Now This is Sexy – Mar. 31, 2019 – The former NFL player explained that Kramer “gave me an ultimatum” when she found out that he had cheated on her and they separated after one year of marriage. The two of them renewed their vows about a year and a half later on the beach in Hawaii. “Ever since then, I have been in the 12-step program of sex addiction,” Caussin said. On Saturday, the “I Got the Boy” singer shared a photo of them on Instagram and wrote about why she was “so proud” of her husband for sharing…
Author: Leonard Buschel
Where Knowledge Lives – Mar. 30, 2019 – “Every second matters during an overdose. Having medication on hand that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose could be the difference between life and death.” Library overdoses are a growing problem, according to Sheppard who said multiple libraries — including branches in Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Muskegon and Kalamazoo — recently have reported opioid overdoses. “These bills would allow our public librarians — if they choose — to be trained and then prescribed an opioid antagonist to use in the case of an overdose,” Sheppard said. “This simple solution has the…
Cool To Be Sober – March 30, 2019 – “Matt your journey of not giving up or surrendering gives so many so much hope, including myself,” a third person wrote. “So proud of you and your journey to healing. Much love.” Brown returned to rehab in February to continue working on his sobriety. Earlier this month, his parents finally released a huge payment of $250,000 to him, which he earned for allowing Discovery to film his rehab treatment for TV. According to a report by Radar Online, the family was worried about how brown would handle this massive payday. “He…
OMG – March 13, 2019 – OpenSecrets, a website operated by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, tracks money in U.S. politics. It ranked the top 20 members of the House and the Senate that have received the most campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical and health products industry during the 2017-2018 election cycle. The website defines the industry as including “not only drug manufacturers but also dealers of medical products and nutritional and dietary supplements.” During the ‘17-’18 election cycle, Kevin McCarthy, now the House minority leader after midterms, received the second-highest amount of funds in Congress. The California-based politician…
BOOK REVIEWS – Read – It’s Healthy – March 19, 2019 – Journalists must impose narrative coherence on mountains of information. Macy, who has reported on the epidemic from her hometown of Roanoke, Virginia, since 2012, focuses on individual stories—like the blindsided father who first hears of Oxy when he asks a team of paramedics why their best efforts couldn’t resuscitate his teenage son, found blue and lifeless from an overdose in the bathroom of his suburban home. Through interwoven tales of grieving parents turned activists, increasingly alarmed local health professionals, and beleaguered first responders, Macy makes palpable the scale…
CHICAGO! What Is Going On? – Mar 31, 2019 – Authorities say a 51-year-old woman died of a fentanyl overdose while in custody at the Cook County jail. Lavera Scott of Chicago died March 2. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Thursday that Scott died of fentanyl toxicity. Her death was ruled an accident. The Cook County sheriff’s office says it is hard to detect fentanyl because the equivalent of a “few grains of salt” can be deadly. The office said it stopped strip searching detainees years ago but it would “continue all efforts”…
So Glad We Metta – March 29, 2019 – “Walking around and offering kindness to others in the world reduces anxiety and increases happiness and feelings of social connection,” said study author Douglas Gentile. The lovingkindness (metta) group showed some striking changes, increasing on a number of measures, including feeling happier, more connected, empathic, and less anxious. The authors call to mind this quote by Buddhist monk Sakyong Mipham, which pretty much sums it up: “If you want to be miserable, think of yourself. If you want to be happy, think of others.” Full Story @ Forbes.com
oh happy dAAy – March 30, 2019 – “I’ve spent most of my time in meetings trying to blend into the walls, but I’ve listened to every speaker, every share, every prayer, every aa related announcement, and have found so much wisdom in all of it. “So thank you to anyone and everyone for showing up and being in those rooms for people like me who are too shy to speak, but smart enough to follow directions and keep coming back.” Ronson said she started DJing in the early 2000s by chance. She has since gone on to forge a…
It’s Complicated – March 29, 2019 – To get more information on prevention and treatment, researchers need to understand how surviving an overdose changes the brain, according to the press release. The team’s research will reveal potential deficits in decision-making, memory or motor skills. Any findings could also shed light on reports of increased risk of relapse in survivors, which creates challenges for addiction treatment… Full Story @ DaytonDailyNews.com
In Every Way – Mar. 28, 2019 – If you take the time to spend a day in any family court, what you will see is disturbing: Benches full of parents of color and little black and brown children in despair. See, what is not talked about in the same breath as mass incarceration are the rates at which families of color are being torn apart. More meaningful to me than statistics is the real suffering of these families that I have often witnessed. There was wall-to-wall media coverage of the forced family separations happening at the US-Mexico border. Yet…
The Faces of Evil – April 1, 2019 – The two lawsuits are part of a burst of recent litigation that has taken aim at the Sacklers, a far-flung billionaire family that has a network of trusts and companies in the United States and abroad. Their philanthropic gifts have built namesake wings housing the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and oriental antiquities at the Louvre in Paris, as well as a library at the University of Oxford and a scientific institute at Columbia University. In addition to New York and Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode…
Untouchable? – March 28, 2019 – New York’s lawsuit echoes the other cases, alleging the Sacklers’ and Purdue’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin beginning in the mid-1990s led to massive over-prescribing and a scourge of dependency, addiction and death. Once the pills ran out, the lawsuit alleges, many patients craving the same effects turned to cheaper, more potent alternatives: heroin and fentanyl. New York’s lawsuit accuses drug manufacturers of collaborating to falsely deny the serious risks of opioid addiction. It accuses drug distributors of saturating the state with opioids while lacking adequate compliance systems to spot potential red flags. Both groups…
Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own – MARCH 26, 2019 – That isn’t stopping Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a UK think tank. He’s hoping that nations will soon regulate and legalize the sale, possession and use of “uppers.” He isn’t saying these drugs don’t have risks—but he notes that prohibition does nothing to address these risks, and that we need a different approach. “The danger of a particular drug is the reason to regulate it, not the reason to run away from it,” Rolles said in a call with Filter. “For me,…
It’s an Inside Job – Mar. 28, 2019 – I came to Thailand eight months ago with a heroin habit I couldn’t handle. I wanted to stop but I couldn’t. In four years I had, mostly willingly, checked into 18 different rehabs, clinics and detoxes. I had attended hundreds of 12-Step meetings, I could quote passages of the Big Book and explain the science: the way drugs affect dopamine, the midbrain, and hippocampus. I could argue the the disease model of addiction—that, as the American National Institute on Drug Abuse says: “Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder characterised by compulsive…
Children as Commodities VIDEO ONLY – Full Story @ NBCNews.com
45 Minute VIDEO REPORT – March 27, 2019 – The state of Oklahoma has reached a $270 million agreement with Purdue Pharma—the makers of OxyContin—settling a lawsuit that claimed the company contributed to the deaths of thousands of Oklahoma residents by downplaying the risk of opioid addiction and overstating the drug’s benefits. The state says more Oklahomans have died from opioids over the last decade than have been killed in vehicle accidents. More than $100 million from the settlement will fund a new addiction treatment and research center at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa. “It’s really just the first move…
BREAKING NEWS / VIDEO – MARCH 26, 2019 – “Law enforcement is most effective when we work together, and J-CODE is the global tip of the spear in the fight against online opioid trafficking,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “Operation SaboTor demonstrates not only the strength of our partnerships across the U.S. government and abroad but how we’re able to capitalize on those partnerships to disrupt criminal activity, even when they try to hide it on the Darknet.” Full Story @ ABCNews.com
Are You Drinking Death Every Day? – MAR. 18 2019 – Drinking soda, sports drinks and other sugary beverages increases the risk of dying from heart disease and some types of cancers, according to new research. Harvard researchers found that the more sweetened beverages a person drank, the greater their risk of dying from heart disease. In a study published Monday in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, they also found sugary drinks were associated with a moderately higher risk of dying from breast cancer or colon cancer. Drinking artificially sweetened drinks did not produce the same effects. However, women…
Progress! – MARCH 18, 2019 – The ruling came in the case of Wit v. United Behavioral Health (UBH). A federal court in Northern California found that UBH, which manages behavioral health services for UnitedHealthcare and other health insurers, rejected the insurance claims of tens of thousands of people seeking mental health and substance use disorder treatment based on defective medical review criteria. In other words, the largest managed behavioral health care company in the country was found liable for protecting its bottom line at the expense of its members. What this case really boils down to, of course, is…
Tastes Good, in Bad Taste – MARCH 19, 2019 – Milk Bar debuted in 2008, a spinoff of David Chang’s Momofuku restaurants. If it seemed funny a decade ago to name a dessert after an addictive drug, the joke was one of privilege. The crack epidemic of the 1980s hurt largely poor, largely black communities, not the people who were heading to the East Village to spend $5 on a slice of pie (the price has since gone up to $6). Now the country is in the grips of an opioid crisis, and a double standard. This addiction affects white…
The Message Matters – March 19, 2019 – “Syringe services programs aren’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a Republican Health secretary, but we’re in a battle between sickness and health, between life and death,” Alex Azar said … Studies have shown that needle exchanges can prevent the spread of HIV. Such sites often provide substance abuse treatment, HIV and hepatitis testing and other services. “Supporting communities when they need to use these tools means fewer infections and healthier lives for our fellow Americans.” Full Story @ TheHill.com
No Drug Money for Art – March 22, 2019 – The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York confirmed that it “does not plan to accept any gifts” from the Sackler family, the controversial owners of Purdue Pharma. The family and drug manufacturer have been accused of misleading medical professionals on the gravity of the drug OxyContin, and are currently the targets of lawsuits on behalf of the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Today, the Guggenheim confirmed: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum received a total of $7 million in gifts from members of the Mortimer D. Sackler family initiated in…
Stick with the Winners! – Sabrina Acatrinei has 13 years experience in case management and medical insurance. She holds a Bachelors degree in Social Work and CADC-I. Sabrina’s background includes work with the autistic population and adolescents that suffer with both developmental disabilities as well as substance abuse issues. Having a strong background in both clinical and administrative roles, Sabrina is able to approach each individual from a place of compassion, professionalism, fluidity and objectivity. Sabrina has a passion for helping others as a result of direct impact from drug addiction and overdose. After the death of a close friend,…
Even the English Reject Drug Money – March 21, 2019 – “The Sackler family has given generously to Tate in the past, as they have to a large number of U.K. arts institutions,” a Tate statement said. “We do not intend to remove references to this historic philanthropy. However, in the present circumstances we do not think it right to seek or accept further donations from the Sacklers.” Tate’s trustees made the decision after advice from the institution’s independent ethics committee, a spokesman said in an email. Full Story @ NYTimes.com
Love AA Style – March 23, 2019 – Every year on Shepard’s sober birthday, Bell “spoils the hell out of me,” says the comedian, 44, “The nicest presents she’s gotten me are always on my sober birthday.” Last fall, Bell shared a touching note on Instagram in celebration of Shepard’s 14th year of sobriety, which quickly made headlines… “I scrape together 14 years of sobriety, and she writes a little flowery thank you. Now there’s headlines all over the country about Kristen’s accomplishment of writing this letter. I’m like, ‘Just like you to steal my thunder!’” quips Shepard. “I’m the…
Ignorance Is Bliss – March 11, 2019 – The diseases have flared as the nation’s homeless population has grown in the past two years: About 553,000 people were homeless at the end of 2018 … People living on the streets or in homeless shelters are vulnerable to such outbreaks because their weakened immune systems are worsened by stress, malnutrition, and sleep deprivation. Many also have mental illness and substance-abuse disorders, which can make it harder for them to stay healthy or get health care. The diseases spread quickly and widely among people living outside or in shelters, helped along by…
Why Are The Woke Doing So Much Coke? – March 23, 2019 – Many may feel like a big cooked breakfast or a dessert after dinner ‘doesn’t count’ on the weekends, and that we deserve a treat after working hard all week. Some justify class-A drug use in the same way: Emily*, a 35-year-old TV producer from London, avoids meat and dairy and practices yoga during the week, but will often take cocaine at festivals and parties. ‘It feels healthier than just getting drunk because it doesn’t have the calories,’ she says. ‘If I know I’m going to take it,…
Here’s Who It’s Killing – March 21, 2019 – Researchers also found that while whites had the highest overall rates of fentanyl fatalities, death rates among blacks and Hispanics were growing faster. Between 2011 and 2016, blacks had fentanyl death rates increase 140.6% annually and Hispanics had an increase of 118.3% annually. A National Center for Health Statistics report released in December found fentanyl to be the drug mostly commonly involved in overdose deaths. In 2016, the drug was responsible for nearly 29% of all drug overdose deaths, making it the deadliest drug in America. Researchers analyzed death certificate information…
Taking ‘bout My Generation – March 22, 2019 – It’s been a tortuous journey. At one point, the 55-year-old drove to five treatment centers in New Jersey to find one that would take her insurance—or at least take her teenage son. But he didn’t have enough drugs in his system to be admitted to one, and too much for another, and yet another wouldn’t have room for him for at least three months. She says that seemingly empathetic go-betweens turned out to be more interested in a referral fee than her struggle. “I had nowhere to turn. My support system…
Weed Sends Golfer into the Rough – Mar, 22, 2019 – The tour announced Friday that Garrigus, whose only PGA Tour victory was at Disney at the end of the 2010 season, has been suspended for three months under the conduct policy that applies to substances of abuse. While marijuana is legal in some states, it is on the banned substance list under the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy. Garrigus, 41, has spoken openly about his history of addictions, which began before he reached the PGA Tour. He checked himself into a 30-day program at Calvary Ranch near San Diego in…