Is Claiming You’re a Sex Addict Just an Excuse for Bad Behavior

As powerful, international figures Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Arnold Schwarzenegger deal with the fallout of their various sexual exploits -  ranging from sexual assault to chronic infidelity – the question “is it just bad behavior or a real disorder” often comes barreling to the forefront.Another common thought is: sex addiction sounds like the kind of problem most guys would love to have.Well,...

new face of drug addiction

The face of drug addiction has changed, and the government is working to adapt.The 21st-century drug addict is more likely to get a fix from a medicine cabinet than from a needle. More than 5 million Americans misused prescription painkillers in a one-month period in 2009, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health from that year.And a huge majority - more than 70% - of those prescription-drug...

Heroin Trapping New Generation Of Users

It’s not the reputation that Portland wants, but heroin users say the Rose City is known for easy access and plentiful supplies of the deadly drug, which is now trapping a whole new generation of user.“I never planned on being a heroin addict,” said Collin Wright, who’s now recovering and sober. He says his addiction started with prescription pills, after he was given Vicodin for a back injury when...

Chinese man died this week after spending months living in an internet cafe and playing an online game around the clock.

Wang Gang, 31, collapsed in a gaming parlour in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province on May 6 and died on Monday from cardiac failure caused by tuberculosis, according to local news reports.Wang, who had dropped out of college and cut himself off from his family, had been addicted to Dungeon Fighter, a South Korean multiplayer game which is hugely popular among China's burgeoning online community.At...

THE idea of vaccinating drug addicts against their affliction is an intriguing one. In principle, it should not be too hard.

THE idea of vaccinating drug addicts against their affliction is an intriguing one. In principle, it should not be too hard. The immune system works, in part, by making antibodies that are specific to particular sorts of hostile molecule. Such antibodies recognise and attach themselves to these molecules, rendering them harmless. Vaccines work by presenting the immune system with novel targets, so...

I only wish she could have found Phoenix House first

As all administrators, board members and advocates of state-funded social service agencies are doing these days, Phil Francoeur is spending every spare minute working on ways to convince state legislators how disastrous proposed state budget cuts would be to vital substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.From his seat on the advisory board of Phoenix House, the Dublin-based residential substance-abuse...

NEW surgical procedure in the brain could be a cure for drug addicts without injuring the vital organ

NEW surgical procedure in the brain could be a cure for drug addicts without injuring the vital organ, local medical authorities said yesterday.With the new method, doctors from Renji Hospital managed to help a 24-year-old patient with a five-year history of drug abuse to remain clean for more than six years without a relapse. Usually, over 95 percent of addicts relapse within six months after quitting,...

U.S. prosecutors say they have dropped drug-related charges against 27 south Florida defendants, although they declined to say why.

The cases involved South Florida head shops that reportedly sold undercover agents compounds used to "cut" cocaine, then sent the profits to the Middle East for possible terrorist activities, the Miami Herald reported Saturday.The U.S. attorney's office issued a statement saying, "new information surfaced that, in our discretion, made it appropriate to dismiss the charges.""At this time, I cannot...

Keith McCants was the nation's most feared defensive player, a relentless package of sideline-to-sideline intensity for the University of Alabama. Now, he's in constant physical agony because of football injuries.

Keith McCants was the nation's most feared defensive player, a relentless package of sideline-to-sideline intensity for the University of Alabama. Now, he's in constant physical agony because of football injuries.He walks with a cane. He said he has been diagnosed with clinical depression and early stages of dementia. Sometimes, he can't recognize family members. More than once he considered suicide....

I don't think it is fearmongering to say heroin use ... is becoming epidemic

Smack, snow, scag, tar, junk were once all names associated with back-alley heroin use in tough parts of the city. Now, these terms - and plenty of pure-grade heroin - may be finding a home on your own suburban street.Heroin in gel capsules is finding its way onto local high school and college campuses, as well as at parties that young people attend in suburban neighborhoods. Sometimes young people...

Taiwan and US researchers have found that a drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease is effective in reducing heroin dependency

Taiwan and US researchers have found that a drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease is effective in reducing heroin dependency, it was announced Friday.The discovery was made by the National Cheng Kung University Hospital and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), following ten years' research, Lu Ru-band, a psychiatrist at the Cheng Kung hospital, told a news conference.The Cheng Kung hospital...

Charles and Sherry Best stopped for bacon milkshakes after dropping off their dead sister-in-law’s body after she overdosed on heroin,

Charles and Sherry Best stopped for bacon milkshakes after dropping off their dead sister-in-law’s body after she overdosed on heroin, prosecutors said Friday.The Bests remained in the Lake County Jail on Friday after Associate Judge Raymond Collins ordered them held on $1 million bond. Both are charged with concealing a homicide in the death of Round Lake Park resident Melissa Best, while Sherry...

You’re only as sick as your secrets

You’re only as sick as your secrets – A.A. aphorismAmong the supposed detriments of anonymity identified in David Coleman’s article Challenging the Second ‘A’ in A.A. are:the supposed restriction on using one’s last name at A.A. meetings;the alleged need for sober public role models;the purported ban on disclosing one’s participation in A.A.;the apparent inability to get Angie’s List or Yelp type...

Pain pill addicts use heroin when money gets tight, drug study says

The over prescription of opioid medications — like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and methadone — is not only leading to increased overdose rates on those drugs, but may be leading to an increase in heroin use, according to a annual statewide study of drug trends.The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network’s annual report, which compiles information from eight regions in the state, shows that heroin...

Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan Recognized for His Commitment to Sobriety

The intersection of rock and roll and recovery was the focus of a benefit concert and dinner held at Los Angeles’ Club Nokia on Friday night.The seventh annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit honored Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan and Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, both recovering addicts, for their efforts on behalf of sobriety. Aerosmith frontman and American Idol judge Steven Tyler presented Gahan...