WELCOME TO HEROIN ANONYMOUS We are heroin addicts who have found a better way of life. No more stealing to cop dope. No more lying to maintain our habit. Being dope sick is a thing of the past. Worrying about our next fix is no longer a problem. Having to get straight in order to function does not exist for us. We have found a way to live that is free from heroin addiction. Read More | Prestigious ‘Scientific American’ says open doors to LSD, MDMA, pot research The editors of Scientific American-the 168-year-old magazine to which scientists like Albert Einstein have contributed-this week called for an end to the national ban on psychoactive drug research, noting that LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and cannabis all “had their origins in the medical pharmacopeia.” More than 1,000 scientific publications chronicled the uses of LSD for psychotherapy during the mid-’60s, and MDMA similarly complemented talk therapy through the ’70s, the article points out. Read More | Scientology’s drug rehab facility in Nevada sued over the usual litany of deceptions Last year, as Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon, was sinking deeper and deeper into trouble, we noticed that an attorney in Las Vegas, Ryan Hamilton, had begun advertising online for Narconon victims. It was another sign of just how bad things were getting for Scientology’s rehab facilities. The consultant then set up an interview with Narconon Fresh Start’s intake director, Josh Penn, who told the Welches that Narconon has a 76 percent success rate. Read More | For vets, rehab rather than prison VIDEO Along with four other veterans, Taucher stood before magistrate Judge Michael Urbanksi in a Veterans Court in Roanoke, Virginia. “It is nice to have a happy occasion in federal court,” Judge Urbanksi told the program graduates. “We don’t see many of those.” Read More | For Past Issues of Addiction/Recovery eBulletin Read More To Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, the singer/songwriter/activist who died Monday at the age of 94, was “the father of American folk music. | Making A Difference Feb. 28, – March 1, 2014 | 6th Annual It Happens to Boys Conference with Jerry Moe-John Lee-Patrick Carns-Judy Crane-Allen Berger February 28, March 1, 2014 Pasadena Hilton. Read More | Shabbos Drug Dealer Gets Five Years in Prison Along with the drugs, the sting operation, which cops called Only After Sundown (get it?), uncovered a sawed-off shotgun, ammunition, a drug ledger, and a BlackBerry filled with the incriminating texts. Awesome batch of dob just came!!!” read one mass text from April 12. “Open from now till 7:30 also blues stix & subs,” referring to a newly acquired Xanax supply and the approaching sundown. Read More | Experience, Strength and Hope Award | 5th Annual Experience, Strength and Hope Award show. Thursday, February 13, 2014 Skirball Cultural Center Los Angeles, CA Honoring Carrie White Headliner Alonzo Bodden | Alcohol dependency in Japan An estimated 6.45 million people in Japan suffer from alcohol-related problems. Among them are 800,000 people who suffer from alcohol dependency severe enough to require medical treatment, yet only 40,000 of them receive such treatment each year. According to the WHO, the harmful use of alcohol kills 2.5 million people a year worldwide and is the third leading risk factor for poor health globally. Read More | Your Next Rehab Location ? | New Statistics: Alcohol consumption by state Beer consumption per capita (in gallons) Wine consumption per capita (in gallons) Liquor consumption per capita (in gallons) Read More | Food addicts: New study measures out-of-control eating VIDEO The Food Addiction Scale asks questions such as: “I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than planned” and “I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I am no longer hungry”. Read More | VIDEO of the MONTH with Dr. Gabor Maté | Dr. Gabor Maté on the Stress-Disease Connection, Addiction and the Destruction of American Childhood In December 2012, Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, did a one-hour interview with Dr. Gabor Maté. It’s old, but Because it’s not on Vimeo or YouTube, this can’t be added to the video section. Democracy Now! special with the Canadian physician and bestselling author, Dr. Gabor Maté. From disease to addiction, parenting to attention deficit disorder, Maté’s work focuses on the centrality of early childhood experiences to the development of the brain, and how those experiences can impact everything from behavioral patterns to physical and mental illness. Read More | Billboards Near Super Bowl Carry Pro-Pot Messages Marijuana Policy Project, which purchased the signs, said the 60-foot-wide digital billboards highlight what the group feels is the hypocrisy of the NFL with its beer sponsors. The Marijuana Policy Project is calling on the NFL to stop punishing players for using pot, especially for medicinal purposes. Read More | | Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead | Why more Americans are getting high – and overdosing – on heroin The sudden, shocking death of Oscar wing actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has brought fresh attention to the source of the addiction that apparently killed him, heroin. The use of the drug has been on the rise in states like Maryland, where 37 deaths have been reported since September, and in Vermont, where the governor devoted his state of the state address to the topic. See Video | 5th Experience Strength & Hope Award, Feb. 13. | Matt Cardle opens up about his ‘drugs and booze’ addiction The singer may have looked fine, but inside he was ‘hooked’ on a concoction of presecription drugs and alcohol The doctor said to me if I’d been left to my own devices for another three or four weeks I might not be here now,” Matt admitted. MATT Cardle’s substance abuse confession shocked fans across the globe. Read More | Eight questions about heroin you were afraid to ask Law enforcement sources have said that Hoffman, 46, was found in the bathroom of his New York apartment with a needle still stuck in his arm. On Monday, CNN cited unnamed law enforcement sources as saying that Hoffman’s apartment was littered with signs of a serious heroin habit. Read More | 501 (c)(3) nonprofit WIT gets treatment for individuals who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction or other self-destructive behaviors. | Publisher: Leonard Buschel | Alcohol ‘a crime’ in pregnancy WOMEN who damage their unborn babies by drinking alcohol during pregnancy could be guilty of a criminal act if an unprecedented legal test case is successful. It argues the mother criminally “poisoned” her unborn child because it has evidence she was warned of the risks if she continued to drink. The child is now in foster care. Read More | E-cigarettes ‘re-normalising’ ‘re-glamorizing’ smoking It contains nicotine and nicotine is highly addictive. And what we don’t want are e-cigarettes to become a gateway to real cigarettes.””If you lived in New Zealand for example you can only buy an e-cigarette at a pharmacy because they regard them entirely as to be governed as a health issue and as a medicine. Read More | National movement in addiction will be no copycat The newest national initiative to raise awareness and resources for substance use treatment and recovery won’t be following the example of past efforts in the field. Gary Mendell frankly has higher ambitions than that. “We’re emulating the national health charities such as the American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks,” says Mendell, who left his executive career in the hotel business to establish Shatterproof. “They are doing enormous good for people in their areas. That’s the model.” Read More | Toronto’s Crack-Smoking Mayor Defends Justin Bieber Toronto Mayor Rob Ford stuck up for Justin Bieber in a radio interview on Thursday, the day after the Canadian singer was charged with assault in his city. The endorsement from Ford doesn’t carry much weight. Yesterday, Ford was accused of attempting to keep his sister’s ex-boyfriend quiet about his past drug use by having him beaten in jail. Read More | Man urinates on liquor store; fails sobriety test According to an arrest report, Brian Keys, 21, drew attention to himself when he pulled from a stop sign in the path of an unmarked detective vehicle on Rangeland Road. The detective said he had to slam on his breaks to avoid a collision. The officer pulled Keys over and smelled a strong alcohol odor coming from the car. According to the report, Keys said he had a beer, a shot and a drinking problem. The detective stated he was hard to understand. Read More | Cop Uses Nasal Spray To Bring Overdose Victim Back From Dead In response to the growing prescription pill epidemic on Staten Island, authorities began training local police in the use of nasal spray to reverse the effects of a drug overdose. And this week, it came in handy: an SI cop used the powerful nasal spray to save a 44-year-old man who was overdosing around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Read More | ‘9 Percent Who Use Cannabis Become Dependent’ Based on Drug War Diagnostics and BAD SCIENCE The survey was based on diagnostic definitions for cannabis dependence that were published in 1987 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (3rd edition, revised) put out by the American Psychiatric Association. This manual has an inherent bias against non-problematic cannabis use and privileges the normalcy of alcohol use. Read More | Meditation from Center for Healthy Sex | “For the past twenty years you and I have been fed all day long on good solid lies about sex.” ~ C.S. Lewis Some sexual myths work like a horror film-knowing perfectly well it’s fake, we still allow ourselves to get scared. An example is the myth that masturbation will make you go blind. We know it’s ridiculous, and yet we might still let ourselves feel a certain apprehension because there’s something inherently scary about sexuality. Read More | | |