Secret History of Colombia’s Paramilitaries and U.S. War on Drugs
After decades of atrocities, the warlords were finally being held to account. Then the Americans stepped in … Once the paramilitary Once In Bogotá, he was handcuffed to waist chains, shackled at the ankles and loaded onto an American government plane with a veritable who’s who of paramilitary heavyweights. They flew in stony silence, furious that Colombia’s iron-fisted president, with whom they had a “shared ideology,” as Mr. Giraldo put it, had broken his promise not to extradite them … His troops trained under an Israeli mercenary, and to practice what they had learned, they slaughtered union workers at banana farms that were supposedly guerrilla strongholds … He blushed, but seemed proud of the nickname, observers said. The prosecutor then asked pointedly if it had anything to do with rumors that he liked virgin girls. “That could be,” he said.
ADHD Nation Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Creation of an American Epidemic AUDIO
BY: Alan Schwarz is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative reporter for The New York Times! More than 1 in 7 American children get diagnosed with ADHD-three times what experts have said is appropriate-meaning that millions of kids are misdiagnosed and taking medications such as Adderall or Concerta for a psychiatric condition they probably do not have … The groundbreaking and definitive account of the widespread misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-and how its unchecked growth over half a century has made ADHD one of the most controversial conditions in medicine, with serious effects on children, adults, and society.
Elizabeth Vargas: ‘Relief’ After Opening Up on Alcoholism VIDEO
Elizabeth Vargas is relieved after opening up about her battle with alcoholism and anxiety in a special edition of ABC News’ 20/20. – “I’m incredibly overwhelmed and grateful for the reaction that we got,” Vargas, 54, said during an appearance on Monday’s Good Morning America. “I’m still getting it as I speak – it hasn’t stopped since Friday night – from people out there who are suffering from similar issues.”
Watch More @ People.com
Maybe It’s Just Syphilis?
Maine publication under fire for publishing unfounded alcoholism diagnosis of Governor LePage
For the last six years I have turned down columns and letters that used armchair diagnoses to explain Governor LePage’s behavior because I didn’t think it was fair. But now the governor has violated so many norms that traditional political analysis doesn’t explain the things that he says and does. This column is harsh, but, I think it’s fair.
A specific group of brain cells appears to drive excessive alcohol drinking, and targeting these cells may reverses alcohol dependence, at least in rats, a new study finds. In the study, the researchers trained rats how to self-administer alcohol out of a chamber, and caused some rats to become dependent on alcohol. They then injected the rats with a compound that could inactivate, or “turn off” a very specific set of brain cells in an area known as the amygdala. They found that inactivating these brain cells caused the rats to completely cease their compulsive drinking.
READ MORE @ LiveScience.com
Safer Than Suboxone?
Hyperbaric Chamber eases drug withdrawal symptoms
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University researchers have found that treatments of pure oxygen in a high-pressure chamber can relieve the symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Ray Quock – a pharmacologist and WSU psychology professor – gave morphine-addicted mice pure pressurized oxygen before they began withdrawal from the drug. The mice had far less severe withdrawal symptoms than addicted mice that did not receive the treatment. Outwardly, said Quock, the treated mice appeared “much calmer. You can tell the difference.”
Bruce Springsteen sums up 30-year depression battle with car metaphor
Springsteen says Patti Scialfa, his bandmate and wife of 25 years, has learned to recognize the signs of an impending depression, which she likens to a freight train “quickly running out of track.” Though she’s not completely comfortable with that part of his book, ultimately, she feels writing about depression has been..
What Happened in East Liverpool Is Not Stigma – It Is Discrimination
As many have already reported, the East Liverpool Police Department posted an image (along with their “objective” commentary) of a couple experiencing drug poisoning, reportedly due to heroin use … We have been in the midst of the largest public health concern to ever take place in our country – the opioid and opiate crisis. The East Liverpool Police Department should perhaps learn is that not enough of the world actually knows about the other side of substance use disorders – RECOVERY. That is the message that should be…
Problems seen by panel in the legalizing of ganja in Nevada
In November, Nevadans will vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana – Question 2 would allow adults 21 years and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana legally … Earl White, former director of Weed & Seed Program, a crime and drug abuse prevention group, was one of five speakers who met Saturday at the University of Phoenix Las Vegas. He was adamantly against legalizing marijuana for recreational use, arguing pot use lessens someone’s motivation to study or find work. “There has been so much misinformation about marijuana. It’s gonna make us kill and rape people – that turned out to be a lie,”… “We need to talk about the facts. Let’s educate – take out politics and talk about people.”
Sia and 4 Other Stars Candid About Addiction and Recovery
In January, Sia admitted on The Late Late Show that she had struggled with drugs and alcohol abuse throughout her career. “I was a singer already for like 10 or 11 years to mediocre success, and I was an alcoholic and a drug addict, and I sobered up and decided I didn’t want to be an artist any more,” she said. “I was starting to get a little bit famous and it was destabilizing in some ways … so I thought, ‘What doesn’t exist in pop music at the moment?’ and it was mystery.”
34th Annual Betty Ford Center Alumni Anniversary Weekend
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 5 & 6th, 2016 RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA SCHEDULE OF EVENTS starts here FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4 more…
READ MORE @ HazeldenBettyFord.com
Addiction/Recovery eBulletin
Al-Anon Doesn’t Advertise?
Why Adult Children of Alcoholics Don’t Get the Help They Need? by Dr. Tian Dayton
1. The focus of attention in media and even recovery circles has been on the addict and the belief till recently has been that if the addict gets sober, the rest of the family will magically get better. The trauma of family members has not been adequately understood. 2. ACoAs may have trouble accepting or even resent the idea that although they did nothing, after all they didn’t drink and act out, they have been none the less damaged by the experience of living with addiction and they need help. 3. READ MORE…
Nun who led Chicago sobriety house for decades: Today’s ‘a lot worse’ VIDEO
Since 1983, Sister Therese O’Sullivan has had a front-row seat to observe Chicago’s drug scourge, serving as co-founder of a homeless shelter turned sobriety home on the city’s South Side. She has seen a lot in those three decades, and some of it has been good, such as increased societal compassion and understanding toward people struggling with addiction. But as she heads into retirement, O’Sullivan, 77, says the problem seems more forbidding than ever.
Houston Co. woman’s struggle with addiction inspires the creation of iHOPE VIDEO
For iHope’s founder, it’s personal. “I was addicted to whatever would change me, change the way I was feeling. That’s what it was about,” said Tarusa Stewart. She struggled with drugs and alcohol for 14 years, but has now been clean for 14 and a half.- She says recognizing her own problems and being able to talk about them has turned her life around.
WATCH MORE @ 13WMAZ.com
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Theater Heals
ATTENTION New Yorkers
“12 Steps, the Musical!” show synopsis: This comedic and heart warming story follows Graham Chili, a country boy from Texas who has just moved to New York City to follow his dreams as a wall street stock broker by day and a cabaret singer by night…Featuring 7 original, colorful and lively songs including “Everyone is Addicted to Something,” “Higher Power,” “Making Amends,” and “We Are All One!”
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.
The reality is this: the all or nothing approach to treatment and recovery residence services is one that is ineffective at best and killing people at worst. We can make all of the funding in the world available for increased treatment and housing services in this country, but if we don’t address the fact that our current systems are insufficient, we will never see an increase in people getting better. We need treatment and recovery residence programs that are designed to meet people at the various stages of change they arrive in.
The addiction-treatment industry is most certainly at a crossroads today. With favorable legislation and a growing recognition of addiction as a chronic disease, leaders now have an opportunity to shape the direction of the road ahead. And these are pivotal decisions, according to Marvin Ventrell, executive director of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), who spoke at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders in Denver…” The notion that you’re either MAT or spiritual, that’s just nonsense,” he said. “Must of us are in between the two poles.”
Why a 4-Day Workweek May NOT Be Good for Your Health
The idea of a four-day workweek is not new. Labor experts have been studying and advocating these approaches since the 1970s. For example, in 2008, researchers from Brigham Young University conducted a series of surveys among employees and community members to assess their perspectives about a four-day workweek. The researchers found that about four-fifths of the employees reported a positive experience working that type of schedule.
READ MORE @ LiveScience.com
Stepping Up
Shia LaBeouf Discusses Sobriety
It seems Shia LaBeouf is turning over a new leaf after making headlines in recent years for erratic behavior.For starters, he says he’s been sober for nearly a year, and has attended AA meetings. “You don’t touch it,” LaBeouf, 30, tells Variety. “Alcohol or any of that s*** will send you haywire. I can’t f*** with none of it. I’ve got to keep my head low.”
READ MORE @ ClassicHitsAndOldies.com
Wait Times Fluctuate Wildly
What we learned phoning every drug rehab facility in British Columbia
We’ve been doing something that a mother hopes to never have to do. For one week in August, we called all the drug addiction rehab facilities in British Columbia we could find, pretending to be the mother of “Chelsea”, a 16-year-old girl addicted to heroin, or “Dustin”, who’s 23 and addicted to opioids That’s how we introduced ourselves to drug recovery homes and detox centres across the province as we looked for help, learning that mothers of adult addicts face a confusing patchwork of options with no clear path.
Librarians encouraged to get drug user- and overdose-response training VIDEO
Librarians are finding themselves face to face with the heroin and opioid problem as drug users take advantage of the free access to quiet areas where people often keep to themselves. In Eureka, California, one librarian revived an unresponsive man by injecting him with an overdose antidote. The American Library Association encourages librarians to get training on interacting with groups such as drug users.
A sugar industry group paid for studies that underplayed the role that added sugars play in heart disease, researchers reported Monday. Studies paid for by the lobbying group helped set the U.S. on a policy course that focused almost exclusively on fat as the main cause of heart disease, leaving out the considerable role that sugary foods play, the researchers said…” These tactics are strikingly similar to what we saw in the tobacco industry in the same era,” said Stanton Glantz of the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.
Pictures show the brutal truth of the Philippines’ war on drugs: 300 killed in just one month
Philippines: Gunned down in the street, these are the bodies of men killed in President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs. Some men are seen stripped to their underwear, with their hands and feet tied. Others have their faces covered in tape or their clothes soaked with blood. Wives and family members are pictured clutching the lifeless bodies of their loved ones who were killed in the summary executions carried out by police officers, without the benefit of a full and fair trial.
To Protect Children, It’s Okay To Stigmatize Addicts
…it is important to realize that stigma is not always a bad thing. Never mind that many stigma abolitionists rarely say what exactly it is they wish to strip of shame: addicts, addictive behavior, seeking help, or addiction treatment itself? I agree that efforts to get help should surely be immune – those who need help should be urged to get it. I encourage 12-step group attendance for those who find it helpful and want formal treatment to be accessible, respectful, and competent. As a clinician, my strong belief is that people who use drugs to excess are trying to escape psychological pain and boredom.
As September is National Recovery Month, Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) sponsored Saturday’s event. Their mission is to celebrate, advocate, support, and empower individuals and families who are in recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction. The theme for this year is “Our Families, Our Stories, Our Recovery!” Those in attendance hope their stories will help and inspire others currently battling addiction to seek help and get treatment. Organizers say Recovery Day spreads the message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention and treatment works, and the resources are out there.
WATCH MORE @ Good4Utah.com
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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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