| Portuguese Man of Peace
Vermont’s Prison Chief Says It’s Time to Decriminalize Drug Possession Vermont Department of Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito recalled spotting a young woman on a prison tour; he knew she was addicted to heroin, but she wasn’t getting treated for it … We should go to the Portugal model, which is to deal with the addiction and not spend the money on the criminal justice system,” Pallito said. “We spend so much money on corrections that could be done differently. The only way to do it is spend less on corrections and more on treatment.” | | | Amazing 4 Minute Film VIDEO
Heroin is bad. We’re making it worse VIDEO Gibson’s brief stay at the Justice Center on this recent Tuesday morning is a testament not only to heroin’s power, but to society’s inability to stop it. Years into the heroin epidemic, after hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests and millions of dollars in taxpayer spending, heroin is winning. Attempts to slow the spread of the drug across Ohio and Kentucky have mostly failed. Often, the response has been ineffective. Sometimes, it has made matters worse. | | | MEDIA: Author Interview
“The Cartel” author Don Winslow on the war on drugs: “There is an exit strategy – legalize drugs!” “The Cartel,” hailed by James Ellroy as “‘The War and Peace’ of dopewar books…Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis sat down with Winslow to discuss “Cartel,” writing crime novels and the ongoing war on drugs. | | Get well at New Method Wellness
| | Why Tom Waits Quit Drinking “Oh, you know, it was tough. I went to AA. I’m in the program. I’m clean and sober. Hooray. But, it was a struggle.” Does he miss it? “Nah. Not the way I was drinking. No, I’m happy to be sober. Happy to be alive. I found myself in some places I can’t believe I made it out of alive.” Has sobriety affected his creative process? “No… | | Click here for Biosound Therapy
| | | Make Room For Diddy VIDEO
Maryhaven Plans $2 Million Expansion For Addiction Treatment VIDEO Maryhaven, a Columbus addiction treatment center, says it’s working towards a $2 million Capacity Expansion Capital Campaign to make room for a growing number of addicts who are desperately seeking help. President Paul Coleman says many treatment programs at the facility are running at 105 percent capacity, and some addicts seeking help are on a two or three week waiting list… ALSO: 23-year old recovering heroin addict Justin Sloan told 10TV he spent several months trying to get his foot in the door at Maryhaven for medical detoxification before he finally hit rock bottom. | | | Civilization at a Crossroads VIDEO
Gabor Mate: Toxic Culture Shock – How Materialistic Society Makes Us Addicted VIDEO The Canadian physician and best-selling author is a brilliantly original thinker on addiction, trauma and parenting. He asserts that most human ailments are not individual problems, but reflections of a person’s relationship with the physical, emotional and social environment, from conception to death. Mind and body are not separate. | | Recovery Program Management
| | | Behind The Green Door VIDEO
Controversial Fort Myers drug treatment center vote delayed VIDEO This last minute decision surprised many trying to keep the drug treatment center out of their neighborhood.The county hearing examiner has recommended commissioners approve the rezoning, and it’s rare they go against that recommendation. “It’s strange that we were all set to go and then after we had our town hall meeting and our people starting coming together as they should he suddenly decided to postpone,” Principia resident Owieta Post said. CONTINUED @ NBC2.com | | | A Big Loss
Athlete’s death ruled an overdose Official word was released earlier this week in connection with the death of former Point Pleasant and Parkersburg standout running back Allan Wasonga last July. When the 21-year-old was found dead at a Mount Vernon Avenue home by the Point Pleasant Police Department, no confirmation was made at that time of his death… He was our fastest athlete – not only was he fast, but he was also so strong,” Reeves said. “When he was healthy and ready to play, he was as good as anybody we saw that season. | | | Childhood – It’s Complicated
Cyberbullying linked to risk of depression in kids, teens About one in four children and adolescents on average report being the targets of cyberbullying, which is linked to a risk of depression among those victimized through email, texting or social media sites like Facebook, an international research review has found. “Within the depression category, there was a consistent association between exposure to cyberbullying and an increased likelihood of depression.” | | | In Your Face
Your Porn Addiction Isn’t Real The brains of those ‘addicted’ to porn bear no neurological resemblance to those of other well-documented addictions while watching it, says a new study. Why the word needs to change…The controversial claim: “porn addiction” isn’t actually an addiction, at least in the sense that it does not neurologically behave like other well-documented addictions. | | | We Are Not a Glum Lot
Recovering drug users and alcoholics to stage afternoon of fun and games Recovering drug users and alcoholics in Doncaster are to take part in an afternoon of sports to help their rehabilitation. The Recovery Games will see enthusiastic teams of eight to ten people take part in a series of competitive team building activities in the event later this year. “This is about having fun and breaking down barriers, and is a chance for users of Drug and Alcohol Services to show their commitment to giving to others.” CONTINUED @ DoncasterFreePress.co.uk | | | Reporting by Suzanne Moloney Wright
The Kids Are Not Alright. The Lows of Legal Highs Legal Highs, it’s one of those really confusing terms. My experience of them in the past have been of the herbal varieties that were distributed in shops that sold paraphernalia, like novelty cigarette papers and funny shaped pipes. I have been in recovery for many years, so the whole legal high thing was something that I read about in the newspapers or conversations I’ve overheard my teenage son and his friends having. | | | DUI to OMG
Robbie Knievel Talks about Sobriety and Upcoming Jump “I’m eating what I want, my appetite’s back, I feel good, I’m working out again,” said daredevil Robbie Knievel. The son of Evel Knievel is doing far better today than he was back in April when he was involved in a felony DUI accident in Butte on Harrison Avenue. He said he hasn’t had a drink since then and is planning to jump the Red Zone restaurant off South Montana Street in Butte for Evel Knievel Days at the end of July. CONTINUED @ KTVQ.com | | Featured at REEL Recovery Film Festival
Adam Jones, Filmmaker Adam Jones was only 19 when he moved to San Francisco, started working as an escort and became addicted to drugs. Jones, who finally ended up in rehab, is now 21, one-year sober and an aspiring filmmaker. In April he released an experimental art film Teaser, which documents his troubled past. How did you end up as an escort? “I left Roseville at 17 and moved to New York for about two years…” | | Rates for eBulletin Advertising
| | Health Note: What I Learned In School VIDEO
Should I Eat Sushi? VIDEO You now have the blessing of five health experts to eat sushi-but there are some things you should know before ordering … Mercury is still a concern with sushi, says Roxanne Karimi, PhD, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. Her research on mercury found that blood mercury levels were positively associated with eating a weekly tuna steak or sushi… | | Addiction/Recovery eBulletin
| | | UPCOMING EVENTS
REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL HOUSTON EDITION Sept. 25-27, 2015 The Council on Recovery 303 Jackson Hill St., Houston, TX 77007 Sundance Cinemas 510 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002 Call Tracy Abbott for more information:
713-240-4931 FOR MORE INFORMATION 4th REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL NEW YORK CITY EDITION Oct. 16-22, 2015 Cinema Village
22 E. 12th Street, New York, NY 10003
Call for more information:
818-762-0461 FOR MORE INFORMATION 7th REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES CITY EDITION Oct. 23-29, 2015 Laemmle NoHo Cinema
5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601
Call for more information:
818-762-0461 FOR MORE INFORMATION | | | | Lushlife
Jessica Simpson Rehab: Singer’s Mom Trying To Get Her To Address Addiction Jessica Simpson could be headed to rehab to address her out-of-control partying and subscription drug abuse, and the singer’s mom may be joining her. Reports circulated in the last week that the 34-year-old actress and singer may be under pressure to go to rehab to address her drinking problems. Sources said Jessica’s mom, Tina, was the one pushing for rehab, and that Tina planned to join Jessica during the visit. “Jessica’s drinking has gotten out of control, and she uses Adderall…” | | | State of Addiction Treatment in America
Coast to Coast host Neil Scott interviews Exec. Dir. of National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers AUDIO New Executive Director, Marvin Ventrell, at the NAATP Annual Addiction Treatment Leadership Conference in Carlsbad, CA May 16th, 2015. Featuring Mackenzie Phillips, Michael Botticelli, Bob Ferguson and others… | | | Family Values
Mothers Shun Treatment for Fear of Losing Children and Respect Female drug users worldwide are far less likely than their male counterparts to undergo treatment due to discrimination against mothers and pregnant women and the cost of childcare, transport and treatment, the U.N. drugs body said on Friday. Women with drug problems are heavily stigmatized and find it difficult to leave their homes or families for treatment, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) annual World Drug Report. CONTINUED @ Yahoo.com | | | You’ll Never Walk Alone
Recovering alcoholic who couldn’t live without a drink to climb mountain to mark 3 years sober A recovering alcoholic who was once unable to even get up to walk his dog without a drink will climb the three highest mountains in the UK to mark three years sober. Andrew Smith, who grew up in Wethersfield’s High Street, battled an alcohol addiction for years and decided to cut out drinking for good when doctors gave him just 16 months to live. | | Check out Loma Linda University
| | | Chemical Consciousness
Consumers unclear about risks or benefits of e-cigarettes While some smokers consider electronic cigarettes a potential aid in quitting, some people who have already quit see them as a temptation to resume a habit they fought hard to ditch. “Because e-cigarettes are relatively new products we are only beginning to learn about the health risks.” Because part of what makes cigarettes harmful is the tobacco smoke, it’s possible that e-cigarettes might be safer because they don’t actually burn tobacco. Even so, the nicotine inside e-cigarettes is still addictive. CONTINUED @ Reuters.com | | | The Next Step, Quietly
Jeff Kober: Actor, Addict, Meditation Host Mr. Kober might look familiar if you’ve ever watched Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, NCIS, Bad Blood, Law and Order or really any television in the last 30 years. We sat down with him to pick his brain on meditation, alcoholism, feelings and ego. | | New Yorkers Get Free Tickets
| | | Hey, Back Over Here
The Addicted Narcissist One of the hardest types of people to deal with is a narcissist in the middle their addiction. They are completely exhausting. The combined selfishness of narcissism and addictive behavior is overpowering, relentless, callous, and frequently abusive. This destructive blend of arrogant thinking in that they are always right and that they do not have a problem leads to devastating consequences. | | | Sober Roommates Wanted, Must Be Rats
Medication Found to Stop Drug, Alcohol Addiction in Rats A drug now approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat high blood pressure has been found to be effective in treating alcoholism and drug addiction. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin were able to halt cocaine and alcohol abuse in experiments involving laboratory rats…after the researchers gave the addicted rats a high dose of an antihypertensive medication called isradipine they no longer showed a preference for the room associated with their drug. CONTINUED @ NewsMax.com | | | Ten Minute VIDEO REPORT
Addiction Crisis: Finding a Solution VIDEO REPORT “I know we can do something about this by approaching it as a disease,” said the Attorney General. “There’s no greater priority, when you look at two or three people dying each day … It is a devastating crisis, a public health epidemic.”…”In 26 days, he’s already put 23 people in treatment. Those are people aho might otherwise be dead,” said Healey. “I know all of us – district attorneys, sherrifs, police – are united in treating this as a disease. | | | Virtually
Virtual Reality Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Alcohol Dependency Heavy boozers who have trouble dealing with their alcohol addiction can now look forward to ‘virtual reality’ therapy, which may help reduce those cravings. The researchers behind the new study are optimistic that virtual reality therapy has the potential to treat patients with alcohol use related disorders. “Virtual-reality therapy has been used to treat phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder,” Han said. | | | Quit Heroin-Become Hot
Me and My Mug Shot: The Face of Addiction Stigma In Ithaca, New York, I was arrested with a large amount of heroin and sentenced to two and a half years in state prison. At the time of my arrest, I was using-as is pretty apparent from the picture-and also selling to support my habit. In my mug shot, my face is blotchy, my hair is all over the place, and I have scabs where I picked at my face while high. It’s pretty horrible. | | | Austerity
Tragic images from drug dens reveal grim reality of addiction in Britain today These disturbing images show the horror of drug addiction in Britain in 2015. In one image, a dirty table is littered with more than a dozen needles alongside used tea bags, spoons, pieces of paper and a pair of scissors. In a second image dozens more used needles lie on a filthy and stained mattress on the floor. Tin foil, plastic bags and cigarette lighters can be seen on the makeshift bed and the whole room is strewn with rubbish including medication bottles, drinks cans and rags. | | | Fungus Get’s It’s Own Opera
‘LSD:The Opera’ powerful musical event On April 19, 1943, a Swiss chemist in Basel treated himself to a small sample of a fungi-based substance, LSD-25, and rode his bicycle home, taking the first acid trip…After Hofmann’s bicycle trip, she deals with the CIA’s top-secret MK Ultra program to marshal LSD as a weapon of mind control. There is a scene between Timothy Leary, who turned on Washington socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer, who then allegedly turned on President John F. Kennedy. | | | Bright Side of the Road
Russell Brand Watches As Van Morrison Performs At Rehab Charity Show Van Morrison performed at a fundraising event for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity in London on Wednesday. The event benefited Focus12, and featured an amazing champagne reception, followed by dinner, a money-can’t-buy auction and spectacular Rock n Roll entertainment with the legendary Van Morrison headlining, at the breathtaking Porchester Hall, London. | | | Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk AUDIO
After Party Podcast w/Anna David AUDIO
Interview with REEL Recovery Film Festival & Symposium creator Leonard Buschel who has become a leading advocate for recovery in ways that no one else has-by creating a film festival and symposium which screens movies relating to alcoholism, addiction, mental health and behavioral disorders in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale. He also publishes and edits the weekly Addiction/Recovery eBulletin. | | | Going to Atlanta? See This Play! VIDEO
The First Play About the Community History of A.A. VIDEO Written and directed by Jackie Bendzinski the Artistic Director of Recovery Works Theater in San Francisco, Our Experience Has Taught Us is not your typical recovery yarn. It distinguishes itself with a grander and more communal scope, telling the group histories of the first A.A. gatherings in Ohio, New York and California, and the conflicts that led to A.A.’s adoption of “The Twelve Traditions.” WEDNESDAY – FRIDAY, JULY 1 – 3, 2015 at 12 noon. The Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth Street Northwest Atlanta, GA. | | Visit the Newsletter ARCHIVES
| | | WRITERS IN TREATMENT
Writers In Treatment a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit 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.
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please click on our: Addiction/Recovery eBulletin Publisher & Editor: Leonard Buschel © 2015 Addiction/Recovery eBulletin | | | |