Saturday, November 15, 2014

The Fix: Addiction and Recovery, Straight Up
Best of the Week:
October 31–November 7
COMING UP IN THE FIX// Addiction in the Hispanic Community * Relapse Dreams* Smuggling Drugs in Prison * My Year in Rehab * Elders and Addiction * Steroids and Wrestlers * The Marchman Act * New Pro Voices * PLUS: Other incisive articles
FOCUS// Harm Reduction at a Crossroads
A report from the 10th National Conference of the Harm Reduction Coalition.
By Tessie Castillo
PROFESSIONAL VOICES// The Experience Machine
What if a problem from Philosophy 101 could help improve our understanding of addiction? Would it make it easier for us to treat addiction without the stigma?
By Richard Juman
COMING CLEAN// Overcoming "Failure to Launch" with Bob Forrest
Recovery is a dirty business. Bob Forrest has the track record—and the forward thinking—to clean it up.
By Dawn Roberts
BOOKS// Top Four Recovery Memoirs, Then and Now
Four of our favorite addiction memoirs, and seeing where the authors—Jerry Stahl, Colin Broderick, Joe Clifford and Alan Kaufman—are today.
By Regina Walker
CARRYING ON// Miss Wisconsin on Honoring Her Brother's Legacy
Raeanna Johnson talks to The Fix about how being Miss Wisconsin helps raise awareness of the ultimate price of addiction.
By McCarton Ackerman
 
BEST OF THE QUICK FIX
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Wants Drug Tests for Welfare, Unemployment Recipients
Could an MRI "See" If You Will Become a Habitual Smoker?
First Pap Smears Were Conducted On Drunk Guinea Pigs
Arkansas Governor Will Pardon Son On Felony Drug Charge
Gene Regulation May Control Addiction, Depression
Silk Road 3.0 Launches To Largely Negative Reviews
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Preventative Caring
This week, Tessie Castillo reported on the 10th National Conference of the Harm Reduction Coalition. Readers were bewildered as to why everyone isn't behind harm reduction:
All types of people benefit from harm reduction. Not just members of so called marginalized groups. Harm reductionist's often do angel's work. They save lives! Lives of people who are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, friends and workers. All people, black or white or purple; straight or gay; religious or atheist benefit from knowledge and practice of harm reduction methods. The numbers are sound and the evidence is in! I appreciate the author wishing to be a good voice for harm reduction. But really- who cares if an advocate is gay or a drag queen or a soccer mom? I just don't get it.

-anonymous

Friday, November 14, 2014

    
COA ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DINNER!!

Don't miss this TASTY, fun annual event! 

at 12:00pm - 3:00pm

 
Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ
 
Join us at this sumptuous feast as we celebrate all the many things we have to be grateful for. 
  
This is always a fun event! This year, we'll be roasting a turkey at Dwier and serving it up with all the trimmings.. Covered dishes for the buffet table are always welcome but not necessary - just bring yourself!
 
For details contact: cityofangelsnj@hotmail.comThis is an open invite so please feel free to share this event or send an invite to friends/family.
 
Click on the link below to view/respond to this event:

On COARR 
Let's Talk About Recovery!

With 10 original shows, COARR plays Recovery Talk 24/7/365....past shows are available online atwww.coaradio.com/pastshows.html and in each show's online archive. 

Tune in thru the smartphone app (free in the iphone/droid stores) or on www.coaradio.com to hear what's playing now.....


 

Many thanks to Greg Campisi from Awaken Center for Human Evolution for coming on COA Recovery Radio's Wellness in Recovery show last night and explaining how Reiki, IET and other forms of energy healing can be used to reduce stress and manage many medical/emotional conditions. Thank you also to Kim Siar for explaining how Pranic Healing helped her overcome an addiction. Learn more about these and other holistic health practices that can be used as a compliment to more traditional therapies at Awaken's FREE Healing Expo this Saturday, Nov. 15. For details about the expo,click here.  To listen to the show re-play, click here.


New show on COARR: Step by Step is a Pennsylvania-based network of recovery homes where recoverees gain support from one another. This show explores what it's like to live in a sober home. If you missed the show, it's now online: click here to listenIt's a great introduction to what sober living & recovery homes are all about!


Listen to past COARR shows any time: 

For "Women & Addiction" with Terri Thomas, click here. 

For "Wellness in Recovery" with life coach Nancy Tilelli, click here. 

For "Journey Thru the 12 Steps with the Life Recovery Bible," click here. 

For "Share Your Scars" with Vicki, click here.

For "Wings Over Water: Creativity in Recovery" with recovery musician Kathy Moser, click here.

For "Laughter & Recovery" with stand up comic Wil B. Kleen, click here. 

For "Relationships in Recovery" with Alexa, click here. 

For "Saving Lives" with COA Director of Interventions Tom Redneck Clark, click here.
Get Health Coverage NOW!

If you or someone you love doesn't have health insurance, COA can help. 

If you or someone you love doesn't have health insurance, COA can help. OnMonday November 17th at 10:00am a 
representative from WellCare will be at
Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ assisting with Medicaid & The Affordable Health Care Act Coverage enrollment. Medicaid is now available for single people and marrieds without children, in addition to families with children; it's FREE for anyone making less than $15,500 per year. COA will help you fill out the paperwork, and get your documents together. Most people qualify for some type of low or no-cost plan, so it's worth coming in to check it out. Even if you're in good health, people without insurance will soon have to pay an annual penalty - which is cumulative! - so it's worth it to get on the rolls.

Click on the link below to view/respond to event:

If you would like to take advantage of this FREE assistance, please RSVP tocityofangelsnj@hotmail.com - we need to get some idea of how many people will be coming so we can plan.

COA HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
Saturday, December 13th at 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ

Pictures with Santa. Bring your kids, your pets or just yourself to this fun holiday event as we celebrate the season with lots of holiday cheer. Refreshments will be served - feel free to bring cookies or other holiday treats to share! All are welcome. 
 
For details contact: cityofangelsnj@hotmail.com
This is also set as an open event. Feel free to share this or send invite to friends and family to join you!
Happy Holidays!

Click the link below to view details or respond to event:

Soldiers’ Suicide Risk Greatest in Year After Leaving Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment
November 13th, 2014/


U.S. soldiers who have undergone inpatient psychiatric treatment have a greatly increased risk of suicide in the year after they are discharged from the hospital, suggests a new study.

The suicide rate in the U.S. Army is higher than the civilian rate, HealthDay reports.

The study included more than 40,000 active-duty soldiers who received inpatient psychiatric treatment between 2004 and 2009. Within a year of being discharged, 68 of the soldiers committed suicide—12 percent of all U.S. Army suicides during this period.

The researchers identified the 5 percent of soldiers with the highest predicted risk of suicide in the year after hospital discharge. This group of soldiers accounted for 52.9 percent of suicides after hospitalization. Among the soldiers with the highest risk of suicide, risk factors included being male, enlisting at a later age, criminal offenses, weapons possession, previous suicide attempts, and a greater number of antidepressant prescriptions filled in the past year.

The findings can be used to predict soldiers’ suicide risk after hospitalization for psychiatric disorders, and to help target preventive interventions, the researchers wrote in JAMA Psychiatry.

“The high concentration of risk of suicides and other adverse outcomes might justify targeting expanded post-hospitalization interventions to soldiers classified as having highest post-hospitalization suicide risk, although final determination requires careful consideration of intervention costs, comparative effectiveness and possible adverse effects,” the authors wrote.

A Single Drink Doubles the Odds of Ending Up in the Emergency Room: Study
November 13th, 2014/


Having even one drink doubles a person’s risk of ending up in the emergency room, according to an international study. A person who consumes three drinks in six hours is about 4.6 times as likely to end up in the ER compared with someone who hasn’t had any drinks.

A person who had 10 drinks in six hours was 10 times as likely to go to the ER, compared with someone who didn’t drink. The study included 13,000 people from 18 countries who were inebriated and went to the emergency room for an injury, according to The Washington Post.

Drinking increased the risk of injury in women more than in men, the study found. Increased drinking was more likely to lead to violence than to either traffic accidents or falls. The researchers found just one drink almost quadruples a person’s odds of getting into a fight and ending up in the hospital. The risk of injury from violence increases more quickly as the volume of alcohol consumed rises.

The findings appear in the journal Addiction.

Texas Sees Rise in Liquid Meth: DEA Agent
November 13th, 2014/


Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents are seeing a dramatic increase in liquid meth in Texas, according to an official with the agency.

“It can be put in drinking bottles. It can be placed in 55 gallon drums or even gas tanks,” said DEA Special Agent Wendell Campbell. “No longer is meth being moved only in crystal or powder form. Liquid meth is on the rise. It’s very concealable, it’s easy to get across that way and we’re seeing a dramatic increase in Texas and the Houston area.”

Liquid meth is dissolved in a solution, and is later converted to crystal or powder, ABC30reports. Last month liquid meth was found in candles in a bust near the Texas/Louisiana border, the article notes. The increased supply of liquid meth has led to lower prices for the drug.

The DEA is trying to track down the liquid before it can be converted to crystal or powder. “Our investigations have led us to discover them in shops and warehouses and neighborhoods,” Campbell said.

“Meth is now in the Houston region considered the number one drug threat in our region,” said Houston Police Captain Dale Brown.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

CALL OUR ADDICTION & COUNSELING HELPLINE: 1-844-543-3242 (1-844-LIFE-CHANGE)
Share
Tweet
Forward

 

Tune in Thursday, November 13
Lighthouse Network's Dr. Karl Benzio
on "Hearing Hearts" (WEHA) at 9:30 a.m. ET

 

Karl Benzio, M.D. Shares Insights
on WEHA's "Hearing Hearts"
about "Psychosis, Hypochondria,
and Panic Attacks 
— Are They for Real?"

 
STATION: WEHA "Hearing Hearts" (Pleasantville, NJ)
DATE: Thursday, November 13
TIME: 9:30 a.m. ET
TOPIC: Psychosis, Hypochondria, and Panic Attacks--
Are They for Real?
STREAM LIVE ONLINE: 
http://www.wehagospel887.com/
 
Check out other media interviews including TV appearances, radio programs, print features and articles here.
Lighthouse Network is a Christian-based, non-profit organization that offers an addiction and mental health counseling helpline providing treatment options and resources to equip people and organizations with the skills necessary to shine God's glory to the world, stand strong on a solid foundation in the storms of their own lives, and provide guidance and safety to others experiencing stormy times, thus impacting their lives, their families and the world.

Lighthouse Network offers help through two main service choices:
  • Lighthouse Life Change Helpline (1-844-LIFE-CHANGE, 1-844-543-3242), a 24-hour free, national crisis call center, where specialists (Care Guides) help callers understand and access customized treatment options.
  • Life Growth and self-help training resources for daily life, including online and DVD series and training events to help individuals achieve their potential.
     
Facebook
Twitter
Website


Some Pain Specialists Ordering Costly, Unneeded Drug Tests for Elderly
November 11th, 2014/





Some pain specialists are ordering costly, unneeded drug tests for their elderly patients, in order to receive payment from Medicare, The Wall Street Journal reports. These doctors are testing for drugs rarely used by elderly patients, such as heroin, cocaine and PCP.


Doctors who treat pain are encouraged to test their patients to make sure they are not abusing their painkillers. Drug tests can also indicate if a patient is not taking their medication, and selling it instead. After Medicare cracked down on abuse billing for simple urine tests, some doctors switched to high-tech testing methods such as mass spectrometry. The billing for these tests are not limited, the article notes. The doctors bill Medicare separately for each substance tested.


Many experts say high-tech drug tests should only be used to confirm results from less expensive, low-tech drug tests.


Medicare spent $445 million for 22 high-tech drug tests in 2012, up 1,423 percent in five years, according to the newspaper. Spending included $14 million for PCP tests. Dozens of pain doctors receive more Medicare payments for drug testing than for treating patients.

Government data suggests use of illegal drugs among the elderly is rare. Even when marijuana is counted, only about one in 1,000 seniors abuse or are addicted to illicit drugs. In contrast, prescription drug abuse among the elderly is a real and growing concern, experts note.

Dozens of Websites Selling Illegal Drugs Shut Down

/
Dozens of websites selling illegal drugs and guns were shut down by law enforcement authorities across the United States and Europe last week, The Wall Street Journal reports. One California man was arrested and charged with owning and operating Silk Road 2.0, one of the largest illegal online marketplaces.
Officials said they were able to pierce the anonymous shield offered by Tor, a network that uses encryption tools and thousands of servers to conceal online activity.
“As illegal activity online becomes more prevalent, criminals can no longer expect that they can hide in the shadows of the ‘dark web,’” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York said in a Department of Justice news release. “We shut down the original Silk Road website and now we have shut down its replacement, as well as multiple other ‘dark market’ sites allegedly offering all manner of illicit goods and services, from firearms to computer hacking. In coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, we will continue to seize websites that promote illegal and harmful activities, and prosecute those who create and operate them.”
Silk Road 2.0 and other similar sites advertised goods and services including illegal narcotics, firearms, stolen credit card data and personal identification information, counterfeit currency, fake passports and other identification documents, and computer-hacking tools and services, according to the Justice Department. The sites accepted payments in the virtual currency known as bitcoin, which is designed to be anonymous.
Last year, the FBI shut down the website Silk Road, which sold illegal drugs. Six months later, a report found the site had reopened and sales had bounced back. The report, by the group Digital Citizens Alliance, found the new version of the site, Silk Road 2.0, had 13,648 listings as of April 2, just slightly more than the 13,000 listings before the arrest of Silk Road’s founder in the fall of 2013.