17 Patients Shot To Death at Rehab Center in Juarez Mexico

According to a story from CNN:

Gunmen shot and killed 17 patients and wounded two others in a drug rehabilitation center in northern Mexico late Wednesday, the mayor of Ciudad Juarez said Thursday.

Wednesday night’s shootings, he said, are similar to an attack at a drug facility in March that left 20 patients dead.

In Remembrance: Father Joseph Martin (October 12, 1924 - March 9, 2009)

On March 9, 2009, Father Joseph C. Martin; recovering alcoholic, author, lecturer, and lifelong leader in the fight against addiction, died of heart failure at his home in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

There is no measure of the lives Father Martin has touched. Through his “Chalk Talks” series of lectures and subsequent teachings on “The 12 Steps of AA”, “Relapse”, “Humor in Recovery”, and many others, Father Martin lived out the 12th Step of Alcoholics Anonymous through his life’s work. Many of his early lectures were derived from notes he took while in treatment.

His unique blend of humor, practicality, and straight talk enabled Father Martin to explain the often baffling disease in a way anyone could understand. He is credited by some as being one of the first people to espouse the disease concept in such a way. It was this talent for demystifying the complex disease is that made his work so effective and lasting.

His lectures are and have been a staple in the treatment industry, government, and business since he first published “Chalk Talks” in [1972].

Father Martin’s life and its profound impact on the thousands of alcoholics, addicts, and family members who heard him, is a true testament to the 12 steps and to the hope of recovery he carried with him and shared freely with all who would listen. He will be missed and his legacy will live on.

On June 15, 2009, he would have celebrated his 51st year of sobriety. Recovery Superstore, Inc. would like to send our condolences to his many friends and loved ones and say thanks for “Carrying the Message” and “Keep Coming Back”!

Update on the Canadian Heroin Addiction Study NAOMI

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about a Canadian drug study called NAOMI where heroin addicts were given doses of heroin on a daily basis. The study contended that this was helping them. I disagreed. Apparently, I’m not alone. In a new article from from GlobeandMail.com they blast the study, pointing out a lot of holes in their argument.

I believe that giving heroin addicts daily doses and telling them that they are getting better only creates a feeling that they can use successfully. In GlobeandMail.com’s new article, one of the addicts agreed himself:

But Mr. Liang, 41, who began using drugs at 18, says the free heroin made him complacent about his addiction. Other addicts, he says, took advantage of the free heroin, even competing for how much they could consume each day. For some, their habits grew worse. “They were heroin pigs,” he said, shaking his head.

Giving reliable, structured doses of heroin to a heroin addict does nothing to treat the addiction. That’s like giving reliable, structured doses of peanuts to someone with a peanut allergy.