Category: From Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW – 

May 27, 2021 – The Senate on Thursday passed House Bill 88, which would provide that a conviction for a drug crime would not make an Illinoisan ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program provides temporary financial assistance for pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, a Chicago Democrat, said during floor debate the bill aims to end “punishment of people who have served their time.”

“We know that individuals re-entering the community have a difficult time finding housing, employment and educational opportunities,” Van Pelt said. “This drug felony ban is yet another barrier to reunite families.”

Van Pelt called the ban an “antiquated, racist policy” that is “directly linked to the failed war on drugs.”

But Sen. Dave Syverson, a Rockford, said it was a “frustration” for Republicans that the lifting of the ban would also apply to drug dealers, not just to those convicted of using or possessing drugs or other such offenses.

Van Pelt responded that “murderers, arsonists, rapists, they can all come back and get public aid, food stamps and everything,” under current law, but drug users cannot. “A drug abuser or drug user is a victimless crime, and in many times people are sick, and that’s the reason why they get into drugs,” she said.

The measure passed 37-15. It already passed the House 67-41, so it needs only a signature from the governor to become law as well.

more@DailyHerald

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

BOOK REVIEW –  

May 25, 2021 – The book recognizes chemical dependency as a universal outcry and struggle for the addict, family and friends. It demonstrates how chemical dependency is widespread just like the sky, all over the world. Chemical dependency is classified as a mental health disorder. The dilemma of chemical dependency can be an innocent curiosity leading to disaster as it is like a sharp piercing blade that stabs the mind/brain.

Alarming fact, chemical dependency can begin at youth. Chemical dependency is not reserved for the young or old. It can start at any age. When chemical dependency sets in, it takes over the body and mind.

Brown recognizes addiction provides a thrilling and sensational pleasure which often leads to repetitive use inflicting pain, suffering, agony and intense craving. The consequences of the intoxicating pain can make the body feel like a bunch of French fries sizzling in scalding hot cooking oil. The riptide of chemical dependency has landed on the victim and has added a helpless feeling and challenge to life.

“And, while the challenges of addiction may seem like a spinning top failing to fall on its side, help is available,” Brown says.

more@Send2Press

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

HORRIFYING – 

May 26, 2021- According to a study by researchers from UCLA, Northeastern University and the University of Utah, the largest increases were among Black Americans (50.3%) and Latinos (49.7%). Spikes were also most pronounced in low-income neighborhoods (46.4%) and in the five states — Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington — that border the Pacific Ocean (63.8%). Public health authorities had expected a sharp increase in overdoses during the pandemic because of the social isolation created by stay-at-home orders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously published data on overdose deaths during the early stages of the pandemic, but those reports did not categorize statistics by race and ethnicity, neighborhood-level poverty rates and other relevant metrics, and they drew from data with a lag time of more than seven months. The researchers examined near-real-time data from about 90% of U.S. emergency medical service calls. The researchers write that the emergency medical service data they reviewed serves only as a proxy for actual total number of overdose deaths, so a deeper look at the data will be needed when the final statistics for 2020 are available.

more@Patch

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – FOR THE LOVE OF LIFE –  

May 27, 2021 – While all women are welcome, including those who identify as transfeminine, 82 per cent of people using the site identify themselves as Indigenous.

“There is a higher group of First Nations women that access the space.”

Indigenous people in B.C. have been hard hit by the overdose crisis, which is being fuelled by toxic drugs like fentanyl.

New data from the province’s First Nations Health Authority shows a 119-per-cent increase in First Nations illicit overdose deaths since the start of the pandemic.

“The data underscores the immense toll that drug toxicity is having on the lives of Indigenous people and their communities,” said FNHA’s Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shannon McDonald.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit people represent just over three per cent of B.C.’s population yet accounted for 15 per cent of toxic drug deaths last year.

As for Indigenous women, the Health Authority says they are overdosing at a much higher rate than other women in B.C.

“Thirty-two-point-three per cent of First Nations people who died in the province in 2020 were women,” said Dr. Nel Wieman, FNHA Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer. “First Nations women are overrepresented in the toxic drug death data.”

more@CTVNews

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

BREAKING NEWS! – 

May 2021 – “[The budget includes] … a new 10 percent set aside within the SABG for recovery support services in order to significantly expand the continuum of care both upstream and downstream. This new set-aside will support the development of local recovery community support institutions (i.e. recovery community centers, recovery homes, recovery schools, recovery institutions, recovery ministries; develop strategies and education campaigns, trainings, and events to reduce addiction/recovery-related stigma and discrimination at the local level; provide addiction treatment and recovery resources and support system navigation; make accessible peer recovery support services that support diverse populations and are inclusive of all pathways of recovery; and collaborate and coordinate with local private and non-profit clinical health care provides, the faith community, city, county. state, and federal public health agencies and criminal justice response efforts”.

The Recovery Community will make significant strides with this new funding. Our work begins advocating for its enactment. Stay tuned for additional updates as new information becomes available.

• $1.7 billion increase – Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Block Grant = $3.5 billion total
• $750 million increase – State Opioid Response Grant (SORG) = $2.25 billion total
• $500 million increase – Peer Support Technical Assistance Center = $1.5 billion total
• $10 million increase – Building Communities of Recovery = $20 million total

more@Faces&VoicesofRecovery

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – THERE ARE NO DRUG CRIMES, ONLY DRUG POLICY CRIMES –  

May 27, 2021 – “There needs to be a massive expansion of medically assisted treatment, and we need to restore mandatory treatment as an alternative to jail and prison,” he said.

In the crowd, people had differing political viewpoints and opinions on ways to address it and who to blame. Some shared their own stories. “My sister lost her son last year to fentanyl,” one person said. “He was 36 years old.” They also shared concerns. “We need help from the federal and state government,” Supervisor Matt Haney said. “And I want to also say that we also need to have compassion and we need to have intervention for people who are addicted to drugs.” The mayor’s office says police are on pace to exceed a four-fold increase in fentanyl seizures in 2021 over 2020. Officers continue to make arrests for drug dealing. They need people to be held accountable.

more@NBCBayArea

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

IT’S LIKE WE’RE ALL NEWCOMERS…AGAIN! – 

May 27, 2021 – “There’s a sense of anticipatory anxiety around re-navigating and reintegrating  —  an excitement and trepidation at the same time, and the fears around, ‘Will I be able to cope?’” said psychologist John Kelly, the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of Massachusetts General Hospital Recovery Research Institute.

Torn between embracing your pandemic looks and changing them? Here’s how to feel your best.

While some people may argue that addiction and reentry anxiety do not share the same level of urgency, “There are always more commonalities between people than there are differences,” says Nzinga Harrison, a psychiatrist, addiction medicine physician, and co-founder of Eleanor Health and the “In Recovery” podcast. She said that as we collectively adjust to the reopening of society, people in recovery have a lot of expertise to offer.

 Here are some recovery approaches that can help if you are experiencing mixed feelings about returning to pre-pandemic activities. Acceptance is a prerequisite for making change. “Acceptance recognizes what is,” said Princess Drake, a mental health practitioner at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Drake works in Hazelden’s residential program, where talking about reintegrating into life after a significant change is routine. One of the tenets of recovery is that acceptance doesn’t mean that one likes or agrees with what is but that one acknowledges facts.

more@WashingtonPost

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

NOT THE ONLY WAY –  

May 25, 2021 – He also revealed he would wake up during surgery following his accident as his tolerance to opioids was so high.

The star underwent 26 surgeries and multiple skin grafts after suffering burns to 60 percent of his body – while he was also told by doctors that there was a risk he wouldn’t be able to recover full use of his movements and had to be taught how to walk again.

He said: “I was told I wasn’t going to run again because I had so many grafts on my feet, and there was even talk of me never playing the drums again.

“As soon as I could walk, I could run. As soon as I could move my hands and my hands healed, I was playing drums. And now I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been.”

Travis went on to describe the crippling anxiety he endured following the plane crash, saying he would be convinced every plane he spotted in the sky would crash. e has since learned to ease his anxiety in more recent years following therapy, saying: “It’s gotten better the further I get away from it.

“The closer I was to it, it felt like I was closer to the bad stuff than I am to the good stuff. I felt closer to the experience of trying to escape, [to] being in an accident and being burned, trying to grab my friends from a burning plane. That haunted me for a long time. And as long as I was closer to that than this good stuff, I was always thinking about that.

more@Mirror

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – 

May 28, 2021 – Chantal Jauvin is the author of three books.  Where We Begin, A collection of stories written by the students based on their personal experiences which focus on small acts of heroism;  The Boy With A Bamboo Heart, the inspiring story of Dr Amporn Wathanavongs. Orphaned at 5 in a remote village in rural Thailand, he grew up to create a charity from his own retirement pension so  children would know the dignity of basic education; and Love Without Martinis, a book which chronicles the fears, joys, setbacks, and triumphs of couples as they find their way back to each other. In the tradition of storytelling, the readers follow the couples in recovery from substance addiction as they rebuild healthy and loving relationships.

In addition to being an author, Chantal is an international corporate attorney. She launched her career with Gowlings, a leading Canadian law firm. Her expertise grew from trade law to corporate and financial services law eventually taking on the role of General Counsel at a Fortune 500 global company.

Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice? and when did you stop using?
A. I am in recovery from attachment to the man I love who has a substance use disorder. He went to treatment over 12 years ago. That’s when our recovery as a couple also began.

Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice or a wicked twist of fate?
A. It’s a disease that triggers a lot of twists & turns. With treatment and self-awareness, it creates a healthy lifestyle that keeps illnesses at bay.

Q. Have you added anything to your Tool-kit to help keep you sober during the pandemic?
A. Yes, I developed The ASCENT Approach for my book Love Without Martinis. Even 12 years into my husband’s recovery, it keeps us in check. 

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – KEEP COMING BACK – 

May 24, 2021 – This pandemic year has been very challenging for those who struggle with substance use disorder. Those who help people on the path forward say they’re especially concerned about relapse rates. “We have a bigger epidemic going on besides drug addiction and COVID,” said Andrew Murray, a client at Reset Ministries. For the second time in less than a year, Murray is now enrolled in Reset Ministries.

“This place gave me hope, and hope is a powerful thing,” said Murray. He’s one of several in the faith-based sober living program trying to stay clean and sober after a year like no other for those who struggle with addiction.

more@Local12

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