Tag: News

Craig Ferguson Talks Sobriety, Alcoholism

“There were many points along the way where I could have gone off that awful train and I didn’t,” Ferguson told People Now.

Former late-night host Craig Ferguson wants people with alcoholism to know they can stop drinking any time—they don’t need to wait for the big rock bottom moment.

Ferguson, who has been sober for 27 years, said that he didn’t have one rock bottom situation, but a series of times when he realized he needed to change his relationship with alcohol, according to People.

“There were many points along the way where I could have gone off that awful train and I didn’t,” he said. “If I would impart one message to the drinking alcoholics now… if you want to stop you can stop now. You don’t have to wait for it to get worse.”

He continued, “‘Where’s my big moment?’ It’s here. If you’re worried about your drinking there’s probably a reason.”

Ferguson, who is promoting his new book Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations, also discussed sobriety with Daniel Asa Rose of The Washington Post.

“You really were quite the accomplished drinker in your day, weren’t you? At one point, you mention that one of your acquaintances said you were the ‘alkiest alky’ she’d ever met. Are there moments when you really miss the sauce?” Rose asked.

“No. Couldn’t have written this book. I’m glad I did it and glad it’s over,” Ferguson said.

He continued, “Y’know, quitting was instrumental in my writing. The conversation in pubs I thought I’d miss was more than compensated for by the talk at [AA] meetings. That may be where I picked up my rambling manner.”

Two years ago Ferguson went on Twitter to mark 25 years of sobriety. “I’m 25 years sober today and anyone who knew me back then would tell you how impossible that is. Thanks for the miracle,” he wrote.

While Ferguson is normally no-holds-barred with the jokes, in 2007 he delivered a famous monologue urging people to be more kind to celebrities who are struggling with addiction or mental health issues.

“At what price am I doing this stuff?” Ferguson said.

At the time, he said that he wouldn’t be making fun of Britney Spears, who was clearly struggling. “What she’s going through—it reminds me of what I was doing. It reminds me of where I was 15 years ago,” he said.

Ferguson said that he was uncomfortable making fun of people who obviously needed help.

“I have found that the only way I can deal with [alcoholism] is to find other people who have similar experiences and talk to them. It doesn’t cost anything. And they’re very easy to find. They’re very near the front of the telephone book. Good luck,” Ferguson said, referring to AA.

View the original article at thefix.com

10 May 2019
Denver Becomes First State To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms

The enforcement of laws around psilocybin will now be the lowest priority for Denver police.

Voters in Denver, Colorado, one of the first areas in the country to push for legalized cannabis, have voted to decriminalize the possession of psychedelic mushrooms in a move some people believe could set the stage for the next major drug policy change after the widespread legalization of marijuana.

“Our victory today is a clear signal to the rest of the country that Americans are ready for a conversation around psilocybin,” Kevin Matthews, director of the “Decriminalize Denver” campaign, told NPR.

Although initial reports said that city voters had rejected decriminalization, an unofficial tally released by the city found that the measure passed with fewer that 2,000 votes. In the end, 50.56% of voters wanted mushrooms decriminalized.

The measure will not change the legality of psychedelic mushrooms, which will remain a Schedule I substance that is illegal under state law in Colorado. However, it will make the enforcement of laws around psilocybin the lowest priority for Denver police, as long as the person in possession of the psychedelic is 21 or older.

People can even grow the mushrooms for personal use without becoming a target for law enforcement, according to the measure.

Proponents of magic mushrooms claim that, like cannabis, the substance has medical benefits and is extremely low risk. Matthews has said that so-called magic mushrooms helped him overcome debilitating depression.

“Because psilocybin has such tremendous medical potential, there’s no reason individuals should be criminalized for using something that grows naturally,” Matthews said, according to The New York Times.

One 2016 study found that “Participants attributed to the high-dose [psilocybin] experience positive changes in attitudes about life, self, mood, relationships and spirituality, with over 80% endorsing moderately or higher increased well-being or life satisfaction.”

However, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Colorado reported that it would still enforce a ban on mushrooms. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann also opposed the measure, according to her spokesperson Carolyn A. Tyler.

“We’re still in the very early stages of marijuana legalization, and we are still learning the impact of that substance on our city,” Tyler said. “And [District Attorney McCann] is not in favor of Denver being the only city that doesn’t enforce the law.”

Denver isn’t the only municipality changing its stance on magic mushrooms. In Iowa a lawmaker proposed a measure that would remove psychedelic mushrooms from the list of controlled substances in the state. California and Oregon also have organizations trying to get voters to consider decriminalizing mushrooms in 2020.

View the original article at thefix.com

10 May 2019
Charlize Theron Reveals Past Drug Use On "Watch What Happens Live"

After her admission, Theron clarified that these experiences happened “a long time ago, and I don’t do that anymore.”

Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron made a candid revelation about her past drug use during an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

Theron and Seth Rogen, who were promoting their current feature film Long Shot on the interactive talk show, participated in a game in which host Cohen quizzed their respective mothers—Gerda Maritz and Sandy Rogen, who also appeared on the episode—about the extent of their knowledge about their children.

When asked what drugs Theron would admit to using, Maritz replied, “All of them!” Theron then noted that her mother was “pretty close” before clarifying that she had used “molly” (ecstasy), as well as “acid, mushrooms and cocaine.”

Theron quickly added that these experiences happened “a long time ago, and I don’t do that anymore.”

Us Weekly also noted that Theron spoke about her past marijuana use three days prior to the Bravo broadcast. While appearing on The Howard Stern Show, Theron describe herself as a “wake and baker in [her] 20s.”

By the time she reached her 30s, she told Stern that she was “no fun on it anymore.”

“I didn’t get paranoid,” she said. “I just became a bore. I only wanted to eat. I just wanted to lie there. I just became so antisocial.”

Theron’s comments on Stern echoed similar thoughts shared during a 2018 interview with People. She told the publication that she “really appreciated marijuana” when she was younger, adding that her “chemistry was really good with it when I was younger.”

As with the Stern interview, Theron said that she “became boring on it,” which prompted her to stop her use.

However, Theron also noted in the People interview that she would be open to trying marijuana again to help her with insomnia. “Now there’s all these different strains and you can be more specific with it,” she said. “I’d much rather get off sleeping pills and figure out a strain that helps me sleep better.”

Theron also said if she tried marijuana again, she knew exactly who she’d partner with for the experimental phase. “My mom has really bad sleep too,” she said. “So when I have a moment, I’m actually doing that with [her].”

View the original article at thefix.com

10 May 2019
Parent Coalition Fights To End Addiction Stigma, Reform Criminal Justice System

As parents who saw firsthand how the criminal justice system has treated drug users, they have used their experience to make change—from communities to the policy level.

In 1999, three parents affected by their children’s drug use decided they would form a coalition to reform the criminal justice system and bust the stigma surrounding substance use disorder. A New PATH: Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing was born.

“We’ve come a long way in 20 years,” co-founder Gretchen Bergman told NBC San Diego. “At that time people weren’t talking about it if they had a child with an addictive illness, because of the shame.”

Bergman, Sylvia Liwerant and Tom O’Donnell met at a support group for families. At the time, parents and children struggling with substance use disorder had few options. “We got together, three hurt people, parents like lions who are helping their cubs,” said Liwerant. “We were angry and we were hurt by what was happening to our children. We wanted help. We felt so helpless.”

All of their children had been incarcerated for non-violent offenses. The parents say the punishment did not make sense for what they say is a health issue, not a crime.

In A New PATH’s long history of advocacy, they helped enact policies that aim to pull back punitive approaches to drug use.

In 2000, they helped pass Proposition 36 in California, which allowed eligible non-violent, non-serious offenders to do their time in a treatment program instead of jail or prison. “That was the first real change in drug policy that rippled throughout the United States in terms of policy reform,” said Bergman.

And in 2014, they helped pass Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for most non-violent and non-serious crimes. This gave 10,000 prisoners a chance to get a re-sentencing, according to Ballotpedia.

“We took it upon ourselves to speak out… We started with a lot of passion and by the seat of our pants—not knowing or having any idea it would build and that the need was that large,” said Bergman.

A New PATH has also supported efforts to legalize marijuana. “We are not promoting any drug use at all. The problem is the consequences are worse than the drug itself,” said Bergman, highlighting the difficulty of finding a job or enrolling in school with a felony looming on one’s record.

Expanding access to naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversing drug, was a key issue as well. “Why couldn’t parents who were worried about their children overdosing have that in their medicine cabinet?” said Bergman.

Since A New PATH formed, it has expanded its stigma-fighting and drug policy-reforming efforts to 35 states and 6 countries, according to NBC.

“The awareness we created so that other families don’t have to go through what we went through, I am proud of that,” said Bergman.

“There is still stigma about addiction. But people are understanding it better… and the way I understand addiction, people start using because of the pain they cannot solve,” said Liwerant.

As parents who saw firsthand how the criminal justice system has treated drug users, the group of tireless advocates have used their experience to broadcast their message with the world.

“Don’t leave us out of the conversation. We live with this. We are the primary stakeholders,” said Bergman.

View the original article at thefix.com

10 May 2019
SNL’s Chris Kattan Alleges That On-Air Accident Led to Opioid Addiction

Kattan details his painkiller addiction in his new memoir Baby Don’t Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live.

Former Saturday Night Live player Chris Kattan has claimed that an accidental fall during a sketch in 2001 left him with a broken neck that ultimately led to a dependency on painkillers and the collapse of his acting career.

Kattan, who starred on the NBC comedy series from 1996 to 2003, made the allegation in a new memoir, Baby Don’t Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live, which details how he struck his head after falling from a chair during the May 12, 2001 episode.

According to Kattan, that fall left him with not only limited mobility, but also an addiction to opioids as a result of five surgeries to correct the problem, and the loss of his marriage and a burgeoning career in feature films.

Both Variety and New York Daily News have reported that individuals who worked on the show when Kattan’s accident allegedly took place have claimed that they have no recollection of the fall or any resulting injury.

The Variety coverage also included comments by a surgeon who met with Kattan in 2005 and confirmed that the actor and comedian appeared to have suffered an incomplete spinal injury at some point.

As Variety noted, Kattan, whose whose SNL characters included the exotic dancer Mango and one-half of the head-bobbing Butabi Brothers, mentioned an injury while appearing on Dancing with the Stars as a way to explain what was perceived as stiffness in his movements.

But he never attributed that injury to any particular moment until penning his memoir, which was published on May 7, 2019. In the book, Kattan alleged that he was supposed to fall backwards from a chair during a sketch about children who imitate the characters on the Golden Girls.

Though concerned about the safety of the pratfall, Kattan went through with the sketch and reportedly landed hard on his head. He also alleged that the pain he experienced lasted for months, which eventually prompted him to inform “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels about the injury. According to Kattan, NBC paid for two of an eventual five surgeries needed for treatment.

Kattan also alleged in the book that the injury marked the beginning of a long period of personal and professional setbacks, which included an addiction to painkillers, the death of his father and the collapse of his marriage in 2009 after just two months.

“The impact that my injury and subsequent surgeries had on my career was immense, but more importantly, the fallout proved to be devastating to some of the closest relationships in my life.”

Kattan enjoyed a brief period of movie stardom before and immediately after his departure from “SNL,” which included starring roles in a feature-length version of Night at the Roxbury and Corky Romano, but gradually transitioned to independent films and guest roles on television, including The Middle.

Inquiries made about the accident to NBC and various SNL staffer members by both Variety and the New York Daily News have not yielded any confirmation that Kattan experienced the injury he described in the book.

Both Lorne Michaels and NBC declined to comment on the story, but SNL staff, some of whom worked closely with Kattan on the show, were unable to recall any injury, even after making their own internal inquiries.

However, Variety was able to speak with Kattan’s surgeon, Dr. Carl Lauryssen, M.D., who said that the comedian had suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury, though did not have specifics on the reported cause. Lauryssen also noted that Kattan had undergone a “complex surgery” to regain some function and mobility, but added that “he’s going to live with the effects for the rest of his life.”

Kattan told Variety that in writing Baby Don’t Hurt Me, he “tried to tell the truth. It feels good to just finally say everything about it. I don’t think it really hurts anybody. It’s just something I needed to say.”

View the original article at thefix.com

9 May 2019
A Meth Crisis Is Growing In The Shadow Of The Opioid Epidemic

Meth-related deaths quadrupled from 2011 to 2017.

Overdose deaths involving methamphetamine have more than quadrupled from 2011 to 2017 and authorities are struggling to keep up with the increases in addiction and erratic behavior caused by the drug.

However, these alarming statistics have been overshadowed by the opioid epidemic and funding to address the problem has been sorely lacking.

Drug trends tend to go back and forth from stimulants to depressants, and the public’s focus and efforts to combat addiction and overdose shift with time.

As signs that the opioid epidemic may be leveling out have appeared and information campaigns have successfully warned people away from dangerous amounts of these depressants, meth use has become almost socially acceptable in some areas.

According to “Kim,” a woman interviewed by NPR who has struggled with meth addiction for many years, the taboo against taking this intense stimulant has lessened over the years.

“Now what I see, in any neighborhood, you can find it,” she said. “It’s not the same as it used to be where it was kind of taboo. It’s more socially accepted now.”

Part of the reason the growing meth problem across the Midwest and West Coast has been overshadowed is likely because meth overdose is significantly less likely to end in death compared to opioid overdose.

Opioids depress the central nervous system, and too much physical depression can cause an individual to stop breathing. With stimulants like meth, death is usually caused by a heart attack or brain hemorrhage or as a result of mixing the drug with depressants, including opioids.

Reports of deaths from batches of meth contaminated with fentanyl have been increasing over the past year. Authorities believe that illicit drug manufacturers are handling meth on the same surfaces touched by the highly potent opioid, as tiny amounts of fentanyl can be enough to cause an overdose. Stimulants can also hide the signs of opioid overdose, so mixing the two can be especially dangerous.

“Folks that are doing hardcore illicit drugs can be pretty fussy, too,” says University of California’s Dr. Daniel Ciccarone. “And most meth users really, really, really, really don’t want an unbeknownst fentanyl put into their methamphetamine.”

At the same time, a higher number of older adults appear to be experimenting with meth. According to the program manager of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project, Rick Andrews, this may be due to the fact that older gay men were too nervous about HIV to engage in much drug use in their youth and are looking to make up for it.

Older tissue can’t stand up to the high blood pressure and heart rates associated with stimulants in the way that young tissue can, resulting in more strokes and heart attacks.

“They feel like they’ve missed out and they want to have a little fun and make up for lost time maybe,” Andrews said.

View the original article at thefix.com

9 May 2019
Illinois Governor Introduces Marijuana Legalization Bill

The bill would also expunge the records of people convicted of some marijuana-related offenses.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has introduced a measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state next year, including in the nation’s third-largest city, Chicago.

“It is possible, likely that it may be available through dispensaries beginning January 1, 2020,” Pritzker said, according to ABC 7.

According to the Associated Press, the bill would legalize recreational cannabis use for people who are 21 or older. Illinois residents would be able to possess 30 grams of marijuana (about one ounce), while non-residents could possess 15 grams (about half an ounce). Marijuana would be sold at dispensaries throughout the state.

In addition to legalizing cannabis, the bill would also expunge the records of people convicted of some marijuana-related offenses.

“This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed ‘war on drugs,’” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.

The bill would provide low-interest loans to people from communities that have been disproportionately affected by the prohibition on marijuana, or people who have had a marijuana-related offense that would be expunged under the new law and now want to start marijuana-related businesses.

Still, some organizations including the Illinois NAACP oppose legalization in the state, saying that it will do more harm to marginalized communities of color.

Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said, “The consequences of this bill are far-reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth. Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed to support legalization, albeit with reservations.

“Thematically, philosophically I think I support the governor but I say it also as a father of three, that you have to do it in a way that’s not encouraging a type of behavior,” he said.

Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot is in favor of the bill.

“I think that the bill that was announced on Saturday is an important step forward, so I do support it,” she said.

Although Democrats control the state legislature and the bill is expected to pass, not everyone in the party is on board with legalization, said Democratic State Rep. Marty Moylan.

“It’s important that we send a message to the state and the governor. Governor, we need more work on this. This is not a bill that we want,” Moylan said.

Pritzker initially said that legalizing marijuana would add $170 million in revenue to the state’s troubled budget, but later said that that number may be revised down.

View the original article at thefix.com

8 May 2019
Insys Execs Found Guilty Of Bribing Doctors To Prescribe Fentanyl Spray

This is the first-ever successful prosecution of a drug company exec tied to the opioid crisis.

Five former executives of the opioid maker Insys Therapeutics were found guilty of federal racketeering charges last week.

The criminal charges were brought by federal prosecutors in the state of Massachusetts and stem from allegations that the company bribed doctors to prescribe Subsys, a fentanyl nasal spray.

“Just as we would street-level drug dealers, we will hold pharmaceutical executives responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic by recklessly and illegally distributing these drugs, especially while conspiring to commit racketeering along the way,” Andrew E. Lelling, the U.S. attorney who tried the case, told The New York Times.

The verdict came after a lengthy legal battle: the trial lasted 10 weeks, and the jury deliberated for 15 days. During that time, sometimes shocking allegations came to light, including that one Insys sales executive who had previously worked as an erotic dancer gave a lap dance to a doctor who was selling Subsys.

On other occasions the company paid for doctors to go to shooting ranges and visit VIP rooms of strip clubs, according to Vice. Insys also paid high “speaking fees” to the doctors who prescribed the most Subsys, and invited them to lavish dinners.

“They were a farce really,” Gavin Awerbuch, a doctor convicted of distributing Subsys illegally.

Yale law professor Abbe Gluck said that the case highlights the extreme lengths that companies would go to to sell opioids.

“The case paints a picture of the kind of troubling industry practices that helped fuel the opioid epidemic,” Gluck said, adding that the verdict “shows that a jury is willing to punish for them.”

In addition to unscrupulous sales practices, the company also misled insurance agents in order to get prescriptions covered, even though Subsys was only officially supposed to be used for cancer patients.

“Insurers were told about medical things that never happened. They told deception after deception after deception on recorded lines,” prosecutor K. Nathaniel Yeager said during the trial.

The company even produced a rap video that was used to promote Subsys. In it, a rapper mentions titrations, the process of putting patients on a higher and higher dose of a medication.

“I love titrations, yeah, that’s not a problem, and I got new patients, yeah, I got a lot of ‘em,” the rapper says in a parody of A$AP Rocky’s 2012 single “F—in Problems.”

View the original article at thefix.com

8 May 2019
From Tim McGraw To Shania Twain: Country Music’s Sober Stars Rise

Some of the biggest names in country music share their reasons for getting sober.

Country crooners love to sing about beer and whiskey, but it’s becoming more and more common for the genre’s biggest stars to talk openly about their sobriety.

One of country’s biggest names, Tim McGraw, has been sober since 2008.

“I got to a point in my career, where it was either time to give up, not try to be the best you can be moving forward or try to be the best that you can be,” he told The Boot. His wife, fellow country star Faith Hill, told him it was time to put the alcohol aside and stop drinking before shows.

“I was at a crossroads in my life on all fronts: I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be around for my kids, I wanted to be a better husband and a better father, I wanted to take care of myself mentally and physically, and I wanted to get the most out of my career that I could get out of my career,” McGraw said.

Keith Urban also got sober at the prompting of his famous wife, Nicole Kidman, who staged an intervention. He has now been sober for 13 years and wishes he had stopped drinking sooner.

“It’s something I needed because I’m alcoholically wired,” Urban said. “I wish I’d gotten sober many years earlier than I did, but it is what it is.”

Urban later helped Brantley Gilbert navigate early sobriety.

“I remember him telling me, ‘Hey man, it’s gonna be scary, it’s gonna freak you out, but it’s gonna be beautiful,’” Gilbert said.

Even the artists who sing about drinking the most are no longer imbibing. Brad Paisley is behind the hit song “Alcohol,” but he is sober, and Chris Janson sings the hit song “Fix A Drink,” but he stays away from alcohol too. However, in the past, Janson did rely on alcohol to fix his troubles.

“I can relate because not so long ago I was that guy, I totally get it… I’ve drank a lot of beer in my life, and whatever problems I had walking in, they were gone by 10,” he said.

Although he didn’t have a full-blown drinking problem, he said that alcohol kept him from feeling his best.

“I just choose not to because it always made me feel bloated and fat—I’m 135 pounds, so 10 beers makes me feel like a balloon, man,” he said.

Powerhouse vocalist Shania Twain also stays away from alcohol for health reasons, she wrote in her biography.

“I like a clean band. I don’t like drugs. I don’t like alcohol,” she said. “I like to have clean-living people around me.”

View the original article at thefix.com

8 May 2019
Chrissy Teigen Details Postpartum Depression Struggle

“I thought it was very natural to be in this low, low point and I just assumed that was motherhood and there was no other way around it.”

May is Women’s Health Month, and model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen used her platform to speak to The Today Show about her past struggle with postpartum depression.

Now the mother of two, Teigen experienced an intense change in personality and mood after the birth of her baby girl, Luna.

“Since it happened with Luna, it happened with my first one, I just didn’t know that there was any other way to feel,” Teigen said according to USA Today. “I thought it was very natural to be in this low, low point and I just assumed that was motherhood and there was no other way around it.”

Though she was feeling exhausted, it was her low self-esteem, negative thoughts and general feeling of sadness that concerned her husband, musician John Legend, and her doctor. It was only when they pointed out those behavioral changes that Teigen realized something was wrong.

Women can start having hormonal-based blues as early as during a pregnancy, and some women even turn to self-medicating while pregnant to relieve the depression or anxiety they experience.

The American Psychiatric Association says that while “baby blues” are normal (up to 70% of new mothers experience this temporary change in mood) and include irritability, crying, and exhaustion for a few weeks, postpartum depression requires treatment and support.

Symptoms of postpartum depression include extreme fatigue, enduring hopeless or helpless emotions, difficulty concentrating and confusion, crying without reason, lack of bonding or interest in the baby, or severe anxiety around the baby, lack of emotion, feelings of worthlessness around mothering, or fear of harming self or baby.

Women experiencing these ongoing symptoms can report them to the baby’s pediatrician or their own doctor and ask for assistance. Options for recovery include certain medications, group or individual therapy, and a secure support network.

“I didn’t really realize it until I’d written an article with Glamour Magazine and spoken out about it how many women are going through this,” Teigen said. “I think more than anything I’ve ever done, more women on the street come up to me and talk about that article than anything else.”

View the original article at thefix.com

8 May 2019