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  • Fentanyl Present In 90% Of Drugs, Massachusetts Officials Warn

    Fentanyl Present In 90% Of Drugs, Massachusetts Officials Warn

    The synthetic opioid is found more in combination with cocaine and benzodiazepines than heroin.

    Officials in Massachusetts are warning the public that the presence of the deadly synthetic opioid, fentanyl, is increasingly common in all types of illicit drugs in the state—not just in heroin or other opioids—raising the overdose risk for users of cocaine and other illegal substances. 

    “If an individual is using illicit drugs in Massachusetts, there’s a very high likelihood that fentanyl, which is so deadly, could be present,” said Dr. Monica Bharel, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, according to New England Public Radio. “Anybody using illicit drugs should understand the risks, carry naloxone, and access treatment.”

    The state’s quarterly report found that fentanyl is present in 90% of overdose deaths in Massachusetts. It is found more in combination with cocaine and benzodiazepines than with heroin. In 2014, fentanyl was found in less than 30% of overdose deaths in the Bay State. 

    Because fentanyl is becoming more prevalent in cocaine and benzodiazepines, officials are advising family members of people who use illicit drugs to carry naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. People who do not use opioids regularly are more susceptible to fentanyl overdose because they have not built up an opioid tolerance. 

    Because of this, the state is urging healthcare providers to help all drug users get into treatment, not just those who report that their primary drug of choice is an opioid. 

    “When analyzing opioid overdose deaths, we have become aware that a significant portion of the deaths are associated with concurrent cocaine use,” the state wrote in a letter to providers. “We believe this information is useful for you in your clinical work. Additionally, patients should be aware that polysubstance use can NOT be a reason for refusal for admission in the treatment system.” 

    The report also showed that overdose deaths are declining in Massachusetts for the third straight quarter, even as such deaths continue to rise nationally. This could be due in part to the rising rates at which EMTs in the state are administering naloxone, as well as public health campaigns, Bharel said. 

    “In Massachusetts we have a multi-pronged approach,” she said. “This is about prevention, raising awareness in our communities, and raising awareness among our prescribers.” 

    However, not all demographics are seeing the improvement. Hispanics are disproportionately likely to die of an overdose in Massachusetts, and the overdose rates for black men continue to rise. 

    “While the results of our efforts are having an impact, we must double down on our efforts to implement treatment strategies that meet the needs of the highest risk individuals and communities,” Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said in a statement.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Ice Cream Truck Reportedly Used As Front For Marijuana, Meth Sales

    Ice Cream Truck Reportedly Used As Front For Marijuana, Meth Sales

    Authorities say the drugs in the truck had a street value between $2,000 and $4,000. 

    A California ice cream truck was selling much more than just innocent summer treats when authorities caught up with it earlier in the week, alleging that the truck was a front for a drug-dealing business. 

    Inside the Long Beach truck, cops found a bag of methamphetamine, marijuana in mason jars and small baggies, a box of sandwich bags, a scale, cash and a gun, according to The Long Beach Post. While it wasn’t clear whether the truck was actually selling ice cream, police say that its main purpose was to be a cover for drug sales. 

    The truck’s operators, George Sylvester Williams, 57, and Monti Michael Ware, 41, were arrested on Sunday afternoon. Williams is being held on $30,000 bail, and Ware is being held on $50,000 bail because he is also facing charges for possessing a gun while dealing drugs and possessing a gun as an ex-felon.

    The Long Beach Police Department announced the arrest of the men, both from Long Beach, on Twitter. 

    Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Arantxa Chavarria said that the drugs in the truck had a street value between $2,000 and $4,000. 

    This isn’t the first time that an ice cream truck has been used for cover for an illicit business. In June, authorities in Conyers, Georgia, arrested an ice cream truck driver after a teenager reported that the man was trying to break into a mailbox. When police caught up with the driver, 19-year-old Cameron Callaway, they found marijuana, scales and a gun inside the truck.

    “He could very well have been selling marijuana out of the ice cream truck,” said Conyers police Sgt. Kim Lucas.

    Neighbors said that they were not surprised, since the truck’s driver hadn’t exactly been inconspicuous. 

    “What ice cream man delivers ice cream at six in the morning, three in the morning?” said Jerri Rogers, who called police after her daughter saw the driver breaking into the mailbox. “My kids have been telling me, ‘He sells dope.’”

    In 2014, another California ice cream truck driver was arrested after reportedly trying to sell methamphetamine to a customer. Kelly Brown, 62, was taken into custody after a witness called police and said, “The ice cream [truck] driver just tried to sell me some drugs,” according to The Huffington Post.

    There have also been reports of ice cream truck drivers in Maryland and New York trying to use their vehicles to sell illicit drugs. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Michael Phelps, Jared Leto & More Join Mental Health Awareness Broadcast

    Michael Phelps, Jared Leto & More Join Mental Health Awareness Broadcast

    Celebs and rock stars will join mental health experts for the live radio broadcast airing on September 9th at 7am.

    Artists, athletes, and mental health experts will come together for a two-hour radio special “I’m Listening,” to help raise awareness of the growing trend of depression and suicide—airing in time for National Suicide Prevention Week (September 9-15).

    Listeners can call in to the program to share stories about how mental health issues and suicide affected their lives. They can also share their stories via ImListening.org or through social media using the hashtag #ImListening.

    The Alternative Press reports that Mike Shinoda (of the band Linkin Park) and Jared Leto (30 Seconds to Mars) will join the live broadcast—which airs Sunday, September 9 at 7 a.m.

    While on the road, Shinoda has been paying tribute to his former bandmate and friend, Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in 2017, shocking family and fans.

    Michael Phelps will also be a part of the “I’m Listening” broadcast. The celebrated Olympian, who’s won 23 gold medals, has become a vocal advocate of mental health—promoting mental wellness and the importance of seeking help by sharing his own battles with depression, suicidal thoughts and problem drinking.

    Singer Alessia Cara will also appear on the broadcast. The singer and songwriter appeared on the song “1-800-273-8255” (named after the National Suicide Prevention Hotline) alongside rapper Logic and singer Khalid. The song was Grammy-nominated for Song of the Year.

    Actor and musician Jared Leto, the lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars, and members of Pearl Jam, the Stone Temple Pilots and Third Eye Blind will also be featured on the live special.

    Mental health professionals will also join the broadcast, like Dr. Christopher Nowinski. The former WWE wrestler co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation in 2007, and wrote the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, which addresses the long-term effects of head trauma in sports.

    Another is Dr. Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist and CEO of NowMattersNow.org, a website dedicated to teaching research-based tools for how to help manage suicidal thoughts and mental health issues.

    Dr. Whiteside, who is certified for group and individual Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), works with high-risk suicidal clients in her Seattle-based practice.

    “Hearing stories about people’s lives helps us understand suicide so we can approach this topic with people we care about,” she said. “I look forward to answering questions via phone and providing resources even after the on-air broadcast has concluded. This is critical given that suicide is something that 4% of Americans seriously consider.”

    Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of nearly 45,000 Americans each year, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

    Depression is also widespread. According to WebMD, nearly 18.8 Americans over the age of 18 suffer from major depression. The majority will not seek treatment.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Teen Mom Star Amber Portwood Discusses Past Drug Use

    Teen Mom Star Amber Portwood Discusses Past Drug Use

    “I was a horrible opiate addict. I would probably do 10 to 20 hydros — if they didn’t have hydros it would be OxyContin or oxycodone.”

    MTV star Amber Portwood recently spoke out about her battle with drug use and her rock bottom. 

    According to US Magazine, the 28-year-old — who is known for her roles on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom and Teen Mom OG — recently spoke about her history of drug use on an episode of the Dopey Podcast. 

    “I have really horrible anger problems because I’m bipolar and borderline, which is not an excuse, but at the time I didn’t know it, so I wasn’t really taking care of myself or really understanding why I was feeling certain emotions,” Portwood said on the podcast. “I’d go party every other day. I’d be a Wednesday, I’m at the f—king bar and whopping ass and s—t, just like getting kicked out of bars or I got kicked out of our Walmart.”

    She added, “There’s like pictures of me beating up a girl in iHop. It was just crazy. I don’t know where the hell I was. I was gone. You can blame the drugs for the most part for kind of being impulsive, but it was kind of just me as a person.”

    Portwood’s involvement with MTV dates back to 2009, during the first season of 16 and Pregnant. According to US magazine, she says the “money didn’t help” with her struggles with drugs.

    However, she also stated that she does not blame MTV for those struggles. 

    “When you’re making a lot of money, there’s more drugs,” Portwood said on the podcast. “Every time a drug dealer had a new stash, of whatever, they called me first because they knew I’d buy the whole [stash], because I had the money to do it. It never helps.”

    “I was a horrible opiate addict,” she continued. “I would probably do 10 to 20 hydros — if they didn’t have hydros it would be OxyContin or oxycodone … any kind of opiate that they had, I would try to take. I think it was that feeling of just kind of not being aware that I liked .. I think back in the day I was probably depressed and s—t. That was my ‘go-to’ thing.”

    Over the years, Portwood’s drug use has landed her in various difficult positions. In December 2011, according to US Magazine, she was arrested for violating probation after she pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic battery. Then, in 2012, she chose to step away from her court-ordered treatment program and serve five years in prison instead. 

    On the podcast, Portwood explained that her rock bottom came at her grandmother’s house and that was her reasoning for deciding to serve time.

    “Nothing else was working,” she said. “I had overdosed at my grandma’s house on fentanyl in the bathroom. It was daylight when I was awake … I woke up on the floor, like, just drooling out of my mouth. It was nighttime, I had no clue how long I had been in there,” she revealed.

    Despite her history with drugs, Portwood states she can now drink in small amounts. 

    “Now I can have a glass of wine every now and again,” she said. “It’s not every day. It’s not every month.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Canadians More Worried About Trump Than Legal Marijuana

    Canadians More Worried About Trump Than Legal Marijuana

    A new survey explored Canadians’ feelings on topics ranging from Trump and national health care to housing, climate change, and cannabis legalization.

    When it comes to the issues that worry Canadians, the impending legalization of marijuana is keeping fewer citizens awake at night than Donald Trump.

    That’s among the findings from a new poll from Abacus Data, which surveyed 1,500 Canadians about their political choices and concerns as they approach the 2019 federal election.

    Nearly half of participants said that they were “extremely concerned” about the U.S. president, while just 18% gave the same response about cannabis legalization. 

    Abacus Data conducted the survey online with 1,500 Canadians aged 18 and over from August 15 to 20, 2018. In regard to the federal election, respondents echoed statistics recorded earlier this year, with Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party netting 37% of the potential vote and Conservatives earning 33% of the vote.

    Trudeau was viewed in a positive light by 43% of participants, and 41% believed that the country was moving in what they viewed as the right direction.

    In regard to political issues concerning Canadians, Abacus Data listed nine topics, ranging from Trump and national health care to housing, climate change, border crossings and cannabis legalization.

    Responses were somewhat varied according to demographic and political affiliation: voters under the age of 45 listed climate change and housing affordability among their top concerns, while those over 45 ranked health care and affordable housing as second and third of their most pressing issues.

    Climate change and health care also saw high numbers from liberal voters, while conservatives leaned towards border crossing and debt among their top three concerns.

    However, there were two factors which received a near-unanimous response across age and party lines: Donald Trump was listed as the top concern for voters both under and over 45, as well as with liberals and supporters of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

    Trump also topped lists for voters in major cities and smaller communities, and among respondents from specific territories like Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Only conservative voters listed Trump at a lower position on their lists, where he placed 5th, while border crossing was given as their most pressing concern.

    Demographics were also largely in agreement in regard to cannabis legalization, which was listed last among the nine issues for voters under and over 45 years of age, liberals and NDP voters, big city residents and those in smaller communities.

    Again, conservatives placed cannabis higher than other groups, but even in that demographic, it was ranked relatively low at 6th out of nine, below health care, housing and even Trump.

    As High Times noted, the response to cannabis legalization echoed similar results from polls in 2017 that found that 68% of adults favored legalization, and in 2018, where 42% of adults voted in the positive for legalization.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Inside Racial Disparities In Opioid Prescribing, Drug Testing

    Inside Racial Disparities In Opioid Prescribing, Drug Testing

    Black patients who tested positive for marijuana were twice as likely to have their pain pills discontinued than their white counterparts.

    Black patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain are more likely to be tested for illicit drug use than their white counterparts.

    Black patients are also more likely to have their pain medication discontinued if they test positive for other substances, including marijuana, according to new research. 

    The research, conducted at Yale, analyzed the health records of 15,000 patients Veterans Administration between 2000 and 2010. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends testing patients who get opioids for illicit drug use, but the researchers found that doctors rarely enforce the policy.

    However, when the drug-testing policy was enforced it was more likely to be applied to black patients. 

    In addition, black patients were more likely to have their opioid prescriptions discontinued if they tested positive for marijuana or cocaine. Ninety percent of people who tested positive for illicit substances kept their opioid prescriptions, but blacks were twice as likely to have their pain pills taken away. 

    “If they were black and tested positive for marijuana, they were twice as likely to have opioids discontinued, and for cocaine, they were three times more likely,” Julie Gaither, lead study author, told Science Daily. 

    Gaither blames this on lack of consistent policy and engrained biases. 

    “There is no mandate to immediately stop a patient from taking prescription opioids if they test positive for illicit drugs,” Gaither said. “It’s our feeling that without clear guidance, physicians are falling back on ingrained stereotypes, including racial stereotyping. When faced with evidence of illicit drug use, clinicians are more likely to discontinue opioids when a patient is black, even though research has shown that whites are the group at highest risk for overdose and death.”

    Having an established protocol for what to do when a patient tests positive for illicit substance could help address biases, Gaither said. 

    “This study underscores the urgent need for a more universal approach to monitoring patients prescribed opioids for the concurrent use of sedatives and other substances that may increase the risk of overdose,” she said. 

    However, even with a policy in place, minorities may still face discrimination when it comes to drug testing, something many black Americans experience regularly.

    In July, tennis great Serena Williams tweeted her frustration at being tested for drugs more than twice as often as her competitors. 

    “It’s that time of the day to get ‘randomly’ drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most. Discrimination? I think so,” she wrote. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "Motherhood & Meth" Doc Explores How The Drug Affects Families

    "Motherhood & Meth" Doc Explores How The Drug Affects Families

    The documentary spotlights Fresno, California, where the high incidence of child abuse is directly attributed to methamphetamine.

    With so much focus on the opioid crisis, many don’t realize that meth is reportedly making a big comeback, and now a new documentary, Motherhood & Meth, is taking a look at the devastating consequences of being a parent suffering from addiction.

    Motherhood & Meth is a short documentary directed by journalist Mary Newman, and it specifically focuses on the connection between meth addiction and child abuse.

    The documentary spotlights Fresno, California, where a large degree of child abuse is directly attributed to the drug.

    The Valley Children’s Hospital, which is in the Fresno area, sees about 1,000 cases of abuse every year, and the hospital’s medical director, Dr. Philip Hyden, believes meth is involved in 70% of them.  

    Child abuse and neglect cases in Fresno County have gone up 31% in the last 15 years, and often the abuse can start early, with a reported 19,000 pregnant women in America suffering from meth addiction. (In the Fresno area, meth is the number one drug abused by pregnant women when they check into rehab.)

    Newman told The Atlantic that when she talked to mothers with addiction for her documentary, “I would ask if meth ever caused them or someone in their life to become violent. Everyone responded with an emphatic ‘yes.’”

    And a number of the people Newman spoke to were repeating cycles of violence they suffered when they were young, often from parents that were also hooked on meth themselves.

    “The power methamphetamine has on a person’s life was the most surprising part of [reporting] this story,” Newman says. “I would speak with people struggling with addiction and they would have a certain self-awareness that their decisions were derailing their life, but they would also describe a feeling of complete helplessness.”

    This documentary reports that meth busts in California have increased over five times between 2000 and 2016, and a DEA official told the Atlantic that meth is cheaper than ever to buy, with the prices dropping from about $968 an ounce in 2013, to $250 in 2016.

    Leticia Bayton, a Fresno cop who was interviewed for the documentary, confessed that her sister, who is also a mother, succumbed to meth addiction.

    “It destroyed her,” she said. “It completely killed her from the inside out. She used to be an excellent mother, totally attentive, devoted to her child. Then once the meth came in, she stopped caring about herself and her children. Her sense of responsibility faded, and her entire life revolved around where she was going to get her next hit.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Iceland May Be On The Verge Of Opioid Epidemic Similar To The US

    Iceland May Be On The Verge Of Opioid Epidemic Similar To The US

    In 2017, there was about one drug-related death per 10,000 people in Iceland, compared to one per 4,500 in the US. 

    During the first half of this year, Iceland has already seen 29 likely drug overdose deaths—nearly as many as the 32 total that the country had in 2017. 

    The alarming increase, according to Reykjavík Grapevine magazine, could be due to a developing crisis in the country. 

    Ólafur B. Einarsson of the Directorate Of Health—a government agency under Iceland’s Ministry of Welfare—tells the Grapevine that substances like amphetamine and cocaine have been discovered in various samples from those who have died, though those substances have not been determined to be the cause of death. 

    “There have been 29 deaths that are probably related to drugs from January to the middle of June this year,” Einarsson said. “But it remains to be confirmed whether they are all directly linked to drugs.” 

    Einarsson added that cocaine has been discovered in five of the deaths, which is “a lot.” However, he says, a bigger concern is the abuse of prescription drugs in the country. 

    “Compared to other Nordic countries, Iceland has a 30% higher consumption rate of nervous system medication like oxycodone,” Einarsson says. 

    Because of this statistic, the Grapevine notes, the Directorate Of Health in Iceland began an online prescription database in 2016 with the hope that it would prevent physicians from prescribing numerous medications to the same patient. 

    According to Einarsson, another alarming trend lies in the ages of those abusing drugs. “This year, we discovered that more young people consumed a mix of strong opioid analgesics and cannabis or alcohol,” Einarsson told the Grapevine. 

    According to Einarsson, the group most at risk is young men. In fact, 79% of those dead in 2018 were males. 

    While the specific numbers don’t touch the United States in terms of quantity, the per capita ratio does. Iceland is home to only 338,000 people, while the U.S. has a population of more than 326,000,000.

    According to the Grapevine, there was about one drug-related death per 10,000 people in Iceland last year, compared to one per 4,500 in the U.S. 

    “In my opinion, the current situation is a crisis and if the numbers will continue to rise this year, we will in fact be very close to the figures of the United States, proportionally speaking,” Einarsson said. 

    The drug-related deaths reflect a larger problem in Iceland.  

    “Overall, there’s a lot more going on than drug-related deaths,” Einarsson told the Grapevine. “This is the darkest part of the whole picture and there are hundreds of people who are admitted to the hospitals every year due to drug overuse. There have been questions about the healthcare system and how to improve it for several years now.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mel B To Enter Rehab For Alcohol, Sex Addiction

    Mel B To Enter Rehab For Alcohol, Sex Addiction

    Brown says she has been using alcohol to “numb my pain,” spurred by a difficult divorce and the death of her father.

    TV personality and performer Mel B is heading to rehab for alcohol and sex addiction, according to the Guardian.

    The former Spice Girl, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), said she’s had an “incredibly difficult” six months in which she’s had to relive past traumas while writing her upcoming memoir Brutally Honest. 

    “It has been unbelievably traumatic reliving an emotionally abusive relationship and confronting so many massive issues in my life,” she said.

    The America’s Got Talent judge (born Melanie Brown) confessed that she has been using alcohol to “numb my pain,” spurred by a difficult divorce and the death of her father.

    “Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol—it is underneath all that,” she said, according to BBC. “No one knows myself better than I do. But I am dealing with it.”

    She further clarified her decision to enter rehab on a recent Ellen appearance. “No, I’m not an alcoholic; no, I’m not a sex addict,” she told guest host Lea Michele.

    This isn’t the first time Mel B has sought professional help. She told Michele that she has been receiving therapy since her father got diagnosed with cancer nearly a decade ago.

    The current treatment she has been receiving has been “really helping me,” she said, according to The Sun. “I am fully aware I am at a crisis point.”

    The singer and songwriter is getting help to become “a better version of myself for my kids, for my family and for all the people who have supported me in my life,” she said.

    And if she can be a voice for those who silently suffer, “if I can shine a light on the issue of pain, PTSD and the things men and women do to mask it, I will,” she added.

    Mel B is finalizing her divorce with Stephen Belafonte, which ended with restraining orders and a domestic violence trial that was settled out of court.

    The singer said she was emotionally and “financially battered” by the breakup.

    “You know, I was with the same person for 10 years, and that was quite a turmoil, very intense,” she said on Ellen. “That’s all I can say about it. I’d like to say a lot more, but on this show, let’s keep it PC. But… I did kind of have to ease my pain. I suffer a lot from PTSD.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Noah Cyrus Talks Anxiety, Depression

    Noah Cyrus Talks Anxiety, Depression

    On her new EP, Miley Cyrus’s younger sister opens up about depression and “how it’s okay to feel those feelings.”

    Noah Cyrus is the other famous daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus and she also has showbiz in her blood. She made her acting debut on the show Doc at the age of three, and sang the theme song for the animated movie Ponyo at the age of eight.

    Now Noah is one of a number of young pop stars who is getting candid about her depression and anxiety struggles.

    Noah says that her experiences with anxiety and depression shaped her upcoming EP. She told L’Officiel her latest release is “mostly just about how my emotions have been, and about my anxiety, and how I’ve been struggling with depression, and how it’s okay to feel those feelings.”

    Noah has dealt with the struggle of becoming a celebrity in the day and age of social media, adding, “A lot of people like to judge you, and make fun of you on the internet, and people make you feel crazy whenever you’re in a depression or having anxiety or having a panic attack.”

    Noah’s new music also deals with “being sad and having your emotions and not being able to ignore the feelings you’re having.”

    Her new music has been an outlet for her emotions, and with her latest single, “Make Me (Cry),” a duet with Labrinth, she’s showing the world more of her self-proclaimed “emo side.”

    Noah says that releasing a single where she’s more in touch with her feelings may have been influenced by her brother, Trace Cyrus, the lead singer of Metro Station. “I think [it] probably stems from growing up with Trace in my house because he was the king of emo.”

    In addition to being more in touch with her mental health in her music, Cyrus has also been dating rapper Lil Xan, who has been outspoken against drug abuse in the hip-hop community. They’ve already recorded a song together, “Live or Die,” and Cyrus told People, “He’s a little teddy bear.”

    In the past, Noah’s sister Miley has also been open about her own struggles with anxiety, depression and substance abuse. She announced to the world that she quit marijuana last year, and she told ABC in 2014, “I went through a time where I was really depressed. I locked myself in my room and my dad had to break my door down. It was a lot to do with, like, I had really bad skin, and I felt really bullied because of that.”

    View the original article at thefix.com