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Category: Addiction News

  • Report: Fentanyl Distribution Mishandled By Drug Companies, Feds

    Report: Fentanyl Distribution Mishandled By Drug Companies, Feds

    Nearly half of all patients who were prescribed fentanyl should have been denied the drug, according to a new report.

    A report published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is alleging widespread failure to keep the extremely potent opioid fentanyl out of the hands of patients who were ineligible to receive it.

    Using the Freedom of Information Act, researchers obtained around 5,000 pages of documents from the US government that they say show that nearly half of all patients who were prescribed fentanyl should have been denied the drug.

    Fentanyl is a relatively new opioid painkiller that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. It is meant only for patients experiencing severe pain, including “breakthrough” pain so bad that opioids such as OxyContin or even morphine cannot control, and who have already developed a tolerance to these drugs. Without an established tolerance to opioids, taking fentanyl presents a high risk of overdose due to its extreme potency.

    Due to the dangers of fentanyl, the US government has established a strict protocol that was supposed to prevent anyone other than opioid-tolerant patients with severe pain, such as cancer patients, from being prescribed this drug.

    The researchers of this new report claim that this protocol has not been followed across the system, implicating the Food and Drug Administration, drug companies, and doctors.

    “The whole purpose of this distribution system was to prevent exactly what we found,” said study leader and co-director of the Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness at Johns Hopkins Caleb Alexander. “It should never happen. It’s a never event. And yet we found it was happening in 50% [of cases reviewed].”

    According to the report, between 34.6% and 55.4% of patients surveyed who were given fentanyl were “opioid-nontolerant.” Researchers also found that a substantial amount of pharmacists and drug prescribers (7.9% and 11.6%, respectively) reported believing that they were allowed to give fentanyl to patients who had not developed a tolerance to opioids 12 months after the protocol was put in place.

    This number increased as time went on, reaching 18.4% among prescribers and close to 50% among patients.

    In spite of this, no substantial changes were made to the protocol by the FDA.

    “What we found was that several years after the program was started, there were alarming deficiencies identified, and yet little was done by the FDA and drug manufacturers to effectively address these problems,” said Alexander.

    Researchers and addiction experts are finding that fentanyl has played a large role in the opioid epidemic. A 2018 study found that deaths related to fentanyl use increased by 520% from 2009 to 2016, while deaths from other prescription opioids increased by 18% in the same time frame.

    The fentanyl deaths were primarily from illicit use, but the high rates of death from fentanyl overdose demonstrate just how dangerous the drug is to those who are not approved for its use.

    “These drugs are dangerous enough, they should never be used in patients who aren’t already on around-the-clock opioids,” said Alexander.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Comedian Brody Stevens Dies At 48

    Comedian Brody Stevens Dies At 48

    “The Hangover” star was memorialized by his comedic peers on social media.

    Actor and comedian Brody Stevens, known for his role in movies like The Hangover and The Hangover II, has died of an apparent suicide, according to numerous reports.

    Stevens, 48, was found deceased in Los Angeles on Friday (Feb. 22). According to The Blast, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department were dispatched to the scene shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday. 

    “Brody was an inspiring voice who was a friend to many in the comedy community,” a rep for Stevens told The Blast. “He pushed creative boundaries and his passion for his work and his love of baseball were contagious. He was beloved by many and will be greatly missed. We respectfully ask for privacy at this time.”

    Many are mourning the loss, especially those in the baseball community, People reports. Stevens was a passionate baseball fan who reportedly played on a scholarship at Arizona State University. 

    The team at ASU honored Stevens, who was a pitcher, with a moment of silence before their game on Saturday. They also shared a statement on Twitter. 

    “We lost a treasured member of our Sun Devil Baseball Family yesterday,” the team wrote. “We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Brody Stevens. He will be in our hearts this weekend.”

    Others in the baseball community, including retired pitcher Dan Haren, also spoke out on Twitter. 

    “One of my best friends is gone, @BrodyismeFriend i love you man. He always took the time to talk to me about baseball, comedy and life. A true friend,” Haren tweeted.

    Phillies ace Jake Arrieta also expressed his sadness at the loss of his friend.

    “I will never forget the time spent with Brody Stevens during my time in Chicago thx to Mike Borzello,” Arrieta tweeted. “Every conversation was memorable, he loved baseball, and watching him throw a bullpen during an early spring morning will always be a highlight for me.”

    Fellow comedians also took to social media to mourn the loss.

    “#RIPBrodyStevens he was so funny and weird and vulnerable and wild and kind. Every time he was onstage it was an adventure,” comedian Nick Kroll wrote.

    Comedian Patton Oswalt took the opportunity to speak on the importance of reaching out for anyone who is feeling depressed or suicidal.  

    “If you are depressed or feeling suicidal please please please please please reach out to ANYONE,” he tweeted. “I never get to see Brody Stevens again I can’t stand this.”

    According to The Blast, Stevens has been open about his depression in the past. 

    If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, reach out the the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Adam Lambert Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles

    Adam Lambert Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles

    Lambert shared how he used his music and peer support to deal with depression. 

    Pop star Adam Lambert recently opened up about his mental health struggles, and shared how he made it out of a “dark period” in his life.

    In a series of tweets, Lambert first thanked his fans for their “patience and continued faith in me. You’ve pushed me to keep going even when I felt discouraged.”

    Lambert described his struggles in the music industry and how he’s resisted compromising his art. “Don’t get me wrong – I’m VERY proud of my body of work. But I’m coming out of a dark period of second-guessing my own artistry and having my mental health suffer because of it. I started asking myself, ‘Is all this hustle really worth it?’”

    By focusing so intensely on his work, Lambert felt “detached in my personal life. My self-worth was suffering. I was lonely and becoming depressed.”

    Lambert, who has toured with Queen, then got back on track.

    “With a bit of professional help and the support of colleagues, friends and family, I pulled myself out of the darkness.”

    Part of his recovery process included writing music again, going back to “the headspace I was in when I first dreamed of being a singer – before playing [the] industry game started messing with my love for music.”

    The result was Lambert’s new single, “Feel Something,” which he says “was written about me climbing out of the low period, defying my disillusionment, owning my needs, and opening my heart.”

    Lambert got tired of the bachelor life, and between that and his frustrations with the music industry, “I felt numb…I wanted to fall in love, I knew I wasn’t ready. That’s what inspired me to cry out, I don’t need to feel love, I just want to feel something! It was in this realization that I took my first step toward self-care and nursing my spirit back to health.”

    Lambert promised fans that his new music charts “the journey of taking responsibility for my own happiness and strength, and searching for intimacy. Since writing this song I’ve found the joy I was missing and I’m back in my power. I can’t wait for you to hear more!”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Beyond Addiction: Jodie Sweetin on Acting, Social Media, and the Gifts of Sobriety

    Beyond Addiction: Jodie Sweetin on Acting, Social Media, and the Gifts of Sobriety

    Whether it’s daily prayer and meditation, working with sponsees or just staying connected to my sober family, I know that it’s only because of how hard I’ve worked in my recovery that I get to have the life that I have today.

    Jodie Sweetin, 37, is best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in Full House (1987-1995). During the TV show’s eight-year run, Sweetin appeared in every episode, becoming one of the most famous child actors in the country. Off set, she was a good student, skipping a grade in elementary school and later earning a scholarship to college. However, the transition to a more normal life after her Hollywood childhood proved difficult.

    When Full House came to an end when she was 14, Jodie’s young life skidded off the rails. She started drinking, and the alcohol use opened the door to drugs. Over the next decade, she bounced between the occasional Lifetime movie or comeback attempt and drug abuse, using ecstasy, methamphetamine, and crack. She said in an interview that she struggled with a sense of identity after the show ended and was “looking for other things to, to fix that and kind of fill that void.”

    After sinking deeper into methamphetamine addiction, Jodie realized she was headed towards catastrophe and checked herself into rehab. She got sober in 2008 at age 26. After discovering a path of recovery, she started taking professional classes and became certified as a drug and alcohol counselor.

    While working in the treatment industry in 2009, Jodie published unSweetined, a memoir chronicling her downward spiral into addiction. She also rediscovered her first passion, acting. In 2016 she joined the cast of Fuller House and her career took off once again. Jodie was the third most Googled actress for that calendar year.

    On February 28th, Jodie Sweetin is being honored at the 10th Annual Experience, Strength and Hope Awards presented by Writers In Treatment at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The award recognizes individuals in the entertainment industry who share their honest journey from addiction to recovery. The event, which promises to be “an all-star night of humor and sobriety,” has a few tickets remaining, available here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3909581.

    Given Jodie’s inspiring journey, The Fix was thrilled and honored to have the chance to interview her.

    The Fix: According to The Panther, the school paper of your alma mater Chapman University, you told students, “I love coming out and sharing my story, because I’ve made it to the other side and it’s continual work, but getting to come to a place where I am happy with my life is amazing.” Would you describe sobriety as a cornerstone of your life? How does being in recovery help?

    Jodie Sweetin: Sobriety is absolutely the cornerstone of my life. It’s always said in the rooms that anything you place before your sobriety will be the things you lose, and I absolutely believe that. Even though my life and my schedule can sometimes be crazy, I still make it a priority to be active in my program. Whether it’s daily prayer and meditation, working with sponsees or just staying connected to my sober family, I know that it’s only because of how hard I’ve worked in my recovery that I get to have the life that I have today. Recovery also helps me deal with the stress and chaos that often comes with getting back a full and busy life in sobriety. Without it, I’d be completely overwhelmed!

    After getting sober in 2008, you worked in the treatment industry, successfully obtaining your CADC as a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. What did you learn about staying sober by working in that industry?

    I loved working in treatment, it was incredibly fulfilling and I’ve always said that I was so lucky to find a second career path that I loved. While my own recovery was always separate from my work in the field, it was because of what I learned on my own journey that I was able to connect with clients. I eventually worked more in the operations side of treatment, running staff and houses, but without a program of my own, I wouldn’t have been as effective in handling the pressure of it all.

    With the final season of Fuller House on the horizon, what do you plan to do next as an actor? If you could wave a magic wand, what would you most want to do?

    I would love to be able to move into some more dramatic work, as it’s something that people haven’t seen me do yet. It’s an exciting time in this industry right now, with so much fantastic work out there, so as much as I’ve loved getting to come back to my Full House family, I think that the opportunity to do something different is out there and I’m looking forward to it!

    You have been very vocal about the negative impact of social media on children. Do you think social media is fueling the national drug crisis? Do young people use drugs and alcohol to escape social media pressures?

    I think social media tells us, particularly young people, that we’re not “enough” and the rates of depression and suicide among youth is most definitely a direct correlation of comparing our insides to other people’s outsides. We see edited, perfect versions of people’s lives that don’t really exist and then feel our lives can’t possibly compare. I’ve always tried to be “real” on my social media. Posting pictures—without makeup or filters—of me at home with kids and living my normal life alongside the more glamorous parts of my job is something I try to balance in my online life. I don’t know that social media is fueling the drug crisis, but I definitely think it’s leading people to feelings of inadequacy that make them feel hollow inside.

    In your 2009 memoir UnSweetined, you wrote candidly about your struggles with alcohol and methamphetamine addiction after Full House went off the air in 1995. Was it difficult to come clean with your public? What was the response like, and did it surprise you?

    It’s always terrifying to be brutally honest about your mistakes. But the beauty that I’ve found in it is that there’s no longer anything I’m afraid of. When you reveal your own secrets, there’s no longer anything hanging over your head and the sense of freedom is enormous. The response has been amazing and I’m constantly receiving messages from people who’ve heard my story or read my book, who say that my courage to speak out has helped them to overcome their own demons. For me, that is a gift. To know that my story has helped someone else is the true essence of sobriety and it reminds me that even though I had to go through pain to get here, it’s worth it if I can help someone else.

    The entertainment industry has a nasty tendency to chew up and spit out many talented young performers. From Dana Plato and River Phoenix to Brad Renfro and Brittany Murphy; examples of these talents lost later in life seem countless. Given such brutal conditions, do you think the entertainment industry needs to install more safeguards to help young actors with the roller coaster ride of their careers? From your personal experience, what could be done to increase the positives and reduce the dangers?

    I think the best defense against the craziness of this business is a solid family life. Unfortunately, many people are not blessed with that foundation, whether in this business or not. The difference is that those of us in the spotlight have our stories and our failures made public, where those living in the rest of the world go through it all relatively unknown. I’ve had an amazing family support system and never blamed my addiction on growing up in the business. I know that I would’ve struggled with addiction whether or not I was a child actor, it just made my story much more public.

    In a 2019 interview with TODAY, you said, “My kids know that I’m sober… They know that I don’t drink.” Since your two daughters, Zoie and Beatrix, are 10 and 8 respectively, drugs and alcohol have yet to enter the picture in their lives. Do you believe the awareness you have provided about your recovery will help them avoid pitfalls in the future?

    I’ve always been incredibly open and honest with my girls. We have a wonderfully communicative relationship and as they get older, I’ll be able to share more of my story. At the end of the day, I can be an example of a sober woman for them, whether they have to go through their own struggles or not. I know that being in recovery has made me a better, more patient and understanding mother and it’s something that I am incredibly grateful I get to use in my life as a mother.

    What does it mean to be honored at 2019’s Experience, Strength and Hope awards? Are you proud to be recognized by Writers in Treatment on the tenth anniversary of this prestigious award?

    I am so honored by this, it’s hard to really imagine. When I got sober, I didn’t do it to get recognition or acclaim. I did it to better my life and find a little bit of hope. To be chosen by Writers in Treatment for such an award is incredibly humbling. I am so proud to be a sober member of recovery and am proud to carry the message of the 12-step community!

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Marijuana Equity Programs Help People Of Color Access Growing Industry

    Marijuana Equity Programs Help People Of Color Access Growing Industry

    “We’re not just budtenders, not just security guards anymore. We’re owners now,” said a marijuana dispensary owner.

    It has been well-documented that the war on drugs has disproportionately affected communities of color. Now, as marijuana legalization becomes more common, some municipalities are helping people of color get into the legal marijuana business, saying it’s a matter of social justice. 

    “We actually do have to overcorrect. People from our communities, black and brown communities, were the one first ones to be criminalized. Why shouldn’t we be the first ones to benefit?” Kassandra Frederique, the New York state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, told USA Today.

    Initially, many licensing laws for legal marijuana businesses excluded anyone with a criminal record. However, policymakers and social justice advocates realized that that was continuing a cycle of discrimination.

    “You make the industry super-hard to get into, that only people who are squeaky clean can get into it, because you know all eyes are on you. However, that is the approach always, always, that you take to whitewash things and make it clean. That’s literally what you say before you fire the black people and the minorities,” said Adam Powers, an African-American man who works in the cannabis industry in Washington state. 

    Now, policies are emerging around the country to make legal marijuana businesses more accessible to people of color, who are more likely to have marijuana-related offenses on their criminal records.

    The California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018 called for “persons most harmed by cannabis criminalization and poverty be offered assistance to enter the multibillion-dollar industry as entrepreneurs or as employees with high-quality, well-paying jobs.”

    In Massachusetts, equity programs run by the Cannabis Control Commission have a similar task. 

    Tucky Blunt, who was convicted for selling marijuana illegally years ago, now operates a legal dispensary thanks to the equity applicant program in Oakland, California, which prioritizes businesses operated by people who have criminal convictions for selling marijuana. 

    Blunt said that many in his community had their lives disrupted by marijuana convictions. 

    “It affected everybody in my circle because it was only targeted to us. I knew white people that was selling weed that never went to jail. The war on drugs was just about putting as many of us in jail in possible. It tore up a lot of families,” he said. 

    Now, he is happy to make his mark on the legal marijuana industry, which continues to be dominated by white men. 

    “We’re not just budtenders, not just security guards anymore. We’re owners now,” Blunt said. “To be able to sell this legally in my city, literally 10 blocks from where I caught my case, I’m fine—I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I’m the new kid on the block, and I’m here to change the game.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New York Counties Skeptical Of Marijuana Legalization

    New York Counties Skeptical Of Marijuana Legalization

    In the more rural counties upstate, sheriffs and others are concerned about the effect that marijuana legalization will have on road safety.

    As New York state moves forward with plans to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, some counties in the state are expressing skepticism and considering whether to “opt out” of recreational cannabis. 

    If marijuana is legalized in New York, counties may be able to stop marijuana businesses from operating within their boundaries, according to WKBW Buffalo. 

    Chautauqua County in Northwest NY is one of the counties that is wary of marijuana legalization, according to Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello. 

    “It’s irresponsible to legalize recreational marijuana,” he said, adding that the bill being considered by the state does not make the rules around recreational cannabis use clear. 

    Niagara County Legislator Jesse Gooch said that he does not have a strong opinion on marijuana legalization, but he would like to hear from his constituents about their concerns. Because of that, he plans to host community forums to discuss whether Niagara County should opt out of legalization by not allowing marijuana to be bought, grown or sold in the county. 

    “I would like to set up a couple of open forums where we invite the public residents to come in and really just talk it out,” Gooch said. 

    NY Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed opposition to legalization as little as two years ago, but now supports a bill to legalize recreational use for people over 21. He has essentially said that the move is inevitable. 

    “It’s a false choice legalize marijuana or not, because we are there already,” Cuomo said, according to WIVB. 

    Despite that, law enforcement in New York has been against legalization. In the more rural counties upstate, sheriffs and others are concerned about the effect that marijuana legalization will have on road safety, according to Thomas Dougherty, Livingston County Sheriff.

    Dougherty said officers will need to be specially trained to detect whether a driver is operating under the influence of marijuana. 

    “I don’t know many agencies that can afford to have a full force of [drug recognition experts], some of the largest counties have 3 or 4. Again we have major concerns on what will be the fiscal impact,” he said. 

    Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County Health Commissioner, said that since she has no say in whether marijuana use is legalized, she’s just doing her best to prepare for how that may impact public health in the county. 

    “We know that you can get addicted to marijuana. That’s a known fact, even though people don’t believe that,” she said. “In states where marijuana has been legalized, they’ve seen a much higher incidence of impaired driving and very serious motor vehicle accidents compared to states where marijuana has not been legalized for recreational use.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Google Maps Now Points Users To Drug Disposal Sites

    Google Maps Now Points Users To Drug Disposal Sites

    The tech giant aims to help people with opioid prescriptions get rid of excess pills in the hopes of preventing them from being abused.

    Tech giant Google wants to do its part to combat the opioid epidemic by making it easy for users to find places where the can drop off unneeded medications.

    If people search for “drug drop off near me” or “medication disposal near me,” Google Maps will find nearby pharmacies, hospitals, or government buildings where they can dispose of pills that could otherwise be abused.

    The project was part of a cooperative effort between Google, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and state governments as well as private pharmacy companies like Walgreens and CVS.

    “Addiction to opioids can start after just five days of use, and the majority of prescription drug abuse (53%) starts with drugs obtained from family and friends,” wrote Dane Glasglow, Google Maps’ vice president of product, in a blog post. “That’s why Google wants to help people get rid of leftover pills that are sitting in people’s medicine cabinets, and to make drug disposal locations easier for people to find with a simple search.”

    Such medications are usually prescribed for good reason, especially in cases of recovery after surgeries for ailments like broken bones, burns, or serious illness.

    “Treating pain adequately helps recovery, reduces the downstream psychiatric and psychological effects,” said Dr. Elliot J. Krane. “In the absence of risk factors or concerns about the child’s home environment, I am more concerned about deleterious effects of untreated pain than I am about creating somebody with substance abuse disorder.”

    Some families might think it’s clever to keep these powerful painkillers for future use, but health experts warn that just having the medications in the house can boost the potential for abuse.

    “You should not keep them for use for a future time,” Dr. Linda J. Mason said. “These are for a specific surgery.”

    Google’s ease in involving itself in such an intervention should come as no surprise to those who are aware of the massive amounts of data the tech giant has kept on its users. A study has found that Google can predict the onset of overdoses in a given area by tracking certain search terms.

    “For a number of fiscal and practical reasons, data on heroin use have been of poor quality, which has hampered the ability to halt the growing epidemic,” the researchers wrote. “Internet search data, such as those made available by Google Trends, have been used as a low-cost, real-time data source for monitoring and predicting a variety of public health outcomes.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Fentanyl Brunch Joke Lands Restaurant In Hot Water

    Fentanyl Brunch Joke Lands Restaurant In Hot Water

    An Ohio pub issued a public apology after parodying Cap’n Crunch with a joke menu item called “Oops! All Fentanyl.”

    Some jokes are best untold, as one restaurant and pub in Lakewood, Ohio is learning after a bungled social media post. On their Instagram account, the restaurant Yuzu posted a photo of a bag of fentanyl labeled “Oops! All Fentanyl” and “New brunch special? Sat & Sun.”

    The “joke” was likely referring to how many opioid drugs being sold have been unexpectedly cut with fentanyl, which has led to accidental fatal overdoses. Many Instagram users who saw it were not amused.

    “Screenshot from Yuzu Lakewood’s IG story. Not at all cool,” one person responded. “Making a joke of the opioid crisis is never funny ever.”

    The establishment’s owner, Dave Bumba, seemed to ignore the controversy his social media account created for about three days before finally responding on Facebook.

    “First, it’s never our intention to cause any malicious offense, and for that I do genuinely apologize for,” Bumba wrote in the post. “There’s a generational gap of humor; our target demo is 21 to 34. I’m aged out of our demo myself. Younger generations have developed a different sense of humor that more abstract, surreal, and darker than previous generations.”

    Bumba stopped short of calling the backlash a result of political correctness, instead turning into a meta-analysis of what’s a relatable coping mechanism versus what’s actually offensive.

    “It would be easy for me to blame this simply on an overly-politically-correct culture. A loud subset of people have been trained to seek out a reason to be offended. And while this might exist on some level, seeing some of the constructive criticism also made me think retrospectively about our social media content choices,” he posted. “Just because something exists and is perceived to be liked by enough of a subset of our demographic, does that make it the socially right choice to be relatable content?”

    Users considered the statement a non-apology, calling Bumba out on using a generational gap as cover.

    “Rather than sincerely apologizing for your offensive posts (which personally are not clever or funny and were in very poor taste), you backpeddle and still try to place blame on those you offended by implying they aren’t young or hip enough to get the joke,” wrote a user.

    Fentanyl has accelerated the number of deaths in the opioid crisis, hitting areas like Arizona especially hard. There, deaths from fentanyl overdoses have tripled between 2015 and 2017, mostly due to users believing they had a weaker opioid, like oxycodone, in hand.

    Street fentanyl is often disguised as legitimate prescription opioids, but these bootlegged pills are often made in primitive conditions with no quality control. And it only takes a little bit of fentanyl to send users into overdose.

    Users, including those of the targeted millennial demographic, have commented explaining why the joke wasn’t funny. Yuzu hasn’t posted anything further.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How John Lennon's Heroin Addiction Affected The Beatles

    How John Lennon's Heroin Addiction Affected The Beatles

    A new report delves into the impact that Lennon’s heroin addiction had on the iconic rock band.

    John Lennon’s addiction to heroin during a time when it was poorly understood may have played a significant role in the breakup of the Beatles, according to an article published in Salon.

    Fans have long speculated on just how much of the lyrics in the late Beatle’s songs reference the powerful illicit opioid, but a look into Lennon’s own words and reports from those close to him paint a picture of someone who was deep into an addiction disorder before he was able to finally quit.

    The Beatles were not shy about experimenting with drugs during their time in the spotlight. Early in their music careers, the members of the Beatles were “veteran pill-poppers,” using amphetamines regularly.

    They were then introduced to cannabis by Bob Dylan, and a former housekeeper employed by Lennon wrote a letter claiming that she “began noticing drugs lying around in various parts of the house.” 

    Lennon, Harrison, and their wives would later be slipped LSD by a dentist named John Riley, according to Rolling Stone. This terrifying experience is credited for their Revolver album.

    Heroin, however, may have done more damage to the Beatles than provided inspiration. Though it was only Lennon and Yoko Ono who used the opioid, it created a fracture in the group.

    “The two of them were on heroin, and this was a fairly big shocker for us because we all thought we were far-out boys, but we kind of understood that we’d never get quite that far out,” said McCartney, according to the Salon article.

    In later interviews, Lennon suggested that a hashish raid leading to the couple’s arrest, and Ono’s miscarriage that happened a few days after, led to their experimentation with heroin. However, writer and Beatles authority Kenneth Womack points out that Lennon spoke about taking heroin in the summer before the raid.

    Whatever the reason, Lennon’s heroin use was said to have caused his intense and often violent mood swings that made it difficult for the other band members to reason with him.

    “The other Beatles had to walk on eggshells just to avoid one of his explosive rages,” wrote music historian Barry Miles. “Whereas in the old days they could have tackled him about the strain that Yoko’s presence put on recording and had an old-fashioned set-to about it, now it was impossible because John was in such an unpredictable state and so obviously in pain.”

    With no resources available at the time to help people detox from heroin, Lennon and Ono had no choice but to quit “cold turkey,” leading to the creation of the song “Cold Turkey,” in which Lennon vividly describes the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

    The song was banned from the radio, which led Lennon to become an early advocate of addiction education.

    “They’re so stupid about drugs,” he said in an interview. “They’re not looking at the cause of the drug problem: Why do people take drugs? To escape from what? Is life so terrible? Are we living in such a terrible situation that we can’t do anything without reinforcement of alcohol, tobacco? Aspirins, sleeping pills, uppers, downers, never mind the heroin and cocaine—they’re just the outer fringes of Librium and speed.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Daniel Radcliffe Used Alcohol To Cope With Fame

    Daniel Radcliffe Used Alcohol To Cope With Fame

    Radcliffe discussed his past relationship with alcohol and decision to get sober on “Off Camera With Sam Jones.”

    Actor Daniel Radcliffe, who shot to fame when he was cast as Harry Potter, said that he used alcohol to cope with his sudden fame. 

    Radcliffe was discussing his sobriety on “Off Camera With Sam Jones.” According to E! News, Radcliffe was uncomfortable with how often he was recognized in his teens after he starred in the Harry Potter films. He would drink to cope with that anxiety, but realized that just led to more attention. 

    “There is an awareness that I really struggled with particularly in my late teens when I was going out to places for the first time where you would feel…again it could have largely been in my head but…you would feel watched when you went into a bar, when you went into a pub,” said Radcliffe, who is now 29. “Then, in my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk and then as you get very drunk, you become aware that, oh people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.”

    Radcliffe said that it took him some time to break this cycle, but he was able to do it with the help of family. 

    “It took a few years and it took a couple of attempts. Ultimately, it was my own decision…I woke up one morning after a night going, ‘This is probably not good.’”

    He said in part his excessive drinking was an attempt to reconcile his new lifestyle. 

    “When I think of the sort of chaos that I used to invite into my life, I’m really much happier now and I think there was some part of me that was like actors have to be like crazy, cool drunks. I have to live up to this weird image that I have in my head of what it is to be a famous actor or something.”

    He also felt that he couldn’t be open about the downsides of his fame. 

    “Part of the thing is the expectation that you should just be delighted all the time. You have a great job, you’re wealthy, you don’t have a right to ever feel sad or to not be excited about the whole thing all the time and I think that’s a pressure as well.”

    Despite the challenges, he said he’s still grateful for the role that defined his career. 

    “Even at the lowest point, I still loved my job so much and I loved going to set and there was never a day where my own shit would affect how I was on set. There was never a point where I was like ‘I wished this didn’t happen to me. I wish I wasn’t Harry Potter,’ like that just didn’t happen.”

    View the original article at thefix.com