The Wednesday Weekly Addiction + Recovery News Clips - November 2, 2022
The Wednesday Weekly is a collaboration of Sober Linings Playbook and Recovery in the Middle Ages Podcast.
NOTE: Sober Linings Playbook is a personal website. Any views or opinions expressed herein belong solely to the website owner and do not represent those of individuals or organizations the owner may be associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. This website offers no advice, products or services.
Highlights
National
Princess of Wales tackles stigma of addiction | Online sports betting has addiction experts worried
Fentanyl
Unfounded fears make “Rainbow” Fentanyl new Halloween Boogeyman | “Rainbow” fentanyl a mid-term election scare tactic?
State and Local
San Jose school principal uses Narcan to save overdosing student | AZ Democrat calls to tackle drug crisis and decriminalize heroin, crack and meth
Studies/Research in the News
The promise of ketamine for depression, addiction
Opinion
Direct opioid settlement dollars toward real solutions | Use sports to combat isolation
Books and Movies
Cricket star Wasim Akram reveals cocaine addiction in new autobiography | The 14 best movies about addition, recovery
Podcasts
Psychological flexibility and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Dr. Bevin Campbell on Flourishing After Addiction | Actor Tommy Davidson on Heart of the Matter
Add a Comment
Have a comment about a story? A suggestion about changes to the Wednesday Weekly format? Did we miss an important story? Leave a comment. Anonymous comments welcome.
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
National
Shame of addiction still stopping people from getting help – Princess of Wales
The Princess of Wales has urged those suffering with an addiction to not let shame hold them back from getting help. Kate, patron of addiction recovery charity The Forward Trust, said addiction is “a serious health condition” and “not a choice”.
The Independent - Oct. 29, 2022
Sports betting is easier than ever and gambling addiction experts are worried
These days it's hard to avoid sports betting ads, with Wayne Gretzky and Auston Matthews coming through your TV screen, or billboards and bus ads rushing by you on the commute. That has addiction experts concerned that newly loosened sports betting laws and the accompanying ads could create challenges for current problem gamblers, and create new problem gamblers from a young age.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Oct. 29, 2022
When it comes to addiction, Americans’ word choices are part of the problem
Even as drugs and alcohol claim 200,000 lives each year, many who seek addiction treatment are greeted by the harsh, stigmatizing labels that many Americans don’t think twice about: Words like addict, alcoholic, junkie, abuser, or worse.
Stat News - Oct. 26, 2022
Congressman Lamborn Introduces Additional Legislation to Combat Fentanyl Crisis
Congressman Doug Lamborn joined Congressman David Trone, along with Congressman Hal Rogers, and Congresswoman Mary Sattler Peltola, in introducing Bruce’s Law, new bipartisan legislation that will authorize Community-Based Coalition Enhancement Grants and expand federal agencies’ efforts to raise awareness about fentanyl.
Congressman Doug Lamborn - Oct. 26, 2022
National State and Local Studies in the News Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
Fentanyl
‘Rainbow’ fentanyl in your kids’ Halloween candy? A midterm scare tactic, nothing more
Midterm elections are here, which means it’s the season for scary political stories. This year’s panic isn’t 2018’s migrant caravans or 2014’s Ebola virus scare — it’s fentanyl in your children’s Halloween candy haul. It’s a political and media narrative that has little to do with facts, public safety or sober warnings of real dangers. It’s all about “vibes,” jamming a bunch of scary words into a headline and taking the real threat of fentanyl and cynically using it to frighten swing voters.
San Francisco Chronicle - Oct. 31, 2022
Unfounded fears about rainbow fentanyl become the latest Halloween boogeyman
Forget horror movies, haunted houses or decorations that seem a little too realistic. For many, paranoia around drug-laced candy can make trick-or-treating the ultimate scare. In August, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration alerted the public to the existence of bright-colored fentanyl pills that resemble candy — now dubbed "rainbow fentanyl." The DEA warned that the pills were a deliberate scheme by drug cartels to sell addictive fentanyl to children and young people. Drug experts, however, say that there is no new fentanyl threat to kids this Halloween.
NPR - Oct. 31, 2022
Hudson Valley Republicans are framing the fentanyl crisis as a border issue. Experts say that’s inaccurate.
While campaigning for competitive congressional seats in the Hudson Valley, Republican Assembly Members Mike Lawler and Colin Schmitt have framed the ongoing opioid crisis as an immigration issue: blaming an influx of fentanyl on Democratic policies at the southern border. David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the right-leaning think tank the Cato Institute, said the idea that fentanyl is coming from the southern border and driving the opioid crisis is wrong and referred to it as a “politically convenient narrative”. Bier pointed to data that showed 86.2% of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers in 2021 were American citizens, and seizures from people illegally crossing the border were far lower.
City and State NY - Oct. 31, 2022
Myths about fentanyl persist as opioid continues to cause overdose deaths
As fentanyl gains attention, mistaken beliefs persist about the drug, how it is trafficked and why so many people are dying. Advocates warn that some of the alarms being sounded by politicians and officials are wrong and potentially dangerous.
PBS - Oct. 28, 2022
GOP candidate for governor Kari Lake is clueless about the border, fentanyl and the NFL
The Republican candidate for governor claims that an 'invasion' at the border is responsible for bringing in the deadly drug. Nope. During a television interview Lake was asked about her wild campaign rhetoric, particularly the part where she has says that, if elected, she would declare an “invasion” on the southern border and send National Guard troops and who knows what else down there, supposedly over the influx of the deadly drug fentanyl.As for the fentanyl part, rather than rely on me to point out how uninformed Lake’s view is, I’d suggest you check out the Cato Institute, a right-wing libertarian think tank with a fairly close association to the right-wing libertarian think tank in Arizona, the Goldwater Institute.
AZ Central - Oct. 28, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
State / Local
After 4 Overdoses at River North Bar, Chicago Health Officials Share Resources for Opioid Addiction
Following an incident in which four people apparently overdosed at a River North bar, Chicago health officials want to ensure the public is informed about available resources to help battle opioid addiction.
NBC Chicago - Oct.. 30, 2022
San Jose School Principal Saves Student Apparently Overdosing on Fentanyl
A South Bay high school principal is being hailed as a hero after saving a student who was apparently overdosing on fentanyl in the school office. San Jose police said the incident is not necessarily a local school crisis, but rather a community crisis that sometimes trickles onto school campuses. The incident occurred Wednesday at Overfelt High School. A student allegedly swallowed a pill laced with fentanyl and overdosed just after school ended.
NBC Bay Area - Oct. 29
Arizona: Dem AZ attorney nominee pledges to tackle drug crises after calling to decriminalize heroin, crack and meth
Julie Gunnigle, the Democratic nominee for Arizona's Maricopa County attorney, the nation's third-largest prosecutor's office, assured participants at a fundraiser this month that she'd tackle the county's rising drug crises if elected. However, Gunnigle previously advocated for decriminalizing hard drugs, including heroin, crack and meth, and has complained about prosecutors "overcharging" drug suppliers, including when someone "splits a 20 rock [of crack]," according to previously unreported interviews reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Yahoo! - Oct. 25, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
Studies/Research in the News
Smiling faces might help the drug ketamine keep depression at bay
A recent study of 154 people found that those who played games featuring smiling faces and positive messages remained free of depression up to three months after a ketamine infusion, a team reports in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It's also possible the combination approach could work for other conditions being treated with ketamine, including addiction and alcohol use disorder.
NPR - Oct. 31, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
Opinion
Direct opioid settlement dollars to real solutions for addiction
It’s high time to take a comprehensive, proactive, and sustained approach to substance use and addiction, the most prevalent and preventable health problems the U.S. faces. The blueprints for doing this right are available and, for once, there may even be enough funding on the horizon to launch key initiatives where they are most needed. The National Prescription Opiate Litigation, which consolidated thousands of lawsuits against some of the companies responsible for the prescription opioid epidemic, as well as other ongoing litigation against responsible parties, are resulting in billions of dollars of settlement funds flowing to states and localities throughout the country. Some guardrails have been put in place, forged in part from hard lessons learned when states misused or inappropriately used funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco industry.
Stat News - Oct. 27, 2022
Americans Don't Need More Pills—They Need Sports
We know social isolation and lack of exercise are major factors behind anxiety, so why are we medicalizing what we know to be a social, technological problem that inaccessible therapy and popping pills can't possibly fix?
Newsweek - Oct. 26, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
Books and Movies
Salt, Fat And Sugar: How Americans Became Addicted To Eating
David Kessler, in his New York Times Bestseller The End of Overeating, describes how the American food industry constructed and continues to profit from this dissociation. The former FDA commissioner lays out the science behind high-caloric food and the brain’s reward systems that has led to an epidemic of overeating.
Forbes - Oct. 29, 2022
Wasim Akram admits to cocaine addiction post retirement
Former Pakistan legendary seamer Wasim Akram admitted to drug addiction for the first time in his new autobiography titled – Sultan: A Memoir. Akram, 56, said that said he began using cocaine while working as a television pundit around the world. “The culture of fame in south Asia is all-consuming, seductive and corrupting,” he told the Times.
The Indian Express - Oct. 29, 2022
The 14 Best Movies About Addiction And Recovery To Watch
Depictions of addiction and recovery are not sparse in Hollywood, as filmmakers have focused on telling stories of drug use, alcoholism, trauma, loss, and rehabilitation on-screen for decades. Though some films glorify the act of addiction rather than portraying the journey of recovery, there are still numerous movies that deliver honest, authentic performances of people both in recovery and actively coping with addiction.
Looper - Oct. 26, 2022
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments
Flourishing After Addiction – On Psychological Flexibility and Reclaiming a Life Worth Living
Taking care of our relationships is a crucial way we take care of ourselves and the wider world. Some of the most common questions I get in my clinical practice and from listeners are questions about how to navigate relationships in addiction and recovery: couples, parents and kids, or otherwise. So I wanted to have a clinically focused episode about this important issue, and it was my great pleasure to talk with my good friend and wise colleague, Dr. Bevin Campbell, a psychotherapist who focuses on relationships, addiction, and recovery.
Heart of the Matter - Comedian and Actor Tommy Davidson: On Finding a Second Life in Recovery
Tommy Davidson’s childhood was anything but textbook. Discovered on the streets as a toddler by his adoptive white mother, he faced alienation from those who looked down on his interracial upbringing, and strife from a society clinging to racial barriers. But a breakout role on the now-iconic ‘90s sitcom “In Living Color” soon thrust him into fame—and into the throes of addiction.than ever before.
National State/Local Studies/Research Opinion Reviews Podcasts Comments