The Huffington Post; Amanda Chan
The number of deaths from prescription painkillers -- opioids, such as OxyContin, Vicodin and hydrocodone -- in the United States has now surpassed that of skin cancer, alcoholic liver disease and HIV, according to a new study published online in the British Medical Journal.

The deaths may be linked with an increase in doctors prescribing the drugs to patients with chronic pain -- like osteoarthritis -- and not just cancer patients, according to the University of Toronto researchers.  » More

Author: Jerrilyn Zavada, jzavada@mywebtimes.com, 815-673-6371
When Jennifer, Jake and Jordan Shepard died in a rural Streator fire recently, the ripples were felt throughout the community. After authorities said the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide and the mother had been under a doctor's care for an undisclosed mental illness, friends, neighbors and strangers were in shock and a state of collective grief. » More

DailyPress.net; By Ashley Hoholik
ESCANABA - As the number of people abusing or misusing prescription drugs becomes increasingly prevalent both nationally and locally, officials continue to look for ways to curb the unwelcome trend. The area Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse is among those making an effort to educate and prevent abuse. » More

By Charles Ashby
Two margaritas at lunch with a couple of friends turned into a yearlong nightmare for one Grand Junction woman. As a result of her first and only conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, the 53-year-old woman, whom we’ll call Patricia, found herself picking up trash along the highway with other jail inmates, making blankets as part of her community service, taking numerous alcohol-education and therapy classes, and paying lots and lots of fines, fees and other costs. » More

A Blog About Mental and Emotional Health
Peggy Ferguson, Ph.D.
Most people and most families experience increased stress around the holidays. For families where there is addiction and/or where there is addiction recovery, holiday get-togethers can be especially difficult. Active addiction carries its own trauma in family holidays, with acting out, self-perpetuating conflicts, and self-imposed or family-imposed exile of the addict from the family. » More

By Kerry Burke and Lukas I. Alpert, 
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Heavy-drinking hospital visits vary greatly by neighborhood, the survey found - with wealthy areas seeing the highest number of drunken emergency room trips. Heavy boozing has caused a shocking spike in drunken injuries and emergency room visits in New York, a troubling new study says. Nearly 74,000 people wound up in hospitals in 2009 for alcohol-related reasons, compared with just 22,000 in 2003 - a jump of nearly 250%, said the city Health Department study, which was released yesterday. » More