offenses related to use of these drugs. The resolution cites clinical research, anecdotal evidence, and historical and traditional…
WATCH – He can call himself anything he wants – Sept. 28, 2020 – Mike Tyson was 41-1 as a pro boxer — his lone loss coming against James ‘Buster’ Douglas — when he was convicted of rape in 1991. Tyson was sentenced to prison for six years but served three. He returned to boxing in 1995, and although he made quick work of Peter McNeeley in his return to the ring, Tyson was never the same. After the McNeeley fight, Tyson went 8-5 in his next 13 bouts. Despite raking in more than $300 million during his boxing days,…
When some go High/Others go Low – Sep. 29, 2020 – 1. Methamphetamine Number of drug reports: 417867 Percent of all cases: 27.47% Methamphetamine was most common in the South (183427 reports). 4. Heroin Number of drug reports: 127641 Percent of all cases: 8.39% Heroin was most common in the Northeast (33678 reports). 3. Cocaine Number of drug reports: 209086 Percent of all cases: 13.74% Cocaine was most common in the South (87581 reports). more@InsiderMonkey
Harm Reduction is Death Reduction – Sep. 29, 2020 – Without it, Berry entered the halfway house unmedicated. Because he had been abstinent for months, his tolerance was far lower than it was when he entered rehab on May 10. Not even a month after his discharge, Berry, a father of two, died from an overdose on July 23. “He called when he was in the inpatient facility and told me, ‘They are going to wean me off this because they’re having some trouble finding a place to send me,’” Hornak told MedPage Today. “I believed he would be…
Stop interrupting? – Sep. 30, 2020 – From his home in La Jolla, Calif., Mr. Chopra, 73, has been looking out at the anxious and angry state of the world and he’s not surprised. Some people may think this moment in time is the height of political and social division — with people baiting each other on social media, walking away from friendships, even splitting up with lovers over political polarization — but Mr. Chopra said our behavior is nothing new. “It’s been going on since the Stone Age,” he said. Still, after years of working in conflict resolution and…
WATCH – Reel Recovery Film – Oct. 1, 2020 – Justin was my heart with legs. Now, he is my heart with wings. Part of me is with him. I will never be who I was before his death. However, I want to be clear that part of me is fed and healed from the relationships I have with people who are in recovery. My hope is that we begin to see addiction not as a stigma but as something to overcome, just like any other challenge we have. I hope we find connection and healing through conversations and this…