As High as Death – Sept. 11, 2020 – “Your family is destroyed over $10 of heroin,” Mulford concluded. Assistant State’s Attorney Anastasia Prigge acknowledged Taylor’s addiction, but said prosecutors were frustrated that she didn’t seek help and that the “family continued to make incredibly poor decisions and Niyear paid the price.” Charges against the baby’s mother, who is now 18, were waived to juvenile court in August. A woman who said she was one of Taylor’s daughters, but declined to spell her name for a reporter, told Mulford how the drugs tore her family apart. “Drug addiction is a…
Author: Leonard Buschel
LISTEN – Dying To Be Thin – September 8, 2020 – For most of her 34 years, Stephanie Parker didn’t recognize she had an eating disorder. At age 6, she recalls, she stopped eating and drinking at school — behavior that won her mother’s praise. “It could have started sooner; I just don’t have the memory,” says Parker. In middle school, she ate abnormally large quantities, then starved herself again in the years after. This spring, it all came to a head: She was confined and alone in her New York City studio apartment, as COVID-19 ripped through the city. …
Tap before you pick up – Sept. 12, 2020 – Pocket Rehab is filled with familiar tools, but all of them are done very well and fit together cohesively. That includes smart sobriety searches, recovery trackers, inspirational messages, earning rewards, talking on a wide variety of message boards, and daily check-ins. It’s a good option for busy people who still want access to a helpful app that helps maintain sobriety. more@iDropNews
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” —George Bernard Shaw
New York lost a very good man – Sept. 9, 2020 – “He was truly something special. He had certain charisma and charm.” He remembers Judge’s wit and how he liked to crack a joke. “Even when I asked him to marry us a year in advance he said, ‘I cannot do it, I have funeral that day.’ I was really disappointed before he stopped me and said, ‘Dave it’s a year away, I don’t know what I will be doing, of course I will marry you.’ “I was overjoyed,” the firefighter recalls. After receiving minor burns on the…
Passing the First Lady’s baton – September 9, 2020 – Mishek, the third-longest-serving leader in the organization’s 71-year history and architect of the historic 2014 merger of the Hazelden Foundation and the Betty Ford Center, says he will step down when his successor is hired—likely in the first half of next year. Until then, he will continue to lead the addiction treatment leader through the pandemic, which has increased demand for Hazelden Betty Ford’s services, and advance the innovation, collaboration and growth that have defined his tenure. “While I’m excited about the next chapter in my life, I’m equally excited…
Save-A-Life – Sept. 1, 2020 – The U.S. surgeon general and state governments have encouraged wide distribution of the drug in recent years, but recovery organizations in closest contact with people dependent on opioids often struggle to afford newer, more expensive versions of the drug. Former President Bill Clinton and other backers of the initiative hope stocking naloxone in sober recovery homes will bring the lifesaving drug closer to those who need it: people in the early stages of recovery who are vulnerable to relapse as economic and social pressures mount during the pandemic. “There are too many people…
Neuroplasticity comes slowly – Sept. 2, 2020 – The more recently they’d had their last drink, the greater the disruption in activity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and striatum, a brain network associated with decision-making. The more severe the disruption to this network, the more likely it was that study participants would resume heavy drinking and put their treatment and recovery at risk, according to the study published online Aug. 28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The good news is that the severity of disruption between these brain regions diminished the longer that study participants abstained from alcohol, the…
Torah and Coffee – August 27, 2020 – In an unofficial way, Stern’s ministry began at the homeless shelter in Minneapolis where he stayed, and where he also began to work. He would help at mealtimes, and saw the heart-rending situations others were in. It was a testament to the plight many go through because of addiction and mental illness, which Stern said are often linked. Seeing parents line up with children every day was particularly hard. “I used to grab ice cream bars and bring them to the kids at their tables and sit and talk to them.” Stern…
Purple Haze Rave? – August 31, 2020 – As anyone who has been to Shakedown Street knows, the drug cocktail of LSD and MDMA is referred to as “candyflipping.” But for JR Rahn, the founder and co-CEO of psychedelic drug development startup Mind Medicine Inc., the combination, along with therapy, could become an FDA-approved treatment for certain mental illnesses one day. “What we don’t want is people think they can take this every weekend. This is medicine, it should be treated as such,” says Rahn. “We are not developing this so people have a better rave.” Rahn believes that…
WATCH – No one has to die – Sept. 4, 2020 – This time was different, though. When Leahy was going through patient intake at the hospital, he told the doctors what he had taken — the remnants of a bottle of liquid Percocet along with some other drugs — and he was rushed to the ICU. “They asked what I took and I told them, and they told me that I was going to die,” Leahy said. “I had accidentally taken 8 grams of Tylenol at once [from the Percocet].” Thankfully, Leahy survived the Percocet overdose, but his three-day…
WATCH – And the young shall lead us – Sept. 2, 2020 -“I didn’t really grow up with my mom as much as I’d hoped,” Preston told KDKA’s Kym Gable. “I lived with my grandma most of my life. The reason why is she struggled with drug addiction throughout my childhood.” After his mother’s death, Preston started raising money for the Washington County non-profit Harmony Life Center. The center is run entirely by volunteers and helps people with addiction and recovery through various programs and services. Preston initially donated the money he made with his lemonade stand sales. But…
WATCH – Loving sobriety on two wheels – Sept. 4, 2020 – His personal journey turned into a call to help others. Over the nearly 50 mile bike ride, he raised $900 for Treasure Coast Hope for the Homeless. Living a life that honors his past, while setting proud examples for his two children. “I want to be half the man my father was to me and I hope that I can accomplish that and I hope to be the best example to them as I can be. I think if they look back on what I’ve done with…
Prisons are Dangerous – Sept. 3, 2020 – This semi-normal life, combined with my White skin and the fact that I lived in an under-policed suburban neighborhood, allowed me to evade criminal justice involvement for years. All good things come to an end. I was arrested for the first time at age 23, still in my work uniform from the pizza place. Possession of heroin was a Class B felony in Oregon at the time. I knew that if I was found guilty, I would likely lose my EMT license and any chance of a future career in the…
Staying in the Groove – Sept. 2, 2020 – “Hey y’all guys, this is my newest piece, I hope you like it,” the reality star, 37, wrote in his caption. “Also I just put out a YouTube video where you can watch me draw a cool picture in timelapse! (Don’t forget to help me out and subscribe, and see my next videos as they come out). God bless.” It appears the eldest child of the Brown brood is exploring his talents and creativity these days. Just last month, Matt posted a portrait of himself gazing up at the sky and…
We all are! – Sept. 3, 2020 – In many ways, the current crisis makes it even more important and feasible for people to seek help. For a generation that lives and works online, having the option of Zoom treatment or a virtual Alcoholics Anonymous meeting can encourage more people to seek support in ways that are second nature to them. That includes me. I have been in recovery since March of this year, and these six months have been disorienting, plodding, bizarre and miraculous. In December of 1979, my father walked into a rehab facility in Salina, Kansas to…
Meetings at Starbucks? – Sept. 3, 2020 – That’s one of the key findings of a new study led by the Centenary Institute, an independent medical research body affiliated to the University of Sydney, in conjunction with the GenomALC Consortium, a collaboration between a number of research groups worldwide. The aim of the study was to identify risks associated with cirrhosis in heavy drinkers and to gain insights into ways to help prevent or reduce cirrhosis in people whose drinking puts them at risk. The lead author of the study, which was published in the science journal American Journal…
From the heART – Sept. 3, 2020 – The completed mural is 48 feet tall and 80 feet wide. It features five people holding hands, with the words “heal,” “strengthen” and “unify” painted above them. The left side of the mural is painted in black and white and then transforms into bright and colorful images as it moves to the right. “When living in the throws of addiction the world is black and white and there’s no color to it and as they move further and further into recovery more vibrant colors in life come to being,” said Christy Keele,…
Giving back – not giving in – Sept. 1, 2020 – For youth, experimenting with substances is often part of the introduction to independent living away from family. Engaging in social events that convene around alcohol is particularly common for university students and is also very much an aspect of the leisure culture of Santa Barbara County, an area famous for wineries, craft beers, and gathering spots for celebration. These first years of exposure to substance use is also when young adults may notice an urgency or compulsion in their responses to alcohol or recreational drugs. The urge to participate…
Still a Champion – Sept 4, 2020 – During his 16-year professional career De La Hoya fought some of the greats, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Hector Camacho and Julio Cesar Chavez. After breaking through at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Los Angeles native went on to compete as a professional in six different weight classes before turning to management as president of Golden Boy Promotions, which currently boasts some 90 boxers in its stable. But making a comeback at the age of 47 would add an unlikely chapter to his amazing…
Stick with the Winners! Bob Messinger’s film, LOCKDOWN: The emotional impact of Covid-19 and Quarantine, premieres Wednesday on the REEL Recovery Film Channel. Click here to register for FREE TICKETS. Bob Messinger has studied screenwriting under some of the brightest writers in both New York and L.A. His scripts have placed in competitions such as Francis Ford Coppola’s 2006 American Zoetrope Contest (Semi-Finalist), the 2012 ENDAS International Screenwriting Expo (Best Script), the 2011 Garden State Film Festival competition (Finalist), and eleven of his scripts have been winners in the Indie Gathering International Screenwriting Competition (2012-2020). His first production, “Dongmei” may be seen…
WATCH – She had to have something – Sept. 1, 2020 – Ms Owen was warned from a young age about the dangers of narcotics. But struggling with her mental health as a young adult, she began to “dabble” in party drugs as a means of escape. “It sort of went from you know, a more acceptable pile of drugs to these hotter drugs,” she said. “In the end, heroin and meth got the large majority of us, and there were about five or six of us that ended up in rehab.” Ms Owen moved to Sydney to break her…
Real Family Values – Sept. 2, 2020 – “Happy birthday Daxy,” the proud wife continued. “Thank you for dedicating your life to the hard and wonderful work of sobriety, so that we could share it with you. Xo K, L & D.” Last fall, the “Armchair Expert” podcast host spoke to The Huffington Post about sober parenting, revealing his occasional jealousy of buddies who can indulge themselves, especially while on vacation. “We vacation almost exclusively with three other families who all have kids, and certainly at night, I’m super jealous of them because I’m like, f–k yeah I would…
World Premiere! – Sept. 4, 2020 – Wednesday, September 9 – Sign-up Now! Watch at home, office or facility. Online or streaming. more@FilmFestivalFlix
MEDIA: Book Review – August 4, 2020 – The eye of astrophysics reaches a great deal farther now. Cosmologists calculate the curve and complete the figure by employing a potent arsenal of instruments and methodologies. Optical, radio, X-ray and gamma ray telescopes on mountaintops and in space, underground neutrino detectors and gravitational-wave observatories extend our sight to the edges of the universe. But what that really means is that they extend our sight into the past. This is perhaps the most basic fact of cosmology, sometimes taken for granted, and Mack explains it elegantly. Telescope users have a window into…
WATCH – A show showing the reality – August 31, 2020 – That’s why she decided to let others see what the battle of addiction looks like. It’s a story that – while it may be difficult to watch, and difficult for Lipinski, her students and staff to live through each day – is one that needs to be told, she said. That particular year at the school, much of which was caught on camera, was particularly difficult, said Lipinski. Eight members of the school community died that year – a current student, a former student working as an…
American Horror Story – Sep. 1, 2020 – According to a Department of Public Health report released Monday, 441 people died of an overdose in 2019. That is more than one per day for an entire year, and an astronomical jump from the 259 overdoses recorded in 2018. Fifty-four percent of the deaths in 2019 were related to fentanyl, a drug that can be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. “This doesn’t surprise any of us,” said Kristen Marshall, who manages the Drug Overdose Prevention and Education (DOPE) project at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, a city-funded…
Program of difficult options – August 30, 2020 – Societal judgments create shame when people attempt to receive addiction recovery treatment. DePasquale said that is why some people do not reach out for help sooner. “People feel ashamed and embarrassed, and it makes the topic not spoken about. Alcoholism isn’t a moral failing,” said DePasquale. “It’s a medically recognized disease, and it takes more than someone saying to get over it.” When stigmas influence an individual, it creates limitations that make a person question if they are worthy of being helped or if the disease has led them on too…
Hymn for the Dying – Sept. 2, 2020 – “Every single life lost to an overdose is a tragedy made all the more heartbreaking with the knowledge that many of those deaths could have been prevented if more people had a better understanding of this serious issue,” Verrelli and Benson said Monday in a joint statement. “The purpose of designating an Overdose Awareness Day in New Jersey is to ensure our participation in an existing international effort to prompt more discussions about overdose prevention and allow families to share the grief many feel they cannot outwardly express because of…
The truth shall set you free – Sept. 1, 2020 – I found out later that my parents had been harboring a dark secret that ultimately killed them, a secret that I’ve taken on the burden of owning now that they’re gone: They were addicted to opioids. “Overdose” is a dirty word. For years, I lied about how my parents passed away. The falsehoods were made easier by the concealing they had done themselves about their condition. Eventually I realized that had they told me their painful truth, I could have helped them battle their addiction, and that I needed…