Author: The Fix

Canada Legalizes Marijuana In Historic Vote

Residents are expected to be able to purchase marijuana from licensed producers as early as mid-September 2018.

Canada became the second country in the world to legalize marijuana after the passage of its Cannabis Act in a 52-59 vote on Tuesday, June 19.

Canadian adults will be allowed to carry and share up to 30 grams of legal marijuana in public and cultivate up to four plants in their homes. The country’s provinces and territories will be allowed to draft their own rules for sales, which have been projected to echo the billion-dollar windfall enjoyed by the marijuana industry in the United States.

The government is giving its provinces 8 to 12 weeks to set up their own regulations on sales and more, and residents are expected to be able to purchase marijuana from licensed producers as early as mid-September 2018.

Prior to the passage of Bill C-45, Uruguay was the only country on the planet to legalize marijuana for sale and use. In the U.S., 29 states and Washington, D.C. allow the medical use of marijuana, while nine and D.C. also allow recreational use. Canada introduced the Cannabis Act in 2017, which passed the House of Commons in November of that year before reaching the Senate for final approval.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed the intention of C-45 in a June 19 Twitter post which read, “It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits,” he wrote. “Today, we change that.”

Once the bill receives Royal Assent—a ceremony in which Canada’s governor general, Julie Payette, will officially approve the measure—only adults ages 18 or 19 years or older (depending on the province or territory) will be allowed to legally purchase “cannabis, dried cannabis, cannabis oil, cannabis seeds or cannabis plants” from licensed retailers, both at brick-and-mortar locations and online.

According to the BBC, edibles will not be available for purchase by the proposed September launch date, but are expected to reach markets within a year’s time to allow the government to establish regulations for such projects.

They can also grow up to four plants per household—not per person—for personal use as long as the seeds are bought from a licensed supplier, and make cannabis-related products in their home as long as the plants do not use dangerous organic solvents.

C-45 will also establish a new offense of up to 14 years in prison for selling cannabis to minors, as well as “significant” penalties for individuals who involve minors in cannabis-related offenses or drive under the influence of cannabis, and will impose restrictions on how marijuana is promoted to young people, such as through the use of celebrity or animal/cartoon character images.

Provinces will also decide where cannabis will be sold to the public. As CNN noted, Alberta will make it available at more than 200 private retailers, while buyers in Ontario will only find it in state-run stores, and Newfoundland/Labrador residents will be able to purchase cannabis along with their groceries at the Loblaw supermarket chain.

With Canadian sales of marijuana in 2015 estimated at about $4.5 billion—nearly the same amount spent on wine—cannabis industry observers have suggested that the country may see annual revenue as high as $5 billion.

Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau said that the excise tax revenue will be split 75/25 between provincial government and the federal government for the first two years after legalization.

View the original article at thefix.com

22 June 2018
Mental Health A Bigger Issue For Teens Than Drug Use, Survey Says

According to a new survey, the number of teens experiencing more hopelessness, sadness and suicidal ideation is on the rise.

This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the 2017 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The self-reported data of 4 million teens showed that the demographic is engaging in less sex and less drug use than in the decade preceding.

Data collected yearly over the last decade showed a significant drop in the number of teens using illicit drugs (specifically: cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, inhalants, hallucinogens, or ecstasy). The numbers fell from 22.6% of students reporting having used one or more illicit drug in 2007, to 14% in 2017.

Injectable drugs, the most dangerous, were reported as experienced by 1.5% of high school students in 2017. However, the survey found that a troubling 14% reported misusing prescription opioids. As 2017 was the first year for recording data on opioid use in teens, there are no comparison numbers.

The numbers for sexual activity dropped as well: 39.5% of the teenagers in 2017 reported they had ever had sex. This is down from 47.8% in 2007, another significant drop. Those who were engaging in sexual activity were less likely to have multiple partners, according to the survey.

Kathleen Ethier, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health department, says, “Overall, I think youth are making better decisions, particularly about their sexual behavior and their drug use.”

Still, the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey also revealed some troubling facts. While the rate of bullying and sexual assaults has barely reduced, the amount of teens reporting that they felt sad or hopeless has increased from 28.5% in 2007 to 31.5% in 2017.

In addition, the rate of teenagers contemplating suicide rose from 14.5% to 17% in the same time period.

Jonathan Mermin, MD, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, felt the survey results were profoundly mixed.

Mermin noted, “Today’s youth are making better decisions about their health than just a decade ago,” and then went on to say, “But, some experiences, such as physical and sexual violence, are outside their control and continue at painfully high levels. Their experiences today have powerful implications for their lives tomorrow.”

The CDC concluded its summary of the survey with a quote from Kathleen Ethier, PhD, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.

“We know that being connected to schools and safe adults is key to protecting the health of adolescents,” she said. “Students are more likely to thrive if they feel safe and have a sense of belonging—and if they have parents, adults, teachers, and friends who they know care about their success.”

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
McDonald’s Receipt Foils Detective's Drug Money Scheme

The disgraced detective stole $40,000 in drug money that was waiting to be intercepted by a drug task force.

A Louisville detective outed himself as a crooked cop with one critical error—paying for a $5 McDonald’s meal by credit card around the same time he lifted $40,000 of drug evidence.

Detective Kyle Willett—a veteran of Louisville Metro Police who at the time was working at a UPS shipping hub as part of a task force to intercept drug activity in Louisville, Kentucky—stopped for a sweet tea and cheeseburger at McDonald’s and paid for the $4.76 meal with his credit card.

Then, he went to work, illegally searched a package, and stole its contents—$40,000 in cash. Little did he know, a West Coast drug task force was waiting in Oakland, California for the same package to arrive, hoping to intercept the $40,000 of evidence that would help nab a drug trafficker.

But the package wasn’t entirely empty. It didn’t contain the money, but it did contain some damning evidence that would lead authorities to Willett—the discarded bag that his McDonald’s meal came in, which he had for some reason stuffed inside the emptied package, receipt and all.

Authorities were able to identify Willett via the last four digits of his credit card number from the receipt, and his white Tahoe was identified via surveillance footage in the McDonald’s parking lot at the time printed on the receipt.

Authorities began investigating Willett and caught him the next time he stole cash from a package.

The investigation affected not only Willett, but his entire task force. Upon scrutinizing the task force’s activity during the Willett investigation, authorities noticed that task force members were illegally searching packages without warrants, in their vehicles, or alone. And if they did found evidence, they would re-seal the package and request a search warrant, according to the Courier–Journal.

Though it is a clear constitutional violation, according to legal experts, then-U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky John Kuhn decided to prosecute only Willett and not the other members of the task force.

However, the decision was made to “clean house completely” within the task force to flush out any “systemic issues,” and every member has since been replaced.

Willett resigned in October 2016 and pleaded guilty in federal court to theft from interstate shipment (a felony) for stealing more than $74,000 between January and August 2016.

According to the Courier-Journal, most of the stolen cash was found in his home and car.

Willett has already served five months in federal prison and five months of home detention. He remains on supervised probation for two years and is barred from owning a firearm.

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
Can IV Tylenol Help Curb The Opioid Crisis?

Health experts are debating the efficacy of IV acetaminophen as a non-opioid pain management tool.

An approach to cutting back on opioid use isn’t proving as affordable or as helpful as thought, according to the Washington Post.

In an effort to cut down on opioid use, some hospitals are turning to intravenous forms of medications like Tylenol. Boston Medical Center was one such entity, adding IV Tylenol as a method of pain management.

However, David Twitchell, Boston Medical Center’s chief pharmacy officer, says the price quickly became concerning.

According to the Post, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals increased the price of IV Tylenol and the medical center was projected to spend $750,000 on acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in Tylenol, in 2015.

The Post notes that a normal tablet dose of acetaminophen costs only cents, but Ofirmev, the IV version, is $40 per 1,000 milligrams.

“It was going to cost us, without the intervention that happened, more than any other drug on our formulary. Think of the most expensive cancer drug,” Twitchell told the Post. “To me, that didn’t seem justified.”

Though some medical centers are attempting to turn away from opioids and instead utilizing options such as IV Tylenol, a recent study found that this approach may not be any more effective than taking the medication in tablet form. Some studies, on the other hand, claim there is a benefit to the IV medication.

Another study published in the July issue of Anesthesiology examined seven years of data for bowel surgeries across 602 hospitals and determined that when it came to decreasing opioid use, IV acetaminophen seemed no more effective than taking a tablet form of the same medication.

“It just seems very often, physicians have magical thinking about a new preparation of an old drug,” Andrew Leibowitz, system chair of the department of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-author of the study, told the Post. “Doctors do seem, in general when a patient is in the hospital, to favor IV medications as a knee-jerk reflex, even when equally effective oral medications are available.”

According to Mallinckrodt, the study was “significantly flawed” and argued that half the patients in the study had not even received a full dose of the medication.

IV Tylenol isn’t the only generic painkiller to be offered in IV form, the Post states. The Post also says that more types of IV painkillers are expected in the future.

Erin Krebs, a staff physician at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, led a study published in JAMA that determined that opioids were no more effective than non-opioids when it came to managing chronic back pain or hip and knee pain.

She tells the Post that while it’s good that physicians are reexamining prescribing opioids, they should be careful not to buy into other new medications too early.

“I think part of the reason we got into such a mess with opioids was really a lack of training and understanding of pain management,” Krebs told the Post. “It’s a symptom of how little research we’ve done on the appropriate management of these really common conditions. These are some of the most common human ailments, and they have not received enough research attention, research funding or education.”

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

Adams said that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” played a factor in his stance

Jerome Adams, MD, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, recently gave a far-ranging interview on opioids and his stance on marijuana as an alternative to their use.

Adams, speaking at a forum on opioids hosted by the Washington Examiner, stated that concerns over the impact of marijuana on the developing brains of young people and its possible cancer-causing properties, were the impetus for him to reserve a recommendation for its use in pain management. “We know that exposing the developing brain to marijuana can prime the brain to addiction and have potential negative consequences including promoting cancer,” he said.

But Adams added that he considered additional studies on the subject “important,” and voiced support for the use of the opioid reversal drug naloxone.

Adams, an anesthesiologist and vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, said that his opposition to marijuana for medical purposes was hinged largely on studies that suggested use among young people “can prime the brain for addiction.”

Adams did not cite specific studies that asserted this notion, but added that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” was also a factor in his stance.

“It would be incredibly disingenuous of me to say that you shouldn’t smoke a cigarette, but it is fine to go out and smoke a joint,” said Adams, who also noted that as Surgeon General, his name is featured in the boxed warning about the health hazards of smoking featured on all cigarette packaging.

However, Adams did state that he considered it important to examine studies pertaining to marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment, but again, added, “it is important that we not jump on something that may have more potential consequences down the road.”

When the interview touched on the subject of opioid abuse and dependency, Adams expressed opinions on a wide array of issues regarding treatment and intervention. He voiced solid support for naloxone, dismissing opponents of the drug as “folks out there who will suggest that naloxone and these interventions are enabling drug use. I say they are enabling recovery,” he stated.

But he was steadfast in his opposition to legalize safe injection facilities (SIFs), which have gained traction with some city and state governments as a harm reduction-based attempt to reduce chances of overdose among drug users.

“I think it’s important for everyone to know that I took an oath to uphold the law,” said Adams. “And currently, injection facilities are illegal across the U.S. So, I can not and do not endorse safe facilities.”

Adams also suggested that a primary line of defense against the opioid crisis could be found in most Americans’ homes.

“I want everyone to know there’s a killer in our medicine cabinets,” he said. “Leaving pills around or unattended is the same thing as leaving a loaded gun.”

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
Lily Allen Discusses Addiction, Self-Medicating

“I’ve used drugs and alcohol as medicine, almost, when things have been really bad. If I’m in a bad place, psychologically, I shouldn’t be anywhere near drugs and alcohol.”

British singer Lilly Allen first broke through in 2006 with her album Alright, Still, and now she’s back with her first new album in four years, No Shame.

As her new release hits, Allen is opening up about her battles with addiction, and why she may not be completely sober (though she’s not partying anymore).

Allen told People, “I definitely don’t rely on substances and alcohol in the way that I used to. It’s a bit about having made a conscious decision to leave that stuff behind. I would wake up in a haze in the middle of the Sheezus [album] tour and be like, ‘I’m 3,000 miles away from my kids.’ Why? What is all of this about?”

When asked if she got sober for her children, Allen said, “I think it was age. Waking up in a tour bus, really hungover with makeup running—it’s not a good look when you’re 30. It’s okay when you’re 19!”

Allen said that her drinking “got to a really bad stage, and I was definitely using alcohol as a crutch. I’m just very glad I’m not there anymore.”

Asked if she considers herself sober, Allen replied, “No, I wouldn’t actually. I would just say I don’t party anymore… I don’t take drugs anymore. I wouldn’t say I gave up drinking, because I might like, once in a blue moon, have a glass of wine at dinner.”

Allen said she was being stalked, which kept her close to home and away from outside temptations. “I think my sobriety was sort of forced by that. I wasn’t gonna sit at home and drink on my own, so I stopped; I stopped going out publicly and to places where people would maybe think that I would be.”

Once she had her “unintentional detox and respite from it,” Allen noticed that she was “thinking a lot more clearly… In the middle of the Sheezus [tour], I did do AA—I did my 90 meetings and 90 days, so I did do that, I went through that process, and I found it really helpful.”

Allen added, “To be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever been an addict, so to speak. I think that I’ve used drugs and alcohol as medicine, almost, when things have been really bad. If I’m in a bad place, psychologically, I shouldn’t be anywhere near drugs and alcohol. But if I’m okay… I just don’t, I’m just not really in a space where I want to drink.”

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
"I: The Series" Exposes the Underside of Trauma and Healing

We Q&A with filmmaker Mary Beth Eversole on trauma, the inspirations for her new series, and the challenges of making an indie film.

Mary Beth Eversole is the creator and executive producer of I: The Series, in pre-production. The short film series explores the damage of trauma—from ordinary events to major catastrophes—and its impact on individuals as they learn how to heal. Episode 1 takes us into the mind of MB, a traumatized person dealing with an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, and PTSD from multiple traumas. Using “the magic of mirrors, lighting, prosthetics, and CGI editing, we watch as MB’s nightmare comes to life right before her eyes.”

The Fix recently had the pleasure of discussing this project with Eversole.

The Fix: What spurred you to pursue filmmaking?

Mary Beth Eversole: I am an actress, voice over (VO) artist, musician, and content creator. I have acted and taught and performed music since I was very young. Voiceover came after I had a traumatic car accident that ended my operatic and musical theater singing career. I had to re-evaluate how I would still have my voice be heard as an artist. It was a very troubled time for me that included PTSD and depression.

One of my student’s parents suggested I try voiceover work and got me an audition at iHeart Radio in Northern Colorado. The producer signed me as a contracted VO artist that day! From there, I continued to do plays and began to study the art of acting in film, which is different from acting on stage. I love the pace of it, the fact that I could play several different characters within the span of a short time frame, and that I met so many amazing creatives and collaborators. As I booked more on-camera and voiceover work, I began to learn a lot about the behind-the-scenes work and what goes into making a film or TV show happen. I realized that my voice could continue to be heard through filmmaking, not only in characters that others wrote for me, but also in what I wrote for others and myself.

I have had a very traumatized life. I have battled anorexia, body dysmorphia, drug use, depression and PTSD. I have been hospitalized, worked through a treatment plan, been in continuous therapy, experienced 12-step programs, and done a lot of healing through music, film, theater, and other healing forces. People tell me my life story is inspiring to them and that I should share it. I realized a few years ago that it was through filmmaking that I would be able to do that and inspire others to know they are not alone and they can heal.

Describe some challenges that you encountered at the start.

I will say I encounter challenges all along the route during the process of making a film or TV series as I think most filmmakers do. Many of the challenges have always come from funding or lack thereof. As an indie filmmaker, funding is usually scarce unless you know someone with deep pockets or have an in with a studio, which most indie filmmakers do not.

The same challenges are popping up again for “I”, the film series I am currently working on. We need $65,000 in order to film and edit the first episode of “I”. Why? Because we are paying our crew what they should be paid and the film involves many prosthetics and computer generated imagery (CGI) effects, both expensive ticket items for a film. If we were a full feature film being created by a studio with the same storyline, it would cost upwards of $455k and that is on the super low end. Other feature films that have had similar amounts of prosthetics and CGI with studio backing have been around the $15 million range. Therefore, in the grand scheme, $65,000 is not much, but to a small indie film like us, it is a huge mountain to climb.

While we are doing great at building our crowd, it has been more challenging to find those funds. Currently we are running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo at www.ithemovie.org and we would love to have more people head there to make donations. The cool thing about crowdfunding is the donations do not have to be huge. While it will help us to get a few $1,000-$10,000 donors, the majority of the donations will come from people who donate $15-$100. Social media and direct message shares are also super helpful to get the word out and find more backers. If we do not reach our goal through Indiegogo, we will be applying for grants, but those are very competitive and the likelihood of us getting much funding that way is very slim.

How did you arrive at the idea for the “I” film series?

“I” was originally just one short film, based on my personal life experience with trauma and how it led to anorexia, body dysmorphia, depression, and PTSD. My traumas include growing up with a parent with an undiagnosed mental disorder, boyfriend emotional abuse as a teen, two sexual assaults, being diagnosed with 7 major food allergies and at least 15 other food sensitivities that put me in the hospital multiple times and led to organ failure, and two major hit and run car accidents, one that ended my music career as I knew it. I have had more trauma, but those were the major ones that resulted in the mental disorders I still deal with.

I was watching the Netflix film To The Bone and I realized that this was the first time a dramatic film or TV show had gone this in depth with what actually happens with someone suffering from an eating disorder and body dysmorphia. I also realized this film, along with others about the same subject, still only focused on the external symptoms, what people see on the outside. While the film went into the thought process of an eating disordered person a bit through actions and dialogue, it still only skirted it. Furthermore, I realized it did not talk much about what led to the eating disorder.

When the film was done, I had an overwhelming urge to write down my experience in script form, and to give a true inside account of what happens in my head when that “critical voice”—or as I call it ED—takes over my ability to function as a human being. The script was there, all there, instantly.

I wrote it down. [Then] I read it, and read it again, and I realized this was how I was going to inspire others to seek help, heal, and how I might possibly be able to prevent these mental disorders caused by trauma from happening in the first place. From there I showed it to a good friend and director, Brad Etter, because I knew he needed to be the one to direct it. His eye for cinematography is beautiful and I knew he would instantly understand what I was going for. He said yes immediately. After that, we began cobbling together the crew heads to come up with ideas for how we could get this film made and what it would cost.

All along the way, we have had doors opening and people who I never thought I could get to come on to this project attach themselves to it. In fact, it was Lori Alan, celebrity voiceover artist, actress, and the beautiful voice of episode 1 for this film series, who suggested I consider turning it into a series. I decided that instead of making it a series about just my life, I wanted to make each episode about a different trauma and set of repercussions and healing forces based on true stories from what our fan base shared on our social media pages.

Which film or films have inspired you and why?

The films that came out this past year and addressed true life events and movements in a dramatic way, like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and To The Bone, as well as TV shows like Chicago Med and Law & Order: SVU that take headlines and dramatically interpret them, have influenced me. My film is based on true stories, but told through dramatic film, which gives us the liberty to construct the inside of the mind and interpret how it is seen through the eye of the traumatized person artistically while still getting the story and the message across.

My director, Brad Etter, and my director of photography, Terrence Magee, are both using inspiration for the look of the film from the Guillermo del Torro films The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Crimson Peak.

What surprised you the most in the filmmaking process?

First, how hard it is to fund a film. It truly is very hard! However, I think what has surprised me the most with this project has been the outpouring of support I have received from the people who are now crew, core team members for our campaign, and just fans of what I am trying to do by bringing awareness to trauma and how we heal from it, working to break the stigma surrounding these issues. I have received countless messages from friends and family saying “keep going, what you are doing is amazing.” I have received more specific messages from friends and colleagues who are or were in the social work and psychology fields that have given me advice, as well as words of encouragement saying they have been looking for a project to do this for a long time. We even have interest already from two health clinics who want us to share this series in their clinic when it is made!

Find more info at Indiegogo and connect on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

(This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.)

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
Kratom Supporters Converge on Washington to Fight Potential Ban

Kratom advocates met at the U.S. Capitol in early June to begin a week of lobbying in favor of the substance.

With a federal ban on kratom gaining traction in Washington, D.C, advocates of the plant’s pain management and potential opioid withdrawal properties traveled to the nation’s capital to lobby support for the Southeast Asian plant.

Participants hoped to correct legislators’ misconceptions about the plant, which has been labeled as an equivalent to prescription opioids with no medical benefit by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But as the Huffington Post noted, supporters found that their efforts generated a mixed response from the House and Senate, where legislative aides reportedly said that if the FDA followed through with the ban, it would most likely receive backing from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Surveys have suggested that between three and five million Americans use kratom, which is consumed as a supplement made from the dried or powdered leaves of the kratom tree.

Users claim that kratom can serve as a stimulant or sedative, and it has been touted as an alternative to prescription opioids for pain management, and in some cases, as a potential tool for withdrawal from opioids. It is currently unregulated in America, though some states have enacted a ban on the substance within their own borders.

Kratom’s interaction with opioid receptors in the body has placed it in the crosshairs of the FDA, which has claimed that it can impact the user in the same manner as opioids, and has the same potential for abuse and dependency.

The agency’s negative press eventually spurred the DEA’s decision to temporarily add kratom to its list of Schedule I drugs in 2016, though public outcry from users who relied on the substance for their quality of life forced it to rescind its order that same year.

The FDA has since renewed its efforts to take kratom off the market, this time with computer analysis that suggested the most prevalent compounds in the substance share “structural similarities” to opioids. It also officially recommended that the DEA move forward with its rescheduling, a decision which, according to sources within the agency, may happen as early as summer 2018.

In hopes of heading off such measures, kratom advocates met at the U.S. Capitol on June 5 to begin a week of lobbying in favor of the substance. Proponents testified to the positive impact of kratom use on their chronic pain, which they claimed to have treated unsuccessfully with prescription opioids.

As the HuffPost article noted, one individual spoke about her anxiety that had driven her to consider suicide, and how she had found relief through kratom use.

But attendees also reported that meetings with legislative aides at the House and Senate could not generate a concrete statement of support. Most appeared to hear and support the advocates’ aims, but could not assure the visitors that they would work on their behalf; others stated that if the FDA wanted to reassign kratom, there would be little they could do to stave off or reverse that decision.

“They were pretty much letting us know that this isn’t looking too great,” said Melanie Victor, a volunteer from Tennessee. “This is probably going to be a pretty big fight.”

View the original article at thefix.com

21 June 2018
Frankie Grande Celebrates Sober Milestone

“I discovered that the path to the light was not in drowning my sorrows, but in facing them head on… in sobriety.”

Following the one-year anniversary of the horrific Manchester Arena bombing at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017, the pop star and the people close to her have opened up about how they have coped in the aftermath of the horrific attack that killed 22 people.

The pop star’s brother, Frankie Grande, a singer, dancer and YouTube personality, penned a heartfelt letter that he shared with People magazine, in which he described the pain and trauma that the attack caused, not only on the victims themselves, but on him and his family.

In his letter, he shares that he is now one-year sober, a decision he made after falling into a “very dark place” that he tried masking with drugs and alcohol.

“Today I am one year sober… and the gratitude that I feel in the face of this milestone is measureless. After the tragic events of Manchester, with the senseless loss of life and fear that came from knowing my family was unsafe and that I was completely powerless to protect them, I went to a very dark place with no tools to handle the feelings that came along with the devastation of the attack. I tried to pull myself out of the darkness by drinking and abusing prescribed drugs as I had done in the past for so many other reasons… but that only made the hole that I was trying to crawl out of even deeper.”

The 35-year-old Broadway performer went on to describe how his previous party-centric life had “turned into a nightmare where I never felt more alone.” This went on until Frankie finally reached a point where “living was just too painful” and decided to seek help.

Since then, life has been different for Frankie. “I am here today because with that help I discovered that the path to the light was not in drowning my sorrows, but in facing them head on… in sobriety,” he wrote.

His letter went on to inspire and encourage anyone to have hope, despite whatever personal hell they might be going through. “In fact, you can become STRONGER than you ever thought possible,” Frankie wrote. The performer said he’s never been happier with his decision to be sober.

“This decision to be sober is a lifetime decision. I live without needing a drink or a drug to change the way I feel or perceive my circumstances and outcomes,” he wrote. “I have repaired relationships I previously thought unsalvageable and I am living my best TRUEST life.”

At the end of his letter, Frankie lists a number of resources that may help somebody who is struggling: Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, SAMHSA, and the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

In a recent post on Twitter, Frankie thanked his sister Ariana Grande for giving him strength and supporting his recovery.

Last month, the 24-year-old pop singer shared how she’s been coping with the trauma of the Manchester bombing.

“Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day,” she said at the time. “I wish there was more that I could fix. You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 June 2018
Sober Joe Supports Recovery, One Cup Of Coffee At A Time

The national coffee brand raises money for non-profits offering recovery services and funds monthly sober living scholarships.

Coffee and recovery go hand-in-hand, whether the beverage is being served at 12-step meetings, or just helping someone start their day in the morning. Now, a small-batch, craft coffee company is working to support recovery efforts, one cup at a time.

Frank Kerker worked in the beverage industry for 25 years, doing sales and marketing for national brands. However, when Kerker started working a recovery program in 2005 after realizing he was drinking too much, he realized that there was a natural opportunity to use coffee as a fundraiser for recovery.

“This was the perfect intersection for me: beverages and recovery,” Kerker told The Fix in a recent interview.

Not only was it a good fit given Kerker’s professional past, but there was also a well-established connection between coffee and recovery.

“I don’t know why there is that connection, but there is,” Kerker said. “Coffee is mentioned a half a dozen times in The Big Book and 12 & 12. It’s the beverage of choice for 12-step meetings everywhere. It’s ubiquitous, part of the culture. Making coffee is even suggested as a way to perform service work.”

Last September, Kerker began to use coffee as part of his service work, although he went far beyond making a pot for friends. He launched Sober Joe, a coffee brand that raises money for non-profits offering recovery services.

Initially, Kerker was planning to just test the concept, but the positive response was overwhelming.

“Virtually everyone is touched directly by addiction and people want to help but don’t know how,” Kerker said. “Buying a product that you use everyday is an easy way to help. Plus, it’s really good coffee.”

Each month since September, Sober Joe has funded a scholarship to Courage to Change Sober Living, a local halfway house in Bloomington, Indiana, where Sober Joe is headquartered. Kerker estimates the scholarships totaled about $3,000.

More recently, Sober Joe partnered with Compassion4Addiction, an organization that aims to change the perception of addiction through compassion and science. Sober Joe is now launching nationally, and proceeds from national sales will be donated to Compassion4Addiction.

“Shame and stigma can’t coexist with compassion,” said Vicky Dulai, the cofounder of Compassion4Addiction. “If you create a place for compassion, then you can create a space where people can actually heal.”

Kerker agrees that cutting down on stigma is essential to advancing treatment for addiction.

“Accurately understanding the problem is the first step in solving the problem and loosening the stigma that stands in the way of effective treatment,” Kerker said.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 June 2018