| Man shares burden for addicts
My name is Edward Fortson and my mission has been to assist people who need help to recover from drug addiction. In July of 2000 God burdened my heart to help establish a Christian Rehabilitation Center in Northeast Arkansas. I researched different organizations and toured a facilities in Tuscumbia, Ala. called Restoration Ranch. This center was a division of Mission Teens, Inc. which operated nine different centers across the country. At the time I believed that establishing a center was what I was being led to do. In December of that same year I started to actually work with the people who needed to go into the centers. I worked with a young woman in jail and helped her get into a center. I had a lot to learn and no clear guidance or handbook on how to do this. I have learned about centers, the jail systems, court systems and even the prison systems.
Fighting addiction is a struggle at any price
High-profile alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers seem like a home away from home for Hollywood celebs like Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Robert Downey Jr. Some charge nearly $50,000 a month. But since Lohan's arrest last week on charges of driving under the influence and possession of cocaine -- after several in-and-out stays at pricey rehab clinics -- one wonders what, if anything, works. Headlines about backsliding celebrities should not lead people to believe rehabilitation clinics are not worthwhile. However luxurious -- or Spartan -- the surroundings, however famous or workaday the patient, it's not unusual for people fighting addictions to fail often before they may finally succeed, say doctors and those who run rehab clinics.
Is Rehab A Quick Fix Or Image Saver?
Actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested this morning on suspicion of driving drunk. Police say they also found cocaine in one of her pockets. Lohan just finished a stint in rehab. This made Action News wonder how effective celebrity rehab is, and if the stars are using it as an excuse to clean up their image. Dr. Mel Pohl at the Las Vegas Recovery Center says he feels for Lohan. "I know that anybody who has addiction is suffering, they're suffering badly", Pohl says. Lohan is among a handful of other celebrities who have made visits to prominent rehab centers, many in Malibu so called "star farms". But Pohl wonders if she is getting the proper treatment there. "Programs that offer respite and only respite are not doing a service to their clients. I think that recovery has to be offered as part of treatment".
Canned KoRn
Nobody wants to live on a steady diet of KoRn -- not even some members of the band, it seems. More than a decade after creepmeister Jonathan Davis and this California outfit exploded onto the scene with a fierce fusion of hip-hop, goth and nu-metal, they appear to be imploding. The first sign was the 2005 departure of guitarist Brian (Head) Welch, who found God, kicked a meth addiction, and wrote a book about the band (more on that later). Then drummer David Silveria went "on hiatus," replaced by a series of fill-ins, including Terry Bozzio, Brooks Wackerman and, most recently, Slipknot's Jordy Jordison. Now officially a trio on their eighth disc, KoRn aren't just running out of members; they're running out of steam. Produced by The Matrix and Atticus Ross, the bulk of these 13 cuts are moody, murky, midtempo affairs that emphasize atmospheric tension over cathartic release.
[AandE] Holla Backlash
After an engagement that lasted longer than most Hollywood weddings endure, Rebecca Romijn (tear, Uncle Jesse - we mean John Stamos) and, ugh, Jerry O'Connell (whose slimier than the cockroaches he costarred with in "Joe's Apartment") have finally tied the knot. Too bad no one cares. Except ol' Johnny Stamos, who is having enough problems on his own. The ER star was flown to Australia to promote the show and, well, he put on quite a show. He paraded around and babbled on about nothing on a popular talk show, leading many (everyone) to believe he was drunk as a skunk. We've seen the video. It ain't pretty. Stamos then apologized for the incident, claiming that early that morning he had taken Ambien, a sleep aid, without enough time to let the drug properly run its course.
'Cool' Cannabis
The usage of cannabis in its various forms has been increasing, in particular among youngsters who are also habitual smokers.
Check with any cool group of youngsters busy blowing rings of smoke at any of the snazzy hangouts around you, and chances are that they will tell you of their experiments with marijuana.
If you term it a drug, they will be ready to come to its defence, calling it 'just the done thing' .
Marijuana, hash, grass, weed, charas, ganja…. They are all forms of cannabis, officially termed a soft drug.
Unofficially , as most of its users in the age-group 15-35 will tell you, it is the safest drug, actually less harmful than alcohol and smoking.
Thanks to this myth, the usage of cannabis in its various forms has been increasing, in particular among youngsters who are also habitual smokers.
Utah student drinking low but still worries legislators
College students in Utah consume far less alcohol than their national counterparts, but the average one drink per week is still a concern for state legislators. "There may not be a lot of people here who drink, but it's a problem as long as there are any kids involved in this type of behavior," said Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay. A report on substance abuse and binge drinking on Utah college and university campuses was presented to the Higher Education Legislative Task Force recently, and although their reaction was one of relief, they were still worried about national statistics and national trends. "I am shocked at the alcohol and drug use at the nation's colleges and universities," Sen. Greg Bell, Fruit Heights, task force chairman, said. "It's sad that colleges to some degree have been a facilitator." The social environment, which includes fraternities and sororities, Bell said, may be the reason many students get into the habit of drinking and partying in college.
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