12 STEPPING TO RECOVERY DAILY THOUGHT!!

STEP 1
 Again that's right we will be going over this step until we truly get it! Thirty two years it took me to finally realize I was powerless and my life was past the point of unmanageable.  A couple of outstanding bench warrants, numerous court summons, my credit score a zero, knots in my stomach every time their was a knock at the door, family and friends wouldn't listen to a word I had to say, everywhere I went fear, anxiety, depression and impending doom went with me! I hated me, my life and no matter how hard I tried to fix things I just made it worse.  One day in the basement of a home I was about to be evicted from I fell to my knees and began to communicate with GOD crying uncontrollably I asked HIM that if you truly are there put an end to my life, I cant do this anymore.  I was in that basement surrounded by garbage and trash for I don't know how long. I had reached my breaking point and GOD heard me!  The LORD was patiently waiting for me to submit and admit I was powerless.  That's when you truly realize there is no way you can do life in your own strength!  When enough is enough and life is too much, SURRENDER, hand it over to him and he will carry you through.

19 Year Old Briton with Alcohol Destroyed Liver Doesn’t Meet Transplant Guidelines

y John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

Only a couple of weeks ago Britons debated organ transplant guidelines after reading the story of 22 year old Gary Reinbach who was denied a liver transplant, and so died of alcoholic cirrhosis.


Now, a 19 year old out of Ulster Northern Ireland, Gareth Anderson, lies in King's College Hospital London, suffering from total liver failure; the result of a mammoth binge drinking session over the first weekend of August. Doctors say that without an organ transplant the teen will die within 2 weeks, but according to transplant guidelines which prohibit the consumption of alcohol for 6 months prior to a transplant, he is ineligible for the transplant waiting list.


Anderson become ill after downing 30 cans of beer over a weekend binge drinking party.


Because available livers for transplant never meet demand, the National Health Service (NHS) has adopted certain guidelines that help doctors with the impossible task of determining which patients get lifesaving operations and which patients don’t.


Gareth’s father, Brian Anderson, says that the guidelines were written for older alcoholics and shouldn’t apply to his son, who is not an alcoholic. He has taken the matter to the courts and to politicians, hoping to circumvent guidelines that he does not consider fair in this case. He describes the urgency he feels, saying, “I'm dealing with a timebomb now. I've basically two weeks to save Gareth…In my opinion Gareth doesn't fit in with the six-month policy.”


Gareth has never before required medical treatment for alcohol use


Family members had pressured Northern Ireland Health Minster, Michael McGimpsey to act on behalf of Gareth, but McGimpsey indicated he could not intervene in a health matter that required the professional judgment of doctors.


The requirement for 6 months of abstinence is only a guideline, and one that doctors can overlook, but an NHS Blood and Transplant Department spokesperson defended the use of the guideline saying, “it (the 6 month guideline) is one that has been adopted following publication in medical journals from various doctors who have recommended it as suitable practice. It is recognized and in use around the world." The spokesperson said that although doctors can disregard the guideline, that they must also, “take into consideration other potential liver transplant patients who are waiting as well."


Dr. Roger Williams, a UK liver specialist, has weighed in on the public debate over the boy’s case, saying that 6 month guidelines should not apply in cases like this.


Brian Anderson says the he feels optimistic about getting Gareth onto the transplant waiting list and says that his son is “doing well” in hospital.



Read more: 19 Year Old Briton with Alcohol Destroyed Liver Doesn’t Meet Transplant Guidelines

UK Police Use Special Up-Nose Flashlights to Identify Cocaine Users

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

Scottish police are using special flashlights to identify people who have been using cocaine.


Police officers and club bouncers in Paisley Scotland are working together to shine a light on those that have recently been abusing class A drugs, such as cocaine, by issuing those working the door at nightclubs with specially designed flashlights that illuminate cocaine in the nasal passage.


Police and club officials shine the flashlight beams up the noses of patrons seeking entry into a club. If a patron has recently been using cocaine, the hairs in the nose and the area around the nose glow a bright green.


People testing positive for drugs are denied entry into clubs and are searched for drugs by police officers.


Sergeant Greg Dinnie of the Strathclyde Police said that the torches are a non intrusive way to identify people who’ve been using drugs, saying, "That gives us the power to see if they've got any further substances or it lets stewards refuse entry and protect others enjoying a safe night out."


Cocaine use is one the rise in Scotland, a result of greatly falling prices over the last decade. A gram of cocaine in Scotland now costs as little as 30 pounds.



Read more: UK Police Use Special Up-Nose Flashlights to Identify Cocaine Users

Chinese Government Holds Half Million Drug Users in Slave Labor Camps

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

In a scathing report, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch has accused the Chinese government of widespread and institutionalized abuses against drug addicts. According to the report, at any given time a half million or more Chinese drug addicts are held in detention ‘rehabilitation camps’ and many are forced to work without pay, denied medical services, abused and offered no addiction treatment. Treatment durations begin at 2 years, but can be longer, at the discretion of the local officials.


Drug users are sent to the camps at the discretion of local police. Drug users receive no charge, trial or opportunity to defend themselves against accusations. The majority of the half million Chinese in the camps are heroin addicts.


Although treatment is supposed to occur at ‘community based rehabilitation centers’ treatment experts on the ground in China say they’ve yet to see any such facility in use. Wang Xiaoguang, the director of Daytop (an American treatment organization) in Yunnan Province described the addiction clinics as business ventures run by local police – where drug addicts are sent out to work at local farms or factories for the benefit of their captors, and where treatment services are “nonexistent”. Wang told reporters, “I don’t think this is an ideal situation for people trying to recover from drug addiction.”


Prior to 2008, drug addicts were sent to forced labor camps with other criminals. The passing of the 2008 Anti-Drug Law was supposed to improve treatment conditions by ending the practice of labor camp detention and calling for officials to pay for any work done by camp inmates. In reality, the law has simply induced officials to rename the practice of drug user detention and to ignore any calls for substantive change – and under the provisions of the new law, officials can now remand drug users for up to 7 years.


Additional charges from the Human Rights Watch report include:
Denying detained drug users medical care – even those with serious illnesses like tuberculosis or AIDS
Physical abuse, including beatings and fatal beatings


Joe Amon, Human Rights Watch’s director of health and human rights called for the Chinese govt. to respect the human rights of the Chinese drug users, and declared, “Warehousing large numbers of drug users and subjecting them to forced labor and physical abuse is not rehabilitation.”



Read more: Chinese Government Holds Half Million Drug Users in Slave Labor Camps

12 STEPPING TO RECOVERY DAILY THOUGHT!!

STEP 1
      You know your ready when you have come to realize my way of life and what I have done with my life is to some degree meaningless and self centered.  ME ME ME was my way of thinking and it did not matter what I had to do to satisfy my wants.  In my addiction I was such a helpless fool, I got this and when something went wrong I used every excuse in the book to say it was everyone elses fault.  No matter how hard I tried to pretend everything was ok and this was life, boy was I wrong! The sad part was I was missing what life was all about and I was living way below my potential. That is why step one is so important to me, it helped me realize I wasn't alone and that there was a GOD out there who created me for so much more!  Coming to the realization what you have done until now was selfishness and foolishness will be the beginning of step one for you! LET GO AND LET GOD

Recovery is a new beginning.

Recovery can be a time of great personal fulfillment and growth. But it is a constantly evolving period that requires work to maintain.

By abstaining from alcohol and drugs, people in recovery can regain their physical health and emotional well-being.

Over time, your loved one will return to being a happier person, a dedicated student or employee, and a more loving family member.

Inviting the recovering person to talk about his or her experiences can be quite supportive – here are some examples:

• I'd be interested in hearing how your meetings are going.
• Are the coordinators helpful?

• Are you finding that recovery is a struggle for you?
• Do you like the other participants?

Moms Who Use Nicotine Patches More Likely to Have Colicky Babies, Study Finds

By Join Together Staff | February 22, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Parenting &Tobacco

Babies born to mothers who smoke or use nicotine patches during pregnancy are more likely to have colic, a new study published in the March issue of Pediatrics finds.

The study found that exposure to nicotine, either from the mothers smoking cigarettes or from nicotine replacement therapy, was linked to a significantly increased risk of colic in their babies, ranging from 30 to 60 percent, HealthDay reports.

Researchers looked at data based on more than 63,000 interviews with mothers, who participated in the Netherlands-based study, with interviews conducted during pregnancy and six months after the moms gave birth to their babies.

The findings concluded that 8 percent of the babies had colic. About 74 percent of the moms didn’t smoke; 24 percent reported that they did smoke; 2 percent of the moms said they smoked and used nicotine replacement therapy, while 0.3 percent of the women used nicotine replacement therapy alone.

“The theory is that there are nicotine receptors in the GI [gastrointestinal] system and nicotine receptors that alter serotonin and these alterations affect the babies after birth, causing colic,” said Dr. Jennifer Wu, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Dr. Wu added that the causes of colic aren’t well understood, nor are the reasons why nicotine might raise the risk of colic. Prior research has also shown smoking to be associated with colic. However, these studies do not prove cause and effect.

NA & AA Meeting GURU John !!

Recovery connections will feature a new addition to our resource network.  Going to a meeting for the first time can sure be unsettling and frightening.  Once there the last thing we need is a room full of obnoxious abusive morons making our recovery more difficult.  John our meeting GURU has created a rating system one to ten stars, ten being the best.  John has been in the rooms for 30 years plus so he knows the importance of meetings and where you can go and find success in your 12 stepping journey.  John is also AA only so we will need a NA GURU.  If interested contact Recovery Connections at recoveryfriends@gmail.com.
Please Remember,  these are GURU JOHNS opinions based on his experiences and our intention is not to offend any of these groups but to help newcomers find a place where they will find acceptence and success.

The Keys
700 Rodgers Rd. Bristol Pa. Mondays at 12
GURU JOHN rates a 5 There can be alot of bad attitudes!

Reality
1946 Welsh Rd. and Busleton Ave. Phila.
In the hall adjacent to the church(St. Luke Espispocal)! Mon. Threw Fri 1 to 2
GURU JOHN rates this a 9 ,very welcoming group open good place to start!

TWELVE STEPPING TO RECOVERY DAILY THOUGHT!

STEP ONE
         You are ready for this step when you get to the point of being tired of being sick and tired.  My life reached that point nine years ago this June. I was in my basement and I cried out to GOD for the first time in 20 years and no it was not all better just like that.  Unmanageable was a understatement, once surrendered my whole world was blown apart. well at least the life I was living.  Once you are broken and beaten you will discover step one is a necessity.

Freedom House New Jersey

Effective residential treatment programs in halfway houses in New Jersey

Have you or has someone close to you been devastated by alcohol or drugs? Call
908-537-6043 for more information about Freedom House’s long-term residential drug and alcohol treatment programs or click hereto fill out our contact form.

From our humble beginnings as a 6-bed facility in 1986 to our present day 73-bed program throughout five locations in New Jersey, Freedom House’s long term residential treatment services have helped over 1,500 people rediscover the Faith, Hope, and Trust they needed to regain control over their lives. It is not an easy program, nor is it a 28-day rehab. In fact, Freedom House provides long term residential treatment for those that did not succeed at maintaining sobriety. We demand strict adherence to our policies while offering life skills training such as job searching, budgeting money, and nutritious cooking instruction. Our program is overwhelmingly successful in bringing about lasting drug rehab and/oralcoholism recovery.

Freedom House accepts residents from our home state of New Jersey as well as all other states across the country. Compensation for a resident’s stay with us may be funded privately or by means contacts for services through Freedom House Foundation, or other means if applicable. Freedom House’s three innovative model programs include:

• Long Term Residential Treatment for Men — Based in a halfway house in New Jersey rather than a hospital, we provide a comprehensive drug-alcohol rehab program using reality therapy, behavior modification and positive peer pressure, as well as individual and group counseling and life skills training.

• Transitional Living Programs for Men —In this peer-driven model, residents are located in home-like settings and live with a small group of other men as they prepare to integrate back into society. All room, board, and transportation to and from work, court appearances, and other necessary functions are provided.

• Transitional Living Programs for Women — Designed for women that have already been through a long-term residential drug and alcohol treatment facility, we teach them life skills and provide them with a case manager that will oversee their stay and work with the courts to reunite them with their children.

Have you or has someone close to you been devastated by alcohol or drugs? Call
908-537-6043 for more information or click hereto fill out our contact form.

Freedom House’s New Jersey drug rehab and alcoholism treatment center, as well as our transitional living programs, are run by a dedicated and caring staff that is on call 24/7. Additionally, unlike typical transitional living programs or halfway houses, we provide long term residential treatment in a halfway house setting. Our hard work and noble effort has earned us our 3rd consecutive 3-year accreditation from CARF(Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). This unique distinction is noted by ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine).

 

Although we provided $291,012 in free long term residential treatment to the community in 2009, as a nonprofit we need to depend on residents being able to pay a portion of their net income as an investment in their long term drug rehab or alcoholism recovery. Even though our Freedom House Foundation actively seeks donations from benefactors, solicits grants from private foundations and large corporations, and runs a series of high-end special fundraising events throughout the year, it is not enough to allow us to serve everyone that seeks our help.

For more specific, statistical information click here to contact us or call 908-537-6043..

Do it today to ensure a better tomorrow!

New Jersey Division Of Addiction Services

Hotlines, Helplines and Complaints

Hotlines and Helplines

COUNCIL ON COMPULSIVE GAMBLING OF NEW JERSEY
Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.800gambler.org

This service provides 24 hour information to help compulsive gamblers and referrals to self-help groups and counseling services.

 

 

How to File a Complaint About a New Jersey Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Call 1-877-712-1868 (Toll Free) or
During normal business hours call 609-292-5760
To register a complaint regarding any substance abuse treatment facility in New Jersey, you may CALL TOLL FREE at any time to leave a message or you may call during normal business hours, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and ask to speak to a Complaints Investigator. 
If you wish to remain anonymous, you may.  However, it is preferable that you leave a first name and phone number so that a Complaints Investigator may contact you with any questions.  Your anonymity will be protected.  Your name will not be revealed to the facility unless you give permission to do so, and we will not leave a message on your phone unless you indicate that it is OK for someone to leave a message. 

 

TWELVE STEPPING TO RECOVERY DAILY THOUGHT!

STEP ONE
Admitting you are powerless over your life does not mean you are weak it means your strong and courageous.One of the toughest critics in life is myself ,and my way of dealing with myself was to run and hide and self medicate.Admitting you cant handle certain times in life and admitting there has to be a better way and you are powerless is the beginning of humility when you finally get there then step one begins.

Anthrax Tainted Heroin Kills 3 in Scotland

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

Six Scottish heroin users have now contracted Anthrax from contaminated heroin – three have so far died and the remaining three are responding well to treatment in hospital.

Anthrax is a deadly bacterial infection that most commonly afflicts hoofed animals, such as cattle, in Asia and Africa. Humans can contract the infection by inhaling the spores, or most commonly, through contact with the skin. Anthrax is not generally spread person to person.

Health officials suspect that a batch of heroin now in circulation may have been cut with infected bone meal, which is sometimes added to pure heroin to dilute the powder. Heroin is often processed in areas of the world which have more frequent outbreaks of anthrax infected cattle.

Dr. Syed Ahmed, a public health medicine expert, warned heroin users to be vigilant, saying, “The possible presence of a batch of heroin contaminated with anthrax makes drug injecting even riskier and even more dangerous. I urge all drug injecting heroin users to be extremely alert and to seek urgent medical advice if they experienced an infection."

Glasgow police and health officials at the NHS say they’re working to root out the source of the contaminated heroin.

Read more: Anthrax Tainted Heroin Kills 3 in Scotland 

Afghani Town Banishes Drug Users – Burns Homes of Dealers

Village elders in Ghazni Province Afghanistan have enacted edicts that demand the banishment from town of drug users, and called for villagers to burn down the homes of drug dealers who don’t heed warnings to stop plying their wares.

by John LeeGoogle+ Twitter Facebook

Desperate to end the cycle of heroin addiction and despair that had plagued the men in Ghazni Province in remote Eastern Afghanistan, tribal elders called for draconian new measures intended to deter use and trafficking.

Under the new measures:

• Villagers using drugs are given a deadline to quit and those that cannot or will not quit by that date are evicted from the village and not allowed back into the town until they can prove their abstinence.

• Sellers of drugs are first given a warning, and then a hefty fine (about $2000 USD). Should a drug dealer continue to peddle after getting fined, the villagers gather together and as a third strike penalty, burn down the offender’s home.

Tribal elder Mohammad Razaq claims the strict measures are necessary, saying, "Heroin addiction among our young people was destroying us. This destruction was getting worse and worse every day and we felt that we had no choice but to deal with it in this way.

So far, more than 200 addicts have been evicted from the village.

Although the local police chief applauds the villagers for taking things into their own hands, the head of Ghazni’s Provincial hospital, Dr. Ismail Ibrahimzai, disagrees with the idea, saying, "It is not possible to cure addiction by force, we have to encourage addicts to come to the treatment centres when they are ready. If there is no support network for them, and no health care, suddenly being forced to stop the drugs can be life-threatening."

He says that treatment centers are available for the estimated 20 000 mostly men but also women and children addicted to heroin in the province.

Read more: Afghani Town Banishes Drug Users – Burns Homes of Dealers 

Twelve Stepping to Recovery Daily Thought !

STEP ONE !
      Surrender, and I am powerless to control myself , are you kidding me.When I began my journey to recovery facing the first step was hard for me to put my mind and heart into it especially when you told me to give my will to a  higher power! God and Jesus are the Higher Powers and are the ones I needed to give my life to because they are real and they will actually help you when you get out of the way and truly stop trying to run your life the way you think it should go. Realizing in your addiction that living your life the way you have been living it ,the pain sorrow fear deceit and every other thing we do to get through the day is not what this world or your life is all about.Step one is a tough one but it works and it is absolutely neccessary , if we are to begin that journey to recovery. Ask Jesus to help forgive and guide you He will!

Florida Lawmakers Propose Making Synthetic Drug Crimes Third-Degree Felony

By Join Together Staff | February 15, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inCommunity Related, Drugs, Legislation & Prevention

Legislators in Florida have proposed making crimes related to the manufacture, delivery or sale of synthetic drugs such as “bath salts” and “K2” a third-degree felony.

Last year, the state legislature banned several forms of synthetic drugs. Since then, chemists have been able to come up with similar formulas that evade the law, The Miami Herald reports.

“We will not allow chemists who are altering the components of these dangerous synthetic drugs to circumvent state law,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release. “Prompt action by the legislature will help protect our communities from the growing threat of synthetic drug abuse.”

The new measure “allows us as law enforcement to be one step ahead of the chemists for a short period of time,” said Assistant Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Jim Madden.

The proposed legislation will make it a third-degree felony for an individual to “sell, manufacture, or deliver, or possess with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver” new forms of synthetic bath salts and synthetic marijuana, or K2.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the number of calls to centers regarding exposure to bath salts rose from 304 in 2010, to 6,138 in 2011. In January 2012, centers received 228 calls related to bath salts.

DEA Targets Large Industry Players in Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse

By Join Together Staff | February 15, 2012 | 4 Comments | Filed in Community Related, Drugs, Government, Legal & Prevention

When the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently charged a major health care company and four pharmacies with violating their licenses to sell controlled drugs, it marked the most aggressive efforts by the agency to combat prescription drug abuse, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The DEA said Cardinal Health had an unusually high number of shipments of controlled painkillers to four pharmacies. The agency suspended Cardinal Health’s controlled substance license at its distribution center in Lakeland, Florida. The center serves 2,500 pharmacies in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. After the DEA suspended the company’s license, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the DEA’s suspension order.

The agency also moved to suspend four pharmacies in Sanford, Florida, including two CVS pharmacies, from selling controlled substances.

A federal judge has granted CVS a temporary restraining order, which will allow the company to continue to sell controlled prescription drugs at two pharmacies in Florida. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said it was likely CVS will be able to show that the DEA did not establish the “imminent danger to public health” that is needed to suspend pharmacies’ registrations.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the DEA said the pharmacies were dispensing “staggering” amounts of oxycodone. The agency also said in 2011, Cardinal shipped enough oxycodone to Sanford to give 59 of the pills to every man, woman, and child there.

The DEA’s strategy targets not only individual doctors and patients, but also retail chains and suppliers. The agency wants these companies to closely monitor where their drugs are going, and to quickly act on signs they are being diverted.

Both Cardinal and CVS deny any wrongdoing, and say they did react quickly when they saw signs of problems with controlled drugs. Cardinal said it needs better guidance from the DEA on how it should police the pharmacies and hospitals it distributes drugs to.

Parents Key in Fighting Synthetic Drugs, Experts Say

By Join Together Staff | February 16, 2012 | 2 Comments | Filed in Drugs,Parenting, Prevention & Youth

Parents are a key part of the fight against the emerging threat of synthetic drugs, said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy. He spoke at a working group session Thursday on synthetic drugs, which was co-hosted by The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

“Synthetic drugs like ‘Spice,’ ‘K2,’ and ‘bath salts’ are a serious threat to the health and safety of young people throughout America,” Kerlikowske said in a news release. “We will continue to coordinate a comprehensive government-wide response, but we cannot do this alone. Parents and adult influencers must understand the serious threat these drugs pose and act today to talk to teens about the serious health and safety consequences of drug use – in whichever form it may come.”

The session included high level officials from government agencies, as well as representatives from the private sector, who met to discuss how to coordinate the Federal, state and local response to these drugs.

The Partnership at Drugfree.org introduced a new information kit for parents and adult influencers, which contains tools to help them talk with teens about synthetic drugs, and how to recognize the warning signs of use. The kit includes a slidecast about these drugs and provides information on what to look for, their street names, and what their effects are.

The kit is available at The Partnership at Drugfree.org website and is part of a “Parents360″ community education program funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.