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Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly. ~George MacDonald

A new study of the effects of religiosity on the genetic variance of problem alcohol use in males and females has found that religiosity can moderate genetic effects on problem alcohol use during adolescence but not during early adulthood.

“Levels of alcohol-related phenotypes, such as frequencies of drinking and intoxication, can be dependent on social background,” said study author Tanya Button of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“For instance, people with a religious background may be less likely to express alcohol-related phenotypes than those from nonreligious backgrounds,” said Button.

“Our study showed that genetic factors could influence problem alcohol use more in nonreligious adolescents than adolescents with a greater religious outlook. These findings provide evidence that problem alcohol use in adolescents is subject to controlling influences associated with religiosity, even when genetic risks are present. Thus, adolescents who are raised to value religious concepts are less likely to develop problems with alcohol use, even in the presence of a genetic predisposition for doing so.”

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Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it. ~Haim Ginott

Autopsy results indicate that the bassist for Slipknot, a heavy metal band, died of an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. Paul Gray, 38, was found dead in a hotel room in suburban Des Moines on May 25. A worker at the hotel told a 911 dispatcher that a hypodermic needle was found near Gray’s body and that pills were also found in the hotel room.

The medical examiner said the autopsy also revealed signs of significant heart disease. Police said that no evidence has been found showing Gray had a prescription for the drugs.

Gray was a co-founder of the Des Moines-based band known for its grotesque masks and aggressive, dark lyrics. In 2006, Slipknot won a Grammy Award for best metal performance for the song “Before I Forget.”

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Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! ~Constanze

A babysitter in Atlanta was jailed after admitting she gave a potentially deadly amount of wine to a baby she had in her care. Tammy Denise Truitt, 41, confessed in court to giving the nine-month-old child wine in a sippy cup to make the infant fall asleep.

The baby boy was hospitalized with a blood alcohol level of .33 – more than four times the legal limit for an adult in Georgia. Truitt pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and was sentenced on June 2 to eight years in prison and four years of probation.

This happened in July of 2009 when Truitt was asked to babysit the child and his four siblings when their mother left town due to a family emergency. The children’s grandmother arrived five hours later to discover the baby in a compromised state.

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Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Greenwood, Mississippi has a brand new drug and alcohol treatment center. The Denton Center is almost 15,000 square feet and safe, secure and organized. It is part of Life Help’s drug and alcohol treatment center network.

“It’s so much more conducive to the treatment process, the therapeutic nature,” said Fred Guenther, director of the Denton Center.

The Denton Center began treating clients back in January. Its inpatient drug and alcohol treatment center can accommodate 32 men and 12 women as well as a 10 bed transitional program. Guenther said that the new transitional program will permit clients to stay an extra 60 days after the drug and alcohol treatment center’s normal 45 day program. Patients from other treatment centers in Mississippi can transfer to the Denton Center after completing their regular program.

The goal is to help people transition back into everyday life. The new transitional program is slated to begin on July 1. It has been certified but is waiting a contract from Mississippi’s Department of Rehabilitative Services, which funds the 60 day stays at drug and alcohol treatment centers.

Herbert Loving is the director of the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse at the Mississippi Department of Health. Loving visited the Denton Center and remembered starting the center 30 years ago.

Loving said Life Help was among the last two of Mississippi’s 15 regions to receive a new drug and alcohol treatment center.

The goal in the statewide program was to meet the overwhelming demand for treatment services while providing a serene and healthy atmosphere.

“It’s really fantastic that they have done this because we didn’t get money to build these buildings,” Loving said.

The Denton Center was completed without using any money from the state. It was financed through the USDA Rural Development and will receive grants to pay for its programs.

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To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach. ~Havelock Ellis

A new government study reports that the proportion of people admitted to drug treatment centers aged 50 or over nearly doubled between 1992 and 2008. Alcohol remains the leading cause of admissions to drug treatment centers in this demographic, though noticeable increases were seen in those needing treatment for heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

“These findings show the changing scope of substance abuse problems in America,” said Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “The graying of drug users in America is an issue for any programs and communities providing health or social services for seniors.”

Some older Americans were trying drugs for the first time – particularly cocaine users – according to the SAMHSA study. Three quarters of older Americans admitted to drug treatment centers had begun using drugs before they were 25 years old.

Among those who received treatment for substance abuse, the number treated for heroin more than doubled in the years noted by the study, from 7.2 percent to 16 percent. Cocaine abuse among older people nearly quadrupled from 2.9 percent to 11.4 percent. More than a quarter of these people had begun using the drug within the last five years. Prescription drug abuse among older adults rose to 3.5 percent, and marijuana use rose to 2.9 percent.

SAMHSA said that during the study period of 1992 to 2008, admissions to drug treatment centers that were primarily due to alcohol abuse decreased from 84.6 percent in 1992 to 59.9 percent in 2008.

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Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it. ~Author Unknown

Last week a Los Angeles judge said he could not suspend Dr. Conrad Murray’s medical license in California and the case could take months to go to trial.

“I want to give this case priority,” Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said. “It is a very serious matter for Dr. Murray, for the Jackson family and the community at large.”

The judge said scheduling needs and time for trial preparation required that a preliminary hearing be moved back to at least August 23, with a requirement to start within 60 days after that date. A trial date cannot be set until that process is finished.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death in June of 2009.

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As long as the world is turning and spinning, we’re gonna be dizzy and we’re gonna make mistakes. ~Mel Brooks

Americans prefer drugs to traditional talk therapy as a treatment for depression. According to a new survey from Consumer Reports magazine, almost 80 percent are taking a pill for depression. The most popular class of drugs are the SSRIs like Prozac. The newer and more expensive antidepressants are less desirable because of the negative side effects.

Patients surveyed said they did benefit just as much from any kind of therapy. The Consumer Reports survey was of 1,500 readers. Those surveyed said they improved just as much after seven or more sessions of talk therapy as if they used antidepressants. It did not matter if the therapist was a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.

Almost 80 percent of people diagnosed with depression or anxiety were prescribed antidepressants by a physician.

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Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. ~Author Unknown

Police in New Jersey have arrested a local physician with a history of drug abuse on charges of practicing medicine without a valid license and attempting to get prescription drugs in a fraudulent manner.

Dr. Dean Ambrose, 53, was arrested last week at a local pharmacy. Ambrose was trying to fill a prescription for himself. The pharmacist was suspicious and contacted the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners and discovered Ambrose’s license had been suspended since 2004. An investigator in the Consumer Affairs enforcement bureau contacted the police in Toms River. An investigation by the Toms River police, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Ambrose showed fake paperwork to federal authorities to secure new documentation that allowed him to write prescriptions. Investigators allege that Ambrose tried to obtain the drugs with the fake license.

Ambrose was charged with practicing medicine without a valid license and attempting to obtain a controlled dangerous substance by fraud. He was released on $50,000 bond. Ambrose’s medical license was suspended for three years in 2004 after he tested positive for drug use following an earlier suspension for writing himself prescriptions for Demerol. Ambrose received treatment for Demerol abuse in January 2000, after he was prescribed the drug for a fractured shoulder in 1999.

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Vision without action is a daydream. Action with without vision is a nightmare. ~Japanese Proverb

The tragic death of a 15-year-old girl from alcohol poisoning led to a prison sentence this week in Hawaii. Makamae Ah Mook Sang died last July of actue alcohol intoxication. She consumed the alcohol at a party hosted by Michael Clark, 25, at his parents’ house in Hawaii Kai.

Clark apologized to the victim’s family as he was sentenced on Monday.

“I feel terrible about what happened, and I pray for your daughter. Not a day goes by I don’t pray for her, and all of you.”
Ah Mook Sang’s mother, Tracy, has forgiven Clark for his role in her daughter’s death.

“When God spoke to me, I felt like he was telling me that you, Michael, are just as much a child of God as I am,” said Ah Mook Sang.

Judge Richard Pollack said there is not enough public education about the dangers of alcohol.

“Who recalls ever viewing a commercial that informs the viewer that too many drinks can result in a teenager never waking up?” said Pollack.

Clark’s sentence involved two alcohol-related crimes that were combined into a single plea agreement. In 2007 Clark was in a drunken struggle with hotel security guards and police after he was seen urinating in a hotel elevator. He was charged with five counts of providing alcohol to minors at the party where Ah Mook Sang died. Along with one year in prison, Clark paid a $10,000 fine and will spend five years on probation and do 200 hours of community service.

Clark said he will speak to young people about the risks of alcohol after his serves his time. His attorneys said Clark is struggling with his own alcohol addiction and has not had a drink since he was charged in Ah Mook Sang’s death.

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Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. ~Author Unknown

Last week a Los Angeles judge said he could not suspend Dr. Conrad Murray’s medical license in California and the case could take months to go to trial.

“I want to give this case priority,” Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said. “It is a very serious matter for Dr. Murray, for the Jackson family and the community at large.”

The judge said scheduling needs and time for trial preparation required that a preliminary hearing be moved back to at least August 23, with a requirement to start within 60 days after that date. A trial date cannot be set until that process is finished.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death in June of 2009.

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877-392-3342