Aroma Therapy? – MAY 18, 2019 – Describing caffeine as the “most widely consumed psychoactive drug,” Stafford said the findings suggest that changes in the ability to detect smells could be a useful index of drug dependency. The study authors said their work could lead to new methods of aversion therapy to treat addiction to substances with a distinct smell, such as tobacco and marijuana. “We have known for some time that drug cues [for example, the smell of alcohol] can trigger craving in users, but here we show with a mildly addictive drug, that craving might be linked to…
Author: Leonard Buschel
Which Came First? – May 18, 2019 – “I’m more grateful for my kids today and don’t take them for granted,” said Rhodes, who recently celebrated four years of sobriety as she now works as a tech and counselor in training at Jackson Area Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (JACOA). “If they have something going on at school or wherever, then I take vacation time or sick time to go be there with them because I think that’s what a good mother is supposed to do.” Rhodes has six children ranging from 2 to 15 years old. The mother…
A Good Deed – May 17, 2019 – Hildebrandt said she attempted to get clean in the past, but the withdrawal symptoms were too much to handle on her own. With some inpatient rehab centers charging $6,000 for a 30-day program and some outpatient programs costing $5,000 for a three-month program, Hildebrandt told WFLA that this was what she “had to do to go get clean.” Luckily, Brian Zitt of New Port Richey-based Rockland Treatment Center, saw Hildebrandt’s story and was motivated to reach out. Zitt was an addict for 18 years, he said, and was given a second chance.…
Nine Dead in Ohio – May 17, 2019 – The deaths were in the 43223, 43016, 43204, 43224, 43085 and 43207 zip codes. The coroner’s office says it is conducting testing to confirm if the deaths are fentanyl-related. Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz says fentanyl has been the major cause of overdose deaths last year and so far this year … Franklin County Public Health along with Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) will provide free naloxone with a brief training. To locate these sites please visit: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/projectdawn. Other distributors of naloxone and for resources and information on addiction,…
Self Help Comes to Life – Tuesday, May 21, 2019 – Imagine walking into a bookstore looking for information about pain management sans drugs––trauma and its effects on addictive behavior—co-dependency—psycho-drama—adolescents and internet addiction—intervention for families—loneliness—marketing—relationship trauma repair—emotional intelligence and resilience—shame—equilibrium in the here and now—cultivating healthy attachments—healing trauma and PTSD, acupuncture and Eastern medicine. Full Story @ AREB
Helping Others – May 17, 2019 – Two years ago, Leah was at a sober-living home in Ephrata, Pa. It was Christmastime, and a church group brought gifts for women in the home. Most were carefully wrapped, but Leah spotted a garbage bag among them. That’s the one she picked. “Inside the garbage bag was a pocketbook full of compartments, full of all kinds of necessities,” Robin Straley said. “There were all kinds of items, basic necessities that a lot of times we take for granted, and that you may not have, others may not have. “And she called us…
MEDIA: A Nothing Conversation – May 17, 2019 – To add to this, Grisel says that some of us are wired to be more susceptible to drug addiction, including herself. She raises a red flag on the increasing legalization of marijuana. While she does not oppose legalization, she warns that not enough research is available about the drug’s addictive properties and, therefore, we should proceed with more caution. “Let’s put money into education,” suggests Grisel. ”Let’s understand the risks we are taking and share those risks widely, so people aren’t confused about what they’re doing.” What we have been doing,…
Lead Us Not Into Temptation – May 15, 2019 – The officer stated in a police report, “This area is known to me as a high drug area… this behavior is conducive to the sale of elicit narcotics.” Sweeney told the officer she had marijuana on her for medical reasons but could not provide a medical marijuana card. The officer conducted a search of the vehicle and found three baggies containing several prescription pills, some cut in half, within arm’s reach of both Sweeney and Gomez. The arrest report states, “Having pills separated into small baggies and split in half…
Ryan Hampton On Fire! – MAY 17, 2019 – Eventually he sought treatment and lived in a long-term recovery house, leaning on that support system to kick his habit. Today, he’s using his political knowledge to organize people to advocate for funding and policies to help others recover. Hampton, the author of “American Fix,” a book about the opioid crisis, will share his story as he encourages hundreds of Lehigh Valley residents to fight the opioid epidemic politically. He is a featured speaker Sunday at the third annual Rally in the Valley event, which celebrates addiction recovery and connects people…
Higher Ground – May 17, 2019 – Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) is reviewing a Senate bill focused on fighting the opioid epidemic that would allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana in many of the same situations where they could prescribe opioids. Sponsors of Senate Bill 19-013 said this option could help doctors avoid prescribing addictive painkillers for things like chronic pain, but members of the medical community are worried there’s not enough research about the effects of cannabis and that the bill’s language is too broad. Rep. Edie Hooton (D-Boulder) is a sponsor of the bill, and said it is…
The Caine Mutiny – May 17, 2019 – A whipping boy for reviewers who at best grudgingly acknowledged his narrative skill, Mr. Wouk (pronounced woke) enthralled millions of readers in search of a good story, snappy dialogue and stirring events, rendered with a documentarian’s sense of authenticity and detail “I’ve been absolutely dead earnest and I’ve told the story I had in hand as best as I possibly could,” he told an interviewer for the New York Public Library in the 1970s. “I have never sought an audience. It may be that I am not a very involved or a…
Too Liberal? Too Natural? – May 21, 2019 – The available medications for opioid addiction, such as buprenorphine and methadone, act in a similar way, curbing cravings. But they are still not widely used. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, just one-third of US patients with opioid dependence in private treatment centers actually receive these kinds of medications. According to the 2016 surgeon general’s report on addiction, only 1 in 5 people who needed treatment for opioid use disorders was receiving any sort of therapy. Public health experts say there are obstacles to getting these drugs, which are…
Poisoning America – May 20, 2019 – Generic drugs amount to 90% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., most of them made in plants in India and China. Generic drugs can be more affordable, but in her new explosive book “Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom,” investigative journalist Katherine Eban works with two industry whistleblowers to expose how some manufacturers are cutting corners at the cost of quality and safety. This comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just issued its own update on the state of pharmaceutical quality that found the drug…
Free Will – May 20, 2019 – Doctors had prescribed Eubanks an assortment of pills, including opiates, for the injuries he sustained during the shooting and, as he told WTHR-TV in April, “almost immediately, I started medicating that underlying emotional pain.” Eubanks said he used drugs and alcohol for 12 years to dull the trauma and grief before finding recovery. “When people ask how I found recovery, I tell them it’s because I… figured out every way that doesn’t work and fortunately I was able to stay alive long enough to do that, which isn’t often the reality today with…
Arrested for having a disease? – May 20, 2019 – “He will be returned to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.” The representative added that reports of Lange’s progress and commitment to sobriety have been exaggerated, saying: “All the stories gave the impression he was doing great, but that is not the case.” Those positive progress reports included a tweet on Friday that showed Lange, smiling and holding Howard Stern’s latest memoir while working at a New Jersey gas station. “Pumping gas and reading Howard Sterns new book, which is great by the way,” a rep for Lange tweeted…
Stick with the Winners! – Beginnings: Born in Jamaica, New York, grew up in Flushing where Monday through sundown Friday I was not Jewish enough and on weekends visiting cousins I was not quite Black enough, but eventually learned to embrace and embody both Education: (The streets of NY/LA/Detroit, Schools, Shrines, and Backstabbers) NYU Undergraduate Institute of Film and Television; Madison Avenue; UCLA; Covey-Franklin Leadership Training Strengths: Married happily 47 years to Liz McNeill, Father of Nigel McNeill, Optimistic, Encouraging, Collaborative, Supportive, Funny, Conceptual, Storytelling, Counseling, Spiritual, Articulate, Coffee Aficionado Q. At which of the schools you attended did…
Daughter Turns Two – May 16, 2019 – This is a far cry from Kelly’s past as a hell-raising TV star. Back in August 2018 — shortly after the overdose of friend Demi Lovato – she revealed just how dark her life had become before she sought help and entered rehab. “I gave up on everything in my life but most of all I gave up on myself,” she wrote on Instagram. “Life on life’s terms became too much for me to handle.” Kelly told PEOPLE in a 2009 interview that she first encountered drugs at 13 when she gained…
LEGALIZE IT! – May 18, 2019 – BALTIMORE — Heroin has ravaged this city since the early 1960s, fueling desperation and crime that remain endemic in many neighborhoods. But lately, despite heroin’s long, deep history here, users say it has become nearly impossible to find. Heroin’s presence is fading up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from New England mill towns to rural Appalachia, and in parts of the Midwest that were overwhelmed by it a few years back. It remains prevalent in many Western states, but even New York City, the nation’s biggest distribution hub for the drug, has seen…
Rehab Money – May 15, 2019 – As Nashville Post reports, analysts on Monday’s conference call were less interested in Cartwright’s 10-year plan for the company and more interested in the company’s immediate future. The Post writes: The analysts who asked questions following Cartwright’s and [CFO Andrew] McWilliams’ prepared remarks didn’t take the bait, though, and were more focused on the financials of the company, which last month disclosed in its annual report that its losses and financing needs — including an expensive $30 million loan taken out last month — have raised substantial doubt about AAC’s ability to continue…
Staying Sober With Drinking – May 16, 2019 – The center is in Bogor, a city about an hour south of the capital Jakarta, with views of the nearby mountains. It’s located in a big peach-colored house, with a tile walkway to the door that’s lined with several small dogs. Nugraha says the dogs are “addicts too” — apparently they’re addicted to humans. The rehab center has a staff of around 20, including three addiction and mental health specialists. There’s also a doctor on call, who specializes in working with people who use drugs. Rumah Singgah is currently funded entirely…
Stay Sensitive – MAY 2, 2018 – Your mental health is inseparable from your physical health. Not a revolutionary concept, but what is astounding is the stigmatization that still surrounds men who dare to talk about their mental struggles. As we move into Mental Health Awareness Month this May, we hope to change that. Men who are vocal about any kind of mental issues can be dismissed as weak. As inferior. As flawed, broken guys who are more likely to be ostracized for their honesty, instead of rewarded for their bravery. Instead of affording a fellow man compassion, we mock,…
A Huge Revelation – May 18, 2019 – Odom reportedly wrote that, after making the team, USA Basketball gave him a few days’ notice that he would be tested.There was absolutely no way I was going to pass,” Odom wrote, according to the report. “I’d been smoking weed every day that summer. Panic set in. Odom went on to start all eight games at the 2004 Athens Games, where the U.S. suffered its only losses in Olympic men’s basketball competition in the Dream Team era. The Americans went 5-3 and earned the bronze medal. In 2015, he was found unconscious…
We All Do! – May 18, 2019 – Speaking after watching the movie at the Cannes Film Festival, Elton told The Sun newspaper: “That’s all bulls**t, I’m sorry. If people don’t like it, review-wise, or it doesn’t make one dollar, it’s the movie I wanted to make and that’s all that counts. I can look back and say, ‘You know what, I love it. I can live with it’.” The movie is a warts-and-all look at Elton’s past, including his issues with alcoholism, drugs and sex addiction and he doesn’t regret being open about his struggles. He said: “No, I’m…
Wonder Woman – May 17, 2019 – “I realized how difficult life is for someone (who uses drugs) and how difficult it is for their family, and the lack of resources and support,” she said. “It broke my heart my partner couldn’t tell me the truth about his (drug) use.”Hartman has been offering supplies through Point to Point for about a year, and she’s noticed that some people are reluctant to accept services, especially when they ask her about the legality of the program. While there is no statewide law authorizing syringe exchanges, Hartman has an agreement with Kane County…
They shall reap what they sow – May 14, 2019 – “Even when Purdue knew people were addicted and dying, Purdue treated patients and their doctors as ‘targets’ to sell more drugs,” the suit says. “Tragically, each part of Purdue’s campaign of deception earned the company more money, and caused more addiction and death.” Shapiro claims in the suit that Purdue supervisors urged sales staff to “focus on the geriatric population.” The company also set up a website called exitwoundsforveterans.org, which “deceptively assured veterans that Purdue’s opioids are not addictive.” The lawsuit also chronicles numerous cases in which Purdue sales…
30 Years and No Blow – MAY 17, 2019 – “I am a survivor,” John said. “I’ve survived a lot of things. Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide.” He’s also learned to communicate. “What I couldn’t do when I was an addict was communicate, except when I was on cocaine I thought I could but I talked rubbish,” John said, laughing. “I have a confrontation problem which I don’t have any more because I learned if you don’t communicate and you don’t…
Design, Blueprints, Structures – May 16, 2019 – At a time when most of his Harvard classmates considered themselves fortunate to get to design a single-family house or two, Mr. Pei quickly found himself engaged in the design of high-rise buildings, and he used that experience as a springboard to establish his own firm, I. M. Pei & Associates, which he set up in 1955 with Henry Cobb and Eason Leonard, the team he had assembled at Webb & Knapp. In its early years, I. M. Pei & Associates mainly executed projects for Zeckendorf, including Kips Bay Plaza in New…
Rom-Com It Is Not – May 14, 2019 – When I returned to New York I received an email from a participant who at the time of the drama, shared simply that it had put him in touch with his own adoption. After the workshop he received support from a few other people and that helped him to more fully hear what this part of himself wanted to say, I quote with his permission. “The part I couldn’t say – didn’t have access to in the workshop – that I got later was from the ‘baby’ self — “I am…
Overcoming The Odds – May 8, 2019 – Growing up, she swore she would never touch drugs. She hated what drugs had done to her family, to her mother, to “everything around me.” Yet, at 18 with her first child Jada just a few months old, she found herself trying drugs for the first time, putting half an ecstasy pill into her mouth, encouraged by her boyfriend. In her short life, she had started down several promising paths — gymnastics, Honduras, a scholarship to attend Vermont Tech — only to have them slip away, leaving her without a way forward.…