“The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.” – Yogi Berra, 1925–2015
Author: Leonard Buschel
IF THEY TRY – July 3, 2025 – Dating back to the 14th century, the district was a hub for the port city’s sailors. The red lanterns sex workers used to signify their availability became a distinctive feature, giving the area another name: The Red Light District. Dutch police work hand-in-hand with the health department. It’s an approach started during the country’s heroin crisis that began in the 1970s. Around the same time, in 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” in the United States. In the decades since, the U.S. has treated drug use largely as a…
ADVICE – July 7, 2025 – Getting at least 7-9 hours of sleep helps to focus the mind and gives it clarity to be able to make appropriate decisions. Without adequate rest, it becomes harder to think clearly, manage emotions, and cope with everyday challenges. … Ongoing therapy is a valuable part of self-care because it provides structured accountability not just for actions but also for feelings. In the constant go of life, it can be easy to start operating on autopilot, which can cause neglect for the emotional aspect of self-care. Staying busy during recovery is common, but Vidauri…
VIDEO – WHIPPET BAD – July 3, 2025 – She said her sister’s nitrous addiction left her incontinent and caused temporary paralysis in her legs. “A doctor in the hospital said, ‘This is going to kill you. You’re going to die,’” said Caldwell. In November she was found dead outside a vape shop where she bought NO2. She was 29 years old. The Georgia Poison Center saw nitrous oxide calls rise from three in 2019 to 22 in 2024. “A lot of these patients are adults who are being seen in the emergency room after experiencing blackouts, unconsciousness,” said Dr.…
WHY DID I COME IN HERE? – July 10th, 2025 – It happens from time to time: You start telling a story, only to lose your train of thought halfway through. Or you walk into a room and can’t remember what you went in there to do. Mental glitches like these happen to everyone and are understandably scary, but aren’t necessarily a sign of cognitive decline. “The feeling of your brain short-circuiting is often more likely due to psychological processes,” says Sarah Garcia-Beaumier, Ph.D. Increases in stress, distractions, multitasking, anxiety or depression can be contributors. “A common consideration we have…
VIDEO – SAD FACETIME – July 2, 2025 – 13News chatted with Jennie Voelker, a licensed clinical social worker with Community Health Network, on how to navigate screen time with our kids. CONTINUE@YouTube
AUDIO – SCIENCE OF LOVE – July 4, 2025 – We’ve heard this statement a thousand times and probably have told it as well. But it’s not that simple. Addiction is a serious mental health issue, which affects the brain, body and emotions. People who are suffering feel stuck and ashamed. They’re not weak – they’re just unwell and need support, not JUDGEMENT. So, what is addiction? And why is willpower not enough? Addiction is when somebody cannot stop using substances (alcohol, drugs) or engaging in behaviors like gambling or as simple as watching reels or playing games even if…
VIDEO – CHILDREN MATTER – July 4, 2025 – 11alive’s Faith Jesse speaks with mom overcoming alcoholism. CONTINUE@YouTube
VIDEO – MIKE’S MANDATE – July 1, 2025 – Journalist and author Alex Berenson explains the dangers of cannabis as celebrity athletes call on President Donald Trump to reform marijuana laws. CONTINUE@Fox
OR PREVENT THEM? – July 4, 2025 – The “sober-curious” movement has gained strength in recent years alongside research directly linking alcohol to seven cancers and increased risk of heart disease. Earlier this year, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy advocated for putting cancer warnings on alcohol labels. That followed the World Health Organization issuing a statement in 2024 stating no amount of alcohol use is safe. These beverages often contain the look, taste and branding of beer, wine and liquor. And they tend to increase cravings among people with alcohol use disorder, research shows. CONTINUE@PhillyVoice
PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING – July 3, 2025 – Kerry Meyer, an organizer for the conference and a friend of AA — which means she is not an alcoholic, but instead someone who acts as a public face for the organization — said more than 30,000 people from 90 countries are at the event, It includes all kinds of meetings, including a special gathering for “old timers” who have been sober for upwards of 50 years. Formed in 1935 in the United States, Alcoholics Anonymous is a 12-step program for people who have trouble with substance use. It’s been criticized…
VIDEO – BIG MAN – BIG HEART – July 7, 2025 – “When we look at the overdoses and the drugs, it’s affecting not just the adults but our kids. I’m a big advocate that our kids are our future, that’s why I pour so much time into our youth. You know, I see it every day, especially right there in Macon, Mississippi. So many kids throwing their life away because of drugs, guns, whatever it may be. So, that’s the reason why I’m here today,” said Jeffery Simmons. The Jackson Medical Mall now has a vending machine that provides…
APPLE OF HIS EYE – July 8th, 2025 – Quitting booze six years ago was the making of me. I was 54 and it didn’t just save my life, it got me a new job: helping other people make the break too. But while I was busy being a supposed role model to others, behind the scenes all was not as well. As is often the case with former addicts, I’d simply swapped one craving for another kind. Before January 2019, I was drinking a litre of vodka a night, my cholesterol levels were through the roof at over nine,…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 1966 – I love Tim Hardin, he’s one of my favourite artists, he was a very deep and tormented songwriter and I’ll carry his legacy with me forever … Some are doomed to be overwhelmed by their own feelings, and must leave this world too soon. Tim was one, but he left us gifts of his exquisite pain that will endure. CONTINUE@YouTube
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 2025 – To say that she sings from her soul would be an understatement ……… absolutely sublime. CONTINUE@YouTube
CALIFORNIA SOBER – July 9th, 2025 – Billy Strings, like many other artists, has moved away from booze. It seems like country music is going sober these days, or semi-sober, with many artists having reevaluated their relationship with alcohol. Billy Strings, along with Marcus King, Ashley McBryde, Cody Jinks, Jon Pardi, and many, many more have cut out alcohol from their lives. Billy Strings has been sober for a little over nine years, vividly recalling what made him make a change on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast. His last drink was on June 16, 2016. After a wild show and a mountain…
SOBER BODYBUILDER – July 8th, 2025 – When Anne Marie Chaker walked into a hotel fitness room during a youth hockey tournament, she was struggling with postpartum depression, the recent death of her father, the collapse of her marriage and a growing dependence on alcohol. A former Wall Street Journal reporter of 27 years, she decided to turn her observational skills inward. “I saw this hockey mom just crushing her workout. She wasn’t skinny; she was strong. And I thought, ‘That’s what I want,’” Chaker told Athletech News in an interview about her new book, Lift: How Women Can…
UNSAFE AT ANY AMOUNT – July 8, 2025 – Researchers conclude that these conservative estimates support existing public-health recommendations urging reductions in consumption of processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and industrial trans fats. Sugar-sweetened beverages remain the primary dietary source of added sugars in many populations, contributing to weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk. Artificial trans fats, created to solidify vegetable oils, have been associated with systemic inflammation and coronary heart disease. Clarity about dose-response relationships has been limited by variability in data availability and inconsistent findings across studies. In the study, “Health effects associated with consumption of processed meat,…
RINGO REFLECTS – July 8th, 2025 – Ringo Starr is reflecting on 37 years of sobriety. In an interview with reporters at Ringo Starr’s Annual “Peace & Love” Birthday Celebration in Beverly Hills, Calif., the former Beatles drummer opened up about how his life has shifted in the years since he stopped drinking alcohol. “Well, I ended up in a rehab because I was not treating myself or anyone around me with any respect,” Starr — who turned 85 on Monday, July 7 — says of his decision to get sober. He added: “It was all about me, and I…
STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – July 15, 2025 – I guess rather than talk about me, I’ll talk about what’s become important to me. Throughout my life, I’ve learned belief systems that for the most part were based in fear. Belief systems that I used to argue and battle with people about and I was just afraid that a challenge to my belief was a challenge against me. In Alcoholics Anonymous, I’ve learned that I need to develop new belief systems that are based in Love. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when…
AUDIO – ANYONE CAN SUCCUMB – July 2, 2025 – Andrew Voegel-Podadera was charged with two counts of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge. An anesthesiologist resident, stole medication from both children and adult patients over the course of a year, and would sometimes administer it intravenously while working, “Drug addiction spares no one. It can impact anyone. And the literature, in particular, shows greater incidents of drug addiction among medical practitioners than other segments of society because of their exposure and access,” his attorney, Ronald J. Friedman, told McClatchy News by phone July 2. “Dr.…
CELEBRITY DUMPSTER DIVING – June 2025 – The “Saving Silverman” star married his wife, Jenny Mollen, “Before I took the Ambien, I was like, ‘One more,’” he told Lorre. “I went outside, and I climbed into the trash bin and got the bag of coke and went upstairs and did another line.” “I was like, ‘What the f–k am I doing? This is absolutely insane,’” Biggs added. Biggs also noted that he seriously struggled with sobriety while living in Los Angeles. “I would find myself alone and isolating, and I would find myself breaking whatever sobriety I had,” he admitted.…
VIDEO – BUT IT WORKED FOR ME – July 8th, 2025 – Recent numbers from the CDC show a significant drop in drug deaths among young Americans. The latest available data found Fentanyl and other drugs killed 31,589 people under the age of 35 in 2021. But, by last year, that number had plummeted to roughly 16,690 according to provisional CDC data. The theories behind the drop range from a wider distribution of medications that reverses potentially fatal overdoses to more readily available addiction healthcare. This topic is the subject of a new book called “Fighting The Florida Shuffle: The…
VIDEO – DON’T DIE – July 2, 2025 – New research looks at how people can get treatment for substance use disorder and addiction in emergency rooms. CONTINUE@YouTube
PROUD OF IT – July 2, 2025 – Sonya Johnson, 41, started taking drugs at age 11, when a man who was sexually abusing her gave them to her behind her parents’ back. It was the beginning of a 23-year journey through addiction that began with cigarettes, marijuana and ecstasy and eventually led to cocaine and prescription opioid pills. At first, the drugs took away the emotional pain from the abuse, but Johnson quickly grew dependent on them. She was arrested for the first time at age 18 and sent to a detox facility, beginning a cycle of rehab, release…
TRAVEL ALONG – July 5, 2025 – Amy Davidson is opening up about her ongoing sobriety journey and how she sidesteps any potential pitfalls. “Let’s talk triggers. I went to one of my favorite wineries/restaurants to celebrate a dear friend of mine yesterday and was surprised (and not fully prepared) by my reaction.” “I felt like I was slapped in the face with a huge life lesson. Being around wine, something I would drink every single day – it was challenging… Davidson went on to explain that she quietly asked herself “what would happen if I had a sip or…
FIRST CLASS ACT – July 4, 2025 – This collaboration aims to showcase how Pride can be celebrated beyond the confines of alcohol-fueled parties, highlighting inclusive, alcohol-free experiences in major cities like New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. These destinations, known for their rich LGBTQ+ history and vibrant cultural scenes, now offer sober-friendly alternatives that allow travelers to engage with Pride all year round. The idea of sober travel is gaining traction, especially among the younger generations who are more inclined to embrace a balanced lifestyle that includes wellness, mindfulness, and purpose-driven experiences. With a growing number of people in…
VIDEO – TRUTH BE TOLD – July 5, 2025 – Beth McDonough once delivered breaking news from behind the anchor desk—now, she’s using her voice to deliver something even more powerful: a story of survival, sobriety, and self-reinvention. The former TV crime reporter and anchor, known for her work at FOX affiliates in Philadelphia and Minnesota, is now sharing her personal journey in her new memoir, Standby. The book recounts McDonough’s decades-long battle with alcoholism, a disease that cost her the career she loved—and nearly everything else. “I’ve seen the worst of the worst crimes and covered the worst things…
POLYAMOROUS – July 7, 2025 – Polysubstance use has become a defining feature of the U.S. overdose crisis in the past decade. While not every overdose involves multiple substances, a significant and growing proportion includes drug combinations. Fentanyl is the primary factor, but other substances are also involved, including xylazine, medetomidine, alcohol, benzodiazepines, cannabis, “gas station” heroin or weed, cocaine, methamphetamine, and others. Why Polysubstance Abuse Is on the Rise Bob DuPont, founding director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, says there are multiple reasons for rampant polysubstance abuse, such as drug suppliers, users, and the quest for more…
IT ALL WENT WRONG – July 7, 2025 – Whitney Purvis, who appeared in the first season of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant back in 2009, was arrested today on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection to a fatal overdose. Purvis is accused of distributing the combination of Fentanyl and Xylazine – known as Tranq – that led to the overdose death of an adult man named John Mark Harris. The arrest comes just a month after Purvis’ teenage son Weston Jr. – whom Purvis was carrying during the 2009 episode – died of natural causes. The boy was living…