The OxyContin Clan: The $14 Billion Newcomer to Forbes List of Richest Clans
How did the Sacklers build the 16th-largest fortune in the country? The short answer: making the most popular and controversial opioid of the 21st century – OxyContin. The Sacklers’ OxyContin score came long after the family initially got into the pharmaceutical business.
That Disease Model, which has continued to dominate, was an improvement over labeling anyone who drank or drugged too much a sinner, to be sure. However, although it has helped many, it has allowed others to slip through the cracks…The stated tenets of Harm Reduction Therapy are the same as the principles of most good psychotherapies. These include respect…
Nikki Sixx Celebrates 14 Years With Words Of Wisdom
The Motley Crue bassist has been open about his struggles with alcohol and drugs in the past, and he detailed his substance abuse hell in his 2007 memoir, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star. Sixx has been clean since 2001 and now he is hoping to inspire others to keep fighting “the good fight” through all of their ups and downs…”It’s not easy being sober especially in the situations my business puts me in but that doesn’t make me a hero it just means I have to work harder.
The $3 Million Federal Grant to Cure ‘Pot Addiction’
The National Institutes of Health has ponied up $3 million in cash for scientists and doctors to chase after a cure. The three best potential treatments for what they are calling Cannabis Use Disorders, or CUDs, will take home the cash.
Musicians around the world pay tribute to the Grateful Dead’s last concert VIDEO
On the day when the Grateful Dead plays its final concert in Chicago, an organization called Playing for Change released a heartwarming video of musicians around the world performing “Ripple,” which was written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, and first released in 1970. Playing for Change bills itself as a “multimedia movement created to inspire, connect and bring peace to the world through music.” Featured in the video are musicians from all over the world along with David Hildago of Los Lobos and Billy Kreutzmann of the Dead. Jimmy Buffett and David Crosby also contributed to the effort.
Ramadan Reflection: Lessons Learned on Healing From a Recovering Alcoholic
The discussion that followed wasn’t about haraam or halal, but about healing and recovery. I watched as heads nodded in agreement in the audience as the two of them described how they struggled with forgiving themselves. Each heart listening found solace and comfort in how tough forgiving yourself can be sometimes.
Chautauqua Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Council Awarded $627,300
The Chautauqua Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Council and HOPE Chautauqua have been awarded $627,300 over 4years to address prescription opiate and heroin abuse, along with opiate overdose prevention, in Chautauqua County. The coalition is one of 10 in New York state to receive a Partnership for Success grant from the state Office on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Nurse shows how to administer anti-overdose spray naloxone VIDEO
Last year, NYPD officers were equipped with the anti-overdose medication, and have been credited with saving 29 lives, officials say. In April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced funding to bring Narcan kits to schools statewide and train school personnel on how to use the life-saving drug. For a live demonstration by a nurse on how to use naloxone, watch the video above.
A relaxed big-bellied young man is sunbathing on his little boat, while listening music aloud. And a couple, that is sipping their drink on their little yacht in front of their children, laughs at him.
Jesse Schenker is an award-winning chef and owner of fine dining restaurants… The 2010 Iron-Chef winner, now 32, wasn’t always the pillar of foodie success. In his early 20s, he battled drug addiction that started with marijuana and quickly snowballed into opiates, heroin and crack. He served six months in jail. Here he tells the story of how he pulled himself back from the brink.
Enter Loud Life (the “Loud” stands for “Living Out Ur Dreams”), which Sigal launched last year. Part nonprofit, part clothing company-proceeds from logo-adorned ball caps, sweatshirts, T-shirts and more benefit the Loud Life foundation-it will be, Sigal hopes, an alternative to post-rehabilitation options currently offered to recovering addicts.
CONTINUED @ CapitalStyle.com
Theater of the Heart VIDEO
Bill W. & Dr. Bob Pass It On – Live Onstage VIDEO
In two years, John Schile and Gary Kimble have performed the production in more than 60 cities. The idea is to shine a light on alcoholism as a disease that affects one in five people in the U.S., many of them your everyday people you’d never expect. In fact, Kimble is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict himself. “Today, I’m the ambassador of outreach and education for the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, traveling around the globe, carrying the message that this thing works and it does heal people. If you have a problem, go to a 12-step meeting and you can change your life,” Kimble said.
CONTINUED @ ABC12.com
Pray Tell?
Time to accept that alcoholism is not a disease?
But as long as we persist in naively hanging onto the ‘disease/illness’ model, we remove the individual humanity of the individual … Similarly, AA remains a hugely divisive organisation, primarily for their repeated suggestion that the victim is suffering from a ‘total disease’ and, of course, their insistence that members believe in a higher power … Let’s face it – nobody with cancer ever healed themselves by simply saying: “Not today” – but that’s the only cure for addiction.
Gloucester’s latest suspected victim of the opioid crisis is a 43-year-old city man who was found dead on the floor of his bedroom on Friend Street. Keith Duwart, 43, has been identified by police as the sixth person to have died in the city of a heroin or other opioid overdose this calendar year – already twice as many as the three who fatally overdosed in Gloucester throughout all of 2014.
CONTINUED @ GloucesterTimes.com
New Magazine from the UK
Recovery Plus Is Here
To celebrate her 24th recovery birthday today, DB Recovery Resources founder Deirdre Boyd is offering you gifts. First is the FREE Recovery Plus eMag: an essential reference for all addiction-recovery libraries. It is fully interactive – eg, the article on effectiveness of mutual aid by Professor John Kelly of Harvard.
CONTINUED @ DBRecoveryResources.com
Tell THAT to Big Pharma
“Addiction is not a disease” says neuroscientist
Neuroscientist Marc Lewis, a psychologist and former addict himself, is the author of a new book “The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease.” Lewis’s argument is actually fairly simple: The disease theory, and the science sometimes used to support it, fail to take into account the plasticity of the human brain. Of course, “the brain changes with addiction,” he writes. “But the way it changes has to do with learning and development – not disease.”
Acupuncture helps those with addiction, mental illness
Last Tuesday, however, it was as if all that stress disappeared. Bauer felt at peace. Her mind was calm. But it wasn’t medication that helped her feel at ease. It was five needles carefully positioned in her ears. Bauer experienced acupuncture detoxification. Known as acu-detox, the therapy utilizes standard acupuncture techniques to relieve stress, withdrawal symptoms and anxiety common in people living with addiction and behavioral health issues.
AAC Acquires One of the Largest Online Publishers of Drug Treatment Content for $60 Million
AAC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAC), has acquired Referral Solutions Group, LLC and Taj Media, LLC for $35 million in cash and $25 million in stock through its operating subsidiary, American Addiction Centers, Inc., a national leader in addiction treatment and rehabilitation, and its indirect subsidiary, Sober Media Group, LLC. “This strategic acquisition augments our marketing capabilities, establishes us as an Internet presence in the addiction treatment industry, and advances the growth of our national brand.” American Addiction Centers is a leading provider of inpatient substance abuse treatment services.
Ringo turns 75 & still sober after all these years
Peace, Love and Ringo’s Birthday
Los Angeles, CA – Ringo Starr will celebrate his birthday Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in Los Angeles. Ringo and his wife Barbara will join family, friends and fans in front of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood and share a “Peace & Love” salute at Noon. The now traditional Peace & Love celebration is open to the public and Ringo invites everyone everywhere to think or say Peace & Love or share #PeaceandLove, at Noon their local time, on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Drinking by 11, alcoholic by 20, sober by 35: one woman’s story
Staggering into her Brooklyn apartment at 2am one night eight years ago, Sarah Hepola threw a pan of pasta on the hob, turned up the heat, flopped on to her sofa and passed out. When she awoke, it was to the smell of smoke and the sound of her landlord’s son banging at the door brandishing a fire extinguisher.
Remembering Last Night’s Music Festival in the Morning
Ms. McClellan, 31, first stopped using drugs and alcohol three years ago, and she knew then that it was a risk to attend Bonnaroo, which, like many festivals, is known for its hedonism. But the festival had been her tradition for nearly a decade, and after only 30 days in recovery, she went with her old crew of drinking buddies. “I didn’t want to feel like I couldn’t still have fun,” she said.
A titillating and polarizing subject, porn addiction has been analyzed ad nauseam by scientists, conservative pundits, and women’s magazine’s alike. If Don Jon taught us anything, it’s that frequent porn indulgence can absolutely impact how we view sex IRL, but when it comes to making the leap from loving porn to being powerless in the face of porn, things get a bit trickier.
Children with ADHD can improve without resorting to drugs
The 54 different studies tested many different ways of supporting these children, such as having daily report cards from teachers or training children in study and organisational skills. Overall, such strategies could help children achieve better attainment levels, reduce hyperactive behaviour and increase attention, said the review, published in the journal Health Technology Assessment today.
When Alcohol Takes Over Your Life — And Steals Your Memories
I don’t want to brag about where I am now. That’s not what this is about. What is important to me is that I thought my life was over, and truly, this whole chapter of my life was just beginning. There was so much that was on the other side of sobriety that was so much better. It’s like that line I have in the book: I thought sobriety was the boring part, but sobriety is the plot twist.
“This suggests an intriguing possibility — that eye color can be useful in the clinic for alcohol dependence diagnosis.” Austin said knowing more about possible genetic links could mean in the future people can better understand their risk factor. Austin said people probably do not need to worry if they have blue eyes. However, she said if they also have a family history, they can meet with a genetic counselor to talk about risks of developing alcoholism.
Popular subreddit r/stopdrinking is gaining popularity and making a difference for alcoholics
One particular subreddit called “r/stopdrinking” has accrued a massive following since its inception. It allows users to share their personal struggles with alcohol dependence and give support to each other. Researchers at recovery.organalyzed the top posts for the group, including interactions between members, and during which times of the year the site had the most traffic…”After going through any of our recovery programs, support communities, such as r/StopDrinking, are wonderful tools to help you maintain a sober, healthy lifestyle.
It’s a simple looking thing that has the same size and appearance of a bandage. And while it doesn’t look like much, the white adhesive is absorbing sweat that will later be registered into a computer and determine whether or not an individual has been using drugs. “It has been an excellent program and really gets a person started with treatment,” said the director of the 24/7 sobriety program in Burleigh County. “It’s another tool to help with addiction.
CONTINUED @ TheDickensonPress.com
Too Much Karma
Bobbi Kristina’s Drug Dealer Found Dead of Suspected Overdose
As Bobbi Kristina Brown remains unmedicated in an Atlanta hospice, her admitted drug dealer was found dead of an apparent OD. A source close to 22-year-old Steven Stepho, revealed to the website that the young man’s body was found on Monday, and that he may have had a fatal relapse after attempting to turn his life around. “He’s been on the path to sobriety for a while – attending AA meetings – but they believe that he fell back into using heroin or with mixing it.”
CONTINUED @ WetPaint.com
Chablis Too
Women and the Dark Side of Wine
So what? A few glasses of wine a night isn’t going to kill anyone, is it? It might. Alcohol is classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen. There is a link between the amount women drink and their risk of cancer, but not enough women know, says Professor Jennie Connor. Speaking at a conference last month on women and alcohol, Connor said that female drinkers were more likely to die of cancer related to alcohol than a car crash involving drinking.
Joseph Stanley Harden, 32, was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service. He could have received seven years of incarceration after he pleaded guilty in April to attempted fourth-degree burglary and possession of oxycodone. In July 2014, Harden was accused of trying to kick in the door of a drug dealer in Dundalk to steal drugs.
BioCorRx, Inc. and Sobriety and Addiction Solutions, Announce Separation; Plan to Advocate Wider Naltrexone Implant Use in the Treatment of Addiction
BioCorRx, Inc. ( BICX ), developer of the Start Fresh Program, announces the mutual release of Sobriety and Addiction Solutions, LLC (SAS) from its license agreements with the Company. They were previously offering the Start Fresh Program for numerous locations under MyLife Recovery Centers. With different views on how to best approach and capture market share of the $35 billion addiction treatment industry, the companies felt this separation would allow each party to pursue their respective strategies to help more people suffering from addiction.
Gambling in all its forms is a problem that affects more people in California than anywhere in the United States. Our guest is Timothy Fong, MD from the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. The UCLA program helps to identify and treat people with a gambling problem.
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