Author: Leonard Buschel

STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – Jan. 28, 2025 – Stevie Mack is multi-talented, and his comedy includes song, dance, audience participation and magic. He is the Host of The Stevie Mack Show and is the official Comedy Guru on Airbnb experiences. Stevie Mack known for performing stand-up comedy, and one-man shows since the 90’s and featured in a ton of TV shows/movies and over 41 commercials pitching everything from soft drinks to real estate. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date? A. Cocaine, Heroin, Alcohol, pills. But my favorite…

ADDICTION IS A PRISON – Jan. 22, 2025 – Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order introducing what she calls “Wellness Court.” The City of Philadelphia is launching a new program in the Kensington neighborhood on Wednesday, with the goal of sending those with drug addictions to treatment rather than jail.The Kensington Wellness Court, which is a first of its kind in Philadelphia, offers an alternative to jail time for those struggling with substance abuse. Parker says her action is just one small step toward the larger goal of ending the humanitarian crisis in the Philadelphia neighborhood. “We committed that…

VIDEO – January 23, 2025 – Purdue, under the leadership of the Sackler families, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades. States and cities across the country said it fueled waves of addiction and overdose deaths. The pharmaceutical company introduced OxyContin in 1996.  CONTINUE@ABCNews

VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE –  TODAY – 70,587,708 views since Aug 26, 2010. There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clearThere’s a man with a gun over thereTelling me I got to beware I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that soundEverybody look what’s going down There’s battle lines being drawnNobody’s right if everybody’s wrongYoung people speaking their mindsGetting so much resistance from behind It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that soundEverybody look what’s going down What a field-day for the heatA thousand people in the streetSinging songs and carrying signsMostly say, hooray for our side It’s…

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK? – Jan. 23, 2025 – Before slathering on your moisturizer, you might want to take a second to check the jar. First Aid Beauty recently voluntarily ordered back more than 2,700 pots of its best-selling Ultra Repair Cream in the coconut vanilla scent after a batch “intended for quarantine” was accidentally sold to customers. This cult-favorite cream, which retails for $38 at Sephora, has built a massive fan base, fueled by rave TikTok reviews and skin care influencers like celebrity makeup artist Jill Powell, who called it “a drink of water for your skin.” Fans, including…

UP FOR THE COUNT – Jan. 16, 2025 – On his hopes for the memoir: “I can help people through being public and pretty much outgoing about what I’ve been through. I’m like a lot of people out there in the world, just really struggling with addiction, alcoholism. But hopefully that’s inspired a lot of people, me just being honest with everything, and I just started this morning, actually – I’ve got five years of journaling. “I read this book called The Heroin Diaries a long time ago, I think Nikki Sixx put it out. My first day in my…

AUDIO – SYMPATHY OF THE HEART – Jan. 21, 2025 – Scott Oake spent many hours working off the side of his desk trying to secure addictions support for his son. A longtime broadcaster with Hockey Night in Canada and CBC Sports, he’d often find himself making calls to lawyers or other family members before a game. But after a years-long struggle with addiction and multiple attempts at treatment, his son, Bruce, died of an accidental overdose in 2011, when he was 25 years old. “It was heartbreaking,” Oake told The Current host Matt Galloway. “We would give everything that…

VIDEO – GREED KILLS – Jan. 23, 2025 – Walgreens’ senior managers ignored staff concerns and urged them to keep working with “pill mill” doctors over-prescribing opioid drugs, emails uncovered by the Justice Department and included in a lawsuit against the pharmacy chain allegedly show. The DOJ has obtained emails and internal documents from Walgreens allegedly showing that since August 10, 2012, Walgreens “filled millions of invalid controlled-substance prescriptions in violation of federal law.” In one December, 2013 email, the director of Walgreens’ pharmacy compliance department explained that Walgreens’ pharmacy chief was “convinced” that Walgreens pharmacists “are over the top…

NEW NOSE CANDY – Jan. 23, 2025 – Regulators based their approval on the data culled from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Results showed the drug offered quick relief and much better efficacy than the placebo, Spravato works by targeting glutamate, the brain’s widespread excitatory neurotransmitter. While the mechanics remain murky, this novel treatment sets it apart from oral antidepressants. Caregivers have administered the drug to more than 140,000 patients across 77 countries. “The approval of intranasal esketamine as a monotherapy for TRD is a significant step forward, in that it will make this treatment a more appealing option for…

STILL TOO MANY – Jan. 23, 2025 – “They’re killing our people. They’re killing 250,000, 300,000 American people a year, not 100, like has been reported for 15 years. It’s probably 300,000.” Trump often exaggerates statistics to hype the scale of a crisis. He did so again when he signed an executive order targeting drug cartels … He repeated the claim a day later, with the caveat “I think.” But, as on Monday, he made more definitive statements during a Turning Point political rally in December — “The United States has lost 300,000 people a year” — and at a…

HEAVEN TO HELL – Jan. 22, 2025 – Telmo Mineiro, a fisherman from São Miguel, takes a heavy drag on his cigarette and points to where he found a brick of uncut cocaine on the shore. “We were hunting for sea urchins,” he says, “we saw the pack and went to get it out of curiosity.” Another man told me that there was so much cocaine on the island that summer that teenagers were walking through the streets carrying shopping bags full of the powder. Whether or not these accounts are entirely accurate, the unembellished truth is just as astonishing:…

“We ask you Holy One to turn our hearts from senseless violence and lead us in the ways of peace.” – Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

PERFECT SPOKESWOMAN – Jan. 9, 2025 – After sleeping in the jungle for 26 days, Carolyn Wiger, 37, is more than ready to take on The Traitors. “I do think I need to calm down a little bit, but I really don’t want to—I’m just too excited!” The Minnesota native has dealt with addiction in the past, which helped inspire her career path—and prepared her well to play these types of strategic games. “Active addiction is mental and emotional torture,” she told Parade in 2023 ahead of her Survivor debut. “It took me years to realize my mistakes don’t define…

TASTE OF CANCER? – Jan. 17, 2025 – Using an algorithm, the team evaluated store products and assigned scores based on their degree of processing. They also examined various food categories to compare product options across different stores. These foods often contain additives, preservatives, and high amounts of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats. In some stores, highly processed foods were the only option in some categories. For example, cereals at Whole Foods covered a range of FPro values — from minimally to ultra-processed. However, all cereals available at Walmart and Target had a high processing score. This same trend was…

METALLICA BACK ON TOP? – Jan. 16, 2025 – Plant-based protein powders showed three times more lead and five times more cadmium than whey-based alternatives. Even the flavours of the products matter in this analysis. The findings mention that chocolate-flavoured powders contained four times more lead and 110 times more cadmium than vanilla-flavoured ones.  “Our studies continue to report chocolate as a high-risk ingredient,” the report states. Heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium, are naturally occurring elements that enter the environment through natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, rock weathering, and soil erosion. Gradually, these metals accumulate in…

STAY SAFE – Jan. 15, 2025 – Eating greater amounts of red meat — especially processed bacon, sausage and bologna — increases the likelihood of cognitive decline and dementia. The high saturated fat content in red meat could contribute to aged-related cognitive decline by impairing cholesterol metabolism and inducing insulin resistance, the researchers theorized, so making dietary changes may offer significant benefits. To evaluate dementia risk, researchers included 133,771 people averaging 49 years old who did not have the condition at the study’s outset. A total of 11,173 people developed dementia during the follow-up spanning up to 43 years. In…

DRAMATIC VIDEO –  Jan. 15, 2025 – Painted rocks displaying words like “family” provide a hint of color to what remains of Art House — a home for recovering addicts on their journey to sobriety. Darlene Dominguez is the supervisor at the facility and last week helped her 25 residents narrowly escape the fast-moving Eaton Fire. “It’s devastating,” she said, fighting back tears. “It’s devastating.”Recovering addicts were rebuilding their lives. Now their home is gone. The experience of losing one’s home in a fire is traumatic for anyone but for those overcoming addiction, Dominguez said, it can be completely destructive.…

GOOD THINGS! – Jan. 18, 2025 – Some changes associated with temporary alcohol abstinence can be harmful if not done under adequate supervision, particularly if you have an alcohol use disorder. But if you’re someone who has a more casual relationship with drinking, there are perks to simply cutting it out for an extended period of time. Your skin will improve. Perhaps one of the immediate changes you will see after coming off alcohol is clearer skin. Alcohol causes the body and skin to lose fluid and dehydrate, creating a dullish, gray appearance. It can also cause acne because it…

VIDEO – RED TAPE WORMS – Jan. 12. 2025 – Some industry experts are skeptical that U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s recommendation for cancer warning labels on alcohol will gain traction in the short-term, with one expert suggesting that if it happens, it could take years to implement. Dr. Vivek Murthy, who is ending his term at the end of January, issued an advisory outlining the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased risk for several cancers including throat, liver, esophageal, mouth, larynx (voice box), colon and rectal cancers. His advisory stated that alcohol is the 3rd leading preventable…

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT – Dec. 8, 2024 – “Life doesn’t dim with time—it deepens,” said the 78-year-old Stanger in a news release. “Every morning brings a new chance to compose your life’s melody. This book is about turning up the volume on your dreams and letting your spirit soar, whether you’re 28 or 78.” In writing her new book, Stanger drew inspiration from 40 years of experience as a clinician-interventionist and founder of All About Interventions, which is focused on helping people learn to heal and thrive beyond addiction and mental illness. For many years, Stanger was also a teacher at…

WHAT DO YOU THINK? – Jan. 15, 2025 – The experts I spoke to say there isn’t any data directly linking alcohol consumption to premature aging, but they say that the other health effects of drinking, and the cumulative nature of those effects, could be noticeable on your skin now and down the line. Anybody who’s looked in the mirror after a few drinks knows that alcohol does not-so-great things to your skin. First off, it modulates blood vessels, which, depending on your skin tone, may cause facial flushing and visible broken capillaries. It also has a diuretic effect that…

SEEKING OBLIVION? – Jan. 2, 2025 – Episodes of “binge drinking” can have dangerous short-term effects, while repeated binge drinking can trigger longer-term problems. Most people understand binge drinking as “drinking to get drunk,” said Dr. Ryan Marino, a toxicologist and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University. But the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) offers a more precise definition Binge drinking refers to when a person consumes enough alcohol within about two hours to raise their blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. That’s at least 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood, and for…

TRUTH DOESN’T DIE – Jan. 7, 2025 – I was with one of my really dear friends, and we were cleaning out the closet and picking out an outfit for him for the funeral,” Holker told People for a recent cover story. “It was a really triggering moment for me because there were a lot of things I discovered in our closet that I did not know existed. It was very alarming to me to learn that there was so much happening that I had no clue [about].” Holker said it was incredibly scary to make this discovery, but it…

HELLO HIGHER POWER – Jan. 8, 2025 – I went through an experience that would change my life. Having already been working for several years in the substance abuse field as a drug and alcohol counselor, I suffered a relapse into my own addiction. I ended up in treatment as what they call an “impaired professional.” The experience of being a drug counselor in drug treatment was not fun. Thus began the daunting challenge of reestablishing my own recovery—a process of, as I would later describe it, “learning how much I didn’t know, even though I thought I knew…” When…

VIDEO – EACH ONE > TEACH ONE –  Jan. 8, 2025 – The Other Side Academy is a unique and successful addiction treatment facility. It doesn’t employ therapists or doctors. It is made up of former addicts who have been through everything a new “student” will be asked to do at the facility. The program is free of charge, but students must apply for the program and be screened before a decision is made on acceptance. Faculty members at “The Other Side Academy” are living examples that you can change your life and become a successful member of society. Tori…

BOOK RECOMMENDATION – Jan. 11, 2025 – In the novel “Mali Murat”, Vladimir Vulević talks about treatment for alcoholism in the first person. And that’s why the reader trusts him. I won’t spoil it, I’ll just say that this is a book about the treatment of alcohol addiction and that it seems authentic. I disclaim that I have never set foot in any institution that deals with this type of treatment, but I have heard about it and seen it on film. If Leo Tolstoy had not written the first sentence of “Anna Karenina” as he wrote it and if…

LOCK THEM UP – Jan. 11, 2025 – Maryland health regulators on Friday said they had ordered an addiction treatment provider to stop seeing patients after an investigation by The New York Times and The Baltimore Banner showed it had placed some of them in apartment buildings where drug use was rampant. The article revealed that the company collected millions from Medicaid providing online group counseling sessions. It offered free rooms to people who enrolled, but some of its buildings were effectively government-funded drug houses, where many patients relapsed and sometimes died, the reporters found. CONTINUE@NYTimes

BE CASUAL – Jan. 14, 2025 – Dr. Brené Brown’s research reveals that perfectionism isn’t about self-improvement – it’s about earning approval. “Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best,” she explains. “Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.” But what if we’re measuring the wrong things? Instead of tracking days or thinking in black and white terms with areas of our lives, such as these, perhaps we celebrate the fact that we are curious at all…

VIDEO – TO START – Jan. 15, 2025 – Yet, the reality is that the majority of people experiencing addiction—whether to alcohol, opioids, stimulants, or cannabis—don’t seek treatment. There are many reasons someone may choose to not initiate care, including a fear of judgment from their family and community to simply not being ready to ask for help. This is why it’s important to normalize conversations around substance use, to learn about the science of addiction and to support the lived experience of those in recovery. In a recent Michigan Medicine webinar, experts from the University of Michigan Addiction Center…

INVADE NOW? – Jan. 17, 2025 – As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, singling out fentanyl in particular. “Generally, reports do not indicate that Canada is trafficking significant amounts of fentanyl into the U.S.,” said spokesperson Charlotte Hibbard. In December, the Canada Border Services Agency announced that it intercepted 4.9 kg of fentanyl from January to October 2024, a significant increase over the same time period in 2023. This amount included 4.1 kg that was bound for the…