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February 24, 2015                                                                                                       Volume 2., No. 27 
Testimonials
Hollywood Obituary
Harris Wittels Dead at 30: ‘Parks and Rec’ Friends Cite Addiction    

Grief-stricken Hollywood stars say Harris Wittels, the co-executive producer of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” who was found dead Thursday at his Los Angeles home, struggled with addiction. “Parks and Rec” castmate Rob Lowe also addressed Wittels’ alleged addiction. “Goddammit. Addiction takes another. Goodbye Harris Wittels, you were so funny and so sweet. It’s a pleasure to have known you. #ParksandRec,” he tweeted. Wittels, 30, was found at noon by his assistant at his home in the 2200 block of North Hobart Boulevard, Los Angeles police said. The cause of his death hasn’t been determined, but police suspect he died of a drug overdose.

Follow The Money   
Everything You Think You Know About Addiction and the War on Drugs Is Wrong 

What if everything about the way we thought about drug addiction was backwards?
That’s one of the questions that animate Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, a new book by journalist Johann Hari. Hari, whose own family members dealt with serious drug addiction during his youth, recently embarked on a three-year journey through nine countries to establish why drug addiction is so misunderstood throughout the world – and what can be done to correct that misunderstanding.

From His Cell Phone? VIDEO
Psychiatrist Talks About Cell Phone Addiction  VIDEO    

“Ask yourself, how much am I using my phone? And what am I using it for?” Milam said. “Speak out if someone you love, a friend, a family member is so distracted by being on their phone that they’re no longer engaging with you.” Experts say it’s normal to be attached to the technology that keeps you connected. “I access my work email, my personal email, my social media, pretty much everything from my cellphone,” Jessica Blackwood said.

CONTINUED @ WDBJ7.com 

UK Poor to be Drinking and Eating Less   
England to Target Alcoholics and Obese
in New Welfare Shake Up   

It would appear in the package that those who are drug or alcohol addicted or those who are obese and relying on state handouts for their daily bread as it were, will be those in the firing line. David Cameron has stated that such people do not help themselves and if they refuse treatment then they will either lose their benefits.

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It’s Not Your Father’s Marijuana
Potent Cannabis Linked To
Psychosis Cases    

Sarah Graham, a drugs counsellor, has claimed the figure is “just the tip of the iceberg”. “I see so many young people who are having their mental health decimated by this drug. I see them in hospitals, in psychiatric wards and it is absolutely heart-breaking. I see them being diagnosed with forms of schizophrenia. We need to start taking this seriously.”  
CONTINUED @ NewsSky.com 

State of Denial   AUDIO 
N.H. The Only State With No Addiction Recovery Services  AUDIO   

New Hampshire is in the midst of a drug epidemic. The state’s Medical Examiner’s office says drug-related deaths have risen to a record high of 300 in 2014. To combat the most addictive drugs, lawmakers will consider tripling funding for the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment.

Twelve Promises: Rewards of Recovery

Brandi’s Wish    

NO JUICE FOR YOU
We’re Clean Eating Our Way To New Eating Disorders    

Because overdoing it is the American way, we’ve now managed to warp even healthy habits into a new form of eating disorders. Welcome to the era of orthorexia. As Heather Hansman notes this week in Fast Company, orthorexia differs from other forms of disorders in that the obsessive focus is not on how much or how little one consumes, but the perceived virtue of the food itself. As she reports, “Nutritionists and psychologists say that they’re seeing it more often, especially in the face of restrictive food trend.

It’s Still A Gamble   AUDIO   
New Technology Hopes To Help Gambling Addiction  AUDIO   

Carol O’Hare with the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling said that in some ways Bill’s experience is similar to other addicts. She said just like drug addicts use drugs, gamblers use gambling to cope. “They’re using gambling to alter their mood. Whatever form of gambling works to alter their mood that is the one they’ll use,” O’Hare said.

Bridges To Recovery


His House & New Creation Treatment  

Essay: Behind the Patient: Street Portraits
Why I Write About Alcoholic Patients    

My name is Michael Morse, and I’m an alcoholic.
I did not choose to be one, had no idea I was one when I took my first drink, and had no idea how to manage the disease for 25years. I thought I was less than my friends and family that drank responsibly. I truly believed that I was weak, and pathetic…So I write about alcoholism, and alcoholic patients. Complacency is deadly to a recovering alcoholic.

To Work In The Kitchen?   
Meat Thief Sent To Drug Treatment    

A 52-year-old man who stole $164 of frozen meat from a grocery store has been remanded to drug treatment court. Dean Burgess pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court this morning to stealing a leg of lamb and three racks of lamb from the Heron Bay MarketPlace on February 9. The court heard that staff at the store saw Burgess pick up the meat from the frozen food section and then walk out of the store without paying.

CONTINUED @ RoyalGazette.com 

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HOW? The Old Fashion Way, meetings.
Iran turns to American technique to fight drug addiction VIDEO    

TEHRAN – Every city in Iran has back alleys full of desperate addicts and their dealers who sell the cheap drugs that flood across the border from Afghanistan. But for those who decide to kick the habit, there is help imported from an unlikely place: America. The same tried and true 12-step program used in the U.S. is now working for 400,000 Iranian addicts. One in ten of them are women. NA conventions in Iran fill entire sports stadiums. And in a country where the Islamic government controls so much – NA is uniquely independent.

Now You Never Have To Leave   
Starbucks Plans To Sell Alcoholic Drinks
at Evening Time   

The new ‘Starbucks Evening’ trend will see the chain offer beer, wine and a selection of snacks including flatbreads, hummus and pulled pork chilli. Currently, there are 30 US Starbucks shops participating and according to reports, the new venture will launch at Stansted airport before it is rolled out in other UK locations. “Providing a welcoming coffeehouse environment has always been our focus and now we can offer something new for the evening too”.

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Detox With Dignity Now 

The Cause Was Suicide?
Student Behind ‘Laser Cat’ Yearbook Photo Takes Own Life    

Draven Rodriguez, a quick-witted senior at Schenectady High School who made national news last fall when a proposed yearbook portrait of him with his cat against a background of laser beams went viral online, died Thursday at home. He was 17. The cause was suicide, his parents said.

But Not The Big Book  ?
How to Stop Drinking: 5 Best Books   

Want to stop drinking alcohol? Here are five books that will give you the tactics and support you need to make a big change in your life. Whether you’re looking to take a 30 day break from drinking, or cut alcohol entirely from your lifestyle, these are the five best books on the market that teach you how to stop.

CONTINUED @ Heavy.com 

AcademicAddiction.com

Come to Denver This Spring    

Business As Usual
Study Suggests That Youtube Videos Ignore Consequences Of Drinking    

While Youtube can be a space for many interesting and funny videos, health officials are not laughing at the way drinking is being portrayed on the popular site. Most know that drinking, especially in large quantities, can have many adverse health effects or lead to problems such as car accidents, unsafe sex and fights. However, according to the Washington Post, videos on Youtube are putting a spin on drinking that ignores these consequences, and gives it a more positive light. This spin has many concerned about the effects of said videos on younger viewers.

CONTINUED @ ScienceRecorder.com 

That Was The ’80s, Right?   
This Oscar Statue Has A Drug Problem   

Hollywood’s worst kept secret was exposed in broad daylight this week, in the form of a giant Oscar statuette Hoovering a massive line of coke. The statue is the latest work from Plastic Jesus, a Los Angeles-based street artist known for making pointed social commentary through outlandish public installations.

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Celebrity Sobriety
Proud Ellie Goulding gushes about beau Dougie Poynter for notching up four years of sobriety    

She’s Down Under supporting her McBusted beau Dougie Poynter on tour, and Ellie Goulding proved she was more than just proud of his musical achievements on Sunday. The 28-year-old singer, seen strolling hand in hand with her towering hunk in Adelaide, had earlier shared a snap of him with the caption: ‘This amazing man is four years sober today. What a legend’.

Calling George Orwell   
Opinion: New Prescription Pain Pill Formulations Could Help Curb Pain Pill Abuse   

Abuse deterrent formulations are medications that help patients manage pain, but they have properties that make them more difficult to alter in order to gain an illicit high. Due to the way these medications are manufactured, they lose their “high” when crushed, injected or manipulated by a potential abuser. Pharmaceutical companies are applying this new technology to more and more medications, meaning that those who need pain medication will continue to have access to it. By: Steve Pasierb is president and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

Made In China
‘Corrupt Chinese pharmaceuticals firms fuelling methamphetamine production’ 

Speaking in the wake of the seizure of 2.4 tonnes of the drug in Lufeng district, Guangdong Province, earlier this year, senior UN drugs official Jeremy Douglas said that “corruption in the pharmaceutical and or chemical industries” in China was behind the easy availability of chemicals necessary to make the drug, reports the South China Morning Post.

Never Give Up

Never Give Up

   

PORTRAIT of ADDICTION: Teen’s descent into heroin hell, and his ongoing struggle to escape it   

Patrick was in trouble with the law again, for shoplifting this time, and as he had done so many times before, he used checking into detox to sidestep having to face the potential punishment. “For me, that was probably the lowest point,” said Jayne about that surreal night in October 2013, after struggling for over two years to get her son clean. Living nightmare. Patrick is better today. But just today.

There’s Always Hope
Heroin Abuse: A growing epidemic with no cure in sight    

In a recent interview, Rochester Police Chief Michael Allen encouraged residents to seek treatment for heroin addiction while at the same time acknowledging that the area does not have enough treatment options to meet potential demand. The Rochester Police reported that in 2014 they responded to 78 confirmed heroin overdoses, of which seven were fatal, he said. In Dover, police reported at least 32 heroin overdoses in 2014, of which four resulted in death.

CONTINUED @ InsuranceNewsNet.com 

California Nightmare  

   

New California law Prop 47 could threaten drug rehab program   

“There’s actually an opportunity to strengthen and expand things like the drug-court model,” said Lenore Anderson, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice and chairwoman of the Prop. 47 campaign. “There’s just no shortage of people in the criminal justice system struggling with drug addiction.”

Moderación Is the Key
Hispanics More Likely To Develop Liver Disease From Alcohol Than Other Ethnicities    

Alcoholic liver disease refers to a broad range of liver diseases, including alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. Alcoholic liver disease is among the most common liver diseases in the United States; however, it varies largely by ethnicity. 

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not   
Alcoholic Wakes Up Teetotaler After Car Crash   

An alcoholic, who was knocked down in car crash, has woken up teetotal after the accident made him forget he was addicted to booze. The 57-year-old John Boulter, who can’t remember being an alcoholic, said that he has been devastated by the accident, but he has got to be thankful that he is alive, the Mirror reported. Boulter added that when doctors told him that he had been drinking eight cans of lager along with bottles of whisky a day, he thought they must’ve got him mixed up with another patient.

CONTINUED @ NewKerala.com 

Came To Believe
No Belief in God – Can AA help me?    

Our experience is that many patients are atheist or agnostic. We help patients realise that it’s not a religious programme. If patients choose to identify God as their Higher Power we will support them and I might say “you’ve been brought up as a Protestant or a Catholic or perhaps you’ve been brought up as a Muslim, or Jewish, and this is your faith, your family’s faith, your people’s faith – and that’s great.”

CONTINUED @ CastleCraig.co.uk  

There’s More To Eating Than Food   
Inside the mind of a ‘food addict’   

“One woman came to us who was constantly wanting to eat frothy milkshakes and it was becoming a real issue for her because she was putting on a lot of weight,” Paton says. “As we explored the meaning behind it, she remembered that, as a child, drinking milkshakes had been her favourite thing to do with her grandmother.” Many who attend Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) have been yo-yo dieters, tried every weight loss program on the market, and some have even been hospitalised due to their overeating.

She’ll Coax It Out Of You
Specialist using ‘coach’ approach to battle drug addiction    

Elizabeth  Chance’s business, Recovery Management Specialist, exists to help people recover from alcohol or drug addiction. A recovering alcoholic herself who took her first drink at the age of 13, Chance is passionate about assisting people with their journey to sobriety. “For me there is so much shame associated with addiction that it’s really hard to make that first step,” Chance said.

CONTINUED @ MainLineMediaNews.com 

Another Hollywood Obituary TRAGIC   
Harris Wittels, Exec Producer Of Parks And Rec Dead At 30   

Harris Wittels, one of the funniest people you may have never known of, died Thursday in Los Angeles of an apparent drug overdose. This is a very sad story. Another talented creative, tethered to addiction, likely believing substances were able to “unlock” some imagination and potential, when in actuality, the appeal became all-consuming and eventually destroyed the mind it was supposed to be opening. Wittels was well aware that his drug use had become problematic. He endured two stints in rehab, but success in certain businesses can often lead to more opportunities to ingest quantities of stuff that is really bad for you.

Los Angeles Residents Celebrate Recovery
6th Annual Awards Honoring Joe Pantoliano

This Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 

This year’s honoree is actor and author Joe Pantoliano. With more than 100 film, television and stage credits to his name, Joey joined the cast of The Sopranos, and won an Emmy Award. He’s also the author of Asylum, his deeply moving and inspiring memoir. This Award is given in recognition of an individual’s honest memoir, including their journey through addiction to recovery, and their dedication and enthusiasm for carrying the ‘message’ to a society awash in addiction.

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Addiction Recovery eBulletin Feb 24, 2015