Author: The Fix

The Lumineers’ Latest Album Explores Cycle Of Addiction

By confronting the reality of addiction head on, the band hopes to address the stigma of the disease.

The Lumineers are using their latest album, III, to urge people to look at the cyclical, progressive nature of alcoholism and addiction.

The band members draw on their personal experiences with substance abuse to tell the story of three generations of a family touched by the disease, NPR reports.

“With drug addiction or alcoholism it really affects the individual and then it has a sort of fallout effect—similar to the effects of a radiation bomb—over time and over years and years, it continually tends to affect people’s loved ones,” said drummer Jeremiah Fraites, whose brother died from causes related to addiction.

His Brother’s Addiction

Fraites remembers watching his brother, Josh, suffer.

“I remember my mom woke me up. She said, ‘Sweetheart, your brother got arrested last night. He was arrested in a car was around 2:00 in the morning.’ He’d smoke PCP and he was so high on drugs that he went inside this A&P, which was like a local supermarket out in the East Coast, and he drank Drano which is just an unbelievable thing. I don’t know what compelled him to do that. But he was in the ICU for a couple of weeks with second and third degree burns on his throat,” Fraites said.

After that, Josh became more sick, until he died a few months later.

“You know they talk about addiction. It’s a progressive disease. It’s not something where you just wake up and you’re homeless and you’re begging for crack or heroin,” Fraites said.

The Story Of Gloria

The album opens with the song “Gloria,” which tells the story of an alcoholic woman and her interactions with her family. The band released a jarring music video in June to go with the song.

“Gloria being that important and also being that dysfunctional is where the album kind of begins,” lead singer Wes Schultz said.

He explained how the instrumentals on the song were meant to mimic the chaos of addiction.

“There’s this almost cartoonish piano that interrupts the guitar. Within the reality of being closely involved with an addict, there is a cartoonish nature to life. Like, you’ll get a call and it’s the most absurd thing you’ve ever heard. You can’t even wrap your head around it. And there’s a mania. There’s a manic nature to that is found in that piano,” he said.

The album continues with songs about Gloria’s son, Jimmy, and Jimmy’s son.

By confronting the reality of addiction head on, the band hopes to address the stigma of the disease. “It’s the family secret and it’s a taboo,” Schultz said.

So far, it’s working, as fans relate to the family on the album.

Schultz said, “Every show you ever go to, someone’s talking about getting their heart broken, most likely, and there are people who put their arms around each other. Coming together for a concert or hearing someone say something that you only thought you felt; I think that’s why it’s positive even though it’s counterintuitive that heartbreak music would be when people cheer the loudest.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 September 2019
Andie MacDowell Details How Her Mother's Alcoholism Affected Her Life

“I think I’ve felt responsible all my life. But I’m good at it. I’ve been in training for a long time,” MacDowell said.

Actress and fashion model Andie MacDowell spoke on growing up with a mother who was addicted to alcohol and how that affected her own desire to consume intoxicating substances in a recent interview with The Guardian.

The 61-year-old star of film classics such as Groundhog Day and Sex, Lies, and Videotape recalls being a young model in New York and being introduced to cocaine. Thankfully, she was not a fan.

Cocaine Was Ubiquitous In Her Modeling Days

“There was a lot of cocaine around,” she said. “I had a small experience at the very beginning and hated it. I hated it! It was only, like, a month. I really didn’t like the way it felt. It didn’t make me feel good and I couldn’t sleep.”

The use of cocaine among models at the time was so common, and sober individuals so rare, that MacDowell almost ended her career at age 21, telling her agency that she wanted to go home. Instead, they introduced her to champagne heir Olivier Chandon de Brailles, who also didn’t care for drugs and alcohol, and the two started dating.

“I don’t know if they prearranged the whole thing, but it sure did work out well for me. I started working non-stop and my whole life opened up.”

As A Young Child, She Took Care Of Her Mom

MacDowell’s distaste for drugs and alcohol began at a young age, as she watched her mother, Paula Johnston, struggle with alcohol addiction. According to the actress, she would often wake up late at night to check to make sure her mom’s last cigarette was out all the way.

“There was this old-fashioned can opener attached to the wall and she’d be in the kitchen drinking and I’d clean the oil off the can opener and talk to her and ask: ‘Why do you drink?’” she remembered.

“There were burn marks all over the floor and on the couch; it’s amazing we didn’t burn down,” she recalled. “That’s a lot of responsibility for a child, I say. I think I’ve felt responsible all my life. But I’m good at it. I’ve been in training for a long time.”

However, she says she “always felt loved” and that she and her mother had a good relationship.

At age 17, MacDowell appealed to doctors for help with addiction treatment, but options were limited. One doctor’s decision to prescribe Valium only made the problem worse.

“That was a bad decision because then I couldn’t communicate with her,” she said. “And I communicated really well with her.”

Her mother did finally get to a better place just one year before she died of a heart attack at age 53.

“She said she had quit drinking and that she was so proud of me. That was the last year of her life and I didn’t really get to be around it, which was super sad.”

As a mother of three herself, MacDowell was fine with her daughters getting into the acting business in spite of the not-so-hidden drug culture within, trusting that they are as disinterested in that kind of lifestyle as she is.

“We’re really kind of boring people. We barely want to go out… I’m a home body and I do yoga and I hike, that’s kind of it. No drugs and rock and roll!”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 September 2019
New York Bans Flavored Vape Products

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that flavored vaping products, which range from cotton candy to fruit flavors, target teens.

In hopes of stemming the use of vape products among high schoolers, New York State has banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes on Wednesday (Sept. 18).

The ban, which takes effect immediately, makes it illegal to sell vapes that have flavors other than tobacco or menthol. All other flavors need to be removed from stores within two weeks, Time reported.

Targeting Teens

In New York, 27% of high schoolers and 40% of high school seniors use e-cigarettes. Flavored products, which range from cotton candy to fruit flavors, target teens, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday, when he proposed the ban.

He said, “These are obviously targeted to young people and highly effective at targeting young people.”

The state Public Health and Health Planning Council approved the ban on Wednesday.

Regulating Vaping

Lawmakers across the country are scrambling to regulate use of vapes, especially among teenagers. Although sale of e-cigarettes is limited to people 18 and older, the use of vapes among high school students has skyrocketed.

Officials say this is driven by the promotion of flavored products. With a recent spate of lung disease, and several deaths, linked to vape use, officials have become even more concerned.

Last week the Trump administration announced that it had plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement, “The Trump administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities.”

Prior to that, on September 3, Michigan became the first state to ban the sale of flavored vape products, but the new policy has yet to take effect. “My number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said at the time.

Although there is clearly a public health concern, people who sell vapes say that lawmakers are overstepping. Some of them are even considering a legal challenge to the new bans, said Mike Kruger, who owns an Albany, New York vape shop.

“We are bypassing the legislative process,” Kruger said. “Vaping has been around for 12 years. And now this.”

However, the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul, which dominates the vape market, has said that it will comply with regulations, and it recognizes the need to better control flavored products.

“We strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavored products,” Juul spokesman Austin Finan said in response to the proposed federal ban. He noted that the company “will fully comply with local laws and the final FDA policy when effective.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 September 2019
The Million Dollar Smile: My Life with Bipolar Disorder

As many as 60 million people worldwide have bipolar disorder. Many of those people, like me, lead productive, happy lives.

He said my smile was worth a million bucks, or was it that I had a million-dollar smile?

I remember when smiling was foreign to me. I’d wake in the morning feeling great for a few minutes, and then the dark clouds came, weighing in on my body, pressing down on me. Depression overwhelmed me, so much so that my entire body ached. I felt empty, hopeless, sad beyond belief, and exhausted.

An Emotional Black Hole

It was another day filled with mental and physical pain…another day spent looking for ways to make the pain stop. I sought help from the big one – God. I was in the early stages of finding Him. I also saw a psychologist for therapy, joined a support group, and listened to Melanie Beattie healing tapes. I read books like Happiness Is a Choice and joined a running club. Nothing worked. I sank deeper and deeper into an emotional black hole.

I wondered how I could enjoy my new relationship with God, love Him, and still feel this intense pain. It was like nothing I ever experienced. I began to understand why people kill themselves, they want to stop the pain. So did I, and I entertained thoughts of committing suicide. Once when running, I visualized doing the deed. It felt real. I sobbed and limped home.

Even in my desperate search for help, my suicidal thoughts were a closely-kept secret. I was afraid that if I revealed them to anyone I would be admitted to a hospital – maybe locked up forever.

My life was spiraling down fast. Scared, I called my therapist. He referred me to a psychiatrist who focuses on chemical imbalances.

The psychiatrist listened to me and asked me a series of questions. He seemed to know the symptoms I experienced without me telling him. Our session ended when he diagnosed me as bipolar 2. He said after six weeks of taking the medication he prescribed, a lot of those symptoms would disappear. I left his office feeling optimistic. Maybe this was the help I needed.

A Real Smile

Six weeks later, something wonderful happened. I was in my car and heard something funny on the radio. I smiled – something I hadn’t done in a long time. It felt so good that I pulled the car over and looked at my smile in the mirror.

It was as if the sun burst out from behind the dark clouds, gobbling each one up. The cobwebs in my brain cleared, and I was smiling – even laughing. The medication wasn’t a miracle worker, but it squelched my black depression and left me with the ability to deal with my problems.

That was nearly 20 years ago. I don’t remember what it felt like to live with intense mental and physical pain for no apparent reason, and I don’t want to go there again. So, I take my medication and see my psychiatrist regularly. The dark clouds came back to haunt me once in the last 20 years, and I immediately saw my psychiatrist for help and got back on track.

The Big Secret

For the most part, I prefer to keep my bipolar status under wraps. I guess it’s out of the bag now with this story. There’s stigma and prejudice against people who are bipolar. Most people don’t know much about people with mental illness and expect us behave in negative, sometimes scary ways. Some of the most common beliefs are that we have wide mood swings, engage in manic behavior, and that we’re promiscuous, wild spenders, and we can’t sustain relationships or jobs. Even worse, some people, including the media, promote characteristics that bipolar people have tendencies to be violent.

Sometimes the media reports a story about a criminal or murderer, adding that the person is bipolar. This makes me cringe. They don’t comment if a person has asthma, hypertension, allergies, or was overlooked for a promotion. Labeling these people as bipolar compounds the negative stereotype of violence. People with bipolar disorders don’t come in one category, and most of us, like the general population, do not have violent tendencies.

Should I Tell Him?

Because of the negative stigma and prejudice, I’m careful about who I share my diagnosis with and when. I decided 10 months into a relationship would be a good time for this revelation. By that time, the person I’m in a relationship with would know what I’m typically like. I’m an okay, normal person who gets sad when the situation merits it – like when my boyfriend died from cancer or my job was eliminated.

Things moved fast when I met my husband. We started falling in love on our first date, so I felt he should know that I’m bipolar 2 sooner rather than 10 months later. Three months into the relationship, I told Larry about my diagnosis. I remember that nerve-wracking evening. When I tried to speak, the words stuck in my throat. It seemed to take hours before I had the courage to tell him. During this time, Larry grew nervous and wondered if I was going to break up with him. After I told him about my diagnosis, Larry acted like I told him about the weather – not anything serious like being bipolar 2.

At my suggestion, Larry came with me to the psychiatrist so that my doctor could tell him about my case and answer his questions. Again, I was nervous. I believe I’m okay, but what will my psychiatrist say? What if I’m a nutcase in denial? My psychiatrist of 17 years told Larry that I have a mild case and will be okay as long as I continue taking my meds regularly and get enough sleep.

Larry and I have been married for three years. As I expected, there haven’t been any crazy episodes or depressions.

I feel very lucky that I’m getting the treatment I need. I started seeing my psychiatrist four times a year; now I see him twice a year. When I asked him if I could get off the meds, he said it’s not a good idea. I’m fine because I take the medicine.

There Are a Lot of Us

As many as 60 million people worldwide have bipolar disorder. Many of those people, like me, lead productive, happy lives. Some articles state that our 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, had bipolar disorder. Other people with this diagnosis include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oscar-winning actress; Mariah Carey, singer; Jean-Claude Van Damme, an actor; Ted Turner, media businessman and founder of CNN; Patricia Cornwell, crime writer; Patrick J. Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Lynn Rivers, former members of the U.S. House of Representatives; Jane Pauley, a television journalist; maybe your colleague, sibling or neighbor…and me, a corporate communications and freelance writer.

Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness with no cure, but it can be managed with psychiatric medication and psychotherapy. I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years and plan to do that for the rest of my life. Being free of bipolar symptoms enables me to smile…and mean it.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 September 2019
Drug Companies Want Federal Judge Removed From Opioid Cases

Big Pharma lawyers argue that their clients will not get a fair trial with Judge Dan Polster because of his desire for a settlement.

Drug companies and retailers that are being sued by local governments across the nation are requesting that the judge overseeing the opioid suits in federal court step down, saying that he is too focused on reaching a settlement.

Lawyers for the defendants—which include Cardinal Health, Walmart and many others—filed a motion on Saturday saying that Judge Dan Polster is not impartial in the case because he has said he wants a settlement, The Guardian reported.

Turning A Blind Eye

Polster’s “unusual level of commitment” to reaching a settlement agreement has caused him to turn “a blind eye to the law,” the lawyers said in the motion.

They explained, “Defendants do not bring this motion lightly. Taken as a whole and viewed objectively, the record clearly demonstrates that recusal is necessary.”

Polster has indeed been outspoken about his desire to see a settlement in the federal cases, which combined more than 2,000 lawsuits.

Hopeful For Change

Last year, Polster discussed his hopes that the trials would result in meaningful change. The defendants latched onto that comment in their motion.

They quoted Polster as saying, “My objective is to do something meaningful to abate this crisis,” including “dramatically reducing the number of opioids that are being disseminated, manufactured and distributed… and [assuring] that we get some amount of money to the government agencies for treatment.”

Polster has acknowledged that the trials that he is presiding over are a unique situation, and something that hasn’t been seen before in the judiciary.

“The judicial branch typically doesn’t fix social problems, which is why I’m somewhat uncomfortable doing this, but it seems the most human thing to do,” he said in 2018.

The lawyers argue that their clients will not get a fair trial with Polster at the bench.

“The court’s deep involvement in settlement discussions requires its disqualification from any bench trial of equitable remedies. Together, these factors more than raise a reasonable question about the court’s impartiality,” they wrote.

The first bellwether trial in the federal opioid litigation is scheduled to start next month. However, this motion is likely to delay that beginning, said law professor Carl Tobias.

“Polster is likely to deny the motion, which will then be appealed, delaying the start of the trial,” he said.

Tobias pointed out that the whole point of presiding over all of the lawsuits in one court is to facilitate settlements.

“The defendants are saying Polster pre-judged the outcome through his public statements and in all he’s done,” Tobias said. “But trying to move it toward settlement is what Congress intended in this kind of situation.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 September 2019
Mental Illness Isn’t Associated With Gun Violence, Study Confirms

Researchers say the findings should have implications for public policy as the nation struggles to respond to an epidemic of gun violence.

Access to guns, not history of mental illness, is the biggest predictor of whether a person will threaten someone else or commit violent acts with a firearm, a recent study has confirmed.

The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, looked at the behavior of 663 young adults over a period of a few years. Researchers asked participants about their mental health history and symptoms of mental illness.

They also asked about participants’ access to firearms, whether they carried a gun outside their home (other than for hunting), and if they had ever threatened anyone with a gun.

Public Perception Is Wrong

“Despite the prevailing public and media perception of mental health being associated with gun violence, there is generally a lack of research to support this. We conducted this study to test the link and to provide scientific evidence,” Yu Lu, lead study author and an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, told PsyPost.

Researchers wrote that the findings should have implications for public policy as the nation struggles to respond to an epidemic of gun violence.

“We found that the majority of mental health symptoms we examined, including anxiety, depression, stress, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder, were unrelated to gun violence,” Lu said. “Instead, individuals with gun access were 18 times more likely to have threatened someone with a gun compared to those who did not have gun access, even after controlling for mental health, prior mental health treatment, and demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity.”

Lu said that despite discussions about gun control and mental health access, there has been little research that looks at the interplay of gun violence and mental illness.

The researcher explained, “There is an overall lack of research on gun violence. We are the first one to look at mental illness and gun access together, we are also the first one to use longitudinal data to look at the relationship overtime.”

Still, Lu pointed out that more research needs to be done. The study had some limitations. It did not include individuals with schizophrenia, for example. In addition, the study took place in the Houston, Texas area, where gun ownership rates are higher than elsewhere in the country.

Lu emphasized what mental health advocates have been saying all along: that people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of gun violence than to perpetrate a gun crime.

“The main takeaway from the study is that we should not stigmatize people with mental health problems, not assume they are dangerous, because more than likely they are not dangerous and actually are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence,” Lu said.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 September 2019
Ex-Eagle Scout Turned Kingpin Found Guilty Of Fentanyl Trafficking Ring

The 29-year-old Utah man is facing a life sentence.

The Justice Department reported that a Utah resident has been found guilty on 12 counts of organizing and directing a drug trafficking ring that was allegedly linked to several overdose deaths.

Aaron Shamo, 29, of Salt Lake City, Utah, faces a possible mandatory minimum life sentence in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar scheme, regarded by law enforcement as one of the largest in the country, that produced hundreds of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone tablets, which were made with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, and fake Xanax tablets.

Deadlocked on the 13th Count

Shamo—described by ABC News as a former Eagle Scout and aspiring entrepreneur—was found guilty on 12 of 13 charges handed down by a grand jury, which was deadlocked on the final charge of aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.

According to CBS, court documents showed that Shamo and co-conspirator Drew Crandall met while working at an eBay call center and reportedly formulated a plan to sell their own prescriptions of Adderall on the dark web. The pair used the funds to purchase other drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, which they paid friends to receive at their homes.

Setting Up The Empire

Eventually, their organization grew to producing their own pills, beginning with counterfeit Xanax made from the anxiety drug alprazolam, and later fentanyl, ordered from China, manufactured with a pill press, and sold via an online store called Pharma-Master. As ABC News noted, Shamo and his partners sold thousands of pills per week at $10 per pill.

But as the Justice Department release showed, customers began complaining to Shamo that they were getting sick from his product, and in June of 2016, 21-year-old Ruslan Klyuev died from an apparent overdose of fentanyl, alcohol and a substance associated with cocaine after purchasing pills from Pharma-Master. Three other individuals that purchased pills from Shamo’s company died from overdoses, though Shamo was only charged with Klyuev’s death.

Despite this, Shamo and Crandall were reportedly earning vast amounts of money from their operation, as indicated by social media posts of trips to Southeast Asia and purchases of a BMW and a boat.

Pharma-Master’s end came as swiftly as its ascent: a customs agent in Los Angeles seized a package of fentanyl in 2016 that was intended for a third party reportedly hired by Shamo. Federal agents pressed the recipient to deliver subsequent packages to the police, including one that contained more than 34,000 pills. Shamo’s house was raided in November of that year, and intercepted Crandall while en route to his wedding in Hawaii in 2017.

Shamo was convicted of 12 counts, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, possession and manufacture of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of knowing and intentional adulteration of drugs while held for sale. Crandall, who pled guilty in 2018 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and commit money laundering, reached a plea deal with prosecutors and served as a witness in Shamo’s trial.

Both face possible life sentences, though prosecutors have agreed to recommend a reduced sentence for Crandall, as determined by the judge. Sentencing for Shamo is set for December 3, 2019.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 September 2019
"60 Minutes" Tracks Down Fentanyl "Kingpin" In China

The show’s producers tracked down and confronted one of the primary sources offering fentanyl online to US residents.

60 Minutes recently did a segment on the fentanyl crisis, tracking down a man identified as something of a “kingpin” for the trafficking of this incredibly potent drug from China. Shipments of fentanyl from China via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) are considered by federal authorities to be a massive source of the influx of the drug that has been causing mass overdose cases across the country.

Shopping For Fentanyl Online

After two overdose deaths in a week in Akron, Ohio, assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Cronin decided to investigate how the synthetic opioid, which can be 50 times more potent than heroin, was making its way so easily into American hands. He found that ordering fentanyl online was shockingly simple.

“We just said, ‘Hey,’ according to the source’s instructions, ‘we’re interested in buying fentanyl,’” said Cronin. “And the result was, to say the least, surprising. We have dozens, probably over 50 different drug trafficking networks reaching out to us saying, ‘We have fentanyl. We have even more powerful fentanyl analogs. Whatever you want, we’ll get it for you for cheap. We’ll get it for you in bulk.’”

All of the replies came from China.

According to similar investigations by Ohio Senator Rob Portman and his staff, these sources guaranteed shipments that went through the USPS due to delays in implementing shipping procedures designed to stop fentanyl trafficking.

“That’s because after 9/11, all private carriers like FedEx were required to give U.S. Customs advance descriptions and tracking of foreign packages,” 60 Minutes reports. “The Postal Service was allowed to delay because of the cost.”

Although the USPS has tried to implement these requirements, they say that China is not cooperating.

Locating The Source

Somehow, 60 Minutes producer Bob Anderson tracked down a man named Guanghua Zheng, who was identified as one of the primary sources offering fentanyl online to U.S. residents, and confronted him outside of a Shanghai grocery store. Zheng insisted that he no longer does this before the woman who was with him intervened.

The U.S. government has “sealed” off Zheng’s offshore bank accounts, shut down 40 of his websites selling illicit substances like fentanyl in 20 languages, and officially designated him and his sons as “foreign drug kingpins.” China has promised to shut down the synthetic opioid trafficking networks operating within its borders, but it’s unclear whether they are following through.

During the 60 Minutes segment, Justin Herdman, U.S. Attorney in Cleveland, repeated a claim that fentanyl can cause intoxication, overdose, and even death through mere skin contact. However, in 2018, harm reduction activist Chad Sabora demonstrated this to be a myth by holding fentanyl-laced powder in his hand for several minutes without effect.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 September 2019
Aaron Carter Is Two Years Sober, But Urging His Mom Into Treatment

Carter announced that he is canceling part of his tour to focus on his mental health and family.

Shortly after revealing that he lives with a host of mental health issues, pop singer Aaron Carter has canceled much of his tour to focus on his mental health and family issues.

Carter appeared on The Doctors last week and spoke openly about his mental health diagnoses.

“The official diagnosis is that I suffer from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety. I’m manic depressive,” he said, according to TooFab. “I’m prescribed to Xanax, Seroquel, gabapentin, hydroxyzine, trazodone, omeprazole.”

Despite needing to use prescription drugs to manage his condition, Carter said that he has been sober for two years. He revealed that he went to rehab in 2017 because he was huffing aerosol cans.

His Mother’s Battle

Although he doesn’t appear to be doing well, he said on the show that his mother Jane is in desperate need for treatment for her alcohol use.

“My mother is struggling. She’s a very bad alcoholic,” he said. “Alcohol is her best friend… She’s ruined all of her relationships.”

He is afraid that if Jane doesn’t get help, her substance use will have deadly consequences. “What scares me the most is that she is dying. I feel like if she doesn’t get the help now, she’s going to die in the next six months to a year,” he said.

At the end of the show, Jane agreed to go to rehab.

Taking A Break For Mental Health

However, a few days later, Carter announced on Twitter that he is canceling part of his tour to focus on his mental health and family.

“I have to put my health first and I hope you can all understand how much I need this time to heal and recharge my batteries,” he wrote on Twitter. “I love you. Stay strong. Stay healthy, and just know I’ll be back next year ready to go. But as a man, this is what I need to do to have some peace. Xo”

Abuse From a Young Age

Thursday morning, Carter made a shocking allegation on social media, setting off a Twitterstorm on his feed. “My sister raped me from the age of 10 to 13 years old when she wasn’t on her medications and I was abused not only sexually by her but by my first two back up dancers when I was 8 years old. And my brother abused me my whole life,” he posted early this morning.

“I feel cleansed all my truth is out I just need to focus now on my music my career and supporting all victims of abuse and rape,” he tweeted.

This came a day after his older brother Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys shared that he filed a restraining order against Aaron, “in light of Aaron’s increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child.”

View the original article at thefix.com

19 September 2019
Danny Trejo Celebrates 51 Years Sober

“My life is just so beautiful since I took alcohol and drugs out of it,” Trejo said.

Danny Trejo celebrated over a half-century sober this month. The actor posted a photo on social media of himself holding a cake with the caption, “Celebrating 51 years of being clean and sober with the guys.”

The actor, who is promoting the new Rob Zombie film 3 From Hell, shared with Entertainment Tonight, “My life is just so beautiful since I took alcohol and drugs out of it.”

He added, “God has blessed me with great friends, a great support system and great people around me. That’s what a person needs, a great support system.”

First Encounter With Drugs

Trejo, 75, has come a long way.

His uncle introduced him to weed when he was eight years old. And from then on, he would use “whatever drugs were available,” he told Prison Legal News in 2011.

“I thought that drugs were my answer,” he said in a 2015 AARP documentary. “As long as I stayed loaded, I’m okay. But life would turn into chaos.”

Trejo spent more than a decade in various maximum-security California state prisons, making a name for himself as a boxing champ “in every institution I was in.”

When he left prison for the final time, he dedicated himself to serving others and became a drug counselor, connecting with people in juvenile halls, prisons and more.

His Big Break

That’s when he got his big break. He found himself on the set of the film Runaway Train (1985) while responding to a call from a production assistant who needed support so he wouldn’t use drugs. While Trejo was on set, he was recruited by a former fellow inmate who recognized him to teach Eric Roberts how to box for the film. The director was so pleased with his work that he put him in the film as a boxer.

“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else,” said Trejo. “My passion is talking to young people… My message is, staying away from drugs and alcohol, and education is the key to anything you want to do.”

Trejo was first introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous in 1959. “Once you know about it, it’s always there, it’s always an alternative,” he told Prison Legal News.

A Long, Successful Career

The iconic Hollywood “tough guy” has been in at least 124 films. And he’s managed to stay humble despite his impressive filmography. “I don’t think I am a big Hollywood star,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “I won’t let myself. I can’t, because I’ve seen too many actors with the feeling of entitlement, and I want to slap the shit out of them.”

Having been through so much in his life, Trejo learned the hard way, by being incarcerated, that substance abuse is not the answer.

“I was an addict, an alcoholic, and I know that road,” he said in the AARP documentary. “That road leads to death, institutions or insanity.”

View the original article at thefix.com

19 September 2019