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People struggling with addiction who share a lethal dose of drugs are being prosecuted as killers. By Paige Williams Jamie Maynard’s husband, Timothy, abused drugs, and he hit her. In 2012, after four years of marriage, she left him. Jamie and her two small sons moved in with her parents, postal workers who lived west…

For years the struggles that musicians have had with mental issues and substance abuse, have led to very tragic ends. Yet, this is something that has been even romanticized and sort of accepted into the culture of the music industry.     As studies continue to shed more light on mental health issues it is…

2019: Phew, what a decade this year was. Or at least it felt like it. With everything happening all the time, it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. How can we focus on ourselves when there is so much going on around us, not even to mention worrying about careers, families, money, stress…

Niki Tartal once lived on the streets of Palm Beach County, hopelessly addicted to drugs and alcohol. The Lake Worth Beach mom shares how her Christmas miracle unfolded, one step at time. Niki Tartal’s Christmas story begins with Christmas past. One in which the twentysomething was sleeping rough, just beyond Lake Worth Beach’s main streets,…

When former vice president Joe Biden asserted over the weekend that marijuana shouldn’t be legal because it might be a “gateway” to hard drug use, pro-legalization critics were quick to paint him as an out-of-touch codger still fighting the last drug war. But the reaction isn’t entirely fair: Yes, the marijuana gateway theory that was…

Let’s just focus on eating the pie, shall we? The holiday season has arrived. And, just like every year, it brings with it a mix of emotions for all of us. Whether you’re excited, anxious, or a little bit of both, remember that the holiday season can be a great opportunity to flex your sober…

Nobody has to score Hershey’s kisses on the street. Nobody has to smuggle Pringles across the country hidden in the wheel well of a car. And if you’re paying $100 for a gram of Coke, you’re definitely being overcharged. But that doesn’t mean that the life-sustaining substances we come into the world loving and couldn’t…

These kids, they break my heart every day. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” Jared mumbles as he shuffles into my classroom. “I’m couch surfing for a while. I can’t go home, and I was really tired and grumpy.” He toes the ground and smiles sheepishly. These are my high school students, making my heart burst open…

Each day, 91 people die of prescription opioid and heroin (the cheapest form of opiate) overdoses, according to the CDC. Synthetic drugs mixed with heroin are the fastest growing category of abused and misused drugs. A recent CDC report says past misuse of prescription opioids is the STRONGEST risk factor for starting heroin use —…

Although prescribed frequently, benzodiazepines like Xanax or Valium are not a quick fix for anxiety, seizures, insomnia and other ailments. In fact, due to possible benzodiazepine side effects and the propensity for not only physical tolerance but also possible addiction, benzodiazepine drugs should not be considered for long-term treatment regardless of condition. That’s why doctors…