“Big Pharma is trying to hijack the bill and turn it into a giant pharmaceutical company bailout,” said Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota). Pharmaceutical companies are attempting to inject $4 billion in savings for themselves into opioid legislation being considered in Congress. A package of bills meant to address the opioid epidemic have passed both the… Continue reading Big Pharma Tries To Slip Benefit Into Senate Opioid Package
Category: Addiction News
Overdose Deaths Increase in New Jersey Even As Prescriptions Decline
State attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal says that despite the fatal OD increase “there are reasons for hope.” Opioid overdose deaths in New Jersey increased by 24% last year, even as the number of prescriptions written for opioids fell for the first time in recent years. According to a press release from the state attorney… Continue reading Overdose Deaths Increase in New Jersey Even As Prescriptions Decline
Scientists Used Gambling Monkeys To Try To Figure Out Addiction
The experiment’s goal was to understand which regions of the brain wield influence over decision-making. The behavior of a pair of monkeys with a taste for juice—and gambling—may suggest that risky decisions, from high stakes betting to criminal behavior, is less of a personality trait and more an issue of brain circuitry. Scientists conducted an experiment in… Continue reading Scientists Used Gambling Monkeys To Try To Figure Out Addiction
Views From A Rehab Counselor
No amount of comfort is enough when there is a look of terror on someone admitting to treatment for the first time. “I want to be that little girl!” A woman in her late 40s is sitting in front of me in my office, sobbing as she stares at a black and white picture… Continue reading Views From A Rehab Counselor
Treatment Clinic Beat The Odds To Help Patients During Hurricane Florence
“Some of those nurses were without power, they sustained damage to their homes, but they showed up every day.” When Hurricane Florence swept through the middle of the country, it left behind patients in treatment without access to their possibly life-saving medications. The hurricane brought with it flooding and blocked roads and bridges—putting patients in… Continue reading Treatment Clinic Beat The Odds To Help Patients During Hurricane Florence
SNL’s Pete Davidson Realized “It Wasn’t The Weed” In Rehab
“I was sober for 3 months at one point and I was like this f— sucks.” In a recent interview, Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson expanded on his decision to return to smoking weed after a brief period of sobriety made him realize he was “never sadder.” The 24-year-old Staten Island native told Howard Stern… Continue reading SNL’s Pete Davidson Realized “It Wasn’t The Weed” In Rehab
God Hates Pikachu and He Also Killed My Daddy
My higher power doesn’t want me sticking a needle in my arm. For me today, it’s as simple as that. I didn’t want to unpack this story so soon. My aim was to share my experience with getting and staying sober in a dry and witty way, do that for a while with you, maybe… Continue reading God Hates Pikachu and He Also Killed My Daddy
New Opioid Laws Seek To Curb Overprescribing
Though there is no hard evidence of the effectiveness of the laws yet, some professionals see the numbers as heading in the right direction. As the opioid epidemic has continued to claim lives, more than two dozen states have put laws in place in the hope of limiting the damage. Of those two dozen, the… Continue reading New Opioid Laws Seek To Curb Overprescribing
Bananas Donated To Prison Contained $18M Worth of Cocaine
The two unclaimed pallets of ripe bananas were filled with a lot more than potassium. A Texas prison got much more than it bargained for, when a shipment of donated bananas bound for the penitentiary was found to contain nearly $18 million worth of cocaine. “Sometimes, life gives you lemons. Sometimes, it gives you bananas.… Continue reading Bananas Donated To Prison Contained $18M Worth of Cocaine
NYC Welcomes Public To Marijuana "Listening Sessions"
The public’s feedback will help state officials draft legislation to legalize marijuana in New York. New York is hosting “listening sessions” across the state to gather the public’s input on marijuana legalization. The Regulated Marijuana Listening Sessions will run from September to mid-October across New York state, as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in August. “Community… Continue reading NYC Welcomes Public To Marijuana "Listening Sessions"