Right Next to the Tylenol PM – February 18, 2019 – …the US Food and Drug Administration acknowledged that psilocybin-the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms-has real potential to become a powerful treatment for depression … in the 1970s, MDMA was sometimes administered as part of psychotherapy sessions. Recent research suggests that DMT, the chemical found in ayhuasca, might have potential as an anti-depressant. In limited trials LSD has been shown to improve people’s mood and self confidence. Ketamine … may drastically reduce suicidal thinking and may become an effective anti-depressant. Full Story @ Civilized.life
Author: Leonard Buschel
Let the Trials Begin – Feb. 12, 2019 – Sean Krizan said he can’t remember how many checks he received for referring his sober home’s residents to treatment centers across Palm Beach County, but he does remember receiving several checks from Nick Cirio for thousands of dollars. Assistant State Attorney Justin Chapman asked Krizan on Tuesday if he knew what he was doing was wrong. He said it wasn’t until he started seeing others in the recovery industry arrested that he understood it was a crime. But, even before then, he said what they were doing didn’t feel right. “It…
Man with a Plan – Feb. 14, 2019 – In my own personal recovery journey, medication assisted treatment—specifically buprenorphine—became key to my success. After countless attempts to enter recovery, I knew that I needed to try something different. I finally started on recovery medications, which allowed me the physical remedial I needed to connect to other peer supports and eventually enter abstinence-based recovery. Last week, I completed my fourth year substance free. And I am not alone. Despite the proven effectiveness of these medications, for every opioid recovery drug approved, the FDA has sanctioned four new branded opioids. In the…
This is Your Brain on Depression – February 14, 2019 – “We think depression might be accelerating the normal aging,” Yale neuroscientist Irina Esterlis said … the preliminary findings are a reminder of how important it is to treat depression promptly, so people don’t spend years suffering. “If your mood isn’t enough to make you go and get treated, then hopefully your cognition is, said Dr. Mary Sano, who directs the Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in New York. Full Story @ APNews.com
IN LOS ANGELES, FEB. 28 – February 11, 2019 – 10th Annual Experience, Strength and Hope Awards honoring Jodie Sweetin, February 28, Skirball Cultural Center. Full Story @ HollywoodReporter.com
No Kidding! – February 15, 2019 – “There has been heightened concern about drugged driving in recent years due in part to increasing permissibility and availability of marijuana, and excess consumption of prescription opioids … Researchers studied more than 18,000 pairs of drivers involved in fatal two-vehicle crashes … “This pair-matched analysis provides compelling evidence that use of prescription opioids by drivers is a significant contributing factor for fatal two-vehicle crashes,” said Dr. Li. Full Story @ Forbes.com
Anything That Helps – Feb. 17, 2019 – Right now, Maryland legislators are considering a new bill that would add opioid use disorder to the list of conditions qualified to be treated with medical marijuana. The new legislation sees Maryland follow the lead of states like Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, which have approved similar measures in recent months. Advocates hope that the bill will boost awareness of medical marijuana’s potential as a cure for the opioid epidemic raging across America. “People are educated enough now to understand that medical cannabis can help with pain, but until it becomes…
Suboxone to the Rescue – February 17, 2019 – Massachusetts has agreed to participate in a new rating system that is being developed to measure the quality of addiction treatment programs. State health officials say the rating system will primarily use data from three sources: insurance claims, provider surveys, and consumer experience surveys. The information will be made publicly available to those searching for high-quality addiction treatment, as well as to public and private payers, states, and referral sources. Full Story @ WBUR.org
A better line, the finish line – Feb. 15, 2019 – Their recourse was to give out painkillers,” he said. Even when he deployed to Iraq. “I thought I had food poisoning and actually I was going through withdrawals and didn’t know it,” Livingston explained. “So that feeling became all the more familiar and started happening more frequently until eventually getting sick was an everyday thing.” When he returned, he sought treatment but continued to struggle and turned to heroin. “Painkillers became astronomically priced and then you find something that’s cheaper in price and stronger for you,” Livingston told KXAN.…
The Onion? Or with onions? – Feb. 16, 2019 – The pop-up restaurant in Melbourne, Australia is called Pablo’s Escoburgers. The concept is facing social media outrage for being in “poor taste,” as critics point out that the drug kingpin was responsible for the deaths of countless Colombians. The group behind the pop-up said in a statement: “We are very proud of our burgers but we do also understand that Pablo Escobar was a horrible man who destroyed the lives of thousands of Colombians. We do not condone, idolize or promote Pablo Emilio Escobar or his actions in any way.…
The Stag House? – Feb. 14, 2019 – New Points is building “the world’s first Sober Living Community built ground-up specifically for the recovery process,” according to its website, www.newspoints.org. Five buildings, approved by the county as single-family homes, are in various stages of construction on 2.5 acres on Ogden Court, just off the intersection of Wheel Road and Route 24. “We’re not comfortable that these have been built in our neighborhood without talking to our neighbors,” said Karli Bain, who lives near the community. “We’ve had no input on this, no notification, and that makes us uncomfortable.” The single-family…
One musician talking to another – Feb. 14, 2019 – One of those artists is Royce da 5’9’’, who recently revealed in an interview with Ari Melber on MSNBC that he learned a very valuable lesson on sobriety from Eminem. “One of the things I learned from him, is you don’t have to be drunk and high in order to create music,” Royce said. Full Story @ DJBooth.net
Into Action – Feb. 17, 2019 – The artist last weekend staged a major protest at the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York over their links to the large family of arts philanthropists, one group of which profits from the ongoing opioid crisis in the US. “My message is for all institutions everywhere, which are taking Sackler money,” said Goldin, 65. “They are not going [to be able to] continue to operate ‘business as usual’. People are pushing back and, if they want to maintain their standing as cultural institutions and educational institutions, they have…
And We Thought It Was Yoko’s Fault – February 15, 2019 – Lennon intuited society’s inability to understand, much less combat addiction. “They’re so stupid about drugs,” he exclaimed. “They’re not looking at the cause of the drug problem: Why do people take drugs? To escape from what? Is life so terrible? Are we living in such a terrible situation that we can’t do anything without reinforcement of alcohol, tobacco? Aspirins, sleeping pills, uppers, downers, never mind the heroin and cocaine?…” Full Story @ Salon.com
Everyone was happy – March 2019 – As morphine’s medical uses increased—for surgery, for accidents, for pretty much any disease or injury—so did the number of patients dependent on the drug. Scientists called this new epidemic “morphinism” and tried with increasing concern to find ways to control it. Enter the German company Bayer and its new drug, Heroin. Bayer’s tests showed that Heroin was up to five times stronger than morphine and far less habit-forming. It also seemed to have the unusual ability to open up airways in the body, so the company started selling it, at home and overseas,…
Happy Valentine’s Day – Feb 10, 2019 – What kind of disorder is love addiction? There is no consensus on the diagnostic criteria for love addiction, nor agreements on what kind of disorder it is. For instance, pathological love may be an impulse-control disorder—characterized by impulsivity and novelty-seeking. Others believe pathological love is a mood disorder. Presumably, people with love addiction experience mood states (e.g., hypomania and elation) similar to those who are falling in love or are in the early stages of intense romantic love. Another possibility is that love addiction belongs to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum; like people with obsessions,…
They Did Inhale – February 8, 2019 – The cases highlight the chasm between federal law, where marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug and is illegal, and state law, where marijuana, for medical and recreational use, is increasingly being legalized. Recreational marijuana is legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C. Medical marijuana is legal in 33 states. to school Under the Drug-Free Workplace Act any employer that receives federal funding must operate a drug-free workplace, or risk losing federal funding. Full Story @ USNews.com
Fair Trade – Feb. 2019 – “Just half way through the first day of the launch and we’ve already seen a lot of interest and patients and physicians have successfully registered for the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program,” Illinois Department Public Health OAPP Director Conny Meuller-Moody told Rolling Stone in an email. “We’re optimistic the program will benefit many Illinois residents and offer them an alternative for managing their pain.” Interested patients who are over the age of 21 can enroll in the program using their state ID and written certification from a physician saying that they’ve either been prescribed opioids…
It’s Complicated – February 9, 2019 – Part of the coffee family, the leaf has been used for centuries in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea for its pain-relieving and mildly stimulating effects but it is now sold in powder form and exported worldwide – alarming some health regulators who have raised concerns about safety. Kratom stimulates the same brain receptors as morphine, although it produces much milder effects. ‘I take Kratom and have had no problems. Every strain has its benefits – some help you relax, others can treat insomnia or treat drug addiction. Some help increase stamina,’ grower…
Street Helping Man – Feb. 8, 2019 – The 40-year-old Newark woman, however, still had not made the call by 9 a.m. She had a better option: Damaris Febus, a Newark detective in plainclothes, was about to help her. They were in front of the dollar store and steps away from a large truck in which Febus works with other plainclothes officers to connect addicts like Velazquez to treatment and social services. It’s called Hope One Newark. The name is written on the truck in purple letters next to a purple ribbon, the color signifying recovery. There’s no police logo,…
Expert Advice – Feb. 8, 2019 – Both stars have lived through very public meltdowns. In 2007, Lohan, now 32, made headlines constantly after a string of arrests for DUI, cocaine possession and other offenses. Sheen, for his part, was fired from his hit show Two and a Half Men in 2011 after a series of bizarre interviews. In 2015, he revealed on the Today show that he is HIV positive. “[I’d] just tell her, just stay the course,” said Sheen, who celebrated one year of sobriety in December 2018. “You can’t change the past, but they wouldn’t call it that…
Let Them Eat Death – February 8, 2019 – That court filing coincidentally followed by one day testimony from New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker that he is withholding approval of supervised injection facilities here in the face of mounting federal threats to prosecute such venues. Overdoses happen in these facilities, but prompt intervention by health professionals restores normal breathing and an OD victim avoids a life-threatening accident. Zucker appeared before the Joint Senate and Assembly hearing on the State Department of Health’s budget and said that forceful opposition from the Trump administration has made him hesitate to offer…
What’s that in your genes? – FEBRUARY 8, 2019 – Scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU discovered a gene that had lower expression in the brains of nonhuman primates that voluntarily consumed heavy amounts of alcohol compared with those that drank less. Furthermore, the research team unraveled a link between alcohol and how it modulates the levels of activity of this particular gene. Researchers discovered that when they increased the levels of the gene encoded protein in mice, they reduced alcohol consumption by almost 50 percent without affecting the total amount of fluid consumed or their…
Easy Does It – Feb. 8, 2019 – Erin Calipari, an assistant professor of pharmacology in the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, points out that women represent a particularly vulnerable population, with higher rates of addiction following exposure to drugs, but addiction studies have primarily focused on the mechanisms underlying these effects in men. Her study found that, when fertility-related hormone levels are high, females learn faster, make stronger associations to cues in their environment and are more prone to seek rewards. “Women becoming addicted to drugs may be a fundamentally different process than men,” Calipari said. “It’s important to…
Fuhgeddaboudit – Feb. 4, 2019 – Within the memory many sounds are associated with different actions. If someone pops a wine bottle, a person knows that they will soon have something good to drink. That is a memory and it’s quickly stored into the rolodex of the brain. Drug use stores within the same rolodex and for someone who has been addicted to drugs for years, there are many drug memories that are relentlessly nagging a person to use drugs again. With drug addiction being an epidemic in America, thinking outside the box could lead to new treatment options that…
Writing his wrongs – Feb. 4, 2019 – That’s all it took for God to transform recovered heroin and meth addict Will Banet into the Hillbilly Poet. Never one to consider himself a poet — let alone an author — Will said the Holy Spirit took over one day last year and he penned his first poem after being inspired by a message at church about spiritual gifts. “It was a Monday night. All of a sudden I woke up and got out of bed and I wrote my first poem in eight minutes,” he said. “So explain that. I…
Crazy Canadians – Feb. 4, 2019 – Siddle was referred as a tenant by the Behavioural Health Foundation after she completed a six-month residential treatment for mental health issues and alcohol and pill use. She was one of the first people to sign a lease at the facility, and it wasn’t long before a drug dealer moved in, she said. She failed mandatory drug testing, which was part of the lease agreement, and entered detox for five days, she said. She was evicted after failing a second drug test. “I was angry and upset and I didn’t know what I…
Sexy Paraphernalia – February 7, 2019 – A new study finds that e-cigarettes, packed with high concentrations of nicotine, are a gateway to addiction for young users. You’ve probably heard of Juul by now. It has been around since June of 2015, and millions of high school children have already “Juuled,” or vaped, using the device. What you may not know, however, is how Juul’s high 5-percent nicotine pods have caused a so-called “nicotine arms race” across the vaping industry. “When Juul came on the market three-and-a-half years ago, the vapor market was mostly 1 and 2 percent nicotine. It’s…
EVERYBODY Must Get Stoned – February 8, 2019 – the organization said that in recent years this situation had changed as attitudes toward the drug shifted. Cannabis and cannabis-related products have now been legalized for medical use in several countries around the world, while Canada, South Africa and Uruguay—as well as several U.S. states—permit its recreational use. “These recommendations are of monumental importance as they may lead to the overcoming of barriers to research, enhance access of patients to cannabis-based medicine”… Ethan Russo of the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute told Newsweek. The singer and actress has been surrounded by…
Getting off the MAT – February 11, 2019 – A decade ago, had you looked at Winn, it would have been hard to say his life was less than perfect. Winn said he was the valedictorian at his high school and captain of the wrestling team, which had a state championship. “I had a full ride to Duke to wrestle,” Winn said. But then, shortly into his first semester at Duke, things took a turn. “I had fallen in the wrong crowd,” he explained. “I was looking around at people who looked like they had everything I thought I wanted.…