Tucker Carlson Announces Month-Long Special Series on Addiction and Sobriety in America

Nashville Mayor on Drug Addiction Crisis: ‘We Need the Federal Gov’t to Help Us’

Price: Trump ‘Understands the Magnitude’ of the Drug Addiction Crisis

Conway: Drug Addiction Is Not a Problem of Young and Old, Black or White, or Rural and Urban

Right Sightings: Dr. Drew Pinksy and Bob Beckel in a compelling discussion about the rise of deadly drug addiction in American Middle Class

More: www.rightsightings.com

Ted Kennedy Jr. Ought To Apologize To Patrick Kennedy For Ridiculing Him Over His New Book On Addiction And Mental Illness By Alexandra D. Datig

Available on Amazon.com

By Alexandra D. Datig, Oct. 5, 2015

The Boston Globe published an article on Sunday about an interview Patrick Kennedy gave regarding his new book “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction.”

It may come as a surprise to some that Patrick Kennedy, who is in recovery more than four consecutive years, found himself being criticized by his own family for courageously talking about his battles with addiction and mental illness.  In the Boston Globe article Kennedy’s brother Ted Jr. is quoted as having said about his brother’s account that it is an “inaccurate and unfair portrayal of our family.”

The Kennedy Family is one of America’s most prominent families that has seen the dark side of public life in the most devastating ways imaginable.  The prolonged suffering resulting from shooting deaths of his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy are without a doubt a lifelong reflection of sorrow for Patrick Kennedy and the Kennedy family as a whole.  Many Americans can probably understand how such devastation can result in finding comfort in the bottle to numb out the reality of what took place.  The question is however; can Americans understand with the same level of empathy how Patrick Kennedy found solace in recovery to deal with the reality of the devastation he is reminded of for the rest of his life?

Beating addiction is the toughest thing I have ever done.  Even after 16 years of recovery, I realize I know very little about addiction, especially someone else’s.  What I do know is addiction is a daily reprieve. It is a second chance at life.  A chance every addict deserves.  Why is it then we don’t see the kind of family support people in recovery deserve?

While drinking and drugging is a conscious choice, the progressive brain disease resulting from addiction is not.  Bottles of alcohol do not warn drinking may cause lack of impulse control that cause behavior which may be harmful to the user and may cause the user to become a danger to him or herself and others.  Families should to be educated to become more understanding of the helplessness and hopelessness addiction brings. 

Patrick Kennedy is courageous and brave to take on the issue of addiction and mental illness at the government level.  His work to bring about much needed change in how we view addiction as a health problem instead of a moral failing and a criminal justice problem ought to be strongly supported, especially by his family.

Lack of family support can further devastate and even trigger harmful relapse in an addict.  Family support is essential for the mental health of the entire family as addiction affects those around the user in ways that warrant treatment.  In essence, the entire family becomes ill when having to defend the addict’s actions because we don’t know enough about the type of mental illness addiction brings as each case is uniquely different.

Patrick Kennedy is working on behalf of so may to bring change to understanding the intervention process, so we can begin to fight addiction and mental illness with love, empathy and understanding, not merciless shaming and ridicule.   

Ted Kennedy Jr. should apologize to Patrick Kennedy for ridiculing him over his new book on addiction and mental illness, instead of making him more vulnerable by criticizing him for doing the best he could.

Op-Ed by Hillary Clinton: "Twenty-three million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment"

Another View: How we can win the fight against substance abuse

By Hillary Clinton, Sept, 1, 2015

On my first trip to New Hampshire this spring, a retired doctor spoke up. I had just announced I was running for President, and I had traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire to hear from voters about their concerns, their hopes and their vision for the future. He said his biggest worry was the rising tide of heroin addiction in the state, following a wave of prescription drug abuse.

To be candid, I didn’t expect what came next. In state after state, this issue came up again and again — from so many people, from all walks of life, in small towns and big cities.

In Iowa, from Davenport to Council Bluffs, people talked about meth and prescription drugs. In South Carolina, a lawyer spoke movingly about the holes in the community left by generations of African American men imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, rather than getting the treatment they needed.

These stories shine light on some harrowing statistics. Twenty-three million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment. Fifty-two million Americans over 12 have misused prescription drugs at some point, including one in four teenagers. In 2013, more Americans died from overdoses than car crashes.

This is not new. We’re not just now “discovering” this problem. But we should be saying enough is enough. It’s time we recognize as a nation that for too long, we have had a quiet epidemic on our hands. Plain and simple, drug and alcohol addiction is a disease, not a moral failing — and we must treat it as such.

It’s time we recognize that there are gaps in our health care system that allow too many to go without care — and invest in treatment. It’s time we recognize that our state and federal prisons, where 65 percent of inmates meet medical criteria for substance use disorders, are no substitute for proper treatment — and reform our criminal justice system.

Today I’m releasing a strategy to confront the drug and alcohol addiction crisis. My plan sets five goals: empower communities to prevent drug use among teenagers; ensure every person suffering from addiction can obtain comprehensive treatment; ensure that all first responders carry naloxone, which can stop overdoses from becoming fatal; require health care providers to receive training in recognizing substance use disorders and to consult a prescription drug monitoring program before prescribing controlled substances; and prioritize treatment over prison for low-level and nonviolent drug offenders, so we can end the era of mass incarceration.

Achieving these goals won’t be easy. It will take commitment from all corners — law enforcement, doctors, insurance companies and government at every level. That’s why my plan starts by partnering with states and communities across America to meet these goals and substantially expand access to treatment. We’ll ask states to design ambitious plans using the programs that make most sense for their communities’ needs. In return for strong proposals to address the substance abuse crisis, the federal government will draw on a new $7.5 billion fund to help states meet their goals.

My plan would also increase access to treatment by boosting funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant by 25 percent, so communities have more resources to work with immediately. I will ensure that existing federal insurance parity laws are enforced. I will direct the government to reevaluate Medicare and Medicaid payment practices, to remove obstacles to reimbursement and help integrate care for addiction into standard practice. And for those who commit low-level, nonviolent drug offenses, I will reorient our federal criminal justice resources away from more incarceration and toward treatment and rehabilitation. Many states are already charting this course — I will challenge the rest to do the same.

Every town and city I’ve visited so far in this campaign has stories of families upended by drug addiction. But I’ve also heard about second chances. The young mother who overcame her addiction to alcohol and heroin so her son would never see her with a drink or a drug. The man who served 11 years in prison who is now serving others through a prison ministry.

They all say the same thing: No matter how much time has passed, they’re all still in recovery. It’s a process — one that began when a family member, a friend, a doctor, or a police officer extended a hand to help. As one New Hampshire woman said, “We’re not bad people trying to get good, we’re sick people that deserve to get well.”

There are 23 million Americans suffering from addiction. But no one is untouched. We all have family and friends who are affected. We can’t afford to stay on the sidelines any longer — because when families are strong, America is strong. Through improved treatment, prevention, and training, we can end this quiet epidemic once and for all.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is running for the Democratic nomination for President.

Source: www.UnionLeader.com