Category: Addiction News

Cryptocurrency Addiction Treatment Program Launches In Scotland

The announcement has sparked debate about the validity of digital currency addiction.

A hospital in the south of Scotland is offering what is described as the first residential treatment for dependency on cryptocurrency.

Therapists at Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire, which provides treatment programs for drugs and alcohol, will apply methods used to treat gambling addiction to assist individuals who have become dependent on trading digital currencies like Bitcoin.

Though no scientific studies have been conducted to confirm whether dependency to cryptocurrency trading is an actual condition, medical professionals have concurred that the nature of bitcoin trading—which can yield or lose thousands of dollars at a moment’s notice—might cause some individuals to exhibit dependency-driven behavior when using it.

In its coverage of Castle Craig’s bitcoin program, Metro UK quoted Chris Burn, a gambling therapist at the facility, who drew a connection between gambling dependency and similar behaviors linked to cryptocurrency.

“The high risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler,” he noted. “It provides excitement and an escape from reality. Bitcoin, for example, has been heavily traded and huge gains and losses were made.”

His sentiments were echoed by therapist Tony Marini, whose struggles with gambling and cocaine dependency made him an ideal choice to lead some treatment sessions at Castle Craig.

“I see cryptocurrency trading as a way for people to escape from themselves into another world, because they don’t like the world they’re in,” he stated. “The first stage of treatment is to join other addicts in group therapy and share their life stories. It helps them identify with each other and realize they’re not alone.”

The notion of Bitcoin and other digital currencies as dependency-forming is not relegated to the staff at Castle Craig. The Austin, Texas-based Daily Dot referenced a 2014 online discussion on Reddit which, while largely humorous, did indicate that some users felt that Bitcoin was “like a drug” as one individual wrote.

For Dr. Timothy Fong, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA, the assessment has some merit. “You could replace the words ‘digital currency’ with ‘crack cocaine,’ ‘methamphetamine, ‘marijuana,’ or ‘gambling,’ and you’ll see some of those same kind of ways people talk about it,” he noted.

But he is hesitant to refer to dependency issues regarding bitcoin as an actual condition. “There is truth to that,” he said to the Dot. “But it’s a funny statement because you could say the same thing about sex, sports, handbags, a freshly-cut lawn, an ocean view—all those things are naturally rewarding, and they activate the portion of our brain that’s rewarding.”

View the original article at thefix.com

1 June 2018
Owning My Space as a Woman in 12-Step Programs

I am totally within my rights if I say no, you may not sit there, and no, I don’t want a hug and I don’t want a cup of coffee and just back the fuck off because I have mace in my purse.

Several days after I took my last drink, I was detoxing at home (note: this is not a good idea) when my mother came over to check on me.

“You should go to AA,” she said, not judgmentally but kindly, from her perch on the sofa in our playroom. I was sweating, sprawled on the other couch, ignoring the toys strewn around me, and her suggestion hit me like a crack of lightning. I sat upright.

“Absolutely NOT,” I replied. “I’m not going to sit in a room full of people who have problems.”

I laugh about it now, looking back. Alcoholics Anonymous is exactly where I belonged then, and it’s where I belong today, but finding the courage to take that first step is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. I was terrified, physically and emotionally sick, and as vulnerable as a baby animal left in the woods. Truthfully, I belonged in rehab, but our insurance would require us to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket if we chose that route, and we simply could not afford it.

People fresh out of the mire of addiction or alcoholism, are, in a word, weak. I waffled between wanting to die and experiencing bursts of euphoria. I had moments where I would have done any drug offered to me, just to make the unfamiliar experience of feeling raw emotions stop. I was fortunate enough to have a fortress of strong friends and family around me to hold me accountable and keep me on track long enough for sobriety to really take hold, but I can honestly say that I’ve never been as vulnerable as I was in early recovery.

And that is why I am so pissed off at the men who tried, unsuccessfully, to take advantage of my weakened state.

I don’t hate men; I think they’re pretty great. Men have, in general, always treated me well. I have two sons, an amazing husband, a wonderful dad, and multiple examples of loving, emotionally healthy male figures in my life. My life experiences have shown me that men are not only perfectly capable of treating women like human beings, but also that they should be expected to do so. Maybe I’m naïve, or sheltered, or simply have out of whack expectations, but when I began attending 12-step programs, I was quickly reminded that not all men are decent, and it PISSED ME OFF.

I’m not going to bore you with descriptions of how some of the dirty old-timers treat me before they realize I don’t play the 13^th stepper game. Some of these people are very slow learners, and others may never get it. If I had not been pushed, encouraged, and sometimes accompanied by my badass girlfriends, the energy it took to ward off the creeps would have been enough to allow me to talk myself into just staying home. It was the perfect excuse, really – telling myself that it wasn’t worth the trouble, or that a women’s only meeting wasn’t until tomorrow, so I could just skip out for today.

Fuck that.

“There will always be assholes,” my sponsor said at the time. “You can’t let that stop you from staying sober.” That was the day I decided not to allow someone else’s sickness interfere with my own recovery.

Fuck that.

I had no idea that I am terrible with boundaries until I started practicing saying “no” when a creeper tried to hold my hand or sit next to me. I learned that nothing terrible happens when I stand up in the middle of a meeting and switch seats, or if I say “this seat is taken,” even when it’s not. I learned that I can simply say no without offering an explanation. I am totally within my rights if I say no, you may not sit there, and no, I don’t want a hug and I don’t want a cup of coffee and just back the fuck off because I have mace in my purse.

Fuck that.

When a known predator walked right up to me and tried to give me a kiss, I stepped away and said “NOPE” as loudly as I could. As time went on and the fogginess of early sobriety began to clear, I forced myself to speak up in meetings, even with multiple pairs of eyes boring into me, mouthing words to me, and generally making me uncomfortable.

Fuck that.

My husband suggested that I start looking rough on purpose; at the beginning, I didn’t have to try. I looked like shit 24/7. But honestly, I don’t think it matters. Creepers gonna creep, no matter what a newcomer looks like.

I refuse to be crowded out of the only place I can go to for safety. I am in a happy marriage, I’m not looking for a sugar daddy or a fuck buddy or even a friend. I can get my own coffee and throw away my own garbage and get my own chair, and don’t you dare follow me to my car. I am in the rooms because I’m sick and I want to get better, and when I watch the newer newcomer get preyed upon like they tried to do to me, it fills me with a quiet rage. All I can do is give her my phone number and encourage her to find her boundaries and more importantly, her voice.

So now, nearly 18 months in, I force myself to look the men loitering around outside of the meeting in the eye; I don’t scurry by, allowing them to stare without any acknowledgement from me. I’m here, I’m taking up space, and I don’t owe you anything – not even a smile, not unless I fucking feel like it.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 June 2018
Veterans Hold Memorial Day Push for Medical Cannabis

The veterans participating in the Veterans Rally advocated for the VA to change its medical marijuana policy.

Veterans from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. on Monday to advocate for better access to medical cannabis through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Use cannabis, die less,” Mike Krawitz, a 56-year-old disabled U.S. Air Force veteran told Marijuana.com. “The scientific community has confirmed that cannabis saves lives by avoiding overdoses. VA doctors know this but are obliged not to recommend cannabis for pain and PTSD. And that is unethical.”

The motto of the 2018 Veterans Rally D.C. was “plants over pills.” The veterans who were participating were advocating for the VA to change its policy, which currently bars medical cannabis that many vets believe could help with chronic pain and issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Derek Cloutier, who has PTSD after serving with the Marines, said that he always found it easy to get prescription pills from the VA. He said he has seen veterans turn to selling their VA-issued pills in order to get medical cannabis, which they felt was more effective at relieving their symptoms.

“I’ve been told straight by a vet that I can go to a VA hospital and be prescribed opiates, Adderall—anything if they play their cards right, and then go sell the pills on the streets… just so they can buy cannabis and heal themselves,” Cloutier told Fox News.

Many vets, he said, are hesitant to use marijuana because it is stigmatized as a street drug. He worked through his own negative perceptions about cannabis before he began using it regularly. Now, he grows his own medical cannabis legally in Massachusetts, which has both a medical and recreational cannabis program.

“The more I learned about it, the more I educated myself about it… the stigma came down, the stereotypes came down,” Cloutier said. “All these walls around me, that I was terrified to say I’m a cannabis user… that’s part of the problem.”

According to The American Legion, 22% of veterans are already using medical cannabis, despite the fact that it could affect their treatment from the VA. The overwhelming majority of vets (92%) say that they support research into using cannabis to treat a variety of ailments.

Recently, the VA announced that it would begin to study medical marijuana. However, many veterans believe that there is unlikely to be a policy change under the current administration.

“VA doctors may be allowed more breathing room in a legal medical marijuana state, but they are afraid to run afoul of the federal government,” Krawitz said.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 June 2018
Paramore’s Hayley Williams Pens Powerful Mental Health Essay

“Writing kept me alive. Forced me to be honest. It helped me understand that emotional wellness and physical health are actually related.”

Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams is taking the shame out of sadness.

In the band’s most recent single “Rose-Colored Boy,” Williams sings, “Just let me cry a little bit longer/ I ain’t gon’ smile if I don’t want to.”

The chorus is a perfect summation of Williams’ current incarnation, as she’s emerged from difficult times and is (at least a little bit) comfortable enough to talk about it.

In a new essay for Paper magazine, Williams recalled when a lot came crashing down on her at the same time in both her personal life and her career.

“I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t laugh… for a long time,” she wrote. However, she added, “I’m still hesitant to call it depression. Mostly out of fear people will put it in a headline, as if depression is unique and interesting and deserves a click. Psychology is interesting. Depression is torment.”

But she said she managed to keep it together through writing. “Writing kept me alive. Forced me to be honest. Made me have empathy for [bandmate Taylor York] in his struggles with mental health. It helped me understand that emotional wellness and physical health are actually related,” she wrote.

Lately, she said she has felt a shift, as well as in the people around her. Paramore had not released new work since 2013, until they came out with After Laughter in the spring of 2017. The music and the timing of the album were significant for the band.

“[After Laughter] helps me mark this time as a significant turning point in my life,” said Williams. “I’m noticing similar movement in my friends’ lives too. More presence and awareness. More tenderness. I’m alive to both pain and joy now. I have my old laugh back, as my mom says… And only a couple years ago, I had hoped I’d die.”

Williams discussed her struggles with mental health in a summer 2017 interview with Fader, as well. She described a feeling of hopelessness that crept up on her in the “past couple of years.”

“I don’t feel as hopeful as I did as a teenager. For the first time in my life, there wasn’t a pinhole of light at the end of the tunnel,” she said at the time. “I thought, I just wish everything would stop. It wasn’t in the sense of, I’m going to take my life. It was just hopelessness. Like, what’s the point? I don’t think I understood how dangerous hopelessness is. Everything hurts.”

Paramore is currently on tour, which is set to wrap up in late August.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 June 2018
Accused Dark Web Kingpin "OxyMonster" Faces 20-Year Sentence

Federal agents captured the accused drug kingpin when he came to the US for a beard contest last summer.

The man who is accused of selling oxycodone, cocaine and methamphetamine online under the alias “OxyMonster” will reportedly plead guilty in federal court on charges of drug conspiracy and money laundering, the Associated Press reported on Thursday (May 31).

Guy Vallerius faces at least 20 years in prison. The alleged dark web drug dealer was nabbed by U.S. authorities while en route from France to Austin, Texas last summer for the World Beard and Moustache Championships. He was planning to compete in the “full beard 30.1-45cm” category.

DEA special agent Lilita Infante had Vallerius on her radar when she requested Homeland Security border officials to detain him for questioning upon his arrival in Atlanta, Georgia, his first stop from Paris.

Infante was hoping he’d have a laptop with him, which he did. Authorities searched his computer and was able to “directly link Vallerius to the Dream Market,” the dark web marketplace where Vallerius would “moderate sales of cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone,” according to the AP.

According to a DEA affidavit issued last August, authorities were able to “confirm his identity as ‘OxyMonster’” following the border search of his laptop, on which agents discovered the Tor browser (allowing one to conceal their true IP address that would be able to identify them), “apparent log-in credentials for Dream Market, and $500,000 worth of bitcoin.”

The affidavit states that Vallerius’ online profile advertised that he shipped his illicit wares from France to anywhere in Europe and the United States.

Vallerius also had a drug vendor page on a similar dark web marketplace called TradeRoute, according to DEA officials, where he had been a member since February 2017, according to the affidavit.

A magistrate judge stated in a summary of the prosecution’s case:

“In connection with his role as a ‘senior moderator,’ (Vallerius) also sold controlled substances to other members using the website, receiving payment for these sales through the use of bitcoin ‘tip jar,’ or electronic depository. It was through this tip jar that law enforcement officials became aware of Vallerius’ true identity.

“After locating the bitcoin depository allegedly belonging to the user ‘OxyMonster,’ agents tracked several incoming payments and outgoing deposits from the tip jar to various ‘wallets’ controlled by Vallerius.”

Vallerius’ upcoming court hearing on his plea deal is scheduled for June 12.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 June 2018
"Fear The Walking Dead" Actor Kevin Zegers Talks Sobriety

“Seven years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. I was in such a bad state.”

While Kevin Zegers started out as a child actor and now plays a villain on Fear the Walking Dead, the road hasn’t always been easy. Even talking about his recovery was hard at first.

“Seven years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. I was in such a bad state,” Zegers told Entertainment Tonight Canada in an interview. “I used to not talk about sobriety because it was like, ‘Oh, who cares,’ and it’s a little embarrassing.”

But these days, Zegers is finding it easier to be open about what he went through, especially in hopes that it may help someone else.

“The reason I go to an AA meeting on my birthday—the reason we’re urged to do that—is not for you, but you do it for others, to indicate it’s possible, which in the depths of addiction doesn’t feel possible,” he explained in the interview. “I think it’s our duty, even with, you know, a very small amount of fame, which I sometimes have, to go, ‘Oh s***, that guy suffers, too.’”

Zegers credits his sobriety for landing him his part as Mel on Fear the Walking Dead as well as his marriage with his wife, Jamie, with whom he has twin daughters.

“It’s the greatest accomplishment of my life and I don’t like to undermine it because I don’t think I have a wife, a family, I don’t think I’m on Fear The Walking Dead without that,” he said.

Fear the Walking Dead is a prequel spinoff of AMC’s popular series, The Walking Dead. Despite being a member of the cast, Zegers is kept in the dark about plot twists as well as how long his villainous character will survive.

“It’s an interesting villain because he’s not running around beating his chest, or trying to be intentionally scary or fear-provoking, but he just presents them with the facts,” he commented. “As an actor, you have to think, how do I make this work and what is it? How am I able to convey being frightening to somebody with what I have?”

But his scariest moments come from raising his daughters.

“There’s no easing into parenting if you have twins, but it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “We think we’re self-aware and you go, ‘Oh, you know that I can get frustrated easily,’ or ‘I’m super self-conscious’ or, ‘I have a short temper,’ and then you see a physical embodiment of you at two-and-a-half, and they just have no filter and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, it’s me when I’m in traffic!’”

View the original article at thefix.com

29 May 2018