Forgot the OUT part – June 02, 2020 – He found a money bag in his car containing two larger bags of heroin, six small bags of meth, pills that were later identified as Suboxone and $315 in cash. His defense counsel stated that the defendant received a score of 27 on the tests, which is considered passing, but Officer Hatcher failed him because of his performance in another test and the swaying he did during the test. The last witness called was Matthew Milliron from the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, who was consulted about whether the substances in the…
Author: Leonard Buschel
OPINION: William Cope Moyers – May 28, 2020 – In these times, just one more might be okay for most people. Yet for one in 10 of us in America, one drink or drug is too many and a thousand are not enough. Addiction is cunning, baffling, powerful — and patient. It waits for times like these. But recovery shouldn’t take a day off either. People who struggle and need help now and those of us like me who must continue to stay away from substances, have found a new way to do it. Though such virtual venues have been…
To drink, or not to drink??? – May 20, 2020 – As a single woman participating in Dry January (I repeated the dry challenge solo in 2018), I learned some very important takeaways about dating without a beverage in hand. Dates became more creative. They took place at ice cream shops and dessert cafes, fitness studios and painting classes, instead of repetitively “grabbing a drink” again and again. Without alcohol, I could spot red flags early on, rather than guessing if I misinterpreted someone’s words under the influence. Drinking wasn’t providing false sparks or interfering with real ones either. I…
Timothy Leary’s Not Dead – June 4, 2020 – Besides age, education level was a big predictor for trends in LSD use. People with college degrees increased their LSD use by over 70 percent, while people without higher educations decreased their use. People with who graduated high school but didn’t attend college decreased their use by 24 percent, while those didn’t graduate high school decreased their use by 44 percent. Some other changes in LSD use emerged among different demographics: By race, people identifying as multi-racial increased their LSD use the most, with a small decrease among non-Hispanic white…
Looking Back – Moving Forward – June 5, 2020 – About a year after moving to the lakes area, Cooksey started using meth. Her friends introduced her to the drug. Through meth and those friends, Cooksey met her now-husband, Brian, who was also using. “We were doing it together. I was so head over heels for my husband, we were best friends, and it just got to be an everyday thing,” she said. “I always went to work, I always did my job, our numbers were always up higher.” But when she started doing drugs at work or leaving to…
It’s Not About the Food – June 5, 2020 – Roughly one in 10 Americans struggle with disordered eating, and the pandemic has created new hurdles for those managing difficult relationships with food. Working from home means spending the day next to a fully stocked refrigerator. Grocery trips are less frequent, creating a pressure to load up. Social meals are out of the question. And many individuals feel an enhanced degree of uncertainty and angst, which can exacerbate existing mental health challenges. “There are jokes circulating about people’s fear of weight gain during the pandemic,” said Claire Mysko, the chief…
“STELLA, I NEED ALANON” – June 6, 2020 – As Brando revealed in his tapes, his parents’ alcoholism leached every iota of belief in human kindness from his young soul. After all, belief requires trust, and trust is a luxury the child of an alcoholic cannot afford … Lies and deceit were his daily life; webs of fantasy, pretending away the deforming pain. And so when Marlon Brando stepped onto a stage for the very first time, he was already a consummate actor. For Brando, the method acting he learned under the tutelage of Stella Adler was as natural to…
Caring about life down under – June 5, 2020 – The Victorian Government has accepted all recommendations of the independent review of Victoria’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR), which has found the trial is saving lives and changing lives for people struggling with drug addiction. After 18 months of work, the final report from the independent review panel chaired by Professor Margaret Hamilton found the MSIR in North Richmond saw over 119,000 visits and saved at least 21 lives. The facility has safely managed 3,200 overdoses – taking pressure off emergency departments and reducing ambulance call outs – and…
Attraction Not Coercion – June 5, 2020 – Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who spearheaded the local effort with Mayor London Breed to expand court-ordered mental health treatment — also called conservatorship — said the delays are “incredibly troubling.” “This was not going to solve the entirety of the problem, but this was supposed to be one of an abundance of pilots and attempts,” he said. “But the fact that this one thing takes so long raises a ton of questions.” The pilot program was made possible by two state laws written by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. San Francisco’s Board of…
Time to stop having children? – June 4, 2020 – Curbside sales of marijuana and alcohol are newly allowed in Massachusetts under emergency state coronavirus regulations meant to prop up local businesses without exposing residents to infection. The rules ban most in-store sales, and stipulate that all recreational pot purchases happen outside. The ban on children, commissioner Shaleen Title argued during the agency’s monthly meeting Thursday, is unfair to single parents and other guardians who cannot readily leave their children with someone else. With schools and day care centers closed because of the pandemic, she said, the curbside restrictions effectively…
Meet the Quaransteins – June 4, 2020 – Germany has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in Europe, with drinking occupying a prominent place in national culture through events such as the Oktoberfest beer festival. According to a recent study by the German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS), three million Germans between the ages of 18 and 64 had an alcohol problem in 2018. Sales of alcohol rose sharply during the initial phase of the lockdown as many people turned to drinking at home as a substitute for banned social events. Wine sales at the end of March…
Nothing but net – June 6, 2020 – Jennifer Capriati was just 13 when she burst on to the tennis scene, a dazzling meteor of talent, reaching the semifinals of the French Open in her first year as a professional player. Great things were prophecized for the young player, but even though she is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she never fulfilled her promise. Her career was a roller coaster ride of professional triumphs and defeats, and an injury sent her on a downward spiral of dependency. In 1990 the world was agog when 13-year-old…
Back in Action! – June 6, 2020 – The show became hit. Matthew finally had the popularity he dreamt of. The actor says that he was in the white-hot flame of fame. They were everywhere, all the time. That is the time when his personal life wasn’t very easy. The actor says that from outside everyone thought that it was all easy and he had got everything, but it was very lonely. He got addicted to drugs and alcohol. @TechRadar247
No Country for Old Men – June 5, 2020 – Dial-A-Ride offers door-to-door transportation, but demand has increased so much that reservations must be made seven days in advance. Lack of transportation leads to additional challenges when refills are restricted to short time periods. Unfair Burden For Seniors Under Federal Law, “Schedule II Prescriptions Must Be Presented To The Pharmacy In Written Form And Signed By The Prescriber.” For Mail Order Pharmacies, The Prescription Must Be Mailed, Causing The Patient To Wait Days For Pain Relief. In Dr. Anne Bukacek’s Experience, Seniors Like Robert Tend To Conserve Pain Meds Until…
GUILTY! Ya think? – June 5, 2020 – DEA and police said Francis was a drug dealer posing as a drug counselor and contributing to the opioid crisis across the region. He ran a side tax preparation business next door called All Personal Matters which was also a criminal enterprise and staffed by addicts paid for their work with drugs, agents said. This week, the U.S. attorney’s office filed a new complaint against Francis in relation to that business, saying he prepared bogus business tax returns for five individuals. Francis indicated he will waive indictment in that case and plead…
Stick with the Winners! – June 8, 2020 – Since 1999, Anthony’ Brown’s passion is providing specialized treatment individuals who suffer from substance use disorder combined with mental illness. With a B.S. in Nursing from CSU Fullerton, Anthony developed and directed a long-term residential treatment modes, which has fueled his dream to open a home for those who have suffered from the disease of addiction and mental illness. He currently enjoys being thankful for each breath and gratefully lives every moment of his amazing life. All proceeds from the sale of “From Park Bench to Park Avenue” (available on Amazon)…
Great Share – June 5, 2020 – As I sat in those group sessions and listened to people talk about their experiences with alcohol, I felt a sense of panic at how much I related to their experiences. I had been fighting with a vague notion that something was wrong with me for a couple of years, but I never made the connection to alcohol until that week of confinement. I went back to finish my senior year and plunged even further into my own addiction, perhaps trying to prove to myself that it was true, or perhaps knowing that…
It works if you’re working – June 4, 2020 – The unemployment rate is one of the indicators defined by the County of San Diego’s Live Well initiative that determine how well San Diego County residents can live healthy lives. According to the San Diego Association of Governments, unemployment in the San Diego region reached an all-time high of 26.8% between April 18 and April 25, beating the 24.9% rate recorded in the United States at the peak of the Great Depression in 1933. With the easing of restrictions on businesses starting May 8, however, SANDAG predicts that unemployment may…
OUT & SOBER Double Winner – June 5, 2020 – You deal with dark subjects on the album, but it also seems quite hopeful. How do you balance the two? “There’s hope in there because I’m sober now and I’ve come out of the closet and I also use a lot of major chords! If we go by the country music stereotype of your dog dying, your pick-up truck breaking down and your woman leaving you, they’re all done to major chords too. I’ve kept that tradition up. I was also able to make fun of myself and of the…
Great Reception – May 29, 2020 – The Missouri product talks about how he was fed up with the way he was living his life. He also focused on his grandmother dying of ALS last year and what she told him on her death bed. If that doesn’t wake someone up, I am not too sure what will. It’s a story of a man who was trying to do right, and got some encouragement in the form of tough love from a family member who was dying. @Sportsnaut
Ms. Denial’s Binoculars – June 1, 2020 – Over time, she’s gotten better at hiding her addiction. She only uses a small amount when she’s around other people so as not to display any obvious signs of intoxication. She carries mints and perfume if she wants to drink or smoke weed. And she’s always looking in the mirror, any chance she gets, to make sure she doesn’t come across as high. “The only possible giveaway is my eyes when I’m on downers, specifically how droopy they get,” she tells me. “I sometimes use coke or speed after to try and…
Lead to…? – June 5, 2020 – “But the same way we do with food and exercise and concerns about obesity, we want to have some benchmarks for how to stay healthy.” Kelly Rubinsohn, an opera singer in Philadelphia who has a day job as an office manager at an architectural firm, lost both gigs when the quarantine started. Drinking has been a salve during a difficult time, she said. “There is literally nothing else to control,” she said. “I can at least make a cocktail.” Historically, drinking and drug use rise when people experience wars, terrorist attacks or natural…
Up With People – June 2, 2020 – My sobriety began with a jump, falling into murky water. That’s not a metaphor: swimming in the middle of nowhere in my native South Africa in 2012, I picked up a parasitic disease called bilharzia; my subsequent weakened immune system and a summer of binge-drinking led to a case of hepatitis. Both diseases required prolonged hospital stays and strict admonishments against drinking alcohol. My nightly drinking and smoking were replaced with green tea and rest. Three months of rest on doctor’s orders turned into eight years and counting. I left my old…
Seeing past the present – May 29, 2020 – What is your reaction to the move from daily clinic visits to monthly prescriptions? One big concern is the possibility of misuse and overdose. There is lots of evidence that methadone is misused, which is why the daily clinic visits have been the norm. And it is fairly straightforward to cook buprenorphine – another addiction medicine – in a way that it is easier to get high. It’s really a stressful, alienating time. For those of us who are healthy and may be able to work from home and have good…
No Matter What? – JUNE 5, 2020 – On March 11, Saige quit drinking for the second time in her life — but this time she would have to navigate recovery during a pandemic. Just three weeks into her sobriety, Gov. Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. “I went to one meeting with people and then meetings started shutting down,” she said. “I think it is really hard being new in sobriety and having to go through this because you’re getting sober on Zoom. You’re talking to people through a laptop, or…
One darn day at a time – June 5, 2020 – As an introvert, I initially believed that the isolation process was a dream come true – I didn’t realise how much of a nightmare it would become. That insidious voice of my alcoholism crept back in – so slowly and quietly that it almost caught me off guard. One day, I found myself in the aisle of Tesco, daydreaming over the notion of having a drink. I shook it off, grabbed my necessities and left the shop. The thoughts lingered though. I fixated on the idea of drinking for…
Sugar Magnolia? – June 5, 2020 – Sugar has addictive potential because it releases opioids and dopamine in the brain. Eating sugar also increases the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that gives us a “happy” feeling. Simply put, eating sugar causes chemical changes in the brain that make us feel good, and once that feeling has worn off, we’re left wanting more. One of the main reasons that sugar is so addictive is because we feel like we can never eat enough (unless you’re one of those people with incredible self control). This is because sugar is absorbed into the…
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
Listen Up! – May 26, 2020 – EDGE: Let’s talk about the new podcast series you’re about to launch in conjunction with WSCA. It deals with addiction and recovery, which, on the surface sums it up well enough, but let’s dive in… What’s it all about? Lefebvre: The WSCA “Addiction & Recovery” podcast series is fundamentally about hope — hope for individuals and families who struggle with addiction. Our episodes feature sons, daughters, moms, dads, sisters and brothers who have found their way out of the abyss of addiction and are willing to share their experience with others. The series…
Use your head! – May 24, 2020 – Every day I went out I would say, “today I can drink as late as I want because when I use cocaine the effect wears off. Let’s go find some”. ‘I was never at home, it was just parties and drinking. There were times I wouldn’t go a single day without taking cocaine. ‘I started to get fat through the drink, I picked up a knee injury and I couldn’t run. All that as well as the coke. So I said, “that’s it”. I gave up football for good.’ The former centre…