Tag: News

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Sister Dies From Overdose

Emma Louis-Dreyfus was 44.

The half-sister of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of the HBO series Veep who is best known for her role as Elaine in Seinfeld, died of a cocaine and alcohol overdose while camping in California in August.

According to the DailyMail, Emma Louis-Dreyfus, 44, died on August 13 at a campsite in South Yuba River State Park in California. Responders were called to the campsite around 9:30 a.m. for reports of a woman who was having a seizure and unresponsive. It’s not clear whether Louis-Dreyfus died in the campsite or was pronounced dead at the hospital.

After her death, the Nevada County Coroner’s Office ruled that the cause was an accident caused by cocaine and ethanol intoxication.

“Emma loved the city life and she also loved the countryside, particularly the Sierra Nevada and Teton mountains,” her obituary read. “One of her favorite weekend getaways was the Yuba River. It was along that river where Emma died of an apparent seizure while camping with friends near Purdon Crossing.”

Emma and Julie Louis-Dreyfus are both the daughters of deceased billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus, who had an estimated wealth of $3.4 billion when he died in 2016. Control of Emma Louis-Dreyfus’ estate, estimated to be worth $23 million, was awarded to her mother.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was mentioned in Emma’s obituary as a surviving family member, but the star did not publicly comment on her sister’s death.

The DailyMail reported that Julia was promoting Veep on social media just two days after Emma’s death, suggesting that the sisters were not close.

However, Emma’s obituary read “Emma adored children, especially her niece and nephews,” which presumably includes Julia’s two sons.

Emma seems to have had plans to use her wealth to invest in California’s legal marijuana industry. In July, she set up a company called Etta Duane Industries in order to develop property for marijuana production. She reportedly invested $4.5 million in the venture, with a business partner investing $5,000.

Outside of that business venture, Emma worked as a social worker. She was born and raised in New York, and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology before completing a Masters in Social Welfare degree in 2002 from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a bilingual therapist who was fluent in Spanish, and recently completed a certificate in healing childhood trauma

“In her career, Emma was a clinical social worker and family therapist, a calling that included child advocacy, community activism, training and supervision,” her obituary read.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Moving Obituary For Mom With Opioid Addiction Goes Viral

The obituary recounts Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir’s ensuing addiction to opioids and her family’s determination to help her overcome it.

The heartbreaking and loving obituary written for Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir after her overdose death has gone viral. Her family shared Madelyn’s long struggle with addiction while reaching out to those still struggling, asking them to hold on to hope and keep trying.

Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir died on October 7, 2018, leaving behind her family and a small son, Ayden. Madelyn’s family recounted how after a move from Vermont to Florida, she took her first OxyContin pill at a party.

The obituary, which was originally published in the Burlington Free Press, recounts Madelyn’s ensuing addiction to opioids and her family’s determination to help her overcome it.

Madelyn’s family also emphasized that she was, first and foremost, a human being who was loved.

“It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, and especially someone whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction. To some, Maddie was just a junkie—when they saw her addiction they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them. Because Maddie was hilarious, and warm, and fearless, and resilient. She could and would talk to anyone, and when you were in her company you wanted to stay. In a system that seems to have hardened itself against addicts and is failing them every day, she befriended and delighted cops, social workers, public defenders, and doctors, who advocated for and believed in her till the end.”

Madelyn’s family wrote about her determination to stay sober after the birth of her son. “After having Ayden Maddie tried harder and more relentlessly to stay sober than we have ever seen anyone try at anything. But she relapsed and ultimately lost custody of her son, a loss that was unbearable.”

The family continued with unusual honesty to recount the reality of what an ongoing drug addiction does to a person. “During the past two years especially, her disease brought her to places of incredible darkness, and this darkness compounded on itself, as each unspeakable thing that happened to her and each horrible thing she did in the name of her disease exponentially increased her pain and shame.”

Yet they cherished every moment with her, writing, “For 12 days this summer she was home, and for most of that time she was sober. For those 12 wonderful days, full of swimming and Disney movies and family dinners, we believed as we always did that she would overcome her disease and make the life for herself we knew she deserved. We believed this until the moment she took her last breath.”

In 2016, 63,600 Americans fatally overdosed with nearly two-thirds of deaths involving a prescription or illegal opioid. Since 2016 the problem has only increased.

Linsenmeir’s family is just one of many that have written searingly honest obituaries illustrating the ultimate cost of addiction. When Gwen Knox lost her son Kurt to an overdose at 49 years old, she also wrote an honest and loving obituary on the reality of Kurt’s addiction that went viral.

The family asked for donations in Madelyn’s name be made to the Turning Point Center. They asked those who judge addiction issues to “educate yourself about this disease, because that is what it is. It is not a choice or a weakness.”

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Thousands More Cases Up For Dismissal Due To Corrupt Drug Lab Chemist

The ACLU estimates that at least 12,000 cases will be dismissed as a result of Sonja Farak’s actions.

A disgraced state chemist who admitted to tampering with, stealing and using drug evidence, completed her 18-month prison sentence in 2015. But we’re still seeing the impact of Sonja Farak’s misconduct while testing drug evidence for the state of Massachusetts for over a decade.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled last Thursday (Oct. 11) that more drug-related cases should be dismissed as a result of Farak’s actions. While the exact number of affected cases is to be determined, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts estimated that it could be at least 12,000 or more, according to WBUR.

“We conclude that Farak’s widespread evidence tampering has compromised the integrity of thousands of drug convictions apart from those that the Commonwealth has agreed should be vacated and dismissed,” said Associate Justice Frank Gaziano. “Her misconduct, compounded by prosecutorial misconduct, requires that this court exercise its superintendence authority and vacate and dismiss all criminal convictions tainted by governmental wrongdoing.”

Farak was at the Amherst lab for 11 years. Not only was she stealing drug samples and tampering with evidence, she was under the influence while working.

The SJC already ruled in April that more than 7,500 cases should be dismissed, because Farak had signed off on them. However, the court has now agreed to invalidate every drug sample tested at the Amherst lab where Farak worked—even if she did not sign off on them—as well as the cases related to the drug sample.

In 2013, Sonja Farak was arrested for stealing cocaine from the Amherst lab, which has since closed. She eventually admitted to tampering with drug evidence and making a “daily habit of treating the drug lab’s evidence supply as a personal narcotics buffet” for nearly a decade before her arrest, according to Courthouse News.

New “Farak defendants” whose cases will be affected include “those convicted of methamphetamine offenses while Farak worked at the Amherst lab, and any defendants who had drugs in their cases tested between January 2009 and January 2013—the last four years that Farak was at the lab.

For now, the ACLU and Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) have been tasked with identifying the new Farak defendants and determining how many new cases should be dismissed.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re incredibly pleased to have all this work to do to get people the justice they deserve and be able to move on from this disaster,” said Rebecca Jacobstein, staff attorney for the CPCS.

This is not the first time that thousands of drug-related cases have been dismissed as a result of a state chemist being found guilty of misconduct.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
How "This Is Us" Encourages Men To Speak About Mental Health

The critically-acclaimed series showcased a candid conversation about mental health in a recent episode.

Warning: This article may contain spoilers.

The NBC drama series This Is Us doesn’t shy from addressing tough issues like the stress of in-vitro fertilization and the trauma of war. In the most recent episode, the show depicts two men talking about mental health. This simple exchange, broadcast on a major TV network, is more impactful than we know.

A conversation between brothers-in-law Randall (played by Sterling K. Brown) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) turns to their personal demons.

“I can’t picture you with anxiety. You know, the way you present,” says Toby. “That’s what we do, right? Men,” Randall replies.

Toby, who we know has struggled with depression in the past, said that without his medication for his condition, “life gets pretty scary.” Randall is surprised to learn that his brother is medicating for depression. “Never would have known.”

Toby’s depression diagnosis surfaced after separating with his first wife. And as he and wife Kate Pearson (played by Chrissy Metz) struggle to conceive, he is informed by a doctor that his depression medication may be affecting his sperm.

As for Randall, his anxiety surfaced near the end of Season 1, when he had a panic attack, and it was addressed further, rather accurately, in Season 2. We learn that he has dealt with anxiety since he was a child and suffers panic attacks from time to time.

Writer and co-executive producer KJ Steinberg, described the making of the normally taboo conversation between Randall and Toby. “[It’s] actually a really sensitive conversation,” he said. “The fear is to treat it too glibly. You never want anything to appear too simple. But you also are writing for characters who share an intimacy and a need to connect with one another.”

Overall, the show is not afraid to depict the vulnerabilities of the men on the show. We learn that Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) had a drinking problem, as did his father. “We’re a family of addicts. Our father was an addict. We don’t talk about his drinking problem,” said Jack’s son Kevin (Justin Hartley), who faced his own addiction to opioid painkillers.

Public health campaigns like Heads Together in the UK encourage people to speak up, not hide away, mental health issues they may be struggling with—particularly men. Retired Olympic medalist Michael Phelps is also on a mission to shed the stigma of mental health issues. He has publicly discussed his own struggles with depression and alcohol on many occasions.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Apple Donates Smartwatches To Bulimia Initiative

Participants will use the Apple Watch to monitor heart rates over a month-long period.

Apple has pledged to donate 1,000 smartwatches to a study about bulimia nervosa patients.

The purpose of the University of North Carolina study—called the Binge Eating Genetics Initiative (BEGIN)—is to better understand the genetic factors associated with binge-eating disorder and bulimia nervosa.

Participants will use the Apple Watch to monitor heart rates over a month-long period. The smartwatches, which can provide detailed heart data and share data with researchers, will be able to detect any “spikes” in heart activity before a person binges. According to Engadget, if this is the case, “it might be possible to alert caregivers and patients before these acts take place.”

With every new model, the Apple Watch offers better heart-monitoring technology. The latest iteration, “Series 4,” includes an electrical heart sensor that will eventually work with an app that takes EKGs, according to the New York Times.

Bulimia nervosa is defined as a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder where people “binge and purge.” This refers to the act of consuming large amounts of food, then attempting to purge it from the body to prevent weight gain, by vomiting or abusing laxatives, weight-loss supplements, diuretics and enemas.

Complications from bulimia nervosa include dehydration (which can lead to more serious complications such as kidney failure), heart problems (such as irregular heartbeat or heart failure), severe tooth decay or gum disease, absent or irregular periods in females, digestive problems, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, self-injury and suicidal thoughts.

Participants in BEGIN will also spend 10 minutes per day recording their diets, goals and moods. Researchers will search for common genetic traits among participants using at-home gene and micro biome sample kits.

As smartwatches offer more health-monitoring tools, some people are taking a less conventional—and arguably misguided—approach at applying technology to harm reduction.

In July, CNBC reported that some adults are using the health-tracking technology of smartwatches and Fitbits to stay “safe” while using drugs.

“If someone says, ‘Let’s do a line,’ I’ll look at my watch. If I see I’m at 150 or 160, I’ll say, ‘I’m good.’ That’s totally fine. Nobody gives you a hard time,” said “Owen,” a man from San Francisco who says his Fitbit keeps him from overdoing it at parties, nightclubs and even Burning Man.

“I don’t really know what’s happening in my body when I smoke some weed or do some cocaine. I can read information online, but that’s not specific to me. Watching your heart rate change on the Fitbit while doing cocaine is super real data that you’re getting about yourself,” he said.

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018
Fortnite Addiction Leads Sports Team To Institute Ban

The self-instituted ban was put in place so the team could focus on bonding with teammates.

The popular video game Fortnite has caused problems in some marriages and in academic settings—and now it’s being banned from some professional sports teams for the same reason.

TSN 1040 reports that members of the Vancouver Canucks, a Canadian ice hockey team, have taken matters into their own hands, with a self-instituted ban on the game while on the road.

Team Captain Bo Horvat told the radio station, “Yeah, that’s definitely a no-go on the road. No more Fortnite. No more bringing video games on the road. It’s strictly team meals, team dinners and hanging out with the guys. So we put an end to that.”

Horvat also added that there are better options for killing time when traveling, such as bonding with teammates.

“In my opinion, there’s better ways to spend time on the road, whether it’s hanging with the guys in the room or going to a movie with the guys,” Horvat said. “There’s a lot of cool cities we visit and to be cooped up in your room all night, playing Fortnite, is a waste of your time.”

Personally, Horvat says he has never played the game.

“Hopefully a lot of parents and little kids are listening right now,” he told the radio station. “I don’t play it. Nor will I ever.”

According to TechDirt, the Fortnite issue first arose for the Canucks last year when the team claimed a young player was “inactive and seeking counseling for video game addiction.”

This isn’t the first time Fortnite play has disrupted professional sports teams. According to Fortune, players from the Ontario Hockey League were asked to remove Fortnite references from their social media accounts.

Reporter Renaud Lavoie says that executives in the sports world have spoken out about the issue.

“That GM told me it’s an issue,” Lavoie told Sportsnet 590. “Before, the athletes were going to bars. Now, they’re staying in hotel rooms or at home and playing video games for hours.”

Major League Baseball has also claimed to have issues with the game, including one case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Outside of sports, the game is causing issues in some families. In the UK, the game has been cited as a reason for divorce in 200 divorce petitions filed in the UK from January to September 2018.

A nine-year-old British girl was admitted to treatment after her Fortnite addiction kept her up all night and affected her grades and health. The girl’s parents say the tipping point came when her father found her sitting in her own urine while playing the game.

“She was so hooked to the game, she wouldn’t even go to the toilet,” the girl’s mother told the Daily Mirror.

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018
"That's So Raven" Star Orlando Brown Enters Rehab

Since his Disney days, Brown has battled substance use disorders and has had multiple run-ins with the law.

Orlando Brown, former star of the Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven, has entered treatment for substance use disorders and mental health, after his Hollywood friends got together to stage an intervention on his behalf.

According to TMZ, Brown’s childhood friend, former Death Row artist Danny Boy, organized the intervention, which took place earlier this week. Danny Boy reportedly contacted producers Wendy Wheaton and Tommy Red, who helped connect Brown with a rehab.

Brown has a long history of trouble with the law, which seems to be connected to his substance use. In September, Brown was arrested for breaking into Danny Boy’s Las Vegas restaurant, Legends Restaurant & Venue.

At the time, Danny Boy told TMZ that Brown had recently been released from the hospital and needed somewhere to stay, so Danny Boy said he could stay in the restaurant.

However, Brown triggered security alarms by wandering around the kitchen and attempting to change the locks in the restaurant. Danny Boy notified the police, saying he believed that was the best way to get Brown the help he needed.

At the time, TMZ reported that Brown’s bail was set at $13,000 and he remained in jail. However, he made bail at some point, because on Sunday police were called to a hotel where Brown had been in an argument. That call didn’t result in an arrest, but it did prompt Danny Boy to organize the intervention that reportedly led to Brown getting treatment.

Since his Disney days, Brown has battled substance use disorder and has had multiple run-ins with the law. In 2014, a woman called police saying that Brown had showed up at her home and threatened her.

In the tape of the 911 call, a man is reportedly heard saying, ”Tell him Orlando Brown is crazy… I’ll kill you, your mama, your daughter, everybody… Come outside!”

The woman told the dispatcher, ”I know him, we’re acquaintances… The other day, he made some passes at me — the boy is 28, I’m 40 — he made some sexual passes at me and I declined them, and now he’s upset. Bottom line. He’s a known actor and he’s a known alcoholic, and he sounds very intoxicated.”

In 2016, Brown was arrested for being in possession of methamphetamine and assaulting his girlfriend. He was charged with possession of a drug with intent to sell, having contraband in jail (felonies) and misdemeanor domestic battery and obstruction of justice.

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018
Beach Boys Singer: Trump Tried To Help Whitney Houston Get Sober

“You tried your best to help Whitney. And she’s not the only one you benefited and tried [to help],” said Beach Boys’ Mike Love at a White House event.

When the late Whitney Houston was in the depths of her addiction, a few of her famous friends reached out and tried to help, like Clive Davis, the legendary label executive who signed her, and Kevin Costner, her Bodyguard co-star.

And according to Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, even Donald Trump offered to help during her time of need.

As AOL reports, Love made this claim at a White House event celebrating the passing of the Music Modernization Act, which will revamp music licensing and royalties.

At the podium, Love addressed the President: “People can say what they want, but you’ve always been a big supporter of some of the best music America ever made. I remember you tried your best to get Whitney Houston in some kind of shape.”

Love then said that Trump and billionaire Revlon executive Ron Perelman tried to get Houston to see the light at an apparent intervention at Mar-a-Lago. “You tried your best to help Whitney. And she’s not the only one you benefited and tried [to help].”

Trump and Houston were friendly in the past. Trump revealed on The Wendy Williams Show that he was a guest at Houston’s wedding to Bobby Brown and claimed the singer was a frequent guest at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump said Houston sang for him “many times,” and he was heartbroken when her vocal abilities went downhill from drugs and alcohol.

“It was very said,” Trump said. “It was certainly a different person in terms of that incredible voice, which was the best I’d heard.”

Trump felt Brown enabled her, adding, “It was just not a marriage made in heaven. It was bad for her –very bad for her. She was trying desperately to make a comeback,” yet her efforts were a “tough go.”

Years ago, in an interview with Billy Bush ironically enough, he also blamed the media for enabling the singer. “When you’re a celebrity and a super-celebrity, people sort of do whatever you want to do. They don’t tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. You see with Michael [Jackson] with the drugs – so many people – probably Whitney. You can show up in terrible shape, and they’ll tell you how great you look.”

Right after Houston’s passing, Trump told Headline News that Houston “had demons like anyone had demons…the drugs were a problem. Something was missing. She needed help. She was crying out for help. And the end result was what happened the other day in L.A.”

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018
Sobriety Court Offers DUI Offenders A Second Chance

Since it was established in 2011, 438 people have completed the Denver County Sobriety Court program.

In Denver County, Colorado, DUI offenders have a second option other than jail.

Participants in Denver County Sobriety Court, like Lei-Linne Radlein, recognize that they have a problem and want to get help. The mom-of-three had two DUIs in less than 30 days. Radlein spent three months in jail, and agreed to participate in the local Sobriety Court.

Her program involved random alcohol testing, therapy (“trying to identify the root cause of the problem”), classes and community service. She graduated in 18 months. (The program generally runs from 14-24 months.)

Radlein was one of 15 participants who graduated from the Sobriety Court program on Monday (Oct. 15). “I now have hope,” she told CBS Denver.

Since it was established in 2011, the Denver County Sobriety Court has seen 438 people complete the program. Graduates are said to be 19 times less likely to reoffend than nonparticipants, according to CBS Denver.

The program was designed to reduce repeat DUI offenses in Denver County. It is a voluntary program for misdemeanor offenders who agree to follow the program of treatment, supervision and staying sober.

“The program allows participants the opportunity to learn about addiction, themselves, and how to live a sober life. This results in better, more productive lives for the participant and those around them,” the program’s description reads.

Rules of the program are as follows:

– Be honest with yourself and the Sobriety Court team

– Complete all phases of the Sobriety Court program

– Remain alcohol and substance free throughout the program

– Submit to random alcohol and/or drug screening

– Participate in treatment as determined by treatment assessment

– Report for all scheduled court reviews

– Meet with probation officer as scheduled.

To graduate, participants must have 90 days of sobriety. Other requirements include having an aftercare plan, applying for jobs or schools and completing community service.

Judge Brian T. Campbell, who in 2011 was tasked with implementing the new Sobriety Court, said he was “suspicious” of the program at first.

But his opinion changed as he witnessed graduates come and go.

“Now, four years later, I am a disciple. With the exception of the first four years of my judicial career, I have learned more in the last four years, changed more, grown more and become a better judge than at any other time in my 35-year career,” Campbell wrote in a 2015 op-ed in the Denver Post.

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018
MyPillow CEO's Past Addiction Battle Inspires Him to Help Employees

“Addicts are hard workers. Addiction’s a lot of work… I’m all about second chances. When people come to me, that’s their past.”

Mike Lindell, CEO of the popular MyPillow line of bedding, understands how substance use disorder can derail a person’s ability to pursue their dreams or even maintain basic quality of life.

He struggled with years of addiction to cocaine and crack cocaine while attempting to launch MyPillow before gaining sobriety in 2009, two years before his company became an as-seen-on-TV sensation and a multimillion-dollar business.

Lindell now uses his success to provide employees and prospective workers who may be struggling with similar dependencies with the support they need to gain recovery, including direct connection with him for guidance and assistance.

Lindell estimated that 10 to 20% of his employees have “had struggles,” as he told the Daily Caller, and said that he makes a point to hire people who have made recovery a priority. “Addicts are hard workers,” he explained. “Addiction’s a lot of work… I’m all about second chances. When people come to me, that’s their past.”

Of his 1,600 employees, Lindell estimates that 500 have his direct phone number, which with he said “they can tell me what’s going on. We get them help. We’re all about helping people.”

The Daily Caller cited an example of Lindell’s efforts in Patrick, a MyPillow employee whom the site chose to identify by first name only. The thirty-something had been drinking what he described as a bottle a night, which eventually impacted his work performance. Eventually, Patrick found himself on the phone with Lindell.

“I called him up and basically put myself where I was at 28 or 29 so I could connect with him,” said the CEO. “I said, ‘Here’s your best help.’”

Though reluctant to enter rehab, Lindell’s promise that a job at MyPillow would be waiting for him when he completed treatment convinced him to seek help.

“I’ve worked multiple other jobs with the same problem, and I’ve never had this,” said Patrick.

Lindell subscribes to the notion that addiction is less of a disease than learned behavior as a coping mechanism. “It’s a mask for pain that usually comes from childhood and fatherlessness,” he opined, noting that he believed that the root of his addiction came from his parents’ divorce when he was 7 years of age.

But he also understands that recovery requires support and understanding, which is what he hopes to give to employees, both current and prospective.

“I’m giving people hope because I just put it all out there,” he said.

View the original article at thefix.com

17 October 2018