The Gray Lady Reconsiders

More Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol.

Fascinating piece in The Guardian about a growing number of people who say they have become “addicted” to exercise — or more precisely, to over-exercising — to the point where it interferes with the rest of their lives, and may even have done considerable harm. Here’s the link (no paywall):

The highs are extremely high – but the lows are extremely low’: when working out becomes an addiction

I’ve run into several folks over the years who would’ve qualified for the label of “exercise addict” under that description. One was a devotee of CrossFit training, until he suffered a serious injury that forced him to renounce it, permanently. Another was an ultramarathoner, who to my knowledge is still at it, in his late 50’s, relentless as ever. Still another, a retired professional athlete like the man in the article, died unexpectedly at 42, in the hospital following a heart attack that occurred during a long distance run through the mountains.

Not everyone...

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Numbers Game

“Significantly lesser quantities of drugs are smuggled directly into the United States by traffickers using maritime conveyances than by traffickers using overland routes.”

Numbers Game

“Significantly lesser quantities of drugs are smuggled directly into the United States by traffickers using maritime conveyances than by traffickers using overland routes.”

Another Round with Ibogaine

Apparently, some of the more level headed members of the medical community are already expressing concern about the possibility that, because of the aforementioned “national priorities”, psychedelics will avoid the usual scrutiny from experts.

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Addicted to Exercise?

Like addicts deprived of their drug of choice, the compulsive exerciser may report a deep sense of loss, accompanied by symptoms such as  sleeplessness, irritability, depression, anxiety.

Addicted to Exercise?

Like addicts deprived of their drug of choice, the compulsive exerciser may report a deep sense of loss, accompanied by symptoms such as  sleeplessness, irritability, depression, anxiety.

Medical MJ for MH

I know what the science says, and if asked, I can share that. But I don’t expect anyone to say, “whoa, I never knew! thank God you told me!”, and then immediately quit smoking pot.

Life in a Hot Spot

Make it a continuing effort, using strategies based in evidence, and harnessing the power of human interaction-- instead of relying on a burst of anti-drug education, however intense.

The Storytellers

One young man explained that he avoided speaker meetings because the “drunkalogues” he heard triggered in him an awful craving for a drink.

PAP or Pill?

Those humble antidepressants have their own advantages, of course. For one thing, they’re likely to be cheaper, more readily available.

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Overdiagnosed?

She wasn’t seeking medication for the disorder. She was simply using ADHD as a way to understand some of the mysteries of her past behavior.

Overdiagnosed?

She wasn’t seeking medication for the disorder. She was simply using ADHD as a way to understand some of the mysteries of her past behavior.

Parenting Under The Influence

Children raised in such families are more likely to be exposed to violence, to initiate their own substance use at an earlier age, and to have mental health problems in childhood.

Is This Recovery?

...there are other folks out there like these— pretending to sobriety yet still secretly using, and hoping to avoid the sort of trouble that haunted them in the past.

Officers in the House

...with law enforcement agencies taking on vastly different roles, planning and practicing our response appears more important than in the past.

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A Novel Approach

...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.

A Novel Approach

...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.

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