Toxicology results in: Ledger’s death was ruled an accident due to a lethal mix of six different and powerful prescription medicines. On this show a doctor simply states that Heath ‘just stopped breathing’. Also on the panel Dr. Drew Pinsky from the VH1 show “Celebrity Rehab”

Originally aired on Wednesday, Feb 6th on CNN’s Larry King Show.

Ledger Toxicology Report Released
NEW YORK - Actor Heath Ledger died as a result of accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

An autopsy into the star’s death in January failed to establish the cause of his death, but an overdose was suspected because a number of prescription medicines were found in his Manhattan apartment.

Toxicology test results released on Wednesday established six different drugs were found in the actor’s system, including painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety pills and antihistamines, when he died.

A statement from the Medical Examiner reads, “Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone,…

Amy Winehouse strikes again, hopefully she will pull through

By Sarah Hall
Mon, 4 Feb 2008

Amy Winehouse took a time-out from rehab Monday to look into making some travel plans.

The troubled songbird visited the U.S. Embassy in London to discuss obtaining a visa so that she can travel to the States for Sunday’s Grammy Awards, where she is nominated in six categories, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year.

She was accompanied on her errand by her father, Mitch Winehouse, and a nurse from her treatment program.

A rep for the singer said “no decision” had been made as to whether Winehouse…

Here is an article on drug addiction in the central Virginia area… close to home.

By Bob Stuart
The News Virginian
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Valley Community Services Board counselor Roy Evans is gratified by the victories he accomplishes in his job working with adolescent substance abuse victims.
“Sometimes you are able to make a difference, and that is extremely rewarding,” said Evans, who counsels young people in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County. “The little, small victories we have keep us trying that much harder.”
Evans and other substance-abuse professionals will gather tonight at Augusta Medical Center for the annual meeting of The Community Alliance for…

An excerpt from The Battle Creek Inquirer…

From the Substance Abuse Council
Reader Submitted

Millions of Americans are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, yet one in four Americans still had a family member who is struggling with addiction. Of these 22 million people who still need help, only nine percent are receiving the help they need to recover and get their lives back on track. We need to come together in our community to understand addiction and take action so that more of our friends and neighbors can get the help they need.

In partnership with the Robert…

An interesting article on drug use in schools amongst children.

By Angelique Serrao

Six years ago, the average age of a first-time drug user was 19. Today it’s 10. It has become so bad that experts say every school in the country now has a drug problem and that it’s out of control.

A member of the drug training and awareness centre at the SA Police Service’s Organised Crime Unit, Jan Combrink, who has visited schools to teach children about the dangers of drug abuse, has found children as young as 4 using drugs.

Drug abuse among the youth has become so bad that…

Concern About Celebrity Drug Use Grows After Heath Ledger’s Death

November 13, 2007: Amy Winehouse seen at a newsagents near HM Pentonville Prison in North London where her husband Blake Fielder-Civil has been remanded in custody accused of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. (Goff/INFphoto.com)

By Ammu Kannampilly
LONDON, Jan. 24, 2008

Amy Winehouse has finally said “yes” to rehab.
“Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors,” Winehouse’s record company, Universal Music Group, said today in a statement to reporters. “She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing…

This is an article that was posted on Orato.com, please check our Videos category to see an interview with Heath Ledger on the Ellen show.

By Ken Seeley , USA

Date Posted: 01/25/08

I think all of us were in denial that there was any kind of addiction problem with Heath Ledger. It’s very difficult to draw conclusions about what he really did die from before the autopsy toxicology tests come back. We can only speculate. For me personally, I saw an accidental overdose.

I don’t think Heath Ledger woke up in the morning thinking, “I’m going to kill myself today.”

Heath had stated before…

We just want to pass it on…

Update on Father Martin’s condition
Greetings!

Thank you for your thoughtful prayers and kind wishes for Father Martin’s continued recovery via e-mails, cards, etc. Father remains in the hospital and is undergoing physical therapy and dialysis. During our recent visit, he confirmed his ongoing belief in the power of prayer and is inspired by the outpouring of encouragement from his friends. So, his spirits are good but he does miss home. Please continue including Father in your prayers and we will provide periodic updates. E-mail address : fathermartin@fathermartin.com

Cards can be mailed to:
218 Fulford Ave
BelAir, MD 21014

…

January 30, 2008

Visiting a faith-based addiction treatment program in Baltimore, President George Bush referenced his own past drinking problems in telling program participants, “I understand addiction, and I understand how a changed heart can help you deal with addiction.”

The Associated Press reported Jan. 29 that Bush visited Baltimore’s Jericho Program, a project of Episcopal Family Services of Maryland, and spoke for the second time in as many months about his personal struggle with addiction.

“Addiction is hard to overcome. As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life,” Bush said. After asking two program participants how they…

By William C. Moyers

It’s been 54 years since the American Medical Association (AMA) formally declared that alcoholism is a disease.

Since then, science has made important strides in explaining why one in 10 Americans who starts using alcohol eventually becomes addicted. For them, one beer or one glass of wine ends up being one too many. Their lives are disrupted by drunk driving, liver cirrhosis or other health problems, financial instability, shattered families and broken dreams.

Such consequences are a big reason why the public and policymakers still don’t accept the AMA’s view of this chronic illness. Unlike people with other diseases,…

Trans World News
Sundance, Utah
January 15th 2008

We have seen it in the news, celebrities and high profile individuals in a struggle with alcohol or drug addiction. We have seen it in our own lives, a friend, a fellow employee, or even someone in our own house falling to the influence of alcohol and drugs. It is a struggle and a challenge, for many, without a resolution. However there is a way out of the abyss that is alcohol and drug addiction. All it takes is the right alcohol or drug rehab program. Cirque Lodge can help you or your loved one…

Middle East Online
Meysam Aqakhanlu – TEHRAN In an attempt to check the effects of strong new varieties of illicit drugs that are flooding the market, the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has revived some of the punitive methods seen in the early days of the Islamic Revolution. Yet neither punitive action nor the continued use of preventive strategies introduced in later years seem to be working.

Estimates of the number of Iranians who use drugs vary wildly. The commander of Iran’s law enforcement forces, General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, has said there are about 1.2 million addicts and another 700,000 who can be…

By William C. Moyers

In the words of people wiser than me, “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” But like a river, it does roar, twist and turn through the lives of many people and families who struggle with addiction. I was reminded of this truth twice this week in queries from a Catholic seminary student and the wife of a rabbi.

Dear Mr. Moyers: You are coming to speak to our community later this spring. My husband is a leading member here in this community, a rabbi whose grandparents perished in the Holocaust. It’s a trauma that I am…

Check out this snippet from the Cocaine Cowboys documentary…

I just thought this was pretty amusing… hope you do too. I nabbed it from blogger Stop, Drop, Recover. Click here to check out his entry…

Kathy Lynn, writer for the blog Gospodi Pomiluj takes a look into therapy…

Monday, January 14, 2008
Therapy and Centering Prayer
Well the 2 things I am checking out this week.

Therapy: I appreciated the comments from Irish Friend and johno on this topic. I’m not pro or con, and I am not at a critical point as a result of my fourth step, not falling apart or anything. (well, except when distant priests say, whoa, heavy!) Not really sure what I’m looking for. I’ve seen a therapist once before. I was falling apart when I started taking care of my Mom. I went to a…

A great read, Of Ales and Margaritaville, from blogger, In Repair…

Thursday, January 17, 2008
of ales and margaritaville

recent dictionary.com word of the day: pertinacious \puhr-tin-AY-shuhs\, adjective:
1. Holding or adhering obstinately to any opinion, purpose, or design.
2. Stubbornly or perversely persistent.

i’ve been this. i am this. i am not proud of this, but i am working on changing things about myself that stubbornly cling to old ideas.

i had a thought swim through my head that could have given birth to something i am not desirous of doing and that is picking up. i heard a jimmy buffet song - margaritaville, probably - and the thought…

Catching back up with some bloggers we have not posted in a while… let’s see what Geisha Interupted has been up to.

January 3, 2008

Go Me

Truth be told, I’ve had a pretty depressing holiday season. It was the first time I spent the holidays as a sober alcoholic, and I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t totally suck. Maybe the holidays have always been this depressing, I’d just never noticed it so sharply before. And now that I like my family and don’t totally blame them for everything that’s ever gone wrong in my life, I have had to deal…

Sobriety Girl breaks down her dreams on drinking and being drunk…

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Dreams

The other night, I had one of the most vivid dreams about drinking. It was intense. I could taste the alcohol in my semi-conscious state and actually woke up thinking that I was intoxicated.

It was so very strange, considering I don’t necessarily remember what it feels like to be drunk. There were people around me and I was acting very much like I did as a drinking person.

So, I have been attempting to analyze WHY I was having such a vivid recollection of a time long gone and…

Another stellar entry from the Junky’s Wife. Check out her captivating blog here.

Monday, January 14, 2008
My Will Be Done.

I’ve been praying lately, a lot. Most of the time, my prayers are kind of trench prayers…”Help me. Help me. Help me,” but sometimes, I get a little more sophisticated:

“Help me. I am afraid. I am trapped, and I need guidance. Please help me to know what I am supposed to do. Please show me what you want for me.”

I realized this weekend in my step group while working on the Sixth Step that I might be standing firmly in the way…

Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way, a History Channel special that explores the world of illegal drugs, meeting with pharmacologists and scientists to learn exactly what effect they have on us and exploring the social and legislative changes that have transformed (and, some would argue, created) the drug culture of the 20th century.

By William C. Moyers

When it comes to stories of the struggles with addiction, it’s important not to kill the message — or the messenger, either.

Dear Mr. Moyers: It’s hard to know if you or my daughter is more responsible for my anger. We heard you speak in Pittsburgh last month. She’s 22 years old, a good girl with a college education who seemed committed to the road of recovery back from the hell of her alcoholism.

She’d just been discharged from rehab (her first), but what you said about relapse in your speech set her off again. On New Year’s Day,…

Blogger In Repair presents us a wonderful entry…

Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Stepping over Our Wounds

Sometimes we have to “step over” our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the “offended one,” “the forgotten one,” or the “discarded one.” Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them.

It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment…

January 2, 2008
By Associated Press

HOUSTON - Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. “For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful,” said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who is being assisted in the research by his wife, Therese, a psychologist and neuroscientist. “At some point, most users will give in to temptation and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won’t get high and will lose interest.”

The vaccine, currently…

The Positive Project is “an non-profit endeavor with a mission to use the stories of people infected/affected by HIV/AIDS to: Raise Awareness, reduce stigma, promote prevention, encourage testing, enhance care and improve quality of life.”

The Positive Project has an enormous amount of video material that is worth taking a look at. Here is a little more about them…

This work has grown from the conversations of two mental health professionals who have worked collectively for more than 30 years with people infected and affected by HIV disease. We were often struck by the power of the accounts and comments we heard in privacy…

An article from Technology Review published by MIT.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Gene Therapy for Alcoholics
An interesting approach to curbing alcoholism is tested on rats.
By Anna Davison

Researchers in Chile have succeeded in keeping the drinking habits of alcoholic rats in check using gene therapy. The treatment mimics a natural mutation common in East Asian people, which lowers their tolerance to alcohol, making them less likely to become alcoholics.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 17.6 million people abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent in the United States alone. If the gene-therapy technique could be applied to humans, scientists say that it may be…