Articles, Videos & Breaking News   |  Powered by Writers In Treatment  |  Share with friends, colleagues, staff and clients
December 29, 2015                   Treatment Industry & Recovery Community News                   Vol. 3., No. 20
eBulletin Advertising
Testimonials
Happy New Year!        
American Alcohol Deaths Hit A 35-Year High      

Alcoholism is killing Americans at record rates that haven’t been seen in the past 35 years, a new federal report confirms. Statistics gathered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration back up Cook’s claim that the rise in alcohol consumption has impacted the rate of alcohol-related deaths. It turns out, the number of American’s who consume alcohol at least monthly increased by 2%. This may seem like a small increase, but the effects are still significant.

Just Another Day in Hollywood
MICHAEL LOHAN – KATE MAJOR FILES FOR SEPARATION “He Tried Sabotaging My Rehab”     

Mr. Lohan says, “I never sent Kate any package. The papers say that she got the package from her friends, not me. The treatment center that she’s in, Sovereign Health, is behind this because I’m suing them because the last time Kate was out there they permitted her to sneak into the male dorm and have sex with one of the other patients.

What Went Wrong in America?
New HBO Documentary ‘Heroin: Cape Cod, USA’ – Airs 12/28 AUDIO & VIDEO
     

Cape Cod can be idyllic and beautiful. But, like much of Massachusetts, it’s facing a heroin epidemic. Now, the film “Heroin: Cape Cod, USA” is taking a close look at the problem, following eight addicts as they search for their next high…”Baker said the HBO film dramatically portrays ‘the incredible downward draw that comes with addiction, how powerful it is, and how hard it is to beat it. I consider it to be probably the biggest public health problem we’ve got. 

CONTINUED @ RadioBoston.org  

Martial Arts Recovery VIDEO
For ROBERT DOWNEY JR. –  KUNG FU A KEY TO SOBRIETY   VIDEO     

Robert Downey, Jr. used a rigorous form of Chinese martial arts to help beat his addiction, and the master who taught him couldn’t say enough good things to a judge and California Governor Jerry Brown to support his pardon…Downey had contacted him and wanted to take lessons, but Oram, who learned from the mentor and teacher of Bruce Lee, felt Robert’s addiction was a losing battle. Oram was reluctant to take Downey on, but the actor was persistent, freely acknowledging he needed help.

Please Support Our Sponsors MORE Stories Below

Is Indicadelphia Next?
Pittsburgh Decriminalizes Pot Possession    

Pittsburgh City Council is ending its 2015 legislative session on a high note, having voted Monday morning to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana within city limits. Council voted 7-2 in favor of a bill, sponsored by Councilman Daniel Lavelle, that allows police to levy a fine of up to $100 against anyone possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish.

Answers and Questions  VIDEO
Vietnam, heroin and the lesson of disrupting any addiction VIDEO    

by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Back in 1971, during Operation Golden Flow, it was becoming increasingly clear addiction was a brain disease and that an individual’s biology, along with the genes he or she was born with, accounted for about half of their addiction vulnerability. But the other half was more complicated, a product of their environment and its interplay with genetics. This is where Operation Gold Rush would provide some startling insights. One thing was clear: The soldiers returning from Vietnam were about to…

For Normies VIDEO
The Effects of Chronic Heavy Drinking on Brain Function Are Underdiagnosed VIDEO      

Now, brain imaging is revealing how long-term alcohol abuse can change the structure of the brain, shrinking gray-matter cells in areas that govern learning, memory, decision-making and social behavior, as well as damaging white-matter fibers that connect one part of the brain with others. “As we get older, we all lose a little gray-matter volume and white-matter integrity, but in alcoholics, those areas break down more quickly. It looks like accelerated aging,” says Edith Sullivan, a professor of psychiatry.

Addicts Still Being Sent To Jail
Man admits addiction, receives seven-year prison sentence     

…But it didn’t help Thomas Kelley, 27, of Belleville, who was sentenced earlier this week to seven years in prison for a non-violent drug felony.  Kelley, an admitted drug addict, could have been sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing methamphetamine in a house while a child was present. The child was a 1-year-old. The house was his mother’s house near Belleville.

CONTINUED @ BND.com 

It Has Come To This
Overdose antidote Narcan to be available at Rite Aids     

It will soon be easier to get the opioid-overdose antidote Narcan in New Hampshire. Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a standing order Monday to stock the emergency treatment Narcan at all Rite Aid stores in New Hampshire. “I’m very grateful that Rite Aid stepped up here and is leading the way for New Hampshire pharmacies.”

Addiction/Recovery eBulletin

MEDIA: Book Review
Poet Ellen Smith’s first book collection explores both yoga and alcoholism 

In the 84 pages of Ellen McGrath Smith’s, Nobody’s Jackknife (West End Press), readers will find smart writing utilizing different forms (ghazal, pantoum) that mostly center on alcoholism and yoga. These disparate themes make for a wide-ranging book that allows Smith to explore her speaker’s self with an insight lending itself to hybrid forms and lyrical experimentation, with confessionalism kept to a minimum.

Carded At the Diary Queen
Five Companies Making Beer and Wine Ice Creams 

Nowadays, incomprehension of alcohol and ice cream together are long gone. I see it often all over social media-sorority girls from my college days touting the “ultimate girls’ night treat” of wine ice cream … As for the Vanilla Bock (3.1% ABV), this was more my speed. I am a fan of dark beers and love vanilla, so I was excited to try it. However, it was much more alcoholic-tasting than I expected. .

All The Help We Can Get
Remedies To Reduce Alcohol Cravings     

In many cases, the doctors suggest medication for getting rid of the alcohol cravings, but the natural remedies to reduce alcohol cravings are more effective, as they do not cause side effects of any kind. If you are facing troubles with this abuse, you must be very positive at your heart and mind. People may try to find the best remedies to reduce alcohol cravings, but ultimately your efforts would result in positive outcomes.

A Different Goal
For Jimmy Johnson, son’s turnaround is greater than any football victory     

No money. No options. He drank his way through his job as a stockbroker, his upscale house and cars and most of his friends. Chad Johnson was 42 and sleeping with all his possessions in an old Suburban. Family? Even his famous father, Jimmy Johnson, had cried such tears of pain over his son that he hit his own bottom. He warned Chad that if he didn’t get help, they were done.

Doctors Say, “Keep Coming Back”
Even After OD’ing, many can get refills of opioids

In 70 percent of the cases, the physician who prescribed opioid painkillers after the overdose was the same as the one who wrote the prescription before the overdose. Even after overdosing on opioid medications, more than nine out of 10 patients continued to get prescriptions for the powerful painkillers, according to a new study…

CONTINUED @ SeattleTimes.com 

A New Year for Gratitude
        10th Step from the Editor     

I would like to offer my regrets for sending out a Retraction/ Apology statement I did not write but was forced to sign. It was drafted by the legal team at Sovereign Health of California after threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not comply to their ‘request’. I regretfully signed it and sent it to all of our 25,000 subscribers. Well, they sued me anyway. Go figure.

READ MORE   

Rates for eBulletin Advertising

2016 UPCOMING EVENTS

2016 Experience, Strength & Hope Awards – Honoring MACKENZIE PHILLIPS

Ed Begley Jr. HOST, with Bob Forrest, and 
Alonzo Bodden HEADLINER

Tuesday, February 16, 2016   

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049   
Call for more information:
818-762-0461

Catered Networking Reception: 5:30-7:30 
Show: 7:30-9:00

12th Stepping The World
Bradley Cooper’s Thoughts On Sobriety Might Make You Consider Moderation    

Having recently heard Bradley Cooper say being sober for 11 years changed his life and saved his career, it’s maybe good to ponder cutting back this holiday season and a bit in 2016. Worth a thought. Maybe there’s something to the whole sobriety thing…”The one thing that I’ve learned in life is the best thing I can do is embrace who I am and then do that to the fullest extent, and then whatever happens, happens.”

Popular Opinion  AUDIO
‘US drug industry, doctors contribute to overdose deaths’  AUDIO    

“Many doctors overprescribe painkillers because they have relationships with pharmaceutical companies and they get pay offs,” said James Petras, a professor emeritus of sociology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, and adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. “Secondly, the pharmaceutical companies themselves directly advertise their painkillers and make it easy for people to access them CONTINUED @ PressTV.ir  

A Look Back  VIDEO
Drug & Sex Addiction + Celebrity with Leonard Buschel  VIDEO     

Drug and sex addiction, plus the creative impulse to excess is examined with addiction expert Leonard Buschel. Behavioral disorders, the cycle of dependence and self-destruction, and the human condition are all explored–with attention paid to the influence of celebrity and genetics in addiction (as well as the 12-step program). We also hear why Shame, starring Michael Fassbender is one of the best depictions of addiction in this uncensored Media Mayhem hosted by Allison Hope Weiner. 

CONTINUED @ YouTube.com 

Please Support Our Sponsors MORE Stories Below

Sober Living Never Looked So…interesting
Brooklyn Filmmaker Nathan Silver Talks His Latest, Stinking Heaven VIDEO    

…Stinking Heaven drops us in the middle a sober living house in Passaic, New Jersey without few hints as to what’s happening here. Things spiral out of control, and the house becomes the center of a chaotic, dark-as-hell comedy on the perils of communal living and human error.

Talking About Wet ‘Bottoms’
Woman Steals Bidet to Fund Heroin Addiction     

…Erin Marlene Casados, 33, tried to sell a bidet, a European toilet fixture, after stealing it from the front porch of a Redding residen … Investigator Brian Torum saw the advertisement on Craigslist during the morning hours on Tuesday. According to Redding police, the ad indicated the bidet was “new in box” and the poster, “Jessica,” was asking $300 for it. Torum sent a text message to the poster of the ad, offering $275 for the bidet and arranged to meet in the parking lot of the Taco Bell…

CONTINUED @ KRCRTV.com 

It Works If You CLOSE THEM
‘Pill Mill’ Crackdown Linked to Fewer Painkiller Overdose Deaths in Florida     

A crackdown on Florida’s “pill mills” – clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations – appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and may have also led to a drop in heroin overdose deaths, new research suggests.

Sponsors include: Breathe LA, Hotel California, His House/New Creation…

 
Staying On Top
Demi Lovato Shares Inspiring Message on Addiction: ‘I Am Grateful to Be in Recovery Today”    

“Let’s stop ignoring the biggest problem in our country we often don’t want to look at. We all are connected to this issue one way or another and we all need to be part of the solution. Together we can replace shame with support, hope, and healing.” The “Confident” singer has become a powerful voice for the movement since she sought treatment for drug abuse, eating disorders, and cutting in 2010.

CONTINUED @ People.com 

Look Up Your State
Which drug is most likely to kill YOU? Calculator predicts overdose risk by state, age and substance    

Alcohol-related deaths were widespread in Alaska, Wyoming and Minnesota. Alaska had the highest amount of alcohol overdoses – at 16.35 deaths per 100,000 people. Conversely, psychostimulant deaths were small – if not non-existance – in most states – with Hawaii, California and Arizona as the exceptions. Most states have a high number of prescription opioid-related death, but the District of Columbia, Illinois and Connecticut are outliers. Connecticut and Illinois have a ‘substantial amount’ of heroin overdose deaths – suggesting that prescription painkiller users may have switched to heroin in those states.

Ever The Rebel VIDEO
California’s governor pardons Robert Downey Jr for 1996 drug conviction that sent actor to prison VIDEO     

Governor Jerry Brown’s office announced Thursday that Downey, 50, was among 91 people receiving Christmas pardons for criminal convictions after showing they had rehabilitated themselves. Downey was convicted of felony drug possession after he was stopped for speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County in June 1996 and authorities found heroin, cocaine…About an hour before the pardons were made public, Downey tweeted an animated image of himself and some Christmas stockings with the text, “You’re only on the naughty list if you get caught… #HappyAlmostChristmas.”

No, They Wouldn’t Dare
Makers of OxyContin Bankroll Efforts to Undermine Prescription Painkiller Reform 

The pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market OxyContin, Vicodin, and other highly addictive opioid painkillers – drugs that have fueled the epidemic of overdoses and heroin addiction – are funding nonprofit groups fighting furiously against efforts to reform how these drugs are prescribed … (photo Raymond and Beverly Sackler – Owners Perdue Pharma)

Another Non 12-Step Method
Ayahuasca: a Possible Cure for Alcoholism and Depression     

He’s not the only alcoholic to renounce booze after an experience with the mystical drink. In 2010, after a decade of failed treatments, Robert Rhatigan took a trip to the Peruvian Amazon, where he participated in four rituals conducted by a shaman. During a speech at a TEDx event, he recounted how he “saw” the “several components from his mind floating in space…The one that corresponded to his alcohol addiction no longer fit in…

CONTINUED @ Vice.com 

Street Life
Dr. Jonathan Horey: Treating addiction is the way to end homelessness     

Unfortunately, the typical response to homelessness and substance abuse has been incarceration. But jail is only a Band-Aid that ends up contributing to the homelessness problem. While it may get these non-violent drug offenders off the streets temporarily, their addictive disorders or co-occurring conditions – as many who suffer from addiction also have a mental illness – never get treated.

Death American Style
Overdose deaths from a type of legal drug hit record numbers – and that’s not the most disturbing part of the problem     

Heroin use in the US is skyrocketing. The number of people using this powerful, addictive drug has grown by nearly 300,000 in the past decade, and more and more people are dying from overdose. But while tragic, these numbers are still outshadowed by another, equally disturbing statistic: The rise in deaths from people overdosing on powerful, legal opioid painkillers such as Vicodin…

Happy New Year LGBT Community
You Are The Champions VIDEO 5:105:10

Original Song “We Are the Champions” by Queen Remix by DJ LGBT – Michael O’Neill. Produced by Jordan Lieb and Michael O’Neill. 

CONTINUED @ YouTube 

Go Make a Movie
REEL Recovery Film Festival

is a social, educational, networking and recovery forum showcasing first-time filmmakers and experienced professionals who make films about addiction, recovery, mental health, and social issues. Our audience is treatment professionals, people in recovery, members of the entertainment industry, media representatives, educated moviegoers and the general public.

Our Cities include: New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Ft Lauferdale, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Vancouver.

If you would like to bring the REEL Recovery Film Festival to your area, please call 818-762-0461.

SUBMISSION FORM 

 

Addiction/Recovery eBulletin Publisher & Editor:  
Leonard Buschel  

© 2015 Addiction/Recovery eBulletin 


 

 

 

 

 

December 29 Addiction Recovery eBulletin