Side Effects Not Mentioned – Jan. 15, 2018 – A 6-year-old Texas girl suffered shocking side effects from flu medication — and her parents are urging people to be better informed about the common antiviral drug and other meds. The family, who preferred to remain unnamed, said that the girl was given Tamiflu to reduce flu symptoms. As a result, she hallucinated, tried to run away from school and, they believe, tried to hurt herself. “The second story window was open, which is in her bedroom, and she used her desk to climb up onto it. She was about to…
Author: Leonard Buschel
Too Much Kimchee? – Jan. 14, 2018 – Officers say he then failed a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer. He was released from jail Sunday morning and given a court date. Police say he was cooperative with officers. Rodman won five NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls and had a brief stint with the Lakers. He was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 … He has had legal difficulties before, including previous arrests for DUI, domestic violence and a hit-and-run charge in Santa Ana in 2016. Full Story @ ABC7.com
WHAT HAS HAPPENED? – Jan. 13, 2018 – As addiction rates for illicit drugs has skyrocketed in the United States, many turned to Google to try and find places where they can find help — only to run into new issues. An entire industry has emerged online to advertise addiction treatment centers through the search engine, sometimes using deceptive tactics. Now, TechCrunch is reporting that Google is putting its global rehab advertising efforts on hold. Last year, a Verge report examined some companies used Google to take advantage of the its business listings to deceive addicts looking for care. Following…
More Lives Saved – Jan. 13, 2018 – Syringe exchange programs Prevention Point Pittsburgh and Prevention Point Philadelphia operate openly under local laws in their cities, but the practice is illegal in the rest of the state. “In 2018, it is unconscionable to continue to restrict lifesaving harm reduction programs, despite overwhelming evidence that providing sterile injection equipment and other harm reduction services have significant positive outcomes and do not increase drug use or crime,” the network members wrote. Full Story @ Post-Gazette.com
Money in Recovery – Jan. 13, 2018 – Neuros Medical Inc., a nerve stimulation company in Willoughby, has been able to measure the impact of its technology though studies. The most recent study showed that patients using its technology, which blocks the nerve transmission on demand with a high-frequency electrical signal, had about an 80% to 85% pain reduction rate and a 92% pill count reduction. As companies are bringing solutions to the market, it’s important that they’re not layering on cost to the health care system, said Jon Snyder, founder and chief business officer at Neuros. Full Story @…
Not Just Rehabs — Jan. 11, 2018 – The University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown in Baltimore is the latest hospital across the country accused of patient dumping after discharging a woman one cold night this week dressed in only a hospital gown and socks. Video shot by a concerned passerby depicted the disoriented woman left at a bus stop outside the hospital as four security guards walk away with a wheelchair. The video went viral thrusting the hospital into the national spotlight. Full Story @ BaltimoreSun.com
Profits Before People – Jan. 2, 2018 – Parker’s life changed when he was diagnosed with obesity-related type 2 diabetes, the disease that killed his father. In a “lightbulb moment”, he realised he could help save people’s lives by using his skills to try to help curb the junk food we eat. Parker founded a charity called Living Loud, bringing on board others from marketing and advertising. In their first year of existence, they have helped anti-obesity campaigners like the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation understand the industry and communicate their messages. Full Story @ TheGuardian.com
BEST CONVERSATION EVER – Jan. 14, 2018 – (STARTS at 30 minutes) Interview with Dr. Harriet Fraad on US opioid epidemic: psychology and capitalism. Hosted by Economics Professor Richard D. Wolff and guests discuss the current state of the economy, locally and globally. The program explores alternative ways to organize, markets, and government policies. Full Story @ KPFA.org
Not Kosher – Jan. 11, 2018 – It’s an Orthodox Jewish village more than 800 miles from Milwaukee. Despite the distance, Engel says Freund kept a close eye on the business, either in person or over his network of cameras. “He even made a joke once to me,” Engel recalled, “remember I can see you in the hallway.” Freund has no medical background, but allegedly required that clients be drug tested every time they came for an appointment. And Engel said the boss had little patience for those who missed appointments. It accuses Freund of using “vulnerable individuals” for “personal…
Fun Without Booze? Amazing… – Jan.12, 2018 – You can be sober and social. That’s the idea behind Club Soda, an event series and community for “sober curious” people who want to drink less, or not at all not, while still having fun. “By any outside standards, it wasn’t a huge amount, it’s not like I was getting up in the morning and having a drink. Alcohol was just part of life,” Warrington tells Moneyish. “It began to take a toll on my overall well being.” When Warrington moved to New York City she realized she was ready to make…
For Funerals TOO! – Jan. 13, 2018 – Estimates of the societal cost of opioid addiction and related deaths put the figure at $193 billion. In our state alone, opioids have claimed the lives of 2,400 Marylanders just this past year. Yet after causing millions to become addicted and making billions of dollars in the process, pharmaceutical companies have not repaid their debt to society. Anne Arundel County’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors and prescribers, is likely to be one of many targeting these companies for the reckless endangerment they have been engaging in for years. Full Story @ BaltimoreSun.com
It Happens to Men Too! – Jan. 11, 2018 – Greg, a Canadian lawyer, is 28 but he’s already had 11 serious relationships. He says each of those relationships ended with infidelity, on his part, and severe self-doubt on the part of the women. He is a self-confessed “gaslighter” … “Looking back it’s clear that I was gaslighting the women and slowly making them second-guess their version of reality,” he says. He’s speaking out now to give insight into the mind of a gaslighter, and to warn women of the tell-tale signs. Gaslighting has been described as psychological abuse where false…
More Harm Than Good? – Jan. 6, 2018 – Technology can be addictive, and when devices are everywhere, it’s no wonder. However, tech also has the potential to help us cure our own addictive behavior … “Health providers are already adept at the psychotherapy techniques used in addiction treatment, but technology can help support or improve the assessment, prevention, treatment of and recovery from substance abuse disorders by offering entirely new models of care delivery. Almost everyone in the United States has access to Internet services, which can help people who may otherwise stop treatment more readily access these services. Full…
Transformational Traveler – Jan. 2, 2018 – The documentary follows Frank as he transforms himself from a miserably obese drug addict to a man who not only learns to love himself but also gets new body and a fresh start on life. He came to Australia as part of the Wanderlust Festival on the Sunshine Coast in November and was invited down to Mullumbimby by his friend Victoria Castles … ‘I had to face them and embrace the demons and integrate them into who I was. I had to embrace the thing I feared most. I also realized my addiction was…
Better to Abstain – Jan. 6, 2018 – Scientists think they know how alcohol damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer. Researchers in England conducted the study in mice, however, experts say that the mechanisms linking alcohol to DNA damage are the same in mice and men. Indeed, earlier studies have shown strong links between alcohol and certain cancers in humans; in addition, the International Agency for Cancer Research classifies alcohol consumption as “carcinogenic to humans.” What wasn’t clear, however, was how alcohol did its damage. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health] The study, which was published Jan. 3 in…
Children Say the Darndest Things – Jan. 5, 2018 – Lying is not only normal; it’s also a sign of intelligence. Kids discover lying as early as age 2, studies have found. In one experiment, children were asked not to peek at a toy hidden behind them while the researcher withdrew from the room under false pretenses. Minutes later, the researcher returned and asked the child if he or she peeked. This experiment, designed by the developmental psychologist Michael Lewis in the mid-1980s and performed in one form or another on hundreds of kids, has yielded two consistent findings. The first…
TV is Addictive Too – Jan. 6, 2018 – In the trailer which Showtime dropped during their Television Critics Association panel on Saturday, the dark dramedy takes jabs at the upper class as it tracks Patrick’s journey through a deeply traumatic childhood and his resulting substance abuse and recovery as an adult, per the premium-TV channel’s official description … While the show (which is set in the South of France in the 1960s, New York in the 1980s and Britain in the early 2000s) is sure to be a tough pill to swallow for some, the trailer is packed with one-liners…
Still Sober & Loving It – Jan. 1, 2018 – “I feel awakened and peaceful and connected and less in need of other people’s approval [Fatherhood] changed everything,” he explained. “With drugs and alcohol, the rock bottoms tend to be pretty obvious because they involve police and ambulances. But in ordinary life, any moment where you find yourself despairing and hopeless can be a rock bottom. For me, that can happen pretty easily.” Full Story @ InTouchWeekly.com
The Sober Englishman – Jan. 5, 2018 – I had my last drink five years ago, in the early hours of the morning on 1 January 2013. I think it might have been around 2am. I wouldn’t have described myself as drunk. I would have said I’d had a few drinks. But I was drunk. If I had tried to drive, or write, or give a talk in public, I’d have done these things badly. Feeling neither happy nor sad, I raised the glass and swallowed the booze. It was some kind of fruit punch. At the time, I didn’t think…
It’s a Community Service – Jan. 5, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2018 – In their first meeting of 2018, Costa Mesa planning commissioners Monday will wade through a flood of requests for city permits from operators of sober-living homes and alcohol and drug treatment facilities. Though the establishments up for review are already operating, a city ordinance passed in 2015 requires such facilities with at least seven residents in multifamily areas to obtain conditional use permits to remain open. Full Story @ LATimes.com
Local Hero – Jan. 5, 2018 – “He thought just because you happen to be drunk, you didn’t have to go to jail,” said McAleney. “He recognized that alcoholism is a disease.” By many accounts, Conley struggled with alcoholism early in life but fought back against the disease when he was in his mid- 20s …“He would have made a hell of a beat cop,” said Dion. “He knew everybody, wasn’t judgmental and he recognized that human beings weren’t perfect. He didn’t display anger and it was never personal.” Full Story @ BangorDailyNews.com
It’s a Cash Cow for so Many… – Dec. 31, 2017 – The prohibitions on drugs have also created perverse economic incentives that make combating drug producers and distributors extremely difficult. The high black-market price for illegal drugs has generated huge profits for the groups that produce and sell them, income that is invested in buying state-of-the-art weapons, hiring gangs to defend their trade, paying off public officials and making drugs easily available to children, to get them addicted. – George P. Shultz, a former secretary of the Treasury and secretary of state, is a fellow at the Hoover Institution at…
If It Didn’t Feel so Good… – Dec. 31, 2017 – If the nation is going to change, we need to start listening to those on the front lines … It’s that relief from suffering that appealed to many Americans, who perhaps didn’t realize they were plagued by more than a physical injury. One man in recovery who spoke to HuffPost described the first time he took a painkiller – a half dose of Lortab, he said – as a revelation. “Not only did it make me feel better, it made me feel good,” he said. “I had a lot of…
Tradition – Jan. 5, 2018 – Nonprofit treatment center Cumberland Heights has been designated an Aetna Institute of Quality® for Behavioral Health – Substance Abuse. Aetna makes information about the quality and cost of health care services available to its members to help them make informed decisions about their health care needs. In line with this goal, Aetna recognizes facilities in its network that offer specialized clinical services and exemplify: Full Story @ CumberlandHeights.org
Lost Children in American War – Jan. 8, 2018 – Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign is re-launching their #momsresolutions campaign for the New Year, showcasing what we will resist and defend in the name of human rights, dignity and equality. Full Story @ KUSI.com
USA USA USA – Jan. 8, 2018 – But there’s plenty of evidence that things were bad already. Babies born in the United States have a lower life expectancy than their counterparts in other countries … And things could soon get even worse, the authors added: The Trump administration’s budget includes “substantial cuts to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which covers seven million children, and to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which directs three-quarters of its benefits to households with children.” Full Story @ LATimes.com
It’s Not That Easy – Jan. 5, 2018 – I grew up in a small town outside of Anchorage, Alaska, where alcohol and drug use were (and remain) prevalent. I had my first drink when I was 12-years-old, and have casually consumed alcohol ever since. Alaska’s alcohol mortality rate is three times the national average, and as a born and raised Alaskan, I have lost friends to drunk driving, suicide while consuming alcohol, alcohol poisoning, and gun violence when alcohol was being consumed. In other words, I have more than a few reasons to give up drinking, if only in remembrance…
One Hand, One Heart – Jan. 6, 2018 – Polaco, a former ECW champion who has wrestled the likes of Kurt Angle, CM Punk, Sabu and Tommy Dreamer, said his addiction issues stem from his unhappiness with who he was inside and outside of wrestling. He started wrestling when he was 18 and cited the mental drain of the business, the relentless travel and the wear and tear on his body that led to his addiction to pain medication. He recalls choosing not to bring them on a vacation, only to become violently ill for days. “When I got home and…
It Could Happen to Anyone – Jan. 4, 2018 – Think you know everything you need to know about opioid addiction? Consider these seven myths first. — Myth #1: People with opioid use disorders (addictions) fit a certain profile. — Myth #2: If you can hold down a job, then you’re not addicted. — Myth #3: If you only use prescribed medication, you won’t develop an addiction. — Myth #4: Addiction is the result of personal weakness. CLICK TO READ MORE Full Story @ PENNLive.com
Laughter Heals and It’s an Art – Jan. 4, 2018 – Mark Lundholm is a comedian and one-time drug addict. He does what any comedian would do: make fun of the things he knows. For him, that means family dysfunction, drug abuse, and addiction. Still, it’s an odd comedic niche: making a living doing humor about a disease that he candidly admits kills more people than car accidents, cancer, and war combined. Lundholm, who was born in Oakland and lives in San Jose, Calif., admits there are limits to his comedy. He won’t make fun of addicts or the families that…