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Category: Addiction News

  • Recovery, Food Security & Jobs Are The Focus Of A Unique Initiative

    Recovery, Food Security & Jobs Are The Focus Of A Unique Initiative

    A look at the growing number of grassroots organizations focused on serving nutritious food and creating jobs for people in recovery.

    A unique initiative growing in the Ohio Valley is hitting at more than one issue plaguing the region with one all-encompassing goal: to hire people in recovery to grow and serve nutritious food to the community.

    “[In West Virginia] we have the highest rate for obesity, and we have the highest rate for overdoses,” said Cheryl Laws, CEO and founder of Pollen8, one organization participating in the regional agriculture and food service project known as the Appalachian Food Enterprise (AFE). “But what we’re trying to do with the Appalachian Food Enterprise is take that negativity and show how to fix it.”

    Last October, the AFE received a $760,000 federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, WFPL reported. The goal of the program is to create 46 jobs over the next 3 years for people in recovery from substance use disorder or coming out of prison, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

    These “re-entry populations” often have a hard time finding a job. By training and employing them in farming and food service, they are being empowered with marketable skills and are provided a community as well.

    “So not only are we really working to increase healthy food access, we’re also working to address the issue of finding jobs for individuals who are coming out of recovery, and who are coming out of prison,” said Reginald E. Jones, CEO of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action. “If we do not hire them, they’re still a marketable person because of the skills that they developed along that continuum.”

    One example is Gro Huntington, an urban farm based in Huntington, West Virginia. The non-profit operation, which provides fresh food to farmers markets and restaurants, is managed by people in recovery from local treatment facilities.

    DV8 Kitchen is a restaurant in Frankfort, Kentucky whose recovery-driven mission has been covered by NBC News, The New York Times and more. Nearly every staff member at DV8 is in recovery, down to owner Rob Perez (28 years in recovery). The restaurant’s dedication to their staff’s recovery is clear—they close the kitchen early so staff can make therapy appointments, and they require staff to live in sober housing while they are working there.

    Cafe Appalachia is another example of a grassroots enterprise promoting nutritious food, recovery and job opportunities. It is comprised of a restaurant cafe located in South Charleston, West Virginia, an urban farm in nearby Dunbar, and soon a food truck and catering business. Staff begin their training at Paradise Farms, where they learn about farming, and then learn how to work in food service at the cafe. 

    “The idea of the enterprise as a whole is that we want to be able to take a seed, put it in the ground, grow it, harvest it, process it, and get it out to the social enterprises, like the cafe, like the catering business, like the food truck, and create training opportunities and jobs along that entire continuum,” said Jones.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Coca Cola Bottling Heir's Pot Business Trip Ends in Arrests

    Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Coca Cola Bottling Heir's Pot Business Trip Ends in Arrests

    The actor’s exact role in the chain of events remains largely unexplained.

    Stop us if you’ve heard this one: the Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Coca-Cola bottling company heir Alki David, and Dish Network co-founder Chase Ergen land in the Caribbean—on a plane carrying more than $1.3 million in cannabis and CBD products.

    But their alleged mission—to “develop legal cannabis businesses” on the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, which recently legalized marijuana for private use—did not go as planned. Talks with the prime minister broke down, and Ergen and David were arrested at the airport, Vanity Fair reported.

    Meyers’ role in the trip remains unclear. According to Alki David, the actor’s wife and mother-in-law, who were also reportedly aboard the plane, were cavity searched during the party’s detainment.

    David, whose family business, Leventis-David Group, owns the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, which is the third-largest international bottler in the world.

    He also owns Swissx, which manufactures a wide array of CBD products ranging from vape pens to sleep and beauty products and sexual enhancement supplements. With Ergen—the co-founder of Dish Network and EchoStar, among other companies—David formed a consortium that sought to develop a cannabis industry in eastern Caribbean nations, including St. Kitts-Nevis, Dominica and Antigua.

    On May 7, a private jet carrying David, Ergen, Meyers and members of his family, along with a reported 5,000 cannabis plants, seeds and CBD oil products flew to St. Kitts-Nevis.

    According to a press release by David, the trip was intended to “work with the government, the courts, the banks, the business sector and the farmers to develop a fair system that creates thousands of jobs on the island and uses Swissx’s international distribution network to make St. Kitts-Nevis cannabis products among the most sought after in the world.”

    A post on Facebook by the St. Kitts-Nevis police—which has been taken down—noted that when the group attempted to leave after the alleged failure of the talks with Prime Minister Timothy Harris, David and Ergen were arrested.

    David had been charged with “possession with intent to supply, possession of controlled drugs and importation of a controlled drug into the federation.”

    As The Cut noted, marijuana is decriminalized for adult use on the island, but bringing it into the country requires special permission. Ergen was also reportedly arrested for drug possession—specifically, ketamine—which he claimed was used to treat bipolar disorder. 

    David was eventually freed after posting $300,000 after a court appearance and left the country soon after. In Swissx’s press release—marked by the hashtag #FreeAlkiDavid—David said that he and Ergen plan to file lawsuits against Prime Minister Harris and the St. Kitts-Nevis government. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Alarming Facts About Teens and Drug Use

    Alarming Facts About Teens and Drug Use

    ARTICLE SUMMARY: Drugs are all around us, and they don’t discriminate. Drugs don’t care what your background is, what you look like or where you come from. The facts tell it all and they are frightening. It’s time to be realistic and realize drugs are impacting the youth of today, even possibly yours.

    Table of Contents:

    The Impact on your Child’s Development

    No one has a dream or goal to become an addict when they try drugs. Unfortunately, it’s not up to them. This is especially true for teens. Their brains are still developing through adolescence and the risk of addiction is higher than that of adults.

    According to sources, “By the time adolescents do require treatment for [addiction], they are well on their way through the developmental stages during which risk emerges”. What does this mean in layman’s terms? Basically, this means that we need to be aware of the risk factors and the outcomes or drug use. People who use and abuse drugs at a young age often suffer from mental health problems, including depression, personality disorders and suicidal thoughts later in life. The specific damage that can be done is extremely concerning.

    However, you are the anti-drug.

    One in three parents believe there is little they can do to prevent teen drug use. However, evidence that shows parental involvement is the strongest factor in prevention. So the good news is that you can make a direct and positive impact on your teen’s mental health. The bad news is that more and more teens are using to the point of addiction…just how many?

    The Statistics are Alarming

    Statistics don’t lie.

    As parents, you can choose to ignore the findings, however, it’s important to pay attention before your own child becomes a statistic. Below are many alarming stats from recent U.S. Health and Human Services report that will make you cringe.

    • In 2018, over 15% of American 12th-graders misused prescription drugs.
    • There were 5,455 deaths due to drug overdose among teens in 2017.
    • In 2017, about one in four high school seniors used an illicit drug, such as heroin or marijuana, in the past 30 days.
    • In 2016, more than 1.4 million adolescents ages 12 to 17 needed treatment for an illicit drug problem.
    • From 2014 to 2015, the rate of drug overdose deaths among teens in the United States increased by 19 percent.
    • In 2015, 5% of high school students (grades 9-12) reported using any form of cocaine.

    Where are the Drugs Coming From?

    Without you realizing it, you may actually be feeding your child’s curiosity and habit. While parents certainly don’t want to admit they are enabling their children to use drugs, a 2013 study reports that over half of teens got prescription drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinet. Most parents are in denial that their child would ever do something like that … but it might be happening, right in front of your eyes.

    As a precaution, parents need to ensure their children and their friends don’t have access to any prescription medication that can be harmful to them.

    Teens are well aware of the intoxicating effects prescription drugs can have on them. So what can you do? If you’re a parent with a script for OxyContin or Xanax, just to name a few, make sure they’re out of reach. Pay attention to how many pills you have, so if any are missing, you’ll notice. Medications like these are highly addictive and can lead to overdose.

    What you may consider to be a harmless everyday medication lying around the house, such as cough medicine, may be seen by your teen as a way to get high. You baby-proofed your house when your child was a toddler to protect them. How is teen-proofing any different?

    How to Approach your Child

    If you suspect your teen is using drugs, or even selling drugs, you need to act swiftly. Some of the main signs of a problem include when your teen starts:

    • Acting differently
    • Looking unhealthy
    • Losing interest in their normal activities such as sports
    • Not performing well at school

    If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to have a conversation with them. The reality is your child may not admit the truth for fear of punishment, embarrassment or judgement. Often, the signs are obvious. So, you need to master open communication. When you communicate without judgment and your message comes with a lot of love, your family can get through this.

    When you connect with your teen on an emotional level instead of shaming and blaming, they’re more likely to share the why, the how and the how long.

    No one wants their child to use drugs. While your initial reaction of discovering drug use may be to yell and be angry at your child, overreacting will only push your teen further away. It’s time to put your emotions to the side and discover how deep your teen may be into their drug habit. How can you do this?

    Try to get into the mind of your addicted teen and see more from their perspective. Let your child know how important they are to you and how you only wish them health, happiness and success in their future, all the things drugs can and will destroy. Research tells us that teens who feel supported and loved are more likely to stop experimenting with drugs or seek help if they have an addiction.

    You can make a difference in your child’s life and there is support out there to help your family get through this. There is no guarantee your child will never use drugs just because you’re a loving and present parent, however, you will be able to reduce the possibility of your child experimenting with drugs, possibility leading to addiction.

    There are many programs available and while it can be overwhelming to figure out which one is right for your child, there is help to navigate through these uncharted and choppy waters. Organizations such as HelpYourTeenNow, an advocacy group, is dedicated to helping parents understand which form of treatment is best for their child, free of charge.

    Preventing the Problem

    So, how can you prevent your kids from getting into trouble with drugs or alcohol?

    Believe it, or not…your presence alone goes a long way. Let your child know you care. Be present in their life and make an effort to know who your child is hanging out with. This will enable you to feel comfortable with their choice of friends or be able to recognize when there may be a concern.

    Then…talk, talk, talk. Talk to your kids about drugs, even if you’re convinced they aren’t using them. While they may roll their eyes or consider you a clueless parent, there could be important information you offer they may not have been aware of.

    Finally, create a plan of action in case your child is ever put in an uncomfortable situation where drugs may be present. Whether it’s texting or calling with a code word, let them know you are available to pick them up no matter what time or where, no questions asked. Parents! Stop pretending drugs aren’t an issue. Kids are getting high right now, in your community,and possibly right in your home.

    Face the Music

    Parents, it’s time to wake up.

    The statistics don’t lie. Your child is at risk for using drugs. It’s very scary indeed but you have to face reality. “No, not my child”, isn’t going to cut it. While your child may be sweet and honest and immature, s/he is facing a new world. There’s peer pressure, curiosity, an escape from something happening in their lives…. and many other reasons your child could be dabbling into the world of drugs.

    This article isn’t to frighten you, but rather to educate you, and perhaps save your child’s life. The youth of today feel they are untouchable and don’t have much worry about the long-term damage drugs can have on their bodies. Talk to your kids. Talk to other parents.

    Finally, know that there is support.

    View the original article at addictionblog.org

  • Traveling and Planning for Rehab in Rhode Island

    Traveling and Planning for Rehab in Rhode Island

    ARTICLE OVERVIEW: Traveling for rehab is a personal choice. There are pros and cons. What are the unique benefits of traveling for rehab to Rhode Island? We review here.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS:

    Why Travel for Rehab

    Finding a rehab that fits your personal needs might require that you move from your home state. In fact, completely changing completely your environment to break free from addiction can help you a lot! First of all, you’ll avoid triggers more easily. You’ll be far from dealers, bars,or people that you were using with. Plus, you’ll avoid the things that remind you of addiction.

    Second, traveling to Rhode Island can make you more committed to your recovery. You’ll necessarily put your life on hold. A new environment can push you more quickly towards the “new you”.

    But why Rhode Island, particular?

    A stay in a good rehab can help you focus 100% on your recovery. Programs like those operated by American Addiction Centers provide 24/7 medical care along with talk therapy. Plus, you will be able to uncover the underlying issues behind addiction. Educational sessions on addiction can help you understand how this disease works. Finally, you will get the chance to rebuild your social and family relationships.

    Traveling to another state can be expensive, but there are many ways cut expenses. What you need is to plan ahead. This article can help you set a budget to anticipate the real cost of living in Rhode Island. More here on cost of living,  types of accommodations, and what can you expect when you sign up for rehab in RI.

     

    PROs and CONs

    Whenever you’re traveling for treatment, you should always consider the good and the bad. Be sure that the treatment center sets up customized treatment plans and uses evidence-based therapy. Here, we offer you some more practical PROs and CONs to consider if you’re planning to travel to Rhode Island for rehab.

    PRO #1. Change in scene. Distancing yourself from your everyday routine can help you see life more objectively. Without distractions, you can go deeper. Moving away from your triggers can be crucial when going through treatment. A new environment can help keep you on track, which essential in the recovery process.

    PRO #2. Increased dedication. Rehab is voluntary. But, the fact that you have traveled for miles to get into a treatment center will increase your sense of responsibility and commitment.  Basically, an out of state rehab can give you a positive attitude towards treatment.

    PRO #3. Privacy and confidentiality. Are you worried about being judged or facing professional issues if someone finds out you went to rehab? Being away in Rhode Island for rehab will make it less likely to be recognized and will guarantee your privacy. Plus, it may be easier to open up about your problems in front of strangers. Meeting new people with similar experiences can help you feel supported.

    PRO #4. A fresh start. The goal of rehab is to start over. Rhode Island can be a great place to begin a new way of living. Traveling for rehab means you’re giving yourself the chance to start a new life and rediscover yourself.

    CON #1. Distance from family. Addiction recovery is difficult. Many people need the support of their loved ones to get through. In fact, when family members are involved in the process, the rates of dropping out of treatment decrease significantly. However, recovery is an internal process. Distance from family can be a good thing.

    CON #2. Fear of the unfamiliar. Getting sober means facing your fears and overcoming your fears. Fear of getting better, fear of the unknown, fear of letting go of old destructive habits, fear of change. But, you mustn’t let fear stand on your way. Once you face your fears you’ll feel liberated and more confident. Learn more about the programs available in various substance abuse treatment centers in Rhode Island. Get in touch with people who succeeded. You can do it.

    CON #3. Cost. Transportation, accommodation, or the cost of other basic necessities can hit your pocket. But, if you weigh your options you can see that there is nothing more important than investing in your health and future. We’ve outlined the main costs of traveling to Rhode Island outlined below. Also, there are treatment centers that include travel expenses in the cost of treatment. Call us now so we can discuss treatment options. We offer a 90-day guarantee. This way, you can be assured of successful outcomes.

    CON #4. Legal issues. Certain legal restrictions may complicate going to rehab in another state. However, with the help of your lawyer, you may ask the drug courts and the judges to authorize your traveling for rehab to Rhode Island.

    Visiting a Loved One in Rehab

    Visiting a loved one in Rhode Island rehab can be more than welcomed. Support is one of the most important things for someone going through rehab. But, you should know what to expect and prepare yourself for the visit. Usually, rehabs organize visits after 2-3 weeks of residency. Visits may be limited to weekends or weekday afternoons. Take the invitation, even if it’s just once. Your visit may mean the world to your loved one.

    But keep your visit positive and directed on good mental health. If you can’t think of anything positive to say, just stick to small talk like sports, news, and the weather. Or, give them praise. Keep in mind that rehab is a difficult time for them and they need a little bit of encouragement that they get can go a long way.

    Then, check the rehab’s visiting policy. Residential treatment centers are very strict with visiting policies. Make sure you always arrive on time and follow the process. These rules are made to help your loved ones get better, so try to respect them.

     

    Finally, plan to meet with staff. They are important part of your loved one’s treatment plan and recovery progress. Rehab staff usually have a lot to share with you. They can give you advice going forward, because they know what is really happening. Also, they are seeing your loved ones for who they really are and they can help you understand them a little bit more.

    What NOT to do?

    1. Never get into big discussions. Leave the family drama at home. Treatment is about breaking the chains of addiction, not about discussion something negative. These talks won’t help the recovery process. In fact, they could add extra anxiety.

    2. Never discuss the cost of treatment. Rehab costs money. This is not a secret to keep, but reminding your loved one how much they’ve spent, it may trigger unwanted feelings including guilt and shame.

    3. Never discuss weight. People who are in treatment usually gain weight. But discussing their figure may raise embarrassment which can lead to negative reactions.

    4. No jokes, nor sarcasm. During the stay at rehab, most people are sensitive and emotional. Usually, they have question how they ended there. So, making jokes or giving sarcastic comments is not an option. Instead, show support and encouragement about their progress.

    5. Avoid talk about the future. The idea behind the recovery is to teach you to ‘live in the moment’, day to day, one day at a time. Making plans about the future can create a lot of pressure for your loved one.

    Travel to and from Rhode Island

    There are several ways you can travel to get to Rhode Island form anywhere in the country. Depending on where you live you can choose to go either by car, by bus or by plane.

    Car: If you want to know how much a trip to by car Rhode Island will cost, you can check AAA’s calculator for more information. It calculates and compares gas prices depending on where you are in the country.

    Bus: You can choose from several bus companies that offer services. Book tickets and check schedules on the Greyhound bus schedule.

    Train: Trains can be fun. There are different options you can choose. For more information on prices, routes and scheduling check Amtrak.

    Airplane: Airplane prices may vary depending on whether or not you are flying during a low or high season. For example, you can expect prices to be much more expensive during the holidays or weekends. All of the following prices for plane tickets are based on round trip searches made in 2019:

    New York ↔ Providence RI: $240
    Chicago IL↔ Providence RI: $150
    Los Angeles CA ↔ Providence RI: $300
    Tampa FL ↔ Providence RI: $270
    Las Vegas NV ↔Providence RI: $290
    Atlanta GA ↔ Providence RI: $250

    Average Cost of Living in Rhode Island

    The following prices are compared to the United States’ National Average:

     Cost of living Rhode Island United States
     Overall  119.4  100
     Grocery  105.7  100
     Health  80.1  100
     Housing  143.8  100
     Median Home Cost  $269,000  $216,200
     Utilities  115.9  100
     Transportation  120.8  100.0
     Miscellaneous  109.8  100.0

    Short Term Rentals

    If you’re going to Rhode Island for rehab, you will probably be placed in the treatment facility itself.

    If you’re visiting a loved one you’ll need to find a place for short term stay. The average prices for apartment rent in 2017 differentiate depending on the location. Some towns are more affordable than others. For instance, average price for rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island was $1,385. More precisely, Foster, Glocester, Exeter, Richmond, West Greenwich and Little Compton all average $944 per month in rent for a two-bedroom apartment. At the top of the list in monthly rent is Jamestown at $1,932 per month for a two-bedroom apartment. Providence comes in at $1,357 per month.

    For shorter period stays you can visit the site Airbnb and find a location and price that suits you best.

    Hotels

    When you book a hotel online, it’s important to be located near places you want to visit. Also, pay attention for hidden fees and special deals. Finally, we suggest that you read visitor’s recommendations to learn about how the hotel can suit your needs.

    If you’re planning on staying in Providence, the average price for a hotel room per weeknight is $150 and for weekend night $200. The most expensive time to stay is September, while the cheapest month to stay is November. Hotel prices in Warwick are averaging around $100 for weeknight and weekend nights. The most expensive time to stay is August, while the cheapest month to stay is March. In North Kingstown, the average price for a hotel room per weeknight is $100 and for weekend night $120. The most expensive time to stay is August, while the cheapest month to stay is June.

    Other Places to Stay

    If you are looking for other cheaper places to stay you can consider short-term, cheaper stays in a hostel. The positive side of staying in a hostel that you can meet new people. However, hostels are not so clean and you’ll have limited personal space and lack of privacy.

    The cheapest option may be visiting relatives or friends. If you have someone close in Rhode Island you should consider reaching out to them. It can be a good experience catching up with someone you haven’t seen in a while. The downside of this kind of stay may be that you won’t have much privacy and you’ll have to synchronize your period of staying with their availability.

    The Statistics

    Feel alone?

    The fact is that you’re not alone in your battle with addiction. According to the 2018 NSDUH, it’s estimated that 11.2 percent of the nation’s population used illicit drugs in 2017. That’s 1 in 9 people, or 30.5 million. Out the 30.5 million people, an estimated 20.7 million were in need of substance abuse treatment. That is 1 in 13 people. [1]

    In Rhode Island in particular, between 2014-2015 about 63,000 individuals aged 12 or older or 7.0% of all individuals in this age group had an alcohol use disorder in the past year. In a single-day count in 2015, 14,269 individuals in Rhode Island were enrolled in substance use treatment. [2] Among those individuals in Rhode Island enrolled in substance use treatment in a single-day count in 2015:

    • 34.0% were in treatment for a drug problem only;
    • 20.5% were in treatment for an alcohol problem only;
    • 45.5% were in treatment for both drug and alcohol problems.

    As you can see, many people are actively looking for help.

    If you’re struggling with addiction, it’s important to seek treatment. Enrolling into a treatment facility increases your chances of recovery. Call our helpline and learn more about your treatment options. Our admission navigators are available to talk with you day and night. They are waiting for your call …why not make a change today?

    Your Questions

    Beating addiction is a long and difficult process. It takes courage, careful planning, and professional help. A good program will address the root of your addiction, and teach you how to live a drug-free life.

    Still have questions?

    Give us a call. Or, leave us a comment. We try to answer all questions related to rehab in Rhode Island personally and promptly. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them in the comments section below. If we do not know the answer to your question, we will refer you to someone who can help.

    Reference sources: [1] SAMSHA: NADUH 2017 Annual National Report
    [2] SAMSHA: Behavioral Health Barometer for Rhode Island, Volume 4

    View the original article at addictionblog.org

  • Wendy Williams Dissolves Recovery Foundation

    Wendy Williams Dissolves Recovery Foundation

    Despite shuttering her foundation, Williams says she “remains committed” to helping others.

    Wendy Williams has dissolved the foundation she founded to support young people struggling to overcome substance use disorder, she said on her talk show.

    She had founded The Hunter Foundation—to support education, prevention and rehabilitation programs for substance use disorder—in 2014 with her now-estranged husband Kevin Hunter. But amid a dramatic split from Hunter, Williams says she will instead work with “other foundations” and “remains committed to helping others in the struggles of life.”

    Wendy filed for divorce in April and removed Hunter—who was not only her long-time husband but her business partner—as executive producer of her popular talk show, The Wendy Williams Show.

    Wendy had just revealed in March that she had been residing in a sober living home.

    “For some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” she said on her talk show. “And you know, I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past and I never went to a place to get treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped.” 

    She shared with her audience her day-to-day routine living at the sober house. “Doors locked by 10pm. Lights out by 10pm. So I go to my room and I stare at the ceiling and I fall asleep to wake up and come back here to see you,” she said. “So that is my truth. I know, either you are calling me crazy or the bravest woman you know. I don’t care.”

    Soon after filing for divorce, however, Williams made another big move. “I’m moving out of the sober house in just a few days,” she said on April 15. “It’ll be Wendy on her own.”

    She added, “Addressing my sobriety, my addiction, head-on has really helped me sort out every single compartment of my life. I have a commitment to me and my son to come out of here better, stronger and faster than ever.”

    Despite her messy and public divorce, and transitioning out of sober living, Wendy seems to be taking it all in stride. She recently said that she is “working on my divorce pleasantly” and is apparently enjoying the single life.

    “I don’t have a boyfriend, but I must admit I am rediscovering my love of men,” she said. “I do date and I date pretty often.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Study: Bullied Kids Are Twice As Likely To Use Painkillers

    Study: Bullied Kids Are Twice As Likely To Use Painkillers

    Girls who had been bullied were also more likely than boys to have recently taken painkillers.

    A recent study of Icelandic school children found that those who reported being bullied were twice as likely to use pain medication as non-bullied children.

    The study, conducted in 2018 and published in Acta Paediatrica, surveyed over 10,000 kids aged 11 to 15. Close to 600 reported being victims of peer bullying two times per month or more, and it was found that these kids reported significantly higher rates of pain and use of medication for pain.

    The medications involved in the study were common over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen, aspirin and acetaminophen.

    The children surveyed reported experiencing headaches, stomach pain, back pain, and neck/shoulder pain, and one in four of all surveyed kids who had some kind of pain at least once per week had taken an analgesic in the past week.

    Over twice as many bullied kids had taken a painkiller in the past week as non-bullied kids, at 33.5% and 15.2%, respectively. Girls were also more likely than boys to have recently taken painkillers, but controlling for all factors, bullied kids were more likely to turn to pills.

    “The use of analgesics was significantly higher among bullied students even when controlling for pain, age, gender and socioeconomic status,” lead study author Pernilla Garmy told Reuters. “Bullied students tended to experience more pain than the non-bullied students, and bullied students were twice as likely to use pain medication even when controlling for experienced pain.”

    Studies have already found a link between bullying and chronic pain. One 2015 study found that psychosocial stress, such as that arising from bullying, abuse, and family conflict, was a risk factor for this kind of pain in adolescents, and similar results have been found in studies about workplace bullying and harassment.

    This latest study adds to this evidence while also suggesting that using painkillers is more likely with those experiencing psychosocial stress, and not necessarily just because the pain exists.

    “My hypothesis of the link between bullying and painkiller use could be that if you are feeling satisfied and safe, and then get a headache, you might cope with the pain without medication,” said Garmy. “But if you are feeling sad and unsecure—a common experience by bullied children and adolescents—the pain might be overwhelming and there is a need for use of analgesics.”

    The study concludes by recommending greater recognition of the “high prevalence of pain and the use of pain medication in children” among health professionals as well as coordinated efforts for intervention and prevention.

    Although most over-the-counter analgesics are safe for adolescent children in small doses, there are concerns about overuse and “negative side effects that can worsen when combined with other coping behaviors such as alcohol.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Where Joe Biden Stands On Marijuana

    Where Joe Biden Stands On Marijuana

    Biden is one of the few Democratic presidential candidates that opposes legalization. 

    High Times detailed 2020 presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden’s position on marijuana policy, which embraces decriminalization and federally supporting cannabis research—but stops short at legalization.

    Biden, who as a U.S. senator helped to pass punitive drug crime bills that he has since described as “a big mistake,” supports rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule II drug, allowing states to determine their own laws regarding legalization, and expunging prior marijuana possession convictions. 

    But Biden has opposed legalization in the past and continues to do so as a presidential candidate, which places him opposite fellow Democratic contenders like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris on that issue.

    A campaign spokesman for Biden, who told supporters in New Hampshire on March 16 that “no one should be in jail for smoking marijuana,” clarified the candidate’s position in a statement to CNN. “Vice President Biden… supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior records for marijuana possession, so those affected don’t have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer,” said Andrew Bates.

    Bates also noted that Biden “would allow states to continue to make their own choices regarding legalization and would seek to make it easier to conduct research on marijuana’s positive and negative health impacts by rescheduling it as a schedule 2 drug.”

    As CNN noted, Biden supported decriminalization efforts as vice president under the Obama administration. In a 2014 interview with Time, Biden said, “I think the idea of focusing significant resources on interdicting or convicting people for smoking marijuana is a waste of our resources.” But he added that legalization was outside of the administration’s policy stance. 

    At the time of that interview, Biden had earned a reputation as a hardliner on the War on Drugs, supporting tougher penalties and prison sentences for drug offenses, including the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which imposed more severe sentencing for possession of crack cocaine than its powder form.

    The bill, which led to disproportionate rates of incarceration in African-American and Latino communities, was later described by Biden as a “big mistake” which “should have been eliminated.”

    Biden’s support for decriminalization and other measures is shared by two other presidential hopefuls: former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper and Senator Sherrod Brown.

    The majority of the other 2020 Democratic candidates, including Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, all support marijuana legalization.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • John Lehr, The Original Geico Caveman, Is 23 Years Sober

    John Lehr, The Original Geico Caveman, Is 23 Years Sober

    “I was looking at serious time in jail. My lawyer told me to get in a program, and I have been sober ever since.”

    While it’s been 15 years since the first GEICO caveman commercial aired in 2004—offending cavemen with the slogan “so easy a caveman could do it”—comedian John Lehr, who played the original GEICO caveman, is still performing, writing and producing comedy. And he’s using his personal recovery to inspire and entertain as well.

    While Lehr, 52, has stayed busy working on a multitude of projects including the comedy western Quickdraw on Hulu and 10 Items or Less on TBS, his comedy has a personal side, too. For his performances, Lehr gets his material from real life. Sobriety is a recurring theme.

    As a young comedian from Chicago, Lehr arrived in Los Angeles to pursue bigger dreams. He admitted to Forbes that he was “really unhappy” early on and was later diagnosed with depression.

    His moment of clarity came from behind the wheel, and then a jail cell, on LSD. “I was driving on acid and I got pulled over in Ventura County. I spent the night in jail on acid. I was looking at serious time in jail. My lawyer told me to get in a program, and I have been sober ever since.”

    That was 23 years ago. Now on the other side, he’s in a position to use his personal history to entertain and inspire audiences. Lehr created his brand Cold Sober Comedy to do just that. He performs and MCs at events under Cold Sober Comedy, including the Annual Sober St. Paddy’s Day Comedy Night for the Atlanta Caron Treatment Center in March.

    “Quitting drugs and alcohol—as hard as it is—is the easy part,” he said to Forbes. “What’s really hard is living without the drugs and the alcohol. I didn’t know how to be sober. What people don’t realize about addicts and alcoholics, it makes it easier to live with them. Take it away and then the real dragon comes out.”

    He also made a live show about making it in Hollywood and getting sober. “It’s a live show about all of it. I call it Three Harsh Tokes,” he said. “Number one: I’m not God. I may not know who or what God is, but I know it’s not me. Number two: I’m never going to fully recover, but as long as I’m seeking God or a higher power in others’ views, I’m okay. I don’t have to find it. I just have to seek it. And number three: I can’t fix myself.”

    Lehr’s upcoming projects include a marijuana comedy featuring Tommy Chong (of the iconic stoner duo Cheech & Chong) and a July 1st appearance at the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE) 10th National Collegiate Recovery Conference at Boston University.

    “I will be speaking to the people who run the program at colleges all over the country,” Lehr said. “What I talk about is how to stay sober. [Addicts] just don’t know how to live life on life’s terms. I tell them, ‘If you’re not having fun, you’re not going to stay sober. If you can’t find the sweetness and light to life, you’re screwed.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Patrick Kennedy Says Dad’s Reaction To His Addiction Left Him In "Fog Of Shame"

    Patrick Kennedy Says Dad’s Reaction To His Addiction Left Him In "Fog Of Shame"

    Kennedy got candid about the ups and downs of his journey to sobriety in a recent commencement speech.

    Former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy had to learn about the stigma surrounding substance use disorder the hard way.

    His father and former U.S. Senator, the late Ted Kennedy, was compassionate “when it came to my asthma or my brother’s bone cancer,” Kennedy said at the University of Rhode Island commencement last Sunday (May 19). But “when it came to my addictions,” his father said, “Patrick just needs a swift kick in the ass.”

    Kennedy gave his commencement speech to a crowd of 15,000 on Sunday. The congressman-turned-mental health advocate said that drug overdose and suicide in the U.S. is “a public health crisis.”

    As a U.S. representative, Kennedy was the lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which required insurance to cover treatment for “illnesses of the brain, like depression and addiction, the same as diseases of the body, like cancer and heart disease,” as he explained to The Fix in a 2016 interview.

    “Mental health conditions are chronic diseases, for the most part,” said Kennedy in the same interview. “You wouldn’t feel shame in seeking treatment for diabetes or cancer. So you shouldn’t feel ashamed for seeking treatment for depression, anxiety or anything else.”

    Kennedy added, “And just like those other diseases, people living with a mental health condition or substance use disorder can manage their disease and live full, happy, meaningful lives—I’m living proof of that.”

    After leaving Congress, Kennedy furthered his mental health advocacy by founding The Kennedy Forum in 2013, an organization with the goal of revolutionizing mental health care in the U.S., and One Mind, an organization to improve and accelerate brain research.

    When he was younger, Kennedy was haunted by his father’s perception of addiction. “I spent many years lost in a fog of shame,” he said at URI. “Addiction was unimpressed that I came from a famous family.”

    On May 6, 2006, Kennedy woke up at three o’clock in the morning “thinking I was late for a vote.” That’s when he famously crashed his car into a barricade on Capitol Hill. He admitted that he had been “disoriented” from medication he was taking.

    “That’s when I found my highest calling,” he said. We’d later find out that Kennedy was abusing OxyContin, which he was prescribed for back pain.

    Since he revealed his truth, he said other senators and representatives, both Democrat and Republican, would confide in him about their own struggles.

    Kennedy found help through medication-assisted treatment. And through his work, and through speaking up about his own journey, he’s hoping to encourage more people to speak up as well.

    “The more people learn that someone at their church is in recovery for opioid addiction or another mom at day care takes medication to control her OCD, the more we will realize that ‘everyone has something.’ We have to break down the ‘othering’ that has gone on too long with brain diseases,” he told The Fix.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can Hypnosis Help Chronic Pain Patients Find Relief?

    Can Hypnosis Help Chronic Pain Patients Find Relief?

    A new review examined whether hypnotic intervention could provide “meaningful” pain relief.

    Undergoing hypnosis could significantly reduce pain that people experience, but it’s too early to tell whether this could be used to treat chronic or acute pain, experts say. 

    A review recently published in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews found that study participants who were exposed to painful stimuli like heat or cold were able to reduce the amount of pain they experienced by 29-42% by using methods of hypnosis. 

    “These findings suggest that hypnotic intervention can deliver meaningful pain relief for most people and therefore may be an effective and safe alternative to pharmaceutical intervention,” study authors wrote. Yet, they warned, “High quality clinical data is, however, needed to establish generalisability in chronic pain populations.”

    Lead study author Trevor Thompson, a psychologist based at the University of Greenwich, England, noted that “experimental pain”—that created by heat, cold or other stimuli in a lab—is not a direct comparison to real-life pain from injury or chronic pain, or “clinical pain.” 

    “It is important, of course, to acknowledge that clinical pain isn’t quite the same thing as experimentally induced pain,” he told Medical Express. That’s because injuries and ongoing pain “involve more negative emotional states, less sense of control over pain, and adverse effects on quality of life,” he said. 

    Still, the fact that hypnosis provided such significant relief to people who were being hurt was significant. 

    “If hypnosis is effective at reducing experimental pain, there’s reason to be optimistic it would have the same effect on clinical pain,” he said.

    Mark Jensen, professor at the University of Washington in Seattle and editor of the Journal of Pain, said that previous research has indicated that hypnosis techniques can reduce the amount of pain that patients experience. How effective it is depends on the root cause of the pain, he said. He added that it’s important that people be informed consumers, and use hypnosis as one of many strategies for managing their pain. 

    “Anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a ‘hypnotist,’” he said.

    Jensen said that hypnosis uses a combination of relaxation and imagery to tap into the body’s natural pain-relief systems. Other research has indicated that hypnotherapy techniques change the body’s perception of pain. It’s often much more subtle than many people think, he added, and it’s certainly not a way to immediately remove all pain. 

    “It’s not all-powerful magic that will eliminate pain,” he said. “It’s not the hocus-pocus you see on TV.”

    View the original article at thefix.com