John Oliver Breaks Down Opioid Addiction HBO VIDEO
While opioids are currently at the center of a health crisis, these types of painkillers weren’t always so prevalent, as doctors used to fear prescribing them over concerns of addiction. The Last Week Tonight host stated that many physicians had “Opiophobia,” which shouldn’t be confused with Oprah-phobia, “the irrational fear of screaming talk show hosts giving you a brand new Pontiac sedan.” Oliver went on to call out Purdue Pharma, the New England-based company that tried to dispel claims of opioid addiction while aggressively marketing OxyContin to doctors following its release in 1996.
Lawyer has ties to ‘Sobriety for Sale’ treatment clinics VIDEO
Doorway to Recovery is actually a big scam. My attorney Barbra (sic) Bowden from Lakewood told me to go there and actually told me they would not make me attend if I paid them off,” the letter said. “I did do as she told me and I regret it now.” … Barbara Bowden is as experienced a defense lawyer as you can find in Pierce County. For over 30 years, her Lakewood law firm has represented thousands of defendants – most of them charged with driving under the influence. But the KING 5 Investigators found that the name of Bowden’s firm often surfaced in state investigations related to clients who enrolled in questionable drug treatment programs. Documents and witness interviews reveal that Bowden had close ties with five state-licensed clinics where counselors are accused of misconduct … At least three A Change counselors have also faced accusations, according to Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) records, that they accepted bribes from clients to fake attendance records.
READ MORE @ King5.com
Another Day, Another Dirty Dollar
Two overdoses, one fatal, linked to treatment center operator
One woman is dead and another is in the hospital after they overdosed last week at a sober home linked to Kenneth “Kenny” Chatman, a drug treatment center operator accused of human trafficking and profiled in The Palm Beach Post last year.Jennifer Flory told the State Attorney’s Sober Homes Task Force Wednesday that her daughter, Alison, 24, died Oct. 14 after she did heroin in a Lauderdale Lakes sober home with her boyfriend and roommate … In August, she went to a new treatment center because the housing came with a special incentive: $350 a week, Flory said. Free rent or other inducements in exchange for going to a specific treatment center is an illegal kickback common in the industry … Flory also told the task force that her daughter was “recruited to work at a strip club” by someone in the sober home. Chatman, an ex-felon who spent seven months in federal prison for skimming credit cards, has faced accusations of pressuring women into sex.
READ MORE @ MyPalmBeachPost.com
Junkie Profit Center
Suboxone Creator’s Shocking Scheme to Profit Off Heroin Addicts
According to a massive antitrust lawsuit made public last week, that’s when Reckitt Benckiser decided to destroy the Suboxone market in order to keep it … The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say Reckitt Benckiser took product hopping to a nefarious new level by using “feared-based messaging” and “sham science” to illegally subvert the market for Suboxone tablets while aggressively promoting its new film variation, which was introduced in 2010 and is under patent until 2023 … Over the next two years, Reckitt Benckiser allegedly compensated doctors for being advocates of the drug, lobbied legislators on the benefits of Suboxone film, and penalized employees for not meeting sales targets for the new drug. It also raised the price of its tablets, making them more expensive than the newer film version, even though the pills are cheaper to make.
Foster Kids Heavily Drugged by State of California ABC VIDEO
“How is it my fault that I was abused? It’s not,” Ortiz asked. “How is it my fault that I’m in a group home? It’s not my fault. The foster care system is a pretty dark place.” … During a recent hearing at the Capitol, State Auditor Elaine Howle revealed the findings on her department’s audit regarding the prescribing and oversight of psychotropic medications to children in foster care. “The state authorized medications in dosages that exceed what’s in the guidance – multiple meds – excessive meds – than the guidance. Key overarching issues,” Howle said. Tisha Ortiz risked getting late to class to be at the hearing. She’s studying criminal justice at California State University, East Bay. She sat among other former foster youth as she awaited her turn to testify.
READ MORE @ ABC10.com
Don’t Use Needles VIDEO
Fentanyl has contributed to almost half of New York’s OD deaths since July VIDEO
‘Data suggests that the increased presence of fentanyl is driving the increase in overdose deaths,’ the alert said. The drug is used in prescription drugs to treat severe pain under names including Actiq and Submimaze … Now, the Health Department is alerting doctors that a higher dose or multiple doses of the antidote Nalaxone is needed to fight fentanyl because of its strength, the New York Post reports. Officials also warn medics that patients who end up in hospital with symptoms of heroin use may not be aware that they have ingested fentanyl..
Trump’s plan for fighting drug abuse raises fears of a war on drugs 2.0
Public health experts say Donald Trump’s plan to curb opioid addiction sounds like a throwback to the war on drugs that some say resulted in mass incarceration instead of treatment … But Trump also blamed the Obama administration’s criminal justice and immigration policies for an increase in the flow of illegal drugs coming into the U.S. The Drug Enforcement Administration said in a June report (PDF)that drug traffickers from Mexico have expanded their heroin operations in recent years, with the number of seizures increasing by 80% between 2011 and 2015.
Adderall, the brand name for a mixture of amphetamine salts, is more strictly regulated in Britain than in the United States, where, the year before, in 2005, I became one of the millions of Americans to be prescribed a stimulant medication. The train to Enfield was hardly the greatest extreme to which I would go during the decade I was entangled with Adderall. I would open other people’s medicine cabinets, root through trash cans where I had previously disposed of pills, write friends’ college essays for barter. Once, while living in New Hampshire, I skipped a day of work to drive three hours each way to the health clinic where my prescription was still on file.
Dover men credit drug court with their ability to stay sober
“I got arrested probably 20 times before I was 22,” Duhamel said. “I kept violating probation.”… Both men were given the opportunity to be part of the drug court system and taste freedom again. McGuire took it, and admits that at the start, he still drank and got high. But the system worked, keeping them accountable. McGuire credits Bonfire Recovery Services in Dover with his ability to stay sober. He said sober living facilities are important resources for those who are committed to their 12-step program…
READ MORE @ UnionLeader.com
Music of the Steps VIDEOS
Recovery Playlist: 10 Songs About Addiction And Sobriety VIDEOS
There’s something comforting about a good song. Beats and melodies we can listen to over and over again and lyrics we will never forget. There are even certain songs that will remind you of specific times in your life. Music is special in that way. It brings you back in time or gives you hope for the future. Sometimes we feel like lyrics can identify exactly what we’re going through. This is no different when it comes to addiction and recovery. Music can help guide you through the treatment process and keep you strong in your recovery. Here are ten songs about addiction and sobriety that you might find relatable during your recovery journey:
DEA backs off a ban on kratom, a plant used to treat opioid addiction
The leafy botanical, related to coffee, has been used throughout Southeast Asia for centuries to treat ailments including anxiety, chronic pain and drug addiction. It has become increasingly popular in the U.S. in the wake of an opioid drug crisis that is killing close to 20,000 people a year. Haley, 30, ordered a batch from a company called Kratom King in Indonesia. When the powdered leaf arrived, he dissolved it in water and drank it. “It took about 10 minutes to kick in,” he said. “I felt a sense of reverence for being alive. It was calm, relaxing energy.” The leaves, he said, eliminated his desire for booze and soothed his anxiety.
N.Y. negotiates national settlement with Cigna on opioid treatment
The insurer Cigna will no longer require pre-authorization for prescriptions to treat opioid addiction under the terms of a national settlement announced late Thursday by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Doctors and patients complain that while it may be common to require doctors to get prior approval for other prescriptions, a delay in getting medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for heroin addiction can be deadly, as addicts can easily relapse and overdose.
Anyone Can Escape Addiction!! Fatalistic Views of Biology or Trauma Tell People Otherwise
And if people have become convinced that their heroin addiction or alcoholism is a lifelong metabolic condition (Dole and Nyswander), God-bestowed biological trait (AA), or chronic relapsing brain disease (Nora Volkow), what do I do? I pray to differ, to set out my evidenced reasons for believing otherwise, and to offer them a larger vision of themselves, of how the universe accepts and welcomes them, and offers them a place in which to explore life.
READ MORE @ TheInfluence.com
Detour Tour VIDEO
Addiction Derailed DMX’s Once Incredible Career VIDEO
“[DMX] is one of the best vocalists, if not the best vocalist Def Jam ever had,” Simmons told HipHopDX exclusively. “I love DMX. I think he’s one of the greatest artists we ever worked with. Unfortunately, the streets got the best of him. Some people can’t get rid of them demons. They can’t escape … DMX did hurt his talent, destroyed his career.”
Could peer-recovery coaches help fight drug addiction epidemic? CNN VIDEO
Dustin French, 29, had four drug overdoses in the span of a year. “I was dead on arrival to the hospital,” he said of his last heroin overdose, which happened in April. “I woke up … and I didn’t feel like myself. I could tell this time I was really dead.” Now, he says, he’s 100 days clean. He lives with his girlfriend and helps parent his three sons: an 8-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old.
Drug Abuse Might Trigger Emergence Of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a known serious disorder which affects how a person thinks, feels and acts. Contrary to the public’s notion, schizophrenia is not split personality or multiple personalities. The vast majority of people with schizophrenia are not violent and do not pose a danger to others. — As we know it, too much consumption of anything can really be harmful to our body and our health. For decades now, the topic about drug abuse bringing the risk of developing schizophrenia and other mental illnesses has been very controversial and widely debated..
A study suggests there are parallels between the way youngsters turn into hackers and how youths become addicted to drugs and alcohol… It says that readily available online tools and tutorials make it easy for youth to begin committing cybercrimes. And it warns that a sense of pleasure derived from the acts might encourage some perpetrators to escalate their attacks. “[The hormone] dopamine can be released quickly as vulnerable youth achieve frequent and rapid successes online, and if these successes are linked to anti-social acts, such as hacking, they will be reinforced to pursue further ends to obtain their gains,” it states.
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Johanna O’Flaherty, PhD
Her doctorate in clinical psychology is from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
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REEL Recovery Film Festival
is a social, educational, networking and recovery forum showcasing first-time filmmakers and experienced professionals who make films about addiction and recovery. Our audience is treatment professionals, people in recovery, members of the entertainment industry, media representatives, educated moviegoers & the general public.
“Do you wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” If you were in college in the 1980s, you’d remember this famous tagline from the fashion brand Calvin Klein. The aim of the slogan for jeans was to be playful and suggestive, however, in the decade marked by leggings and Cindi Lauper workout videos, it came under fire for being too racy. Since then, if you thought it felt like American mainstream culture has accelerated faster and faster with its representations of sex and sexuality, researchers, educators and parents agree.
Six months clean, recovering heroin addict works to help others VIDEO
We traveled to Mays Landing, New Jersey for the first stage of Jason’s treatment at Recovery Centers of America, or RCA. “I’ve smoked crack every day for the past three months,” he told a woman at the center. “I honestly don’t know how to live a normal life sober, I really don’t. I don’t know how to deal with life.” … “In the Shadow of Death: Jason’s Journey” is a multi-part “CBS Evening News” series that follows Jason Amaral, a 30-year-old addict living in the Boston area, on his path to recovery.
NH drug addiction services contract ‘cronyism’ criticized
A $1.2 million deal with NY-based FedCap for statewide drug addiction services went from concept to contract in just three months, with no competitive bidding, no consideration of alternatives and an agreement to pay $200,000 more than the state originally budgeted – up front in a lump sum – according to emails obtained by the Americans for Prosperity under a Right-to-Know request. Greg Moore, executive director of the conservative policy group, said the documents reveal “an incredibly disappointing breakdown in accountability, responsibility and effective government.
READ MORE @ UnionLeader.com
If’s It’s a Disease – There’s Gotto be a Pill
Hope for the Future of Opiate Addiction
The news on opiate addiction is usually bleak at best. Hundreds of articles, including some of mine, discuss addiction and overdose death with no apparent “light at the end of the tunnel.” My current employer, Brown County Ohio, leads Ohio’s list of top counties per capita for unintentional overdose drug deaths! It’s hard to accept that this is the situation in a sparsely populated rural county in southern Ohio, but it’s a snapshot of the problem in Ohio and well beyond. About 2 years ago, I was at a conference where I learned about a new drug called …
You don’t have to lose the battle against substance abuse and alcohol addiction, there is help, and there is love and support. The above is an example of the kind of the reassurance AA (Alcohol Anonymous) can give you on your path to recovery and sobriety. If you are struggling with a drinking problem, or are affected by the drinking of a loved one then you are encouraged to attend the AA Rally…
More than half of US adults with mental illness don’t get needed care
Health care reform has expanded mental health care coverage for Americans, an annual report released this week suggests, but about 56 percent of U.S. adults with a mental illness still do not receive treatment. The nonprofit Mental Health America (MHA) reported that 40 million Americans are dealing with a mental illness such as depression or anxiety. Despite new health initiatives, 19 percent of adults with mental illness in states that didn’t expand Medicaid remain uninsured, while 13 percent of these adults in states that did expand Medicaid remain uninsured.
READ MORE @ FoxNews.com
New Pharmacy Model?
Duffy Health Center in Hyannis opens teen drug treatment program
The health center’s new Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program for ages 16 to 25 expands Duffy’s existing MAT program for ages 18 and older, which uses two medications approved for treatment of addiction. Nelson explained that the MAT program involves two medications approved for opiate addition treatment: Suboxone, a pill form medicine which blocks the effects of opiates; and Vivitrol, an injection that blocks opiate receptors and can only be used on patients who have no opiates in their system. For that reason, it is suitable for people coming out of prison. Vivitrol is only approved for ages 18 and up.
Boston University: A New Support Group for Those Recovering from Addiction
He was an addict, he says, before coming to BU. While here, the alum-who requested anonymity-battled addiction to alcohol and drugs, until two strokes brought on by his substance abuse temporarily halted his academic career. On his own and with his mother’s help, he found treatment programs in Boston and Kentucky, but he needed five years to graduate.
Former Miss Arizona Battles Back From Addiction VIDEO
The beauty queen became addicted to drugs and then tested positive for HIV. Now sober, Erin is a big supporter of the annual AIDS Walk. Former Miss Arizona, Erin Dolby, is a talented, classical pianist who battled substance abuse. “My circle of friends got smaller and smaller and smaller,” she said. “I wasn’t social anymore. My relationships were affected.”
READ MORE @ Fox10Phoenix.com
Can Quitting Kill? VIDEO
Heroin OD deaths more common during recovery VIDEO
Bange was aware of some of the medications that she could have used to help with cravings and withdrawal, Karen Cunningham said, adding she believes that Bange used a medication, possibly Suboxone, at some point in her recovery. Bange stopped because she considered it a “a Band-Aid,” Karen Cunningham said, adding “She just wanted to get clean.”
Mr. Rafati describes this in “I Forgot to Die,” a self-published memoir of addiction and recovery… and hanging around his neck was a gold cross overlaid with a Star of David. This made me wary; I wondered if he were a guru to the stars. I’d noticed him talking from time to time with two of SunLife’s most conspicuous regulars: Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and David Duchovny, the actor. The man also appeared to be on intimate terms with an elderly Buddhist monk in saffron robes who came in for açaí bowls with chopped bananas.”
Sinéad O’Connor announces sobriety from marijuana after 30 years
The Nothing Compares to You singer made the revelation yesterday morning on her social media page. In a string of posts, O’Connor announced she had had surgery for an unknown reason, and had hormone replacement therapy. She also revealed she is now residing in a suburb of the San Francisco bay area, San Rafael. After having a short hiatus earlier this year from social media, the singer explained to her fans she was in rehab. On her Facebook page she said, “I was in rehab by the way. For 30 years of being a weed head.”
READ MORE @ IrishPost.co.uk
Lines to Improve Bottoms Lines?
NYU researchers survey drug use in business bathrooms
Eighty-six business managers participated in the survey with 58% (50 managers) reporting encounters with drug use in their business bathrooms in the past six months. Data was not used from the 36 managers who did not report encountering drug use. The research team found that managers reported a median of three encounters with drug use per month. Fourteen percent (7 managers) called 911 due to encounters with unresponsive users. Nearly half of managers who called 911 requested both law enforcement and EMS, suggesting the calls were not solely made because of disruptive behavior, but out of concern for the individual’s health. Additionally, over a third of managers found improperly disposed syringes in their business’ bathrooms…
Vietnam searching for over 200 escapees from drug rehab center
Residents in the province east of Ho Chi Minh City have been urged to stay indoors and lock their doors after inmates began moving through the area. Some officials believe the escaped inmates left the province aboard taxis. The Vietnamese government estimates there are about 200,000 drug addicts in Vietnam — 13,000 of whom are in drug treatment centers. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Vietnam’s compulsory drug rehabilitation program. In 2010, Human Rights Watch called the treatment “brutal, exploitative and practically worthless.”
The results of the first New Zealand survey of members of Alcoholics Anonymous since 2004 have been published to mark the Fellowship’s 2016 AA Awareness Week. Almost 700 New Zealand AA members took part in the online survey helping to put together a picture of some of the key characteristics of AA in this country and its members. The survey shows that most respondents are aged 40 and over and have been sober for more than five years (with a third sober for over 20 years), attend up to three meetings a week, belong to a home group and have a sponsor. Illustrating the importance of one-to-one work of members carrying the message of recovery to still suffering alcoholics, the survey indicates that just over 23% of respondents cited an AA member as being responsible for their coming to AA, while almost 19% were referred by a treatment centre and 13% were introduced by a family member.
“It’s a unique service to addicts and their families.”
“It’s a unique service to addicts and their families. And an informational periodical for the rehab industry. If I don’t ingest the Addiction/Recovery eBulletin, then I immediately need a fix.”
Paul Krassner
American author, journalist, comedian, and founder of the magazine The Realist. Krassner became a key figure in the counterculture of the 1960s as a member of Ken Kesey‘s Merry Pranksters.
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