MEDIA: Podcast – April 13, 2018 – n this episode, Alanis talks with Pia Mellody about codependence and addiction recovery as well as parenting and creating functional relationships. Full Story @ Alanis.com
Author: Leonard Buschel
Broke or Brokering? – April 12, 2018 – Southern California is a hub for substance abuse treatment facilities. It’s a lucrative industry – and patient advocates say this has led to unsavory practices … Treatment facilities hire people to recruit patients, often targeting people with insurance. The “broker” gets paid for the referral. Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who is sponsoring a bill outlawing the practice, says it does more harm than good. “What appears as a strong incentive to help addicts hoping to recover has instead invited unscrupulous individuals and programs to take advantage of a vulnerable population,” Bradford said. …
American Society for Addiction Medicine – April 14, 2018 – SAN DIEGO – Support for drugs like Suboxone, Vivitrol and methadone was one of the rallying cries at the annual American Society for Addiction Medicine conference this week in California. Broadly known as medication-assisted treatments, the drugs are sometimes-controversial tools for battling the growing opioid epidemic. Though they work in different ways, all three can be taken long-term to reduce the chance of relapse into drug use. “It’s not a matter of ideology,” said ASAM president Dr. Kelly Clark. “It’s a matter of the facts show a person’s risk of…
Doing the Right Thing – April 15, 2018 – It’s not everyday that you hear about a neighborhood, plagued with drug sales and use, coming together and saying: “We have had enough, no more!” That’s exactly what’s happening right now in the City of Rochester’s North Clinton Avenue neighborhood. It’s an area so synonymous with drug activity, some refer to it as “Heroin Alley.” On this edition of Need to Know, you’ll see it’s also a place working to forge a new path. Full Story @ WXXINews.org
Sounds Like One of Us – April 8, 2018 – The answer for the cocaine in her purse, a Florida woman allegedly said, was blowing in the wind. Kennecia Posey, 26, was arrested in March on drug possession charges in Fort Pierce. According to a police report, she was one of two passengers in a vehicle swerving in the road when Fort Pierce police stopped the car on March 21, WPLG reported … According to the police report, an officer approached the car and smelled an odor of marijuana coming from inside. During a search of the car, the officer…
Going to Any Lengths – April 11, 2018 – As America’s opioid and heroin crisis rages, some struggling with addiction are turning to a drug illegal in the US. Jonathan Levinson went to one clinic offering the treatment in Mexico. At the end of a dead end street in a town near the US-Mexico border, Emily Albert is in the basement of a drug treatment clinic, hallucinating about her son as a heroin addict. She imagines him going through rehab and desperately trying to get clean. But Albert is the one with the addiction. She’s in the middle of a…
Modern Day Traders? – April 13, 2018 – As the opioid epidemic increases in California, more and more fake facilities are preying on desperate patients. These so-called rehab centers are taking advantage of patients while bilking insurance companies. Former patients and a local lawmaker are trying to stop the abuse. At a meeting with California Senator Ricardo Lara (D) Bell Gardens, addiction recovery advocates described the dirty and growing practice of patient brokering. “People get bumped from facility to facility and people get kickbacks for that, “ Lara said. The founder of the Breathe Life Healing Centers, Brad Lamm, said…
A Higher Calling – April 14, 2018 – Founded by Avi and Julie Israel of Buffalo, Save the Michaels transitioned last year into an agency for addicts in need as well as their families, designed to help them navigate a confusing system and get treatment quickly – and to help people stay off drugs for the long term. “What Avi is doing is certainly critical in terms of education, intervention, support of families and assisting people who are seeking treatment,” said Anne D. Constantino, president and CEO of Horizon Health Services, the largest provider of outpatient mental health and substance…
Justice in Jersey – April 13, 2018 – Until he got busted, Michael Ludwikowski was your go-to guy if you had a fudged oxycodone prescription. Customers came to him with prescriptions that were obviously “washed” or “bleached” — meaning the original writing was chemically removed. To do this, the customers would get a prescription for a non-narcotic, then chemically alter the paper to remove the name of the drug and write in oxycodone. Then, they’d take the phony prescription to the Olde Medford Pharmacy or the Medford Family Pharmacy, and get their oxy pills from Ludwikowski, 46, of Medford, or…
OPINION from CANADA – April 10, 2018 – Illicit fentanyl was the cause of the earliest deaths that the panel looked at. Now, Egilson said, the toxicology reports show that fentanyl is found in 80 per cent of those who have died. But he was careful to add that the panel only looked at overdose deaths. It didn’t look at the 25 to 50 “non-fatal, near-miss events.” Regardless, the B.C. College of Physicians had acted swiftly. In 2016, it brought in prescription standards and became the first in North America to threaten to revoke doctors’ licences if they didn’t comply…
Rationalization Nation – April 14, 2018 – Angel came into counseling knowing that something was wrong but not knowing what it was. After being married for seven years, he noticed his wife became more secretive and distant. Money from their savings account was missing and unaccounted for, his wife would disappear frustrated and return weirdly happy, and she seemed to get angry very easily over insignificant matters. At first, he thought she was having an affair. But after looking at her phone and locations, he ruled that out. So he sought the advice of a therapist. Oftentimes when a spouse…
Best Tweet Ever – April 3, 2018 – It can be hard to find the right words to describe depression, and in the pursuit of getting across what it’s really like, people write poems, craft metaphors, draw pictures and even play songs. There’s no “right” way to express what depression feels like — just like there’s no right way to cope and live with it. On Tuesday, comedian Patton Oswalt — who has been open about his journey with depression and grief after his wife died suddenly in 2016 — shared an image that not only describes what depression can…
MEDIA: Book Review – April 3, 2018 – She takes us on similar journeys into lithium and MAO inhibitors, each bringing hope and problems. And then, in the late 1980s there’s the arrival of serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, and their promise to be different from the antidepressants of the past. The standard explanation is that Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft and other SSRIs boost serotonin levels. But studies have never proved that depressed people suffer from low serotonin (some do, some have normal levels and others have high levels). And SSRIs often fare no better than placebos for mild to…
Chemical Brothers – March 21, 2018 – Many different types of stimulants can be found in the foods and drinks we consume. Some are natural ingredients that we’ve been consuming for millennia, such as caffeine, now embedded into the cultures of many civilizations. Others are synthetic and a relatively recent addition to our diets. There is now growing cause for concern about the extent to which food and drink manufacturers are deliberately adding high quantities of stimulants to processed foods and drinks to bolster sales, often under the guise of ‘flavour enhancement’. As this practice is now so widespread we…
Artist’s Profile: Growing up in New York City as a stutterer, John Lavitt embraced writing as a way to express himself when the words would not come. After graduating from Brown University, he lived on the Greek island of Patmos, studying with his mentor, the late American poet Robert Lax. As a writer, John Lavitt’s published work includes several articles in Chicken Soup For The Soul volumes and poems in multiple poetry journals and compilations. As a journalist, he has worked as the Treatment Professional News Editor and an Investigative Journalist for The Fix where he has written over 550 articles…
That’s a Lot of Suboxone – April 6, 2018 – New Hampshire’s hospitals have agreed to spend $50 million over the next five years to fund the programs that combat the state’s ongoing opioid crisis. The announcement Friday by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu helps address a long-running debate over how the state would fund drug treatment and prevention programs. Until now, funding for the programs came from a share of the profits from liquor sales. But the state wants to use that money to help fund Medicaid costs as federal funding decreases, which some feared could put treatment funding at…
Fox Guarding the Hen House? – April 5, 2018 – …Nickel’s three-year-old nonprofit is increasingly in the spotlight, both for its high-profile advocacy work and its close ties with drug makers. The vast majority of the group’s funding comes from pharmaceutical companies, some of whose executives sit on its advisory board. Overshadowed by APF’s funding sources, however, is a more striking connection: Until last fall, Nickel was concurrently working as a lobbyist for Alkermes, the maker of a drug used to treat opioid addiction, while heading the nonprofit. In interviews with STAT, Nickel brushed off concerns about her work with…
No More re·cid·i·vism – April 9, 2018 – Researchers from Brown University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that the addiction treatment program was leading to a drop in post-incarceration overdose deaths. They published a study in February in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry. Though overdose deaths decreased overall last year in Rhode Island, deaths from the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl increased by about 5 percent. There were 205 fentanyl-related deaths. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo created a task force to prevent opioid overdoses in 2015. The state has made naloxone more readily available…
The OC Conundrum – April 6, 2018 – Mental health provider Sovereign Health has been having a rough time as well. In June, after Sovereign became entangled in civil lawsuits with insurance giant HealthNet over the validity of its billings, it was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. More than 100 agents stormed Sovereign offices and treatment centers in south Orange County, hunting for evidence of health care fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, “laundering of monetary instruments” and illegal payments for patient referrals, according to paperwork filed in federal court by attorneys for the company. Like Luminance and many other…
A Burning … Bud? – April 9, 2018 – A Pringles can, ChapStick tube, hairbrush handle and the Bible. These are some of the places Louisville area drug users have hidden their stashes. Parents afraid their children may have caved to the temptation of drugs circulating in the city asked Courier Journal for help figuring out where the drugs might be. They know it might be a matter of life or death. Thousands of users are overdosing throughout the city, and according to a Courier Journal analysis of coroner data, there were a record 408 overdose deaths last year. Among…
Out of the Mouth of Babes – April 7, 2018 – It’s often been said that a drunk mouth speaks sober thoughts. But in the case of Johnny Manziel, it seems like his journey to sobriety has moved him past the days of giving “canned answers” to thoughtful candor. Johnny Football is starting to air the NFL’s dirty laundry, and it’s making some folks uncomfortable … Manziel’s comments about the Browns came on the heels of some other poignant ones that managed to grab headlines last month when he tweeted his support of Colin Kaepernick and spoke on something we…
Buy One, Get an Epipen at Half Off? – April 5, 2018 – The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, issued a public health advisory on Thursday urging more Americans to carry and learn to use the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone … The rising price of naloxone has become a major problem as tens of thousands of people die from opioid overdoses each year. However, most insurance plans cover naloxone, and many community-based organizations or public health programs provide the drug for free. When buying naloxone, the price can vary greatly depending on your insurance plan and the type you…
MEDIA: Reading is Holy – April 5, 2018 – In his newly released book, Preaching Under the Influence, A Minister’s Struggle, Brandon Holt, a nationally recognized pastor and licensed chemical dependency counselor, details his struggle with addiction to prescription painkillers, losing it all, including his church and family and the steps to his recovery. “I clearly recall the day my addiction began; I was in the hospital recovering from surgery and was given a morphine pump. Each time I hit the pump my whole world opened up and I hadn’t a care in the world,” said Holt. “As a preacher,…
Art Imitates Life, and Death – April 6, 2018 – Prepping to play a heroin addict took a mental toll on Franco as well. “The whole research process also contributed to why I was so depressed. You can imagine how hard it is to watch several documentaries about heroin addicts every single day,” he says. “I felt like I was in this dark heroin tunnel for a couple months, and I was just not the most fun person to be around. I commend everyone on set who is still friends with me, because I really was off in the corner…
That’s Depressing – April 7, 2018 – Victoria Toline would hunch over the kitchen table, steady her hands and draw a bead of liquid from a vial with a small dropper. It was a delicate operation that had become a daily routine — extracting ever tinier doses of the antidepressant she had taken for three years, on and off, and was desperately trying to quit. “Basically that’s all I have been doing — dealing with the dizziness, the confusion, the fatigue, all the symptoms of withdrawal,” said Ms. Toline, 27, of Tacoma, Wash. It took nine months to wean herself…
Comedian For Our Times – April 9, 2018 – By John Lavitt – “Although my life may seem great, meetings remind me that I’m still an addict and an alcoholic. It only stays great by maintaining my sobriety.” According to his website, “Alonzo’s material is ‘cynically good-natured.’ Well, the older he gets, the less good-natured it’s gonna be. ‘What can I say? The stupid out there is wearing the man down.’” Although it might be wearing down the man, it’s not wearing out his sobriety. Closing in on 30 years in recovery and 25 years as a comic, Bodden is…
Pure Babies Please – April 9, 2018 – Nursing women who smoke marijuana transfer low levels of cannabis’ main psychoactive ingredient, THC, to their children via breast milk, a new study finds. Researchers took samples of breast milk from eight anonymous test subjects who regularly used cannabis, and tested the milk for the presence of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolites. The milk was tested 20 minutes after ingestion and then at one, two, and four hours post-ingestion. THC levels were highest at one hour after study subjects smoked cannabis. Infants who breastfed exclusively ingested an estimated 2.5 percent of the…
That’s One Solution – April 5, 2018 – Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom is starting a new business, Rich Soil Organics, that will focus on producing marijuana-based products. According to a press release issued Thursday, Odom’s venture “will offer various cannabis-related products, including flowers, concentrates, extracts and other CBD/THC infusions.” Odom, 38, added that he found “certain strains” of marijuana have helped throughout the recovery process for his addiction to crack cocaine. “While going through rehab, I discovered certain strains that support wellness. So I decided to team up with Camp Green, a company that supplies organically grown,…
12 Stepper Holiday – April 3, 2018 – “He put himself in there. It was voluntary. He was not using again, but needed to do a little reset and get things back in alignment to make sure he doesn’t use again,” the source explains, adding that Farrell checked in last week. Farrell, now 41, sought treatment in 2005 for his substance issues after he wrapped the film Miami Vice. The Beguiled actor opened up about his stint on The Late Late Show in 2013 … “Miami Vice wrapped … and I was put on a plane and sent to rehab,”…
Anything is Possible – March 28, 2018 – Researchers at the University of Chile have had a breakthrough that could ultimately lead to a cure for alcoholism. When the experts injected human stem cells into mice that had become binge drinkers, the animals cut their alcohol intake by as much as 90 percent within two days. A team of scientists led by Yedy Israel fed study rats a diet of unlimited heavy alcohol until they became dependent upon it. The animals were drinking the equivalent of a bottle of vodka each day until the researchers took the alcohol away for…