Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Grassroots group campaigns for Plaza paver do-over Iconic Ashland bookstore to celebrate 35th anniversary on April 19 Ashland Contemporary Theatre seeks new artistic director Why OLLI matters: A personal perspective Police Reports Education Why OLLI matters: A personal perspective Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Rotary Club of Ashland names Riley O'Sullivan as Student of the Month Teacher's Tips: Who gets to teach history? Environment Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 Mt. Ashland hopes coming storm will reopen ski area Wild Side: Selfish and other reasons for saving endangered species Mt. Ashland Ski Area: Low snow closes 'bunny hill' chairlift for beginning skiers With pre-season conditions worst in 25 years, catastrophic wildfires expected in region this summer Business Iconic Ashland bookstore to celebrate 35th anniversary on April 19 Test Drive: 2015 Honda Accord Cars We Remember: The original Candymatic Ramchargers Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef Politics and elections Grassroots group campaigns for Plaza paver do-over Arthur I. Cyr: Iran – a crisis without end Short-term rental restrictions kept in some areas, loosened in others Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Mark L. Hopkins: Looking for a political straight shooter State News Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state Nation - World Leonard Nimoy, famous as Mr. Spock on 'Star Trek,' dies Obituaries Alicia Applegate Hardy Death Notices Rosalind Dee Death Notices Norman Christlieb Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Sports Latest Stories Guthrie kicks off fundraising drive Ashland softball team splits pair in second day of Bend tournament Grizz bats heat up in Bend Kansas City Royals star pitcher Jeremy Guthrie visits Ashland to kickoff fundraising campaign Ducks enjoy the challenge High school Ashland softball team splits pair in second day of Bend tournament Grizzlies rally past GP, to 2-0 start Ashland boys capture another Sato Cup snowboard title at Mt. Bachelor Fredrickson leads Grizzlies to season-opening romp Grizz alpine skiers finish strong at state Southern Oregon University Ashland softball team splits pair in second day of Bend tournament Ducks enjoy the challenge Oregon bows out Oregon State women come up short in second-round loss to Gonzaga Raiders roughed up at Corban Voices Latest Stories Granlund cartoon: Kraft and Heinz merger Landgren cartoon: Muddy baseball fields Our View: How it should work Letters to the Editor, March 25 Rick Holmes: What addicts say about getting high and getting better Editorial Our View: How it should work Our View: Ashland High principal is the head of her class Our View: Tuition trauma Our View: SOU's economic clout Our view: Keep it simple in developing marijuana rules Letters Letters to the Editor, March 25 Letters to the Editor, March 23 Letters to the Editor, March 20 Letters to the Editor, March 19 Letters to the Editor, March 18 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Hannah Thomas-Garner's father thanks the Ashland community Guest Opinion: Ashland is asking for trouble with new room rental rules Guest Opinion: More reasons to oppose Jordan Cove Guest Opinion: It's Groundwater Awareness Week; test your well Guest Opinion: Ashland schools failed to protect my son from bullying Columns Council Corner: Getting to yes or no — or maybe Chris Honoré: 'Like a ghastly rapid river, through the pale door, a hideous throng rush out ...' Guest Opinion: Hannah Thomas-Garner's father thanks the Ashland community Herb Rothschild: Donating with care Matthew T. Mangino: When is a confession not a confession? Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Community blog: Words, wine and Craig Wright 4 Things To Do This Week Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center Best bets for entertainment around Ashland, March 19 Theater Ashland Contemporary Theatre seeks new artistic director Ticket Availability The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Ticket Availability Camelot Theatre in Talent: This 'Sunset' is not as dark Music Album reviews: Recent and recommended for March The Farr Side: New format for ‘American Idol’ as show continues a strong run Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center The Farr Side: Madonna — ever the trendsetter Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder John McEuen performs at the Unitarian Fellowship in Ashland Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: ‘The Gunman’ misses the target Movie listings: March 20-26 More wonderful wrinkles at 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' 8 must-see spring films Movie review: ‘Wrecking Crew’ is a look at the people who really put the bomp Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Joanna McQuillan Weeks: Almond cookies pass the test Page Onorato: Cranky old winter may finally come to an end Garden Cameos: Welcome spring to the garden Page Onorato: Come grow old along with me, someday Tammy Kelly: Lighten up traditional Easter desserts Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Iconic Ashland bookstore to celebrate 35th anniversary on April 19 ... Ticket Availability ... Have you filed your tax return yet? ... Iconic Ashland bookstore to celebrate 35th anniversary on April 19 ... Ticket Availability ... Have you filed your tax return yet? ... Rick Holmes: What addicts say about getting high and getting better By Rick Holmes Wicked Local DailyTidings.com By Rick Holmes Wicked Local Posted Mar. 24, 2015 @ 9:04 am Updated Mar 24, 2015 at 9:05 AM By Rick Holmes Wicked Local Posted Mar. 24, 2015 @ 9:04 am Updated Mar 24, 2015 at 9:05 AM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> We were talking about death, about the growing number of young people killed by overdoses of heroin and prescription drugs. If anything would scare people away from drugs, I said, it would be the death of a friend. “Are you kidding?” said Philip. “Back when I was selling, if someone I’d sold to died, I’d get 10 new customers. They figured I must have the good stuff.” Talk to people who’ve seen the prison of addiction from the inside, and you quickly realize they don’t think like the rest of us. That’s what happens when you have a disease of the brain. “You don’t think about the danger of overdosing when you’re using,” Leo Henry told me. Leo, 35, is from Somerville, Massachusetts, but now he shares a small cell at the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica. “You don’t think about anything when you’re shooting up heroin,” he said. “You’re the walking dead, basically.” It’s no way to live, and a good way to die. Overdose deaths are going up, for lots of reasons: Heroin is cheap — $5 will buy you a bag in many neighborhoods — and it comes laced with fentanyl to increase its potency. Addicts go through a five-day detox — they call it a “spin dry” — and then go out and shoot the amount they were using before and it knocks them cold. They call it an opioid crisis because it started when doctors starting writing prescriptions for what is essentially synthetic heroin — Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin — with wild abandon. Louis Rosario started using opioids at 17, when he was still a student. He kicked the habit once, he told me, but then came down with leukemia, which meant a return to prescription painkillers and addiction. He’s 36 now, with both his diseases — the cancer in his blood and the addiction in his brain — now in remission. He’s using his time in jail to make sure it stays that way. “I’m blessed that I got here,” he said. He has daily classes and group meetings filled with frank, often emotional, talk about who they are, what they’ve done to themselves and their families, and how they’re going to put things back together again. Jail isn’t the best place to receive treatment for a chronic brain disease that often comes packaged with mental illness. But sometimes it’s the only place where an addict can stay safe and sober for the few months it can take for his head to clear. Increasingly, it’s a place where the parents and spouses of addicts turn in desperation for help. They try to find a spot in a treatment program, but there are never enough beds, the rules are too complicated or the care is too expensive. They appeal to a judge for a civil commitment so their addicted loved one can be locked up for his or her own protection. Outside of jail, treatment comes in a variety of forms. It starts with detox, but detox alone is rarely enough. Counseling and mental health treatment has to be part of it, especially since addiction so often goes hand-in-hand with illnesses like depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Drugs play a part in many addicts’ recovery: methadone for those who need the structure of a daily visit to a clinic; Suboxone helps some fend off the cravings, but it can leave you buzzed. Henry says he wants to get on Vivitrol, which prevents opiates or alcohol from getting you high. But pharmaceuticals can’t provide the social support that is so critical to getting and staying sober. That’s why groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are important — and nothing is as important as family. Michael Fahey, 22, started doing drugs in middle school in his hometown of Hudson. By high school, he had developed an addiction to Percocet. Then the police intervened, charging him with a crime he’d rather not talk about. “Just say I was busted for stupidity,” he told me. That landed him in jail for three days and sentenced to house arrest for a couple of years. “I was lucky,” he said. His parents provided a lawyer who helped him avoid a long prison sentence, and they took Fahey back into their home, where his druggie friends weren’t welcome. He also had a good friend — now his fiancé — to stand by him. She and an uncle in recovery got him to his first AA meeting, and he hit four or five meetings a week for the next two years, completing all 12 steps. These days, Fahey doesn’t go to as many meetings. He pumps gas during the day and performs standup comedy at night, working some of his story into his humor. He doesn’t define himself as an addict anymore. He’s got a family — his fiancé and her two children — depending on him, and career ambitions that leave no time for getting high and dozing off. I told him I’ve seen studies that show the single most important factor in preventing men who’ve done time in prison from getting in trouble again is a commitment made to a good women — social science again proving what people have known about for millennia: the power of women to civilize men. Fahey laughed and said, “That’s my story.” Every addict’s story is different, and too many of them end in the grave. But there are success stories as well, more than most people know. An estimated 23 million Americans are thriving in long-term recovery, having learned to hold their diseases at bay. With the right treatment at the right moment, and the right people to help them along, the walking dead can find new lives. Rick Holmes writes for GateHouse Media and the MetroWest Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected]. Like him on Facebook at Holmes&Co, and follow him on Twitter at @HolmesAndCo. By Rick Holmes Wicked Local DailyTidings.com By Rick Holmes Wicked Local Posted Mar. 24, 2015 @ 9:04 am Updated Mar 24, 2015 at 9:05 AM » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501