Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently announced a $10 billion proposal for treating drug and alcohol addiction. While addiction and treatment has not traditionally been a top-tier issue in presidential races, it has attracted concern in key caucus and primary states this year, including New Hampshire, where Clinton announced her proposal in an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union-Leader.

Read more at:

politifact.com

Ask your friends if they think you have a drinking problem, and they'll most likely say no – even if you did have a few too many at the last party. Look inside your fridge, and you'll find a few half-full bottles of wine or a 12-pack of beer – no more or less than what you'd find in most people's kitchens, right? Think how often you crave a nightcap after a stressful day at work. "I'm just unwinding at the end of a long day," 

Read more at:

heatlh.usnews.com

Excessive use of computer games among young people in China appears to be taking an alarming turn and may have particular relevance for American parents whose children spend many hours a day focused on electronic screens. The documentary “Web Junkie,” to be shown next Monday on PBS, highlights the tragic effects on teenagers who become hooked on video games, 

Read more at:

well.blogs.nytimes.com

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully stopped cocaine and alcohol addiction in experiments using a drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat high blood pressure. If the treatment is proven effective in humans, it would be the first of its kind — one that could help prevent relapses by erasing the unconscious memories that underlie addiction.

Read more at:

news.utexas.edu

The siren call of social media can be hard to resist, especially when you're working on a difficult project, folding laundry, or doing, oh, anything less interesting than seeing what all your friends did over the weekend. And there's actually a legit reason for Facebook addiction (and Instagram insanity and Twitter mania): According to a new study from UCLA, when we need a mental break, that's our brains craving social interaction. 

Read more at:

shape.com 

This June, millions of recovering alcoholics will not raise a glass to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The centrality of toasting in our culture reflects AA’s near-impossible task. Founded in June 1935, two years after Prohibition ended, this organization has valiantly combatted alcohol abuse even as modern mores glamorize binge drinking. But like Santa Claus, AA.

Read more at:

thedailybeast.com

Blooming flowers will soon start to decorate and give color to a garden at the Women's Residential Services center in Vernon Hills thanks to a gift from members of the Lincolnshire Garden Club. Last year, the club's 60 members chose the Lake County Health Department treatment center for chemically dependent women as a benefactor of three rose bushes and flowers. A follow-up effort this year has added to the bounty.

Read more at:

chicagotribune.com 

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency estimates that over 23 million Americans (age 12 and older) are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), just under 11% (2.5 million) received care at an addiction treatment facility in 2012. SAMHSA also estimates that the market for addiction treatment is about $35 billion per year.

Read more at:

forbes.com

In part two of The News Herald's three-part series on substance abuse, Burke County resident Whitney Wade shared her story of how addiction can shatter a family and the long, painful struggle of putting the pieces back together. Both Whitney and her father, Scott, who is featured in Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant's video about prescription drug abuse, decided to speak out as a means to come to terms with what they're facing and to help others who have experienced similar circumstances.

Read more at:

morganton.com

Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. Hollywood’s brightest, athletic champions and political leaders mingle with CEOs, academics and average moms, dads, sons and daughters amongst what the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) estimates are 17.6 million Americans who suffer from alcohol abuse and 20 million people who have used an illegal drug within the past 30 days.

Read more at:

foxnews.com

The Kennedy Center, one of the largest rehabilitation agencies in Connecticut, was recently recognized by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for achieving Exemplary Fidelity status in 2014. The designation is bestowed on agencies that closely adhere to DMHAS’s standards for supported employment for those with psychiatric and/or addiction disorders. The center was only of only seven agencies in the state to receive the designation and the only one in Greater Bridgeport.

Read more at:

ctnews.com

Without effective relapse prevention treatments, opioid-dependent inmates are more likely to slip back into bad habits after being released from jail. Looking to break the cycle of re-incarceration and relapse in this specific population, researchers tested a fairly new method that still hasn’t made its way into many of the criminal justice systems in the United States.

Read more at:

forbes.com

Quest Collegiate and Recovery Centre is believed to be Canada first school for teens struggling with mental health and addiction issues. Shewen says she was shocked when she learned there was nothing like Quest Collegiate available. It’s not a new idea. Similar schools have been in the states since the 80’s. What really motivated Shewen was her own experience with her 16-year-old daughter who changed schools five times by grade 10. Her daughter says she suffers from anxiety and depression.

Read more at:

globalnews.ca 

Suicidal patients who are under observation may be put at risk by relying on inexperienced staff and agency nurses, according to a new report issued today. The researchers found that half of deaths examined occurred when checks were carried out by less experienced staff or agency staff who were unfamiliar with the patient. Deaths occurred when staff were distracted by ward disruptions, during busy periods, or when the ward was poorly designed.

Read more at:

sciencedaily.com

“When people say, ‘if only this family member would just make better decisions’ and they’re referring to an addict, that statement is a misnomer,” describes Greg Schmidli, MSW, Licensed Addictions Counselor, and founder of Turning Point in Denver, “because once the midbrain (a portion of the central nervous system associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep/wake, alertness, and temperature regulation) is engaged in drug use, your loved one no longer makes logical decisions.  They operate from instinct.”

Read more at:

kdvr.com

Last year’s health meme was “Sitting is the new smoking”, which focused the collective consciousness on exercise, or at least avoiding sedentary life style. Entrepreneurs have capitalized on this elevated interest, most recently by developing a variety of fitness tracking products, e.g., FitBits, Pebble watches with motion sensors, and smartphone apps that track motion. 

Read more at:

forbes.com

To recognize March as National Problem Gambling Awareness Month, the state departments of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) and Agriculture have teamed with the Pennsylvania Lottery and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to promote resources intended to help individuals with a gambling addiction. To seek confidential help for yourself or a loved one, visit www.paproblemgambling.com or call 1-877-565-2112 or 1-800-848-1880.

Read more at:

fox43.com

It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned—and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted: There are strong chemical hooks in these drugs, so if we stopped on day twenty-one, our bodies would need the chemical. We would have a ferocious craving. We would be addicted. That's what addiction means.

Read more at:

truth-out.org

It should come as little surprise to many that the number of heroin addicts is on the rise. The increase has been nearly exponential, with the number of new users doubling about every five years. The most current numbers available, from 2011, indicate that over 4 million people have used heroin in their life time. About a quarter of them become addicted to the substance. Recent numbers are unavailable, but the fact that the problem is increasing is undeniable. In Cincinnati, Ohio, police are reporting a sharp increase in vehicular crashes caused by heroin addicted drivers.

Read more at:

inquistr.com

Endicott, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Community members came together Sunday afternoon to bowl for a cause. The local organization #I'mDopeWithoutDope hosted a bowling tournament at Ideal Bowling Center in Endicott. The group works with local politicians and community members to raise awareness and money for the area's growing drug problem. The money raised will be used to educate young people and help recovering addicts.

Read more at:

wbng.com

An arrest three years ago likely saved Dexter Reeves' life. A small-town kid from Kentucky, Reeves just wanted to fit in. He wanted to belong. The second alcohol touched his lips, the intoxicating feeling and attention was all he wanted. “At that point, while I was intoxicated, nothing mattered. It was freeing, having fun, laughing and getting along with people older than me,” the 27-year-old said. “I fit in. They accepted me for what I was doing, which was getting totally wasted with them,” he added.

Read more at:

columbustelegram

Everyday life is a balancing act and there are times when challenges to do that manifest as addictions. Addiction in the workplace is common, but often unseen, said Dr. Charles Els, a psychiatrist and addition specialist who will lead a conference, ‘WORK hard, PLAY hard…at what cost?’ at the Catholic Conference Centre on Jan. 22. The conference is being organized by Alberta Health Services; Els is not employed by AHS and emphasized “the opinions I express are not necessarily those of AHS.

Read more at:

prrecordgazette.com

From Arianna Huffington to strategists at Twitter Inc. (TWTR) and Tumblr, technocrats are taking a break from their smartphones to show they can survive without digital media -- for a few hours at least. In interviews at the Digital Life Design technology conference in Munich this week, hyper-connected executives said they were plagued by the same sense of data overload, and dependency fears, as many of their customers. As a result, some are seeking to escape from their phones to find time to think or relax. Huffington, editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post.

Read more at:

bloomberg.com

Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in America, and, chances are, you’re one of the millions of Americans who chooses to get his or her fix through coffee. Research suggests that may not be such a bad thing: Coffee has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms, as well as the chance of developing type 2 diabetes and liver disease. But one issue with your daily cup of Joe that has gained less attention— but is equally important to your health— is that it does a number on the adrenal glands.

Read more at:

foxnews.com

People who carry a particular gene variant may be more likely to develop an "addiction" to tanning, a preliminary study suggests. The idea that ultraviolet light can be addictive -- whether from the sun or a tanning bed -- is fairly new. But recent research has been offering biological evidence that some people do develop a dependence on UV radiation, just like some become dependent on drugs. "It's probably a very small percentage of people who tan that become dependent," said study author Brenda Cartmel, a researcher at the Yale School of Public Health.

Read:

cbsnews.com

A few days before Christmas, in a Portland suburb, Audrey Conn committed suicide in her mother’s house. Her death, like her life, was immediately seen as something larger in a vituperative debate over whether all problem drinkers need to entirely abstain. Conn, 56, was a founder of Moderation Management, a behavioral program for non-dependent drinkers who seek to change their habits.  She came into national headlines in 2000 after a tragic accident.

Read more at:

dailybeast.com

A private health organization specializing in mental health and addiction services has opened a new outpatient facility in Calgary. Homewood Health’s new clinic at 10655 Southport Road S.W. offers care with a focus on getting patients back in to the workforce more quickly. “There's good evidence that the longer a person is off work, the worse their physical and mental health becomes. It's actually healthy to be at work,” said Dr. Beth Reade, Homewood’s medical director for return to.

Read more at:

cbc.ca

”Addiction is a growing epidemic in the United States. So why don't we have a vaccine? Every week, the chemist Kim Janda at the Scripps Research Institute gets at least one email—from an heroin addict or a person who loves a heroin addict—that goes something like this:  “I know you have no idea who I am, but I, as any true mother, want to save my son’s life—as does he! The problem is he can’t beat the craving and we are out of money. I will do whatever it takes to help him…Is there any way that he can become a part of a study for this vaccine.

Read more at:

time.com

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin attracted national attention last January when he devoted his entire State of the State address to Vermont's opiate addiction problem. For the first time, he said, the number of people seeking drug addiction treatment had surpassed those getting help for alcoholism, and many had nowhere to go. "Right now, we have hundreds of Vermonters who are addicted and are ready to accept help, but who are condemned to waiting because we don't have the capacity to treat the demand," he said. at:

Read more at:

npr.org

Clinic found Welsh teenagers were most likely in UK to depend on social media while 70% said they would struggle to give up texting. Welsh teenagers may struggle with addiction as adults because of their love of technology – and parents are helping to maintain the habit, an expert has warned. Children in their teens in Wales are more likely to be heavy social media users than any other part of the UK with 81% saying they had used it in the last week, according to a new report.

Read more at:

walesonline.co.uk

 It's a tradition as old as New Year's: making resolutions. We will not smoke, or sojourn with the bucket of mint chocolate chip. In fact, we will resist sweets generally, including the bowl of M&M's that our co-worker has helpfully positioned on the aisle corner of his desk. There will be exercise, and the learning of a new language. It is resolved. So what does science know about translating our resolve into actual changes in behavior? The answer to this question brings us — strangely enough — to a story about heroin use in Vietnam.

Read more at:

npr.org

Tom Rael's first epiphany came two years ago when he looked up from his drink and caught his reflection in the bar mirror. His eyes were red and dull because he was perpetually stoned, toking every hour or so to maintain a constant high. His face was slack and prematurely lined. He looked too old for someone barely 30. "What have you become?" he asked himself. He stopped drinking, but he kept smoking. Cannabis was natural, he figured, so it was harmless, right? But two years later, he went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and listened to someone describe a dry drunk.

Read more at:

denverpost.com

The holidays are a time to eat, drink, and be merry. But what if you’re a recovering addict? The season for cocktails, parties, and good times can be a tough one to navigate unscathed. The holidays are a stressful time, and many people find that using a substance is a way of coping with stress,” says Kate Rhine, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker and certified addiction counselor with Kaiser Permanente in Colorado.  Ramped up family time also can be emotional for many, especially those recovering from addiction, Rhine adds. For people without close family ties, loneliness may set in.

As the United States' first tax on sugary drinks goes into effect in California, here's a look at the facts and figures for America's love affair with sugar. The numbers are stark:  More than one-third of Americans are currently obese, including 17 per cent of children. Type 2 diabetes diagnoses have increased tenfold in the last thirty years.  America now spends over $190bn (£121bn) annually treating diseases which are tied directly to obesity. While a number of factors have contributed to these worrying trends, health advocates and policymakers are now focusing on one culprit: sugar.

Read more at:

telegraph.co.uk

Substance abuse is an issue that has been around for generations. Even with the court systems, treatment facilities and law enforcement agencies working together to solve this problem, addiction is still a major issue in our area. Whether its narcotics or alcohol, using an excessive amount of any kind of drug can lead to a chemical dependency. However, not all hope is lost for a person who heads down this road. Naomi and Shane Wells have managed to pull themselves out of that destructive life and recently celebrated 5 years of sobriety, but it took a lot to get there.

Read more at:

kimt.com

Seven pharmacies have been robbed in the Magic Valley since March, and they all have one thing in common. The suspects are demanding pain medication. So what is it about a pill so small that brings relief to so many people, that can cause so much damage and force everyday people to do the unthinkable. "There was a big group of people in town doing it, and I was supplying a lot of it," said ex-addict “Bill”. Bill grew up in Twin Falls just like everyone else. He got good grades, played sports and had a large group of friends. 

Read more at:

kmvt.com

Insomnia is a "prevalent and persistent" problem for patients in the early phases of recovery from the disease of addiction—and may lead to an increased risk of relapse, according to a report in the November/December Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. "Treating sleep disturbance in early recovery may have considerable impact on maintenance of sobriety and quality of life," according to Dr Nicholas Rosenlicht of University of San Francisco and colleagues. 

Read more at:

medicalxpress.com

I needed help. My room was a mess. I was tired. My stomach would grumble throughout the day until I found time to eat, often only twice a day. I probably lost weight; scratch that, I certainly lost weight. I’m not sure. Do I care? I hadn’t called my best friend from high school in a while, but I wasn’t sure exactly how long it had been. He’d stopped calling me, knowing I wouldn’t pick up. I never picked up anymore — or cleaned my room, or ate regular meals, or paid attention in class — because I was playing League of Legends for hours every day. 

Read more at:

washingtonpost.com

Through likes and comments, I’ve watched my hometown of Perry, Ohio, disappear into and come back from heroin addiction. The U.S. is facing a massive heroin epidemic, and nowhere is it more evident than in Ohio, where fatal drug overdoses surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in 2007, and increased by 60 percent from 2011 to 2012. Addicts in rehabilitation say heroin is the easiest drug to find. State legislators have called for Republican Governor John Kasich to declare the prevalence of heroin a public-health emergency.

Read more at:

theatlantic.com

An enlisted member of the United States Navy is believed to be the first-ever patient to undergo treatment for an unofficial medical diagnosis known as Internet addiction disorder (IAD), stemming from his overuse of Google Glass. IAD is characterized as a "severe emotional, social and mental dysfunction" that results from the overuse of technology such as mobile devices, video games, and computers. Dr. Andrew Doan, who coauthored the study in the scientific and medical journal Addictive Behaviors, said in an interview with Breitbart News that part of his study of the 31-year-old male patient is due to a "growing concern about force readiness.

Read more at:

breibart.com

All forms of addiction are due to biological alterations in the brain. These brain irregularities have often been seen in cocaine and heroin abusers, as well as alcoholics. Now, a new study suggests that the opioid systems in the brains of pathological gamblers may be different, affecting their control, motivation, emotion, and responses to pain and stress. The study, which will be presented at the ECNP Congress in Berlin this weekend, found that opioid systems in people with gambling problems responded differently than it would in healthy volunteers

Read  more at:

medicaldaily.com

Do you know if you or someone you care about is at risk for an addiction to drugs, alcohol or gambling? When a person becomes stressed or overwhelmed dealing with day-to-day life it is not uncommon for them to search for ways to feel better. Many people then turn to food, alcohol, drugs or gambling as a way to boost their spirits. Addictive behaviours that involve drugs, alcohol or gambling can be perceived as being pleasurable in the early days. However, these behaviours can result in powerful addictions that can destroy a person’s home and work life.

Read more at:

theglobalmail.com

Doctors at the U.S. Navy's Substance Abuse Program in Virginia say they have treated the first reported case of someone being addicted to Google Glass. A 31-year-old man admitted to the facility in September of 2013 had Google Glass -- as well as everything else -- taken from him for treatment, Dr. Andrew Doan, author of "Hooked on Games" and head of the Navy facility's addictions and resilience studies, told HLN. "What we noticed was that this man showed an addiction by mimicking use of the device. It provided a rush," he told HLN. 

Read more at:

hlntv.com

Addiction "can hit anyone and it doesn't matter what your socioeconomic background is," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, while kicking off a Friday morning forum to discuss the abuse of heroin, opiates and synthetic drugs in the area.Seated next to Ayotte at the City Hall forum, Police Chief Stephen DuBois said there were two overdoses last week, one of them fatal, as well as a human trafficking case involving allegations that a pimp controlled women by withholding heroin.

Read more at:

seacoastonline.com

Canada’s largest mental health and addiction center came out in support of marijuana legalization on Oct. 9 — a move that surprised many onlookers. The Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, a leading research center in the field of addiction, “recommends a legalization with strict regulation approach to cannabis control,” according to a news release dated Oct. 9. “Cannabis is not a benign substance, especially for those who use it in large amounts or regularly,” Dr. Peter Selby, chief of addictions and a clinician scientist at CAMH, said in a video (above). “It affects the linings of the lungs, so how you breathe. It affects the way you think. 

Read more at:

thecannibist.co

Despite scientific evidence that addiction is a disease, many people still believe addiction is a moral failing. Thinking a person is weak or lacking willpower for not being able to stop using drugs or alcohol contributes to the stigma surrounding addiction and prevents some from seeking treatment they desperately need.Dr. Drew Pinsky, a board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist and TV host widely known as Dr. Drew, is urging people to change the way they view addiction. For day three of the #14Days on the Wagon challenge, he spoke with CBS News about the need to "let go of this moralizing model about substances."

Read more at:

cbsnews.com

A Russian doctor has come up with a bizarre treatment to help people with addictions - literally beating them with a stick. Patients with a range of issues - including sex addicts and workaholics - can now see a counsellor to receive up to 60 lashes on the buttocks with a cane. The theory is that corporal punishment 'counteracts a lack of enthusiasm for life which is often behind addictions, suicidal tendencies and psychosomatic disorders.'

Read more at:

dailymail.co.uk

People are significantly more likely to have negative attitudes toward those dealing with drug addiction than those with mental illness, a new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests, and generally don't support insurance, housing, and employment policies that benefit those dependent on drugs. A report on the findings, which appears in the October issue of the journal Psychiatric Services, suggests that society seems not to know whether to regard substance abuse as a treatable medical condition akin to diabetes or heart disease.

Read more at:

hub.jhu.edu 

 More than 40 landmarks across Canada will be lit up with purple lights across on Oct. 10, World Mental Health Day, including a few in the Tri-Cities. And Carol Todd would like to see many more. The Port Coquitlam teacher, whose daughter committed suicide in 2012, is hoping everyone wears purple or puts up purple lights as part of the Light Up Purple 2014 campaign to spark a conversation on mental health and the need for awareness, support and resources. "World Mental Health Day has been around since 1992 and occurs on the same date each year.

Read more at:

tricitynews.com

What I remember best from my father’s stories of his homeland is the food: the way he evoked the smell of apricots and tomatoes drying on roofs; rhapsodized over flaky grilled fish eaten without utensils on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates; recalled colorful stork eggs sold at the Hinnuni Bazaar. My father was born in the Jewish quarter of Baghdad in the 1920s. His mother was a healer and came from a long line of people who believed eating well was an investment in one’s strength.

Read more at:

time.com

I was speaking on a panel and a fellow panelist did something I had never seen before – she pulled out her cell phone and started responding to emails while others were speaking. At the end of the session I asked her if everything was OK, thinking she had an emergency. She looked at me and said something that made perfect sense to her, “No emergency, I’m just really busy and needed to catch up on my emails.” This falls into my category of “you can’t make this stuff up.”

Read more at:

forbes.com

In the new Vanity Fair cover story, Robert Downey Jr. talks about his struggles with drugs and his concern that he may have passed on an addictive personality to his son (his oldest child, Indio, was arrested for cocaine possession this summer and recently entered a guilty plea). The actor’s remarks raise the question: Is addiction actually genetic? To find out if you can, in fact, inherit a drug or alcohol problem, we talked to Akikur Mohamad, MD, a nationally-recognized addiction expert and founder of Inspire Malibu, a Los Angeles treatment center (which has not treated either Downey).

Read more at:

abcnews.go.com

At a recent talk I gave as a Sheffield NeuroGirl, a group of three female PhD students who aim to bring interesting and exciting research on the brain to the public, I carried out a little experiment. I asked everyone to get to their feet and then for everyone who either had, or knew someone with a mental illness to sit back down again. Amazingly, only two people were left standing. This is by no means an unusual state of affairs. One in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem, including 10% of all children. 

Read more at:

medicalxpress.com

 Find your vice: Addiction isn’t only about drugs and alcohol. Some people think that working a 12-hour day and drinking six double espressos isn’t a problem. Others think that eating sugar or going to the gym seven nights a week is fine. These things can be difficult to recognise as addictions because they are common and socially acceptable, but they can be as detrimental to your health as any other addiction.

Read more at:

telegraph.co.uk

Make no mistake, says addictions specialist Drew Pinsky, marijuana is addictive — and the earlier one starts to use it, the greater the consequences. “It acts like an opiate and causes severe addiction,” Pinsky said during a Colorado visit this week. “It affects the white matter of the brain, and for kids who start using marijuana when they are 12, or even younger, those bad consequences tend not to reverse.” Withdrawal, he said, can last at least two weeks and involve severe anxiety, sleeplessness and irritability.

Read more at:

thecannibist.co

The jokes all died a week ago. That's when Rob Ford 's grim medical diagnosis broke -- a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Chemotherapy would begin right away; his bid for re-election as Toronto's mayor shattered. The fat jokes packed their bags. The sneers about 'fake rehab' called taxis. All those animated .GIFs of Ford bumping into things and missing football kicks got the hell out of town.

Read more at:

huffingtonpost.com

 People who manage to get clean after being addicted to drugs are at lower risk of becoming addicted to something else in the future than people who never overcame the first substance use disorder, according to a new study. “The results are surprising, they cut against conventional clinical lore which holds that people who stop one addiction are at increased risk of picking up a new one,” said senior author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. “

Read more at:

foxnews.com

Attitudes about addiction, in both professional and public spheres, often reflect a tendency to believe that addiction as a chronic illness means that one dependency is replaced by another. However, a new study has found the opposite could be true. Those who achieve sobriety may be at a lessened risk of developing a different substance dependency. Research on this topic has yielded conflicting results, but ultimately the assumption that addiction leaves a person vulnerable to further addictions does not have a strong body of empirical support.

Read more at:

dailydigestnews.com

The good people at Addiction Recovery Care in Eastern Kentucky know well their mission is “to provide hope and freedom to men and women suffering from addictions.” They also realize that changing lives for the better can be a long and circuitous path. Evidence for that might start by becoming acquainted with a sterling example, the founder of the organization. The inspiration gained by his story is today helping to change hundreds of lives for the better.

Read more.com

kyforward.com

Hands waved and signs about the fight against mental illness and addiction were held high on the Marion Street Bridge Friday evening as passing cars honked their horns. The crowd of people along the sidewalk cheered for one another as they gathered for the eighth annual Hands Across the Bridge event hosted by the Recovery Outreach Community Center. It was an opportunity for people recovering from addiction and mental illness, as well as their friends and family, to celebrate their reclamation.

Read more at:

statesmanjournal.com

For a product so young, e-cigarettes are already generating volumes of research. And the latest, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that e-cigarettes serve as a “gateway drug” — meaning they could make users more likely to use, and become addicted to, other drugs like cocaine. The wife-husband research team Denise Kandel and Eric Kandel has been studying nicotine for years, and in their earlier work they found that nicotine dramatically enhanced the effects of cocaine by activating a reward-related gene and shutting off inhibition.

Read more at:

time.com

For U.S. soldiers, returning home from deployment can be a lonely event. That’s especially true for those suffering from PTSD; these veterans often isolate themselves from others, seeking the quiet and calm that they haven’t experienced since before their service.Marine veteran Timothy Maynard of Greenville, N.C., has found a way to achieve that peace without isolation and now he’s sharing his secret with others.  After serving his country for eight years, Maynard struggled. “

Read more at:

nationswell.com

Have you had a battle with addition? Most people know what it's like to give up something for a little while, but what's it like living with an addiction? Whether it's drugs, smoking, food, alcohol, or something else entirely, if an addiction has affected your life, we want to give you the opportunity to share your story. Have you won the battle against your inner demons or is it an ongoing fight? How many attempts has it taken and how did you deal with withdrawals when you tried to break the habit?

Read more at:

stuff.co.nz

Researchers say addiction to cellphones has become a “realistic possibility” in response to data finding female college students spend an average of 10 hours per day on their electronic devices, and men spending nearly eight. A Baylor University study on cellphone activity published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions finds that approximately 60 percent of college students admit they may be addicted to their phone.

Read more at:

houston. cbslocal.com

Somewhere along the line, classical music has been appropriated A guy walks on in a monkey suit and perpetuates the "amazing scowling genius shrouded in my own artistry" thing. Instead, why not introduce this guy Bach, who was surrounded by death – 11 of his children died in infancy, and then the love of his life dies – then play a piece he wrote in her memory. People will get more from it than by reading an Oxford don's programme notes.

Read more at:

independent.co.uk

Who knows what is going through singer-songwriter Ryo Aska’s mind as he awaits his first appearance in court on drugs charges in Tokyo on Thursday. Does he have any regrets over his alleged possession of illegal substances? If he did use such substances, does he have any desire to quit? Or will his 1998 song prove to be something of a premonition?

Read more at:

japantimes.co

At Confidential Care in Munster which provides services for mental health and substance use issues, Drs. Vijay and Sanker Jayachandran, both board certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, rely upon customary and emerging therapies and innovations to help patients live fuller lives. “We just acquired a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a new state-of-the-art machine that was recently approved by the FDA for treating mental and addiction disorders,” says Vijay, who recently was honored as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association—the professional organization’s highest honor.

Read more at:

nwitimes.com

When members of the Colorado General Assembly and Mental Health America of Colorado learned that Robin Williams had died by suicide, we were saddened. His kindness and passion for helping those in need moved us. His portrayals of teachers, healers, fathers and friends who used the experience of their own struggles to help others will be a source of inspiration always. Williams had severe depression, and worked to stay in recovery from substance abuse. His passing moved people around the world to share personal stories about mental health and suicide. 

Read more at:

denverpost.com

Consuming pornography does not lead to more sex, it leads to more porn. Much like eating McDonalds everyday will accustom you to food that (although enjoyable) is essentially not food, pornography conditions the consumer to being satisfied with an impression of extreme sex rather than the real". -- Virginie Despentes . Intensive research and clinical trials show that pornography is a 'chemical addiction' that produces a response similar to street drugs. Pornography taps into emotional, biological and chemical links through the entire body. Its goal is to excite the naturally built-in desires and urges.

Read more at:

au.ibtimes.com

It’s going to be different this time. He swears. Back in an orange jumper, back behind the now familiar bars of a provincial jail cell, serial fraudster Shaun Nixon — among Ontario’s most notorious online scammers — claims he feels guilty about the hundreds, possibly thousands, of people he’s ripped off through his notorious Craigslist and Kijiji scams, and swears he’ll never do it again. But even Nixon admits it’s hard to take him at his word.ar.com

Read more at:

thestar.com

As the addiction epidemic rages and prisons overflow, our nation seems to be backing away at last from the “lock ’em up and throw away the key” mindset that has characterized the failed war on drugs. Many states have shortened prison time for drug crimes, and the federal system is inching toward doing the same, with new guidelines that will be effective Nov. 1 and retroactive releases starting a year later. Sure, this is inspired largely by the need to relieve the pressure on our prison system, which is straining to cope with a population that has more than quadrupled since 1980.

Read more at:

Washington post.com

In my first career as a pharmacist, I worked in more than 30 pharmacies across Nova Scotia, filling more than 100,000 prescriptions between 1990 and 1995. Some of these were for strong painkillers called opioids – drugs like morphine and oxycodone, which are chemically and biologically very similar to heroin. Back then, these drugs were generally reserved for patients with acute, severe pain or pain due to cancer.

Read more at:

theglobeandmail.com

Every year, communities across the country gather volunteers to count the homeless on a single night in January. People often cycle in and out of homelessness, so these counts don’t capture the full extent of the problem, but they are among the best data we have on the U.S. homeless population. In January 2013, about 600,000 people were counted — two-thirds were in shelters or temporary housing, and one-third were living on the street.

Read more at:

Washington post.com

By the beginning of the year, eight months after the Maryland Live! casino opened its table games, Zach Quinn was four months behind on his share of rent and utilities for his Fells Point apartment. He had to ask his parents if he could move back home. They agreed, with one condition. “They said they’d let me move back in only if I went to some Gamblers Anonymous meetings,” Quinn said. It is something he had never thought would happen to him.

Read more at:

Marylandreporter.com

Humble, compassionate, and loving.  That is how those he serves describe him. Pastor Richard Bond helps those struggling with addiction through scripture and counseling. Sherri Shepard was addicted to meth for 25 years.  She says she hit rock bottom when her son died. “I just wanted to go with him, but God had a different idea so I’m here with you,” said Shepard.  Shepard is sober now and she credits her sobriety to Pastor Bond.

Read more at:

kfor.com

Every day sees a new research article on addiction, be it cocaine, heroin, food or porn. Each one takes a specific angle on how addiction works in the brain. Perhaps it’s a disorder of reward, with drugs hijacking a natural system that is meant to respond to food, sex and friendship. Possibly addiction is a disorder of learning, where our brains learn bad habits and responses. Maybe we should think of addiction as a combination of an environmental stimulus and vulnerable genes.  Or perhaps it’s an inappropriate response to stress, where bad days trigger a relapse to the cigarette, syringe or bottle.

Read more at:

Sciencenews.org

In the course of procrastinating over a deadline — I mean conducting research for this review — I typed “Is Internet addiction real” into a Google window and received 29 million results and no conclusive answer. Some experts think the addiction model fits compulsive, time-sucking online behavior perfectly, while others are skeptical. After a while, I stopped reading to check for Twitter updates and take a quiz or two, but two hours later, I’m not ready to admit that I have a problem.

Read more at:

nytimes.com

Historically, researchers have been interested in determining the minimum amount of exercise needed to be healthy. And for good reason, since most of us don’t engage in enough exercise. In fact, only 20 percent of U.S. adults meet physical activity guidelines. So we often admire people who exercise a lot because we believe that they must be healthy. Not necessarily. Have you ever noticed a very avid exerciser at your local gym – someone who is always running on the treadmill for long lengths of time, or hovering around the weight room well after others have showered and called it a day?

Read more at:

USnews.com

Four babies are born addicted to drugs in the United Kingdom every day, media reports said today quoting National Health Service (NHS) figures. The cases include addiction to heavy drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, where doctors were forced to recommend opiates to the new-born babies in order to wean them off heroin. These shocking figures were published by "Mirror" after a three month long investigation using freedom of information laws.

Read more at:

NDTV.com

As recreational use of marijuana recently became legal in Washington state, many concerned parents and educators feel this decision is sending the wrong message to our youth and teens.  While sales continue to be brisk in Colorado, one expert voices concern about the drug serving as a gateway for youth and teens searching for harder drugs. “It’s truly a shame that yet another state has allowed and is now peddling recreational marijuana.

Read more at:

Forbes.com

When many people start college, there might be a learning curve brought on by the need to now self-regulate — maybe the new-found freedom translates into late nights spent browsing the Internet, and grades consequently suffer. But sometimes that browsing becomes more damaging than just lowered GPA’s — students show signs of being addicted to the Internet. According to the Social Lives vs. Social Networks study commissioned by social networking site Badoo.

Read more at:

college.usatoday.com

We've all heard the term "addictive personality," and many of us know individuals who are consistently more likely to take the extra drink or pill that puts them over the edge. But the specific balance of neurochemicals in the brain that spurs him or her to overdo it is still something of a mystery. "There's not really a lot we know about specific molecules that are linked to vulnerability to addiction," said Tod Kippin, a neuroscientist at UC Santa Barbara who studies cocaine addiction. In a general sense, it is understood that animals—humans included—take substances to derive that pleasurable rush of dopamine, the neurochemical linked with the reward center of the brain.

Read more at:

Medicalxpress.com

How does someone develop substance dependence? The path is not as straightforward as one might think. The psychic alterations induced by substances are not necessarily of evolutionary advantage. Many individuals have tried illegal drugs at some point without succumbing to dependence or abuse. There is a path of no return, though, for some. Some can use once and will never try again; some only use once and are hooked for life. 

Read more at:

Medscape.com

Game addicts in South Korea could be exempt from performing mandatory service in the country’s military, according to a news report. Video game addiction is in the spotlight in South Korea as the country considers a proposed law to tackle the issue. CNET, citing local media, recently highlighted a policy amendment made by South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration in 2010 exempting video game addicts their mandatory military service. South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform military service.

Read more at:

Fox news.com

Arriving at the doorstep of a detox facility last winter was less about recovery and more about survival for Chris Ward.Ward had been in numerous treatment programs before — all of which were "wonderful," he said. But all those times he relapsed, picking up his relationship with heroin right where he left it. Dec. 2, 2013, was the last day Ward, 28, used heroin. By that time, he had overdosed multiple times, and in one of those incidents, he says, his breathing and heart stopped before his friends resuscitated him.

Read more at:

Statesmanjournal.com

Most people can use marijuana without becoming addicted. But for users with vulnerabilities like stress, mental illness, or a genetic predisposition, the risk of dependence is real. For George*, age 60, of Raleigh, N.C., quitting marijuana was no problem. He began using marijuana in college, sometimes once every other day, sometimes once every couple of months, and he kept using after graduation. “It’s recreational,” he said in an interview with Healthline. “Why do people have a drink at the end of the workday? Just because they like it.”

Read more at:

Healthline.com

After years of challenges and debate, Ohio finally joined all of it's neighboring states in allowing casino style gambling. And with the newest casino and racetrack opening soon in Austintown, there is renewed focus on the issue of problem gambling. The majority of people who visit a casino or racetrack treat gambling as recreation and entertainment. A recent survey estimated that the prevalence of at-risk and problem gambling in Ohio is 2.8 percent. For some it can lead to serious problems such as divorce, bankruptcy and foreclosure. 

Read more at:

wfmj.com

 People with so-called "sex addictions" may have patterns of brain activity similar to those of people with drug addictions, a new study finds. When people in the study who reported compulsive sexual behavior watched pornography, they experienced heightened brain activity in the same regions where activity is heightened during drug use in people with drug addiction. The study provides evidence in the fierce debate over whether compulsive sexual behavior — also known as hypersexuality.

Read more at:

livescience.com

When we hear about drug addiction, most of the headline  involve younger people, but more and more older adults are becoming addicted, mainly to prescription medications. Five weeks after going off Xanax, John is still dealing with withdrawal tremors. He started taking the drug more than a decade ago for anxiety. He quickly built up a tolerance and needed more. "I finally found a site on the internet where I could get them and that's when I started taking 6 to 8 per day," he said.

Read more at:

King5.com

For some the urge to buy is an occasional impulse; for others, this chatter might very well support a diagnosis of compulsive buying disorder. Hidden among the throngs of shoppers are people who can't stop themselves — even if they want to. You hear the term shopaholic used all the time on sitcoms or on reality shows where men and women drop thousands of dollars on one item to keep up with what's trending. While this behavior may be funny or entertaining to watch, it's no joke: Shopaholics suffer from a compulsive disorder that results in major debt.

Read more at:

Today.com

A number of Thunder Bay health care specialists have formed a new group to improve opioid addiction treatment in the city. The Joseph Esquega Health Group includes doctors with experience in addictions treatment, as well as specialists in psychology, dentistry, and oral surgery. Opioid-related deaths higher in northern Ontario: study Dr. Cheryl Everall said the group wants to see a patient’s addiction treated along with other issues, such as mental health, “to see how we can help better treat the entire patient.”

Read more at:

Cbc.ca

We Americans like to think of ourselves as exceptional, the land of the free and the home of the brave, the City on the Hill and all that. When it comes to the politics and culture of drugs, we are indeed special—or at least dramatically different from the rest of the Western world. Too often, however, we are special for the wrong reasons.  Americans are more likely to try illegal drugs than anyone else in the world, according to global survey data from the World Health Organization.

Read more at:

Psmag.com

The results of a new study demonstrate that starting hospitalized patients who have an opioid (heroin) addiction on buprenorphine treatment in the hospital and seamlessly connecting them with an outpatient office based treatment program can greatly reduce whether they relapse after they are discharged. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC), the study shows the important role that providers play in offering these patients addiction treatment. 

Read more at:

Medical Xpress.com

Around the world, anti-drugs activists and community organisers are fighting a very personal battle against drugs in their neighbourhoods. As a giant in the global drug trade, with the number of child addicts reaching an all-time high, South Africa is at breaking point. South Africa, once famous for its “big five” game safari, is now becoming better known for its "big five" drugs.

Read more at:

Channelnewsasia.com

Britain reacted with horror when it emerged anti-homeless spikes had been drilled into London doorways to keep them clear of vagrants. It turns out to be in cruel contrast to how our Commonwealth cousins in Canada treat those without a roof over their heads. To raise awareness of homelessness, the city of Vancouver created benches which fold out into an emergency shelter for rough sleepers.

Read more at:

Mirror.co.uk

British Columbia’s government is moving to relax alcohol laws while failing to adequately protect children from their drug-and-alcohol addicted parents, warns the independent children’s representative. In a report released Tuesday, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond recommends stronger care programs for children of addicted parents. The report, Children at Risk: The Case for Better Response to Parental Addiction, examines the case of a 10-year-old boy

Read more at:

theglobalandmail.com

Addiction to marijuana is expected to rise substantially as states loosen medical marijuana laws and allow recreational marijuana use. Currently, two states allow marijuana use as a recreational drug, Colorado and Washington State, and 22 states allow marijuana for medical purposes. On May 30, the Republican controlled House voted 219-189 to stop the Justice Department from prosecuting the use of medical marijuana in states whose legislatures have approved the drug for medical purposes.

Read more at:

Guardianlv.com

Three years ago Jenn Dutton was a successful psychiatric nurse, living in a Vancouver suburb with her boyfriend and his two children. After a rear-end car accident left her with painful whiplash injuries in her back and neck, Dutton’s physician prescribed Percocet, an opioid pain reliever. Thus, innocently, began her descent into hell. “I had a happy life, great family and good, supportive friends and I had never struggled with addiction.

Read more at:

Vancouversun.com

Over the last 18 months, The Enquirer has used a team of reporters to cover the heroin problem locally. We joined with Gannett papers in Arizona, Delaware and Vermont for this series on heroin nationally. First of five parts. When it comes to fighting a sharp and frightening influx of heroin, the Cincinnati area is not alone. In Burlington, Vermont, the police chief sees soccer moms hooked on heroin.

Read more at:

Cincinnati.com

 It is often considered a convenient excuse for people to overeat and gain weight. But new research suggests that food addictions could be more than just an excuse for an extra biscuit. Scientists found that women who are overweight are more instinctively stimulated by images of food. They also discovered these women tend to have less willpower. The researchers, from the University of Luxembourg, say some of the women they studied also reported experiencing food cravings shortly after eating - suggesting a possible food addiction.

Read more at:

Daily Mail.co.uk

Marijuana use is associated with substantial adverse events, including addiction and long-term cognitive dysfunction, new research suggests. A review article by investigators from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that during intoxication, marijuana can interfere with memory, perception of time, and motor function, which can lead to serious consequences, including motor vehicle accidents.

Read more at:

Medscape.com

A local woman is finding a new way to help recovering drug addicts. Drug addiction is a major problem across the nation and here in our region. As the number of overdose deaths continue to rise across our state, experts are working to find the answer to the problem, but a local woman may have already found it.

Read more at:

Wearecentralpa.com

World of Warcraft, Everquest and Starcraft - enormously absorbing and popular online games enjoyed by millions around the world but a dangerous addiction for some? PhD social marketing researcher Rachel Sato, from QUT's School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, said young men were the most vulnerable to problematic online gaming.

Read more at:

Medical Xpress.com

The causes for the rising demand always need to be part of the discussion if we are to make any inroads in fighting this plague across America. Powerful prescription drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin are the new gateway drugs in America, and their devastating effects trickle down from adults prescribed these drugs to our children.

Read more at:

NYTimes.com

Naveen Khanna could never have imagined that an innocent habit of chewing tobacco, like millions of other Indians, could nearly cost him his life. It took less than four years of chewing tobacco for the 69-year-old to develop a full-blown case of mouth cancer. It has left his face disfigured and Mr Khanna has undergone 35 radiation therapy sessions and an operation to get rid of the cancer.

Read more at:

Skynews.com

Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga has come up with a radical new way to combat smartphone addiction, but you won't find it on store shelves anytime soon. It's pretty common to see droves of robots people walking around with their eyes glued to their screens. They're addicted to their smartphones, and are shirking real life to post selfies on Instagram.

Read more at:

Cnet.com

I bought my first and only pregnancy test when I was 26. At the time, I had been doing a lot of meth. I was fortunate if I remembered to eat one meal a day. Refilling my birth-control prescription had become just another missed detail in a life that had ceased to have much meaning for me.

Read more at:

NPR.org

Imagine using cancer to try and ruin someone’s career. Or diabetes. As Chiara de Blasio and Zac Efron go public with their struggles, why are we so close-minded about drug addiction? As frowned-upon offenses in America go, addiction falls alarmingly close to violent crime.

Read more at:

DailyBeast.com

Last weekend my friend died. He was smart, good-looking and fall-on-the-floor funny. I met him when he was in recovery, and it was hard to believe he had ever had a problem with substance abuse. He told me his stories, of course, but the insanity he described seemed as though they must have happened to some other guy.

Read more at:

Dallas news.com

Drug and alcohol addiction poses many unique challenges in several social areas. These challenges are derived primarily from the fact that drug abuse and addiction usually are the result of illegal activity. And, drug users often are viewed as morally corrupt individuals who engage in voluntary self and socially destructive behavior and criminal activity.

Read more at: 

Shreveporttimes.com

Stephanie King's parents never thought their daughter would become a heroin addict. She was raised in a quiet middle class community in Delaware. But while studying at the University of Delaware, King was hospitalized for a severe stomach infection. The doctors sent her home with a prescription for Percocet, a drug that's a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen, commonly used to manage chronic and acute pain.

Read more at: 

CBS news.com

A research team from the University of Buffalo claims to have found a compound that targets a key brain receptor to halt a number of cocaine addiction problems including relapse. The study shows the compound, RO5263397, tones down a host of cocaine addiction behavior. "This is the first systematic study to convincingly show that RO5263397 has the potential to treat cocaine addiction," Jun-Xu Li, MD, PhD.

Read more at:

hngn.com

King Digital Entertainment knew what they were doing when they crafted the ever-addictive “Candy Crush” online, free app game:  Tap into the brain and you tap into the pocket.  And, oh boy, those pockets run real deep!  To date approximately one half-billion players have downloaded (and likely deleted and downloaded again) the Candy Crush app on their phone, device and/or computer.

Read more at:

Hampton Roads.com

There are varying degrees of addiction.  There are many functional addicts in society.  For many years, my father was a functional alcoholic.  He was a proud member of the Canadian Armed Forces, but in his private time, he was often dealing with his personal brand of demons.  My mother often believed that much of the addictive behavior he demonstrated was simply a result of the fact that addiction raged through several generations of his family.

Read more at:

Guardianlv.com 

Nearly 5 percent of Americans battle compulsive shopping everyday, while even more struggle with lesser forms of overspending, says Terrence Shulman, founder of The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending & Hoarding based in Franklin, Mich. We go through money like we go through boyfriends, finding them online, spending them with our credit cards and experiencing problems with self-control.

Read more at:

Unlock your wealth radio

The increased risk of death associated with alcohol intake is not the same for men and women. A study that compared the amount of alcohol consumed and death from all causes among nearly 2.5 million women and men showed that the differences between the sexes became greater as alcohol intake increased, as described in an article in Journal of Women’s Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women’s Health website.

Read more at:

HealthCanal

Marie Teike is a fashion designer who manages a tailor shop at the Stockholms Stadsmission, the main charity in Sweden’s capital. One of her star pupils is Susi, a rail-thin, 50-something woman with a deeply lined face who can be found most days working assiduously over her sewing machine. The Stadsmission, founded in 1853, is the cornerstone of the city’s social-welfare system.

Read more at:

The Atlantic.com

“The war on drugs has failed,” Chris Christie declared yesterday. “There will always be jail cells for violent sociopaths who may have drugs as part of their problem as well,” he continued, “but for those who do not and whose crimes are non-violent and motivated by drug addiction, we need to try to save them."

Read more at:

Daily Caller.com

The word addiction means “enslaved by” or “bound to”, and anyone who has experienced an addiction themselves or has witnessed a loved one struggling with an addiction knows how very much the word lives up to its reputation. As with many other addictions, it seems that it is behavior, rather than the potency of marijuana itself, that determines the risk of addiction to the drug.

Read more at:

Guardianlv.com

With increasing public awareness of tragic deaths in Vermont and across the nation due to both suicide and drug overdose, it has never been more important to frame our dialogue about the treatment of mental illness and addiction in ways that accurately reflect the nature of these diseases and the commitment of those who are dedicated to helping people overcome them.

Read more at:

Rutland Herald.com

It's been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.

Read more at:

CNN.com - March 6, 2014

A few months ago, I found myself face to face with 65 Metro Jail inmates in orange jumpsuits. Intimidating? Yeah. Ultimately rewarding? Absolutely. Recently, I found myself in front of a new, even more intimidating group — 25 or so super-smart Vanderbilt graduate students, all women. Oy. I’m a public school guy who barely earned a bachelor’s degree.

Read more at : Tennesean.com - February 26, 2014 

The Food and Drug Administration is using ads that depict yellow teeth and wrinkled skin to show the nation’s at-risk youth the costs associated with cigarette smoking. The federal agency said Tuesday it is launching a $115 million multimedia education campaign called “The Real Cost” that’s aimed at stopping teenagers from smoking and encouraging them to quit.

Read more at : Washington Post.com - February 4, 2014 

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his New York City apartment on Sunday, according to law enforcement officials. The 46-year-old had a needle in his arm and close to 50 envelopes in his home containing what is believed to be heroin, according to police.

Read more at : HlnTv.com - February 4, 2014 

P.E.I. is facing a crisis in mental health and addiction and the provincial government is making the problem worse, says NDP Leader Mike Redmond. The P.E.I. Nurses Union expressed its concern last week that Health PEI is cutting registered nurse positions at the Provincial Addictions Treatment Facility in Mount Herbert and in the mental health unit of the Prince County Hospital. 

Read more at :CBC. ca news Canada - February 3, 2014 

According to a recent study, heavy caffeine dependency can result in withdrawal symptoms. Caffeine is the most widely consumed "drug" in the world, which has led health professionals to coin the condition "Caffeine Use Disorder" for people who indulge in problematic use of the stimulant.

Read more at: Science World Report.com - January 28,2 014 

The rise of prescription drug addiction has resulted in more babies born addicted to narcotics compared to just two decades ago, when infant addiction was associated more with street-level drugs. A 2012 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association found newborns addicted to painkillers tripled in just 10 years

Read more at : The globe and Mail.com - January 26, 2014 

The recent 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Surgeon-General’s report on smoking provides a good opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come in the war on tobacco, as well as how far we have left to go. Half a century ago, more than half of Canadian adults smoked: 61 per cent of men and 38 per cent of women. That rate has plummeted to 17 per cent today.

Read more at : The Globe and Mail.com - January 26, 2014  

The rise of prescription drug addiction has resulted in more babies born addicted to narcotics compared to just two decades ago, when infant addiction was associated more with street-level drugs. A 2012 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association found newborns addicted to painkillers tripled in just 10 years.

Read more at : The new star.com - January 25, 2014 

A study has revealed that people who are successful in their careers are more likely to be engaging in compulsive internet use, and are at increasing risk of anxiety, depression and isolation as they obsessively log in in out-of-office hours. The results came as a surprise to the researchers, who assumed it would be young people and the unemployed who were most at risk from internet addiction. 

Read more at : Mercury News.com- January 9, 2014

At 5’ 1” my small, 42-year-old frame was taking on a dreadful Body Mass Index. I'd start in on a pint of coffee ice cream at three in the afternoon, every day.. Not just any ice cream, but Bon Appetit top-10-rated best-in-the-nation ice cream that just happens to be a five minute drive from my house. I didn’t know how to stop. I'd sit on my couch and scoop one creamy spoonful after another.

Read more at: Eatocracy CNN.com - January 8, 2014 

She is a daughter, sister, wife and friend. She had a relatively normal childhood. Her teenage years yielded experimentation – alcohol with her pals, marijuana once or twice. There were several defining and stressful episodes during those teenage years that cut her deep.

Read more at : The Almagest.com- January 5,2014 

A Portland director’s newest film, “No Time to Think,” explores addiction to and obsession with new technologies and devices through the eyes of young people in treatment in Washington’s ReStart Internet and Technology Addiction Recovery Program.

Read more at: Oregonlive.com - January 5, 2014 

A patient arrived late, tossed his cell phone on the sofa and pleaded: “Can you help me control my phone? It’s ruining my life.” What is supposed to help us is hurting us. What is supposed to free us ends up enslaving us. That’s the paradox of addiction. Whatever the lure, it seems so good, so positive, so helpful and so harmless. 

Read  more at: New York Post.com - January 4, 2014