September Marks National Recovery Month June 5, 2009
Posted by roberte in : Addcition, Alcohol, Recovery, Recovery Centers, United States , add a comment
Every September, SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration) and CSAT (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment) sponsor National Recovery Month across the US. The goal is to educate the public on the benefits of recovery treatment. As part of this year’s initiative, SAMHSA and CSAT have teamed to update the official website with the most comprehensive reporting on National Recovery Month.
The official website can be found at: www.recoverymonth.gov. There, anyone can find information covering a wide range of topics including: Community Events; Press Release Information; Mailed Publications, etc. I recently visited the site and found a couple of new updates since last time I’d visited.
The first update noted that SAMHSA and CSAT are offering downloadable flyers that outline the national campaign, right from the official National Recovery Month website. The second update gave a full report that outlined the details of the 2008 National Recovery Month campaign. More specifically, it outlines details that pertain to community awareness raised, and statistical information on addiction and recovery treatment.
Check back to A Global Recovery often for the latest details on National Recovery Month. Also be sure to click on the link above to take you to the official website.
New Addiction Recovery Website launches in Bangor, Maine June 3, 2009
Posted by roberte in : Addcition, Online, Recovery, United States , add a comment
The Bangor Area Recovering Community Coalition (BARCC) has launched a new addiction recovery website. BARCC is a community addiction recovery organization located in Bangor, Maine.
The website offers a variety of resources, such as recovery support, which includes online self-help links, 12-step recovery information, and means through which to access licensed professionals. Bruce Campbell, chair of BARCC, states that the website will provide information and communication.
One of the main intents behind this online addiction recovery tool is to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with substance abuse, and to highlight the positive aspects of addiction recovery.
The new BARCC website is:
http://sites.google.com/site/bangorrecovery/
Chinese Pop Singer Man Wenjun Arrested for Drugs May 21, 2009
Posted by roberte in : Addcition, China, Drug Laws and Regulations, Europe, Narcotics, Substance Abuse, United States , add a comment
According to the Beijing Times, Chinese pop singer Man Wenjun was recently arrested for possession of drugs; what kinds of drugs exactly, has not been confirmed at this time. The report also noted that Man Wenjun was arrested by Beijing police after a tip-off led them to a nightclub where they found illegal drugs in his VIP room.
The report also noted that Wenjun was partying with friends and wife, for her birthday, all of whom were also arrested on similar drug charges. Additionally, it was noted that apparently Man Wenjun was given a drug test, which produced a positive result for drugs in his system.
Man Wenjun, now 40, is considered by many to have a distinct style within China’s often lavish pop scene. He broke out in 1996 with his big hit “I Understand You All the Time.” Just last year he was awarded China’s esteemed “environmental ambassadorship” award for producing environmentally conscious songs.
In the Rooms Youtube Channel May 6, 2009
Posted by Ernesto in : Addcition, Alcohol Addiction, In the Rooms, Online, Recovery, United States, Worldwide , add a comment
The new social networking website IntheRooms.com, which dedicates itself specifically as a support network for those in recovery, now has a channel on youtube.com that is filled with all kinds of pertinent recovery videos. To be specific, there are exactly 37 videos currently, which range from an NBC 6 interview with the founders of In the Rooms, Kenny Pomerance and Ron Tannenbuam, to several videos that feature Father Martin.
For those unfamiliar with Father Joseph Martin, he was an ordained priest based out of Baltimore Maryland, who was an alcoholic that made a full recovery and spent the rest of his life advocating animatedly for the Alcoholics and Narcotic Anonymous fellowships. Unfortunately, Father Joseph Martin passed away earlier this year (2009). He is most famous for his “Chalk Board” talks that helped champion addiction recovery for so many individuals who sought to overcome the disease of addiction.
A Global Recovery (aglobalrecovery.com) invites everyone around the globe, who may be reading this article (as well as everyone who isn’t), to visit the In the Rooms Youtube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/intherooms. We also invite everyone to get as much support as possible by joining the online community of InTheRooms.com. There, you can get in contact with plenty of support from the over 30,000 fellow recovering members from all around the world.
Allegations of Government Funded Drug Research that Gave Addicts Illegal Substances May 1, 2009
Posted by Ernesto in : Addcition, Substance Abuse, United States , add a comment
According to the Washington Examiner, the US Department of Veterans Affairs gave 69 vet heroin addicts steady quantities of morphine, then suddenly cut back quantities, to study if they would become “hyperactive.” The publication claimed that the “secretive experiment” had cost “$7.8 million,” adding that they based their statements on documents obtained from the “Examiner Show,” confirming the allegation.
The article also mentioned a 10 year old study recently released as a result of the Freedom of Information Act that offered the fullest documentation of “widespread government trials that gave hard-core drugs to addicts.” This particular study took place during the mid 90’s and studied 787 drug addicted vets, whom suffered a range of effects, as part of the study, from minor things like constipation all the way through conditions like heart tremors. The article mentioned that what has happened to participants since remains unclear.
The Washington Examiner also mentioned that the VA and NIDA were aware that the border-line, unethical studies were taking place and refrained from exposing them. The article also cited the logic some maintain in arguing that these human subject tests of these kinds are crucial, because they remain the only real way to measure the long-term effects of drug abuse.
As a matter of fact, rom Dr. Petros Levounis, who is the director of the Addiction Institute of New York, told the Washington Examiner: “It’s very, very good for us to think about these matters. But really, the truth of the matter is that these patients, in general, would continue to use these drugs. By bringing them into a hospital, we’re increasing the odds that they will engage in treatment.”
Click here, Full Article, for the full details of the studies and the entire article in its entirety.
AB 1019: California Alcohol Tax Bill Put on Hold April 29, 2009
Posted by Ernesto in : Alcohol, Recovery, Substance Abuse, United States , add a comment
The California state government was set to enact Bill 1019, which would have proposed a fee on alcohol companies in order to allocate collected funds of approximately $1.4 billion to programs that help Californians alleviate alcohol-related harm, such as car accidents, deaths, illnesses, injuries, and crime (domestic violence).
Democrat Assemblyman Jim Beall, Jr. from San Jose, the author of AB
1019 (Alcohol Related Services Act), recently said: “The industry must start paying its fair share for the problems their products cause. If this fee and the program it pays for prevents another child from being born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or prevents another senseless DUI fatality it will have paid for itself and more.”
The kinds of programs that AB 1019 was originally designed to fund were in the five areas most impacted: alcohol treatment, alcohol prevention, hospitalization, trauma care, and law enforcement. Most Californians seemed to be in agreement with Jim Beall, Jr. that the proposed $1.4 billion that would have been collected would have paled in comparison to the estimated $38.4 billion dollars in damages that the alcohol industries’ products cause yearly in the state.
The “Regulatory Mitigation Fee” (Tax), AB 1019, originally called for the following breakdown: An increase of $1.07 per gallon of beer; $2.56 per gallon of wine containing 14 percent alcohol or less; $4.27 per gallon of wine and hard cider containing more than 14 percent alcohol; and $8.53 per gallon of 80-proof-liqour.
Roughly, the fees would have broken down to about a dime per drink (12-ounce serving of beer, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof-liquor, or a 5 ounce glass of wine). The fee was to be assed directly by the manufactures that distribute the alcohol. However, it remained unknown whether retailers would have passed the heightened cost for alcohol products onto consumers.
Nonetheless, the California state government announced that AB 1019 (Alcohol-Related Services Act of 2009) had been revised by its author Jim Beall, Jr. and turned into a two-year bill for discussion next year.
What Does the in the Rooms Logo Mean? April 18, 2009
Posted by inrecovery in : Online, Recovery, United States , add a comment
For those of you unfamiliar with the In the Rooms logo, it is the image of a tree with 12 different colored leaves on it; but, what exactly does it represent? After reading a recent newsletter, I found out that the logo symbolizes the 12 steps traditions, and the spiritual premises maintained as part of the lifestyle philosophy. In the Rooms added that “When we were originally developing our logo, we decided to go with the tree as it is a symbol of strength, growth and life. Just as with a tree, we believe that if we nurture and care for our community, it will grow and prosper.”
In the Rooms is a new social networking site that is specifically designed for addicts in recovery within the rehabilitation community. Within In the Rooms, members are able to utilize cutting edge technology to meet other like-minded people, upload photos, post videos, create blogs, and most importantly, share their experience, strength and hope about recovery. Among the many members is the musician, Richie Supa, who wrote a song especially for In the Rooms. To date, the website’s mantra has been the word H.I.T.C.H. which stands for Help, Inform, Touch, Connect and Heal; the site has said the acronym helps sum up their mission.
1996 Welfare Reform Act Still Effects Ex-Drug Offenders April 7, 2009
Posted by inrecovery in : United States , add a comment
According to an independent study group out of the nation’s capital, it is estimated that approximately 92,000 women and 135,000 children have been negatively affected by the 1996 Welfare Reform act that prohibits ex-drug offenders from receiving federal assistance like welfare and food stamps.
However, many of the state’s that originally voted for the bill have slowly but surely been passing legislature to repeal the 1996 Welfare Reform act. For example, in October of 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California state government decided to reinstate eligibility for ex-drug offenders as part of the Drug Policy Alliance.
For all the state’s that repealed the 1996 Welfare Reform act, it seemed that the bill was completely discriminatory in that sex offenders or murders were not barred from federal assistance, while drug offenders, most of whom were in recovery and in desperate need of services, were disqualified from any form of aid.
The latest to join the fight was the Missouri state government. Democratic senator, Yvonne Wilson, out of Kansas City is sponsoring new legislation that would reinstate food stamp eligibility to more than 15,000 Missourians with drug convictions. For Missourians and their state government, it is a matter of doing the right thing to ensure economic justice for ex-drug offenders.
HalfwayHouseInFlorida.com Offers Free Help for Recovering Addicts February 16, 2009
Posted by inrecovery in : United States , add a commentHalfwayHouseInFlorida.com is a new free resource for recovering addicts and alcoholics. HalfwayHouseInFlorida.com has a great new free website with an excellent resource of links to other recovery related sites. HalfwayHouseInFlorida.com has referred hundreds of people to reputable halfway houses and will continue to refer people to appropriate solutions based on their individual needs.
HalfwayHouseInFlorida.com has been running a free referral service for addicts and alcoholics looking to live in a drug-free environment. We know the recovery community of Delray Beach, Florida well, where there are 100’s of meetings for addicts and alcoholics to attend.
A halfway house is a place that your recovering addicts can call home, this allows them to continue recovery and test driving what they have learned in treatment without the additional more intense outside influences that brought them into recovery in the first place. They are in an environment that is safe and structured and among those who are dealing with very similar and real issues and fears. Many at this point still doubt their future of living a sober life.
The term sober ‘living home’, has often been used interchangeably with halfway house. In many ways they are very much alike. The purpose is often the same. A sober living home has become a resource for those who have already completed a drug or alcohol program successfully.
A Halfway House in Florida can be a great step in the right direction of recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. In Florida, halfway houses have been around many years and for various reasons. While most notably known to house criminals after their release, they are becoming increasingly popular in providing a sober living environment for those battling alcohol and drug addiction in Florida.
They are intended to be a “half way” point in treatment in which the abuser has successfully completed some type of in-patient or out-patient treatment, and is just not ready to be cast directly back into their former day to day lives.
Let HalfWayHouseinFlorida.com years of experience help guide you in the right direction, call or visit us today. We can be reached by telephone at 888.469.8777 or stop by our website at http://www.HalfwayHouseInFlorida.com .
Rising Above The Influence: A True Story about Alcohol, Drugs and Recovery February 13, 2009
Posted by inrecovery in : United States , add a comment
With Afghanistan reigning as the world’s largest producer and exporter of heroin, is it any surprise that our troops are coming back from the Middle East with “collateral damage” drug addictions?
“The US military claims that soldiers are regularly tested for drug use,” says Stephen Della Valle, author of the new addiction and recovery memoir Rising Above the Influence. “Yet, the Army and Air Force say that they had no positive tests for heroin in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does that seem likely?”
Much like it was in Vietnam, military personnel serving in the Middle East today report long shifts and a lot of boredom, sometimes leading to experimentation with drugs. “And heroin is so easily available over there, especially in Afghanistan,” notes Mr. Della Valle. “You can get it pretty much anywhere.”
The Department of Defense reports that over 1.5 million veterans have served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those, 119,000 have sought medical or mental health assistance through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Veterans have reported suffering from many issues that could contribute to, or be caused by, the silent epidemic of drug use among soldiers, including:
- Anger and aggression issues at a rate of twenty-two percent after deployment, a fifteen-percent divorce rate after combat deployment,
- Joblessness among fifteen percent of veterans between the age of twenty and twenty-four – that’s three times the national average
- Low unit morale in Iraq reported by over fifty percent of soldiers
Concussions suffered by ten percent of troops during combat in Iraq, resulting in headaches, sleep disturbance, memory loss and behavior issues after coming home
“With all the pressure they’re under,” says Mr. Della Valle, “it’s easy to see why soldiers might turn to drug abuse. The problem is getting the military to admit that it’s a problem—and getting these soldiers and veterans the help that they need.”
Stephen Della Valle is president of the board of directors at Turning Point rehabilitation center in Verona, New Jersey. Currently celebrating twenty years of sobriety, he lives in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife, Donna. He has three children.
Rising Above the Influence is available now on Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at fine bookstores everywhere.
