Money Grows On Bushes – April 26, 2019 – He warned that today’s marijuana has “all kinds of issues,” saying that the new marijuana is being genetically bred to have “astronomical levels of THC.” He added that the rise of THC levels could have a potential impact on the mental health, citing a recent study conducted by SAM. “We’re seeing an increase in mental issues, specifically psychosis, schizophrenia — a direct link maybe even a casualty, which is something that scientists hesitate to even use that word for anything, but we’re starting to use it for marijuana,” Sabet told Hill.TV. …
Author: Leonard Buschel
He’s Baaack! – April 12, 2019 – Sharma, principal of Sovereign and many related companies, “has been targeted by several state and federal agencies for egregious and unlawful conduct, and although many entities under the Sharma alter ego umbrella have had their licenses revoked and doors closed permanently, Sharma’s conduct has not ceased nor abated,” the suit says. “Sharma continues to evade the law by opening new facilities through successors in interest like Invictus to promulgate and perpetuate his scheme to maximize his own profits over the safety of his clients like Brandon and at the expense of those desperate…
The Lighter Side of Tragedy – April 15, 2019 – To shine a spotlight on Purdue, the show decided to have Richard Sackler’s video deposition in one case read out word for word. However, because listening to people read court documents can be dull, Oliver decided to conscript four actors to play Sackler and read the transcript of the video deposition. There’s Batman’s Michael Keaton, and Bryan Cranston, who channeled his Breaking Bad character, the noted drug dealer Walter White. He also brought in Michael K. Williams to read Sackler’s lines in the spirit of his character Omar from The…
New York City Exhibition – April 15, 2019 – Parsons professor of photography, Graham MacIndoe and Lang adjunct professor of Journalism + Design, Susan Stellin, curated an exhibit dedicated to redefining the word, and analyzing stigmas associated with substance users and addicts. MacIndoe and Stellin collaborated as a photographer and reporter team, and the objective behind the exhibit that opened April 6, was a longtime idea in the making. “Susan and I have wanted for a long time to put together something that was more about recovery and harm reduction than about addiction. We’ve seen so many exhibits and so…
Affirmative Action – April 15, 2019 – Overall support for increased funding fell steadily from 1990 through 2012, just as the opiate crisis was about to take hold and capture media attention. ‘The coverage of the opioid epidemic has gotten greater attention than anything in the drug arena over the last 30, 40 years,’ said Peter Provet, CEO of the New York City-based Odyssey House rehabilitation center. Black and white Americans have historically been sharply divided on this issue, with African Americans significantly more likely to be in support of more funding for drug rehab than their white counterparts – with…
What, it’s not The Big Book? – April 19, 2019 – It came out in 2015 and has become something of a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Concrete numbers are hard to come by, but Grace has estimated that she’s helped somewhere in the realm of 4,000 people stop drinking. More than 50,000 people are currently enrolled in her online programs, and Grace eventually left her marketing job to run the website This Naked Mind and its weekly podcast (with roughly 1.6 million total downloads) Late last year, Grace, now 40, followed This Naked Mind with her second book, The Alcohol Experiment ……
Sex, Drugs and… You Know…. – April 19, 2019 – The guitarist says that after he left the “security” of GN’R behind, his drinking and drugging continued … Being aware of his addiction issues, Slash recalls, “I had two kids and I was living in a hotel because I couldn’t be around them. It all sort of came to a head and I thought I needed to go to some sort of facility and just get away from everybody for a month and I’ll clean up.” Speaking about the experience, he adds, “I really embraced it and I came out…
OBITUARY: He Did It His Way – April 8, 2019 – “The fun is in filling out a part and making it a little crazy,” he once said, “because everyone has a little craziness in them anyway.” Though he was best known for his work in independent films — he said he preferred them because “independent film is film that has thought in it” — he was also seen on television shows like “Matlock,” “ER” and “Boston Public,” and in big-budget movies like “Dick Tracy” (1990), in which he played a police officer, and “Indecent Proposal” (1993), in which he…
Don’t Forget to Plug in Billy – April 19, 2019 – “This new device offers a safe, non-drug option for treatment of ADHD in pediatric patients through the use of mild nerve stimulation, a first of its kind,” said Carlos Peña, Ph.D., director of the Division of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Today’s action reflects our deep commitment to working with device manufacturers to advance the development of pediatric medical devices so that children have access to innovative, safe and effective medical devices that meet their unique needs.” ADHD is a…
No More Smack For Jack – April 21, 2019 – “If at 17 someone told me where I’d be at 33 with 16 years of continual sobriety I would have laughed and told you to fuck off. Jack entered rehab at the age of 17 to be treated for an addiction to OxyContin. After getting sober, he told MTV: “I took myself out of the picture for a second … I looked around at every single person in the room. A lot of them were near 30, unemployed, living off their parents. There were heroin addicts, I thought, “I don’t…
MEMOIR : Straight Up – APRIL 20, 2019 -Also present in the book is Erin Carr’s own crooked journey through addiction and sobriety — another thing she had in common with her father, who chronicled his own trajectory in the memoir “Night of the Gun” — as she also made her way through launching a journalism career of her own with its own ups and downs, some of which were related to the substance abuse narrative and some which were not. There are stretches of sobriety and scary relapses for both Carrs, and Erin’s filmmaker lens never fails to capture…
Big Drug Deal? – April 19, 2019 – The grants from the National Institutes of Health will go the University of Kentucky, Boston Medical Center, New York City’s Columbia University and Ohio State University. Government officials across the U.S. have been fighting a multi-decade epidemic of opioid addiction, which includes not only prescription painkillers, but also illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Deaths linked to those drugs rose to a record 48,000 in 2017… Full Story @ NYTimes.com
Make America Live Again – April 20, 2019 – Columbus Division of Police and Fire personnel responded to eight separate locations where eight individuals were suffering from an overdose Saturday. Seven people were treated by Columbus Fire medics or sent to area hospitals for treatment. One individual was pronounced deceased. According to police, responders were called to the locations between noon and 5:45 p.m. Six overdose incidents, including one that resulted in death, occurred in the west side of Columbus, one occurred in the north side and another occurred in the south side. Full Story @ 10TV.com
It’s Safe to Help – April 21, 2019 – Such myths could put overdose victims at risk, since emergency responders may be hesitant to touch or treat them. In recent months, several police reports and media outlets have recounted stories of law enforcement officers getting high or sick after responding to overdose victims and getting fentanyl powder on their hands. “’If we’re believing in the myths, it creates a level of fear, so people are less likely to come into contact with someone who might be experiencing an opioid overdose,” said Melody Quinn, the opioid prevention initiative detective at the…
Stick with the Winners! – Nadine Lewis has a broad-based private practice focused on Real Estate, Unlawful Detainer, Foreclosure Defense, Consumer Debt Resolution and all IRS Fresh Start Programs for delinquent tax payers. Nadine is a seasoned litigator and handles all real estate matters, from the new IRS Opportunity Zone regulations for real estate investors to landlord-tenant litigation, as well as drafting commercial leases, venture capital transactions and foreclosure defense for homeowners who are in distress. Q. Do you believe leaders are made or born? A. Watching all of my daughters little friends grow up into young adults, I truly…
Sweet Dreams – April 21, 2019 – The worst, perhaps, was: “Many adults need only 5 or less hours of sleep for general health.” So many entrepreneurs swear by this. Or, at least, they expect their employees to swear by this. They hoist it high as a badge of honor. Instead, the truth is you’re supposed to sleep between 7 and 10 hours, depending on how old you are. Yes, if you really want to be a high-functioning, healthy and successful sort, let your mind and body truly get a proper rest. Many people — and so many entrepreneurs love…
GREED ISN’T GOOD!! – April 17, 2019 – The charges include unlawful distribution or dispensing of controlled substances by a medical professional and health-care fraud. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, and many of the defendants face multiple counts. One doctor in Tennessee is charged in connection with an overdose death caused by opioids, officials said. The indictments are part of a broader effort by the Justice Department to combat the nation’s prescription pain pill epidemic, which claimed the lives of nearly 218,000 Americans between 1999 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full Story…
Suffer The Little Children – April 19, 2019 – …and nearly fainting in the eastern rural Barada Valley of the capital Damascus drew the attention of many people to the issue as the footage went viral on social media. In the footage, the little girl is shown as saying that her mother is dead and her father is in prison. Forcing children to use drugs in order to turn them into loyal beings that work as beggars in the street is another common factor that has caused the addiction problem to reach such levels. Full Story @ DailySabah.com
CANCER: More profitable than addiction? – April 20, 2019 – The top value stock among cancer drug developers Sean Williams (Exelixis): Although big pharma is often viewed as the smartest way for investors to take advantage of novel cancer treatments, my preference among cancer stocks has been the same for years: midcap biotech Exelixis. Admittedly, Exelixis isn’t particularly diversified, which is usually a red flag for pharma and biotech investors. But Exelixis’ bread-and-butter drug has delivered multiple label expansions, has additional indication opportunities, and has made Exelixis one of the cheapest growth stocks you can buy in the entire healthcare…
And Throw Away the Kilo – April 20, 2019 – The law known as Section 35 Robin had become one of several thousand Massachusetts residents each year who ask the courts to force a loved one into addiction treatment under a state law known as Section 35. The law allows a family member, physician or police officer to ask the courts to involuntarily commit someone to substance use treatment. Dozens of states have civil commitment laws, but Massachusetts is believed to use it more aggressively than most states. In the last fiscal year, more than 6,500 Massachusetts residents were ordered…
American Addiction: Man with a Plan – April 22, 2019 – Many patients first interact with AAC through the company’s websites, which include Recovery.org and Rehabs.com. Until recently, it was easy to mistake the websites for independent, informational referral portals; only if you clicked on the “Who Answers?” link next to a hotline number would you learn that the lines were answered by AAC representatives. Last summer, members of a US House of Representatives subcommittee investigating the rehab industry pressed Cartwright on the transparency of the websites. “We were the only ones criticized about it, which I think is quite…
Unfair Under Any Circumstance – April 13, 2019 – People who use drugs while pregnant and parenting are one of the most stigmatized populations in the United States. There is a pervasive idea that parents—particularly women—have a duty to sacrifice everything for their child, even down to their comfort and enjoyment. It’s not enough to ensure that a child is well cared for; society expects mothers to also behave in a manner that looks caring. Once someone becomes a mother, she enters into an unspoken agreement to be scrutinized by just about everyone. If illegal drugs are on the scene, she…
Rap Proud – April 20, 2019 – The star opened up about his near-fatal overdose on Revival, his ninth studio album that was released in December 2017. On the 18th track, titled “Castle” featuring Skylar Grey, Eminem writes letters to his 23-year-old daughter Hailie Jade, with the third verse talking about her 12th birthday and recalling how he overdosed on methadone and nearly died. “Your dad’s at the end of his rope/ I’m sliding down a slippery slope/ Anyway, sweetie, I better go, I’m getting sleepy … Love, Dad, s—, I don’t know,” he raps. Full Story @ People.com
WAR, What Is It Good For? – April 9, 2019 – For the past half-century, the United States has also waged its own “war on drugs” that has complicated its foreign policy, compromised its electoral democracy, and contributed to social inequality. Perhaps the time has finally come to assess the damage that drug war has caused and consider alternatives. Even though I first made my mark with a 1972 book that the CIA tried to suppress on the heroin trade in Southeast Asia, it’s taken me most of my life to grasp all the complex ways this country’s drug war,…
Make it a Double Oxytocin, Straight Up – April 21, 2019 – According to the study, oxytocin will be helpful in getting over with the desire to have more alcohol. They now believe that this will be an effective pharmaceutical approach for curing alcoholism. Oxytocin is the hormone that helps in social bonding it is also known as the love hormone. This is because it’s level increases during hugging and sexual activities. Sometimes, it is also known as the cuddle hormone … The study was conducted to learn the effects of the love hormone. This was specifically on a part…
Sadly Needed Drug – April 19, 2019 – “In the wake of the opioid crisis, a number of efforts are underway to make this emergency overdose reversal treatment more readily available and more accessible,” Douglas Throckmorton, deputy center director for regulatory programs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “In addition to this approval of the first generic naloxone nasal spray, moving forward we will prioritize our review of generic drug applications for naloxone.” Though naloxone has been off-patent since the 1980s, various companies have patented and gotten FDA approval for different versions of…
4/20 For All – April 19, 2019 – A group of Californian teenagers ritualistically smoked marijuana every day at 4:20 pm. The ritual spread, and soon 420 became code for smoking marijuana. Eventually 420 was converted into 4/20 for calendar purposes, and the day of celebration was born. A lesser-known possibility comes from the 1939 short story “In the Walls of Eryx” by H.P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Sterling. The story describes “curious mirage-plants” that seemed fairly similar to marijuana and appeared to get the narrator high at, according to his watch, around 4:20. Whatever its origins, 4/20 has become a…
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright – April 16, 2019 – Why wouldn’t Tiger want to return to playing on the PGA Tour? It’s a great life: You make the money of a Republican, have as much sex as a Democrat, and fly around in $60 million, private Gulfstream jets like an FBI Director. Tiger got his DUI-ish while he was on pain meds. Back then he couldn’t drive a golf ball or a car. The charge was dismissed because he said he was just swerving to miss a tree. It turned out the “tree” was the air freshener hanging on his…
Life Is Holy – April 13, 2019 – Safehouse, in response, assembled a team of a dozen pro bono lawyers and earlier this month counter-sued the government in federal court in Philadelphia, setting up a dispute that legal experts say has the potential to test the limits of the law. The Safehouse legal team maintains that drug laws from the 1980s were never meant to apply to a medical facility in the midst of a modern public health crisis. “Safehouse is nothing like a ‘crack house’ or drug-fueled ‘rave.’ Nor is Safehouse established ‘for the purpose’ of unlawful drug use,”…
Injustice System – APRIL 8, 2019 – With the advent of Black Lives Matter and other grassroots movements, as well as increased media attention on the violent, disproportionate policing of black and brown communities, national understanding of the systemic racism within the criminal justice system has grown. Understanding of the systemic racism in public health policy, however—and of the undeniable link between criminal justice, health inequities and racial discrimination in this country—still lags behind. The reality is that both health and justice opportunities have been historically—and are still presently—mainly accessible only to certain groups of Americans, namely those who are…