Category Archives: Drug Dependency

After years of waging an international war on drugs, the United States now finds itself facing criticism from the United Nations because two of its states have voted to liberalize their individual narcotics laws. Despite investing millions trying to wipe out marijuana production in countries like Mexico, America is coming under fire for softening its own cultivation policies. Moreover, that policy shift is inspiring pot activists abroad to step up their push for decriminalization. Raymond Yans, president of the U.N.s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), recently called the votes to decriminalize pot in Colorado and Washington State a great threat to public health and the well-being of society far beyond those states. MORE: Science Says: Lungs Love Weed Hes got a pointat least in the fact that the Colorado and Washington votes are reverberating beyond their borders. Activists in British Columbia, the Canadian province north of the Evergreen State, are taking stock of marijuana decriminalization campaigns south of the border and working to replicate that success. B.C. pot activist Dana Larsen, who leads a group called Sensible BC, recently withdrew a petition to decriminalize pot so he could spend the next 10 months organizing volunteers and gathering support in order … Continue reading →

Because professional sports leagues have made allowances for those who are deemed to be in need of Adderall, and the privacy concerns tied to medical issues, there is a lot of uncertainty about how to react to what seems to be growing use of the drug in some sports. In Major League Baseball, the percentage of players among 40-man rosters who were granted therapeutic use exemptions skyrocketed from 28 in 2006 to 103 in 2007, the year after MLB banned amphetamines like Adderall. That number has remained about the same since. In 2011 it was 105. So roughly 9% of major league players are granted exemptions for drugs treating them for ADHD. By comparison, a study commissioned by the National Institute of Mental Health in 2006 found that 4.4% of adults ages 14 to 44 in the U.S. experienced symptoms of ADHD. "To have doubled the population prevalence of a disorder is staggering," says University of Wisconsin psychiatrist Eric Heiligenstein. "Obviously, that's weird." Ben Vitiello, a research psychiatrist with the NIMH, says that 4.4% figure cited in the 2006 study is probably still accurate, but says it's simplistic to claim baseball's ADHD prevalence is double the general population, because baseball's … Continue reading →

Rock Bottom -- Everybody has a Breaking Point, What's YOURS? by Cardrelius SuperSpitz Brunson The Healing Place of Wake County is a non-profit recovery and rehabilitation facility for homeless people with alcohol and drug dependency, located in Raleigh, NC. Our mission is to offer innovative recovery and rehabilitation to homeless alcoholic and chemically dependent men and women through a continuing mutual-help program. The program is specifically designed to rekindle the client's desire to return to a meaningful and productive life. Approximately 70 percent of our clients are sober and productive members of society on year after graduation.The Healing Place of Wake County operates a Men's Facility located at 1251 Goode Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 and a Women's Facility located at 3304 Glen Royal Road, Raleigh, NC 27617.From:Andrei DoodViews:21 0ratingsTime:03:50More inNonprofits Activism Read this article: Rock Bottom -- Everybody has a Breaking Point, What's YOURS? by Cardrelius SuperSpitz Brunson - Video … Continue reading →

Daniel (, meaning in Hebrew "God is my Judge") is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways. By Divine Wisdom from his God, Yahweh, he interpreted dreams and visions of kings, thus becoming a prominent figure in the court of Babylon. Eventually, he had apocalyptic visions of his own that have been interpreted as the Four monarchies. Some of the most famous accounts of Daniel are: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, The writing on the wall and Daniel in the lions' den. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (BCE 606), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon. The four were chosen for their intellect and beauty to be trained as advisors to the Babylonian court,( ) Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king!(not to be confused with the neo-Babylonian king, Belshazzar). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, respectively. In … Continue reading →

A woman accused of driving drunk when she hit a pedestrian and who allegedly kept going for more than two miles while he was stuck to her car is a substance abuse counselor, officials said today. Sherri Wilkins, 51, is accused of hitting Phillip Moreno, 35, with her Mitsubishi Eclipse, causing him to roll onto the car's hood and then through the windshield. Moreno became embedded through the windshield as she continued driving for 2.3 miles, according to Torrance police. Bystanders who saw Moreno on the hood of the car called police and eventually forced Wilkins to come to a stop. Wilkins told police she "panicked" when she hit Moreno Saturday night around 11:30 p.m., according to Sgt. Robert Watt of the Torrance police department. Her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when she was tested after the accident, Watt said. Wilkins, a recovering addict, was working as a "chemical dependency counselor" at Twin Town Treatment Center, the company's president David Lisonbee told ABCNews.com. He said that many counselors are recovering addicts. Lisonbee called the situation "tragic" and noted that Wilkins had not worked at the treatment center in the days leading up to the accident. … Continue reading →

Posted on: 8:19 pm, November 22, 2012, by Betsey Bruce, updated on: 11:14pm, November 22, 2012 PAGEDALE, MO. (KPLR) A former drug addict now turned college student is sharing his first Thanksgiving with family since he completed a prison term for forgery. Last year I was eating Thanksgiving in the honor center (a halfway house for prisoners) and today to be able to eat what I want, the time I want and then have my family around me is really a good feeling, Patrick Johnson said Thursday morning at his Pagedale home as he and his wife prepared to carry their share of the holiday dinner to her mothers home. During his two years in prison, Johnson began to turn his life around. He realized drug dependency interferes with life. It makes you emotionally numb. I wanted a different way of life. I believed enough in God to change my behavior so thats what I did, I changed the way I thought and I changed the way I looked, he said. During his time at the halfway house he turned to the St. Patrick Center, a not-for-profit agency that helps the homeless and near homeless. They showed me the programs … Continue reading →

Knife carrying masked raider jailed for Durham store robbery 5:00pm Friday 23rd November 2012 in News By Bruce Unwin, Chief Reporter (Durham) A DESPERATE drug addict armed with a knife carried out a robbery as staff were closing a Co-op store late at night. William Lancaster, 42, put on a balaclava and confronted three members of staff who were locking up and about to leave the premises in Newton Hall, Durham, at 10pm on November 13. Holding a kitchen knife he led them to an office where he told one of the women to put the contents of a small safe into a carrier bag. Durham Crown Court was told that he left with 2,097 in the bag, taking off the balaclava as he went out of the door. David Wilkinson, prosecuting, said by chance the father of one of the staff members was waiting outside the store, in Carrhouse Drive, to pick her up from work and saw Lancaster removing the balaclava. Police were contacted and, arriving a short time later, were pointed in the direction Lancaster was seen heading. He was found hiding in a nearby garden, still with the knife, the balaclava, gloves and a small amount … Continue reading →

Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series examining the drug issue in Shelbyville. Look for more in Saturday's newspaper. For more than a decade, Shelbyville Police Department Chief Keith England has seen the effects of drugs in communities. "I have seen the devastation and heartache that drugs cause, not only the user but the entire family. It is a shame," he said. As a result of his job, he deals with drug offenders daily while trying to keep the City of Shelbyville safe. Shelby County Prosecutor Kent Apsley echoed England's sentiments. "We are no different than any other community in the state of Indiana or the country, for that matter," he said. England said his department is working on the fight against drugs locally. "We are not putting our heads in the sand and acting like we don't have a problem. We have four K-9 units, and we are very fortunate to have the support from the prosecutor's office, the Shelby County Drug-Free Coalition, as well as grants from the state and the support from the (city) council," England said. Apsley said the impact is noticeable. "From a criminal justice side, we are very proactive on enforcement, … Continue reading →

Nikki Sixx's battle with heroin - in which he nearly died - is being turned into a play on Broadway. The Mtley Cre co-founder and bassist has confirmed his book The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star is being transferred to the stage. The 53-year-old musician revealed the news on Twitter and Facebook, posting: "I've been getting asked this a lot lately. The answer is: Yes,"The Heroin Diaries" book is being turned into a broadway play. "More news to follow in the next few months....Were getting pretty far down the road...We hope for a late 2013 or early 2014 for it to open..." The book is a compilation of diary entries written between 1986 and 1987 chronicling the recording of Mtley Cre's Girls, Girls, Girls album and the subsequent Girls Girls Girls tour. This ended with Sixx's near-death from a heroin overdose in late 1987, which inspired the band to give up the drug. As well as his drug dependency, Sixx talks about his relationships with his then-girlfriend Vanity, the other members of the band and his family. Books are dear to Sixx's heart, and his preference appears to be for tomes penned by … Continue reading →

E-mail this page to a friend! Aging News & Information Inpatient Sleeping Drug Quadrupled Fall Risk; May Boost Risk of Unexpected Sex? Advancing age causes fall risk to rise rapidly but this drug increases risk more than aging Nov. 19, 2012 - A drug commonly prescribed to help patients sleep in hospitals has been associated with an increased risk of falls, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. The Food and Drug Administration warns, too, you may even have unplanned sex after taking zolpidem (see box below). U.S. sleep specialists from the Mayo Clinic found that the risk posed by the drug was greater than the risks posed by factors such as age, cognitive impairment, delirium or insomnia, regardless of the dosage used. They report that the fall rate among the 4,962 patients who took zolpidem during their hospital stay was more than four times as high as the 11,358 who did not take the drug. "Ensuring that people get enough sleep during their hospital stay is very important, but it can also prove very challenging," says the Clinic's Chief Patient Safety Officer Dr. Timothy I. Morgenthaler, who specializes in sleep disorders and pulmonary and critical … Continue reading →