Alcohol is the most commonly used substance among young people in the U.S Data from several national surveys document the use of alcohol among young people.

COVID-19 has contributed to an increase in demand for mental health services, but anxiety and sadness are not the only mental health concerns individuals are confronting. Experts assert that abuse of opioids and stimulants is on the rise—and psychologists are well-placed to assist. Subjects with substance use disorders (SUD) are also more prone to acquire COVID-19 and suffer poorer COVID-19 outcomes, including an increased risk of hospitalization and fatality (Wang, Q., et al., Molecular Psychiatry, 2020). As of June 2020, 13% of Americans reported having or increasing substance usage as [...]

A new study out of the University of Chicago Medicine following young adult drinkers for 10 years has found that individuals who reported the highest sensitivity to alcohol's pleasurable and rewarding effects at the start of the trial were more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder (AUD) over the course of the study.   Read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210105084649.htm

Steven Kelty had been addicted to crack cocaine for 32 years when he tried a different kind of treatment last year, one so basic in concept that he was skeptical. He would come to a clinic twice a week to provide a urine sample, and if it was free of drugs, he would get to draw a slip of paper out of a fishbowl. Half contained encouraging messages — typically, “Good job!” — but the other half were vouchers for prizes worth between $1 and $100. Read more https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/health/meth-addiction-treatment.html

According to a recently published report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Mexico continues to have the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths in the country. New Mexico’s alcohol-related death rate of 52.3 per 100,000 population was almost twice the U.S. rate for the years 2011 through 2015. The average U.S. alcohol-related death rate per 100,000 population was 27.4 for the same period. The CDC report used data from the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) application. ARDI is a measure of total deaths associated with alcohol use, including [...]

The founder of a Los Angeles sober-living facility is facing 20 years in prison for running a $175 million phony health care billing scheme. Christopher Bathum pleaded no contest Monday to 14 felony counts of grand theft, insurance fraud, identity theft and money laundering, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced. Bathum, who once described himself as “the rehab mogul,” ran 13 Community Recovery drug and alcohol treatment centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties and six in Colorado. He used patient information to obtain health insurance policies in [...]

“As we get into the holiday season here, that can be more prevalent in people’s lives,” said Program Director Bob Sharits. “A lot of people get depressed around the holidays. Please don’t sit in your uncomfortability and your mental health issues or substance abuse issues by yourself. Reach out to someone. Ask for help.” In addition to depression, anxiety is another common mental health issue people often struggle with around the holidays. “The more we get into the holidays, with family coming in and shopping to be done and schedules [...]

Researchers found that the combination of ketamine – a dissociative anesthetic – and behavioral therapy helped patients with alcohol use disorder maintain abstinence and regain it faster after relapse, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. About 15 million U.S. adults suffer from alcohol use disorder, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The condition is characterized by various factors, including consuming alcohol in large amounts, the inability to reduce alcohol intake, alcohol cravings and continued use despite adverse social consequences. In the [...]

Substance abuse is a problem that the community should recognize a collective obligation to address, writes the author. In this September 2017 photo, Oregon Recovers, a coalition advocating for comprehensive prevention, treatment and recovery support services for substance addiction, holds its inaugural rally in Portland. Courtesy of Oregon Recovers Julie Dodge Dodge is interim dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Concordia University-Portland. I am what is known in the recovery community as a “normie.” This means that I am like most of you reading this. National [...]

Opioid abuse is serious, but we can’t let it distract us from the need for new initiatives to combat by far the most tenacious drug problem in the islands. You wouldn’t think we’d ever lose track of a scourge as devastating and prevalent as methamphetamine abuse. After all, meth-related problems are still filling up our emergency rooms, and it’s the most common substance used in Hawaii by people admitted to substance abuse treatment centers. Meth use hasn’t diminished, but our awareness of it has. If we’re serious about addressing issues [...]

Every day, an average of 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The economic impact of prescription opioid abuse alone was a staggering $179.4 billion in 2018, according to a recent report by the Society of Actuaries. That includes $72.6 billion in mortality costs, $60.4 billion in health care costs, $26.5 billion in lost productivity, and $10.9 billion in criminal justice system costs. Clearly, the opioid addiction crisis is too large for any one entity or sector to combat alone—it impacts every segment of society. So, [...]

  As the police chief of Newtown in Hamilton County, a police officer for over 20 years, and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I’ve dedicated my life to serving my community and country. I know the addiction epidemic in our state is one of the most critical and complex public health and social issues of our time. After seeing an entire family die from addiction, an entire generation of brothers lost and grandparents raising the kids left behind, I have realized that what we have done in [...]

(THE CONVERSATION) “It has been many long, hard, agonizing battles for the last few years and you fought like a warrior every step of the way. Addiction, however, won the war. To the person who doesn’t understand addiction, she is just another statistic who chose to make a bad decision.” Despite working nearly two decades as an addiction scientist, I cannot read Kelsey Grace Endicott’s mother’s eulogy without crying. The opioid epidemic has turned those who lost their lives to addiction into statistics, while leaving their families in sorrow. Overdose [...]

Many options are available when selecting a treatment program. The ultimate goal of drug and alcohol abuse treatment is to stop the abuse and allow people to lead active, productive lives, reuniting them with family, and re-integrating them into the workplace and community. One of the major challenges is keeping patients in treatment long enough to learn the methods how to overcome the obstacles that block them from recovery. This is why it is critical to find the right treatment to match each person’s specific needs. Drug and alcohol abuse [...]

Eleven Activities to Choose From So You Won't Be Bored: Many people in recovery from substance abuse who are contemplating getting clean and sober and changing their lifestyle are often in fear of what their life will be like afterwards. Usually the rush people get from drinking and using becomes just as addicting as using. It becomes part of the lifestyle for most and the fear of not being able to find something to do after one gets clean and sober can be a serious concern. There are many activities [...]

Life is so precious as we all know. But, through our lives some of us tend to go down the wrong path, leading us to somewhere we find very hard to get back from. We don't head down this path on purpose, it just happens. Addictions sneak up on us very slowly, and sooner or later the addiction grabs us and takes control of our lives. If this has happened to you, then what we need to do is to take a good look at ourselves and try to figure out [...]

Most everyone has heard the adage "You reap what you sow". Nothing could be truer when you are talking about the life of a practicing alcoholic or drug addict. This has been my experience and the thousands I have met and counseled in my 21 plus years of sobriety. The biggest problem is that in the midst of the disease we don't view it that way because it is always someone, something or someplace that has caused the "reaping" it is never what we "sowed". But the reality is, and we begin to first learn this in the early stages of recovery, that it is always my actions that causes the reactions that I get from life and others. The great news for each and everyone one of us is that what was true in the madness of the addiction is also true in the process of our recovery. In other words, reaping and sowing are part of my life regardless of my current condition.

Perhaps, this is your first time to decide that you are already going to quit drinking alcoholic beverages. The very big step to begin this process is that you stop alcohol cravings.

Can marijuana be an effective treatment to keep people off opioids? A new Illinois program aims to prevent opioid addiction by allowing patients to take a prescription for painkillers and use it for cannabis instead. This comes as a new study from the National Safety Council shows that more people are likely to die from opioid overdose than from a car crash. An edited transcript below is from our conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, a Chicago family physician and director of the Center for Multi-System Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic at the [...]

Throughout my journey of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous, miracles have come to me in abundance. The promises have astoundingly materialized in every element of my daily life and the rewards of sobriety are beyond what my imagination could have ever visualized or dreamed of. I was miraculously given a chance in my life to live.   The post Unity in Alcoholics Anonymous appeared first on Addiction to Rehabilitation.  

Suboxone, deemed by some as the miracle pill, has recently become a much more sought after solution than its widespread alternative, Methadone. Due to the fact that there are very few doctors that can prescribe the drug and its extremely high cost, the majority of addicts are forced to settle for methadone maintenance programs.

For the true alcoholic, this is a mind bending question; an almost unreachable proposition. People who are trapped in a cycle of addiction find it extremely difficult to visualize the sober life. They might start to envision such a life, but the illusion immediately breaks down for them, because they know that they would not be happy living that way.

In alcohol and drug recovery, a Sober Living Environment is referred to as an SLE. The SLE is what could be called the middle ground in your path to recovery. Living at an SLE can be like a family in many ways. You are responsible to take care of yourself. If you are willing, to ask those who work at these houses to help you gather the information you may need, your journey in recovery will be more rewarding, and have a better chance of success. The SLE is where [...]

My time in rehab for an opioid addiction left me humiliated and desperate to know why my friends were dying. Now a wave of app developers is trying to do things differently. My dad’s company had season tickets to the White Sox. On muggy Midwest summer days, we’d go as a family—always sitting in the same seats, 25 rows above first base. I told this to a counselor I’ll call Bill when he asked me to remember a childhood memory. It was part of the confrontational circle, a form of [...]

If you are considering a new path in recovery and addressing the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction, you may have some questions or concerns which need to be addressed. Recovery from drugs or alcohol is not just a resolution but a life-changing way of living. As you embrace the change you desire, you should be prepared for the changes your body will experience. What is Detox Detoxification, or “detox” is considered the period of time in which the human body rids itself of the toxins produced by alcohol or [...]

If you are concerned someone you love is experimenting with drugs there are several things you should look for before you bound to conclusions about the situation. The first thing you should identify is the symptoms of drug use. Also, you should be conscious that different drugs have different symptoms. Detecting symptoms of drug abuse If you are concerned that a child or teen might be experimenting with drugs, you should check out their social friends and activities. Friends have a lot of influence on children and teens and if [...]

If you are looking for a good rehab for meth addicts, you have to be conscious that there is an overwhelming option available. Therefore, it is critical that you take as much time as you require to gather important information about the different rehab facilities catering to meth addicts. Remember that these patients require special care and attention; hence, it is only appropriate to find a facility that will be able to give them the proper treatment. Locating the right meth treatment facility will significantly decrease the chances of relapse. [...]

NEW YORK — "Sesame Street" is taking a new step to try to help kids navigate life in America — it's tackling the opioid crisis. Sesame Workshop is exploring the backstory of Karli, a bright green, yellow-haired friend of Elmo's whose mother is battling addiction. The initiative is part of the Sesame Street in Communities resources available online. "Sesame Street" creators said they turned to the issue of addiction since data show 5.7 million children under age 11 live in households with a parent with substance use disorder. "There's nothing [...]

If a person's teeth decay at a faster rate it could result in Meth mouth and it usually happens in persons who use meth. The teeth of such persons become very black and highly stained and they appear rotten and are likely to drop any moment. Whenever there is a usual decay in a person it occurs at the back of his mouth as well as in the teeth grooves. This is mainly because of the fact that these surfaces are hard to clean. On the other hand, the tooth [...]

Take up a new hobby. What interests you? Indoor or outdoor sports, yoga, camping, sewing, knitting, pottery, photography, scrapbooking, painting, music, dancing, cooking, baking, writing, or travel. Even try some that don't interest you, you never know, you might find something you like or look at it differently now that you're sober. Find a hobby you like and get good at it. Once you find something you love, push yourself to be the best you can be at it. Enter competitions or try making money from your hobby. Setting goals [...]

An Oneonta business and its employees take the spotlight in a new documentary by Delaware County resident Jessica Vecchione, producer of the 2017 documentary “Smacked! Heroin Addiction and Recovery in Rural America.” “A Slice of Hope” offers a vignette of the day-to-day operations of Sal’s Pizzeria, a downtown Oneonta eatery where many of the employees are recovering from alcohol and drug addictions. Read more at: https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/new-film-to-explore-addiction-recovery/article_5ba29a36-a47a-54d9-a500-d2294276c69a.html

This week, I got to attend my oldest daughter’s D.A.R.E. program at her public school. In case you didn’t know, “D.A.R.E.” stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, and it’s a short-term program that 10-12-year-olds go through every year to learn about the negative effects of drug and alcohol use. It’s the same program I went through in late elementary school. It still uses the same songs, the same mascot, and the same message of drug/alcohol abstinence. Read more at: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/childhood-behavioral/2019/05/the-d-a-r-e-program-is-missing-the-biggest-piece-in-the-substance-abuse-puzzle/

Beginning July 1, Pinellas County will have access to 10 beds for individuals suffering from drug or alcohol abuse. That’s 10 more beds than the county currently has. By comparison, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties each have 30 beds available. Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters, whose top priority has been mental health and substance abuse treatment, worked with the Hillsborough mental health and substance abuse treatment program ACTS to create availability for up to 10 patients at a time at the North Pinellas adult residential facility on Keystone Road. Read more [...]

Homelessness and basic human health needs are swamping Seattle’s emergency services. A pilot program for the Seattle Fire Department will create a new team to handle the thousands of 911 calls that need real responses but aren’t emergency medical situations. Read more at: https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2019/05/swamped-with-non-emergency-911-calls-seattle-fire-testing-new-response-team-for-homelessness-substance-abuse-and-mental-health-issues/

Community leaders are coming together to help those suffering from mental illness and substance abuse issues. Eight locations across the country have been chosen to participate in a unique collaboration effort. “Better meet the needs of people with serious mental illnesses, and co-occurring substance abuse disorders,” clinical social worker Michele Saunders said. Jackson-Madison County received the grant from the SAMHSA Gains Center. Wednesday was day two of the meeting. “They’re helping our pool and get our focus that can better serve us as a collaborative, but also serve the people,” [...]

Rehab Digital Journal is for those who like reading the newspaper, well in digital form anyway about news in the addiction treatment industry and the many impacts it has on our lives and society. Yes for some old (school) people, the newspaper is still one of our primary news sources. No doubt, online news sources are easier to access, great for on-the-go reading and are more easily shareable. News is updated as it happens — . Read more at: https://rehabs.news  

Tucked between a barbershop and an antique store along a dark highway into Knoxville, Ky., the Flatiron Club is easy to miss driving by at night. Its only announcement, completely invisible in the dark, is a small, unlit sign above the door. Inside, two older men and a woman holding a Styrofoam cup loiter in the fluorescent-lit space. A nearby foldout table and chairs sit unused. A young man, thick-armed in a tight black shirt, walks in. “Sorry,” an older man tells him, “the meeting’s been canceled — the organizers [...]

This week, a federal appeals court addressed the right to treatment for an inmate who suffers from opioid addiction, a move that legal advocates say could have wide repercussions. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston ruled that a rural Maine jail must provide Brenda Smith with medication for her opioid use disorder. One of her attorneys, Emma Bond, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Maine, says the new ruling has the potential to create a "big signal" for jails across the country and [...]

It comes as figures showed drug-related deaths in Scotland are now 2.5 times that of other UK countries. The total for 2018 is expected to top 1,000 for the first time. The Commons Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) will begin an inquiry on Tuesday to see why the numbers are so high and what the Scottish Parliament can do. Drug legislation is currently reserved for Westminster. Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48150235

Being that there are approximately 21.5 million Americans who struggle with addiction each year, one would venture to say that substance abuse is a relevant topic in today’s world. Even more troubling, 80% of those same people also struggle with an issue with alcohol. Eight million people struggle with what is called a co-occurring disorder, or “double trouble.” One question that continues to raise many arguments though is addiction a choice? Or, is it something more? The National Institute on Drug Abuse says addiction is hard-wired into our brains. Brains [...]

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has released a plan to spend $100 billion over a decade to improve mental health care and fight substance abuse, an issue the Minnesota senator has faced firsthand as the daughter of an alcoholic who struggled with addiction for years before getting sober. The wide-ranging plan, released Friday, includes funding for early intervention of mental health disorders and drug use, a national suicide prevention campaign, better access to opioid addiction and other types of treatment, and recruitment of health care workers to underserved rural areas [...]

Did you know 192 people die in America every day from drug overdose? That means 192 families lose someone every day. Survivors of people lost to drug addiction share their stories on the Addiction Policy Forum website to increase awareness. What these families learned could help save the life of someone you love. 1. Don’t ignore signs. Families often realize in hindsight that signs were there. “At first we didn’t see the signs, but we began to notice his moodiness, saying he was doing one thing but finding out later [...]

COLUMBUS — Roughly 2,000 middle and high-school students from across Ohio descended on the state capital Tuesday to make the point that they, and the majority of their fellow students, do not abuse drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. “I think it’s important for legislators, governors, and people who are concerned about the drug problem to listen to you,” Gov. Mike DeWine told the crowd shortly before it began its march across a Scioto River bridge to the Statehouse. The event dovetails with the governor’s budget proposal to tackle, in conjunction with [...]

"It's very prevalent within the United States," said Sarah Mudd a therapist at SSM Health Treatment and Recovery Center at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in St. Charles. "I was reading an article from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. And in 2015, 15.1 million American adults suffered from alcoholism. Now that was just in 2015 so you can imagine the numbers have greatly increased since then." The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence estimates as many as 20 million individuals and family members are living lives [...]

A South Augusta neighborhood’s opposition to a drug alcohol treatment center moving into a former convent there hasn’t waned and the neighborhood, Green Meadows, has two attorneys scheduled to speak on its behalf Tuesday. A South Augusta neighborhood’s opposition to a drug alcohol treatment center moving into a former convent there hasn’t waned and the neighborhood, Green Meadows, has two attorneys scheduled to speak on its behalf Tuesday. Read more at: https://www.augustachronicle.com/news/20190429/drug-treatment-center-opposed-by-green-meadows-community-returns-for-vote

Once you are ready to go to rehab, you want to choose a program and a location that suits your addiction and your needs. Here’s how to choose. One in seven Americans faces some type of substance addiction. Although addiction is a common disease, it can still take a serious toll on your life if you don’t do anything about it. Luckily, there are many advanced rehab options out there that can help you overcome addiction. When choosing the right rehab, there are a number of things to consider before [...]

MUNCIE — The Delaware County Prevention Council is seeking proposals for projects that address the issues of abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs in Delaware County. These proposals must fall into one of three areas: prevention/education, intervention/treatment, and justice/law enforcement. The proposal must also be directly linked to one of the objectives listed in the current DCPC Comprehensive Plan, which utilizes the local drug-free communities fund, according to a release. The list of objectives is part of the application packet. The grant application packet is available online at dcpreventionpartners.org. [...]

Bryan Snow, an electrician from Peabody, knows about the pain opioid addiction can inflict on a family. The 41-year-old spent years battling the disease, not seeking the help he needed, in part because of attitudes in the construction industry. Snow, drug-free now for seven years, said the industry must work to encourage those struggling with addiction to come forward to get treatment. “It needs to be out there: ‘If you need help, you can come. It’s OK,’ ” Snow said. Read more at: https://www2.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/04/28/construction-industry-workers-battling-addiction-want-help/EDez0lAHMvmT98k3n4F94O/story.html

It’s not unusual for work to be part of the equation in addiction recovery — a job can provide access to health insurance, and some business owners want to help. But a company called the Cenikor Foundation is turning recovery into unpaid labor, often in unsafe conditions. For the first 18 months of the 2-year program, they don't get to keep any of the money they earn from that work. Cenikor keeps it, as the cost of its program. The company also enrolls its participants in government assistance, including Medicaid [...]

Some people may be more genetically prone to cannabis addiction, finds a new UCL-led study. The researchers say their investigation of three genetic markers, published in Addiction Biology, could inform why some people become dependent on cannabis. "We were interested in asking whether these genetic markers could predict addiction-related responses after inhaling doses of cannabis, such as how much our attention is drawn to cannabis-related pictures," said lead researcher Dr. Chandni Hindocha (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit). The researchers were investigating three different markers of genetic variation which have previously been [...]

On a spring morning in 2017, in a Grand Hyatt ballroom in midtown Manhattan, Michael Cartwright took the stage and talked about growth. “There’s no great brand out there—Nike, whatever you consider a great brand out there today—that doesn’t have a great sales and marketing platform,” he told the audience of health care investors and executives attending a UBS-sponsored confab. That’s why, Cartwright said, his company—American Addiction Centers, the nation’s only publicly traded addiction treatment chain—had built a thriving marketing machine. And it was vast. Some 65 sales reps marketed [...]

Five Fascinating Benefits of CBD for Anxiety Unless you have the patience of a saint, it is likely that at one point or another you have felt like tearing your hair out due to a bout of stress. The pace of modern life can be far too hectic for us to deal with at times, but we seem to just bury our heads in the sand and carry on through the mental storm to get things done. Just like post-traumatic stress or a panic disorder, anxiety is a hideously unpredictable [...]

It's the first time the mindfulness approach has been studied in a large randomized trial as an adjunct treatment. The training helps people better understand the physical and emotional signals in their body and how they can respond to these to help them better regulate and engage in self-care. "We could teach this intervention successfully in eight weeks to a very distressed population, and participants not only really learned these skills, they maintained increases in body awareness and regulation over the yearlong study period," said Cynthia J. Price, a research [...]

For the first time, Massachusetts prisons are providing a medication to treat opioid addiction to newly arriving inmates, as the state launches a groundbreaking program established by legislation passed last year. For now, the Department of Correction is providing just one of the two medications required under the law, which took effect Monday. Still, the change puts Massachusetts ahead of most prisons and jails in the country, where the medications are usually denied.  

A new report shows that only four states provide adequate insurance coverage for addiction treatment. In a finding that brings bad news as America struggles with an opioid epidemic, a new report shows that only four states provide adequate insurance coverage for addiction treatment. "We are calling on states to ensure health plans cover the full range of effective addiction treatments and address the serious gaps identified in this report," said report author Lindsey Vuolo. She is director of health law and policy at Center on Addiction, in New York [...]

Thirty-four adults celebrated recovery on Friday as Hennepin County Drug Court (Minneapolis, MN) recognized them during a graduation ceremony. The drug court program aims to break the cycle of chemical dependency and crime for nonviolent offenders. Lindsay Arf has been sober for three years and two months – almost as long as she was in the Hennepin County Drug Court program. “The only way to get sober was to go through treatment and get help,” Arf said. Arf battled drug addiction for 12 years. After she got arrested, she knew [...]

Three former addicts who started the Spiritual Soldier’s Coffee Compound on Erie Street are proving life in recovery without alcohol or drugs doesn’t have to be mundane and isolating. “The three of us were kind of hanging out every single day and people were asking us through social media … they were saying things like ‘Are you sure you guys are sober?’ because we were having so much fun,” said 24-year-old recovered opioid addict Bianca Oliverio. “We thought to ourselves, ‘What if we could create a space where everyone could [...]

Changing lives for over 5 years, we are totally a drug and alcohol-free sober living environment for men and well respected in the recovery community. Two men share a room. Amenities include a free washer & dryer, living room & family room with televisions, refrigerators, food storage, and a full kitchen. Residents have access to an internet-ready computer, free high-speed WI-FI, HD cable tv, propane grill, and common areas. Stater Bros., Albertsons, Seven-day Foods, Asian Market shopping, Walgreen’s, Starbuck’s, Barbershop, and US Post Office nearby. https://theplacesoberliving.com  

If there is a more effective way to destroy a human soul than addiction, I’m not sure I want to know what it is. People can become physically addicted to all sorts of substances: alcohol, illegal drugs like heroin and meth, or legal drugs like opioids that promise relief from chronic pain and replace it with chronic dope-like dependency. It’s not only the addicts who suffer. Brothers, sisters, parents, children, grandparents, and friends are often trapped in the addict’s loop of desperation, anguish, and crushed hopes.  

The L. Ruby Horwood Center, located at 711 Lawn Ave., opened last month to offer outpatient counseling and intensive outpatient services for individuals abusing or addicted to alcohol. It can serve up to 300 people in the region. People seeking treatment for alcohol addiction and those seeking help for opioid addiction have very different needs in treatment and recovery, according to local treatment advocates. But until recently, both populations went through the same program at Penn Foundation. Now, that’s changed. Penn Foundation has opened a new outpatient alcohol-specific treatment facility [...]

Comedians close to Artie Lange, “MADtv” star and former sidekick on “The Howard Stern Show,” have taken to Twitter to urge the struggling comedian to seek treatment for severe drug addiction. Stand up comic and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Richard Lewis tweeted a heart wrenching statement Thursday. “Artie, this is my 1000th request over decades to beg you to surrender to your addictions,” Lewis wrote. “We had the most laughs sober. I love you. You’re beloved and a magnificent comedian cursed with self loathing and fear. Give it up and [...]

The circle of chairs has achieved a culturally iconic status. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings are so prevalent in television dramas that you'd think the 12-step program was sponsoring the networks. But in the past few years, a new recovery paradigm has risen fast. And it owes more to entrepreneurs and "lifestyle designers" such as Tim Ferriss than a higher power. You might recognize Jack Nagle as the face beneath headlines such as '"I was bonkers — former junkie tells all". The founder of Real Drug Talk was once [...]

When Michael Poster was a boy nearly seven decades ago, neighbors his current age would ask what he hoped to do when he grew up. “No kid ever says, ‘I want to be a heroin addict,’” the Dummerston resident notes. “But that’s what I became.” A teenage Poster used and sold drugs to escape anxiety and depression, only to eventually stop and work as a motorcycle mechanic, then an artist, carpenter, cabinetmaker, businessman, and finally a photographer. Reaching retirement age at 65, he came full circle and visited the local [...]

Alternating between patience and impatience, Bradley Saxon is getting ready to open up his drug recovery center in Anderson. Saxon, a teaching pastor at Crossover Community Church, has been sober for 14 years. Before that, he used to sell and use drugs in Anderson. In the last two years, he's been selling vision and T-shirts. The vision, the Bridge Center Recovery, is within months of becoming a reality and hundreds of people have bought into the vision by attending his Monday night ministry. The shirts have the words "The Bridge [...]

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) this week continued his efforts to end methamphetamine addictions in his home state and across the country by urging the federal government to quickly develop Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently is pursuing MAT to combat meth addiction via seven ongoing NIH-funded trials. MATs exist for opioids, alcohol and other drugs, but not for treating meth addictions, according to a Dec. 17 letter Sen. Daines sent to NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins. “In Montana, we have a crisis wreaking havoc [...]

We like to say we’re addicted to our phones or an app or some new show on a streaming video service. But for some people, tech gets in the way of daily functioning and self-care. We’re talking flunk-your-classes, can’t-find-a-job, live-in-a-dark-hole kinds of problems, with depression, anxiety, and sometimes suicidal thoughts part of the mix. Suburban Seattle, a major tech center, has become a hub for help for so-called “tech addicts,” with residential rehab, psychologists who specialize in such treatment and 12-step meetings. “The drugs of old are now repackaged. We [...]

Spending a night bent over a toilet might not be most people's idea of a good time, but Simon (not his real name) is thrilled. He's a loud and excitable person, the kind of guy who says your name frequently in conversation, and at the age of 36, he's had a serious drinking problem for most of his life. "Let me tell you, Katie," he said. "Ever since I started drinking, back when I was a child—there's something in me, Katie. I just can't stop." Simon has been in and [...]

Those in charge of a new residential, abstinence-based addiction treatment facility in Clarksville say they want to make a difference in Southern Indiana, and they're ready to be part of the solution to healing the community of addiction. Sunrise Recovery, a 35-bed facility, which provides medically supervised detoxification, therapy and recovery programming, opened Dec. 3 on Blackiston View Court in Clarksville. Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, CEO and 20-year internist in the U.S., said the center is aimed at healing the whole person. "We take more of a holistic approach," Kapoor said. [...]

Former Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor has resurfaced, after being treated for a drug addiction, in a recently released TEDx Talk given to a full house at the Vernon Area Public Library during which he discussed his recovery process. Lawlor described how he suffered from depression, alcohol and drug addiction during the YouTube talk, which is modeled after the famous Ted conferences that started in 1984 as a conference on Technology, Entertainment and Design. ...to continue reading

Am I crazy or am I seeing homeless people everywhere? I suspect that you have been seeing them, too. I am talking about people without a stable place to live. These folks are living in RVs, under bridges, in hotels, out of cars or camping outside. They don’t have apartments or houses. I have been talking with the heads of local social work agencies. I want to give you a picture of what is happening in our community. ...to continue reading

At the dawn of Prohibition in the 1920s, the Federal Council of Churches nationwide believed the elimination of alcohol consumption would eradicate social evils. Citing biblical verse from Corinthians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, Titus and Matthew, among others, drunkenness is condemned, while temperate, sober living is commanded. The 18th Amendment of Prohibition was later overturned after the restrictive nature of alcohol production, consumption and sale was forced into the black market underground. ...to continue reading

Sobs filled a packed McHenry County, Ill., courtroom Thursday from relatives and supporters of John Galloway, pleading for the admitted former heroin addict to receive probation for supplying the drugs on which his friend overdosed. But the judge ruled that Galloway, 21, must serve prison time for his role in the death of Jake Czipo of Crystal Lake. Galloway pleaded guilty in October to possession of heroin with intent to deliver in connection to the May 2017 death of Czipo, 20, and in exchange a more serious charge of drug-induced [...]

When there’s a real desire to improve, everybody deserves at least two-second chances, Capt. Dwaine Breazeale of the Salvation Army Modesto Citadel Corps said. Sixty-year-old Robert Weigel, who has lived most of his life in Modesto and surrounding areas, is making the most of one of those changes right now. The until-recently homeless alcoholic is three and a half months sober and is in the Salvation Army’s transitional living program for veterans. His chores at the army’s Berberian homeless shelter include helping with client intake and in the kitchen. He [...]

The month-long trial in a sober-living home operator’s lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa was sent to the jury after closing arguments wrapped up Thursday. The case could have far-reaching effects on the city’s jurisdiction over group homes within its boundaries. Yellowstone Recovery, which has had a presence in Costa Mesa dating to 1988, sued the city in November 2014 over an ordinance that regulates group homes. Yellowstone, which was joined in the suit by two other operators, Sober Living Network and Lynn House, alleged the law unfairly discriminates [...]

There are addicts in Parksville Qualicum Beach that are ready for treatment, but too many are being turned away. That was the message from Kelly, a recovering addict and an advocate who organized a speaking event Nov. 30 at the Parksville Community Centre. (She did not want to give her last name). Kelly and the other speakers in attendance are proof that treatment works, she said. “If it can work for me it can work for them.” But instead of getting treatment when they are ready, addicts, people she knows [...]

The week before her 22nd birthday, Courtney Allen overdosed three times. For a decade, she had struggled with poverty, trauma and addictions to alcohol, heroin, Ritalin and cocaine. “I belonged more to the dead than the living,” she recalls. On that February 2015 birthday morning, she woke to vague memories of a fight and the police arriving to quiet the disturbance. Courtney panicked and worried about what may have happened to her sons, Wyatt, 8, and Aimin, who was nearly 3. She ran to their room and found them watching [...]

The backgrounds of the three women are similar: curious about alcohol, they began drinking at an early age, soon were doing drugs, got into scrapes with the law, and hit rock bottom several times. Two of the women lost their children, one of them permanently. In their 30s now, the women have one more thing in common, this one something positive: they all received treatment at Alpha Home, a residential and outpatient drug and alcohol rehab center, that they say turned their lives around. “Alpha Home is a place where [...]

Rodney and Heather Auger used to wake up each day knowing they’d need drugs to get through all 24 hours. First they relied on pain medications prescribed by doctors, hers for a series of health issues that began at age 16, his for a back injury from a work accident. When their doctors abruptly stopped those prescriptions, the couple turned to heroin, they said. They spent seven years on the streets, living in garages and in their car, their days consumed by a desperate search for illicit drugs that would [...]