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Tag: cocaine addiction

  • Kirstie Alley Shares Hot Take On Psychiatric Meds

    Kirstie Alley Shares Hot Take On Psychiatric Meds

    The “Cheers” actress had a lively discussion about psychiatric medication on Twitter over the weekend. 

    Actress Kirstie Alley’s Twitter feed has been the topic of debate over her controversial tweets on psychiatric drugs.

    Before her Sunday hot take on psychiatry, Alley shared a heartfelt revelation on the popular app. The Cheers actress opened up about what she does with the money she used to spend on cocaine back when she was battling an addiction to the drug. 

    “For u who don’t know much about me, I used to be a coke head,” Alley who is now 40 years drug-free tweeted on Thursday. “I quit drugs in 1979 & vowed to spend the same $ weekly on flowers that I’d spent on drugs.”

    The 66-year-old added, “I buy & arrange my own flowers as a gift to MYSELF. I buy them in the grocery store.”

    Alley’s fans congratulated the actress for her four decades of being drug-free and shared their own sober tales. A couple days later, Alley upset some Twitter users when she called into question the prevalence of psychiatric drugs. 

    Hot Takes

    “Does anyone else worry about how unconscious we are being rendered by pharmaceutical drugs? Is anyone else concerned that we are the most psych drugged country on the planet? I tell you what, if I was an evil dictator & wanted to control a society, I would drug them into apathy,” Alley tweeted on Sunday. 

    Her tweet received mixed reviews from her followers, with some lauding Alley, a long-time Scientologist, for speaking out against what she perceives as an overall overprescription of psychiatric drugs. Alley’s views echo those of Tom Cruise, inarguably the world’s most famous living Scientologist.

    Cruise caught a wave of backlash from mental health experts and patients after proclaiming his disdain for psych meds in a now-infamous 2005 interview with Matt Lauer.

    “I’ve never agreed with psychiatry, ever,” Cruise said. “Before I was a Scientologist I never agreed with psychiatry, and when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I understood more and more why I didn’t believe in psychology.”

    Prior to the Lauer interview, Cruise had taken Brooke Shields to task with accusations that she was “promoting” antidepressants by saying that the medication Paxil helped her deal with postpartum depression.

    “As far as the Brooke Shields thing, look, you have to understand, I really care about Brooke Shields – she’s a wonderful and talented woman, and I want her to do well, and I know psychiatry is a pseudoscience,” Cruise stated. “The thing that I’m saying about Brooke is that there’s misinformation, okay. And she doesn’t understand the history of psychiatry. She doesn’t understand in the same way that you don’t understand it, Matt.”

    “There’s No Such Thing As A Chemical Balance”

    Cruise went on to denounce the prescription of Ritalin to children and suggested that “vitamins and exercise” could resolve personal issues. 

     “Drugs are not the answer,” said Cruise. “I think there’s a better quality of life.”

    Shields responded to Cruise’s comments in an interview with People. 

    “I agree with him about his feeling on prescribing drugs to kids. We are in accord,” she said. “I don’t think Ritalin should be prescribed to kids. Postpartum depression is a different matter. I think I’m more qualified to talk about that (than he is).”

    According to Shields, Cruise offered her a “heartfelt apology” in 2006 for bringing her into his psychiatric debate.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mitch McConnell Slammed Over "Cocaine Mitch" Shirts

    Mitch McConnell Slammed Over "Cocaine Mitch" Shirts

    Critics of the Cocaine Mitch swag didn’t appreciate the playful reference to the drug in the midst of the addiction epidemic.

    Ahead of his run for re-election in 2020, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is capitalizing on a defamatory nickname given to him by a political opponent—“Cocaine Mitch”—to raise money for his campaign.

    His campaign website is selling stickers and t-shirts depicting a faceless McConnell dusted with cocaine residue. The back of the t-shirt is labeled “CARTEL MEMBER.”

    McConnell has raised more than $30,000 from the t-shirt sales, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. Apparently the senator’s humor was not lost on some.

    “Senator McConnell proves every election cycle that having a sense of humor is the most valuable and least abundant commodity in politics,” said Josh Holmes of the Team Mitch campaign. “He managed to turn a slanderous attack on his family into an online movement of his supporters.”

    The nickname originated in a political campaign promoting Don Blankenship’s run for U.S. Senate in 2018. “One of my goals as a U.S. senator will be to ditch Cocaine Mitch,” he said in a campaign ad. “When you’re voting for me, you’re voting for the sake of the kids.”

    Blankenship, a Republican and former coal CEO from West Virginia, was referring to a cocaine bust from 2014 aboard a shipping vessel operated by the father of McConnell’s wife, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The Nation reported at the time that the Colombian Coast Guard seized approximately 90 pounds of cocaine from the ship.

    “His father-in-law who founded and owns a large Chinese shipping company has given Mitch and his wife millions of dollars over the years,” Blankenship’s campaign explained in a statement. “The company was implicated recently in smuggling cocaine from Colombia to Europe, hidden aboard a company ship carrying foreign coal was $7 million of cocaine and that is why we’ve deemed him Cocaine Mitch.”

    While McConnell has reaped a significant profit from the bizarre nickname, Trump adviser Lynne Patton is not amused. “I think depending on what day it is, whether or not Mitch McConnell is a friend of the president, but as somebody who has personally struggled with cocaine addiction, I don’t think that that is funny or appropriate,” said Patton, a senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “And I wouldn’t endorse that on any side of the aisle.”

    Patton and other critics of peddling Cocaine Mitch swag did not appreciate the playful reference to the drug in the midst of our addiction and overdose epidemic.

    “It’s almost like making drugs cool, and they’re not,” said Patton, speaking with Bold TV. “Not to sound like Nancy Reagan, but drugs are not cool, just so you know.”

    She suggested that Trump would not find the humor in it either. “The president himself, he lost his brother to alcohol addiction and he’s never had a drink in his life.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Cocaine-Related Deaths Skyrocket

    Cocaine-Related Deaths Skyrocket

    In 2017, one-third of drug overdose deaths involved cocaine, or psychostimulants like MDMA.

    The number of overdose deaths involving cocaine has risen rapidly in recent years, increasing 52.4% between 2015 and 2016. 

    That’s according to recently-released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which tracked deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants. The increase can be largely blamed on the presence of synthetic opioids in the drug supply, the CDC says, although that does not fully explain the increase. 

    “Death rates involving cocaine and psychostimulants, with and without opioids, have increased. Synthetic opioids appear to be the primary driver of cocaine-involved death rate increases, and recent data point to increasing synthetic opioid involvement in psychostimulant-involved deaths,” the authors wrote. 

    In 2017, one-third of drug overdose deaths involved cocaine, or psychostimulants like MDMA. Although most overdose prevention and intervention programs focus on opioids, this research shows that a more widespread effort is needed, according to the report. 

    “The rise in deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants and the continuing evolution of the drug landscape indicate a need for a rapid, multifaceted, and broad approach that includes more timely and comprehensive surveillance efforts to inform tailored and effective prevention and response strategies,” the authors wrote. 

    They went on, “Continued collaborations among public health, public safety, and community partners are critical to understanding the local illicit drug supply and reducing risk as well as linking persons to medication-assisted treatment and risk-reduction services.”

    According to NBC News, Hans Breiter, a psychiatry professor at Northwestern University, said that despite the fact that dangerous synthetic opioids are being found more commonly in the cocaine supply, many people still think cocaine is a safer drug to use. 

    “There’s been a lot of bad press about other drugs,” Brieter said, adding that today’s young people haven’t seen firsthand the dangers of cocaine like people saw during the 1970s, so they are more likely to believe it is safe. 

    “Absolutely, there is a generational piece to this,” Breiter said. 

    Daniel Raymond, deputy director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, said that drugs come in and out of style, and cocaine is becoming a popular choice on the party scene once again. 

    “Right now we’re seeing an uptick in cocaine use, and we’re hitting that point in the cycle where we’re starting to see more fatal overdoses,” he said. 

    Officials have also warned that more people are using cocaine in conjunction with heroin, known as a speedball, Breiter said. 

    “People will use heroin to blunt the severity of coming down from the high of cocaine. It can be quite severe.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How long does cocaine withdrawal last?

    How long does cocaine withdrawal last?

    Are you addicted to cocaine or know someone who is? Here we explore how long cocaine withdrawal lasts and what you can do to help ease the effects. Then, we invite your questions about cocaine withdrawal or signs of cocaine addiction at the end. We try to answer all legitimate questions about cocaine personally and promptly.

    How long until cocaine withdrawal starts?

    Cocaine is an incredibly effective stimulant and withdrawal symptoms usually start just hours after stopping cocaine. What are symptoms of cocaine withdrawal? Symptoms of cocaine withdrawal can include agitation, increased appetite, and fatigue, vivid and unpleasant dreams. While these acute symptoms usually resolve within a week or two of last dose, other symptoms linger. For example, cocaine cravings can persist for the rest of your life. And other psychological withdrawal symptoms of cocaine can last years.

    Cocaine withdrawal timeline

    How long to withdraw from cocaine? Cocaine withdrawal timelines can last from days to weeks to months after last use. Here’s a general cocaine withdrawal timeline to help guide you during this period.

    24 – 72 hours: Within twenty four to seventy two hours you can expect to start to crash and feel remorse and depression. The brain will be severely sleep deprived and while you may be extremely fatigued, it may be difficult to get rest. Some people sleep heavily during this period but wake feeling awful.

    Week 1: During week one of cocaine withdrawal, you will probably start feeling a lot better and the cravings will seem easy to manage. The effects of cocaine will seem to be wearing off and you may start to regain confidence in your ability to handle cocaine addiction. Symptoms present during this time generally include agitation, unpleasant dreams, and increased appetite.

    Week 2: After about two weeks into cocaine withdrawal, the cravings for the drug can start to return and you will experience hunger, anger and depression. During week two you may experience vivid dreams and think about using again.

    Week 3-4: After three to four weeks you may start to experience mood swings. Sleep may still be a problem, as can depression. Exercise and a healthy diet will help to address these issues. Many drug abusers cannot handle stress without abusing a substance, so a lot of drug addicts relapse during this time. If needed, you can seek help from a medical doctor or psychiatrist to address underlying mental health issues.

    How long do cocaine withdrawal symptoms last?

    Protracted cocaine withdrawal symptoms can last six months to two years. The amount of time that the symptoms last depends on the amount of time that cocaine was used, which will determine the severity and length of the withdrawal period. Typically, you can seek mental health treatment for persistent symptoms which can help to greatly reduce the effects of protracted withdrawal.

    Cocaine withdrawal: how long?

    How long cocaine withdrawal lasts fluctuates depending on how frequently you used the drug and how large the doses were. If you were a heavy user, then you could experience cocaine withdrawal for years.

    People who have used cocaine for extended period of times may experience PAWS, which stands for post acute withdrawal syndrome. Symptoms of PAWS will appear usually three to six months after cessation of cocaine. PAWS occurs when the brain needs additional time to restore normal functions after long periods of drug dependence.

    Duration of cocaine withdrawal questions

    If you have further questions about how long cocaine withdrawal lasts, please ask them in the comments section below. We will try our best to respond promptly.

    Reference Sources: PubMed: Cocaine withdrawal
    NCBI: Cocaine withdrawal
    VA: Treatment of Acute Intoxication and Withdrawal from Drugs of Abuse
    NHTSA: Cocaine

    View the original article at addictionblog.org

  • Wendy Williams: I'm "Living Proof" That There's Hope For Those With Addiction

    Wendy Williams: I'm "Living Proof" That There's Hope For Those With Addiction

    Williams touched on her own recovery while promoting her new addiction recovery helpline. 

    Talk show host Wendy Williams, whose journey through relapse and recovery made headlines this month, has put out a public service announcement urging those who are in need of addiction treatment services to reach out for help.

    Williams launched the announcement in conjunction with a new helpline through The Hunter Foundation, an organization that she and her husband, Kevin Hunter, began in 2014 to provide recovery resources. The foundation launched the helpline on March 11 to help people connect with treatment. 

    “Hi, I’m Wendy Williams Hunter. My organization, The Hunter Foundation, recently launched a nationwide hotline to offer treatment resources for you if you are a drug addict or substance abuser,” Williams said, according to People.

    When people call into the line, at 1-888-5HUNTER, they are connected with recovery coaches who can help them find treatment resources. 

    Williams explained, “The calls are being answered by specially-trained, certified recovery coaches. They’re very smart. They conduct screenings to determine your needs. The substance abuse will be taken care of. We will provide you with referrals for long- or short-term treatment at facilities all around the world: detox, rehab, sober living and outpatient centers everywhere, nationwide.”

    Williams struggled with cocaine use in the past and was recently hospitalized for drinking. However, she said that her story shows there is hope for everyone battling substance use disorder. 

    “If you’re an addict or a substance abuser, don’t be ashamed—help is here for you or a family member or a loved one. Call. Don’t be ashamed, there is hope. I’m living proof.”

    Since the hotline launched, it has received more than 10,000 calls and connected more than 400 people with treatment services, according to Today. 

    “10,000 calls in three weeks is remarkable! We’re doing our part by getting the word out,” Williams said. “All it takes is one call to get on the right path. We’re here to help.”

    Williams announced in March that she was living in a sober house and working with a sobriety coach. Her relapse reportedly had to do with her husband’s extramarital affair, although neither Williams nor Hunter has publicly commented on the matter. Hunter said last week that the couple is focusing on their relationship and Williams’ recovery, while also continuing to help others through their foundation. 

    “Wendy and the family are doing fine. We are focused on her health and sobriety, and that is it,” he said. “We are turning the tables on this thing called addiction and turning Wendy’s bout into a positive.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Wendy Williams Reveals She's Been Living In a Sober Home

    Wendy Williams Reveals She's Been Living In a Sober Home

    Williams detailed her sober living situation during a recent episode of her talk show.

    Wendy Williams took two months off from her show before returning to reveal that she has been living in a sober home.

    “For some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” Williams said on Tuesday’s episode of The Wendy Williams Show. “And you know, I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past and I never went to a place to get the treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped.”

    Williams’ revelation came after a two-month hiatus from taping her show. She explained she had been dealing with Graves’ disease during her time off.

    In 2017, Williams fainted during a taping of her show. She later explained that she had a heat stroke—and was going through “what middle-aged women go through.”

    The TV personality wanted to be transparent with her fans, who know her to be a “very truthful and open person.” She stated that the only other person who knew what was happening was her husband, Kevin Hunter, according to BuzzFeed News.

    “There are people in your family, it might be you, who have been struggling, and I want you to know more of the story,” she said. “So, this is my autobiographical story, and I’m living it. I’m telling you this.”

    Williams shared her routine with viewers: daily pilates and sober “meetings around town in the tristate area,” then her 24-hour sober coach brings her home, “with a bunch of smelly boys who have become my family.”

    “They hog the TV and watch soccer, we talk and read and talk and read, and then I get bored with them. Doors locked by 10 p.m. Lights out by 10 p.m.,” Williams said.

    “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. So that is my truth. I know, either you are calling me crazy or the bravest woman you know,” she said. “I don’t care.”

    Williams also promoted her family’s foundation, the Hunter Foundation, which offers a 24-hour hotline service that Williams said, “already successfully placed 56 people in recovery centers around the world.”

    CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted his support of Williams, writing, “I say bravest woman I know. @WendyWilliams finally speaks her truth about recovery.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Richard Pryor's Son Talks Addiction, Growing Up With The Comic Icon

    Richard Pryor's Son Talks Addiction, Growing Up With The Comic Icon

    “I would just do drugs over and over. It consumed me. Finally one night, I called my dad and told him I needed help,” Richard Pryor Jr recalled in a recent interview.

    Richard Pryor Jr, son of the iconic comedic legend, recently spoke out about his past addiction, and how he thankfully didn’t follow in his late father’s tragic footsteps.

    Pryor Jr spoke with Fox News on the eve of the release of his memoir, In a Pryor Life.

    “I’ve always been around drugs. Especially with my dad’s side of the family. There was always marijuana around,” he explained to Fox News. “I don’t remember when my dad was doing coke, but there were times when I would see bags, not really knowing what it was. And I’m not talking about little bags. I’m talking about sugar bags. In Hollywood, especially in comedy clubs, it was always present. It was always in your face.”

    By the time he was in his twenties, Pryor Jr had developed his own drug habit.

    “The very first time, I called him up with a needle in my arm,” he recalled. “I was shooting cocaine in my arms. I didn’t know what I was doing. But he was really calm about it. He was probably high himself during the same time…He was just like, ‘Son, it’ll be OK. It’ll be alright. Just trust me, it’s gonna be OK.’”

    By the late 80s, Pryor Jr was deep in the throes of addiction with his drug use becoming more dire during the filming of the movie Critical Condition in 1987. 

     “I was so far gone I was doing cocaine every single day and then Valium on top of it. I used cocaine to be productive, and Valium to bring me down. We filmed in this abandoned hospital and I remembered I had drugs hidden on every floor. I would just do drugs over and over. It consumed me. Finally one night, I called my dad and told him I needed help.”

    Pryor told Authority Magazine he struggled with drugs until he was in his late twenties. He says having a son inspired him to get clean. “I also decided I wanted more for myself. I knew I had the potential to do more and I knew I had it in myself to be something. I wanted to get out of the dark place I was living in and find strength and encouragement.”

    Pryor felt that if his father were alive today, “he’d be happy to see me in a good place where I can help others.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • DMX Reflects On Sobriety

    DMX Reflects On Sobriety

    In an interview from 2017, DMX got candid about addiction and rap’s relationship with drug use.

    Rapper DMX was just released after serving a year in prison, prompting the re-release of a 2017 interview from the radio show Big Boy’s Neighborhood, in which DMX reflects on his sobriety from cocaine addiction and how rap glorifies drug abuse. 

    In the interview, DMX discusses how rap glorifies drug abuse. 

    “They’re all promoting drug use,” he said, according to HotNewHipHop. “If that’s what you wanna do, that’s your business, but you ain’t gotta promote it like it’s cool and make it cool. Kids walk around like, I’m popping molly, I’m popping percs!” 

    Rather than pills, DMX said that his main drug of choice was cocaine. “Cocaine. Crack. I think we kind of knew that was the problem. I would get in trouble. It wasn’t worth it.” 

    Although the interview is from 2017, DMX said that at the time he was staying away from drugs. “I don’t do anything. I have a drink now and then, but that was never the problem,” he said. 

    On January 25, DMX was released from Gilmer Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia, where he had spent a year in prison after being convicted of tax evasion.

    At first, he was released on bail conditions that required him to stay clean and sober. He had told the judge that he needed to be able to keep touring in order to support his 15 kids. The judge, Jed Rakoff, said that DMX had promised to remain sober and travel with a sobriety coach, but that ultimately he wasn’t able or willing to do those things. The promise “was a great big lie, a repeated lie as it turned out,” Rakoff said.

    After failing drug tests, DMX was put on house arrest in August 2017. 

    Later that month he was spotted in New Hampshire, where he was apparently seeking treatment. However, he appears to have left that treatment facility in order to visit his daughter in New York, where he also visited bars, according to prosecutors in the tax evasion case. 

    In January 2018, DMX again failed a drug test and was held in jail until his March sentencing. At the time, he tested positive for cocaine, opiates and oxycodone. 

    Despite his claims of sobriety in the radio interview from around the same time, DMX’s lawyer said that his client wasn’t sober. 

    “He deals with problems by drugging himself,” the lawyer said at the time. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Artie Lange Sobering Up In Jail Before Entering Long-Term Treatment

    Artie Lange Sobering Up In Jail Before Entering Long-Term Treatment

    The comedian reportedly tested positive for cocaine and morphine prior to entering the correctional facility. 

    Comedian Artie Lange was booked into a New Jersey jail after testing positive for cocaine, and is expected to enter a long-term treatment program, according to his legal representative.

    According to posts from “Team Lange” on his Twitter account, Lange entered the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark on January 30 after testing positive for both cocaine and morphine; the incident comes less than two months after he tested positive for cocaine and other substances during a court visit for probation violation in December 2018.

    Lange’s lawyer, Frank Arleo, said that the Crashing actor could be at Essex County through February 6, and expected that Lange would be moved to an inpatient drug treatment program soon after.

    The first post on January 30 from “Team Lange” read that Lange would be undergoing a long-term treatment program “starting today,” and promised updates before capping the post with the words, “It’s time.”

    Lange had been booked into, but not sentenced, at Essex County Jail that same day, and remanded to state Superior Court in Newark, where he was given a drug test. Team Lange’s next post on January 31 noted that “the comments made by Artie’s lawyer have been taken out of context”—meaning that he had not been arrested or sent to jail, but had been booked for “a few days to sober up before transferring him to a long term treatment facility.”

    The post concluded with the statement, “Artie needs us to be with him, not against him.”

    Arleo said that his client “knows he shouldn’t have tested dirty, but he did. He knew what was going to happen.” Arleo added that Lange’s case is due to be evaluated on February 6, and going forward, the primary concern will be “finding a bed at an inpatient facility” for Lange.

    Lange tested positive for cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and Suboxone during a December 14, 2018 court appearance for a 2017 probation violation. At the time, Arleo said that Lange had prescriptions for the amphetamines and benzodiazepines, and was using Suboxone to treat his opioid dependency. Lange avoided jail time when the presiding judge recommended that Arleo apply for Lange’s admission to drug court and complete community service in addition to the four years of probation for the 2017 violation.

    In December 2017, Lange tweeted, “I feel now I can also stop Cocaine [sic]. But that’s arrogance and addiction. I’m accepting help. If I fail now I will go to jail. Jail is not for addicts. But I’d be giving them no choice. When I use illegal drugs I have to score them. That’s breaking the law.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Cocaine Exposure In London River Triggers Eels

    Cocaine Exposure In London River Triggers Eels

    A study found that exposure to cocaine in the water can make fish and eels “hyperactive,” and deteriorate their bone structure. 

    London residents use so much cocaine that the drug is often found in the waters of the River Thames, possibly affecting eels and other wildlife in the river. 

    Researchers from King’s College London said that cocaine and other class A drugs were detected in the water 24 hours after sewer overflow events, according to The Independent.  

    During those events, the city’s water purification system can’t keep up, meaning that some raw sewage can make it into the river. Cocaine and other drugs from people’s urine can thus end up in the water. 

    James Robson, a senior curator at the SEA LIFE London aquarium, said the drugs likely have some effect on wildlife. 

    “Drugs which affect us will almost always affect all animal life, and invertebrates a little bit more because their biochemistry is much more sensitive,” he said. “Essentially everything in the water will be affected by drugs like these. A lot of the triggers and the ways that cocaine affects the system is really primal.”

    A study found that exposure to cocaine in the water can make fish and eels “hyperactive,” and deteriorate their bone structure. 

    “This study shows that even low environmental concentrations of cocaine cause severe damage to the morphology and physiology of the skeletal muscle of the silver eel, confirming the harmful impact of cocaine in the environment that potentially affects the survival of this species,” study authors wrote. 

    However, Robson said it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the wildlife is getting high. 

    “You haven’t got a lot of disco-dancing fish down the bottom of the Thames,” he said. Although authors of the hyperactivity study said that the fish they studied were exposed to similar levels of cocaine that are found in the water, Robson said that the fish in the study were exposed to higher levels of cocaine, which may explain their greater reactions. 

    London has high rates of cocaine use, and European studies have found that sewage in the city has high levels of the drug. In addition to cocaine, London waters also contain lots of caffeine, which researchers said “was so high that it lay outside of the quantifiable range.”

    While the research about cocaine and caffeine in the waters has spawned some interesting headlines, Robson said that it is relatively unimportant compared to other issues affecting the health of the River Thames and other waterways. 

    He said, “Before you would worry about something like caffeine increasing the heart rate, I would be much more concerned about things like climate change affecting the temperature and plastics pollution. Those do much more significant damage to the ecosystem.”

    View the original article at thefix.com