Grammy’s Says “Yes, Yes, Yes” to Winehouse
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Associated Press
Trapped half a world away by the place she promised to never “go, go, go,” a vibrant, exuberant Amy Winehouse dominated the Grammys on Sunday night, winning five awards and delivering a defiant performance of her autobiographical hit “Rehab” via satellite from London.Winehouse, nominated for six awards, lost the final prize in a shocker when Herbie Hancock took album of the year for “River: The Joni Letters.””You know it’s been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the album of the year award,” Hancock said, then…

An interesting excerpt from the San Diego City Beat on Methadone…

Methadone is the ‘gold standard’ for getting addicts off heroin–just not in San Diego County
By Kelly Davis
January 29th 2008

No one’s quite sure how addiction works—why among a group of friends who share a few lines of coke or a balloon of heroin at a party, one becomes an addict and the other nine never pass the point of being recreational users. Or why one person can toss out a bottle of leftover Vicodin once he’s recovered from his back sprain while another finds himself doctor shopping for prescriptions, unable to function…

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 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…

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…

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, January 24, 2008
CONTACT:
Contact: Jennifer de Vallance, ONDCP, (202) 395–6648
Rosanna Maietta, Fleishman-Hillard, (202) 828–9706
ONDCP LAUNCHES FIRST MAJOR INITIATIVE TO COMBAT TEEN PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE
New Ad Campaign Debuts During Super Bowl

(Washington, D.C.)—The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is launching its first major Federal effort to educate parents about teen prescription drug abuse. This national public awareness campaign will begin with advertising during this year’s Super Bowl, and is ONDCP’s first paid TV advertising targeting parents in nearly two years. The effort includes broadcast, print, and online advertising, community outreach, and new print and online resources…

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…

Where A Few Might Benefit Many

By Thomas G. Durham, PhD, LADC

There have been many changes in China over the last several decades and, not surprisingly, this has included an increase in alcohol consumption. China is on the verge of having one of the highest per-capita rates of addiction among major world economies.

Limited Help
Drug addiction is not new to China. At one time it was estimated that 27% of the male population was addicted to opium. However, this figure dropped significantly from its peak in 1906 to the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949. Changes in Chinese society in recent…