Bennett, Bush, Limbaugh Have All Fallen On Hard Times All of a sudden a spate of right-wing icons seem less, well, iconic. Three in a row -- William Bennett, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh -- have transformed themselves from political pillars to pitiable paleoliths. To be "fair and balanced" about this, the left wing has lost more than its share of discredited heroes in the past few years (Gray Davis the most recent, Jesse Jackson before him and Bill Clinton before him.) But their falls from grace lacked the certain pop, pop, pop, rapid-fire velocity with which the right is doing in so many of its own of late. [continues 625 words]
All of a sudden a spate of right-wing icons seem less, well, iconic. Three in a row -- William Bennett, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh -- have transformed themselves from political pillars to pitiable paleoliths. To be "fair and balanced" about this, the left wing has lost more than its share of discredited heroes in the past few years (Gray Davis the most recent, Jesse Jackson before him and Bill Clinton before him.) But their falls from grace lacked the certain pop, pop, pop, rapid-fire velocity with which the right is doing in so many of its own of late. [continues 626 words]
Call me a reformed non-believer. For the longest time I had given up on peoples' ability to change. But new data convinces me substance abusers can free themselves from addictive and harmful behaviors. Researchers have developed mountainous advances in the field of substance abuse during the last 15 years. Using this newfound knowledge, doctors and treatment experts combine pharmacological and therapeutic intervention to boost success rates. On the pharmacological side, methadone and lesser-known drugs such as buphrenophine ease withdrawal from opiates. Naltrexone ameliorates alcohol cravings. On the psychological side, researchers have a much clearer idea of the social and emotional factors that send people down the long, hard road to substance abuse. [continues 444 words]
Call me a reformed non-believer. For the longest time I had given up on peoples' ability to change. But new data convinces me substance abusers can free themselves from addictive and harmful behaviors (smoking, drinking, drug abuse) in much greater percentages than we ever imagined. Researchers have developed mountainous advances in the field of substance abuse during the last 15 years. We now understand so much more about how addictive chemicals (alcohol, tobacco, opiates) change brain function. Using this newfound knowledge, doctors and treatment experts combine pharmacological and therapeutic intervention to boost success rates. [continues 586 words]
Call me a reformed non-believer. For the longest time I had given up on peoples' ability to change. But new data convinces me substance abusers can free themselves from addictive and harmful behaviors (smoking, drinking, drug abuse) in much greater percentages than we ever imagined. Researchers have developed mountainous advances in the field of substance abuse during the last 15 years. We now understand so much more about how addictive chemicals (alcohol, tobacco, opiates) change brain function. Using this newfound knowledge, doctors and treatment experts combine pharmacological and therapeutic intervention to boost success rates. [continues 594 words]
I have a confession to make: More than 25 years ago (actually, about 30 years ago) I used an illegal narcotic. I'm not running for president, nor any political office for that matter. And the statute of limitations has surely run on my transgression. So it's safe to come clean. I won't make you guess about which drug it was. It was heroin. And here come the gory details. I snorted it -- no, I didn't inject it. [continues 483 words]
IT seems kids in America aren't the only ones with drug and substance abuse problems. Grandma - long teased for hiding a whiskey flask under her rocking chair may be covering up a substance abuse problem of her own. "Kids and drugs" is a topic that's glamorized and sensationalized by the media. Yet Grandma's substance abuse problem is not seen as being pretty, glamorous, dangerous or in any other way attractive, in fact, it's a problem we as a society seem content to ignore or shove out of view. [continues 564 words]
