ASK THE ADDICTS – Oct. 1, 2024 – Gabapentin is a prescription medication that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1993 as a treatment for epilepsy. It works by binding to a type of calcium channel in nerve cells, “which is thought to modify how the nerve functions,” explains Dr. Tom Lombardi. While gabapentin can be helpful in a number of circumstances, some of the common side effects associated with taking the drug as directed include drowsiness, dizziness, headache, dry mouth, weight gain, swelling of the hands, feet or ankles, back or joint pain and flu-like…
Author: Leonard Buschel
UP TO 28% – Oct. 4, 2024 – Keep calm and try omega-3. The fatty acids, available as dietary supplements via fish oil capsules and thought to help with mental and physical well-being, could also cut down on aggression, according to a recent study. These findings don’t come out of nowhere: omega-3 has previously been linked to preventing schizophrenia … Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania built on earlier, smaller studies of omega-3 supplementation effects on aggression. Their meta-analysis looked at 29 randomized controlled trials across 3,918 participants in total. Across all the trials, a modest but noticeable short-term effect…
VIDEOS – JANE FONDA – Sept. 23, 2024 – Many movies have portrayed alcoholism, or alcohol use disorder, over the years. The fact that these stories are often commercially and critically successful is a testament to how many people see authenticity in stories that highlight this illness and the impact it can have. What brings these stories together are the performances by actors who can play people with alcohol use disorder in authentic and compassionate ways. As a whole, movies about alcohol use disorder often focus on one or more protagonists who are impacted by this illness, and how their…
CAREFUL AND CAREFREE – Sept. 30, 2024 – With more than 48.7 million Americans struggling with substance use, Marcus King brought the organization 1 Million Strong, which provides sober music spaces and resources to aid with addiction recovery. Marcus King will be the first to tell you it’s easier to talk about his mental health and sobriety struggles in hindsight. But the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist is nonetheless keeping it real, remaining steadfastly open about his journey through all its zigs and zags. “There was never a thought to not speak about it openly because whatever I’m going through…
STOP THE MADNESS – Sept. 30, 2024 – The opioid crisis continues to devastate communities worldwide, claiming far too many lives. As we grapple with this public health emergency, promoting effective treatment options is crucial. Yet, some treatment providers resist the very interventions proven to work. To address this crisis effectively, we must leverage all available tools and challenge our biases in favor of truly helping those in need. As someone who has spent more than a decade helping people overcome addiction, I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of stigma on accessing life-saving medications. It’s disheartening to encounter program after program…
AUDIO – FREE THERAPY – Sept. 2024 – In this episode of the “Not All There” podcast, host Chad sits down with the insightful Dr. Howard Gluss, a renowned Clinical Psychologist, Author, Speaker, and seasoned Radio and Television host. Dr. Gluss brings a wealth of experience in areas such as Chronic Illness, Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Eating Disorders, Adolescent and Geriatric Psychology, LGBTQ+ Issues, Couples Therapy, and Substance Abuse. Chad and Dr. Gluss dive deep into the challenges of sobriety, from the often-overlooked boredom that can come with early recovery to the more nuanced struggles of maintaining a sober lifestyle.…
VIDEO – HEARTACHE FOR LIFE – Oct. 1, 2024 – The family of a Lodi woman spoke for the first time after a newborn baby was found dead in a parking lot. “If anything good can come out of this, I hope that she gets the help she needs with mental health and the drug rehab help that she needs.” On Tuesday, 29-year-old Kathryn Copeland made her first court appearance and was appointed a public defender. Her family was there in support and to shed light on why Copeland may have left the baby in the parking lot. Copeland appeared…
VIDEO – AN ANGEL WALKS AMONG US – Oct. 2, 2024 – Brenda Jean’s Sober Living was founded in 2015 in Bakersfield. The facility is facing a financial crisis, but still providing food & shelter for the community. They host a weekly pantry, open to all. She has distributed over 180,000 pounds of food since 2019. Brenda Jean Sober Living is not just a facility that helps individuals find their way back to society, but it’s also a place where community members can come get a meal. Im Eric J. Dockery your Bakersfield neighborhood reporter. Despite their financial issues, they…
NOTHING TO MOCK – Oct. 3, 2024 – It’s “sober” October — a popular fall sobriety challenge during which people live alcohol-free for a month to improve health and regain control of their drinking. But if you can’t commit to a full month of abstinence, you can still benefit from a “damp” or “dryish” alcohol reset. Giving up alcohol for a month — or at least cutting back — can make a meaningful difference for your health… And for those who don’t want to fully abstain, cutting back on their normal consumption for a month or longer also can make…
NONE OF US DID – Sept. 30, 2024 – During the 1960s and ‘70s, Kristofferson was a heavy drinker, during which time he was also dating fellow singer Janis Joplin, who was trying to kick her heroin addiction. Joplin died in 1970 at the age of 27 due to her addiction. Kristofferson spoke to People in 1998 about his drinking issues and what led him to eventually become sober. “It tore me up,” Kristofferson told the publication of Joplin’s death, but it didn’t convince him to quit drinking. “I was a functioning alcoholic.” “For a couple of years, it was…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 1970 -Laura Nyro (Accompanying Herself On The Piano) Lyrics Invitations to my party Send Jones an inviting card He got his mean streak from the gutter Got his kindness from God Now tugboats paint the river Carry coal to the city and white dock liners Happiness on the uptown side Of my party in the morning tide Ooh la la la blackpatch Ooh la la la blackpatch In blackpatch, in blackpatch. Clothes spin on washropes Window to window tie Socks and bells and nightgowns Tassels in the morning sky. People all ready, ready Ready ready,…
STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – William C. Moyers is a father, spouse, author, recovery advocate and employee of Hazelden Betty Ford since 1996. Moyers uses his own story to carry the message of hope and healing to people who need help overcoming addiction. Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date? A. My drugs of “no choice” were cocaine, alcohol, and weed from time-to-time. Decades after I gained sustainable recovery, in 1994, I had a “run in” with narcotic pain meds. Today I count my recovery journey as starting on…
VIDEO – A SLIP OF THE TONGUE – Sept. 27, 2024 – Kim Richards has relapsed after years of sobriety. The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 60, was reportedly placed on a 72-hour hold in early September after acting “incoherent” at a Hilton hotel. The outlet reported that Richards had been staying at the hotel when she began acting out of character. Police were called and, when the former child star allegedly refused to leave the hotel, she was placed on a 5150 hold and taken away via ambulance, per TMZ. Kim then moved into a Los Angeles home…
ALCOHOL-FREE CELEBS – Oct. 1, 2024 – Happily, with plenty of people opening up the conversation around alcohol (famous and non-famous alike) and there being so many (genuinely) great alcohol-free beverage options out there, it really feels like positive change is happening when it comes to drinking culture. MORE@COSMOPOLITAN
BIG PHARMA BIG CRIMES – Oct. 3, 2024 – The DOJ unsealed charges against five pharmaceutical distributor executives, sales representatives, and brokers. Three Houston-based pharmacy operators were also charged in the Southern District of Texas for their role in the sale and distribution of the drugs. The drugs highlighted and allegedly sold include oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone. Black marketeers admitted to selling alprazolam, carisoprodol, and promethazine with codeine syrup to increase the high gained from the use of the illegally obtained and distributed drugs, according to documents put forward by the DOJ. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri,…
GO TO A MEETING – Sept. 28, 2024 – “In the face of growing isolation, our sense of community is more important than ever,” Dr. Murthy added before stressing: “The epidemic of loneliness is not just about feeling sad or disconnected; it is about the fundamental human need for social connection.” His comments to Newsweek come ahead of a webinar dialogue between Dr. Murthy and Yogi and spiritual leader Sadhguru at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, on Saturday. “Having both Sadhguru and the US surgeon general speaking about this global phenomenon will represent a cross-cultural dialogue, between Western medicine and…
FROM ADDICT TO HERO – Sept. 27, 2024 – Martin Jacobson, the beloved soccer coach of Amsterdam Avenue’s Martin Luther King Jr. High School, points out that “everything I do is a fight.” He goes by “Coach Jake”–made the observation while describing his weekly battle to secure a public park for his team, which he has developed into a NYC powerhouse since he took over thirty years ago. Its transition, from a rag-tag outfit to perennial 20-time championship material, clearly hasn’t made his quest for scarce Manhattan playing fields any easier. After walking with Jacobson around the bustling lunchroom, where…
TO AVOID CANCER? – Sept. 28, 2024 – “I actually think a lot of it has to do with aging,” Bertinelli, 64, tells PEOPLE. “I think the older you get, the less you really want to really be putting that in your body. I mean, anybody can do whatever the heck they want, but I feel better.” Now that several months have passed since she gave up alcohol, Bertinelli says she rarely craves a glass of wine or drink anymore. “I don’t miss it because I don’t miss how it actually made me feel either after having it or the…
DANCING ON THE STARS? – Sept. 30, 2024 – The Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick got candid about her sobriety journey. “I feel incredibly lucky that I found sobriety. It’s been everything to me,” McCormick, 68. “It’s not easy in the beginning at all, but it gets better every day. It does, you know? I’m so happy to be sober and to be really clear and comfortable in my skin.” McCormick, who starred as Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974, has been sober for 40+ years — and credits her husband, Michael Cummings, with helping her…
DO NO HARM – Oct. 1, 2024 – Mark Chavez, a former doctor for “Dreamscape Ketamine – the Heath MD” clinic in San Diego, who confessed to writing fake prescription to profit with another physician friend from actor Matthew Perry’s longtime addiction will appear in a federal courtroom tomorrow, federal prosecutors say. Chavez has pleaded guilty to charges connected to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine to the actor. Chavez entered into plea agreement with prosecutors in August, making him third person of the five charged to plead guilty in the aftermath of the “Friends” star’s fatal overdose last…
AUDIO – ASK THE PATIENTS – Sept. 29, 2024 – Brandon Nelson, discharged from a Laguna Beach psychiatric facility and went to an unlicensed Sovereign Health “sober living home mental health facility” in San Clemente. Nelson failed to get his medications on time “so that Sovereign could supply the prescription order from a pharmacy they owned,” suffered another psychic break … Left alone, Nelson hanged himself. Officials here on the Rehab Riviera have been working — for years — to convince officials there in Sacramento that, truly, California’s addiction treatment industry is plagued by scammers while state oversight is nearly…
SAY HER NAME – Oct. 2, 2024 – Leah Renee Straley’s cause of death was listed as fentanyl poisoning. Her family says her struggles with addiction began more than a decade earlier and persisted through 12 stays in detox centers. The Straleys built Leah’s Legacy around efforts to gift personal care items to women living in sober-living homes. They do so while remembering how their daughter was so excited to receive a bag with toiletries during Christmas Each Leah’s Legacy drawstring bag has high-quality socks, hairbrushes, deodorant, puzzle books, body wash, snacks and more. More than 500 have been gifted…
FOR A VERY GOOD CAUSE – Oct. 2, 2024 – The 17th Annual Polo in the Palisades, held at the breathtaking Will Rogers State Historic Park, was a spectacular success. With over 600 attendees and more than $750,000 raised, the event showcased the community’s dedication to supporting Miriam’s House Los Angeles, a nonprofit sober living home for women and their children. Chairwoman Patricia Meyers and Executive Director Brenda Valiente led the charge in organizing this remarkable day of philanthropy, entertainment, and community support. Honorees Distinguished Service in the Field of Recovery: Miles Adcox Miles Adcox, Chairman and Owner of Onsite,…
“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” – Thomas Paine, 1737–1809
MUSIC VIDEO – SINGER & SCHOLAR – Sept. 29, 2024 – Musical rebel who wrote indelible songs about lovers, loners, boozers and a footloose pair of hitchhikers — and who later became a screen star, appearing in dozens of films — has died at age 88. Obituary@NPR
BACHELOR TURNED SPONSOR – Sept. 24, 2024 – Bachelor Nation met Zac Clark on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette,” and as fans remember, Zac shared his struggle with addiction and journey to sobriety with Tayshia Adams on-screen. Since his time on the show, Zac has continued to share resources for addiction, mental health, and more through his company Release Recovery Addiction Treatment Center. Now, Zac himself is celebrating 13 years of sobriety and sat down with ABC Live to discuss how he’s helping others on their own recovery journeys. The Bachelor Nation star opened up about what motivated him to…
F**KED UP NATION – Sept. 24. 2024 – In Fentanyl Nation, recovery advocate Ryan Hampton separates the facts from the fiction surrounding Fentanyl, and shows how overdose deaths are ultimately policy failures. Instead of investing in education, harm reduction, effective treatment, and recovery, we have doubled down on more police, more incarceration, and harsher penalties for those caught in the grip of addiction. Yet history has shown time and time again that it is impossible to arrest our way out of a public health crisis; The government used the same strategy to fight the crack-cocaine epidemic of the 80s and…
60 MINUTES VIDEO – SAVING GRACE – Sept. 22, 2024 – This week on 60 Minutes, Bill Whitaker reported on fentanyl … Last year, more than 70,000 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a higher death toll than U.S. military casualties in the wars in Vietnam,…
VIDEO – NO MORE EXCUSES – Sept. 17, 2024 – Reporting by our 9News I-Team exposed that this was not the first time Robinson overdosed on fentanyl, but his third. The two other times, he was revived with Narcan at a hospital. The defense team tried to place blame for Robinson’s death on the Department of Children and Family Services, law enforcement, and medical staff. “For Whitney to be charged with the murder of her son with nothing to prove that is unthinkable.” CONTINUE@WAFB
VIDEO – KID SMART – Sept. 20, 2024 – In today’s Kindness 101 series, Steve Hartman and his kids share how one couple’s experience with discrimination moved a group of fifth graders to stand up and make a difference. CONTINUE@YouTube