We all know bacon drenched in gravy and a side of biscuits probably isn’t your healthiest breakfast choice. However, when we bought the container of bacon at our local Stop ‘n Shop, would we have thought twice about buying it if the package had contained a warning indicating the addictive potential of the bacon?
Scientists’ emerging research shows a parallel between the brain’s reactions that occur with substances such as morphine, cocaine and heroin and reactions that occur with junk food such as candy, chips, sodas, fast foods — anything that tastes really, really delicious and releases dopamine in the brain upon consumption. Scientists used rats to study affects on the brain when junk food such as icing, chocolate, and sausage were eaten. The rat’s resulting brain were almost duplicates of the patterns that occurred after the rats were fed morphine or heroin.
“The scandalous thing was that when these rats were subject to electric shocks to stay away from these foods, still the shocks were unsuccessful in keeping them away from the junk food,” says Jason Ramsey from Top News US.
This element of the experiment screams “addiction!” Think about it — people who are addicted to drugs often suffer through an entourage of negative outcomes before seeking help. They are faced with dangers on a daily basis and red flags that their behavior is out of control, yet they continue to engage in risky behaviors. Negative outcomes related to junk food are vast. Most commonly, people gain weight and incur serious risks to their health such as higher rates of Type II Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The humans gain weight and risk disease; rats are shocked with electricity and suffer feelings of pain. Yet in both cases, the subjects skulk their way back to the root cause of their discomfort — junk food.
Given the inevitable feeling of helplessness an active addict falls prey to regardless of the substance of choice, should transporters be responsible for warning labels to preclude these feelings? Should producers be required to warn consumers about the potentially addictive quality of the sugary, salty foods they make? People’s opinions are split in half. I lean toward the side that says we live in a free world, and people make their own decisions. If we start regulating things as freely available as food, what happens to other potentially addictive things like massages and coffee? Both are addictive in different ways — should there be disclaimers at your local massage parlor that say “Don’t get rubbed without thinking this through!” Or should Starbucks be held liable for the person who drive themselves into bankruptcy for not being able to go without their $6 honey-kissed-soy-extra-shot-of-espresso latte every day? How far are we going to go before holding the individual accountable?
Some people argue that psychosocial therapy is not the most effective way to treat an addiction. In the case of Ardi Rizhal, the 2-year-old Indonesian boy caught on film smoking cigarettes, he may be the exception to the rule. It’s hard to imagine, but before May of this year Ardi was up to two packs a day. He would throw a fit if his craving wasn’t satiated. This, along with his tendency to put cigarettes before food, water, or playing with other children, signaled his level of addiction to nicotine. According to Fox news, he received psychosocial therapy for one month, “during which therapists kept him busy with activities and encouraged him to play with children of the same age” says national commission for child protection secretary-general Arist Merdeka Sirait.
As far as Ardi’s parents are concerned, the only concept short of gross negligence I can concoct is that of the ignorance pass. Indonesia hosts an aversion to education on cigarette dangers, weak tobacco regulations, and aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and children. Out of necessity I have to believe Ardi’s father did not understand or receive education on the dangers of smoking when he let his son inhale tobacco into his lungs. Then again, part of me can’t fathom this possibility. Even the most ignorant person in the world has to ask themselves whether or not sucking smoke into their lungs rather than oxygen from the air is a healthy habit, tenfold for a small pair of young and developing pair of lungs like Ardi’s. I can’t quite garner the compassion to give Mr. Rizhal the full green light of innocence on this one, especially since his son’s video erupted into such a worldwide hit via Youtube. However, I’ll use this as an illustration of the indiscriminate nature of addiction — it’s insidious ability to cross age, race, gender, culture, and religion. This news story also serves as a reminder that up until children reach a certain age of reasoning and decision making, parents are responsible for keeping their children educated on and avoidance of highly addictive substances and behaviors.
Control is a powerful ability that many have. What happens when a person loses their ability to control? In reality we can only control ourselves: the places we chose to be, the things we say, and the things we do. Morals and opinions often lead to misuse or loss of control.
Let’s take the instance of person A. that does not like smoking and while at the bus stop is standing next to another person B. that is smoking. A cannot control whether B smokes, but A can control being around B. Instead of causing a scene because person A does not have control, they can change where they are standing to a further distance so the smoke doesn’t bother them as much. There are times though, when a person such as A does have control over the other person such as law enforcers.
In the United States we have freedom, correct? So many people think “who are these people saying “don’t do that”, “you can’t do that”, or “you can’t say that,” when this is a free country? Indeed it is a free country and you can do and or say whatever you want, but there are amendments and laws that say those who do or say something that is politically incorrect will most likely suffer consequences.
Today’s society is growing rapidly with new ideas and innovations; so rapidly that we can hardly keep up with it. There are so many advances and findings that are a negative influence to society, but Congress has not yet passed a law to make these certain things illegal.
Salvia Divinorum is popping up more and more in Santa Cruz, California. Salvia, “spice,” is an herbal and chemical drug that produces effects similar to smoking marijuana and also causes hallucinations. Many medical calls were being made reporting heroin overdoses, but when officers investigated they found salvia packaging and realized it was not heroin.
Just like synthetic cannabis, “spice” is legal. Unlike marijuana it does not show up in drug tests. This is one example of advances that the law has not caught up with. This spice has the same effects as illegal drugs, yet it is legal. It is an intoxicating substance that affects the brain and causes people to lose control. It can be a fatal drug; when people ingest too much they may become catatonic causing their heads to drop back and drool. The drool can cause a person to choke or stop breathing resulting in death.
“Spice,” the product, is sold as incense but sold at prices that are equivalent to marijuana prices. It is an easy way for people to feel high legally. Many people who need to drug test for their jobs are using this drug as a way to escape a positive drug test in the workplace.
Police cannot confiscate the substance because it is legal. Police are pushing for lawmakers to attend to this matter and it has been said that they are going over the facts to see if it is worth making it illegal. Until it is deemed illegal, the law has no control over the use of the drug. The law enforcers have lost control due to instances such as this and are powerless over keeping substances of this nature off the streets.
Just because it is legal does not necessarily make it okay. This drug is dangerous and should be looked at as if it were illegal. If someone does take this drug they should do so with the awareness of its risks.
Lindsay Lohan’s rendezvous is FINALLY getting less press coverage. Lohan is old news but it looks like she kicked off another repeated sequence of celebrities and felonies.
Paris Hilton, along with boyfriend Cy Waits, were arrested for possession of cocaine in Las Vegas late Friday night. Apparently Hilton was awfully embarrassed, there were multiple bystanders crowding around the black Cadillac Escalade her man was driving most taking pictures.
Hilton and her boyfriend were pulled over because an officer smelled what seemed to be marijuana coming from the car. So overwhelmed by the crowd she asked if she could be taken inside. A metro lieutenant escorted Hilton into the Wynn Hotel. He instructed Hilton to place the purse she was carrying on a table in a security room. She asked if she could get something from her purse and Sgt. John Sheahan, of the Las Vegas Police Department, reports; “She extracted a tube of lip balm from her purse. At that time a plastic bindle containing a substance believed to be cocaine fell from her purse in plain view of the metro lieutenant.”
The blonde heiress has just proven to everyone that the dumb blonde jokes are not far from the truth, thanks a lot. Well this dumb blonde decided to ignore the Miranda Rights, which will bite her in the ass at her next court date. She has said many contradicting alibi’s including but not limited to: it’s not her purse, that she didn’t know the cocaine was in there, and that she thought it was gum. Obviously marijuana impairs people’s judgments to think because all those excuses are just pathetic.
There is plenty of evidence to lock Hilton up: 0.8 grams of cocaine in her possession, marijuana rolling papers, smell marijuana coming from her vehicle, and previous encounters with the law. Will Hilton get the unwarranted special treatment she has always or will they sentence her to prison time for a felony like they would do to any other Billy, Bob and Joe?
You know they say bad news comes in 3’s; Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton who’s next?!
A new study founded by a treatment center in Arizona states that self-injury, or also known as cutting, is being found commonly by those suffering from an eating disorder. Remuda Ranch, the treatment center that is currently studying the relationship between cutting and eating disorders, has many doctors and counselors that are looking deep into this issue.
“Approximately 40 to 50 percent of our patients have either reported a history of self-injury or are presently engaging in these behaviors,” said Dena Cabrera, PsyD, psychologist and national speaker at Remuda Ranch. “This number seems to be consistent for the past five years. Studies have shown that adolescents engaging in self-injury behavior were more likely to have an eating disorder.”
With that being said, it is safe to say that cutting is another alternative to deal with the pain and suffering from the eating disorder. Young woman are taking the toll on cutting. They are either dealing with trying to find out who they really are or facing problems that are challenging in their life. In order to show others how they are suffering , women often result to extreme measures such as cutting or injuring themselves just to get the attention across.
Based on studies and patient direct reports, Dr. Dena Cabrera lists some reasons why patients feel the need to injure themselves.
- Alteration: Altering ones body so that it is unattractive and possibly scare others.
-Stimulation: Using self-injury as a self-grounding technique.
-Relaxation: A pleasure response to the warmth of the blood and to the physical sensation punishment.
- Distraction: Having suicidal thoughts so one can distract ones mind away from the real issue.
-Social Attention: Showing off ones own strength to others and hopefully achieving protection through the response of others
Thank you Remuda Ranch for slowly but surely putting together these important studies. To the rest of the world, or one suffering from this powerful disorder, treatment is available and is growing by the day.
A study recently conducted by University of Buffalo’s Richard Blondell and colleagues found that 31 out of 75 patients hospitalized for opioid detoxification first got hooked on drugs that were legitimately prescribed for pain. Out of the 75 another 24 began with a friend’s left-over prescription pills or took pills from a parent’s medicine cabinet. The remaining 20 patients said their addiction began from using street drugs. However, 92 percent of the study’s participants said they eventually bought drugs off of the street — mostly heroin because it was cheaper and stronger than prescription pills.
The findings of this study will be used to help train medical students at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to screen for addiction among their patients, and to perform an intervention or refer treatment before an addiction becomes life-threatening. “We are seeing an increase in the number of patients addicted to prescription drugs, so we wanted to better understand how they first got hooked,” said Dr. Richard Blondell, professor of family medicine and senior author on the study. “This information suggests that there is a progressive nature to opioid use, and that prescription opioids can be the gateway to illicit drug addiction. It also tells us that people who use prescriptions illegally may be at much greater risk for subsequent heroin use than those who use prescriptions legally,” he added.
The researchers also found that 51 percent said they first used the drugs for surgery, for back pain or after an injury. Those who became addicted from using drugs legally prescribed for pain were more likely to be older, female, college educated, and taking the drugs orally rather than nasally or intravenously.
Prescription drug addiction is no doubt a major issue in society today. As more and more research is conducted it seems that the number of people who’s addiction began with prescription pills is only getting higher. Results of this study can be found in the current issue of Journal of Addiction Medicine.
Lindsay Lohan is finally a free woman. Free with some minor infractions that she must abide by. No drugs or alcohol for her. She must attend five AA meetings a week and meet with a mental health professional several times a week. Also, she will be randomly drug tested at least twice a week. This is not news for Lindsay. Nor is it news to today’s world. I will not be surprised if she violates these terms and ends up in the news again or she just flees the state of California so she can enjoy her partying elsewhere.
Lindsay is a struggling star that will never shy away from the media. Her ability to make a fool out of herself publicly is very interesting or when the judges decide she needs to have special treatment in jail, she will always have the hungry eyes of the media.
More importantly, I feel that the fans of Lindsay are just waiting to see what she does in the near future. Sure enough I bet they are hoping that she will screw her head on right or others will hope she will fall down again. Whatever it is, any kind of success or flaw, nothing will be new to our eyes.
Early Tuesday in a London court, George Michael pleaded guilty on two drug charges after he drove his Range Rover through a storefront window on July 4. According to the Associated Press, the singer admitted to being under the influence of drugs and having marijuana in his possession when his car plowed into a photo shop in the early morning hours. “Mr. Michael looked at the officer with his eyes wide open and the officers could see his pupils were dilated,” said prosecutor Penny Ferguson. “They opened the door and could see he was dripping with sweat.”
After appearing in court, Judge Robin McPhee banned the former Wham! member from driving for six months, and warned that he could face jail time when he is sentenced on September 14. “It is a serious matter. Your driving was extremely poor and there was an accident,” McPhee said, adding that Michael had already one conviction. “I make it clear all options in respect of sentencing remain open, including powers to imprison.”
Sadly, Michael has become all too familiar with the legal system, as this is not his first run-in with the law in recent years. In 2008, the Grammy winner was arrested for possession after police caught him with drugs in a public restroom. Also, in 2007 his license was suspended after he hit three parked cars and fled the scene. And perhaps his most infamous arrest resulted after an undercover cop busted him for engaging in lewd acts back in 1998. Nowadays, it seems like the majority of celebrity gossip revolves around rehab or trouble with the law, and to be honest, the whole routine is getting kind of old.
In Gilroy, California, Sacramento police raided a home last Thursday. Police officials are stating that this bust is the biggest this country has ever seen. Over 600 pounds of methamphetamine was found and seized. It took Sacramento’s County Sheriff Department two years to crack down and pull through with this bust. Authorities state that a Mexican cartel was behind this. A a result, eight Mexican nationals were arrested. Penalties for these eight men are going to be determined in federal court; most likely they will be sentenced to life in federal prison.
In my own opinion, this headline of being the “largest” bust in the U.S. history is just to attract the world’s eyes. Why not just go in and stop the nonsense immediately after they have found the lead? Come on, police do not play by the rules all the time so why wait two years to bust eight men? Pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
More importantly the methamphetamine that was seized raises a value of 200 million dollars on the street. Between $250,000 and $500,000 a day was being made and transported back and forth between the big players in Mexico. The distribution of the methamphetamine made its way up to Florida, Georgia, New York, Washington, DC and Utah.
This is where I am puzzled. If police officials can put these numbers together and know the locations of the distributions, why not stop them immediately? Why wait two f*$#in years to seize the drugs?
This fall thousands of young people will be starting their first year of college. Many of these people will be living in a totally new environment and meeting a variety of different people. While the start of college is a positive experience, it can also be a stressful change that pushes some into a dangerous battle with eating disorders. According to Professor Mary Boggiano PhD at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, “A lot of students have heard about the ‘freshman 15’.” Essentially the “freshman 15” is a popular phrase that refers to the notion that many freshman students gain an average of 15 pounds within their first year of college. “To keep from gaining weight, some students engage in risky behaviors such as excessive dieting or purging food. In many cases, people learn about the risky behaviors from other students in their dorm or over the Internet, so that obsession about weight can become infectious,” says Dr. Boggiano.
Dr. Boggiano says the common signs of an eating disorder include:
- A preoccupation with counting calories, fat grams and carbohydrate grams
- A need to weigh oneself more than once a day
- Allowing the numbers on the scale to determine mood
- Exercising, skipping meals or purging after overeating
- Exercising to burn calories rather than for health or for fun
- An inability to stop eating once eating begins
- Eating in secret
- Feeling guilty, ashamed or disgusted after overeating
- Basing self-worth on looks or weight
- Worrying continuously about weight and body shape
- Abusing diet pills or laxatives
Stress is a major factor that can trigger eating disorders and can lead to long term health problems, and even death in serious cases. For any young person who suspects they might have an eating disorder, Boggiano encourages them to seek help via free campus counseling or through programs such as Overeaters Anonymous. “Whatever you do, don’t try to take care of it by yourself,” says Boggiano. “It will only get worse.”
Boggiano speaks from personal experience since battling eating disorders as a young adult. “My problems with bulimia nervosa actually began during my senior year in high school. I was a top student salutatorian of my class. But, I became obsessed with my weight and shape of my body. I started starving myself but this led to binge eating and eventually vomiting after the binges, several times a day, and eventually I began abusing laxatives. When I started college, the disorder got worse.” Boggiano is currently exploring brain markers of stress-induced binge eating and the chemistry behind the action of high fat and sugar foods to trigger relapses back to binge eating and obesity.
We all know bacon drenched in gravy and a side of biscuits probably isn’t your healthiest breakfast choice. However, when we bought the container of bacon at our local Stop ‘n Shop, would we have thought twice about buying it if the package had contained a warning indicating the addictive potential of the bacon? 
