Heroin Addictive to Junkies | Junk Food “Addictive” to Kids The study of food addiction is an emerging and controversial field. But according to Ashley Gearhardt, “highly processed foods can lead to classic signs of addiction like loss of control, tolerance, and withdrawal. A growing body of research backs her up-and that’s especially concerning in children because an addiction forged in a child’s early years could put the child at more serious risk for chronically unhealthy eating into adulthood.” READ MORE | Drug Experts Issue Warning Over ‘Chem-Sex’ Parties The emergence of “chem-sex” parties where gay men inject synthetic illicit drugs before engaging in “risky sexual practices” in London and other European cities has triggered a public health warning from European drug experts. They cite chem-sex as an example of how Europe’s drug problem is becoming increasingly complex, creating new challenges and fresh concerns for public health. READ MORE | Is One Direction Doing Cocaine Too? As if smoking cannabis on camera wasn’t bad enough, now there’s another moment from Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik’s video that might suggest the dudes of One Direction are doing even harder drugs! Brace yourselves, Directioners. Shiz is about to get serious. READ MORE | Betty Ford Tailors Care for LGBTQ Community “You had to learn to deal with your sexuality,” said Tate, a Rancho Mirage resident. “Along with that comes a lot of fears, a lot of stress. The way I learned to deal with the social anxiety of it all, there was a lot of substance abuse. It was fun until it wasn’t. He developed an alcohol dependency that had taken over his life by the time he hit his late 20s and eventually wound up at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage seeking treatment. READ MORE | Methamphetamine Users: Do Brain Function Differences Predispose to Risky Behavior? MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. London: Interventions to improve this balance may enhance treatment for stimulant dependence and other disorders that involve maladaptive decision-making. READ MORE | Carrie Fisher Opens Up About Her Depression “The part of my family that the manic depression comes from is the Irish side who had a commitment to alcoholism that was beautiful. My great grand whatever, his name was Burt MacReynolds and he dropped the Mac in the ocean when he came over to America. He was a horse thief.” Fisher, who has reunited with original cast members Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill for Star Wars: Episode VII, also said that electric shock treatment has worked in treating her bipolar disorder. READ MORE | Addiction to Blame for Costly Problems But he could not rescue himself from a living nightmare of drugs and alcohol. Instead, the heavy drinker and occasional LSD and cocaine user had to rely on others – drug treatment professionals – to save his life. His is a success story in the bleak world of addiction. “It costs about $25,000 to keep one person in jail (each year) and about $4,000 to put them on methadone instead,” DeMaria said. “You can treat six addicted persons in an outpatient setting and start to prevent relapse.” READ MORE | Invitation to Receive FREE Passes to our 2014 New York REEL Recovery Film Festival | Our Drug Dilemma is All in the Mind By Hans-Christian Raabe “I want to consider why people like Dr Fiona Godlee, the Editor of the British Medical Journal, and scientists like Professor David Nutt always look to the legalisation of drugs as the solution to the drug problem. I find it fascinating they look no further than this option – that they will not even contemplate the possibility of any other approach.” READ MORE | FOR EVERY Past Issue of the Addiction/Recovery eBulletin
| Gold Rush Attracts Dishonest Miners | California Rehab Clinics Struggle To Provide Care Amid Fraud Crackdown Drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics in California are struggling to gain certification following a crackdown on fraud in such facilities, HealthyCal reports. The challenges come amid increased demand for such treatment as more state residents gain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN investigation found evidence of fraudulent billing practices at alcohol and drug treatment clinics in the state. READ MORE | Watch Ritch Shydner Swim with Sharks … and Live! | REEL Recovery Film Festival & Comedy Conference at Sea – Nov. 1-7, 2014 Western Caribbean from Houston to: Cozumel, Belize and Banana Coast-Trujillo, Honduras Speakers: Leonard Buschel & Comic, Ritch Shydner Recovery Films, Comedy Show, Meetings, Special ‘In This Life’ Tours (swim with stingrays and sharks plus great snorkeling), Entertainment, Dancing, Great Food & LOTS of FUN-FUN-FUN READ MORE | Better Living (and Dying) Through Chemistry | Israeli Company Teva Launches New Oxycodone Pain Tablets An off-label of the branded product OxyContin from Napp, the new tablets are indicated for the treatment of severe pain, which require opioid analgesics to be adequately managed. Paul Burden, interim commercial director at Teva UK, said: “We are delighted to be able to add oxycodone tablets to our portfolio and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to pharmacy.” READ MORE | A Prescription for Success? | Review Looks at Drugs that Help Reduce Alcohol Abuse Acamprosate (Campral), Naltrexone (ReVia, Depade), Injectable naltrexone (Vivitrol), Nalmefene (Selincro), Topiramate (Topomax), Valproic acid, Disulfuram (Antabuse). One out of every 20 deaths in the United States is related to alcohol use. If you are dependent on alcohol and you don’t stop drinking, your life expectancy may be shortened by 15 years or more. But quitting alcohol is not easy. A long-term support program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, is likely to be helpful. Some drinkers take prescription medicines to help them quit. READ MORE | | Was Sarah Palin on Cocaine During the Season Finale of Amazing America? Joe McGinnins previously reported that Sarah Palin has a history of cocaine use. One of the effects of cocaine use is dilated pupils. If a person had dialated pupils, sunglasses would not only hide the pupils, but they would also ameliorate the person’s sensitivity to light. In the first half of the show, Sarah Palin is wearing her ordinary glasses. READ MORE | Stick to the Hummus HuffPost | The Dangers of Just One Evening of Hookah Smoking While other studies have also shown that hookah smoking is associated with increased levels of toxins that can lead to health risks, this study is unique in that it reflected the effects after a normal night of hookah smoking. Other studies typically involve smoking hookah in a clinical setting. READ MORE | The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol, by Robert Dudley Why do we as humans have such a fascination with alcohol? In many social contexts we seem to rely on it, and its health benefits in small, regular quantities are known. However, this relationship is a conflicted one, and excessive drinking can ruin lives. Perhaps Dudley’s approach will offer hope for future treatments for alcoholism. READ MORE | Health Warning of the Week | How Aspartame Became Legal It is revealed that the testing process of Aspartame was among the worst the investigators had ever seen and that in fact the product was unsafe for use. Aspartame triggers the first criminal investigation of a manufacturer put into place by the FDA in 1977. Early in 1981 Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (who is a former Secretary of Defense.. surprise surprise) vowed to “call in his markers,” to get it approved. Jan. 21, 1981, the day after Reagan’s inauguration. READ MORE | DO YOU LIKE OUR eBULLETIN? | We Welcome Your Feedback! If you have any comments, compliments or suggestions for our weekly Addiction/Recovery eBulletin, please contact us at: Writers In Treatment | “Drugs Aren’t the Problem”: Neuroscientist Carl Hart on Brain Science & Myths About Addiction VIDEO As we continue our conversation on the nationwide shift toward liberalizing drug laws, we are joined by the groundbreaking neuropsychopharmacologist Dr. Carl Hart. He is the first tenured African-American professor in the sciences at Columbia University, where he is an associate professor in the psychology and psychiatry departments. READ MORE | Breaking Bad Get’s Worse for Chemists VIDEO | Brookshire Brothers Offering New Medication to Deter Meth Usage VIDEO Methamphetamine drug use has been on a constant rise. The rise of the drug has caused law enforcement and pharmacies to look at new ways of combating the addictive drug. Lufkin’s Brookshire Brothers Grocery store chain thinks they have found the latest way to stop the drug from ever being produced. The company hopes the drug Nexafed will be able to prevent meth cooks from making the powerful drug. READ MORE | Talk About Rigorously Honest VIDEO | Man in Drug Rehab Returns $125K That Dropped from Brink’s Truck VIDEO A 52-year-old California man who lives at and works for the Salvation Army Fresno Adult Rehabilitation Center while going through his own drug rehab stint, found a bag loaded with $125,000 in cash that was mistakenly dropped from an armored truck transporting the money bags. Although Cornell is a man of little monetary means, he is rich in heart. Cornell returned the bag of cash it because it was the “right thing to do.” READ MORE | After 5 Months, Colorado Sees the Downside of a Legal High “Every major institution said this would be horrible and lead to violence and blood in the streets,” said Brian Vicente, one of the authors of Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in Colorado. “None of that’s happened. The sky did not fall.” READ MORE | From Boardroom to Courtroom | California Counties Sue Drug Makers for Sparking Painkiller Epidemic California officials maintain that the prescription painkiller epidemic has taken a heavy toll on their state – and they say that five pharmaceutical companies are to blame. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2010, there were enough prescription painkillers – also known as opioids – prescribed to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for one month. READ MORE | Media: Murdering My Youth: A Memoir | ‘Young & Restless’s’ Cady McClain Talks Sexual Abuse and Alcoholism At the Hands of Her Father Cady McClain (Kelly Andrews, “The Young and the Restless”; ex-Dixie Martin, “AMC”) talks about her new book, “Murdering My Youth: A Memoir,” where she reveals that her parents used her for financial gain, how her years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father nearly led her down an emotional breaking point after filming love scenes at “AMC,” and how her marriage to “General Hospital’s” Jon Lindstrom (Kevin Collins) has helped her grow. READ MORE | 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 and the general public. | Publisher: Leonard Buschel | Cris Carter: Substance Use More Important to Josh Gordon Than Football Cris Carter knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom with addiction, then focus on improving as a person and becoming a great football player. He looks at Browns receiver Josh Gordon, who is facing a year suspension from the NFL for a failed drug test, and doesn’t think he’s reached rock bottom or wants to get help yet. READ MORE | Watch The 2013 REEL Recovery Highlight Reel | REEL Recovery Film Festival HIGHLIGHT Reel 2013
See clips from last year’s Award Winning REEL Recovery Film Festivalwith Paul Williams, Russell Brand, Robert Blake, Barbara Eden and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. See VIDEO | | |