Global swoop nets huge haul of fake drugs: Interpol

 

Police and customs officers from 81 countries have seized 2.4 million doses of counterfeit medicine sold over the Internet during a one-week operation, international police body Interpol said Thursday. Fifty-five people were arrested during the September 20-27 operation, codenamed Pangea 4, and more than 13,000 websites closed down, Interpol said. More than 100,000 illegal doses were seized in France, over half of which were for supposed to be for treating male erection problems, France's medical security agency that took part in the operation, AFSSAPS, said. The operation was carried out for the fourth successive year in an effort to inform the public about the risks of buying medicines online. "Interpol's member countries and partners have shown through the success of Operation Pangea IV the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for criminals trafficking illicit medicines," said Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble. The agency said it had targeted Internet service providers, online payment companies and delivery companies during the operation, in order that the whole supply chain of fake drugs be broken down. "We cannot halt the illicit online supply of medicines without a consistent, constant and collective international effort involving all sectors," said Aline Plancon, head of Interpol's fake drugs department. "The operation itself was only made possible thanks to a combined effort involving the 165 different participating agencies sharing and exchanging live information via Interpol's headquarters in Lyon," she said. Interpol has also posted messages on Internet video sharing sites warning punters "Don't Be Your Own Killer" by buying unlicensed pharmaceuticals.

Scottish supermarkets face extra tax on selling alcohol

 

Plans to hike business rates for major retailers of alcohol and tobacco in Scotland could see supermarkets pay around £110 million in tax over the next three years.   Finance Secretary John Swinney announced the new levy yesterday, as part of the Scottish government’s Spending Review.   Swinney said the review contained “tough choices, because of the cuts from Westminster that go too far, too fast”.   “We have had to restrict pay costs, reluctantly implement pensions increases on public sector staff, and maximise the income gained from asset sales,” he said.   He outlined that part of the extra revenue brought in would come from a tax on major retailers who sell alcohol and tobacco.   The measure was a surprise announcement, as during the last parliament a proposal to introduce a “Tesco tax” was voted down and it was not included the SNP’s manifesto.   Scottish Retail Consortium director Ian Shearer said: “This new tax is a blatant fund-raising exercise which is illogical and discriminatory. It targets a part of the retail sector which funds Drinkaware, rigorously prevents under-age sales with Challenge 25 and has led the way on clear alcohol labelling, giving it an exemplary record on the sale of alcohol and tobacco.   “Supermarket margins are already cut to the bone as stores compete to offer the best deals to cash-strapped consumers. The UK already has some of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe. This tax would make it harder for food retailers to keep prices down for customers, and makes Scotland a less attractive place to do business, invest and create jobs.”   The WSTA's Jeremy Beadles said he was "disappointed" the meaure had been announced with no consultation.   "The tax on large retailers will place an additional burden on Scottish businesses and push the price up for all consumers regardless of whether they consume alcohol at all,” he added.   “At a time of financial constraint, when many businesses in Scotland are already feeling the pinch and paying increase rates, we do not believe that punishing responsible consumers in Scotland with another tax is either fair or justified.”     Minimum alcohol unit pricing could become as reality north of the border by next summer, although the price has not yet been set. The Scottish government claims it is the “most effective and efficient way” of reducing consumption and alcohol related harm.

if arresting people for drugs was a sign of success in The War on Drugs, then I guess our government has won.

The United States arrests a lot of people on drug charges. The answer to the failure of The War on Drugs is always spend more money and arrest more people.

In fact, if arresting people for drugs was a sign of success in The War on Drugs, then I guess our government has won. Here is a press release from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition on a new report from the FBI on just how many people are arrested for drugs in this country.

New FBI Numbers Reveal Failure of “War on Drugs”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new FBI report released today shows that there is a drug arrest every 19 seconds in the U.S. A group of police and judges who have been campaigning to legalize and regulate drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 1.6 million drug arrests in 2010 as evidence that the “war on drugs” is a failure that can never be won.

“Since the declaration of the ‘war on drugs’ 40 years ago we’ve arrested tens of millions of people in an effort to reduce drug use. The fact that cops had to spend time arresting another 1.6 million of our fellow citizens last year shows that it simply hasn’t worked. In the current economy we simply cannot afford to keep arresting three people every minute in the failed ‘war on drugs,’” said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). “If we legalized and taxed drugs, we could not only create new revenue in addition to the money we’d save from ending the cruel policy of arresting users, but we’d make society safer by bankrupting the cartels and gangs who control the currently illegal marketplace.”

Today’s FBI report, which can be found athttp://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010, shows that 81.9 percent of all drug arrests in 2010 were for possession only, and 45.8 percent of all drug arrests were for possession of marijuana.

A separate Department of Justice report released last month shows that Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in more than 1,000 U.S. cities, whereas two years ago they were in 230 U.S. cities. Meanwhile, a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report released earlier this month shows that nearly one in 10 Americans admit to regularly using illegal drugs.

Sadly, arrests are not a sign of success but a sign of a cycle of waste and idiocy that has our country locked in a downward spiral of drug abuse and violence.

The unmitigated failure of The War on Drugs is on display every day in a multitude of ways. This report is yet another example of the government highlighting their massive failure.

More Than Half Of All Drug Arrests In U.S. Are For Marijuana

 

We all know marijuana is the most used illegal drug in The United States. It stands to reason that marijuana is responsible for the most arrests out of all of the illegal drugs. But according to new statistics from the F.B.I., marijuana arrests account for more than half of all drugs arrested, meaning more people are arrested for marijuana than all other illicit drugs combined. Of the 854,000 arrests for marijuana, 88% were for possession. Opponents of marijuana legalization like to pretend that The War on Drugs is aimed at gang leaders and dealers, but the simple fact is the drug war budgets of law enforcement agencies are built on the backs of people whose only crime was having some weed on their person.

Met chief to 'tag and test' drinkers in crime drive

 

Problem drinkers in London could be tagged and given twice-daily tests in a new "total war" on crime. Scotland Yard's new police chief today pledged to take on the capital's binge drinking as he unveiled tough crackdowns on anti-social behaviour, illegal drivers and gangs. Bernard Hogan-Howe, 53, the newly elected Metropolitan Police Commissioner, declared an "uncompromising" war on crime and criminals. His new measures include: Plans to flood the streets with thousands of officers on two days a month in single crime crackdowns. Seizing thousands of uninsured cars from motorists and criminals and putting them on public display. Boosting the Met's fight against gangs with reinforcements for a specialist gang-busting squad. Mr Hogan-Howe also said he backed a US-style crackdown on drink drivers and problem drinkers in which they faced twice-daily sobriety tests and the threat of jail if they continue drinking. Mr Hogan-Howe said the scheme, first introduced in Dakota, could involve people convicted of alcohol-related offences wearing tags or armbands which can detect if they had been drinking. He said : "There are two big aggravating features for any criminal activity, one is alcohol. About 80 per cent of the people in our cells overnight will have a drink issue. The other is drugs." In a frank interview, he also told how he had called in an outside force to carry out an independent review of the Met's investigation into phone-hacking. Mr Hogan-Howe was parachuted into the role of deputy commissioner in July after former chief Sir Paul Stephenson quit in the wake of the scandal. He said : "I have asked another force to have a look at the inquiry to reassure us we are going in the right direction and I think we are." He revealed he had also ordered a full review of the Met's response to the riots and declared he had not ruled out the possibility of using water cannon to "save lives" in possible future unrest. Mr Hogan-Howe won praise for slashing crime as chief constable of Merseyside with a zero tolerance crackdown on criminals dubbed "Total Policing". He said : "It is not just about being gung-ho, it is about helping victims, being professional and using technology." He also pledged to boost the Met's Operation Connect fight against gangs to cover a third of London within the next six months

Winehouse's death points to risk of detoxing alone

 

Amy Winehouse’s father says the late singer was off drugs for three years, but she was in a continuous battle with alcohol — and believes that the way she was trying to detox may have killed her, according to an interview with Anderson Cooper that aired Monday. Mitch Winehouse says he suspects his daughter suffered a seizure and “there was nobody there to rescue her.” While no one knows for sure the exact circumstances of Winehouse's death, subtance abuse treatment experts say an alcohol detox can be more deadly than most people imagine. “While you’re withdrawing from other drugs, you may want to die, but alcohol detox is the only actual drug detox you can die from,” says Cyndie Dunkerson, clinical supervisor for Hope By the Sea, an alcohol and drug detox and rehabilitation center in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Scoop: Winehouse family shares more details about Amy's death An estimated 15.2 million Americans battle alcohol abuse and addiction each year, according to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. About 5 percent of untreated patients going through acute alcohol withdrawal have seizures, according to a report published in Alcohol Health & Research World. Between 5 and 25 percent of patients die who are going through the severest stage of alcohol withdrawal, delirium tremens (DT's), the report said. “The body just doesn’t handle getting off of it very well,” says Dunkerson. Of those who don’t survive detox, ”most people, if they are not dying from a gastrointestinal bleed, they die from a really bad grand mal seizure.” Advertise | AdChoices Mitch Winehouse told Cooper the troubled British singing sensation was taking Librium, a drug commonly used to help with an alcohol detox and decrease the chances of seizures and anxiety. Toxicology reports confirmed the presence of Librium in Winehouse's body at the time of her death. It’s not known whether Librium contributed to Winehouse’s death, but Dr. Philip Gilly, medical director of the Maplegrove Center at Henry Ford Health System in West Bloomfield, Mich., says a seizure can be caused after 24 hours of alcohol withdrawal or withdrawal from long-term use of the medication, part of a class of benzodiazepines which includes other prescription drugs such as Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax and Valium. Librium can become addictive and can cause medical issues such as dependence, agitation, disorientation, hypertension, anxiety and anorexia if it’s taken much longer than a week. In severe cases, seizures can occur during sudden Librium withdrawal. “If someone were going to have a benzo withdrawal seizure because of the Librium, it means they were taking it improperly,” Gilly says. “They were taking it longer and more than they would need for alcohol withdrawal. They would have to be taking it every day for more than a month or two.” Dunkerson explains that during alcohol withdrawal, the body goes through a series of physical and neurological changes, and a simple hangover is a mild form of alcohol withdrawal. If drinking alcohol helps people relax and go to sleep, withdrawal causes the opposite of that. “Your blood pressure gets really high. You’ll get agitated, hyperactive, anxiety-filled and you will actually get depressed because of all that’s going on," she said. "You can get jaundice and turn yellow from hepatitis inflammation in your liver, and have hallucinations and seizures.” Drugs and alcohol affect the brain, says Gilly, and seizures are a short circuit in the brain’s electrical circuits. The brain goes through changes when a person starts taking drugs, or comes off them, causing overactive or irritated nerves that can lead to seizures. Mitch Winehouse said doctors warned his daughter to slowly cut down on drinking, but she didn’t. Dunkerson says that’s exactly what she tells incoming patients who call to say they are going to stop drinking before they arrive for detox. Alcohol withdrawal requires careful monitoring and taking a drug such as Librium to help. “You need medication assistance in getting through this. Otherwise, you are putting yourself at grave risk,” she says. “Nobody should ever try to quit drinking alcohol on their own if they have been a daily drinker for an extended period of time. My advice is ‘Don’t stop drinking until you get here.’ Get medical attention immediately because between 48 and 72 hours is when you have seizures from an acute withdrawal.” Alcohol withdrawal, which also can include tremors the first day, seizures and delirium tremens (DTs) within a week, doesn’t have to be deadly, but too often it is, says Dunkerson. “When I heard the news of Amy Winehouse’s death, I cried because she was such a tortured soul,” she says. “This disease doesn’t have to be fatal, but it is very, very fatal. The only thing I love about my job is getting people to walk out from the dead. The thing I hate about my job is I get to bury the people that don’t make it.”

The Amy Winehouse Foundation will be launched on September 14

 

The Amy Winehouse Foundation will be launched on September 14, and the late singer’s family are now hoping to channel their grief into... Washington, Sept 7 (ANI): The Amy Winehouse Foundation will be launched on September 14, and the late singer’s family are now hoping to channel their related stories Simon Cowell’s a serial cheater: ex-wife Sinitta Amy Winehouse died during detox? Amy was at her funeral: Winehouse’s dad Now, Will Smith-Marc Anthony on boys' night out! Winehouse foundation launch put on hold grief into “positive action” by providing assistance to young addicts. Amy’s father Mitch Winehouse, who has set up the charity in memory of the late singer, made the announcement on his Twitter page. “The launch of Amy’s foundation 14th September. We will turn our grief into positive action.” Contactmusic quoted Mitch as writing on his twitter page. Amy - who battled drink and drug addictions throughout her career - was found dead at her London home on July 23.

Heroin back with a vengeance

 

HEALTH experts are calling for more full-time drug and alcohol support services in the the north-west to reduce alarming rates of heroin overdose. The most-recent Ambulance Victoria statistics show Brimbank had the third-highest rate of heroin overdoses attended by paramedics in Victoria. In 2009-10, there were 111 overdoses during the year, compared to 87 in 2008-09. Heroin overdose attendances by paramedics were also up in Melton Shire, with 23 in 2009-10 compared to 10 in 2008-09. The Stepping Up consortium, which runs the only drug and alcohol support service in Melton, has seen about 200 people from the area since opening in January. General manager Shelley Cross said she was initially worried the four-year pilot project wouldn't reach client targets set by the Department of Health. But the service has already surpassed that target. She said the demand for additional services was strong in high-growth areas like Melton. Team leader Raymond Beacham said there was a need for more full-time services. "We're starting to see more clients come in from Caroline Springs and most of our clients use more than one substance," he said. "Melton never really had full-time drug and alcohol services until we came in and it would make it a lot easier for people to access support if there were more full-time services around." Mr Beacham said services provided education to drug users so they were more aware of what they were injecting. "Most overdoses are accidental and they often occur because drug users don't know the strength of what they are using or they're mixing substances. "People who overdose from drugs are at risk of developing brain damage and can die from it." Family members of overdose victims reflected on their loss on Overdose Awareness Day on August 31. Drug and alcohol support service providers, like Health Works in Footscray, held ceremonies to remember people who died of an overdose, as well as those who live with permanent injuries. Head of clinical services at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Fitzroy, Dr Matthew Frei, said substance addictions could be associated with conditions like depression and required medical treatment. "There is a certain stigma attached to drug users and people who die from overdose, but we need to encourage drug users to seek treatment to reduce harm to the individual and the community," Dr Frei said.

DEA Bans Synthetic Cocaine Masked As Bath Salts

 

The U.S Drug Enforcement Agency's war on drugs continues with a nationwide ban of synthetic cocaine. Labeled as bath salts, the hallucinogenic drug has become more available in the Grand Junction area as part of a trend seen across the country. In response to increased emergency room visits, the federal agency has moved to emergency control these synthetic stimulants. This action makes it illegal to possess or sell Mephedrone, Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and Methylone or any products containing them for the next year. These chemicals are most often found in forms of 'legal ecstasy' or 'legal cocaine.' During the temporary ban, the DEA will team up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to further study whether these chemicals should be permanently banned. In June, we introduced you to these bath salts in this article. Back then, they were an unregulated drug taking the place of recently banned synthetic forms of marijuana. "It is actually like a synthetic cocaine slash methamphetamine," Jim Schrant with the DEA told us at the time. "So, it's really the worst of both." The bath salts sell at a price of $40 per gram. They are mainly sold at smoke shops. But, in June, Schrant told us that his agency could not find any local dealers. Today, there are at least two. "They're putting it into packaging which is pleasing to the eye with market names of "Blue Dreams," things like that," Schrant said. "And, they're intentionally trying to target that young adult crowd." As part of this emergency control, businesses and citizens have 30 days to get rid of the banned products. At that time, the DEA will publish a Final Order in the Federal Register making the drugs Scheduled 1 substances. That category is the harshest and is reserved for unsafe, highly abused chemicals with no known medical use in the U.S. Violating that law is punishable by jail time. Employees at smoke shops in the area tell us that synthetic cocaine isn't that popular. But, local high school students have heard all about it. "I don't think they care if it's legal," Grand Junction High School freshman Hannah Rady said of some of her classmates. "Nobody does." Just like K2 and Spice, bath salts are labeled "not for human consumption." But, these students say that is not stopping anyone and neither is the law. "People just ask me 'Have you done spice before?' I'm just like, 'No,'" GJHS freshman Emilio Lazcano said. He knows Governor John Hickenlooper made those forms of synthetic marijuana illegal starting July 1, but he says fellow classmates continue to tell bother about it. "They're like 'Oh, well you're supposed to smoke it like this and that,' and I'm like 'Oh, well cool. I'm not really into that stuff.'" "They tell us that it doesn't make their eyes red, so it's way easier to bypass by your parents," GJHS junior Joe Gedscad added. The most common symptoms of these synthetic stimulants include impaired perception, reduced motor control, disorientation, extreme paranoia, and violent episodes. The DEA says the long-term physical and psychological effects are not known but potentially severe. Including Colorado, 33 states have already taken action to control or ban other synthetic stimulants. Most states pass these laws after the DEA files an emergency control on certain chemicals.

Drug couriers have started to smuggle hashish into Finland inside their bodies in small swallowable packets.

 

      According to the Customs, the first attempts to bring internally concealed hashish into the country were observed in 2008. In the past several months, however, the phenomenon has become markedly more common.       Customs Inspector Tero Virtanen explains that since last December more than a dozen individuals have been stopped and caught on arrival at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport for trying to smuggle in hashish inside the body.       ”Most of them have been men between the ages of 20 and 35. They are professional couriers, and some of them have told the officials that they have made several successful runs to Finland before getting caught. Some of them have also performed deliveries to other Nordic countries.”       According to Virtanen, the Customs have confiscated more than ten kilograms of cannabis from the mules. The street value of the lot would have been in the region of EUR 100,000.       In addition to this, the officials have learned in the preliminary investigations about the importation of additional roughly 10 kg of hashish.       “Thanks to the couriers, several different criminal organisations have now been tracked down in Finland. At the receiving end of the chain there are around a dozen suspects and the spectrum of their nationalities is broad”, Virtanen notes.       The Customs believe that hash has been distributed, or was supposed to be distributed, across Southern Finland.       The amounts of cannabis that the couriers have swallowed in small packages have varied from half a kilogramme to a kilo.       The smugglers doing the ingesting of the small packages have been natives of Spain, Portugal, Morocco, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.       Customs officials suspect that the smuggled substance has generally originated from Morocco and Spain.       One of the couriers told the authorities that his fee for the gig was EUR 700.       The use of this technique to bring in hashish is a new development: traditionally the internally concealed drugs smuggled into the country have been substances appreciably stronger than hash, such as cocaine and heroin.       “Larger hashish consignments are still brought in through other means, but this is a quick way to import narcotics. There will always be a ready market for cannabis”, Virtanen says.

Addict: Virtual World Crowds Out Real Life

 

What starts out as a fun activity, can take over some lives. Some psychiatrists say video games are one of the big addictions of the decade and can cause problems for people who play them too much. Others argue it is not a recognized addiction.

Described in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book as "cunning, baffling, powerful," addiction often seems as inscrutable as the human mind itself. Its reach is widespread

Described in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book as "cunning, baffling, powerful," addiction often seems as inscrutable as the human mind itself. Its reach is widespread: Else Pedersen, executive director of Bridge House, estimates 10 to 15 percent of the population has an addiction. "We all either have this or have some strong primary connection to it," she says. "This is everywhere, and it needs to be dealt with like the medical issue it is. We need to give it the same attention we give other diseases that are progressive, pervasive and potentially lethal."

 

  Last month, The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) made a big step toward widespread recognition of addiction as a medical issue rather than a behavioral issue or moral failing. It released a new definition which states addiction is a chronic, underlying, largely genetic brain disease.

  "The disease is about brains, not drugs," former president of ASAM Dr. Michael Miller stated in a press release. "It's about underlying neurology, not outward actions." Miller oversaw a four-year effort by more than 80 addiction experts and neuroscience researchers which yielded the new definition.

  Dr. Ken Roy, medical director of Addiction Recovery Resources Incorporated in Metairie, calls it a game-changer.

  "This is a definition based on a consensus of expert opinion and scientific literature that changes the understanding of addiction from a choice or a self-treatment to a condition of brain structures that basically compels behavior outside the ability to choose," he says. "It's also pivotal in the sense that it equates a compulsion to use chemicals with compulsions to have other kinds of behaviors such as food or gambling or sex. (It is) the same disease state. Addiction is not a choice."

  The new definition reveals addiction to be a primary disease, much like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. It can be a root cause behind other behavioral, social and psychological problems like depression, cognitive distortions, social isolation and anxiety. According to ASAM's definition, "genetic factors account for about half the likelihood that an individual will develop addiction" — meaning if one of your parents is or was an addict, you are genetically predisposed to developing addiction.

  Since addiction has physical, neurobiological causes, one would expect the brains of addicts to function differently than the brains of non-addicts. This is exactly what happens, says Dr. Howard Wetsman, medical director at Townsend, a network of local outpatient addiction treatment centers. Many (not all) addicts have a morphology (or mutation) in the genes associated with the production, release, reuptake and metabolizing of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Wetsman refers to the intricate factors governing normal dopamine levels as "dopamine tone."

   "Generally, people who have a low dopamine tone are not able to make great attachments and feel rewards from normally rewarding activities, and that is when the drug or behavior comes along," he says. " Our society likes to think that drugs cause addiction. It's actually the other way around for most people with addiction. The addiction causes the drug use," he writes in his book, QAA: Questions and Answers on Addiction.

  The genetic factor is so pervasive that Wetsman has instituted genetic testing as part of Townsend's intake procedure. "The test identifies two dozen genetic mutations in the brain that relate to symptoms of addiction," says John Antonucci, an intake coordinator at Townsend who also is recovering from addiction. "This information helps fine-tune medical interventions, and it is amazing when you take a patient and their family members, and they realize it really is a biological brain disease. I like to equate it to seeing the X-ray when you have a broken arm. And I have seen family members break down and cry when they realize all this time, their kids weren't doing this to spite them. They were doing it because they were sick."

  Though Antonucci says nine out of 10 of Townsend's patients report addiction in their family trees, there are some addicts without a family history or genetic indication of the disease (but because addiction can express itself through many different compulsions, from overeating to compulsive spending, it can sometimes be hard to trace, Wetsman says). New Orleans native, Xavier University alumnus, father of five and recovering addict Darryl Rouson, now a Florida state representative, had no known family history of addiction.

  "My mother was known to cut her beer with 7-Up, and my dad drank three or four times a year," says Rouson, who began drinking and using cocaine in the '80s. "I wasn't drinking for the social nature, I wanted the effect, and I wanted it quickly, and for a long time. For me, it started out filling what I thought were voids in my life, low self-esteem: I never thought I was cute enough, strong enough, athletic enough or smart enough, and I was always doing things to compensate for these lacks."

  Rouson says he has been through eight treatment programs and is well-versed in the genetic component of addiction, but he has never been tested for the morphologies. Though genetic testing can provide clarity to a diagnosis of addiction, and a basis for what medications will best normalize individuals' brain chemistry, neither testing nor medications are necessary for recovery. "There are millions of people who have gotten sober by going to 12-step meetings (like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous). For some people, that works," says Jo Cohen, clinical director of New Orleans Bridge House and Grace House. "We support the science, but like everything else in treatment, it's an individualized approach."

  Although people do not choose to become addicts, they do have choices over how they manage the disease. Addiction requires ongoing treatment, which varies from person to person — some may benefit from ongoing use of medications like Suboxone, some may require long-term inpatient treatment, others may stay sober simply by attending 12-step meetings. Antonucci stresses that a strong routine of recovery-related activities like meetings or volunteering helps people maintain sobriety, as does access to help from addiction doctors. "This is a chronic disease like diabetes or hypertension," he says. "If you are diabetic, you get exercise and take insulin, but there are times you need to check up with your endocrinologist."

    Rouson manages his addiction by attending 12-step meetings, sponsoring other recovering addicts, reading Alcoholics Anonymous literature, and giving back to the community by sharing his story at prisons and recovery centers. He will speak at Xavier Wednesday, Sept. 14, to celebrate National Recovery Month.   

  "One of the critical reasons why I got clean was I was given a choice," he says. "(My wife) Ruby was dead and I had taken her $80,000 life insurance policy and spent $60,000 on cocaine. I was in a courtroom with my wife's family and they were trying to convince the judge to take my four-year-old son. The judge said I could either choose Daniel or drugs, but after today, I would not have both. I chose my son."

  Antonucci and Rouson both say their community outreach work, which is a tenant of Alcoholics Anonymous (the 12th step states, "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs"), is essential to their ongoing sobriety. And though there may seem to be a disconnect between the scientific, biologically based addiction definition and the spiritually based 12-step programs, ASAM's research scientically supports the activities recovering addicts undertake in 12-step recovery programs as ways to maintain sobriety.

  "Our medical approach to addiction dovetails very nicely into 12-step recovery, because there is a scientific basis behind how it works," Antonucci says. "Part of my recovery is, I serve food to homeless people every Saturday night, and afterwards, I feel great. Why do I feel great? My hedonic tone has gone up. Doing something really healthy for the community has changed my brain chemistry."

  Wetsman agrees that engaging in charitable activities can normalize dopamine levels. "You get dopamine lowering from being isolated and feeling less-than," he says. "You can't feel isolated and less than when you help somebody else — dopamine receptors actually physically gain in number. The receptors are much more plastic than we think."

  Pederson, Antonucci and medical professionals across the board hope the new definition of addiction will serve to remove much of the shame and stigma surrounding the disease, which in turn will facilitate recovery for the millions who suffer from addiction.

  "When people have a strong understanding about the disease, that's when the miracles happen, and treatment can be extremely successful," Antonucci says. "Don't be afraid to get better. This can work for you, too. Give yourself a chance."