Tag: News

DEA Plans To Burn Tons Of Marijuana This Summer

Tons of seized marijuana will go up in smoke in the coming months.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wants to burn tons of weed over the next six months, and is looking for the right contractor to help with the job.

According to a contracting notice, the agency wants to burn 1,000 pounds of marijuana an hour between March and September. The contract is for the “destruction by incineration of evidence located in the following cities in the state of Texas—McAllen, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Eagle Pass.”

Despite putting out the notice, the DEA already has a partner in mind for the epic pot burn: Tucson Iron & Metal in Tucson, Arizona.

“Research has shown there is only one vendor in close proximity to the district and resident offices of McAllen, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Eagle Pass capable of providing the services necessary for this requirement,” the notice says.

That’s because the DEA has strict requirements for disposing of marijuana seized from the black market, according to Quartz.

“The integrity of the destruction process shall be such that the material to be destroyed cannot be redirected or retrieved once it is committed to destruction,” the notice reads. The cannabis must be destroyed “to a point where there are no detectable levels, as measured by standard analytical methods, of byproduct from the destruction process. DEA shall inspect the incinerator to ensure no drug residue remains.”

In addition, there will be tight DEA regulation of the entire process, and a need to privacy. The DEA requires that the company that destroys the pot have a large fence on their premises, and drug test employees yearly. The DEA sends staff to oversee the burns, and also records them.

The agency “reserves the right to access the video feed as necessary to ensure the proper destruction of its drugs and safety of its representatives.”

The Atlanta office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is also looking for a contractor to help dispose of drug evidence, including marijuana, meth, cocaine and more.

Recently the DEA put out a different type of contracting notice, asking for help finding a product that could assist agents in differentiating between hemp (which is legal federally) and psychoactive marijuana as we know it (which is not). The different species of cannabis plant can confuse DEA agents.

In addition to destroying drug evidence, the DEA is also responsible for approving applications to grow marijuana for research. The agency has promised to make more permits available, but the process has been slow, further delaying marijuana research.

“The DEA continues to review applications for registration and registers the number of bulk manufacturers of a controlled substance that is necessary to produce an adequate and uninterrupted supply,” the agency wrote last year.

View the original article at thefix.com

27 March 2019
Artie Lange Living in New Jersey Sober House

The comic has been living in the halfway house for the past two months, according to a New Jersey prosecutor.

Reports have surfaced that comedian Artie Lange has spent the last two months at a sober house in New Jersey while he awaits a scheduled court appearance.

Radar Online posted an item that stated the 51-year-old comedian was ordered to the facility after being sent to jail in January 2019 for testing positive for cocaine and morphine.

At the time of the arrest, Lange’s legal counsel hoped that he could be moved to an inpatient drug treatment program after his case was reevaluated on February 6. The Radar report quoted an “insider” who said that Lange “looked good” when he was spotted at the wake for a high school friend this month.

As reported by numerous media sources, Lange was booked into the Essex County Jail after testing positive for cocaine and morphine, which he was using to treat opioid dependence. Lange had previously tested positive for cocaine and other substances during a court visit for probation violation in December 2018.

According to a now-deleted post by “Team Lange” on the comedian’s Twitter feed, Lange was booked into Essex County to “sober up before transferring to a long term treatment facility.”

Lange’s lawyer, Frank Arleo, was quoted as saying that his client “knows he shouldn’t have tested dirty, but he did,” and added that the primary concern after the February 6 evaluation was “finding a bed at an inpatient facility.”

According to Radar, Lange is expected to stay at the sober house until his next court appearance, which is yet to be scheduled. But the entertainment news site quoted an unnamed “insider” who reported seeing Lange at a wake in Union City, New Jersey for a high school friend.

“Artie looked good. He looked healthy,” said the insider, who also noted that the deceased friend had also struggled with substance dependency.

Lange was in and out of court and rehab facilities for the better part of 2018, including a June hearing where he received four years’ probation for a 2017 arrest on drug charges.

He returned to court in December for violating that sentence, and tested positive for cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and Suboxone, but avoided jail time when the presiding judge recommended Lange for drug court and community service. He tested positive again in January 2019.

View the original article at thefix.com

27 March 2019
Kristin Bell Celebrates Dax Shepard’s Sober Birthday

Shepard says Bell “spoils the hell” out of him on his sober birthday.

Each year Dax Shepard knows he can expect a great gift from his wife, not on his actual birthday, but on the day he got sober.

“The nicest presents she’s gotten me are always on my sober birthday. In fact, my real birthday … still haven’t gotten a present,” Shepard told People, adding that Bell “spoils the hell out of me” on his sober birthday.

Bell, who has two daughters, ages 4 and 5, with Shepard, said that she prioritizes his sobriety milestones because that is what allows them to be a family.

“I’m very happy he was born so I celebrate his birthday, but I’m extraordinarily [happy] that he has stayed sober because that’s what allows me to have him in my life as a husband and as a father,” she said.

She also knows how much effort Shepard puts into maintaining his recovery, even after 14 years.

“I know how much effort has to be put into staying sober. I don’t mean that to be like, I come home and see him shaking and looking at a whiskey ad or something, [but] there are different elements you have to deal with when you’re staying sober,” Bell said. “It’s a ton of mental control and evolution.”

Bell and Shepard have been together 12 years, so she wasn’t his partner when he was actively using. Still, the couple has spoken openly about how Shepard’s sobriety has shaped their family life.

Last year, Bell wrote a touching public tribute to Shepard’s sobriety, which she shared on Instagram on his 14th year sober.

“I know how much you loved using. I know how much it got in your way. And I know, because I saw, how hard you worked to live without it,” she wrote.

This week, Shepard joked about how the post went viral, overshadowing his accomplishment of 14 years sober.

“I scrape together 14 years of sobriety, and she writes a little flowery thank you. Now there’s headlines all over the country about Kristen’s accomplishment of writing this letter. I’m like, ‘Just like you to steal my thunder!’” he said. “I’m the one that went to 10,000 AA meetings. At no point was the message of any of the stories like, ‘Good job, Dax.’ It was like, ‘Can you imagine being loved by a woman like Kristen Bell?’”

Joking aside, Shepard said that the message of support “was crazy sweet and I loved it.”

View the original article at thefix.com

27 March 2019
New Jersey Fails To Pass Marijuana Legalization

“Justice may be delayed, but justice will not be denied,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

A planned vote to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey was cancelled Monday (March 25), when it became clear that the pro-legalization camp, led by Democratic Governor Philip Murphy, did not have enough votes to ensure that the measure passed.

“Certainly, I’m disappointed, but we are not defeated,” Murphy told The New York Times. “Justice may be delayed, but justice will not be denied.”

President of the NJ Senate Stephen M. Sweeney, also a Democrat in favor of legalization, says he “might have underestimated the challenge in getting this passed.”

Marijuana reform advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said that the unexpected cancelation of the vote was disappointing.

Amol Sinha, executive director of the New Jersey ACLU said, “Legalization is an urgent civil rights issue of our era, and it’s up to advocates in the coming weeks and month to make that urgency clear.”

New Jersey’s legalization bill would have reserved 10% of marijuana licenses for small businesses, and made it possible to expunge criminal records online. As noted by the Times, the law would have erased the convictions of hundreds of thousands of minor drug offenders in a state where black residents are three times more likely as white residents to be arrested on marijuana charges.

“We have the widest white-nonwhite gap of persons incarcerated in America and far and away the biggest contributor is low-end drug offenses,” Murphy said recently.

Rev. Al Sharpton said that the progressive New Jersey bill was a “national model,” despite his worries about the social justice issues surrounding legalization.

“My concern had been that legal recreational marijuana has not dealt with the damage that has been disproportionately suffered by blacks and other people of color, and is just setting up people to make a lot of money,” he said.

This concern has been echoed by lawmakers in New York, where black lawmakers have vowed to oppose the state’s legalization efforts that do not do enough to address social inequities.

In New Jersey, some people, including Democratic lawmakers, were not convinced that the benefits of legalization were worth the risks.

Democrat state Senator Ronald L. Rice became one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill.

“The public has not properly been educated on the topic of recreational marijuana,” he said. “People don’t realize, particularly people in urban communities, how it will affect their lives. In urban communities, neighborhoods will struggle against the spread of ‘marijuana bodegas’ disguised as dispensaries.”

New Jersey lawmakers will still be able to vote on the bill in the future. For now, the debate over recreational marijuana is likely to continue, with some leaders like Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora insisting that legalizing marijuana is the right thing to do.

“Social justice and economic development go hand in hand,” he said. “I walk in the streets and talk to many constituents that talk about a prior record and how it’s a hindrance for them to get ahead, get a job.”

View the original article at thefix.com

27 March 2019
Artist In Recovery Auctions Work For a Good Cause

The proceeds of the auction will go to the Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition.

Artist Benjamin Grippo is in recovery and he has found a way to reach out and help others struggling with addiction.

In West Hartford, Grippo founded Artists Against Overdose, reports Eyewitness News. He seeks out artworks by local artists who are willing to part with their creations and to be sold at an annual auction.

The proceeds of the auction go to the Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition, which helps people impacted by drug use.

Specifically, Benjamin Grippo wants to make Narcan available to those who cannot afford it. Narcan (which contains naloxone) is a medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist, which means that it binds to opioid receptors in the brain, reversing and blocking the effects of opioids.

Naloxone is commonly delivered in a shot or nasal spray which first responders, health workers, and laypeople across the U.S. now carry. Public libraries and YMCAs are also being equipped with naloxone, supplied at no cost by the drug maker.

“There should be Narcan in every restaurant, there should be Narcan in every school,” Grippo said.

Benjamin Grippo began using drugs after he was discharged from the army. “I started using more and more regular drugs and more and more a little cocaine, little pain pills here,” Grippo said.

Grippo’s drug use escalated when a friend offered him heroin, and he accepted. “I quickly transitioned to intravenous using,” Grippo said. “I quickly got up to doing more bags at every time because I couldn’t get high off of it.”

Now recovering from his addictions, Grippo wants to use the art auction to both raise money and awareness of the depth and scope of the opioid overdose crisis. Artists Against Overdose educates people about the impacts of drug use.

“This epidemic and this problem is very dark and bleak and a lot of people aren’t living,” Grippo said. “People need to know what’s going [on]. They need to be educated, children need to be educated.”

The auction is on Saturday, March 30, in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of the featured pieces will be artwork by artists who have overdosed and passed away, and include a range of artistic expressions from photography to graffiti and tattoo art.

For more information about the event, to donate or to attend, check out www.aaoshow.com.

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019
Recent School Shooting-Related Suicides Highlight Need For Survivor Care

Two survivors of the Parkland school shooting have died by suicide since the tragic event.

A second death by suicide by a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting reportedly occurred on Saturday, March 23—one week after another student, 19-year-old Sydney Aiello, died by suicide.

Her mother said that Aiello suffered from PTSD and survivor’s guilt following the deadly mass shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, and ended with 17 people dead.

One week after Aiello’s death, another report of a suicide death surfaced, this time by a yet unidentified 16-year-old boy. This took place one day before the one-year anniversary of the international March For Our Lives protests that were organized by students to demand action against gun violence.

Ryan Petty, a parent who lost his daughter in the Parkland shooting, alluded to this second suicide death by posting “17 + 2” with a broken heart emoji on Twitter. He told The New York Times that those close to the shooting survivors have been fearing these tragedies.

“What we feared could happen is happening,” he said.

In the wake of this second suicide, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) issued a press release inviting those who are grieving and anyone else at risk to reach out to them, as well as urging Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and other institutions to properly care for survivors of mass shootings and similar traumas.

“Youth involved in traumatic experiences are often at higher risk for a number of mental health issues, including experiences of suicidal thoughts,” the memo reads. “In the United States, youth aged 10-24 are already at especially high risk for suicide, which is the second leading cause of death for this age range.”

AAS also warns readers about the phenomenon of suicide contagion in which simply hearing about another suicide, especially one that is reported on by national news, can increase the risk of further suicide deaths. Those vulnerable to suicide, such as other school shooting survivors, may need extra care during this time.

“The Parkland survivors have been heroes in their advocacy efforts since the tragedy, but the deaths of these students are a sobering reminder that they are not only young advocates, but also trauma victims and gun violence loss survivors,” said AAS Firearms and Suicide Committee co-chair Michael Anestis.

In addition to the two Parkland students, the father of one of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 died by suicide Monday morning. Jeremy Richman, 49, was a neuroscientist and co-founder of The Avielle Foundation, a non-profit named for his late daughter. In a statement, the foundation called Richman a “champion father” and vowed to keep his mission alive.

“Jeremy’s mission will be carried on by the many who love him, including many who share the heartache and trauma that he has suffered since December 14, 2012,” the statement reads. “We are crushed to pieces, but this important work will continue, because, as Jeremy would say, we have to.”

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Text HOME to 741741. If you think someone is in immediate danger, do not leave them alone, stay with them and call 911.

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019
Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation Opens Mental Health Program

The program will help teens learn how to be a trustworthy friend that their peers can confide in.

Since launching in 2011, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation has been on a mission to educate the world on mental health, and encourage people to speak out and get help.

Now, the Born This Way Foundation is opening a mental health program at a number of high schools in the country.

As Las Vegas Now reports, the Born This Way program will launch in eight high schools this spring, including Valley High School in Vegas where students who participate will be trained in Mental Health First Aid.

Valley High School Principal Ramona Esparza says, “We are so grateful to have been chosen as one of the only eight pilot schools in the nation to introduce Teen Mental Health First Aid to our senior class. We teach and reach the ‘whole child,’ so social-emotional learning is essential to academic learning and growth for our students.”

Esparza added that Born This Way, along with the National Council for Behavioral Health, “have truly carved a new path for youth to know that there is not a stigma to seeking support and resources for mental health and wellness,” and that this program will be “a game-changer.”

Students who partake in the program will learn a five-step plan they can apply to friends who are struggling with their mental health and may need help. Five staff members of Valley High have been trained in Mental Health First Aid as well.

This program is being set up at Valley High School to coincide with Lady Gaga’s residency at Park MGM in Vegas. As Cynthia Germanotta, Gaga’s mother, and president and co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation, explains, “Knowing how to spot the signs that someone in our lives is experiencing a mental health challenge and understanding how we can support that person is a basic life skill we all need to have—especially teenagers.”

Through this program, teens will learn how to be a trustworthy friend that peers in trouble can confide in.

Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, says, “Teens trust their friends, so they need to be trained to recognize signs of mental health or substance use problems in their peers.”

Another state where the foundation is setting up shop is Montana.

As Shani Rich, director of the North Central Montana Area Health Education Center, told KXLH, “Montana has one of the highest rates of suicide per capita in the U.S… So we have to start having this conversation.”

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019
"This American Life" Spotlights "Dopey," a Podcast on Addiction and Recovery

Using dark comedy, “Dopey” promotes recovery and pushes back against the stigma associated with addiction.

The NPR weekly radio/podcast series This American Life featured a segment on its February 1st broadcast about Dopey, a podcast about addiction and recovery heard by more than four million listeners.

The podcast began as a forum for creators and hosts Dave and Chris—as well as guests ranging from Marc Maron and Dr. Drew Pinsky, to My Fair Junkie author and The Fix contributor Amy Dresner—to share “war stories” about their struggles without judgment and with a degree of humor.

Dresner was a recent guest on the podcast (and will return as a rotating co-host) where she discussed how her experience trying to treat ringworm made her want to use again.

But with the overdose death of Chris in July 2018, Dave has shifted the focus of Dopey to promote recovery while continuing to address the stigma of addiction.

As a result, the podcast has grown both in terms of the number of fans—also known as the “Dopey Nation,” who have helped to boost downloads to more than 1.2 million to date—and as a community for listeners in all stages of recovery, as well as family and friends, to come together.

As Vice noted, the roots of Dopey began in 2011, when hosts Dave and Chris—who do not give their surnames—met at Mountainside Treatment Center in Connecticut while undergoing treatment for substance use disorder.

The pair became friends, and after acquiring and losing various periods of sobriety, they decided to launch a podcast about addiction that focused on what Dave called “the last bad thing”—tales from their past including “using stories, open-ended drug discussion and debate over addiction philosophy,” as the pair wrote on the podcast’s website.

Dopey soon caught on with listeners, who submitted their own recollections. The result was a podcast where those in every stage of recovery could share their experiences and gain support.

Then in 2018, Dopey Nation was rocked by the news that Chris had been found dead of an overdose. He had been sober for five years at the time of the incident, working as a manager at a sober living facility and studying to earn his doctorate in clinical psychology.

In the wake of Chris’s death, Dave was determined to carry on with Dopey, but as he told Vice, “It’s apparent now more than ever that Dopey‘s main focus will be addicts living in recovery. Chris’s legacy will live on through these episodes, and the lives he touched all around the world.”

The new approach has also brought a wealth of new guests, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Beautiful Boy author David Sheff, and musician and recovery advocate Bob Forrest.

For Dave, continuing the podcast means giving individuals in the grip of addiction a place to go, to listen, and to share.

“[They] are not just showing up for Dopey, they’re showing up to support one another,” Dave said.

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019
Nick Jonas Talks Mental Health, Benefits Of Therapy

The youngest Jonas Brother revealed that he and his brothers were in therapy together for a year before reuniting to make music.

After a decade-long hiatus, Nick Jonas has reunited with his brothers to release new music. While promoting their new song and upcoming album, Nick, who recently married actress Priyanka Chopra, spoke with The Huffington Post about the benefits of therapy on his mental health.

Being that Jonas has type 1 diabetes, staying in shape physically and mentally is important for him to stay in balance. “Your emotional health is wholly connected to your physical health,” Jonas explained. “If you take that time [to] spend some time with family and friends, prioritize your emotional state of mind, you’re going to be in a way better spot physically.”

The Jonas Brothers were in therapy together for a year before they reunited as a band. Nick explains, “I think the thing that was so great about this next chapter was that it really began with us getting to the healthiest place we could be as brothers and as family before we decided to work together at all, given that the way it ended before was not the best.”

Nick and his brothers thought, “Let’s dive in, let’s really open up and pull this thing apart and see what would need to be different for this to work this time around for a healthier relationship. I think that honesty, that transparency, really was the key factor.”

Late last year, Nick Jonas, Queen Latifah, and Ted Danson appeared in ads for Cigna Health about the importance of taking care of your mental wellness. In Jonas’s commercial, he spoke about anxiety, and how he escapes to his “happy place” in his mind when things get tough—a comfortable room with guitars and puppies.

The commercial journeyed into Jonas’s mind, and as he explained to the viewer, “If we let tensions run the show up here (in our minds), then our bodies won’t perform at our best out here. How you’re doing emotionally affects you physically and vice versa.”

He concluded that when you get your check-up every year at the doctor, “Be open about everything you’re feeling physically and emotionally.”

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019
Americans Are Unhappy And The Opioid Epidemic May Be A Factor

For the third straight year, the U.S. has dropped in the rankings of the World Happiness Report.

The United States is now the 19th happiest country on Earth, its ranking falling for the third consecutive year.

This is according to the most recent World Happiness Report, released on Wednesday (March 20) or the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness.

The Washington Post reports that the seventh annual report surveyed 156 different countries and took into account six factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, the freedom to make life choices, social support, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

The top 10 countries in the report were Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Austria.

“We finished 19th on the list behind Belgium,” Jimmy Kimmel said on his late night show. “The people who feel the need to put mayonnaise on their french fries are happier than we are. Cheer up, everybody.”

While the report doesn’t specify why each country ranked where it did, the authors of the report have speculated in a news release that substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic contributed to America’s ranking.

“This year’s report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University professor and the author of the “Addiction and Unhappiness in America” section of the report.

“The compulsive pursuit of substance abuse and addictive behaviors is causing severe unhappiness. Government, business, and communities should use these indicators to set new policies aimed at overcoming these sources of unhappiness,” Sachs added.

Sachs also noted that the results of the report serve as building blocks for countries moving forward.

“The World Happiness Report, together with the Global Happiness and Policy Report offer the world’s governments and individuals the opportunity to rethink public policies as well as individual life choices, to raise happiness and wellbeing,” Sachs said. “We are in an era of rising tensions and negative emotions (as shown in Chapter 2) and these findings point to underlying challenges that need to be addressed.”

According to the news release, this year’s report specifically honed in on happiness and the community, taking into account how technology, social norms, conflict and government policies have played a role in shaping each country.

“The world is a rapidly changing place,” Professor John Helliwell, co-editor of the report, said in the news release. “How communities interact with each other whether in schools, workplaces, neighborhoods or on social media has profound effects on world happiness.”

View the original article at thefix.com

26 March 2019