Category: From Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Nothing to see here folks, move along… – 

Nov. 17, 2020 – But after General Cienfuegos’ arrest, the federal authorities in Mexico opened an investigation into him and the United States would now defer to the Mexican government on the matter, Mr. Barr said in a joint statement with the attorney general of Mexico, Alejandro Gertz Manero. The statement stopped short of promising any charges in Mexico.

“In recognition of the strong law enforcement partnership between Mexico and the United States, and in the interests of demonstrating our united front against all forms of criminality, the U.S. Department of Justice has made the decision to seek dismissal of the U.S. criminal charges against former Secretary Cienfuegos, so that he may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, under Mexican law,” Mr. Barr and Mr. Gertz Manero said in the statement. The decision was an abrupt turnaround for American law enforcement officials, who had accused General Cienfuegos of helping transport narcotics and tipping a drug cartel off to American investigations into their operations.

The Mexican government was blindsided by the arrest, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador himself expressed some surprise at the detention of a military leader who had long commanded respect inside Mexico. Mexican officials have said privately that they were angry at a lack of communication by Justice Department officials on a case that had clearly taken time to build, given how closely the two countries collaborate in fighting organized crime.

The Justice Department charges against him underscored the corruption that has touched the highest levels of the government in Mexico. General Cienfuegos served as defense minister to President Enrique Peña Nieto, who left office two years ago. And his arrest came 10 months after another top official — who once led the Mexican equivalent of the F.B.I. — was indicted in New York on charges of taking bribes while in office to protect the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.

more@NYTimes

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

The accident that led to a Film Festival

November 12, 2020 – For the past twelve years, Leonard Buschel has been an instrumental force in adding flavor and culture to the recovery community by filling a creative and intellectual void while helping those in need…For the past twelve years, the REEL Recovery Film Festival & Symposium has focused on increasing awareness about the prevalence of substance abuse and mental illness in society.

more@TheFix

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Home is where the Love is – 

November 13, 2020 – An opera singer who also studied public relations is struggling to find work. His new roommate, released from prison a year ago, is trying to find his footing, too. A neighbor is focused on his sobriety. All three men live at the Lucerne Hotel, which used to offer spa services and valet parking to tourists on the Upper West Side.  “I don’t want to leave because of the love that we experienced,” said a resident of the Lucerne who goes by Shams DaBaron. That pause could end on Monday if a Manhattan Supreme Court justice decides to move the men to a Radisson Hotel in the Financial District instead of allowing them to stay for now.

Mr. DaBaron, 51, has become the de facto representative of the men at the hotel, a role that has kept him busy as he clings to sobriety.  The Lucerne became the focus for the debate on homeless hotels this summer after more than 200 men moved there in July. Some residents complained about increased loitering, drug use and public urination. A private Facebook group that now has more than 15,000 members became a forum that sometimes veered into racist, degrading language. A group of residents hired Randy Mastro, a powerful lawyer and former deputy mayor for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani who has represented Mr. de Blasio in the past, to threaten a lawsuit against the city.

more@NYTimes

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Mommy Merlot and Daddy Doobie –  

Nov. 9, 2020 – In a May survey conducted by the Research Triangle Institute International, researchers polled 993 people from across the United States about their drinking habits before the pandemic hit and after. It found an average person’s drinks per day increased 27 percent; the frequency of a person’s drinking that “exceeds drinking guidelines” increased 21 percent; and binge drinking increased 26 percent. Researchers also found that being female or Black was associated with significant increases in at least one measure, and respondents with children in the household had greater-than-average increases in all three. Thema Bryant, a licensed psychologist and professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., says the challenges of trying to work from home, tending to your kids’ education, and having limited outlets for relief are all stressful for parents, but especially for women, who tend to shoulder more household and caregiving responsibilities than men. Beyond the physical strains of multitasking, parents are dealing with a lot emotionally. They’re concerned about the health of themselves, their children, and their elderly parents. They’re worried about losing their jobs. They’re uneasy about their child’s social development. “If you had a child who was already isolated or already dealing with social skill challenges, then it can be even more difficult to navigate distance learning and cultivate relationships for them,” Bryant says.

Nicky C. is a mother of three in Santa Clarita, Calif., who describes her kids’ virtual learning as pure chaos. Her children are 8, 5, and 1½ years old. “We’re very behind,” she tells me over the phone, laughing off the worry. Her middle child in kindergarten has attention-deficit disorder. She says it’s really hard for him to focus and he can only handle about 30 minutes of Zooms. “It’s a struggle to get him to learn anything, and I try to make it fun, we write letters in Play-Doh and the whiteboard, but it’s just a constant struggle. I have a strong feeling he’s going to have to repeat kindergarten.”

more@WashingtonPost

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

LISTEN – Check their phones daily –  

Nov. 9, 2020 – 

Screen Addiction

While almost every parent stresses over the amount of time their kids spend on electronic devices every day, you wouldn’t think that it could be an addiction. It can, however, easily become one. Spending too much time in front of a screen has been linked to kids developing poor social skills and a lack of sleep. If your teen has any of the following symptoms, you may need to get them help. 

• Loss of interest in things that don’t require a screen
• It’s starting to interfere with them socializing with other people
• Your teen can’t control their screen use on their own
• It causes fights and severe family issues
• Being behind a screen boosts their mood
• They hide their tablet or other electronic devices in order to use it when they shouldn’t

While there is nothing wrong with electronics, whether it’s tablets, TV, or a cellphone, just like with everything else they should be used in moderation. If you feel that your teen is developing a screen addiction, then it’s time to crack down on screen time or get them help if that’s not an option. 

Alcohol/Tobacco Addiction

Of course, you can’t look for the other signs of addiction without looking out for the classics as well. Alcohol and tobacco continue to be addiction issues among teens, even though the media has done its due diligence to help them realize the dangers and the consequences associated with these substances. If you feel that your teen has an alcohol or tobacco addiction, it’s important for you to step in and get them help before it goes any further or it could end up ruining their lives. 

These are just a few of the addictions you should be on the lookout for as a parent when it comes to your teenagers. While not all of these addictions are substance abuse related, they can be serious if ignored…

more@SFLCN

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – ‘Relentless Love’ says it all – 

Nov. 9, 2020 – A cafe in Charlotte, North Carolina, is giving people recovering from addiction a fresh start. The Community Matters Cafe partners with the Charlotte Rescue Mission to offer jobs and life skills to people leaving its treatment program. The café’s chief operating officer, Ed Price, joined LX News to discuss how the business is putting purpose over profit.

more@NBCWashington

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Another reason to “just say no” –  

November 10, 2020 – In terms of complications, the hospitalization rate for people with substance use disorder was 41%, compared to about 30% for those without it. The death rate was 9.6% for people with substance abuse disorder and 6.6% for those without.

Why the disparity? “The lungs and cardiovascular system are often compromised in people with (substance use disorder), which may partially explain their heightened susceptibility to COVID-19,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a prepared statement.

 “Another contributing factor is the marginalization of people with addiction, which makes it harder for them to access health care services,” she said.

Meanwhile, African Americans with a recent opioid use disorder diagnosis were over four times more likely to develop COVID-19, compared to whites. According to the study, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and renal disease — all risk factors for COVID-19 — were more prevalent among African Americans than white people with an opioid addiction.  Researchers substance use disorders investigated in the study: alcohol, tobacco, opioid, cannabis and cocaine. They studied data collected from the electronic health records of patients at 360 hospitals across the nation.

more@FreeP

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – When suicide is off the table –  

Nov. 9, 2020 – hey completed seven rounds of IVF, before they realised their reality: their story wasn’t going to end in children. 

“I would’ve been happy to put up with the tens of thousands of dollars it cost, the unflattering changes in my body and appearance from the hormones, along with the huge mood swings I encountered, if I were able to have a child,” Sarah tells Mamamia. 

“The rollercoaster of emotions is almost unfathomable. It took a gigantic toll on me mentally, emotionally and physically.”

Sarah, 41, fell into a “deep, dark depression” following her failed IVF attempts. At one point, she recalls trying to take her own life. 

“I felt I had nothing to live for if I wasn’t going to be a mother. I laid in bed for months praying to be put out of my misery, praying not to wake up in the morning.”

more@MamaMia

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Not The Onion (or, Climbing the pole of success?) –  

Oct. 29, 2020 – The newly appointed Chief of Medical Services at the Rhode Island state hospital system was previously arrested for repeatedly exposing himself and masturbating in front of children.

Now, the State of Rhode Island has put Dr. Andrew Stone in charge of the most vulnerable population in the state’s care. These patients are served at two locations Eleanor Slater in Cranston and the Zambarano facility in Burrillville.

In 2006, the Rhode Island Department of Health suspended Stone’s license for five years and the then-Director of Health David Gifford wrote in his order “Director of Health has determined that the continued practice of Andrew C. Stone, M.D. would constitute an immediate danger to the public.”Reinstated with Conditions

In February of 2015, the RI Department of Health reinstated Stone’s license.

The reinstatement order stated “The Petitioner has been successfully treated and evaluated by two distinguished medical experts specializing in the treatment of sexual compulsion disorders; John P. Wincze, Ph.D., and Fabian M. Saleh, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., both of whom have found that the Petitioner’s disorder is in ‘full remission,’ and that he is fit to return to practice medicine. Both have recommended his readmission ( “In Full remission” L, defined in the DSM Vas, “The individual has not acted on the urges with a nonconsenting person, and there has been no distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning, for at least 5 years while in an uncontrolled environment.”

The order to reinstate Stone included numerous conditions, including “That the Petitioner’s practice shall be limited to adults. He shall not treat or consult with any patient under eighteen (18) years of age.”

BHDDH says there is no one under 18 years of age.

Another condition in the reinstatement order is “The Petitioner shall practice only in a gronp or institutional setting approved by the Board with such conditions and restrictions as are approved bv the Board. The Petitioner shall advise the Board immediately of any such ernployment or association and shall provide any employer or association with a copy of this Order.”

more@GoLocalProv

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

MEDIA: Book review –  

Nov. 10, 2020 – In part, writing the book was healing for Lord – “an exorcism,” he calls it – allowing him to work through those experiences while finding humour and levity.

“I made myself laugh,” he says. “I gave myself a lot of liberty when writing, so there’s a lot of wordplay.”

Ultimately, he says, it’s meant to be a study of humanity and how we connect to one another.

Lord has since moved back to his home province of Quebec but remains connected to his northern community. Asked to describe the French literary scene in the territory, Lord says it’s “emerging” and often a mixture of oral storytelling and the written word.

“It’s fragile,” he says. “There’s not a lot of people … but it’s important to have French cultural things, and literature is part of it.”

As part of that mission, Lord says he insisted to his publisher that copies of his book be available in Yellowknife – not just because of the time he spent there, but to give the northern Francophone community another option when looking through the bookstore.

“I put all my heart into it, so I hope people got some emotions reading it,” he chuckles.

more@CabinRadio

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