PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2013   Saturday, September 21 Beautiful Penn's Landing, Philadelphia  Have you registered your Team? Thought of a good name? Given your team ideas for fundraising?         We're here to help you as we have helped hundreds of teams before you.            Ask your associates, family members, and friends to join your team and to learn more about why we walk. Spread the word that recovery is real and alive! Do your part to fight stigma. Recovery Walks! 2013 is the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area's largest National Recovery Month event.         Most important for your team to remember is why teams collect donations. Those donations, large and small, make it possible for us to continue to provide recovery support services, as we have since 1997.         Our recovery community centers and a training center provide sites for training, support services, and a place to volunteer for committees. Trained recovery coaches, certified peer specialists and mentors provide tools for sustaining recovery; financial planning; employment consulting; health, education and housing information and encourage participation in community service.           Those who benefit reclaim lost lives and improve their well-being and the well-being of the community while giving invaluable assistance to others seeking to access and sustain long-term recovery.          For help with your team, or to ask a question, contact Annika by clicking here or calling 215-788-3738 x 110

Team Captains: You Can Win This Award!            We are pleased to announce that PRO-ACT will award a prize at Recovery Walks 2013 to the Team Captain whose team raises the most in donations. They will earn: The rare honor of throwing out the first pitch at the 2014 National Recovery Month Baseball Game A pre-game tour of Citizens Bank Park for four people Four complimentary field-level seats Their picture on Phanavision An electronic disc showing them throwing the first pitch in September 2014          The deadline for the winning team donations total is the day of the Walk, September 21. The winning total will include all donations made up to and including the day of the Walk.               The names of the winning team captain and team will be announced from the stage on September 21.    REGISTER NOW FOR THE WALK Go to our Recovery Walks Web Site to register yourself or your team, to make a donation, sign up for Honor Guard, or to see a video of last year's walk TEAM CAPTAINS Did you see the useful tools in our Recovery Walk Kit? Click here to see what's available and to download them

The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. 252 West Swamp Road, Unit 12 Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901 215-345-6644 www.councilsepa.org

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Ask4Recovery – 6/13/13 – How do I stay positive when the negative pull is so strong? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’..

How do I stay positive when the negative pull is so strong?

I have to be honest, I am struggling with this as we speak. It is so easy to get caught up in the victim, why me, self-pity party. Our addictions thrive off of that. Our thinking becomes skewed, self-centered, selfish, ego-centric when living in the negative. We become angry, resentful, judgmental and end up beating ourselves up. Why do we do this? Well, we have a disease. And, we are creatures of habit and pattern. Most of the messages that lie within us today were sent to us in our childhood. This becomes part of our subconscious, and about 95% of the time we are living in our subconscious. So we are working against a lot to get to that 5% level of consciousness. But, it is possible to regain consciousness. To connect with our true and authentic self that innately is positive. That self that embodies hope, patience, compassion, and love infinitely. The negativity sucks this out of us.

For me, it is important during these times to take a step back. Reflect on my current status and the amount of spiritual, emotional, mental growth that has evolved during my time in recovery. And begin discerning between my diseased mind and my healthy mind/heart. When I do this, I slow down the thought process. I allow for my higher power to enter and guide me towards doing the next best thing. Which is admitting powerlessness. Surrendering and asking for help. My disease wants me dead. Wants me stuck in negativity. I do not though. And when I am being pulled toward the negative, I have to remember all the times I was able to escape that pull. All the strength I innately have inside of me. I am deserving of everything and more. That helps me. Connecting with others helps me. Releasing the destructive thoughts helps me. I am not alone. And never have to be again. When I remember this, an attitude of gratitude takes over and a mental shift towards the positive occurs as well. It truly is a miracle.

How do you stay positive in recovery? What do you do when the negative energy comes in? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren
Ask4Recovery | June 13, 2013 at 11:52 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-55


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Walgreens Agrees to Pay $80 Million in Prescription Painkiller Settlement

By Join Together Staff | June 12, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Government, Legal, Prescription Drugs & Prevention

Walgreens on Tuesday agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties, in order to resolve allegations by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that the company violated federal rules regarding the distribution of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone.
The settlement was the largest in the DEA’s history, Reuters reports. The DEA said Walgreens, the nation’s largest drug store chain, allowed controlled substances such as oxycodone and other prescription painkillers to be diverted for abuse and illegal black market sales.
“National pharmaceutical chains are not exempt from following the law,” Mark Trouville, special agent in charge in the DEA’s Miami Field Division, said in a statement. “All DEA registrants will be held accountable when they violate the law and threaten public health and safety.”
According to the DEA, Walgreens’ Distribution Center in Jupiter, Florida was the largest supplier of oxycodone to retail pharmacies in the state. The DEA said the distribution center failed to comply with agency regulations that required it to report suspicious prescription drug orders that it received from its pharmacies.
Six retail pharmacies in Florida that received suspicious drug shipments from the Jupiter Distribution Center filled customer prescriptions that they knew, or should have known, were not for legitimate medical use, according to the DEA. As part of the settlement, the six pharmacies and the distribution center will be banned for two years from dispensing various controlled substances. Walgreens admitted it failed to uphold its obligations as a DEA registrant.
In a statement, the company said, “As part of the agreement with DEA and our continuing desire to work with DEA to combat prescription drug abuse, we have identified specific compliance measures – many of which Walgreens has already taken – to enhance our ordering processes and inventory systems, to provide our team members with the tools, training and support they need to ensure the appropriate dispensing of controlled substances and to improve collaboration across the industry.”

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HAMMERED by April Pfrogner Hammered Hammered My first sponsor was a hammer.  She defied the definition of sponsor as we know it from recovery literature. Because I had no idea what the “next right thing” was, I did whatever she told me to do. She had three years clean and sober, so to me, she knew everything. I met her while in a recovery home. She defied the rules by secretly becoming my sponsor and friend. Then I left the place at three months clean, against the advice of the director, to move into her apartment. I had a crappy job at the time and she told me I had to split the rent. I did. The woman had next to nothing but what she had, she appreciated. I felt blessed that she would trust me to live there too. She put a 10pm curfew on me and said if I broke it, I was OUT! When I whined, she told me to shut the hell up and go to a meeting. When I was bored, she found me something to do. When I lacked spirituality, she told me to pray and get my ass to church. She was there that fine day when step one “happened” to me. People thought we were lesbians because we were always together. I really didn’t give a crap. She didn’t sugar coat it. Most sponsors give “advice” nicely, as not to offend. Being offensive was this woman’s middle name. I needed it though. I was a know-it-all who knew nothing. Compliments were few and far between but when she gave them, she meant it. After a few years I moved back to my hometown. Something was going on with her and I didn’t like it. At five years clean she was slipping back into old behaviors. I got another sponsor. This woman who was a HAMMER of a sponsor, who went over and above the call of duty, relapsed. Our mutual friend called me one morning to tell me the bad news. This woman had had a spiritual awakening?! How could she just throw it all away? I was crushed to think she went back out. Situations like these remind me that I am never well enough to do without the program of recovery. The day I’m well enough will never come. I think of her when I don’t want to go to a meeting or work steps. I remember the hammer that she was, but also that she GOT hammered. She fell of the pedestal I had created for her. Her final lesson to me was that no one is immune from relapse, not even the best and brightest of the crowd. --Anonymous April Pfrogner | June 12, 2013 at 1:49 pm | Tags: Addiction, addiction recovery, addicts, Alcoholics Anonymous, Challenging Addiction, Drug, drug addict, drug addiction, drug dependence, drugs, early recovery, heroin addict, NA, Narcotics Anonymous, Recovery, Relapse prevention, Sponsorship, Substance dependence, support, Support group, Twelve-Step Program | Categories: Addiction, Fan Submissions, Recovery | URL: http://wp.me/s30O03-hammered Comment    See all comments

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Having trouble viewing this email? View as a Web Page “My son, now 24, was addicted to heroin and cocaine for a couple of years. He became addicted while a sophomore at college. By the end of his junior year…grades slipped, he lost his job…totaled his car and dropped out of school. I want to say to everyone that there is HOPE, there is SUPPORT, and there can be SUCCESS. My son has been clean for over two years…He is now involved in law enforcement and hopefully provides encouragement and support to those who are addicted that he comes across at his job.” Charlie, as posted on The Hope Share. Dear Joseph, What does Father's Day mean to you? For Charlie, Father’s Day may provide an opportunity to appreciate how far he and his son have come as a family. It’s a special time to reflect on the knowledge that addiction is treatable, and recovery is possible. We are so grateful for the help and hope you’ve given families like Charlie’s. Joseph, we hope you will express your love and support once again this holiday, in two unique ways: First, send a free Father’s Day eCard to a loved one and recognize him for being an amazing dad. Second, click below to Donate and help The Partnership at Drugfree.org be there for even more parents.

 

Thank you for your support and Happy Father’s Day.

Stephen J. Pasierb, President and CEOThe Partnership at Drugfree.org

P.S. To see read more inspiring stories like Charlie's, visit The Hope Share

P.P.S. Text DRUGFREE to 50555 and reply YES to make a one-time $10 donation to The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
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352 Park Avenue South | Ninth Floor | New York, NY 10010

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME FALL

Dear Valued Member,

I had to share this with you my Addict's Mom Family..

Shared on the Addict's Mom Facebook Group reshared with permission https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaddictsmom/

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME FALL

IF you love me let me fall all by myself. Don’t try to spread a net out to catch me, don’t throw a pillow under my ass to cushion the pain so I don’t have to feel it, don’t stand in the place I am going to land so that you can break the fall, (allowing yourself to get hurt instead of me).
Let me fall as far down as my addiction is g...oing to take me, let me walk the valley alone all by myself, let me reach the bottom of the pit....trust that there is a bottom there somewhere even if you can’t see it.

The sooner you stop saving me from myself, stop rescuing me, trying to fix my broken-ness, trying to understand me to a fault, enabling me.....The sooner you allow me to feel the loss and consequences, the burden of my addiction on my shoulders and not yours....the sooner I will arrive....and on time....just right where I need to be...me, alone all by myself in the rubble of the lifestyle I lead...resist the urge to pull me out because that will only put me back at square one.
If I am allowed to stay at the bottom and live there for a while, I am free to get sick of it on my own, free to begin to want out, free to look for a way out, and free to plan how I will climb back up to the top. In the beginning as I start to climb out....I just might slide back down, but doesn’t worry I might have to hit bottom a couple more times before I make it out safe and sound. Don’t you see?? Don’t you know?? You can’t do this for me...I have to do it for myself, but if you are always breaking the fall how am I ever supposed to feel the pain that is part of the driving force to want to get well. It is my burden to carry, not yours. I know you love me and that you mean well and a lot of what you do is because you don’t know what to do and you act from your heart and from knowledge of what is best for me....but if you truly love me, let me go my own way, make my own choices be they bad or good. Don’t clip my wings before I can learn to fly....nudge me out of your safety net....trust the process.

Where else you can find the Addict's Mom?


Just a reminder you can find the Addict's Mom on Facebook



Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/theaddictsmom/

Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/#!/addictsmom (please like there is so much power in numbers, together we can make huge changes)

Also check out our blog:

www.addictionandfamilies.org



The Addict's Mom is dedicated to helping mothers of addicts heal on their journey to becoming healthy addict's moms..



Much love,

Barbara


Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Ask4Recovery – 6/12/13 – How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery?

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Ask4Recovery – 6/12/13 – How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery? by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

How do I deal with ‘living life on life’s terms’ in recovery?

This has been a hard concept to grasp and I am learning something new about it each day. For 26 years, I lived life on MY terms. My way or the highway. I wanted things done exactly when I wanted them done. I wanted an answer exactly when I wanted an answer. I wanted control. And when things did not go my way, I went into my selfish and self-destructive thinking and engaged in some form of maladaptive behavior to disconnect and numb out. My form of control.

Now that I am no longer active in my addictions and a paradigm shift has happened in the way I perceive people, places, and things, I am beginning to live life on life’s terms. This means accepting things exactly as they are. Not resisting. Not controlling. Acknowledging my mind and my thoughts. Accepting them. Not acting impulsively, which my mind still likes to convince me to do at times. And making a choice to do the best thing I can possibly do in that moment. And most of the time, it goes against what my previous patterns and habits were. But with those previous habits I was living a life of self-destruction, sadness, anger, and disconnection. So my way was obviously not working. I now have a connection to something bigger than myself. A life force that is guiding me and connecting me to my true purpose. My reason for being here. When I was active in my addictions, I was soulless. Spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. And that all happened on ‘Lauren’s terms.’ Today, ‘Life’s terms’ is a whole lot more fun and fulfilling so I am coming back to life, one day at a time!

How do you live life on life’s terms in recovery? What has worked for you? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

P.S. Check out my friends over at http://www.sobernation.com, the #1 National Recovery Resources and Addiction Treatment Centers Database on the internet. They are spreading the message!
Ask4Recovery | June 12, 2013 at 11:03 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3wKKk-50


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Angst | Renew Everyday

Angst | Renew Everyday

 

June 12

Psalms 74:20
Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.

A new government had seemed the best solution. The overthrow had taken place a new government was installed, and then something had gone wrong. The new president sat enthroned in a palatial estate, where no one could get in to see him. The proposals of the new majority went unheeded. The oppressors had not been eradicated, they had merely changed faces and places. The people were betrayed, and the cruelty continued.

 

Broken promises. They litter the land of most countries. Trust is offered, then it is trampled on. A man or woman's word is only as good as the individual chooses to make it. Thank God that He is constant and true. His covenants are eternal. God never turns from His people, and they never need to fear that they will be forgotten. Let us work in our lives to copy God's commitment to covenant in the promises that we make.

 

Prayer: Make my word was good as the finest gold, dear Lord. Help me to accept the fact that I am lied to each day, and to forgive those who offer up the lies. Amen.

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Scientists: Research Could Lead to Lower-Dose Painkillers, Reducing Dependence

By Join Together Staff | June 11, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs & Research

A team of scientists at the University of Michigan say they have identified a new approach to pain therapy that could lead to lower-dose painkillers, which may reduce the risk of dependence.
Patients taking common painkillers such as hydrocodone or morphine tend to develop a tolerance for the medications, which leads them to take higher doses for pain relief. This increases the risk of harmful side effects and dependency, HealthCanal reports.
Opioid painkillers used for moderate to severe pain bind to receptors on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to prevent pain. “We have for the first time discovered compounds that bind to an alternative site on the nerve opioid receptors and that have significant potential to enhance the drug’s positive impact without increasing negative side effects,” researcher John Traynor, PhD, said in a news release. The compounds potentially could work with the body’s own natural painkillers to manage pain, he stated.
He noted the research is still in the early stages. “This opens the door to developing pain relief medications that require lower doses to be effective, helping address the serious issues of tolerance and dependence that we see with conventional pain therapy,” he added.
The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

TODAYS ASK Ask4Recovery – 6/11/13 – How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?by Ask4Recovery

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Ask4Recovery – 6/11/13 – How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?by Ask4Recovery



Hello friends! Today’s Ask…

How do I set proper boundaries in my recovery?

Ah, the question of boundaries. This can be a hard one. The definition of boundary is ‘something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent.’ I had no idea what boundaries were before I started on the road to recovery. I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. The concept of setting boundaries was a foreign concept for me. They were blurred and nonexistent. When I was active in my addictions, people were like toys and I used them to manipulate to get exactly what I wanted from them. Ultimately, that is how I felt about myself as well. I was so far from living my truth and constantly manipulated and rationalized the destruction caused by my addictions. My loved ones bore the brunt of this. I expected them to be at my beckon call when I needed them and then blocked them out of my life as soon as I got what I wanted from them. I had no respect or regard for others, but most importantly, did not have any respect for myself. I had no identity and thus, had the inability to set proper boundaries, to assert myself, to express my feelings, or to effectively communicate. My relationships became enmeshed and my self-worth was very low.

Throughout my recovery I have learned what it means to set boundaries. I have learned that I can’t force my will onto others. I have also learned that it is okay to say no and not exert myself in every capacity to appease others. I have learned the meaning of ‘accepting others limitations.’ There are still times when I want someone to do something the way I want them to. Or to react a way I want them to. These expectations are just resentments waiting to happen. With the concept of boundaries comes the concept of acceptance. Acceptance of the person you are and honoring that person in each moment. With that honor comes a sense of identity and the ability to set proper boundaries. This is all a work in progress and I am learning something new about my boundary setting each day. The difference is now, I am aware and have the self-worth to set effective boundaries. Without admittance of powerlessness and surrendering to my addictions, none of this would have been possible!

How do you set proper boundaries? What has worked for you in your recovery? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

Ask4Recovery | June 11, 2013 at 10:57 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p3wKKk-4W

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Today, Inc. Services for Adult Females

Good Afternoon,

Today, Inc. is pleased to announce that our New Unit to provide Residential Treatment for Adult Females is now open and accepting referrals! We wish to thank everyone who attended our Preview Event. Attached please find a flyer with information about the unit. Please forward this email and distribute the attached flyer to anyone who may be interested in this service.
Thank you again,

Christine Fassnacht
Executive Assistant
Today, Inc.
P.O. Box 908
Newtown, PA 18940
215-968-4713 ext. 230
cfassnacht@todayinc.org

June 10

Psalms 74:4
Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
The pastor felt the focus of the church year should be missions. Definitely missions. The head of the church school wanted education to be the main concern. Finance felt that stewardship was the ticket. Each committee of the church had its own banner to wave. The conflicts that arose over the issue left deep wounds, and some left the church. The different groups sat together on Sunday morning, but they left the sanctuary engaged in bitter argument.

What kind of behavior is that for Christians? We are supposed to rise above the pettiness that rules the outside world. If we cannot learn to deal with one another in love, what business have we calling ourselves Christ's church? Our Lord is a Lord of compromise, sacrifice, and caring. No Christian should be our enemy. We are all members of the same body, and Christ blesses those who strive to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Prayer: Remind me, Lord, that I am a Christian first and foremost. The causes I support are second to the fact that I follow Jesus Christ. Let Him rule in my heart, and lead me in the ways I should walk. Amen.


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Ask4Recovery – 6/10/13 – I am living in a cycle of shame and guilt with my addiction. How do I break it?by Ask4Recovery

Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

I am living in a cycle of shame and guilt with my addiction. How do I break it?

I know that cycle quite well and it is no fun to be in. It is not conducive to living a life of freedom. Rather, we are suffering, which is not what we were put here to do. We each have an infinite source of love, hope, compassion, and patience inside of us. Addictions block off that infinite source. They also contribute to an intense cycle of guilt and shame because, at the core of it, we are not being true to ourselves in any capacity. This brings out anger, frustration, sadness, and destruction, all of which are qualities that propel and enable the addiction.

For many years, when I was living in that cycle, I did not know what to do. I did not know another way of living was possible because as much as the addictions brought about the shame, they also brought about a distorted sense of gratification and control. That gratification was really just disconnection from myself. What helped me most was ‘outing’ the addiction. Letting go of that cycle of self-defeating control and letting go of those maladaptive coping behaviors and understanding what was really going on with me. The destructive behaviors were all part of the manifestation of the intense discomfort, disconnection, and facade I had between my mind, body, and soul. By getting in touch with myself on a deeper level, I slowly began to peel away the layers of the onion and shred away that cycle of guilt and shame because for the first time, I was being true to myself.

This takes time. We are creatures of habit and we can train ourselves to start acting and thinking differently. For me, my addictions became so familiar in my life that I became unconscious in my life. By stepping into the unfamiliar and seeing my life without my addictions, I slowly became more conscious and awake in my life. And as this happened, the guilt and shame cycle started to break as well.

How did you break out of your addiction? The guilt and shame cycle? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

Ask4Recovery | June 10, 2013 at 10:44 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p3wKKk-4Q


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Did a "Troubled Teen" Rehab Create Murderers? | The Fix

Did a "Troubled Teen" Rehab Create Murderers? | The Fix

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Ask4Recovery – 6/8/13 – Why does an addict have such a short memory of the damages from using? by Ask4Recovery

Hello friends! Today’s ‘Ask’…

"Why does an addict have such a short memory of the damages from using? I'm clean for weeks or months, stress up and craving comes out of nowhere. I bargain, lose and then use. Why?" – A fellow Ask4Recovery member

That is a wonderful question! It is pretty amazing where our minds can take us. Where that destructive thinking can take us. How we can so easily lose sight of those weeks or months or years that we have clean and the addiction mindset can take over and bring us right back to the thought that engaging in something destructive will make everything better. Well, that is ‘old pattern’ thinking and thinking that is going to get me nowhere! That is thinking that is not conducive to my recovery and I need to shift that thinking when it creeps in. I have to release the thought or craving and trust that my higher power will restore me to sanity.

For me, when those thoughts and that thinking come up, I have to take a step back and ask myself, ‘What is really coming up for me?’ The alcohol or the drug craving is part of the solution for the addict mindset, but not part of the solution for the recovery mindset. Given I am in the recovery mindset, this means sitting with those uncomfortable feelings that I escaped from for so long. But by sitting with these feelings, I am unlocking my true and authentic self and accepting myself on a whole new playing field. I recently moved into my own apartment and my destructive thinking is making an appearance. It is trying to take advantage of me being on my own, telling me that I can’t do it, I’m not good enough, and the list goes on. Now, I can acknowledge these thoughts, realize they are not me, and release them because I know that a thought or craving no longer directly translates to a self-sabotaging action. It is so freeing!

I also have to remember that I am not alone. My addict mind likes to make me think that I am and I watch as my world can get smaller and smaller until it is just me. But the reality is that there is a community of people that truly care about me and when that craving comes up, I talk about it, release the craving, and watch as that desire to use diminishes. It takes honesty though. And willingness. But it works and we can switch the selfish and ego-driven attitude to one of gratitude!

What do you do when a craving or urge comes up? How do you stay in recovery? Let us know and join the movement!

Sending love,

Lauren

P.S. Check out http://www.hayhouseworldsummit.com/ for Day 8 of the World Summit. So much inspiration there and over 110 World –Renowned teachers to guide you in ALL areas of your life!!

Today's 'Ask' 6-7-13

Lauren Stahl

Morning family! Check out today's 'Ask' about over-thinking and not communicating! Join the movement with me!

'Communication is big in recovery. What I have to remind myself of often is that for many years I did not effectively communicate. My communication was done by engaging in my addictions, whether it be communicating by taking it out on my food or by drinking and drugging. That is how I communicated and ultimately I was destroying myself and living in a vicious cycle of self-sabotage. My mind was in control. Recovery has been the time and place of learning what communication means. More importantly, learning what ‘I’ mean. Learning who ‘I’ am outside of my addictions. My addictions were my identity for so many years and it is a slow and gradual process of learning who Lauren really is again.'

www.Ask4Recovery.com

Today's 'Ask'

ask4recovery.com

I received this question yesterday from one of our members… ‘Many people around me tell me that I have a serious drug and alcohol problem. Others tell me not to worry, I'm young I should be having ...

PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2013   Saturday, September 21     You, too, can have your logo on our billboards this year!    For 8 weeks, beginning July 29, your logo could be seen by millions who drive past our billboards on I-95    Become a Sponsor of the Walk at the Silver Level ($10,000) or higher by contacting Marita here or 215-345-6644 The deadline for your logo on the billboards is JULY 5   Otherwise, you can become a sponsor at any level right up to the day of the Walk PLEASE REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WALK Go to our Recovery Walks Web Site to register yourself or your team, donate, sign up for Honor Guard, or see a video of last year's walk TEAM CAPTAINS Did you see the useful tools in our Recovery Walk Kit? Click here to see what's available We have one more way for you to celebrate Recovery Month NATIONAL RECOVERY NIGHT AT THE BASEBALL GAME    The Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves    Friday Evening, September 6, 2013, CITIZENS BANK PARK To order tickets and pay online click here and then click on

Watch for upcoming emails with much more information about PRO-ACT RECOVERY WALKS! 2013

Attorney: Paris Jackson hospitalized but OK - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Attorney: Paris Jackson hospitalized but OK - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Bill Aimed at Preventing Stolen or Counterfeit Prescription Drugs Passes U.S. House

By Join Together Staff | June 5, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Legislation & Prescription Drugs

A bill designed to increase the security of the prescription drug supply chain, to prevent stolen or counterfeit drugs, passed the U.S. House this week.
The measure requires companies along the supply chain to verify the drugs are authentic, and notify authorities if they find suspect or illegitimate drugs, Reuters reports. Drugs would be traced down to the level of lots, which can include thousands of bottles, or packs of vials, the article notes.
A Senate version of the bill was passed by committee last month. It is not known when it will be brought to the full Senate floor. That bill would require each individual drug unit to be traceable, after an initial phase-in period.
Past measures aimed at creating national standards for drug tracking have failed after companies said they would be too expensive.

Major League Baseball Wants to Suspend About 20 Players Over Doping: ESPN

By Join Together Staff | June 5, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs

Major League Baseball (MLB) wants to suspend about 20 players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, ESPN reports. The players include the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun.
Both players deny using performance-enhancing drugs, according to CNN. MLB may seek 100-game suspensions for all of the players, who are expected to fight the move, according to ESPN.
The players are connected with a Miami-area clinic, Biogenesis of America, which is now closed. In January, a Florida newspaper reported Rodriguez and Braun obtained performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis. MLB filed a suit against Biogenesis for allegedly providing performance-enhancing drugs to players, and advising them on how to pass drug tests. The clinic’s owner, Tony Bosch, reached an agreement to cooperate with a MLB investigation, the article notes. The league may drop the suit, ESPN reports.
In January, MLB and its players union announced they reached an agreement to conduct in-season blood testing of players for human growth hormone. Players also will be tested for synthetic testosterone, which is increasingly popular because it washes out of the body fairly quickly after being used.
Major League Baseball was the first major sport in the United States to agree to human growth hormone testing. It reached an agreement with its union in November 2011 to test for the substance, but only in spring training and the off-season. The new agreement expands the testing into the baseball season.
Human growth hormone can help players build muscle mass, and to recover quickly from extended physical activity. It cannot be used legally without a prescription.

Young Adults Should Look for 12-Step Groups With Peers, Expert Advises

By Celia Vimont | June 4, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Recovery, Young Adults & Youth

Although they make up only a small percentage of 12-step program membership, teens and young adults can benefit greatly from attending meetings for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), according to an expert from Harvard University.
Only two percent of AA and NA members are under age 20, and 13 percent are under age 30, says John Kelly, PhD, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Young people are a minority in these groups, so they may find it more difficult initially to identify with members who are older and have different challenges, such as children, elderly parents and job loss,” said Dr. Kelly.
Because of this potential mismatch, he recommends young people who are looking to start participating in a 12-step program, whenever possible, begin with meetings that are specially designated for young people, to help them feel connected and engaged. “After this initial engagement, however, young adults may find it more beneficial to branch out to more mixed-age meetings,” he says. “Older people are more likely to have long-term sobriety, and generally have greater life experience and wisdom. Our recent findings support the notion that age similarity is good for early engagement and for enhancing sobriety, but confers less benefit in the long term.”
At the recent National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers meeting, Dr. Kelly presented research he conducted with 300 young adults, ages 18 to 24, which looked at participation and involvement in 12-step programs following inpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. He found high rates of attendance and involvement—speaking up at meetings—was correlated with even more days of abstinence. The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found the effect of attendance diminished over time, but the effect of involvement increased. The study also found having contact with group members outside of meetings also benefited young adults.

John Kelly, PhD, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service at Massachusetts General Hospital

His findings suggest that merely attending community 12-step groups, while helpful, will only take a young adult’s recovery so far. “Consistent and active involvement maintains and increases the benefit of participation, resulting in sustained improvement over time,” he wrote in the journal.
A second study, which has not yet been published, found young adults who attended meetings that had at least some people in the same age range during their first three months after treatment had better abstinence rates than those who attended meetings only with older members. The age-matching effect diminished over the next nine months.
His findings with young adults are similar to those in a study Dr. Kelly published last year that found teens in addiction treatment can benefit from 12-step programs. The study included 127 teens who were outpatients in substance use disorder treatment programs. They were assessed when they entered treatment, and again three, six and 12 months later. The researchers found greater meeting attendance was independently associated with significantly better substance use outcomes. Those who were in contact with a sponsor from AA or NA or who participated verbally during meetings had an even better outcome over and above the positive effects from merely attending meetings.
Dr. Kelly also presented data from a third study, also not yet published, that followed 300 young adults with substance use disorders, half of whom also had a dual diagnosis—most commonly a mood or anxiety disorder. Overall, patients with dual diagnosis attended as much and became as involved as those with only an SUD diagnosis, but had generally worse outcomes. Those with a dual diagnosis who had a high level of involvement in a 12-step program, however, had outcomes as good as those with only a substance use disorder, Dr. Kelly says. “This suggests that, for some, a strong and active connection with AA or NA can potentially offset a worse recovery prognosis for those with a dual diagnosis.”
“The good news is that clinicians can influence the likelihood that young people will attend 12-step meetings. If they do attend, they are likely to have improved outcomes,” Dr. Kelly observes. “If they educate, prepare and actively link young people with meetings, they are likely to increase the chances for better outcomes in the year after treatment.”