The study, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Assn., echoes a 2012 Los Angeles Times investigation that showed drugs prescribed by doctors caused or contributed to nearly half of the prescription overdose deaths in Southern California in recent years. The Times also found that authorities were failing to mine a rich database of prescription records to identify and stop reckless prescribers. Read More
Positive Alternatives VIDEO
Helping Addicts Avoid Jail And On Road To Recovery VIDEO
Now, on her 25th birthday, and with more than 4 months of sobriety under her belt, Fowler is getting a new lease on life. She’s hoping to eventually look back on the day she was arrested as the first day of the rest of your life. “I do already. I’m so grateful that it happened. I really am. because if it didn’t, I’d still be in that vicious cycle. Like it was finally my out.” Read More
Flashback
THE 50 MOST DRUG-ADDLED ALBUMS IN MUSIC HISTORY
RAMPANT MADNESS, cheap powder, and the whiskey river: below are the 50 most debauched, sodden, and certifiable records in music history. The rules are simple: being merely eccentric while swathed in outlandish clothing fails to qualify. Having done an epic amount of street powder while getting handjobs in the groupie van is not enough. Hell, Steven Tyler claims to have spent $3 million on cocaine over the years, but would Aerosmith have sounded one iota different if they’d been straight edge? Read More
We Are Not Glum Lot
Woman accused of being intoxicated and trying to start fights at an AA meeting
One woman was arrested Monday after police got a call that an intoxicated woman was starting fights in a church where several people were trying to have an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.Mary Kathleen Brian, 45, was booked into the County Jail where her bond was set at $500 surety. She was released after posting $50 cash and is due to appear in Superior Court next Monday. Read More
Majority of children in U.S. unaware of cigarette warning labels
An international study of children’s perceptions of cigarette package warning labels found that the majority of children are unaware that they exist. Children in countries where larger warning labels are used, and which include a compelling graphic image of the negative health impacts of smoking, were more likely to be aware of and understand the health risks of tobacco products. Read More
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Trends in Treatment Populations
Baby boomers overdo alcohol and other drugs
The numbers of older people in treatment for heroin-related problems is also increasing. These attitudes include not only long-term drug or alcohol users but also people that started using the substances in later life, in order to respond to physical and psychological problems, related to aging. The report is calling for improved services and interventions for these people that are not usually considered the target of these risky behaviours. Increasing people’s awareness on the issue is the first step to intervene and support, on all levels, the baby boomers.Read More
Americans and Mental Illness
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Suffer From Mental Illness Each Year
Every year, about 42.5 million American adults (or 18.2 percent of the total adult population in the United States) suffers from some mental illness, enduring conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, statistics released Friday reveal.ording to the study, care could be denied to up to 4 million patients.
Hidden epidemic: Eating disorders in the gay community
Statistics from the International Journal of Eating Disorders suggests that 15% of gay or bisexual men have struggled with disordered eating habits throughout their lives, including binge eating, anorexia and bulimia. Of men who struggle with eating disorders, around 42% identify as gay or bisexual. And research shows that eating disorders are the most lethal of all psychiatric illnesses. Read More
A mother calls Narconon’s $33,000 rehab treatment for her son a fraudulent and dangerous recruitment tool for Scientology, which, though mentioned throughout the 20-page lawsuit, is not named as a defendant. “Narconon requires students to spend six hours per day for five weeks in a sauna at temperatures between 160 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit.Read More
Celebrity Disorders
Chris Brown’s Aggression Due to Bipolar Disorder and PTSD
The letter from the rehab facility states, “Mr. Brown will also require close supervision by his treating physician in order to ensure his bipolar mental health condition remains stable. It is not uncommon for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar II to use substances to self-medicate their biomedical mood swings and trauma triggers.” It continues, “Mr. Brown became aggressive and acted out physically due to his untreated mental health disorder, severe sleep deprivation, inappropriate self-medicating and untreated PTSD.” Read More
The Gambler’s High/Low
Why gambling’s happy losers come back for more
They found that these increases in theta are linked to both how severe someone’s gambling history is and how susceptible they might be to developing a future gambling problem. And they argue that popular slot machine games, as found in many high street betting shops, have subtle ways of telling players not just whether they have won or lost, but also whether they “almost won.” Read More
Big Pharma in the News
Pay to play at the FDA?
Washington Post and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the University of Rochester hosted a conference where representatives of drug companies paid up to $35,000 to sit with officials from the Food and Drug Administration. Later, the FDA voted 11-2 to approve Zohydro ER, a painkiller that is up to 10 times more powerful than Vicodin and Lotrab.In October, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Sen. David Vitter asked FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg about allegations of pay-to-play. She has not responded. Read More
Not Your Father’s Ganja
DEA Cracks Down on Potent Marijuana Product Called “Wax” in California
“There is no weed out there that possesses the punching power that the wax does,” an anonymous undercover DEA informant told ABC News’ “Nightline.” “And it’s like smoking 20 joints of the best grade of weed that you have into one hit of the wax.” Gary Hill of the DEA’s San Diego office said, “We have seen people have an onset of psychosis and even brain damage from that exposure to that high concentration of THC. Our concern is that this is going to spread before we get it under control.” Read More
Sobriety Profile
Former Addict Faces Fears
Gary told The Star: “I’m planning to overcome some of my biggest fears on this trip, to celebrate how rich my life is five years on from addiction and, hopefully, to inspire others to overcome their own addictions. The 35-year-old is set to abseil 367ft down Table Mountain – the highest natural commercial abseil in the world – and go cage-diving with sharks, putting him face-to-face with deadly Great Whites. “If I can do it, anyone can. I really want to show people struggling with addiction that their fears can be overcome.Read More
MusiCares Cares
Ozzy Osbourne to Be Honored at 10th Anniversary MusiCares Benefit Concert
The 10th anniversary MusiCares MAP Fund® benefit concert will honor Black Sabbath’s GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter OZZY OSBOURNE, and owner/CEO of the Village studios Jeff Greenberg. Taking place at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on May 12. Read More
Madison Avenue Mocks Addicts
Doctors Horrified by Coca-Cola’s New Ads Mocking Cocaine Addiction
New Yorkers have been noticing a new string of ads for the soda that play with the not-so-lighthearted subject of cocaine addiction. The ads, in the form of posters and billboards, all have the similar theme of addressing someone coming to the Big Apple with big city dreams, then dramatically saying “You’re on.” Closely followed by the word “Coke.” Read More
Addiction for Dummies
Lobbyists Ignite Efforts To Sell Washington D.C. On E-Cigarettes
The ad by Lorillard, which last year spent about $2.8 million lobbying for issues including e-cigarettes, featured a close-up of a model in a tiny bikini bottom emblazoned with the company’s e-cigarette logo. In a blog post on its website, the group called on the FDA to prevent such marketing, asserting that the ad “is just the latest example of how marketing for e-cigarettes is using the same slick tactics long used to market regular cigarettes to kids.“Read More
It’s Not Marijuana?
Rx Pain Pills are the Real Gateway Drugs
Crackdowns on prescription painkiller abuse have also dried up the black market supply and made it more difficult for doctors to prescribe the medicines, further contributing to decreased supply. To make up the loss, crooked doctors and others have developed “pill mills,” which are pain clinic offices that prescribe the pills in high amounts, even to people who are obviously substance abusers. Read More
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“My Son’s Obituary” Washington Post
An addiction that doesn’t follow any rules
Six months ago, I found my 26-year-old son, Derek, dead in his D.C. apartment from a heroin overdose. Our lives are shattered, our hearts broken. Derek had big dreams. He wanted to go to graduate school and teach writing at a university. He left behind years of poetry to which we have access, thanks to Facebook. It is both comforting and sad to read his poetry. He never talked much about his writing and, frankly, we didn’t pay enough attention to it.Read More
About Us
Writers In Treatment
501 (c)(3) nonprofit
WIT gets treatment for individuals who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction or other self-destructive behaviors.
FDA-approved Zohydro pain killer which experts say is 10 times stronger than Oxycontin VIDEO Doctors and professionals fighting drug addiction across the United States are up in arms over a new drug approved by the FDA called Zohydro. The drug was created to treat those with chronic pain. The problem is, it’s said to be 10 times more powerful than pain killers already on the market. “It is going to hit our field especially hard in terms of addiction because addicts because will move towards the more powerful drug and this drug is going to be 10 times more powerful than Oxycontin.” Read More
2013 Highlight Reel from RRFF VIDEO
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
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Cocaine and Stroke Study
Snorting cocaine increases risk of stroke by six to seven times
After researching typical stroke risk factors like personal behavior, diet, medical, and environmental factors, he found that the greatest risk of stroke for young adults comes in the form of cocaine. In fact, his research, presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2014, showed that snorting cocaine increases ischemic stroke risk six to seven times within a 24-hour window.Read More
Save A Life – Make a Buck – AUDIO
‘Magic’ Overdose Drug Works, But Demand And Price On The Rise-AUDIO
And in several states, government agencies and health clinics are working to provide an anti-overdose drug, Naloxone, to as many people as possible. But even as use of the drug is rising, so is its cost. “What really happened in the last year is there’s a realization that these are not two separate epidemics, with prescription opioids and heroin users being different populations or different people,” he says. Read More
More Has Been Revealed – VIDEO
Phillip Seymour Hoffman Died From Massive ‘Speedball’ Overdose – VIDEO
According to the coroner, the actor injected a toxic cocktail of heroin, cocaine and amphetamines all in one syringe. Also found in Hoffman’s system was Valium, a drug that treats anxiety. The ‘speedball’ mixture is to blame for the deaths of several high profile actors over the years, including John Belushi and River Phoenix. According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, it’s an exceedingly dangerous combination of drugs. Read More
Health Warning of the Week
‘Yoga mat’ chemical “azodicarbonamide” found in nearly 500 USA food items
Among the suspect brands, the EWG report claims, are Ball Park, Butternut, Country Hearth, Fleischman’s, Food Club, Harvest Pride, Healthy Life, Jimmy Dean, Joseph Campione, Kroger, Little Debbie, Mariano’s, Marie Callendar’s, Martin’s, Mother’s, Nature’s Own, Pillsbury, Roman Meal, Sara Lee, Schmidt, Shoprite, Safeway, Smucker’s, Sunbeam, Turano, Tyson, Village Hearth and Wonder. Read More
Commentary
Rehab For Celebrities: The Long Term Prognosis by Sherry Gaba
It seems that if you name a celebrity you are naming a person that has been in one form of rehab or treatment or another. This could be for depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug addiction, prescription drug addictions, sex addictions or bipolar disorder. Recently Amanda Bynes, the 27 year old former Nickelodeon star and actress, was admitted to rehab. Read More
Celebrity Sex Addiction – VIDEO
‘I slept with a different guy every two days’: Casey Donovan reveals sex addiction after falling for six year relationship hoax VIDEO
The former Idol winner confessed she spiraled out of control after the bizarre catfishing incident, confessing she found casual sex as a means of dealing with her deep seeded insecurities and painfully low self esteem. “I wanted to feel the warmth of somebody next to me… (someone) that was real,’ she told Kiis breakfast hosts Kyle and Jackie O in a candid interview on Monday morning. She was embroiled in a fraudulent love affair spanning over half a decade, and after years of emotional trauma, Casey Donovan reveals she fell victim to a sex addiction, using dating apps to sleep with a different man every two days.Read More
In the News
Daughter of Hank Williams, Jett, Arrested on DUI Charge
Jett Williams Adkinson, daughter of the late Hank Williams Sr., is free on bond after being arrested early Tuesday morning (Feb. 25) for driving under the influence in Lebanon, Tenn., a community located approximately 30 miles east of Nashville.The newspaper reported that Adkinson admitted drinking two beers and failed a standard field sobriety test.Read More
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Meditation – Center for Healthy Sex ATTENTION
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” – Henry Miller
It’s a commonplace that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” It turns out that the eyes are also the windows to our nervous system. The center of the nervous system, the brain, loves novelty, so it’s no surprise that when we make close eye contact with a lover, we “see” them as if we’re seeing them for the first time. Read More
Alcoholic Excess
Is Binge Drinking The New Unprotected Sex?
To investigate the possible link between what they describe as “episodic heavy drinking” and death, the team of researchers used data collected from a larger project examining patterns of alcohol consumption and drinking problems in people between the ages of 55 and 65. “Binge drinking is dangerous and many bad things have happened to drinkers or to others – car accidents, fights, injuries, domestic violence, sexual assaults – on the basis of binge drinking even if it is ‘atypical’ of how they drink and/or among those who are not alcoholic.” Read More
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Helping Addicts Avoid Jail And On Road To Recovery VIDEO
Woman accused of being intoxicated and trying to start fights at an AA meeting
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Suffer From Mental Illness Each Year
DEA Cracks Down on Potent Marijuana Product Called “Wax” in California
Former Addict
