Answer Addiction

Tag: Nevada

  • Treating Addiction with Ketamine, NAD+ and Aftercare

    Treating Addiction with Ketamine, NAD+ and Aftercare

    Because of the ketamine treatment, many people feel relief from symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, all of which can be triggers for relapse.

    Justin Hoffman’s relief from post-traumatic stress disorder began with the hiccups. 

    Not the cute and happy kind, but chronic hiccups that had to be treated with morphine and Thorazine in the emergency room. When he mentioned this to a colleague in the treatment industry, that doctor suggested ketamine as a possible treatment. When Hoffman received a dose of ketamine not only did the hiccups stop, but he experienced something unexpected. 

    “I felt like the PTSD that I had been walking around with was gone,” said Hoffman. 

    The experience led to Hoffman partnering with board-certified anesthesiologist Henry Liang to found Klarity Life, a treatment program that will be opening in Las Vegas this fall. The program consists of two aspects. At The House at Klarity Life, Hoffman, the program director, utilizes holistic therapies to facilitate healing in a luxurious setting where clients have private rooms and meals prepared by a private chef. Dr. Liang, the medical director at The Clinic at Klarity Life, gives patients NAD+ and ketamine infusions, as well as supplements, which allows a virtually painless detox.

    Hoffman, nephew of the 1960’s counterculture icon Abbie Hoffman, was familiar with the benefits of nontraditional treatments. After spending 20 years hooked on opioids and trying over 30 rehab programs, he got sober with the help of plant-based medicine. That was six years ago, and since then he has worked to help other people achieve lasting sobriety by combining plant-based medicine with strict aftercare that includes nutrition, exercise and spiritual exploration. 

    “It made sense to open a safe, beautiful place, to teach other people the things that worked for me: like yoga, cryogenic therapy, nature, Qigong,” Hoffman said. “I started to watch the success rate for treating addiction rise from 30 percent with just plant-based medicine to 70 percent with aftercare.” 

    Hoffman had built a business and life around helping other people get sober using plant-based medicine, but when he tried ketamine for the first time he realized that it was an even more powerful tool for helping to treat addiction. 

    NAD+, a component of vitamin B3 (niacin), has long been used to treat withdrawal symptoms. Justin and Dr. Liang realized that the combination of NAD+ and ketamine, coupled with Hoffman’s rigorous aftercare program, would give people with substance use disorder the best chance of lasting sobriety. 

    “It clicked in my head that this is the best choice for addicts, even better than plant-based medicine,” he said.

    The program facilitates healing by pairing The Clinic’s NAD+ and ketamine infusions and supplements with The House’s holistic aftercare regimen of clean eating, therapy, exercise and spiritual restoration. The infusions offer virtually painless detox as well as alleviate depression and PTSD symptoms; the aftercare teaches people how to live a full life without relying on drugs or alcohol. 

    “With this place, I cover all the bases: nutrition, spirituality and recovery,” Hoffman said. “After 30 rehabs and their protocols, I realized how archaic they are. They’re giving meds to cover symptoms. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a laceration of throat. We don’t want to put a Band-Aid on anything.”

    One of the most appealing parts of Klarity Life is that it offers clients nearly painless detox from almost any drug. Using infusions and supplement management in the first 24-72 hours, people who are dependent can detox without feeling severely ill. By day three to four of infusions, people are typically feeling great, Hoffman said. Infusions continue for eight to ten days, and for the rest of their stay clients focus on learning to live healthy, rewarding lives in recovery. 

    “We have you feeling good right away,” Hoffman said. “The rest of the time we’re working on healthy substitutes for what you’ve been doing in the past.”

    As part of this, Hoffman exposes clients to an array of treatment modalities, from 12 step programs to SMART recovery. By sampling an array of recovery resources, clients can connect with the resources that work best for them. 

    “We want to expose them to all different types of therapy,” Hoffman said. “I want to embrace anything that is saving someone’s life. I’ve lost too many people to say my way is the only way.”

    Because of the ketamine treatment, many people feel relief from symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, all of which can be triggers for relapse. Healing this root cause of addiction, and then building the foundation for a life of healthy habits, is what sets Klarity Life apart, Hoffman said. 

    “We’ve been seeing miracles,” he said. 

    Klarity Life is a boutique rehab program opening this fall in Las Vegas, offering outpatient NAD+ and ketamine infusion therapy and a holistic approach to health and healing.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Curing Addiction with Ketamine, NAD+ and Aftercare

    Curing Addiction with Ketamine, NAD+ and Aftercare

    Because of the ketamine treatment, many people feel relief from symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, all of which can be triggers for relapse.

    Justin Hoffman’s relief from post-traumatic stress disorder began with the hiccups. 

    Not the cute and happy kind, but chronic hiccups that had to be treated with morphine and Thorazine in the emergency room. When he mentioned this to a colleague in the treatment industry, that doctor suggested ketamine as a possible treatment. When Hoffman received a dose of ketamine not only did the hiccups stop, but he experienced something unexpected. 

    “I felt like the PTSD that I had been walking around with was gone,” said Hoffman. 

    The experience led to Hoffman partnering with board-certified anesthesiologist Henry Liang to found Klarity Life, a treatment program that will be opening in Las Vegas this fall. The program consists of two aspects. At The House at Klarity Life, Hoffman, the program director, utilizes holistic therapies to facilitate healing in a luxurious setting where clients have private rooms and meals prepared by a private chef. Dr. Liang, the medical director at The Clinic at Klarity Life, gives patients NAD+ and ketamine infusions, as well as supplements, which allows a virtually painless detox.

    Hoffman, nephew of the 1960’s counterculture icon Abbie Hoffman, was familiar with the benefits of nontraditional treatments. After spending 20 years hooked on opioids and trying over 30 rehab programs, he got sober with the help of plant-based medicine. That was six years ago, and since then he has worked to help other people achieve lasting sobriety by combining plant-based medicine with strict aftercare that includes nutrition, exercise and spiritual exploration. 

    “It made sense to open a safe, beautiful place, to teach other people the things that worked for me: like yoga, cryogenic therapy, nature, Qigong,” Hoffman said. “I started to watch the success rate for treating addiction rise from 30 percent with just plant-based medicine to 70 percent with aftercare.” 

    Hoffman had built a business and life around helping other people get sober using plant-based medicine, but when he tried ketamine for the first time he realized that it was an even more powerful tool for helping to treat addiction. 

    NAD+, a component of vitamin B3 (niacin), has long been used to treat withdrawal symptoms. Justin and Dr. Liang realized that the combination of NAD+ and ketamine, coupled with Hoffman’s rigorous aftercare program, would give people with substance use disorder the best chance of lasting sobriety. 

    “It clicked in my head that this is the best choice for addicts, even better than plant-based medicine,” he said.

    The program facilitates healing by pairing The Clinic’s NAD+ and ketamine infusions and supplements with The House’s holistic aftercare regimen of clean eating, therapy, exercise and spiritual restoration. The infusions offer virtually painless detox as well as alleviate depression and PTSD symptoms; the aftercare teaches people how to live a full life without relying on drugs or alcohol. 

    “With this place, I cover all the bases: nutrition, spirituality and recovery,” Hoffman said. “After 30 rehabs and their protocols, I realized how archaic they are. They’re giving meds to cover symptoms. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a laceration of throat. We don’t want to put a Band-Aid on anything.”

    One of the most appealing parts of Klarity Life is that it offers clients nearly painless detox from almost any drug. Using infusions and supplement management in the first 24-72 hours, people who are dependent can detox without feeling severely ill. By day three to four of infusions, people are typically feeling great, Hoffman said. Infusions continue for eight to ten days, and for the rest of their stay clients focus on learning to live healthy, rewarding lives in recovery. 

    “We have you feeling good right away,” Hoffman said. “The rest of the time we’re working on healthy substitutes for what you’ve been doing in the past.”

    As part of this, Hoffman exposes clients to an array of treatment modalities, from 12 step programs to SMART recovery. By sampling an array of recovery resources, clients can connect with the resources that work best for them. 

    “We want to expose them to all different types of therapy,” Hoffman said. “I want to embrace anything that is saving someone’s life. I’ve lost too many people to say my way is the only way.”

    Because of the ketamine treatment, many people feel relief from symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, all of which can be triggers for relapse. Healing this root cause of addiction, and then building the foundation for a life of healthy habits, is what sets Klarity Life apart, Hoffman said. 

    “We’ve been seeing miracles,” he said. 

    Klarity Life is a boutique rehab program opening this fall in Las Vegas, offering outpatient NAD+ and ketamine infusion therapy and a holistic approach to health and healing.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Family Of Woman Who Died While Detoxing In Jail Files Lawsuit

    Family Of Woman Who Died While Detoxing In Jail Files Lawsuit

    Prosecutors declined to charge the deputies involved with the case so the family decided to take another route to justice. 

    Following a year-long probe, Nevada investigators have decided that the deputies involved in a jail inmate’s July 2017 death should be criminally charged for the way they handled a woman who was in medical distress.

    The Mineral County deputies were aware of the inmate’s condition, according to the 300-page report. Kelly Coltrain, 27, who was jailed for outstanding traffic tickets, had informed jail staff that she was dependent on drugs and suffered seizures when she went through withdrawals, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

    Coltrain was visiting Nevada from Austin, Texas to celebrate her grandmother’s 75th birthday. But instead of spending time with her family, she spent four days in Mineral County Jail until she died in her cell on July 23, 2017.

    According to investigators, who produced a 300-page report on Coltrain’s death, jail staff violated multiple policies when they denied Coltrain medical care. Based on Coltrain’s history of seizures, jail staff should have cleared her with a doctor before keeping her in jail; and as she suffered withdrawals, they should have been monitoring her vitals.

    Instead, when Coltrain asked that she be taken to the hospital, which is about a two-minute walk across the street from the jail, according to the report, Deputy Ray Gulcynski told her, “Unfortunately, since you’re DT’ing (referring to the detoxification process), I’m not going to take you over to the hospital right now just to get your fix. That’s not the way detention works, unfortunately. You are incarcerated with us, so… you don’t get to go to the hospital when you want. When we feel that your life is at risk… then you will go.”

    Surveillance video of Coltrain’s jail cell shows her being ordered to clean up her own vomit with a mop. Less than an hour later, she was dead, and remained in her cell for more than six hours before a deputy noticed her lifeless body. He did not try to revive her or call for help, and Coltrain was left in her cell until the morning, when state officials arrived at the jail to investigate.

    Investigators with the Nevada Division of Investigation recommended that the deputies involved face criminal charges, but Lyon County, where the case was forwarded, refused to prosecute.

    “The review of the case, in our opinion, did not establish any willful or malicious acts by jail staff that would justify the filing of charges under the requirements of the statute,” said Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye.

    Coltrain’s family, however, believes her death was preventable. “(Jail staff) knew Kelly Coltrain had lain for days at the jail, in bed, buried beneath blankets, vomiting multiple times, refusing meals, trembling, shaking, and rarely moving. Defendants knew Kelly Coltrain was in medical distress,” according to a federal lawsuit filed by the family last week.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How to Stay Sober at Burning Man and Have the Best Burn of Your Life

    How to Stay Sober at Burning Man and Have the Best Burn of Your Life

    I mean, really, you’re never going to be at a meeting in the “default world” sitting between a rainbow unicorn and a naked old guy.

    Have you ever been to Burning Man, that strange, magical world where anything is possible? Where strangers become friends in under an hour? Where food, water, gifts, and substances are shared freely through the “gifting economy,” and the parties rage 24/7 for eight days straight? If so, maybe we’ve shared some common experiences on “the playa.” Have you ever woken up in a pile of dust, impossibly far away from your own camp, trying to piece together the events that led you to your blackout dust pile? Have you ever taken LSD so many nights in a row it actually stopped working? Have you come into Black Rock City with the best intentions of practicing yoga and meditating every day, only to fail once you got three PBRs deep by 10am? Have you booked it out of Burning Man to the nearest Motel 6 like a bat out of hell, driving your car feeling like it’s the most challenging video game you’ve ever played? Has coming down and getting “back to normal” after the burn felt like a torturously long, horrible process? Have you left the playa feeling like you had an incredible time but kind of wishing you could remember more of it? Me too.

    If you’ve only heard stories or seen news reports about Burning Man, the infamous “playa” is usually depicted as nothing but a mecca for party drugs, weird sex, apocalyptic art, and daytime debauchery. It’s the last place on earth a recovering alcoholic could willingly go to and stay sober. In actuality, behind all the psychedelic media-portrayed madness and in the midst of the drug-fueled frenzy, there exists a whole community of sober “Burners” who do the seemingly unfathomable. We come to this crazy place every year and let our freak flags fly, share our art and our experiences, dance until dawn, make new connections, survive in this thrilling temporary society, love it and hate it, and do it all SOBER.

    My first two burns were driven by my love for alcohol and drugs, so my Burning Man experiences reflected that. My third burn, however, came almost one year after some shit hit the fan in my life, forcing me into the reluctant journey of recovery. Despite my hesitant beginning, by the time I hit the one year sobriety mark and took off to Burning Man, I was fully in love with my new sober, sane (“saner” than I had been before but still going to Burning Man so not too sane, obviously) state of mind and my ability to be fully present and remember the adventures I was having. Thus, my third burn, which I experienced as a sober woman in recovery, while very different from my first two years on the playa, was actually the best Burning Man experience I’ve had yet! Here’s why it was so great and why I can’t wait to go back to Black Rock City—still sober—this year.

    There are endless opportunities to explore in Black Rock City: classes, workshops, lectures, parties, music, art tours, ultramarathons, you name it. When you get to Burning Man, you get a book that’s a couple hundred pages long of all the events and activities available. Before I got sober I would look through this book in wonderment, circling things and making grand plans for all the workshops I would attend and everything I would learn. In reality though, I would usually get distracted by a Blood Mary oasis on the way to whatever wellness-oriented activity I was trying to find. The self-improvement plan would end there.

    Nowadays, I can actually make it to a few of these events I pick out of the wonderful guidebook, because I have the willpower and determination to get to where I am going without “free vodka FOMO” stopping me. Well, sometimes I’ll still stop for a virgin Bloody Mary bar experience to giggle at and feel superior to all the raging hangovers around me. I’ve gotta let the misery of others remind me why I’m sober occasionally. Most of the time, I can make it to my intended destination. Having my activity options limited because of my sobriety is actually very helpful in that it forces me to focus my attention on a narrower but still huge range of the healthy “woo woo” non-booze-oriented options.

    I’m so grateful my sobriety allows me to participate in Burning Man more fully than I was ever able to when I was fucked up. Today I get to make real connections with fellow burners, give something back, and freely express myself, sober, along with all the best of Black Rock City.

    Seven tips for how to actually stay sober at Burning Man:

    1. Go to meetings, even if you don’t regularly attend them in the “default world.” Burning Man meetings are awesome, and you can even get your own Burning Man token for your 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on sober burns. Anonymous Village is the biggest sober camp and is located at 5:30 & G, with multiple “Any-A” meetings for anyone in recovery from any addiction every day. Other sober camps—Camp Run Free and Camp Stella—also offer daily open meetings. I mean, really, you’re never going to be at a meeting in the default world sitting between a rainbow unicorn and a naked old guy.
    2. Practice good self-care and rock your boundaries. If you don’t wanna stay up all night every night, then you don’t have to! If you don’t want to be a dirty, sleep-deprived dustball all week, you don’t have to be! Go find those life-saving nail salons or hair-washing stations when you feel the need for some real TLC. And if you’re an introvert like me, don’t be afraid to lie in your tent and read a book or nap when you need some down time to recharge your batteries. Sleep is great, and can really help you enjoy your burn more. If you’re not enjoying a party or activity or person, then politely excuse yourself and go find something else, or go home. The week stretches long when you’re sober, especially if you don’t take care of yourself.
    3. Find other sober burners! They are out there. Last year one of my best friends on the playa was four months pregnant, so we both had good reasons to have lots of sober fun together and practice lots of self-care.
    4. Choose one sober activity to structure your day around, then go from there. That overwhelming little booklet of activities can help you find a mind-blowingingly awesome good time that’s not caused by mind-altering substances. So next time you find yourself jonesing for an adventure, just page through your book and choose between “Naked Fire Spinning for Complete Beginners,” “Make Your Own Tutu and Pasties Party,” watching Tuesday’s Ultramarathoners run dusty laps around the city, an appointment with a Monkey Psychiatrist, or a classical orchestra concert with homemade ice cream at an art piece in deep playa. Get excited about that one sober activity and all the awesome people you will meet, then let the rest of your day flow from there.
    5. Embrace the daytime activities and workshops that you were too hungover to enjoy in the past.  Before I got sober, I would miss out on so much of the art and yoga and educational offerings on the playa because I would start every day with those morning Bloody Marys and beers. My FOMO and addiction would take over and not let me say no to a drink or a drug. Now with those options off the table, I have some of the most fun riding my bike around the playa in the early morning while most other people are still sleeping off the party or just trudging home. Last year I made it to an aerial silks class, two Shamanic breathwork sessions, multiple yoga classes, and a few guided meditations. Thanks to all these workouts and personal development activities, I left the burn actually feeling more physically and mentally fit then when I got there.
    6. Be of service. Be available to be of service to other burners. Participate in the gifting economy by bringing something to share, no matter how small. It could be fruit, coffee, cookies, hula hoops or Chapstick to give away. Or you could teach something, or set up a table of art supplies for passersby to stop and get creative. I’ve found that most burners really appreciate heartfelt, healthy offerings, because they’re rare in a popup city crowded with bars and clubs. You can also take on a temporary sponsee from one of the many meetings in the city.
    7. Enjoy being fully present.  Whatever happens on the playa, you get to notice it all, feel it all, and remember it all. Take the bad with the good and always look for opportunities to be of service. Remember, sobriety is a gift that lets us go anywhere and do anything! So enjoy it!

    Burning Man is from August 26-September 3. More info here about experiencing the playa clean and sober.

    2016 Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada, USA

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Nation's First-Ever Execution Using Fentanyl Halted

    Nation's First-Ever Execution Using Fentanyl Halted

    A New Jersey drug company filed a lawsuit claiming the state had tricked a drug distributor into selling one of the drugs to be used in the execution. 

    What could have been the nation’s first-ever execution using fentanyl was called off Wednesday, after a New Jersey-based drug company filed suit over the planned use of one of its drugs in the Nevada death house.

    After months of begging for death and waiving appeals, double murderer Scott Dozier was scheduled to die by lethal injection using an untested three-drug cocktail in what would have been the state’s first execution in more than a decade. 

    “I think it’s awesome. I mean, it’s killing people all over the place,” he told VICE News before his unwanted last-minute reprieve. “You guys get pharmaceutical grade fentanyl and just bang me up man.”

    But the courts intervened, after drugmaker Alvogen accused the state of using “subterfuge” to secure one of the drugs in spite of the company’s insistence that it didn’t want its product used in “botched” executions.

    It appears to be the first time a pharmaceutical company has successfully stopped an execution, experts told the Associated Press. 

    The challenge comes as death penalty states across the nation have struggled in finding ways to carry out their most severe punishment, sometimes switching methods or drugs as pharmaceutical companies become increasingly reluctant to see their drugs used in executions. 

    The current Nevada execution protocol—newly implemented after previous drug stocks expired—includes the controversial sedative midazolam, the opioid fentanyl and the paralytic cisatracurium. Midazolam has been linked to allegedly botched executions in Ohio, Arkansas, Alabama and elsewhere.

    In Tuesday’s lawsuit, Alvogen said the state had tricked drug distributor Cardinal Health into selling them midazolam by having it sent to a pharmacy in Las Vegas instead of to the prison, according to CBS News.

    “While Alvogen takes no position on the death penalty itself,” the company wrote in court filings, “Alvogen’s products were developed to save and improve patients’ lives and their use in executions is fundamentally contrary to this purpose.”

    A state solicitor general pushed back against the lawsuit, saying Nevada didn’t do anything wrong and regularly has its drugs shipped to Las Vegas. 

    This wasn’t the first controversy Nevada faced over its execution drugs. Last year, Pfizer asked the state to return any drugs it planned using to kill prisoners—but prison officials refused. And this year, another pharmaceutical company voiced objections to the use of its drugs in lethal injections, though they didn’t take the step of filing a legal claim. 

    Dozier’s death sentence stems from a 2002 slaying when he lured 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller to the Las Vegas strip in order to rob him of $12,000 that he planned to buy ephedrine with, one of the ingredients needed for making meth. After shooting Miller in the head, police say Dozier let him bleed out in a bathtub before dismembering him, stuffing his torso and some limbs into a suitcase, then tossing it in a dumpster. 

    Afterward, Dozier’s friends started coming forward with tips about the case. One even told police he’d spotted a body holding its own head inside Dozier’s hotel room. A jailhouse snitch alleged that he’d helped Dozier bury a man in the middle of the Arizona desert in 2001—and he led investigators to a dismembered body. Dozier was convicted in the Copper State case before he was transferred back to Nevada to stand trial for the would-be meth-maker’s slaying.

    While in jail for the Arizona murder—one in which he still maintains his innocence—Dozier tried killing himself by overdosing on antidepressants, which landed him in a coma for two weeks.

    “I’m not looking for mercy,” he told the Marshall Project. “Nevada said stop behaving this way or we will kill you, and I kept behaving that way.”

    So, in 2016, he penned a letter to the judge, waiving his appeals and begging for execution. So-called “volunteers” are a death row rarity, and Dozier’s gregarious pursuit of death attracted national attention. 

    Now, it’s not clear when he might face another death date, though a Clark County judge this week scheduled a hearing for September.

    View the original article at thefix.com