“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens, November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910
Author: Leonard Buschel
CRAZY NOT TO – Oct. 16, 2025 – The nonprofit organization Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) is a big believer in the power of psychedelic therapies such as ibogaine, which co-founder and former Navy SEAL Marcus Capone credits with saving his life. This legislative cycle, VETS sponsored Assembly Bill 1103 to eliminate roadblocks to approve the study of psychedelics in California. The bill, was authored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D-San Diego), who represents an area with one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the country. “After 13 years as a Navy SEAL and multiple deployments, I tried every…
AUDIO – NOT GOOD – Oct. 16, 2025 – The vast majority of the more than 100 testifiers during Wednesday’s marathon seven-hour hearing agreed that 7-OH, which researchers have estimated could be 15 times as potent as morphine, is sold as candy-flavored pills in gas stations across Connecticut, should be banned. At least six states have already banned it. Nikki Gorman, a pediatrician in Westport, testified that her 24-year-old son became addicted to kratom products he had bought at a gas station, and that his eventual withdrawal was similar to what she had seen from heroin addicts. “He had become…
AND NO HANGOVERS – Oct. 17, 2025 – Lynskey wrote, “12 years of accountability, of showing up, of answering the phone, of driving home safely, of quiet nights, of loud fun nights, of laughing and laughing, of being able to talk things through, of finding solutions, of me being able to sleep when you’re away and not be up all night worrying, of building this life together.” She continued, “And six years of you being the dad who gets up to make her lunch, knows how to do her hair, is there to cuddle and be steady and listen, is…
VIDEO – A STAR STAYS BRIGHT – Oct. 16, 2025 – Fuller was nominated for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year for his collaboration with Carrie Underwood on his song “If It Was Up To Me.” Underwood later made a surprise appearance at the awards show during Fuller’s live performance. … “We just need to remain humble,” he said, “to almost harness it in a way that says, ‘Okay, God, we see you moving. We love this so much. How do we not get conceited with it or take it into our own hands but just let the Holy Spirit…
VIDEO – MOVIE REVIEW – Oct. 8, 2025 – Film-maker Myrid Carten, who holds the camera much of the time as well as directing, exposes here the open wound that is her relationship with her mother Nuala, who has both bipolar disorder and alcoholism. Nuala often goes missing on binges, and as the film opens we hear Myrid telling someone on the phone how she just spotted .her mother on a Belfast street in a total state, but recognisable because of the glamorous high-heeled shoes she was wearing. You’d struggle to realise this is the same woman we see in…
VIDEO – GOOD IDEA – Oct. 9, 2025 – According to the Howard Center, it helps people and communities by providing services to address mental health, substance use and developmental needs The organization provides legal harm reduction services for drug users, like clean needles and pipes for smoking drugs such as methamphetamine and crack cocaine. However, there have been concerns from neighbors about open drug use and crime on Clarke Street, where the safe recovery center is located. And Howard Center officials say they will no longer be giving out pipes at the center. They blame state funding, which is…
JAZZ OR ROCK? – Oct. 13, 2025 – The tendency to use cannabis is associated with genes linked to impulsive behavior, obesity, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, among other traits. 24 states legalized recreational marijuana. The drug’s use, in forms that are highly potent and easier to use repeatedly throughout the day, has proliferated across age groups. … In 2024, an estimated 64.2 million people had used cannabis during the previous year, according to an annual federal survey. That’s up from an estimated 53.2 million three years earlier. The survey also reported that, in 2024, an estimated 20.6 million people had…
GOOD JEANS COUNT TOO – Oct. 13, 2025 – The study found that lifetime cannabis use was associated with two genes. The first was Cell Adhesion Molecule 2 (a gene involved in cell assembly and in signaling between nerve cells, particularly in the brain. Previous studies have linked CADM2 to various traits and conditions, including impulsive personality, obesity and cancer metastasis. Frequency of cannabis use was also found to be associated with the …The second gene was Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 3 (GRM3), which is involved in communication between neurons and long-term brain plasticity. GRM3 has already been linked to psychiatric…
GRATEFUL EVERY DAY – Oct. 16, 2025 – Ellie McLean will never forget the day that saved her life. “My dad came into my room and he said, ‘Are you trying to kill my baby girl?’” “I said, ‘No, Dad.’” McLean was 43, jobless and she drank hard liquor all day, every day. “I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror,” she said. “My face was so puffy, my eyes were squinted, my hair was thinning and my skin just looked terrible.” Curled on a bed and still drunk from a personal party she had started alone three months earlier,…
VIDEO – AND HAVING A BALL – Oct. 17, 2025 – “I never was a big drinker, but when I did drink, I was just a total jerk,” he explained. “I always told people I’ve been mistaken as someone, a kid that was a bit cocky and had this like, arrogance about him. But it wasn’t. It was my insecurities, man. It was my insecurities and wanting people to believe I was good enough to be here.” Country music is full of drinking songs. They could be for any mood: drown your sorrows with Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just…
HE NEEDS SOME MONEY – Oct. 17, 2025 – The court was told that the items taken were all alcohol on six occasions from SuperValu in Macroom and on one occasion from Aldi in the town. The court was told that O’Driscoll had 93 previous convictions including theft, public order offences, road traffic offences and drug offences. Defence solicitor, Patrick Goold, said O’Driscoll was an alcoholic and most of his offending was linked to his addiction issues. He said his client “fell off the wagon” in April and May and began stealing alcohol. The court was told that O’Driscoll was…
GO BEARS – Oct. 17, 2025 – Even libraries have become part of the city’s arsenal in the fight against drug overdose deaths. Chicagoans can get free drug test strips at the city’s public libraries – as well as naloxone nasal spray, which can reverse an opioid-induced overdose. Among US counties containing the nation’s 10 largest cities, Cook county, Illinois – where Chicago is located – has seen the largest reduction in overdose deaths since the national peak of the crisis in 2023, by 37%, according to an exclusive Guardian analysis. Chicago has one of the most robust drug supply…
VIDEO – MIAMI DOLPHINS – Oct. 17, 2025 – He had been in the NFL’s drug program for a while, but still didn’t stop him from abusing alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, anything to numb him from his struggles in life, and on the field. Darren Waller made a promise to himself and the world in August of 2017. He had just been suspended by the NFL and on his way to his parents’ home, but he needed something to take the edge off. MORE
TOO SAD – Oct. 6, 2025 – Jensen Westhead – the 20-year-old British man swallowed several bags of cocaine at a hotel in Manchester, and two days later, they exploded on a flight to Dubai. Jensen Westhead was found dead in a hotel in December last year after the drug leaked into his system, causing an overdose. Four people have been charged with conspiracy to fraudulently evade the prohibition on exportation of a Class A drug. The police said that Jensen boarded a flight to the United Arab Emirates after ingesting multiple packets of cocaine, and one of the packages…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE for JAZZ LOVERS ONLY – Released, 1971. Electric Lady Studios, New York – The BIG 3, A Love Supreme – The Creator has a Master Plan. and Call to a Higher Consciousness. Transcend your mind. Please be advised that there is no Guitar Player that is better. Larry Coryell was an innovator and guitar genius. He always played with the best musicians. RIP Larry Coryell… Jazz Fusión Pioneer, Sentimental Açcoustic Poet, Hard Rock and Blues Player … Brillant Arranger & Composer…. Did repair a Broken Life and gave Hope to other people …. Mixed Up different…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 1965 – Phil Ochs wrote “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” to protest the Vietnam War, criticizing America’s continuous cycle of military conflict. The song is written from the perspective of a soldier who has fought in every major American war and has grown disillusioned with the idea that war is a noble cause, realizing it’s often driven by the powerful sending the young to die. MORE
STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – TJ Woodward is a revolutionary recovery expert, bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and addiction treatment specialist who has helped countless people through his simple, yet powerful teachings. He is also the creator of The Conscious Recovery Method, which is a groundbreaking and effective approach to viewing and treating addiction. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date? A. Molly. 6/8/1986. Q. What do you like most about 12-step meetings? A. Community. Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist…
SHINING STAR – October 13, 2025 – Paris Jackson is reflecting on her sobriety journey and how it feels “getting my life back.” Paris attended the 35th annual Friendly House Awards Luncheon, and was awarded the Shining Star Award for her work with the organization and opened up about the improvements in her life since becoming sober. “Most of the service work I do is one-on-one. I don’t typically make a spectacle of it because my life simply depends on it and because it is also part of my spiritual foundation,” she shared during her speech. “That being said, I’m…
CAVEAT EMPTOR – Oct. 14, 2025 – The medicines get rid of the “good” bacteria in the gut which boosts the digestive system’s protective barrier. Antidepressants and heartburn tablets are among the drugs that can wreak long-lasting havoc on your gut bacteria – even long after you stop taking them. The problem has previously been linked to skin problems like acne, inflammation, weakened immunity and even certain types of cancer. Beta blockers, prescribed around 50 million times a year in the UK to treat high blood pressure and heart problems, were found to be among the worst offenders. MORE
WE THINK NOT – Oct. 10, 2025 – Two new books chronicle ‘an American Scandal’ and point the way forward. Insurers, legislators, Congressfolk, listen up! Forgive the imagery, but we long to box the ears of every California lawmaker with “Rehab: An American Scandal” in one hand, and “Fighting the Florida Shuffle,” in the other. But most importantly, both books also lay out what must change to save lives. Seems that the exploitation and death of extremely vulnerable people — and the obscene fleecing of our health care dollars in what’s ballooned to a $50-billion-plus a year industry — haven’t…
SENIOR SENIORS – Oct. 15, 2025 – “Believe it or not, longevity is quite new, we’ve always had older people, but never this many older people living this long, A 65-year-old woman has a 40% chance of living to age 90: men the same age have a 30% chance of reaching that age. MORE
BRING IT ON – Oct. 14, 2025 – She began taking a drug similar to Ozempic while living at a Rhode Island nonprofit for formerly incarcerated and homeless people. She gets the medication, called a GLP-1, free through a pilot program testing the weight loss and obesity drugs as a treatment for addiction. The drug helped Ms. Massarone, who had also battled obesity, lose 17 pounds. Critically, it also allowed her to overcome drug cravings in situations that had once defeated her. “I have a very strong faith,” she said, “but sometimes that’s not enough.” Ms. Massarone has now been…
THIS STORY WON’T DIE – Oct. 16, 2025 – Trigger warning! Shoshana Walter’s new book, Rehab: An American Scandal, is going to make you cry and scream. Cry for how people in need are treated with such cruelty in addiction rehab programs, and scream that for-profit sober living homes are so poorly run by untrained or indifferent staff that some residents die. Each chapter contains revelations that should prompt Congressional investigations. The book builds on Walter’s years of in-depth reporting for Reveal, the investigative radio show and podcast, which made her a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. In American Rehab,…
OPERATIONS NOW – Oct. 14, 2025 – Beta-blockers, commonly prescribed for high blood pressure and heart conditions, were linked to changes in gut bacteria that were detectable. The same held true for anti-anxiety medications, including Xanax and Valium. Antidepressants had similar carryover effects, as did proton pump inhibitors, medications millions take for acid reflux and heartburn. The microbiome is the body’s collection of beneficial bacteria. Its health relies on a diverse population of bacteria to fight disease, absorb nutrients and regulate immune and metabolic systems. It is influenced by everything from diet and lifestyle to the medications a person takes,…
AUDIO – NOT SO POOR ANYMORE – Oct. 14, 2025 – In Los Angeles, much of the work is carried out not just by government agencies, but largely by a vast network of nonprofits funded with public money. Over the past decade, those organizations have seen their revenues soar. By 2023–24, those groups reported more than $121.7 million in total revenue. And during that same time, the city’s homeless population kept climbing. In 2015, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated that 44,359 people were living without shelter across the county. By 2023, that number had surged to 75,518 —…
MARKETING MATTERS – Oct. 17, 2025 – Among adults 65 and older, overdose deaths from fentanyl mixed with stimulants — like cocaine and methamphetamines — have surged 9,000% in the last eight years, which matches rates among younger adults. Using CDC data, the researchers analyzed 404,964 death certificates that listed fentanyl as a cause of death between 1999 and 2023. Older adults represented 17,040 of the individuals, while younger adults, aged 25 to 64, represented 387,924. Fentanyl-related deaths increased from 264 to 4,144 in older adults between 2015 and 2023 — a 1,470% increase. Younger adults saw a 660% increase.…
ALANON ANYONE? – Oct. 17, 2025 – “When [my mom] was drinking, my dad never really knew how to handle it,” Stiller, 59, explains in his new documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which details his parents’ love story. “I think he loved her so much and he was so committed to her. Also the act and what they did together was so important, that he had to figure out how to deal with that on his own. Ben Stiller is detailing the resentment he held toward his father, Jerry Stiller, over how he handled his mom Anne Meara’s…
HOME GROWN ORPHANS – Oct. 16, 2025 – “Parental deaths from overdoses, homicides, suicides, and other substance-related causes are associated with more adverse health outcomes and higher rates of early mortality in their children, so more attention is needed in this area, because no child should ever have to grieve alone.” “Despite some recent declines in fatal drug overdoses, the number of children who have experienced a parental death due to a drug overdose continues to rise in Michigan and nationally because of the tremendous surge in fatal drug overdoses over the past decade,” McCabe said. One notable finding, he…
LIFE ON LIFE’S TERMS SUCKS – Oct. a6, 2025 – ‘The feelings of despair that I was experiencing were so strong. It was excruciating to sit with that,’ said the 40-year-old singer. She had suicidal thoughts and struggled to maintain her sobriety following her split from David Harbour. The Smile singer, 40, parted ways from her Stranger Things actor husband, 50, in December after five years of marriage. Speaking in the November issue of British Vogue, Allen said she came close to relapsing after their break-up following six years of being sober. “The feelings of despair that I was experiencing…