Addiction treatment: The new gold rush. 'It's almost chic'
"I'm not pointing the finger at any particular company, but the fact is, it's a lot worse than it ever has been," said Mark Mishek, president and CEO at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, one of the oldest, most established - and nonprofit - treatment chains in the nation. "The black-hatmarketing techniques, an incredible amount of fraudulent billing, payment for patient referrals, self-referrals, fraudulent work in drug testing - it's all there and it's terrible," Mishek said ... Addiction treatment was a $21 billion business in 2003, and is expected to double to $42 billion by 2020 ... American Addiction Centers - has seen net revenues skyrocket nearly tenfold in just five years, from $28.3 million in 2011 to $279.8 million in 2016, according to SEC filings. It projects revenues of $300 million this year.
Carrie Fisher Had Cocaine, Ecstasy, Heroin and Methadone in Her System, Autopsy Reveals VIDEO
Mon, Jun 19, 2017 - Carrie Fisher had heroin, methadone and other drugs in her system when she died suddenly at age 60 in 2016, according to a toxicology report released Monday; E! News obtained the official documents from the Los Angeles County coroner's office. "The exposure to cocaine took place sometime approximately in the last 72 hours of the sample that was obtained," the report said, which also revealed Carrie had a "remote exposure to MDMA" (commonly known as ecstasy). In addition to the illegal drugs, Carrie was taking Abilify, Lamictal and Prozac under prescription.
June 4, 2017 - Cynthia McFadden investigates allegations of wrongdoing inside a company that makes a highly addictive prescription narcotic. Did the drive for profits put people's lives at risk?
Doctor in Kenny Chatman drug treatment case given max sentence
June 13, 2017 - One of the doctors who oversaw patient care at one of Kenny Chatman's notorious drug treatment centers was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison ... Dr. Donald Willems, the medical director for Chatman's Reflections Treatment Center from October 2015 to May 2016, was given the maximum sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
A Giant Coalition of States Is Investigating Opioid Manufacturers
June 16, 2017 - "The people peddling the drugs ripping apart our towns aren't only on our street corners," said Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro in a prepared statement. "Three out of four heroin users started by abusing prescription opioids, and our ongoing investigation is going straight into the boardrooms of pharmaceutical companies." ... Following the Journal article, a number of states announced their involvement on Thursday. So far, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Connecticut, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Alabama, Virginia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Colorado, Indiana, Delaware, Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, New York, and California have announced their participation publicly.
Therapist: "Addiction To Smartphones Equal To Drug Addiction"
June 14, 2017 - "I always say to people, when you're giving your kid a tablet or a phone, you're really giving them a bottle of wine or a gram of coke," she said during her talk at the Highgate Junior School conference in the UK ... Further, the report also says that young children are involved in sharing images that are unhealthy for their mental growth. The situation's deep analysis found out that children often access and share pornographic images....
WATCH: Trump's opioid commission launches new look at health crisis
VIDEO
June 16, 2017 -New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he never felt uncomfortable telling people about his mother's lung cancer after she smoked cigarettes for decades. But he wonders if he would have been as open if she instead consumed heroin instead of nicotine ... Other members of the commission include Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Massachusetts Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Bertha Madras, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a former deputy director in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy ... At Friday's meeting, several nonprofit organizations also offered statements about their experiences with the unfolding epidemic.
Sovereign Health drug rehab blasts federal raid as 'Mickey Mouse' harassment
6/15/17 The CEO said that the "raid" looked fishy from the outset. "They completely by-passed our accounting and financial staff, and instead, trained weapons on employees who perform duties such as patient intake. They snatched away the laptops of the writers who create content for our websites, and tried to break down the door of a room where a patient was receiving neurofeedback, scaring them to death," Sharma said. "They also searched my home and took medical books, but bypassed a large safe which I offered the combination. This whole thing was ridiculous, so Mickey Mouse."
Sober Home Task Force arrests Delray rehab admissions director
JUNE 15, 2017 - A 57-year-old Boca Raton woman was arrested by the Palm Beach County Sober Home Task Force on Thursday and charged with 35 counts of patient brokering. Sarah Muhammad was employed at Chapters Recovery, which also did business at Good Futures Recovery in Delray Beach. The arrest report with details of her alleged involvement was not available. Muhammad is the 27th arrest by the task force since October 2016.
June 12, 2017 - The addled golf great recently
reserved the entire male inpatient unit of the Jupiter Medical Center near his Florida home for his stint for an addiction to prescription pills ... The tee ace, 41, was arrested in Jupiter on May 29 after being found dozing behind the wheel of his banged-up Mercedes-Benz. He later admitted to cops that he had taken Xanax earlier in the night and also was on Vicodin.
June 13, 2017 - Recovery is an ongoing process. Knowing this can help you stay motivated when the going gets tough. Acknowledging but forgiving yourself for past mistakes is a good place to start ... Addiction puts stress on the mind and body. Good nutrition and proper sleep can restore your body's systems. Seek out a healthy diet including fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein and plenty of fresh water ... Experts know addiction recovery requires a multifaceted approach that addresses the mind, the soul and the body.
Restoring Hope with the Art of Recovery Film Festival
@Florida
JUNE 16, 2017 - ... downtown Lake Worth July 7-9 is a way for both local and international artists to express their hope for recovery through unique and personal photography, art, and video. Addiction is a topic that many do not pair with the beauty of art. However, for Manny Mendez and Vic James, two recovering individuals who have fought and survived the cycle of addiction, art is a way to see addiction in another light. Since 2014, Mendez and James have worked to display their interpretations of addiction and recovery through art as a way to expose harmful stigmas and restore hope at The Art of Recovery Exhibit. Today, the exhibit has evolved into a mass outreach as the first annual Art of Recovery Film Festival is set to take place July 7-9th of this year.
Buddhist Recovery Summit to explore how dharma can help addiction sufferers
June 16, 2017 - The Buddhist Recovery Summit 2017-a collaboration between the Northwest Dharma Association and the Buddhist Recovery Network-will run from October 20 to 22 at the Gwinwood Retreat Center in Lacey, Washington. Organizers say the Summit is open to all who are interested in Buddhist Recovery. According to the Buddhist Recovery Network, the movement uses Buddhist teachings and practices to help those suffering from alcoholism and addiction.
Governor, first lady announce addiction recovery event
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. Doug Burgum and first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum have announced a fall event aimed at discussing innovative ways to improve addiction recovery and treatment. The daylong "Recovery Reinvented" event Sept. 26 at the Bismarck Event Center will bring together state and national recovery experts for discussions with addiction recovery advocates, health care providers, business and community leaders, faith-based organizations, law enforcement officers, tribal officials and others.
Woman in texting suicide case 'intoxicated' by antidepressants,
VIDEO
June 12, 2017- A woman on trial for urging her boyfriend to kill himself was delusional after becoming "involuntarily intoxicated" by antidepressants, a psychiatrist said Monday ... Such drugs can impair judgment, wisdom, understanding, love and empathy, he said - especially in the adolescent brain, which is still developing and is "more susceptible to harm and all intrusions." ... On Celexa, Breggin said, Carter became "involuntarily intoxicated" and began to think she could help Roy get what he wanted - to die painlessly, to get to heaven and to help his family grieve less by understanding him.
Project 90 struggles to avoid downsizing: Nonprofit drug rehab looks for support
June 13, 2017 - "I've been investigating the possibility we may have to completely shut down, which we're trying not to do." Once offering services in three counties, it had to close down its Santa Clara County centers last month and is now only operating in San Mateo County, Stansberry said. Although the 45-year-old nonprofit owns about seven properties in San Mateo County, it's unable to sell any due to the terms of the county's loan. Now, it's essentially "cash poor" and in need of about $300,000 a year to maintain the current level of services, Stansberry said.
New breed of architecture can help fight drug addiction and save thousands of lives every year
VIDEO
June 13, 2017 - On January 13, 2016, police found the body of a 31-year-old man, who had been dead for "at least" 12 hours, in a car parked on Pike Street in Capitol Hill, Seattle. He had died from a drug overdose in the shadows, which is common, as drug users often are too ashamed to seek help or use in the open. In the United States, 52,404 people died from overdoses in 2015. In the eyes of some, this man's death would have been preventable if he had attended a harm reduction facility-a new typology emerging in the developed world...
Md. makes overdose drug available without a prescription
June 14, 2017 - By allowing even more people access to naloxone, we're helping to save lives," said Clay Stamp, executive director of the Opioid Operational Command Center, in a news release ... The new order expanding access to naloxone allows Maryland-licensed pharmacists to dispense two doses of naloxone and the paraphernalia needed to administer it.
Even an occasional alcoholic drink while pregnant could change baby's facial development
June 14, 2017 - Considering a sip of alcohol even though you're pregnant? A new study reported in JAMA Pediatrics this month suggests you might want to think twice before you drink. The study, which comes from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, found that even an occasional adult beverage during pregnancy can affect a baby's facial development. According to the study, it's not clear whether that twice a month glass of wine could also lead to cognitive issues. "We were surprised to see that these comparatively low levels of alcohol do have a subtle impact and our findings support national recommendations to abstain from drinking alcohol in pregnancy,"...
Laverne Cox opens up on dating 'emotionally abusive alcoholic for 4 years'
June 15, 2017 - Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox has bravely revealed she was once in a relationship with an emotionally abusive alcoholic. The trans activist opened up about her relationship history in a new interview with Grazia. 'My biggest regret is that I dated an emotionally abusive alcoholic for four years,' she admitted.
She went on to explain: 'I believed that because I was black and trans, he was the only man who'd ever love me. The relationship almost killed me.' Laverne also shared one of her biggest dating disasters to the publication.
Neighbors raise concerns over Sunnyvale 'sober home' proposal
June 14th, 2017 - A Blue Sands Recovery Center proposal for a luxury sober-living facility at 7102 E. Sunnyvale Road - where the proposed rent would be $9,000 a month and with monthly projected treatment service revenues exceeding $100,000 - may be threatening the neighborhood that once was ... Municipal leaders across Arizona say regulation of sober-living facilities is a malaise of legality, but local jurisdictions are entitled - through both state and federal law - to regulate the operations within a sober-living facility.
Problem with Addiction Treatment-
Getting People to Take It
June 15, 2017 - At the meeting in the school gym, Mike and his family did not see eye to eye on the best approach: he wanted to try methadone while his mother and sister preferred sending him away. Linda said she doesn't like the idea of treating a opioid-based addiction with another opioid. "The only thing is one is controlled by the government, the other you don't know what you're getting because you're buying it off the street," she said.
The radio DJ who overcame catastrophe to take a stand for children
VIDEO
June 15, 2017 - Determined to make his mother proud, Fani committed himself to overcoming alcoholism and turning his life around. He decided that he would no longer be a victim. That his life was worth something. And that he had a purpose. Fani found the strength to put his life back together, and began to chase excellence for himself.
Planned community for addiction recovery in the works in Henrico
VIDEO
June 15, 2017 - Last week, plans for a controversial campground aimed at serving recovering addicts were pulled after residents living near the site voiced their concerns...John Shinholser with the addiction recovery center The McShin Foundation says he believes a negative stigma surrounding addiction killed the original plan ... "You know a lot of people think when they think addiction, they don't think pleasant things, they don't understand that addiction is just one word but recovery is a huge movement in America," said Shinholser.
How Trumpcare Could Make Colorado's Opioid and Addiction Crisis Worse
June 15, 2017 - "Day in and day out, we see the demand in Colorado growing, and we're really struggling as an industry to treat the number of patients we have now with the current funding that's available," says Mike Butler, president and CEO of Arapahoe House. "So to see the need continuing to rise and then be presented with a plan that shrinks the potential for treatment is very concerning to us as a provider."
Spike in fatal drug overdoses in 2016 hit all race, gender and age groups across five boroughs
June 14, 2017 - Overdose deaths in the city surged last year - rising among every race, gender and age group and in every borough, new data shows. There were 1,374 accidental drug overdoses in 2016 - up from 937 in 2015, a 47% jump, according to data released by the Health Department. That amounts to nearly four fatal drug overdoses every day in the five boroughs. The rate of overdoses has increased 143% since 2010, from 8.2 for every 100,000 residents to 19.9 last year. Staten Islanders had the highest rate of overdoses - which jumped 66% from 2015, the report says. The Bronx was next and had the highest total number of deaths, at 308.
Former Bryn Mawr Doctor sentenced to 25 years for running pill mill
June 15, 2017 - A former doctor who ran a pain management practice out of a small building in Bryn Mawr that was raided by the FBI in 2013 and declared to be a pill mill, resulting in the death of a patient, was sentenced to a quarter-century in federal prison this week ... "Bado preyed upon individuals addicted to prescription drugs, and his unmitigated greed knew no bounds," Acting U. S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen said in a statement. "He charged 'new patients,' who were just addicts and others drug dealers as much $800 for an appointment to obtain an illegal prescription for opioids. Instead of helping sick and injured people as a doctor should, Bado simply perpetuated the cycle of prescription and opioid drug abuse that is devastating our communities.
Coming together to get rehab industry back on track
With the onslaught of venture capital into our industry, new "creative" ways of boosting revenue have come with it. Some new centers are waiving co-pays and deductibles, not charging for sober-living rent and engaging in patient brokering by creating call centers and illegitimate websites. While many of these activities may not be illegal, they are detrimental to patients and can cause insurance companies to deny or limit access, and authorize lower, less expensive levels of care, across the board.
Researchers figured out the amount of marijuana that helps people relax - and how much is too much
June 14, 2017 - "We found that THC at low doses reduced stress, while higher doses had the opposite effect," Emma Childs, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an author of the study, said in a press release. People on the low dose reported being more relaxed than those on the placebo, and their stress levels dissipated more quickly after the tasks. But people on the high doses paused more in the job interview and reported the tasks to be stressful, challenging, and threatening.
June 16, 2017 - A three-week lockout of workers at Sunrise House could soon be over if a tentative agreement between labor and management is approved today. Details regarding the proposed settlement, which reportedly was reached late Thursday, were not immediately available. The agreement, if approved, would end the standoff that began when the drug and alcohol treatment facility on Sunset Inn Road transferred all its patients to other facilities and closed its doors May 23 in anticipation of what was to have been a three-day labor strike beginning the next day.
HEROIN ADDICTION COSTS U.S. MORE THAN $50 BILLION PER YEAR
June 17, 2017 - Overall, the average heroin user bears a $50,800 cost to U.S. society annually. That's just a hair below the latest U.S.
median annual salaryof $51,272.
The authors note that addressing heroin use disorder as a medical rather than a legal problem, one which can be treated, and reducing the number of incarcerated heroin users would save society a lot of money.
READ MORE @ NewsWeek
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Summertime and the Living is Queasy: To our readers and courageous advertisers:
When I founded Writers In Treatment nine years ago with Bob Downey Sr., our tag line was Treatment Works! I had been using drugs everyday for 26 years, and after one very hot August in the desert at the abstinence ashram known as The Betty Ford Center; I have stayed clean and sober ever since. In 1994 at BFC, nothing was forced down our throats. Neither meds nor the 12 steps. I did do a first step there and had the only revelation I needed to stay for the 28 daze; listen to my peer's stories, my counselor's advice, the lectures and educational classes and the still small voice within...
is a social, educational, networking and recovery forum showcasing first-time filmmakers and experienced professionals who make films about addiction and recovery. Our audience is treatment professionals, people in recovery, members of the entertainment industry, media representatives, educated moviegoers & the general public.
Anna David Named Editor-In-Chief at InRecovery Magazine
VIDEO
June 7, 2017 - InRecovery Magazine announced today that critically acclaimed writer, journalist, TV personality and speaker Anna David has been named the new Editor-In-Chief of its magazine and website. This demonstrates a huge step in its commitment to serve as the #1 resource for addicts and their families. Anna David is a New York Times best-selling author of two novels and four non-fiction books including Party Girl. She has written for The New York Times, The LA Times, Timeand Vice, among many other publications, and makes frequent appearances on news and talk shows, including The Today Show, The Talk and The CBS Morning Show.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on battling depression, alcoholism...
JUNE 17, 2017 - For Buzz, the 1970s was a lost decade when he went through two marriages and unnumbered bottles of Scotch. He lost his fortune and ended up working as a (hopeless) car salesman at a Cadillac dealership. He was marginalized by Nasa and the US Air Force, shunned when he admitted the toll that depression and alcohol had taken on his life ... Buzz's story is a salient and a sad one. In the days before we met, I read everything he'd written about his long life - the early memoir Return to Earth, then the more recent Magnificent Desolation and the upbeat No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons From a Man Who Walked on the Moon.
June 20, 2017 -
Steve Herndon serves as president and co-founder of Safety Net Recovery, a structured sober living community for men. Steve is a born leader. In 1999, while attending and playing football for the University of Georgia, he was elected team captain. Steve's dedication on the field also earned him the Leon Farmer Strength and Conditioning award ... his talent on the gridiron lead him to a six-year career in the NFL, playing offensive line for the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your DOC and when did you discontinue its use?
A. My DOC was Opiates and Cocaine. The reality was that I would take anything just to make me feel different. I checked into treatment on October 14, 2006. I have been blessed to have 10 ½ years of continuous sobriety.
Q. At which of the schools you attended did you learn the most?
A. The University of Georgia is where I attended college and received my degree in Business Education. The most important thing I learned was setting my alarm clock.
Q. Which film have you watched the most?
A. This one is tough. It is probably a tie between Coming to America and Scarface.
Recovering from opioid addiction can require medication, or horses
VIDEO
June 13, 2017 - Jeff started taking Suboxone, a prescription drug taken daily to reduce opioid dependence. He also tried 12-step programs. His parents said they poured money into rehab programs across the state, but during a nearly 8-year period, Jeff relapsed again and again ... "If you are not present around horses, they disengage, right?" Lapin asked. "If you are not present around a goat, they are going to bite you. They're going to nibble on your clothes." When a client is focused on the "here and now" on the farm, the staff said it can be easier to work through whatever is fueling the addiction.
