Author: The Fix

5 Tips for Parents Dealing With Teen Substance Abuse

Catching substance abuse early can help guide a teen back on track and potentially avoid years of physical, emotional, financial and legal repercussions.

Teen substance abuse is serious. According a survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), more than 7,800 people in the US begin using illicit drugs every day and more than half are under the age of 18. Finding out a teen is using drugs can be a scary and stressful experience for a parent.

The good news is that there’s help! Safe Landing in Miami, Florida is a treatment center that focuses exclusively on adolescent addiction treatment. This is a great option for families seeking help for substance abuse. This facility offers client-centered care using evidence-based methods including behavioral therapy techniques, mindfulness training and other life skills that are crucial to teens developing a healthy sense of self.

Searching for credible substance abuse resources can be overwhelming. The first thing to do is to take a step back and analyze what is going on. To help cut through the confusion, we have put together a list of tips to guide you through the process of getting your child help.

1. Don’t assume it’s just a phase.

Safe Landing understands that most adults who face substance abuse disorders started using drugs or alcohol as teens. While some adults will excuse teen substance abuse as “experimentation” it is important to remember that nobody sets out to become an alcoholic or an addict. Often, addiction begins as social or “fun” and can escalate quickly based on mental and emotional health and other factors. Sure, teens will go through many phases as they mature. However, unlike other short-term stages in your teen’s development, using drugs can have permanent consequences.

Catching substance abuse early can help guide a teen back on track and potentially avoid years of physical, emotional, financial and legal repercussions. Treatment at Safe Landing recognizes the importance of this and focuses on getting teens sober and teaching them how to stay that way. Safe Landing blends treatment and education through virtual schooling, in-class instruction for core subjects, GED, SAT, ACT and college prep and career coaching. Life skills training includes developing crisis management skills, healthy nutrition and fitness routines, financial accountability, time management and effective communication.

2. Empathy is vital—for your child and yourself. You’re not to blame, but your job is to find a solution.

When you first discover your child is using drugs or alcohol, you will probably be angry. This is a perfectly natural reaction, but try not to lash out because this may push them deeper into self-destructive behavior. Remember, just because you have lost trust in them doesn’t mean they have lost trust in you. Keeping the lines of communication open with your kid during this difficult time is crucial. You are not responsible for your teen’s bad decisions, but your job as a parent is to help them learn to solve problems.

Often, you are only seeing the symptoms—things like changes in hairstyle, dress, broken curfews and trouble at school—not the deeper problems. Teens struggle with an array of complex issues that can manifest as substance abuse. Difficult emotions, peer pressures, family dynamics and underlying mental health issues can all reinforce self-destructive coping mechanisms. Finding professional help for the underlying causes of your teen’s drug abuse is the first step in the healing process.

3. Be on the same page with your co-parent and follow through.

You probably already know that parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. This can be even more difficult if you are doing it alone or at odds with your child’s other parent. When it comes to dealing with a crisis, it is crucial to be in close communication with your co-parent and present a united front to your child. If you decide to send your child to rehab, both parents should make the decision together and follow through with the required steps.

Having a treatment professional mediate the process can be useful in situations where emotions are running high. With this in mind, the admissions department at Safe Landing can work with the entire family to make sure everybody understands the options. Finding the right program is important for recovery, Safe Landing offers several options including inpatient care, a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and an Intensive Outpatient Program (PHP).

4. Get support for yourself.

Dealing with a child who is struggling with substance abuse is stressful. It is important that you find support for yourself so you can manage the added pressure and cope effectively. Safe Landing can provide resources for the whole family, including family therapy that includes your child and referrals for support groups or counselors for yourself. There’s no shame is getting help, for you and for your child. Finding extra support during a troubled time can help you be at your best for your family.

5. Be prepared to support your child in long-term lifestyle changes.

The goal of treatment is to facilitate a lasting change in your child. Be prepared for your home life to adjust accordingly. There may need to be more structured boundaries in the home, a new style of communication, a different schedule or transportation to meetings or counseling sessions provided. These things can all help your child develop a firm foundation in recovery. You may need to continue in family therapy or an outside support group beyond the initial treatment. The team at Safe Landing can support you and your child every step of the treatment process. Having professionals who are trained to deal with teen substance abuse can help you make informed decisions that are best for your family.

Even great parents have kids who struggle with substance abuse. Unfortunately, for some teens, anti-drug messages are not enough and rather than resisting the lure of drugs, they gravitate toward them. Ultimately, each teen makes the decision to use or not to use. As a parent, if you discover drugs or paraphernalia in your home, you may wonder where you can turn for help.Fortunately, there are specialized programs like Safe Landing in Miami designed to work with families to support recovery and a successful future for everyone.

Reach Safe Landing by phone at (888) 982-6244 or by email at info@safelandingrecovery.com. Find Safe Landing on Facebook and YouTube.

View the original article at thefix.com

23 July 2018
Overdose Risks During Pregnancy Examined In New Study

The study revealed the need for better addiction recovery support for pregnant women with substance use disorder.

A new study has found that the risk of overdose drops in pregnant women but increases after giving birth.

The study, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, looked at women giving birth in Massachusetts. In doing so, researchers found a greater number of women with opioid use disorder than had been found in other states.

Researchers also discovered that during pregnancy, opioid overdose events went down, the third trimester resulting in the lowest amount. However, after birth, that number rose and became especially high from 6 to 12 months after delivery.

“Our findings suggest we need to develop extended and long-term services to support women and families impacted by substance use disorder,” said Davida Schiff, a pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the lead author of the paper, according to Science Daily. “We need additional research to determine the best ways to improve retention in treatment and adherence to medication therapy after delivery, and we need to enhance our medical and public health infrastructure to provide support to women in achieving long-term recovery.”

In many states, opioid overdoses have been “major contributors to pregnancy-associated deaths.” In pregnant women, estimates of opioid use disorder range from .4 to .8%, and up to 2% in all women that fall into the reproductive age category.

Pregnancy can drive a woman to seek treatment, Science Daily notes. Often, such treatment includes therapy and potentially medications like methadone or buprenorphine.

Researchers chose to study a Department of Public Health dataset, which included nearly 178,000 deliveries of an infant 20 or more gestational weeks to Massachusetts women between Jan. 1, 2012 and Sept. 30, 2014. Of those, 4,154 women were found to have likelihood of opioid use disorder within a year before giving birth.

Additionally, of the women in the dataset, 184 experienced what researchers refer to as an opioid overdose event in the year preceding or following delivery. Such an event means the woman faced admission to a heath care facility for an overdose or death as a result of an overdose.

Those who experienced an overdose event were “more likely to be younger, single, unemployed, less educated and less likely to have received adequate prenatal care,” Science Daily reported. They were more likely “to have evidence of homelessness or a diagnosis of anxiety or depression.”

Co-author and Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health Monica Bhare says that this research is vital in gaining a bigger picture of who is most at risk.

“These findings help expand the lens from which we view the epidemic and allow us to tailor our policies and programs in ways that will increase opportunities for treatment and recovery for these women and their children,” she said.

View the original article at thefix.com

21 July 2018
Widow Denied Benefits Because Husband Used Pot

“I am frustrated with the system that is saying because he smoked a legal substance, we are going to take away your benefits from you and your kids.”

The widow of a Colorado worker killed in a ski lift accident is being denied half of the workers’ compensation benefits that she would normally be entitled to because her husband had THC in his system, despite the fact that recreational marijuana use is legal in the state.

“I’m scared, and I have no idea how we are going to make it,” Erika Lee told The Denver Channel. “We don’t know if we will get any money, so I’m just looking now at how to survive.”

Lee’s husband Adam was working as an electrician at a ski area when he was killed on the job in December. A toxicology report showed that Adam had high levels of THC in his system. However, current testing is not able to say whether he was impaired at the time, or had just used marijuana recently.

Still, Colorado state law allows employers to cut benefits by half if toxicology reports show drugs in a worker’s system at the time of death. This is true even for marijuana, which is legal to use for medical and recreational purposes in Colorado. Lee says that this means her family—including the couple’s children—will receive $800 less per month than they were expecting.

“I am frustrated with the system that is saying because he smoked a legal substance, we are going to take away your benefits from you and your kids,” Lee said.

Even in states like Colorado where marijuana use is legalized, there continue to be grey areas in the policies around cannabis. This is especially true for workers, who have to follow their employer’s policy as well as state law.

In fact, workers can still be legally fired for using cannabis, even though it is legal in the state.

“This is heartbreaking, and I think this should be a message to marijuana consumers in Colorado,” said Brian Vicente, a Colorado attorney who helped legalize marijuana in the state back in 2012. “We voters spoke loudly and said marijuana should not be illegal for adults. Yet we still have some parts of the Colorado revised statutes that appear to penalize people who are using this substance.”

Lee plans to appeal the reduction to her benefits. However, experts say that the ruling is currently in line with state law.

“As it stands now, with a positive test result, an employer has the right to reduce those benefits,” said John Sandberg, an administrative law judge with Colorado’s Department of Labor.

Lee hopes that by sharing her story other people who use cannabis will be more aware of the potential risks.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Cory Monteith Took Pain Meds For Dental Work Before Fatal Overdose

“He had a lot of medication in his system, which was not good for his body coming out of rehab,” the actor’s mother recently revealed.

The late actor Cory Monteith had been taking pain medication after a “massive” dental procedure he’d had not long before his fatal overdose on July 13, 2013, according to his mother Ann McGregor.

The Canadian actor, known for his role as Finn Hudson on the TV series Glee, died in a Vancouver hotel room from a toxic drug mixture including heroin, alcohol, and traces of morphine and codeine, according to the coroner’s report. He was 31 at the time.

Around the fifth anniversary of his tragic death, his mother discussed his use of pain medication post-dental work between May and July of 2013.

“He had a lot of medication in his system, which was not good for his body coming out of rehab,” she said, according to Washington, D.C.’s WENN. “He didn’t have enough drugs in his system to kill him, but for some reason it did because of his intolerance.”

Journalist and author Maia Szalavitz explained the effect that abstinence-based treatment programs like the one Monteith attended in the spring prior to his death will have on a person’s tolerance.

“Monteith followed the pattern of the 90% of opioid addicts who are coerced into 12-step recovery and denied an adequate period of maintenance treatment: He relapsed,” she wrote in her commentary, published in The Fix.

Szalavitz explained that the risk of overdose “is highest in the initial few months” after a period of abstinence, because a person’s tolerance to the drug will drop during that time.

Not only was the actor “likely not informed” about this heightened risk of overdose from his treatment program, he was not given the option to use medications specifically to aid his recover such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone, which Szalavitz says would have dramatically reduced the risk of overdose.

When Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy discovered that Monteith was using again, he convinced the actor to enter a 30-day treatment program in April 2013, putting the show on hold.

Prior to that, the actor publicly discussed his near-decade-long recovery in Parade magazine in 2011, saying that he was “lucky to be alive.”

He first committed to sobriety at the age of 19. “I was done fighting myself,” he told Parade. “I had a serious problem.”

In his memory, his mother McGregor works to empower youth in the fine arts, through the British Columbia-based Amber Academy in Canada.

“Cory believed in prevention, rather than trying to fix people,” she said. “He wanted to give children opportunities to shine and feel good about themselves so they wouldn’t turn to drugs.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Wendy Williams On Past Cocaine Addiction: I Was A Functioning Addict

“A functioning addict has several alarm clocks, you’re organized. It’s a miracle I was able to stop.”

After hosting a star-studded gala on Wednesday to benefit youth in recovery, TV personality and host Wendy Williams discussed her own experience with cocaine abuse, which began during her days on the radio.

“I was a functioning addict though. I would report to work on time and I walked in and all of my coworkers, and including my bosses, would know but instead of firing me, you see, I would grab my headphones and arrogantly walk into the studio and dare them to fire me because I was making ratings,” said the host of The Wendy Williams Show.

“[A] functioning addict has several alarm clocks, you’re organized,” she continued. “It’s a miracle I was able to stop.”

On Wednesday, Williams hosted a fundraising gala in New York City to unveil the “Be Here” campaign, to benefit Facing Addiction with NCADD—which advocates for people who struggle with drug abuse as well as their families—and her own family’s organization, The Hunter Foundation, which supports young people in recovery.

The gala landed on Williams’ birthday, July 18, and was attended by singer-songwriter Johnny Gill, singer Keri Hilson, rapper Remy Ma, actress Selenis Levya, singer Mario, and CNN host Don Lemon, among others.

“I wanted to use the biggest day of the year (my birthday) to encourage family and friends to give to this cause which will, in turn, help those in need,” said Williams in a statement. “Instead of giving me gifts, I am encouraging everyone to donate.”

The goal of the “Be Here” campaign is to raise $10 million. The event honored Chaka Khan with “The Survivor Award” to recognize the funk queen for her resilience in her own battles with substance abuse.

“I have seen addiction up-close,” said Williams. “As a mother, wife, daughter, and friend, I cannot stand by and do nothing while there are people struggling to overcome substance abuse. Life is too short and we need to come together to help others.”

The funds raised will specifically go to mentorship and counseling through the Youth Leader Program, and to fund clinical research on the effects of K2, also known as “synthetic marijuana.”

According to the Hunter Foundation’s website, the family’s dedication to the cause of supporting recovery was deepened by their son, who was “given K2,” triggering the family to take action. “This personal experience deepened the Hunters’ life mission to fortify organizations that increase public awareness about addiction and abuse and help youths live healthy, drug-free lives,” the website reads.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
"Bad Batch" Of K2 Suspected In DC Mass Overdose

Since last week, 140 people were sickened and four have died in the suspected overdose wave.

A “bad batch” of K2, a nickname for “synthetic marijuana,” is the prime suspect behind a recent rash of apparent overdoses in Washington, D.C.

Fox 5 reported on Wednesday that 140 people were sickened and four have died since Saturday. “Since July 14th we’ve had over 100 people that we’ve transported,” said D.C. Fire & EMS Chief Gregory Dean.

While the suspected overdoses occurred in “pockets throughout the District,” emergency officials observed that many of them occurred near one homeless shelter not far from D.C. police headquarters.

“You will see people that are unconscious, people that are vomiting, people that are collapsing or maybe being overly aggressive—those are signs that they may be impacted or under the influence,” said Dean.

According to NBC News, the number of emergency calls for suspected overdoses has fluctuated in recent years. In July of 2016, the D.C. fire department responded to 597 overdose patients to the hospital, while in July of 2017, that number decreased to 105.

Authorities handed out “Emergency Alert” flyers in hard-hit areas containing information about K2, how to stay safe, and resources for substance use disorder treatment and behavioral health services.

While authorities have tried keeping up with the use of K2, reports of mass overdoses haven’t gone away.

Last month, the Daily Beast reported a “remarkable increase in the use of synthetic cannabinoids among IV drug users.” There are now at least 700 possible variations of synthetic cannabinoids, according to the report.

“We are now in our eighth generation of synthetic cannabinoids and they just keep getting more powerful and unpredictable,” said forensic narcotics expert David Leff. “Users you have no idea what you’re actually consuming. These are substances that have never been tested on humans.”

Also, over the last year, we’ve come across reports of K2 laced with bug spray, and K2 that cause more disturbing side effects like severe bleeding.

In April 2018, 56 such cases were reported in the Chicago-central Illinois area.

“All cases have required hospitalizations for symptoms such as coughing up blood, blood in the urine, severe bloody nose, and/or bleeding gums,” reported the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) at the time.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Jack Black Details What He Learned About Recovery While Filming "Don’t Worry"

“It’s a battle for survival for millions of people around the world, and some of them are battling silently by themselves and no one else knows it.”

Actor Jack Black said that he gained new perspectives about addiction and recovery filming “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.”

The film, which was released last week, tells the story of real-life artist John Callahan, who became famous for his cartoons. Callahan was a heavy drinker who nearly died after a night of partying when he was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

After the accident he entered treatment for alcoholism and started drawing, eventually gaining a following.

Black, who plays a supporting role in the movie, said that being on set and learning what the real Callahan went through renewed his empathy for people in recovery.

“Whether it’s alcohol or heroin or food or sex or whatever is it, people can get stuck in a hole and it can take all of your energy and powers and spiritual awakenings to get out and survive,” Black said, according to USA Today.

He noted that you can’t always tell from the outside who is struggling with substance abuse.

“It’s a battle for survival for millions of people around the world, and some of them are battling silently by themselves and no one else knows it. They seem to be perfectly fine on the outside,” he said. “And some people are visibly heading down a dark path.”

He hopes that people will find hope from the film, which is based on a memoir that Callahan wrote.

“This is just one man’s journey on his way back to living a healthy happy life,” Black said. “It’s a cool story and a cool way to experience that in a small way.”

Black didn’t mention his own substance abuse in relation to the movie, but in the past he has admitted to using cocaine as a teenager growing up in Los Angeles.

“I remember just lots of turmoil from that time period,” he said in 2015. “I was having a lot of troubles with cocaine … I was hanging out with some pretty rough characters. I was scared to go to school [because] one of them wanted to kill me. I wanted to get out of there.”

Ultimately, his mother put him in an alternative school that helped him address his cocaine problem.

“It was a huge release and a huge relief,” he said. “I left feeling euphoric, like an enormous weight had been lifted from me. It changed me.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
My Life with Phil

If anyone could relate to loneliness, abandonment, depression, it was Phil. We got each other.

If my cat could talk, he’d say “You’re so fucking crazy.” Also, feed me, asshole. And not that gluten and grain-free slimy shit. Meow Mix from the corner bodega, where you’ll often spend seven dollars on an activated charcoal latte paired with a fifty cent Camel Light loosie, which I judge your embarrassing fat ass for. You’re actually insane. I’ll kill you.

Phil, that’s his name, has tried to kill me before. He’s a very dramatic attention-seeker. Anxious, needy, moody. Damaged goods. I’ve got similar symptoms because, according to several psychiatrists, I’m bipolar II and, according to me, crazy. Phil’s been through a lot, and admittedly, I am partially to blame.

Oh, and Phil is a pyromaniac. Though I can be and have been terrible, I’m pretty sure I’ve never deserved to die via apartment fire—puking under the bed would’ve been more reasonable— but Phil takes his feline frustrations to the extreme.

The first time Phil turned the gas stove on, I thought, maybe his back paw had innocently hit the knob on his way up. But that was my brain on drugs. Despite being perpetually overweight, he’s not clumsy. He’s light on his feet; a decent ballerina in a past life. This was intentional. This happened more than once. This was really testing what my problematic as-a-result-of-anxiety-and-amphetamines pulse could handle.

Redundant scenario: Phil would just LOVE greeting me when I entered my apartment at 7-ish AM by standing perfectly still over a flaming stove burner in taxidermy pose, staring right into my bewildered AKA tweaked-out eyes, and then maniacally meowing with the subtext: I’m seconds from plopping my fat ass on this flame if you don’t get your shit together. I dare you to abandon me for a day or two once more to get as high as Mount Everest and fuck everything at an open 24-hours bathhouse in Chelsea.

Phil’s penchant for pyromania emerged circa 2013, when I was at my most mentally ill and near-ish-death-ness. But I was growing tired of perspiring out regret, poppers and lube, anyway. And Phil was just offering me tough, traumatic love! Okay, maybe he was just miserable living with mentally fucked, miserable me, and into the idea of both of us dying in a local news-making manner. Maybe Phil was doing us both a favor. End us.

“Suicide kitty.” That’s what my ex-roommate, Messy Mark*, called him because of Phil’s impressive rabid flying squirrel-like antics. I inherited Phil from messy Mark. Pre-Phil, I hated cats and the only cat I tolerated was the dead one I had to dissect in Anatomy class in high school. But when the formaldehyde wore off and his thighs developed mold, my teacher discarded him and I received a D+ on my report card, which made my hating-on-cats restart. It was a short-lived although intimate relationship. I never even knew his name.

Phil was already named Phil when Mark brought him home to our janky South Williamsburg apartment in the summer of 2009. Mark had been sober for like, a month, and he told me, with his enchanting albeit decaying-inside eyes, that a cat would keep him sober. I told him I hate cats, they scratch everything, and I knew I’d end up having to take care of the cat, so please God, no. Taking care of Mark was already my pro-bono job. I did my best! Well, the best that I, a party animal (spirit animal: a cat in perma-heat) who proudly has never blacked out, could at the time. (Note: We were in our early twenties and fresh out of college, living it up in a pre-Starbucks/Wholefoods Williamsburg and convincingly adopting the PBR-chugging, Patti Smith-worshipping hipster ways. You know, when kombucha was still a thing.)

Mark, on the other hand, was the drink-to-blackout type. He was an all American twink-next-door type. Charming, cute, book smart. His book cover was colorful and playful, concealing the tattered pages and its painful Comic Sans font. He’d invite himself to my friends’ house parties, because he had no friends of his own, which should have been a WARNING: DON’T BE ROOMMATES sign, and I’d warn/beg my friends to not fall for this troubled trick, because he wouldn’t remember anything in the morning and then I’d have to clean up his mess, including the sometimes charcoal-latte-colored puke. But alas, Mark’s blue eyes and bubble butt was a fuckable force. He’d also sleep with guys I thought I was dating, but I’d forgive him. I was a battered tabby cat to his primped-and-polished persian. We, oops, hooked up a few times too. This wasn’t something I initiated… initially. I knew there’d be trouble post-orgasms. But when your never-not-wasted roomie wakes you up via aggressive seduction, well, I was too tired to object.

Anyway, despite my cat concerns, I came home one day to find Phil crazily rolling around on the Ikea carpet in catnip. My fury segued into an “Aw, it’s fine” when Mark looked up at me with a genuine, heart-tugging smile. I was touched! Perhaps that purring Swamp Thing-y thing on the rug would cure Mark, because 12-step meetings sure as shit weren’t enough. And I’d be free and maybe even happy. Ha!

I was a spineless, clueless enabler. I didn’t understand why Mark couldn’t hold his liquor like a normal early twenty-something millennial. And I didn’t want Mark to die, so I’d do whatever to help. I didn’t want him to ever punch me in the face again when I forced his inebriated ass to look into the mirror at his sadness. I didn’t want to have to drag him through glass after he collapsed into our Ikea cabinet post-bar, as Phil screeched and judged from atop of the fridge. I didn’t want to wake up to a sea of is-this-real-life texts like the time he was in Dunkin’ Donuts and had just pissed his pants after escaping from the ER—apparently he had passed out at the bar the night before and someone normal called 911. This someone also called Mark’s mom, which I realized because of a devastating voicemail, in which she wondered if her son was alive. Not fun. Heartbreaking.

Phil was damaged goods himself, and, as expected, it’d be me, the professional plant killer, responsible for getting him back on track. He was an army brat, and had two unstable homes before being dropped off at a ASPCA in Virginia, where he lived in a cage for a year. Apparently no one wanted a middle-aged, jittery, ordinary tabby cat. I guess the bloody bald spots from Phil’s habit of biting out his fur and furiously scratching himself like a meth addict weren’t so appealing. (Meanwhile, Mark cruelly took Phil off of his anxiety meds because he’d rather save money for happy hour.) Phil’s coat of fur looked like my shredded, smelly Harley Davidson (reminder: I lived in Williamsburg) thrift t-shirts. He was so death-door-y thin, like me at the time (because, drugs), his meow was/still is so grating and loud. It’s nearly as demonic as the iPhone default alarm. And his moniker at the shelter was “alien kitty” because of his macadamia nut head paired with green, extraterrestrial eyes. Anyway, Mark and his manipulative victim ways convinced his Virginia-based friend—his only other friend—to drive Phil to Brooklyn; a non-refundable gift.

While Mark did calm down and get sober for a bit post-cat adoption, he didn’t miraculously develop thoughtfulness or anything. He’d attend evening 12-step meetings after his 9-5 job and then go to sober people Chipotle hangouts. HE WAS SO HAPPY! And I’d never ever see him. I’d been replaced. And I think I was subconsciously jealous of his healing. As a freelance writer, I worked from home, so it was just me and Phil. I took care of him. Not like it’s difficult—food, litter, cuddles, oh my!—but this wasn’t my goddamn cat! Mark would lock his bedroom door at night, so I’d allow Phil’s manic ass to sleep with me and claw at my scalp.

And so, I fell in love with Phil; Mark fell in love with a recovering meth addict. Two months later, Mark casually told me he was moving in with this boyfriend and that I had to find another roommate within two weeks. NBD. But I could keep Phil, because his boyfriend was allegedly allergic to cats. I don’t know why, but I started to ugly cry. (Well, my ex-therapist told me I was, yawn, in love with Mark and I’m scared of intimacy and abandonment etc etc fuck off etc.) It wasn’t until Mark finally “got better” and didn’t need me anymore that I acknowledged and confronted my own issues.

Just kidding. I’d little-by-little distract the pain with sex, drugs and rock bottoms.

Another roommate moved in for a year or two, but then we were bought out of the rent stabilized decrepit apartment for 40k. So, Phil and I moved to a shit but rent stabilized studio apartment on the other side of the Williamsburg bridge in Lower East Side—I signed the lease during what I now understand to have been a manic high, believing that I clearly needed to live alone; to take care of just myself, Phil and my plants. I was so psychotically positive! (I blame my psychiatrist for adding another mood stabilizer.) Living alone would inspire me to get a fantastic full time job, and then I’d be able to afford the studio on my own once the 40k ran out!

Didn’t happen. What did happen was Phil putting up with my unraveling as a result of eternal loneliness with no future, except funerals, in sight. I’m very dark. Phil forgave me, probably, when I’d lock him in the bathroom during a Grindr quickie. He plopped on my chest when I was coming down; he dived off my chest when I convulsed and howled in fetal position because of anxiety/panic attacks. If anyone could relate to loneliness, abandonment, depression, it was Phil. We got each other. Phil’s still with me.

I haven’t seen my ex-BFF since he left me, but he’ll text me like, every five months, informing me of things like how he now lives in a forest or that his boyfriend he ditched me for died of a drug overdose. Mostly, he brings up memories. “Remember that time when ___?” I never remember. I don’t want to remember. My responses are mostly an emoji or two. I’ve intentionally disconnected. His most recent text to me wasn’t a ‘sup. It was a handful of sexually explicit photos, featuring his dick. Ew. If he was ever my real friend, he would’ve remembered that I’m an ass guy. “Are you high?” was my response. He wrote no. I didn’t even care if he was lying, his top talent. I blocked him. I mourned him years ago. I’m all about protection these days. I’ve got some friends, a long-term boyfriend, and a drug-free, inconsistent zest for life.

Today, I’m sometimes very happy. I’m sometimes going under those dark, depression waves. The bipolar isn’t going anywhere. Unless I’m traveling outside of America, I barely leave my house.

And I still have major anxiety. So does Phil, but we’re in this thing together. We’re a lot better, we’ve grown up. He gets me out of bed and gives me a purpose. Feeding him his healthy grain and gluten-free food reminds me to take my meds. We take care of each other! We need each other!

Meanwhile, this triggers my morbid mind. He’s 73 in cat years. Phil’s cremated remains will be in a jar on my Buddhist altar soon enough. It was ME who was supposed to be rotting in a coffin by now, not Phil! But at least it’s been years since I last truly worried about Phil killing me… killing us. (Just kidding—I remove the stove knobs when I’m not in the apartment because, anxiety.)

Just a month ago, I was convinced Phil was dying. It’s a gnarly image that involved scattered around my apartment puddles of puke, heavy breathing, and him hiding from me in the litter box. I didn’t want to remember him like this: lethargic and not wanting anything to do with me for two full days. This wasn’t like him. He’s a cuddle monster in the mornings. And here I was, imagining a life without him. My first pet. Would I replace him? Could I? He’s the only one who, through it all, never left me. He’s tried, but only a handful of times. (He attempted to jump out of the window after sitting on a flame, but it wasn’t open wide enough for his fat ass.)

He’s back to normal-ish for now. I’m trying to appreciate our time together. So many memories. I try to think of only the best memories, but sometimes I’ll look at Phil and I’ll remember Mark, but only for a moment, then I shut that shit down. I’ve let Mark go.

I couldn’t save Mark. Neither could Phil. But we saved each other.

If Phil could read this, he’d eject a hairball because of my cheesiness. He’d roll his alien kitty eyes. And if Phil could talk, he’d say “You’re welcome for saving your life, bitch.” And then go back to sleep.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Turkish Rapper Ezhel On Trial for Encouraging Drug Use

Prosecutors cite the rapper’s lyrics as dangerous examples for impressionable Turkish youths.

Turkish rapper Ezhel faces up to 10 years in prison for “encouraging drug use in his songs,” according to the Hürriyet Daily News. It’s also the second time this year that the 28-year-old rapper has been charged with promoting drugs in his lyrics by anti-narcotics police.

In recent years, Ezhel (born Ömer Sercan İpekçioğlu) has found both significant critical and commercial success. Following the release of his acclaimed 2017 album Müptezhel, Ezhel has made several high-profile live performances (including one with U.S. rapper Wiz Khalifa), not to mention garnering millions of views on his official YouTube channel.

Unfortunately, it seems as if Ezhel’s success has put a target on his back when it comes to Turkish authorities, who are taking aim at the pro-drug messages he purportedly layers into his music. “Both [his] lyrics and the narrative of the songs as a whole” promote drug use, the latest indictment argues.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office leveled its newest charges against Ezhel on July 11, less than a month after the rapper was last acquitted. Prosecutors routinely cite his Ezhel’s lyrics (“The brighter the lights, under the influence of marijuana, taking puffs”) as well as photos shared on Twitter (one in particular shows him with “the outlawed cannabis sativa plant”) as dangerous examples for impressionable Turkish youths.

In his previous arrest, Ezhel defended himself by claiming his lyrics were nothing more than rhymes and that “he was not aware that he committed a crime with pictures and lyrics,” the Daily News noted.

Ezhel’s latest arrest was met with an almost immediate public outcry in Turkey, with the hashtag “#FreeEzhel” immediately trending on Twitter and countless others expressing their support on social media.

As prosecutors decried the rapper’s promotion of drug use via social media channels, anti-narcotics officers also paid a visit to Ezhel’s home, searching for illegal substances. “No element of a crime was found,” the Daily News reported, though THC metabolite (the active substance in cannabis) was, however, found in the rapper’s blood sample.

Regardless, many supporters and fellow Turkish musicians believe his arrests are attempts to “censor his critical voice.”

A member of an Istanbul-based music group told the UK’s Independent that the arrests say less about Ezhel’s music than it does continued tensions between free speech and censorship in their country.

“It’s so sad to see this is really happening in Turkey,” the anonymous musician said. “[Ezhel] is a really talented musician and definitely doesn’t deserve to be in jail. He inspires people in a good way—not in a bad way. Let’s support art and not punish the people creating it.”

Ezhel’s manager Riza Okcu applauded the “#FreeEzhel” movement and echoed sentiments that “writing a song cannot be a crime” in Turkey. “The government should arrest the real criminals,” Okcu added, saying that “rap music tells the truth about what happens in the streets.”

Unfortunately, no matter what support Ezhel receives from the public, Turkish law carries a sentence of five to ten years in prison for “encouragement of drug use.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Political Ad Takes Shot At Lawyer's Past Addiction, Criminal History

“To be pulled in to a heated political race based on my own story of redemption is really painful,” said Tarra Simmons.

Tarra Simmons never wanted to be the stuff of campaign fodder.

But months after winning her year-long battle to become a lawyer, the former prisoner was surprised to see her name dragged into a state senate race – as a political smear.

The mailers supporting Republican Marty McClendon, which started showing up on Washington doorsteps this month according to KING-TV, denounced his Democratic opponent for supporting the “drug-addicted ex-con” in her hard-fought efforts to gain admission to the state bar.

“Emily Randall has consistently failed to back our law enforcement,” the flyers reportedly said, “yet Randall has supported Tarra Simmons, a drug-addicted ex-con who was denied admission to the Washington State Bar Association due to multiple felony convictions.”

Simmons, who served time for gun, drug and theft charges, made national headlines last year after the Washington State Bar refused to let her sit for the bar exam, the test needed to become a lawyer. She’d already won a prestigious law fellowship, was a dean’s medal recipient at her law school, launched a non-profit and racked up years of clean time under her belt. But still, the bar said, that wasn’t enough.

“Her acquired fame has nurtured not integrity and honesty, but a sense of entitlement to privileges and recognition beyond the reach of others,” the Character and Fitness board wrote in 2017.

But the Bremerton mom took her case to court, and won, scoring accolades and compliments from the state’s jurists.

“Simmons has proved by clear and convincing evidence that she is currently of good moral character and fit to practice law,” the Washington Supreme Court wrote in its 33-page opinion. “We affirm this court’s long history of recognizing that one’s past does not dictate one’s future. We therefore unanimously grant her application to sit for the bar exam.”

But despite the state court’s support, it seems, some political groups still aren’t on board with Simmons’ impressive turnaround – and Simmons took them to task for it in a neatly-worded Facebook post.

“Hey 26th District Republicans You left out the part about how the Washington State Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY put the bar in its place,” she wrote. “I thought the right wingers believed in things like ‘redemption’. You know what? Part of me is happy over this nonsense. Because people only talk about leaders. I’ll take it as a compliment that you thought about me, and I’ll keep leading with truth while y’all sit up here and throw stones at people who’ve done their time and have fought through pain that would make you crumble. I’m proud of Emily Randall because she gets it.”

The ad in question wasn’t actually paid for by Randall’s opponent. Instead, an outside group, the Washington Forward, The Leadership Council, reportedly funded the flyer.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 July 2018