THE RIR MUSIC FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 2-4,2012

THE RIR MUSIC FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 2-4,2012
Venue Location: C.B. Smith Park 900 N. Flamingo Rd. Pembroke Pines, FL 33028




It's a Recovery Palooza , minus the drugs and alcohol, but add meetings and fellowship! RIR Music Fest is a campout for ALL people in recovery or supporters of recovery.

15 bands over 3 days along with:

The RIR Band - Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge), Liberty Devitto (Billy Joel) , Christine Ohlman(Saturday Night Live Band), Ricky Byrd(Joan Jett and the Blackhearts),Kasim Sulton(Todd Rundgren and Utopia), Richie Supa (Aerosmith and Richie Sambora) and Woody Giessmann (The Del Fuegos). Along with some very special guests to be announced.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Early Bird Ticket Sales

No Tickets Will Be Sold At Gate

You Must Have A Ticket To Enter

To Buy Tickets Just Click On Link

Three Day Ticket Click Link

$60.00 Click To Order 3 Day Ticket


Two Day Ticket Click Link

$40.00 Click To Order 2 Day Ticket


RIR Music Festival November 2-4, 2012.

If your planning on RV camping or camping at CB Smith Park. There is only a limited amount of spots. Book them now by calling Phone: 954-357-5170.


3 Days of Sober and Clean Fun



RIR Band-Mark Stein, Liberty Devitto ,Christine Ohlman,Ricky Byrd, Kasim Sulton, and Richie Supa

RIR Music Festival Schedule

9AM- 10PM Friday November 2, 2012:

9 AM- Recovery Speaker
10:00 AM -Full Range
12:00 PM- Jimmy Stowe & the Stowaways
2:00 PM -Johnny B. and The Road Dogs
4:00 PM - Sooner or Later
7:00 PM - Keep Coming Bac
9:00 PM - Recovery Speaker
9AM- 10PM Saturday November 3, 2012:
8AM -Recovery Speaker
9:00 AM- Thrown Alive
11:00 PM - Black Finger
1:00 PM -The Chillbillies
3:00 PM- Selfish Steam
5:30 PM- Recovery Speaker
7:00 PM RIR Band Featuring -
Mark Stein(Vanilla Fudge)
Liberty Devitto(Billy Joel)
Christine Ohlman(Saturday Night Live Band)
Ricky Byrd (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts)
Kasim Sulton(Todd Rundgren and Utopia)
Richie Supa(Aerosmith and Richie Sambora)
9AM - 2PM - Sunday November 4, 2012:
8AM- Recovery Speaker -
9:30 -Open Mic Talent Show
Solo Acoustic Sets By:
12:PM - Richie Supa
12:30 PM- Ricky Byrd
1PM -Kasim Sulton
1:30 PM Count Down and Closing Ceremonies

Kerlikowske: Addiction is a Disease, Not a Moral Failure

By Join Together Staff | June 11, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction,Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Recovery & Treatment

Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure, according to Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He is scheduled to speak about addiction and drug control policy Monday at the Betty Ford Center in California.

He will call for more alternatives to current drug policy, including early intervention through health care, better access to treatment, more support during recovery, and effective public education, The Desert Sun reports. “Recovery is this long-term, lifelong process, with its own set of challenges and its own needs — and yet we fail to highlight that process,” he told the newspaper in an interview.

In 2010, 23 million people aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Of these, 2.6 million received treatment at a specialty facility.

Kerlikowske also will call for a review of laws that can add to the challenges of recovery, such as barriers that prevent many minor drug offenders from obtaining housing and federal student aid. His goal is to curb the growing number of prison inmates, many of whom are coping with drug abuse, while reducing the $50 billion cost of incarcerating them.

Kerlikowske will be joined by U.S. House Representative Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs, who has been raising awareness about prescription drug abuse. Bono Mack, who co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, has introduced legislation that would revise Food and Drug Administration drug classifications to ensure that drugs containing controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride would be prescribed only for sever

Medication for Alcoholism: An Expanding Field

By Celia Vimont | June 12, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol,Healthcare & Treatment


Many people struggling with alcohol dependence who could benefit from medication are not receiving it, according to an expert who spoke at the recent American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

“Antidepressant prescribing is 100 to 200 times as great as prescriptions for medications approved to treat alcohol dependence, despite the fact that the prevalence of disorders for which antidepressants are prescribed—major and minor depression and anxiety disorders—is only two to three times that of alcohol dependence,” says Henry Kranzler, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at the Treatment Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.

The reasons why medications to treat alcoholism are not more widely prescribed are complex. A main factor is that pharmaceutical companies and physicians have been afraid to deal with alcohol-dependent patients because they are concerned about the potential for out-of-control drinking to result in liability, for example, if a patient under treatment drives under the influence and has an accident, he says. Some doctors, as well as patients and their family members, also believe that alcoholism is not a suitable target for medication because, in their view, it only substitutes dependence on one substance for another.

Medication also may not be offered to many people with alcohol dependence because they are treated exclusively by non-medical personnel, such as counselors, Dr. Kranzler added.

Currently, three drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat alcoholism: disulfiram (Antabuse), naltrexone (ReVia and Vivitrol) and acamprosate (Campral). “These drugs all exert modest effects,” notes Dr. Kranzler. Another drug that is prescribed off-label for alcoholism is topiramate (Topamax), which is approved to treat certain types of seizures and to prevent migraines. Topamax appears to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain caused by chronic drinking. Unlike treatments currently approved for alcoholism, it has been shown to be effective in people who are still drinking. However, it can cause side effects such as memory and thinking problems, as well as sedation.

Lundbeck, a Danish pharmaceutical company, has submitted anapplication for approval by the European Medicines Agency of the medication nalmefene to be used on an as-needed basis to reduce heavy drinking, according to Dr. Kranzler. “This is a novel approach and could have an impact on treatment throughout the European Union and possibly the U.S.,” he adds.

Last year, the company announced that nalmefene showed promising results in three clinical trials in Denmark. The drug can be used in patients who are still drinking.

“There are a number of companies in the United States and Europe that are developing novel compounds to treat alcohol dependence,” Dr. Kranzler says. “As we learn more about the neurobiology and genetics of alcohol dependence, it will be possible to identify novel mechanisms through which to intervene pharmacologically.”

This is an exciting time in the treatment of alcoholism, because the field of medication treatment for alcohol dependence is expanding into the arena of personalized medicine, he says. “There is growing interest in the use of a patient’s genetic variation to predict the response to specific medications,” he points out. “However, these findings are not yet ready for widespread clinical implementation. Additional research is required to allow them to be widely applied.”

Even with new medications, counseling should still be an important part of alcohol dependence treatment, Dr. Kranzler observes. “However, the personnel who are trained to provide counseling are not widely enough available to use this as the only model for treatment,” he adds. “There appears to be a role for medication combined with brief interventions that focus on promoting adherence to the medication and can be delivered in a primary care setting.”

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL FROM LIVINGRIN!

How many people can we help with $40,000? Our thanks to everyone who helped us achieve a high-achieving Ride for Recovery Accomplishing our mission with   Hundreds of Riders on the sunny two-state Poker Run and Scores of families at the afternoon picnic   Fundraising through the Ride Raffle (inspired by a new Harley-Davidson Wide Glide)   More than $40,000 in proceeds dedicated to patient programs and charitable care   Thanks to corporate sponsors, program advertisers, raffle ticket buyers, staff, riders and event visitors.  It was a Priceless Opportunity to deliver a message about the ways to enjoy life and express individuality without alcohol and drugs, including reports from KYW Newsradio, Bucks County Courier-Times and more.   A few long-sleeve Ride T-shirts (and some cool-weather hoodies) are in the Ride Store.   For a review of the event and Photo Gallery: Livengrin's Ride Wrapup       Congratulations to our Ride for Recovery Raffle Winners!   Grand Harley/Cash Prize  -  Martin S., Philadelphia   2nd Prize    $1,000 - Aggie W., Philadelphia   3rd Prize    $500 - Chris G., Langhorne   Missed getting your Free Rider Portrait? If you had your photo taken but didn't get the souvenir, your framed photo is available for pickup at Admissions Reception, Bensalem To Learn More Livengrin Ride Wrapup   Support the Foundation The 2012 Ride is made possible, in part, by  generous support from: Jos. Jingoli & Sons, Inc. Parx DVL, Inc. Brown's ShopRite Fulton Bank Emilie House Rob's Automotive Kutak Rock Stanley Marvel Inc. Bucks Co. Cleaning US Foods Guardian Restoration Newfound Freedom Barb's Harley-Davidson Hank Gerald.com Clarksburg Inn Agio Brand Solutions Bedminster Building Co Fun Center Power Sports

During its 45 years of service, well more than 120,000 people have come to Livengrin to learn how to be healthy, sober and a part of their families, work and communities again.  You can play a role in a person's success story - make a contribution, volunteer, and tell someone about the help and hope to be found at Livengrin.  There's information, guidance and much more to learn throughout our website.

Fruit Fly Study May Provide Clues to Human Alcohol Dependence

By Join Together Staff | March 16, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol,Research & Treatment

Male fruit flies spurned by females are more likely to turn to food soaked in alcohol than their male counterparts who successfully mate, according to a study that may provide clues about humanalcohol dependence.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, let one group of male fruit flies mate with available females, while another group of males mingled with females who had already mated, and were not interested in the males’ advances. After four days, the flies in both groups were able to feed from glass tubes that contained either yeast and sugar, or yeast, sugar and alcohol. The male flies that could not mate drank the alcohol mixture about 70 percent of the time, compared with about 50 percent of males who had mated, The New York Times reports.

The study found a strong link between levels of a brain chemical called neuropeptide F, or NPF, and the fruit flies’ appetite for alcohol. When NPF levels were low, alcohol consumption was high, and high levels of NPF were correlated with low levels of alcohol consumption.

NPF in fruit flies is thought to be similar to a brain chemical in humans called neuropeptide Y, or NPY, according to the article.
This study suggests the development of drugs that enhance the activity of NPY might be useful in treating alcohol dependence, said George Koob, Professor of Neurobiology and Addiction at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

“The study implies that it is this system that goes haywire in addiction, and that it’s very sensitive to stress,” he told the newspaper. “For instance, after you lose a loved one, or a relationship has crashed, you get dysphoric, your NPY goes down, and this provides a strong urge to drink a lot — whether you’re a mammal or a fruit fly.”

The study appears in the journal Science.

Adapting 12-Step Programs For Teenagers

By Celia Vimont | June 1, 2012 | 6 Comments | Filed in Addiction, Recovery,Young Adults & Youth


Twelve-step programs can be extremely helpful for teens who are struggling with addiction or who are on the road to becoming addicted, but they are more useful if they are adapted to the particular needs of adolescents, according to an expert on teenage addiction.

“These programs were developed for adults, and teenagers are not little adults—they are in a totally different developmental stage,” says Steven Jaffe, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Emory University, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, in Atlanta.

Dr. Jaffe, who has spent the past 25 years working to modify 12-step programs to make them developmentally meaningful for teenagers, spoke about his work at the recent American Society of Addiction Medicine conference. “These programs are free, they’re everywhere, they provide big brothers and sisters as sponsors, and they offer recovering friends,” he notes. “That’s really important, because if teens go back to their friends who use drugs or alcohol, they will start using again, too.”

Often, teens who are treated for substance use disorders are simply told to go to 12-step meetings. “You can’t just tell them to go, and leave it at that,” Dr. Jaffe says. “They have tremendous anxietyabout going, so you need to link them with a sponsor who will take them to a meeting, or else they won’t go.”

Just getting them to the meetings may not be enough, however. Some of the basic concepts of 12-step programs may be troublesome for teenagers, according to Dr. Jaffe. The first step talks about being powerless over drugs and alcohol, but the word “powerless” can be a big turn-off for teens, he observes. “The goal of a teen is to have power, and they think, ‘Who wants to be part of a group that’s powerless?’”

Instead, Dr. Jaffe encourages them to think about getting clean and sober in order to enhance their power. “It’s the same step, but it’s rephrased and reemphasized to make it developmentally appropriate,” he says. “I tell them, flunking out of school, being thrown out of the house and being arrested as a result of drugs or alcohol is not powerful.”

Another concept in 12-step programs that teens can have trouble with is surrender. “Many teens, especially girls, have found themselves in very vulnerable situations when they are drunk or high, and the last thing they want to do is surrender. I tell them if they get clean and sober, they’ll be strong, and never have to put themselves in a position where bad things like that can happen.”

Dr. Jaffe developed two workbooks he uses with teenagers to make 12-step programs more meaningful to them. “So often, teens will tell me the negative consequences of using drugs and alcohol one day, and the next day they’ll deny it. So I have them write down the consequences in the workbook, so they can’t deny it the next day.” It takes one hour to complete the Adolescent Substance Abuse Intervention Workbook, which is then presented to a counselor individually or at a group. The Step Workbook for Adolescent Chemical Dependency structures the working of the first five steps.

Dr. Jaffe can be contacted about his work with teens and 12-step programs at srjaffe@bellsouth.net.