Articles by Ron Kerronian

Burt Reynolds, one of  Hollywoods  legendary  actors,  recently checked in and then  quitely checked out of  The West Palm Beach  Hanley Center for Rehabilitation.  After his ordeal Reynolds opened up about his addiction stating that after he was diagnosed with a painful joint disorder that affected his jawbone back in the early 1990’s, he developed a dependence on sleeping medication, Halcion being the main drug of choice.

He admitts  that his reliance on prescription pain  killers  reached a new plateau after his recent back surgery, this is when he finally sought help. Once he completed his stint in rehab, Reynolds 73 sought to publize his struggles as a way to help other celebrities and non celebs who are struggling with the same addictions…   it’s clear  the  disease  of  addiction  has many faces, now numbered  amoung them is Burt Reynolds.

It’s been almost 2 months since the music world lost one of it’s greatest icons – Micheal Jackson. Now another popular music idol is lost to the same deadly disease – Drug Addiction. Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein reportedly died of an overdose, in which investigators discovered eight undigested pills in his system and a ninth in his mouth. A bag of crack cocaine and a crackpipe  were also found at AM’s New York Apartment August, 28th. 

Travis Barker and DJ AM

Like Jackson  who became addicted to painkillers back in the 1980’s after  suffering 3rd degrees burns during a Pepsi Commercial  ’DJ AM’s addiction started as a result of a deadly Jet crash he ”survived” back in 2008 along with Blink-182’s Travis Barker, DJ AM a recovering addict who had been clean for over a decade soon developed a dependancy to Xanax and other Benzodiazepines which ultimately claimed his life.

According to The Scottish Sun “the number of babies hooked on drugs has reached a shocking all-time high.”

Junkie moms who continue to abuse deadly substances from heroin to canabis, often experience painful withdrawals which they pass on to their babies. According to scots Labour Leader Iain Gray, One in every 264 newborns suffer from addiction even before they’ve taken their first breath.

 Shocking still is that 1 in every 98 expectant mothers admit to endangering the lives of the unborn child by taking drugs during pregancy – these eyeopening figures were taken over a 18 month period research study.

Teens today face many challenges- social, Physical, and emotional all of which are compounded by the ever increasing peer pressure they encounter at school. A teens social status may be dependent on his or her physical appearance. In this generation, a healthy weight is pretty much social suicide – bone thin is in, and there is no end to which some teens will not go to become thin/acceptable, even to the extreme of straving themselves, only to binge on all manners of food - comfort foods mainly.

The concept of food addiction is alien to most people, because drugs and alcohol seem to dominate that arena. However, addiction is in essence the over indulgence or abuse of any substance including food. Many experts including overeaters anonymous and food addicts in recovery anonymous say Food Addiction consist of:

-Using food to comfort and soothe emotions.

-Constantly thinking or odsessing about food.

-Secretly Gorgeing yourself with comfort foods like icecream, when you are alone or lonely.

-Eating until the food is gone. “If there is too much open fridge space at the end of your eating session, you’ve eaten too much!”

-Feeling guilty about food.

For teens who can’t fit in, food is often their invisible friend, showing up in times of need to provide much needed comfort.

Marijuana has finally gone mainstream, indeed the times are “a changin” with 13 states allowing patients to buy and use medical marijuana to treat a varity of symtoms. According to Lester Grinspoon, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of Marijuana Reconsidered and Co author of Marijuana: Forbidden Medicine, Marijuana is quite effective in treating:

-Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite associated with AIDS/HIV and Chemotherapy.

-Chronic neuropathy caused by damage to nerves caused by diabetes and HIV.

-Intocular Pressure associated with glaucoma.

-Muscle Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury.

 Now, this poses a great question, with marijuana being so useful, is it infact a Wonder Drug? You be the judge.  

Mainstream Marijuana

Burn this Date in your mind September 12th, 2009 – Rally for Recovery. Celebrating National Recovery month -recovery style with a Walk, a Festival, and closing the Day out with a Concert – Featuring Music sensation Richie Supa, who’ll be performing his PRISM award winning song “In The Rooms.” American Tatoo Lengend Ed Hardy is rumored to be designing the T-shirts for the event as well – Don’t Miss Out. For More info visit: www.intherooms.com

SAN DIEGO – Among the teens arrested in the region, half tested postive for drugs, and many were also abusing common prescription medications – according to an annual study of drug use among teens. This study is conducted every year by The San Diego Association of Governments.

Even though the percent drug use is in alignment with previous finding in previous years, the research group headed by Sandy Keaton was surprised by how unusually common prescription drug abuse had become – being “ranked as the 3rd most commonly reported illicit drug use behind ecstasy and marijuana.“