Malibu Beach Recovery Center

Pot-infused wine...Drinking hand sanitizer...Whip-It...What's next?

Pat Olsen — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:51:59 -0800

I like wine, and I love chocolate Yet I just didn’t get it when I saw chocolate wine, even though a friend recommended it. Don’t mess with my red, white or blush. So imagine my consternation, no, my shock, when I saw this Daily Beast article about pot-infused wine.

OK, it’s the best of both worlds to some people. Get a buzz from alcohol at the same time you’re getting high on pot. (What’s Trending Now on MSN actually pointed me to the article.) But that’s messing and then some.

When I wrote about how California’s prescription database effort, CURES, is in deep trouble, I noted that California leads the way when it comes to trends. But this one is hard to fathom. “Pot wine” isn’t new to California, but if you believe the article, it’s b-a-c-k. If you ask me, it’s a heck of a way to ruin a good glass of wine and a sad day for the recovery field.

In Chicago, kids have reportedly been getting high on hand sanitizer by drinking it. According to Fox news, there are even YouTube videos showing how it’s done. I thought the pot-infused wine was bad, but this is just as hard to imagine.

An Illinois medical examiner noted that one shot of hand sanitizer is equivalent to two shots of 80 proof vodka. So now we have to add hand sanitizer to the list of household items that can be a problem around kids. Thank goodness one kid who was approached in a school hallway “just said no,” which isn’t supposed to work much. (Score one for Nancy Reagan!)

In March I thought I had uncovered something new when I told Joan about Whip-Its, small canisters of nitrous oxide intended for cooking. She already knew about them and told me about one I hadn’t heard of: kids inhaling the spray from the aerosol cans used to clean computers to get high.

I don’t want to think I’m naïve. I know that people will try almost anything to get high. But when you think about the lengths some people—especially teens—go to, some of the stuff boggles the mind.

Malibu Beach Recovery Diet - Going Vegan

Licia Jaccard — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:00 -0800

There are times when I really wish I were able to take meat out of my diet completely. Granted that his does not happen too often, but often enough that I wish I had a more intense vocabulary of meatless dishes. Recently, some great cookbooks have come to the market, such as “Salad as a Meal“ and “Vegetable Harvest“, both by Patricia Wells, “ Vegetable Love“ by Barbara Kafka, “Fast Fresh and Green“ by Susie Niddleton and “Whole Grains“ by Lorna Sass to name a few. They make you want to embrace those meals that do not feature meat as an ingredient.

Actually, when vegetables are paired with grains, they take centerstage and are no longer considered a “side”. The initial principle is that your vegetables are of superior freshness to start with. The resulting added flavor and crispness, along with the shortest cooking time possible, will insure that you get the maximum nutrition out of them. The grains should be rinsed and soaked if needed, and usually require a longer cooking time, so plan your meal preparation time accordingly. You have all heard about the various benefits of vegetables, so I will not bore you with repeated advice on what, where, how often and when to get your veggies on top of the pyramid. There is, however, a misconception on how to prepare grains, which leads many people to turn away from them because they become tough, pasty, gooey and totally unappetizing. The books mentioned above should help you experiment with grains and get familiar with some of the best loved new fads in the food business. We are seing four-star restaurants serve farro and barley, grains that were unheard of five years ago but have been on menus since the time of the Romans. Quinoa is making a comeback as well in white, red or black -- according to the Chef’s taste for culinary and visual drama.

What is not often mentioned is the incredible ability that grains have to help us maintain a healthy diet, a satisfied appetite and a boost to our digestive functions. Grains are a suberb source or protein, of fiber and other important nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium. They also provide, next to vegetables, a satisfying chewiness that contradicts your impulse to eat in haste, and allow your stomach to send the message to your brain that, indeed, you are eating real food and will be fully satisfied for a long, long time.

In that respect, grains fit perfectly into the Malibu Beach Recovery Diet, as they allow a more intense sensation of satiety, a feeling of contentment, lower the risk of heart disease by 20 percent, lowe insulin resistance and cholesterol, and protect against hormone-related and digestive system cancers.

What more can one ask for?

Click below on "Continue Reading" for three recipes that will help you get started with a healthier, more whole and happier you.

Enjoy!

Licia

www.sharemorethanfood.com

Farro wheat salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups farro
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup sliced baby kale
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons golden balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Rinse the farro in cold water. Place the farro in a heavy-bottomed pot and cover with fresh cold water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat, cover loosely and cook the farro until tender, about 20 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool on a rimmed baking sheet.

In a large bowl, toss together the cooked farro with the cranberries, kale and hazelnuts.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar, and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste.

Quinoa salad

Ingredients

1 large red beet
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
3 cups black or red quinoa
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped dill
3 whole radishes, shaved or thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced

Instructions

Roast the beet: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the beet on a sheet of foil and drizzle over 1 teaspoon oil, then season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover the beet in foil, and roast in the oven until a knife pierces the beet easily, about 1 hour, depending on the thickness and age of the beet. Peel the beet while it's hot, then set aside until cool enough to handle. Finely dice the beet and set aside one-half cup cooked beet for the salad (the rest, if any is left over, can be saved and used as desired).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating, rinse the quinoa thoroughly. Place the quinoa in the boiling water and cook until it's no longer opaque (the little tendrils will unravel as the quinoa softens). Drain and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet to cool. You should have a generous 4 cups quinoa.

In a large bowl, toss the quinoa with the remaining one-fourth cup olive oil and lemon juice, then fold in the dill, radishes and cucumber. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste.

Bulgur Pudding with Dates

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cut fine bulgur
1 cup 2% milk
¼ cup agave syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup pitted dates, chopped
Whipped cream (1 cup whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Instructions

Combine the bulgur and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently until the water is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the milk, the agave, cinnamon, ginger and salt, Bring the muxture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, uncovered, at a gente boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture develops the consistency of porridge, about 5 minutes, Stir in the walnuts and dates. Sweeten with additional agave if needed.

Whip the whipping cream with the vanilla extract until it holds stiff peaks. Spoon the pudding into bowls, serve warm or cold, topped with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Dr. Kenneth Blum Joins Malibu Beach Recovery Center Team As Neuroscience Advisor

Joan Borsten — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:31:30 -0800

Dr. Kenneth Blum has joined Malibu Beach Recovery Center as its Neuroscience Advisor. Dr. Blum has spent more than 20-years researching the link between genetics and addiction and, with co-author Dr. Ernest Noble, published a seminal study in the Journal of American Medical Association which established a correlation between the brain’s dopamine D2 Receptor Taq 1allele and addiction. At Malibu Beach Recovery Center, Dr. Blum will keep staff apprised of ongoing research and findings relative to substance abuse and its impact on the brain’s all-important mood regulatory system, and how that knowledge can then be used for each patient’s benefit.

Dr. Blum, age 72, became familiar with the Malibu Beach Recovery Center in 2009 and discovered that it is one of the few treatment programs in the United States based on neuroscience. That same year, Dr. Blum endorsed Malibu Beach Recovery Center’s program. In 2011 the Center’s treatment modalities were recognized as cutting edge after the American Society of Addiction Medicine formally redefined addiction as a chronic brain disease which impacts the brain’s reward circuitry.

“The brain is the new frontier,” stated Dr. Kenneth Blum, “and through neuroscience we now have better ways and means of understanding and treating addiction. As Malibu Beach Recovery Center’s Neuroscience Advisor, I have the unique opportunity to play a role in helping patients overcome addiction and achieve long term sobriety through a meld of neuroscience, healthy lifestyle choices, dietary changes, counseling and the teachings manifest in the 12-Step Program.”

“We welcome Dr. Blum as a member of our team, “said Joan Borsten, CEO and co-founder with her husband, Oleg Vidov, of the Malibu Beach Recovery Center,” and are confident that his forward-thinking will benefit the individuals we treat. His presence has already made a difference as we’ve incorporated neutraceuticals developed and patented by Dr. Blum’s research team to help raise the chronically low dopamine levels of our clients.”

Currently, Dr. Blum is a Full Professor at the University of Florida’s McKnight Brain Institute and an Adjunct Professor in its College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. He coined the phrase “reward deficiency syndrome,” and has written 12 books and published more than 500 articles in peer review journals. Often called "The Father of Psychiatric Genetics," Dr. Blum serves on 13 editorial review boards, is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the new BMC Journal “Integrative Omics and Molecular Biology.” He is also an honorary professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont.

Photo (left to right): Oleg Vidov, Joan Borsten, Dr. Kenneth Blum, Margaret Madigan (Lifegen Department of Nutrigenomics) at the entrance to the Malibu Beach Recovery Center.

New Jersey Fund Prescription Pill Database As California CURES Database Fails

Pat Olsen — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:49:26 -0800

I once saw a New Yorker cartoon, if I remember correctly, of a map of the U.S. in which the east and west coasts were gigantic -- out of all proportion -- in comparison to the middle of the country. I thought of that map after reading about what’s occurring on my coast regarding prescription databases so soon after I posted about what’s happening on the west coast.

Just as California was running out of funding, my state, NJ got funding for 2012. In January the Attorney General announced the creation of a program similar to CURES, thanks to getting a $300,000 federal grant. With that, we become the 38th state to have a program. Joan seems to think that all the states will have a program soon (except maybe CA if it does not get its act together) and it will be powerful tool to curb abuse (until the addicts figure a way around it, she noted).

Prescription pills are the most abused drug among young people after pot, according to the New York Times article. My local NJ website, NJ.com, said more people die from prescription pills “every year than cocaine and heroin combined.”

Check the heartbreaking stories on that site of young people who became addicted, sometimes after one OxyContin. (I gave the link when I introduced the NJ funding.) There are few things as sad as the downward spiral addicts describe. It’s not pleasant to picture someone eating out of a garbage can.

Last week the New York Times had an editorial on what’s going on in NY regarding a prescription pill database. Now, pharmacists must “report the dispensing of controlled substances at least once every 45 days,” and there is “no effective mechanism for the state, doctors, or pharmacists to track prescriptions or verify their ability.” But Eric Schneiderman, NY’s attorney general, has suggested a real-time database, and the powers that be are working on legislation that would require doctors to use it to review a patient’s prescription history before they prescribe, and also report handing out new prescriptions. Pharmacists would have to review the history as well and confirm that the prescribing doctor was legitimate.

Schneiderman noted that oxycodone and hydrocodone prescriptions rose 82 and 17 percent, respectively, in NY from 2007 to 2010. Oxycodone is the active ingredient in OxyContin, and and hydrocodone is the main ingredient in Vicodin.

I’m writing this on National Take Back Prescription Day, which is ironic, and I have to hand it to my town. Yesterday I got an automated call that went to all residents to notify us where and when to drop off any leftover or unused prescription pills. I hope this occurred in other towns around the country as well.

Bath Salts Part 2: Miles returns to his former self

Joan Borsten — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:09:19 -0800

On April 16, 2012 we wrote about Miles, his use of the very dangerous designer stimulant "bath salts," and the manic behavior that occured weeks after he stopped using them, suggesting the chemicals in "bath salts" have a rebound effect.

Here is the end of the story, as told by his mother.

"Miles ended up getting kicked out of the next rehab (NOTE: a very tough behavior modification treatment center in the San Fernando Valley). He stayed out in their lobby for hours, trying to get someone to pick him up. It took everything we had inside as a family to say no, but we all did and so did his long-time girlfriend. He was cold, hungry and out on the street in a very bad area. The treatment center staff gave him a sack lunch and let him keep his belongings in their storage room, but he had to leave when they closed the lobby. He went to a meeting and got a "couch commitment" for the night.

"My husband picked him up the next morning to take him to see his probation officer. When he picked him up, Miles was completely subdued and grateful. My husband said they had the best day together. He brought him to our home and made arrangements for Miles to stay in a hotel down the street from probation for one night, then they got Miles into a sober living house from Thursday thru Tuesday, at which point Miles was scheduled to go to court for a review. Interestingly, Miles stayed in the hotel room all night by himself, ate pizza and watched hockey on TV (we know because he called his dad and brother throughout the entire game as they were watching it here). He walked to the probation office the next morning and was instructed to report there each morning until court. He had to attend double and triple meetings until court. After that meeting with probation he took a cab to the sober living house with his belongings and stayed there as instructed. He walked everywhere he needed to go for the next several days and went to lots of meetings. He didn't ask for his car back, which we would have refused anyway but we didn't have to.

"After he left [the Valley behavior modification rehab] with 2 big bags of meds, the only thing he took was Gabapentin and Seroquel at night for anxiety and sleep! My husband picked him up Sunday morning and brought him to offload most of his clothes and shoes and he gave me his bags of meds and said he didn't need them! He went to church with us, did laundry, watched hockey with his dad and brother and we had a barbeque that evening with all of the kids and grandkids. Miles was like his old self and happy and compliant. My husband took him back to the sober living house that evening and he went to court on Tuesday.

"He was drug tested at probation prior to his review and they tested him for everything they could and they all came back negative. Then he went to court and he was given a "strike" for hopping from place to place and not calling his probation officer to let them know where he was going. If only they knew how crazy and out of control he was during that month, they would know why he never called. They court-ordered him to the Salvation Army for 6 months. He accepted the fact that he would go and got himself on a waiting list.

"We took Miles to the Salvation Army yesterday morning. We checked him in and we will not have contact with him for about 30 days unless they feel he has information we need to know. He can't have his cell phone for 6 months and he will work 5 days a week for $1 a day. He could only bring underwear and toiletries. He was ok on the way down and even though 6 months is a long time, he said he is sick of the "lifestyle" and "too much drama". While he was at the sober living he spent a day with a sober friend and 2 sober girls and had a blast and that seemed to make such an impression, that he could have a fun day clean and sober and be happy. Miles faces jail and/or prison if he leaves or gets kicked out of the Salvation Army, so we are hoping and praying his mindset stays as it has been the past week-committed, surrendered and focused on his recovery.

"I may have told you more than you wanted to know, but it has been such a ride and I am grateful that thus far it hasn't ended in our planning a funeral for Miles. I don't understand how and why he went from utter chaos and craziness to a calm, happy young man, but I feel that I had my "real son" back when he came back from Valley. It did send a strong message when we all turned our backs on him and he has since lost his girlfriend of the past 5 years altogether now. She won't return his calls and messages and we support her in moving on without Miles. We believe she has had enough and is also a distraction for Miles in his recovery. He is insecure without her but is beginning to see that this is life and it's time for him to deal with it.

"I hope the 'more to come' is a good ending to the story of 'Miles'. I still wonder if the 2 months of out of control, manicky, crazy behavior has anything to do with the bath salts. I have never seen Miles quite like that and I hope I never do again.

Celebs and Addiction--Amy Winehouse, Stephen Tyler, Kristen Johnston, and Alex O'Loughlin

Pat Olsen — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:55:40 -0800

As I’ve said before, celebrities do a public service when they bring attention to addiction and recovery. And recently four have done that in different ways.

I first heard about Amy Winehouse who died in July of alcohol poisoning, when I listened to her song, “Rehab,” released in 2006. She was only 27. A couple of weeks ago I saw her singing with Tony Bennett on a TV program about singers with whom he has sung duets. Her family set up a foundation in her memory, and in March the foundation announced a scholarship for a student in financial need to be able to attend the Sylvia Young Theater School in London that Winehouse attended as a girl. What a nice gesture.

Rock star Stephen Tyler appears on TV every week since signing on as a judge for American Idol. In March Oprah interviewed him and showed a video in which he fell off a concert stage in 2009. He needed stitches, but he could have been much more seriously injured. The singer admitted he had been high when it happened and mentioned how hurt he was that his band members didn’t contact him for so long afterward. In turn, they mentioned how betrayed they felt that he had gone back to drugs. Tyler is clean once again and has thousands of fans wishing him well.

Kristen Johnston of “Third Rock from the Sun” fame has published a memoir called “Guts” in which she discusses her longtime addiction to drugs and alcohol. Johnston started on the road to recovery, according to the report I read, when her ulcer “exploded,” and she landed in the hospital. She’s also co-founder of an organization called SLAM, for Sobriety, Learning, and Motivation, which is planning to start a recovery high school in New York (I assume that’s New York City and not somewhere else in the state.) This site says she’s a co-founder. Another inspirational gesture.

Even a small entry I found in the news, about a star I’ve never heard of—Alex O’Loughlin, who plays a detective in the TV show Hawaii Five-O, provides fodder for discussion. O’Laughlin injured his shoulder, took pain meds, and become addicted, or at least that’s what I infer from the explanation: “Alex is taking a short break to receive supervised treatment” for problems related to prescription pain medication, the statement said. He’s not the first actor to present problems for a show’s – or a movie’s -- producers and writers.

Joan added: The Amy Winehouse Foundation receives a donation for every copy ordered of the new album "Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures."

CURES: Health Insurance Companies Should Fund California's Crippled Prescription Database

Pat Olsen — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:12:27 -0800

We on the East Coast often look to California, the more progressive coast, as a bellwether. But the state has dropped the ball when it comes to its CURES prescription database. Funding was pulled at the end of last year, which is a blow to anyone concerned with the epidemic of prescription pill abuse.

Joan wrote about CURES here, in March and here, earlier this month. It’s the program that replaced the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and allows pharmacists to check a database to learn whether customers wanting a prescription were filling the same prescription at another pharmacy, called “pharmacy shopping.” Both doctors and pharmacists could access the database. It’s still accessible but with very little staff and few participants.

As a New York Times article explains, Governor Brown cut the state budget of the Department of Justice, leaving the program in the lurch. The writer notes, however, that there were problems from the start. The main one seems to be that entering prescriptions into the database is optional, unlike some states’ programs. (Joan noted that “even the 49th poorest state, Kentucky, had a functioning data base and requires all doctors and pharmacists to use it.”

Here’s a quote from the article, from the executive director of the Prescription Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.: [If California does not fix its system,] “it will pay a huge price in terms of people who end up dying whose lives could have been saved, of people overdosing and going into hospitals, or nursing homes, or ultimately on disability.”

Ira Freeman, owner of North Hollywood"s Key Pharmacy, is one CA pharmacist who cares (he made headlines in 2009 for refusing to fill Anna Nichole Smith's pain pill prescriptions). In March he attended a meeting with representatives in the Attorney General’s Sacramento office to talk about CURES. The situation couldn’t appear any bleaker. He had read an article in the Bay Citizen and learned that only 4% of pharmacists in the state had signed up. “My frustration is one, that not enough pharmacists have signed up and two, the system is antiquated. Even though it’s supposed to be realtime, it takes roughly six or seven minutes to get the data. That’s a long time when you have someone looking you straight in the eye on the other side of the counter,” he said.

The only time doctor shopping gets air play is when a celebrity dies, he noted. But unfortunately, everyday citizens are doing it as well. “We want to see that patients with legitimate needs see legitimate physicians and have access to their medications,” he said. “But those who doctor shop are raising the costs for everyone. The drugs and office visits are often covered through insurance, and everyone down the line pays the cost. Everyday citizens can’t say it doesn’t affect them, it does. It adds to insurance premiums,” he explained.

Freeman recommends that insurance companies provide funding because they would directly benefit if doctor shopping decreased. He believes that for every $1 spent on drugs, there is $43 in associated medical costs. “So,” he concluded, “it’s in their best interest to fund the program.”

Malibu Beach Recovery Diet - Sugar the Silent Killer

Licia Jaccard — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:21:10 -0800

“Sugar is the new cocaine and it’s free. It is time that we, our elected officials, our health practitioners, our school boards, took a stand to protect and inform the general population on how to stand up to a greedy and ever changing enemy: Out from our schools, our restaurants, our prepared products… Out from the drinks we trustingly give our children… Those products have to come with a warning label similar to cigarettes: Beware, this product can and will kill you. It destroys our health, our genes, our immune system and the life expectancy of our children.”

- Chef Jamie Olivier, The New Food Revolution

Teaching cooking every Sunday at Malibu Beach Recovery Center, we had to learn how to do without sugar. Being French and a baker by passion, it was probably the hardest conversion I could imagine. However, the rewards were immense. When you remove sugar from your kitchen staples, food becomes more intense, the taste of each ingredient shines, spices are present to enhance the natural beauty of the finished product. You gain in range what was previously hidden: taste, flavors, hot, intense, smooth, mellow, rich, sharp, tangy, and the list goes on and on. Foods were at last given a chance to stand up for what they truly were; this was the most revealing factor to me.

Within this experience, we discovered how to cook with the natural juices of the fruits (when fruits were not at their peak, a quick stir-fry or a 10 second trip into the microwave brought them back to life and enchanted us with strong head notes and lasting aftertastes). We learned about the intense flavors of dark chocolates. We found that whipping cream had the tang and slight acidity of raw milk. The more we enjoyed these foods, the less we missed sugar and its overpowering presence.

The trend has hit restaurants across the world. The highlight becomes the ingredient, and more recently even in its molecular form. The priority is given to the freshness of ingredients, the balance of natural flavors, and the restraint in preparation methods.

Lately filmmakers and reporters have begun to focus on the ugly truth about Sugar. Each new documentary, new article or television report makes me more appalled at how this global enemy has made its way into our lives and is there to stay, present in all types and varieties of ingredients, foods, dishes and drinks. If you read closely the ingredient list when you purchase a product at your favorite store, you will be amazed at the pervasive way it has made its way into most of the foods we consume. If sugar were tobacco or heroin, you would see it being banished at all cost in a matter of minutes.

The relationship of the Sugar industry and the power that it holds on the Food industry makes it an uphill battle to gauge, much less win. It is their interest to use sugar (or it’s cheaper substitute, high-fructose corn syrup) in all of our foods to make food taste more palatable, allow cheaper cuts, less costly ingredients, and increase profit margin. It is in sugar industry’s interest to make you an sugar-addict, whether it is with or without your knowledge.

A great documentary by Brian McKenna, called Big Sugar first allerted me to these facts.

Another movie, Hungry for Change, just came out in limited release and explains the many disorders that sugar induces in our bodies.

Here are some numbers that demonstrate the staggering truth about sugar-related illnesses:

The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.

For additional facts about sugar click here.

We can make a conscious choice to eliminate harmful sugars from our bodies and from the food that feeds them. It has become a fun challenge to discover the many ways to we can make great tasting sugar-free foods such the following brownie recipe that has become one of our favorites. The secret ingredient will surprise you.

For the brownie receipe click below on "Continue Reading."

Licia Jaccard

www.sharemorethanfood.com

Sweet Potato Brownies

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
8 oz dark chocolate, divided (6 oz for melting + 2 oz finely chopped)
1 lb sweet potatoes (to yield 1 cup mashed)
1/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
¼ tsp baking powder
(pinch of salt)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the sweet potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size. Pierce through to check for doneness. The knife should encounter no resistance. Remove the potatoes to cool. Pell the potatoes, discard skin and save the flesh, making sure there is no remaining skin or eyes. Maintain the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Line an 8 inch square metal baking dish with nonstick paper or foil.

Using a water-bath, place the butter and the chocolate and wait until melted, then remove the top bowl from the water bath and stir vigourously until completely smooth.

In the bowl of a food processor, beat the sweet potato flesh with the agave syrup until completely smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl.

Mix in the butter and chocolate. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat until thick, then stir in the flour and baking powder until evenly combined.

Fold in the pecans and remaining chopped chocolate, then spoon into the baking dish, smooth the top and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until barely cooked but still a bit soft under the crust.

Leave to cool completely in the baking dish before slicing.

"Bath Salts:" A Designer Stimulant That Rebounds???

Joan Borsten — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0800

When Pat first reported on the new “bath salt” epidemic, it didn’t really click. Even her “bath salt” update had me scratching my head.

Then the manager of our sober living found Ann (not her real name), a young resident, wandering around the front yard speaking to the bushes. Her co-residents said she had ordered “bath salts” over the internet. She seemed fine several days later, but in only a matter of weeks the manager told me she had been admitted to the UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute where she reportedly remained for two weeks strapped to her bed.

A month ago I got a call from a Southern California college town. Miles (not his real name) -- bright, articulate and charming -- said he needed help, the type that an outpatient program could not provide. He was ready to “do the work” in a safe, secure setting rather than tangle with the law and “lose everything.”

From the vast amounts of drugs Miles, 21, reported having taken since he was 15, he was one hard core addict. He had managed 6 months of sobriety in 2010. Then “all hell broke loose” and he was arrested for possession of Xanax, cocaine, and marijuana, as well as intent to sell marijuana In jail he stayed high on suboxone which was mailed to him glued to the flap of the envelope (Pat wrote about this last December).

One day a friend introduced him to “bath salts,” a designer stimulant which mimics the high of cocaine and methamphetamine. Note to Normies (non addicts): These are not the lavender scented crystals on sale at your local drug store. These are possibly the most dangerous drug on the market today, produced in clandestine labs, sold online or in smoke and head shops.

“Bath Salts” are usually made from MDPV or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, a psychoactive drug, though newer derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Dr. Zane Horowitz, MD, an emergency room physician and medical director of the Oregon Poison Center described for WebMD the side effects he has observed: "agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, sucide...high blood pressure and increased pulse." He added: There's something more causing these other extreme effects."

Most often the label on "bath salts" attempts to skirt legality by stating the product is not for human consumption (which is not a deterrent to young adults who anyway smoke, snort or inject them).

In September 2011 the Drug Enforcement Administration used emergency scheduling authority to temporarily control MDPV (along with Mephedrone and Methylone) by classifying it as a Schedule I Substance.

Schedule I status is reserved for those substances with such a high potential for abuse they cannot be used for treatment in the United States. Until next September, and possibly forever, possession or sale of MPDV is illegal..

Last November California followed the lead of at least 28 states and banned “bath salts.”

Nonetheless, there is still a single source in Miles’ college town – a smoke shop that also sells salvia (an herb with hallucinogenic properties) and spice (an herbal alternative to marijuana) . Miles said the “bath salts” he inhaled are called “Bubbles” and come in a “ready to snort” container with a twist off cap. The powder itself “looks a lot like Splenda.”

The “bath salt” containers are kept locked in a glass showcase. The store's only clerk has the key. Miles said each container cost $35.00 cash and is labeled: “Not for human consumption- does not contain MDPV.”

(Dr. Charles Sophy, a favorite Malibu Beach Recovery Center psychiatrist warned: “Consumers should not be fooled. Bath Salt ingredients, no matter what disguise they may come in, still remain a potential substance for abuse. The abuse potential and its aftermath can be very harmful.” )

Miles described the “bath salts” as rendering the “best” high ever. 10 times better than a meth, he said. And unlike all the other drugs he has ever snorted/injected/smoked, it was the bath salts which took him down. Each container kept Miles “loaded” for up to 8 hours. By the time he called Malibu Beach Recovery Center he could no longer go more than an hour without bath salts. It had become a $100/day habit that “had me by the throat.”

For Miles the side effects included delusions, insomnia ( he reported having had no more than 6 hours in twelve days), shortness of breath, restless leg syndrome, anxiety, and lack of appetite.

“When I hugged him,” said his mom, “he had lost so much weight I could feel all the ribs, all the bones.”

Twenty four days after entering treatment Miles relapsed. Somehow he had obtained Xanax. Relapse while in treatment is a very rare occurrence at Malibu Beach Recovery Center. We immediately helped him transfer to a different treatment program. Two days later his mom emailed: “He sounds terrible to me. This morning he woke up in excruciating pain in both hips and could not move. He needed assistance to get out of bed….I am truly afraid we will lose him.”

The other treatment program then discharged him. They reported cognitive memory issues and said he was out of control with drug seeking and had no concern for consequences.

He was checked into a psych ward. When his insurance ordered him stepped down to a lower level of care, Miles panicked and wanted to go back to the hospital.

I heard from Miles’ dad this morning. He wrote: “Unfortunately, the saga continues...”

Two days earlier Miles had been rushed to the ER.

“The clinical team at his rehab was sure he OD'd on something as he was nodding out during the morning meeting,” wrote his Dad. “ Miles insisted he didn't take anything more than the treatment center gave him. He walked all the way from the hospital back to the treatment center in flip flops because he needed his meds. His feet were black, he had a deep cut on his ankle, his foot and ankle were red and swollen and he was limping. They wouldn't let him on the premises and said they would have to call the cops if he caused a scene. He paced back and forth across the street and called them and us, begging for a dose of his meds.

“I was horrified when we picked him up. He looked like a homeless man I barely recognized, not the handsome young guy with the big smile and bright eyes. He was dirty, ragged and nodding out when talking to us, and all he had was the medication they prescribed.”

Miles’ dad is inclined to believe that even if Miles was able to access some street drugs while in treatment, or was able to hoard enough of his prescribed medications to take alot at one time, the amounts available could not have triggered the extreme behavior Miles is exhibiting, all of which mimic the DEA's description of the worst "bath salts" side effects: impaired perception, reduced motor control, disorientation, extreme paranoia and violent episodes.

Which led me to call Dr. Kenneth Blum and ask him if bath salts have a rebound effect.

Here is what he said: "There must be additional research done to determine whether after ingesting bath salts a severe neuopsychological rebound can result. This abused substance may be more dangerous than even crystal meth and all legal authorities must enforce laws against its sale in the entire United States of America. Our professional and scientific community must declare "war" against its use to save our precious next generation from its profound neurotoxicity."

If any of our readers have experienced a rebound from "bath salts", or know about someone who has, please post a comment. Your information might help save Miles' life, or the life of someone else.

Klonopin, Ketamin and Levamisole - Dangerous When Abused

Pat Olsen — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0800

As we know all too well, people who want to get high can often find a drug helpful for certain conditions – which they don’t have-- that they can abuse. Sometimes, drug abusers aren’t aware that the illicit drug they’re taking has been doctored with another harmful substance to boot.

Here are two drugs that fit the first case, and one that fits the second:

Klonopin

You may have heard that Alderall and other medications for Attention Deficit Disorder have the potential for abuse, but they’re not the only ones. People can also abuse Klonopin, or Clonazepam, which is used to treat anxiety and panic attacks. It’s in the benzodiazepine family of anti-anxiety medications. (You may be more familiar with xanax and valium, other medications in that family.)

eHow says “The medication produces a sedating sensation, easing symptoms of panic such as tension, hyperventilating, and general unease.” Unfortunately, it can be addicting. Also unfortunately, people who don’t need it abuse it. eHow noted that almost 15% of people who abuse heroin have abused Klonopin or a similar drug as well—daily, for over a year. Some people use it to enhance alcohol or to ease withdrawal from stimulants and opiates.

Klonopin—K-pin for short—is quick-acting and produces euphoria or a similar high as when someone is drunk. An overdose can result in coma, confusion, difficulty breathing, and nausea. Long-term users can experience hallucinations, anxiety, psychosis, and anger, and withdrawal can be deadly. It’s not surprising that experts recommend in-patient detox.

Ketamine

Then there’s Ketamine, the club drug or party drug that induces amnesia. It’s also known as Special K or the date rape drug. The Partnership at Drugfree.org explains it’s “an anesthetic used in human anesthesia and veterinary medicine.” And people are taking it from vet offices (if that’s what they mean by “diverted from veterinary offices”)

Those who’ve taken it say it either gives one a floating sensation, or a terrifying feeling. High doses can cause depression, high blood pressure, and “potentially fatal respiratory problems,” to name a few effects.

Levamisole

Levamisole also has a link to animals. It’s a medication for deworming both horses and livestock that dealers have glommed onto for use in preparing cocaine. When cocaine users were tested in a study, half of them were found to have levamisole in their urine. The drug was banned for human use 12 years ago. For one thing, it can cause a severe blood disorder,

One doctor said “the potential public health implications are huge.” Medical professionals who treat cocaine users have to be on the lookout for this drug, because it might not be readily apparent that a patient has ingested cocaine cut with this levamisole if they don’t test for it. The doctor who was interviewed said that abusers probably wouldn’t even care about the levamisole!

According to the article, “the drug is thought to bind to the same receptors as cocaine does, thereby enhancing the euphoria.” And how depressing: the DEA found that about 80% of the cocaine that was seized last year contained the drug.