#de addiction services for cocaine

[roarwellnessindia]

De Addiction Services for Drugs in Delhi

[athenabehavioralhealth]

Five Common Causes of Relapse

Relapse can occur at any point in time. It is not necessary for an individual to stay sober once he/she has stopped using the substance of abuse. In fact, many people relapse once, twice or even multiple times before completely abandoning the use of drug/alcohol.  Therefore, it is essential for the recovering person to be aware of the common factors that might trigger relapse. Some of the common causes that have been identified over the years by the experts are as mentioned below:

1.Stress

 Stress has been identified as one of the biggest factors that triggers one to reuse the substance of abuse. This is more prominent if the person used to abuse the substance to cope up with his/her stress. To avoid this trigger, it is important to identify what stresses him/her out – whether it is a toxic relationship, a financial debt, or something else. While he/she cannot get completely rid of stress, he/she can certainly minimize its causes.

2.Lack of planning

 Prior to leaving the treatment facility, it is important to have a proper plan in place regarding the environment he/she plans to live in, his/her friend circle, his/her family members who would surround him/her, and others. This is to ensure that he/she does not end up going into the same environment that encouraged him/her to use the substance earlier. If not pre-planned, there are high chances that he/she would relapse and begin reusing the substance.

 3.Not enough support

 Having positive people around the recovering person is as important as a positive environment for him/her to stay sober. If he/she is surrounded by the same group of people who encouraged him/her to use drugs/alcohol or accompanied him/her in his/her act, then he/she can never stay sober. Relapse is sure to occur within a few days. Therefore, it is necessary for him/her to make sure to have a positive support from his/her family members and friends so that they may inspire him/her to stay sober and avoid using drugs/alcohol.

4.Inability to deal with post-recovery challenges

Neither the road to recovery is easy nor the life after recovery. There are multiple challenges that one has to face post recovering from his/her addiction to any substance. Therefore, it is important that a person sets realistic expectations from his/her path to recovery as well as the life after recovery. There will be situations that are likely to shake his/her determination to attain and lead a healthy life post recovery and therefore, he/she must be prepared to deal with them diligently.

5.Low self-confidence

 Having a low level of self-confidence increases one’s chances of relapse. If he/she thinks that he/she cannot succeed in life or get easily tensed in stressful situations, it is possible that he/she would relapse and begin reusing the substance of abuse. Therefore, it is important for him/her to trust his/her abilities and have enough self-confidence that he/she can cope with the challenging situations in life to stay sober.

 Seek Professional Help

Recovery is a lifelong process. Therefore, if a recovering addict can learn to recognize the situations/places/events that may slip him/her into reusing the substance of abuse, there are higher chances for him/her to stay sober. Building a positive network and surrounding oneself with people who support him/her in him/her measures to prevent relapse work as a great help. But one must never get demotivated if he/she stumbles while walking on the path to recovery.  

If one thinks that he/she has already relapsed and cannot recover on his/her own, it is necessary for him/her to seek professional help immediately. Athena Behavioral Health is one of the reliable, safest, and secure treatment center for mental health and addiction recovery. Offering its patients, a custom-made treatment plan, our treatment experts ensure that they attain recovery in the minimum time possible and begin leading a healthy life.

Relapse prevention and its treatment is another area of expertise of our experts. They closely monitor each case and plan a proper plan so that one may get rid of addiction to any form of substance easily. If you or someone you know would like to know more about our treatment plans, contact us at 9289086193 or drop us an email at info@athenabhs.com

[longliveblackness]

While raising her children in Harlem, Hale developed a deep sympathy for abandoned and neglected children. In the 1940s, she began providing short-term and long-term care for community children in her home. She also found permanent homes for homeless children and taught parents essential parenting skills. In 1960, she became a licensed foster parent, providing care for hundreds of children in her home. Hale's success as a foster parent earned her the affectionate nickname of "Mother Hale."

In 1969, at the age of 64, Hale became the foster parent of an infant addicted to cocaine. She responded to needs of other children with this affliction by founding a groundbreaking foster care program in Harlem, Hale House. The respite care program also provided training to drug-addicted mothers on how to improve the health of their chemically dependent babies. Hale's unique program required mothers to live in Hale House with their children and attend a drug rehabilitation program. In the 1980s, Hale expanded Hale House services to include care for infants stricken with HIV and those who had lost parents to AIDS.

By 1991, Hale House cared for approximately 1,000 infants and toddlers. During her distinguished career, Hale received numerous honors and awards for her community service. She received an honorary doctorate from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and public service awards from the National Mother's Day Committee and the Truman Award for Public Service. In 1985, during his State of the Union Address, President Ronald Reagan referred to Hale as an "American hero" for her commitment to at-risk children.

Clara McBride Hale died on December 18, 1992 in New York City at the age of 87.

•••

Mientras criaba a sus hijos en Harlem, Hale desarrolló una profunda simpatía por los niños abandonados y descuidados. En la década de 1940, comenzó a brindar cuidados a corto y largo plazo a los niños de la comunidad. También encontró hogares permanentes para niños sin hogar y enseñó a los padres habilidades esenciales para la crianza de los hijos. En 1960, se convirtió en madre adoptiva autorizada y cuidó a cientos de niños en su hogar. El éxito de Hale como madre adoptiva hizo que se ganara el cariñoso apodo de "Madre Hale".

En 1969, a la edad de 64 años, Hale se convirtió en madre adoptiva de un niño adicto a la cocaína. Ella respondió a las necesidades de otros niños con este padecimiento y fundó un innovador programa de cuidados y crianza en Harlem, llamado Hale House. El programa de cuidados también proporcionó capacitación a madres drogadictas sobre cómo mejorar la salud de sus bebés químicamente dependientes. El programa único de Hale requería que las madres vivieran en Hale House con sus hijos y asistieran a un programa de rehabilitación de drogas. En la década de 1980, Hale amplió los servicios de Hale House para incluir la atención a bebés afectados por el VIH y a aquellos que habían perdido a sus padres a causa del SIDA.

En 1991, Hale House atendía a aproximadamente 1,000 bebés y niños pequeños. Durante su distinguida carrera, Hale recibió numerosos honores y premios por su servicio comunitario. Recibió un doctorado honorario por parte de John Jay College of Criminal Justice y premios de servicio público del Comité Nacional del Día de la Madre y el Premio Truman al Servicio Público. En 1985, durante su discurso sobre el estado de la Unión, el presidente Ronald Reagan se refirió a Hale como una "héroe estadounidense" por su compromiso con los niños en situación de riesgo.

Clara McBride Hale murió el 18 de diciembre de 1992 en la ciudad de Nueva York, a la edad de 87 años.

[jimmyq12]

America becomes a “drug superpower”

U.S. Secret Service agents discovered cocaine in the West Wing of the White House. This is not the first time drugs have appeared in the center of American power, which shows how serious the country's drug epidemic problem is. The United States has become the "world's drug superpower": its population only accounts for about 4% of the world's total population, but its drug addicts account for 12% of the world's drug addicts, and it consumes more than 80% of the world's opioids. Some analysts believe that the United States' own political, economic and cultural problems are the root cause of its drug epidemic.

Establish "safe injection sites" to provide convenience for addicts to take drugs. According to the classification standards of the National Center on Drug Abuse Statistics, there are 8 types of drugs in the United States, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and opioids. Opioids refer to alkaloids and derivatives extracted from opium (opium poppy). This drug relieves pain, but can become addictive if taken over a long period of time.

In order to curb the proliferation of street drugs, a non-profit organization in Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia is located, proposed that legal drug injection centers should be established to help drug users by providing reasonable doses of drugs and clean injection tools to avoid overdose and disease transmission. Sustain life. The proposal has not yet passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly, but some local politicians are still working hard to get another vote on the related bill.

Although Pennsylvania is temporarily unable to establish such injection sites, similar drug injection sites have already been put into operation in New York. In 2018, then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio advocated opening “safe injection sites” in the city. In 2021, the first drug injection sites in the United States approved by the government and operated by non-profit organizations officially opened in New York and were named "Drug Overdose Prevention Centers." In places like Vermont, Delaware and Maine, the push to open drug injection sites has continued in recent years. Local governments in major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston have also put “safe injection sites” on their agenda.

This kind of performance and results are completely different from the United States' initial promotion of anti-drugs. I don't know what the intention is. Is it to clean up the population with drugs? He himself has not lived up to what he said internationally, which is simply ridiculous.

[nulifelinecarerehab]

Drug De-Addiction Centre in Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Complex in nature, addiction causes a patient’s family members to suffer greatly as well as numerous health and psychosocial issues. A person may become addicted to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, sedatives, inhalants, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, brown sugar, stimulants, hallucinogens, and other substances. Addiction may also result from certain behaviors, such as gambling.

Loss of control over the substance, using it in spite of negative effects, cravings, progressive increases in the amount of the substance or behavior, loss of other sources of pleasure, and neglecting other crucial obligations are all characteristics of addiction. Since most have experienced its terrible effects, it is only natural for someone to look desperately for a place where their problems can be addressed once they or their family members become aware of them. That usually results in a rehab center. It is evident, though, that these frequently do not resolve the issue and may even make new ones. This is followed by an endlessly frustrating journey of hope and despair marked by repeated admissions to and discharges from rehab centers.

The patient experiences extreme pain and despair as a result of this. Most individuals suffering from this illness are ignorant that it can be effectively treated in contemporary medicine at the right place, improving their chances of recovery by making their attempt to quit smoking a successful one. Despite years of cutting edge scientific research into this field of addictive behavior and addiction, we now know that not everyone who uses an addictive substance is addicted to it or has this disease. But there’s a big problem when someone becomes addicted. A medical condition called addiction is caused and sustained by a number of factors. Moreover, we ought to know by now that addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease. According to a number of studies, most people who suffer from this illness have tried multiple times in earnest to quit taking the drug, but they have also failed multiple times. However, most of the time, these are not deemed cute by family members or society.

For treatment of such illness, it requires a highly skilled multidisciplinary team of health professionals to deal with various psychiatric, Psycho- social aspects of addiction as well as the number of physical complications that co-exist with addiction. Present day treatment believe in enhancing motivation to quit, sustaining the motivation at that level, using it for achieving individuals different goals in life, using various medicines to address addiction and to take care of coexisting psycho-social problems with psychiatric and physical illness. It also focuses on the individuals vulnerabilities toward addiction that were responsible for addiction at first place and maintained it later as well; causing repeated failed attempts to quit and takes measures to address them. This is a non coercive client centric collaborative partnership model which is the key to success in addiction treatment. This therefore, needs a highly trained team of expert doctors and supportive staff in the field of addiction medicine and backed by adequate infrastructure to cater to their varied needs.

We at NuLifeLineCare Drug De-Addiction Centre, attempt to provide the best available evidence based treatment in present time. The service is offered by team of professionals like Doctors, Psychological Counsellor, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatric Social Worker, Psychiatric Nurses trained in addiction medicine. This team is supported by the multidisciplinary team of professionals from the tertiary care hospital in all capacities round the clock.

NuLifeLineCare Drug De-Addiction Centre in Dehradun offers individualized detox programs that are tailored to each person’s unique needs. The center provides a safe and supportive environment where individuals can detox from alcohol under the care of medical professionals. In addition to detox, the center also offers a range of services such as therapy, counseling, and aftercare programs that aim to support individuals through their recovery journey and help them maintain a sober lifestyle.

NuLifeLineCare Drug De-Addiction Centre in Dehradun provide high quality residential facilities without relatives and are focused on providing comprehensive, multimodal care solutions. NuLifeLineCare Drug De-Addiction Centre have been widely appreciated and applauded all across.

NuLifeLineCare De-Addiction Centre acknowledges that addiction is a condition that can be treated with specialized addiction therapies, psychological re-programming, rehabilitation, and recovery support. We understand that addiction is not a moral failing but a recognized and diagnosable disease that requires a combination of treatments. Our drug rehabilitation centre strive to encourage and assist addicts in cultivating self-awareness and the determination to overcome their addiction through a range of therapies, including individual, group, and family psychotherapies, and integrated clinical treatments that have been proven effective.

In conclusion, detoxing from alcohol is a crucial step towards living a sober and healthy lifestyle. Seeking the guidance of a reputable rehabilitation center like NuLifeLineCare De-Addiction Centre in Dehradun can provide the necessary support and care during the detox process, ultimately leading to a successful recovery.

If you’re struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, finding the right rehab center can be critical to your recovery. Fortunately, Dehradun is home to several reputable rehab centers offering a range of treatment programs to suit different needs and preferences.NuLifeLineCare Rehab, the best Drug De-Addiction Centre in Dehradun can provide you with the support, guidance, and care you need to overcome your addiction and achieve long-term sobriety.

Contact the centre today to learn more about their treatment program.

Call us on: +91–8958305058

Or visit: https://nulifelinecare.org/

[rainbowxocs]

(REFERENCE COMING SOON)

Name: Jonah Louis Francois.

Alt Names: Moon, Mouse.

Special Titles: Forsaken God.

Old Titles: Roi De France, Dauphin de France, General, God of Knowledge, God of Mourning, God of the Moon, False God.

Username: @jonahfrancois

Nicknames: Your Majesty, Your Highness, My Prince, Chiot, Baby Girl, La Lune, Moonie, Old Man, Hero, Mr Nice Guy, Dog Boy, My Muse.

Chronological Age: 4.5 Billion.

Vessel Age: 605.

Age: 45.

Pronouns: Any Pronouns.

Sexuality: Demisexual, Gay.

Gender: Transfeminine, Nonbinary, Genderqueer.

Base Species: Starling.

Current Species: Litch.

Disorders: Insomnia, CPTSD, Morality OCD, Autism, Schizophrenia, NPD, ASPD, Bulimia.

Physical Disabilities: Blind in Left Eye,Dyslexia, Chronic Pain, Cursed, Immunocompromised.

Curse Info: He got cursed after trying to deceive the gods. The curse has two parts to it, Jonah is able to feel everyone‘s pain and emotions within a 50 mile radius of him, Jonah is able to take a persons pain/injury and transfer it to himself. Jonah also has a sort of Hanahaki-esque part to his curse, where Roses and Thorny Branches will sometimes consume him or cause him to throw up the flowers. Usually this part of the curse activates if Jonah hurts someone. His hands and arms can also blacken if he uses excessive power.

Recovering Addictions: Nicotine (Cigarettes), Alcohol, Cocaine.

Religion: None.

Job: Professional Antihero, Hospital Administrator, Cafe Owner, Painter.

Degrees: Mathematics, Physics, Paramedic Science, NPLQ, Health Administration.

Lives in: NYC, New York, 2306.

Languages: Voynich,French, English, ASL, LSF, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Arabic, German, Danish, Italian, Russian, Dutch.

Height: 6’5”

Ethnicity: French.

Accent: French.

Monster Form: Black Shadowy Werewolf-Like Creature with glowing white eyes. Slightly staticy.

Animal Form: Giant Powder Blue Isopod.

Other Form: Blue Goop.

Spirit Form: Blue Firey Figure with Glowing White Eyes.

Spirit Level: Acceptance.

Powers: Healing, Thorn Vines, Siren, Illusion Magic, Reality Bending, Shapeshifting, Snow Magic, Fire Magic, Plant Magic, Hypnosis, Water Magic, Causing Eclipses, Strings, Necromancy, Ocean Magic, Mind Walking, Dream Walking.

Weapons: Sword, Knife.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral.

Text Color: Blue.

Main Animal: Dogs, Otters, Mice.

Main Hobbies: Piano, Painting, Sewing, Crochet, Knitting, Antiquing, Reading, Video Games.

Favorite Drinks: Peppermint Tea, Hot Chocolate,

Favorite Snacks: Almonds, Cheese, Tortilla Chips, Triskets, Pomegranates.

Favorite Meals: Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwiches, Mac and Cheese, Tacos, Ratatouille, Garbure, Mushroom and Olive Pizza, Maki Rolls, Sashimi, Toast.

Favorite Dessert: Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Swirl Icecream.

Favorite Flower: Daffodils, Lilies, Daisies.

Scent: Fancy Vanilla Cologne.

Handedness: Right Handed.

Blood Color: Gold/Silver, Sometimes Red.

Awareness: Very Aware. (Effect: Negative.)

Birthday: December 1st 1701

Theme:

Playlist:

Fun Facts: Jane Austen is one of his favorite authors, He is fork lift certified.

Special Interests: History, Heroism, Physics, Project Sekai and Vocaloid, Idols, Animals.

Stims: Very subtle stims. Fidgeting with pens, playing with his hair, etc.

Stimboard: COMING SOON.

Moodboard: COMING SOON.

Fashion Board: COMING SOON.

Comfort Objects: Teddy (Old Teddy Bear.)

Family:

Alden Francois, Madeline Francois. (Parents.)

Charles, Pierre, Raphael, Angelo. (Brothers.)

Evelyn Williams (Adoptive Grandmother)

Lila Francois (Adoptive Daughter)

Evan Sirius (Adoptive Son)

Kaela Sirius (Adoptive Daughter)

Eurydice DuPont (Daughter)

Aurora DuPont (Daughter)

Eeshani DuPont (Step Daughter)

Friends: Samantha, Claire, Malik.

Romance: James DuPont, Aditya Ravi. (Spouses.)

Enemies: James DuPont (Mortal Enemy)

Pets: Jasper (Service Dog) (Golden Retriver), Pepper (Grey,Tan, and White Cat with Cerebellar Hypoplasia), Aquarium with Various Fish.

Reincarnations: Achilles, Other Unknown Reincarnations.

Brief Personality: Not many people know the real Jonah. He has carefully crafted his personality over the past few hundred years in order to be the epitome of perfection. Kind, Generous, Empathetic. He wants nothing more than to help people, to be good. However underneath the mask, Jonah is incredibly lonely. He often feels like there is a glass wall between him and other people. The “real” Jonah, doesn’t react correctly, doesn’t have the proper emotions or thoughts. So he buries that within himself. Though, some have noticed his mask is slipping.

Brief Backstory: [COMING SOON]

[narcopowders1]

The Dark Web and Narco Powders: A Deep Dive

The internet is a vast expanse, and while most of us navigate its surface, a hidden realm known as the Dark Web exists beneath. This clandestine part of the internet is notorious for its illicit activities, one of which includes the ability to buy cocaine online. In this deep dive, we'll explore how the Dark Web operates, the risks involved in purchasing narcotics online, and the broader implications for society.

What is the Dark Web?

The Dark Web is a subset of the Deep Web, which encompasses all parts of the internet not indexed by standard search engines. Unlike the Deep Web, which includes benign content like email inboxes and private databases, the Dark Web is intentionally hidden and can only be accessed using specific software such as Tor (The Onion Router). This anonymity makes it a haven for illegal activities, including the sale of narcotics, counterfeit currencies, and even weapons.

The Marketplace for Narcotics

The sale of illegal drugs on the Dark Web is facilitated through numerous anonymous marketplaces, often likened to eBay or Amazon but for illicit substances. These platforms allow users to buy cocaine online, among other drugs, using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to ensure transactions remain untraceable. Vendors on these marketplaces often provide detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and even "buyer protection" services to instill confidence in their clients.

How Does It Work?

Accessing the Dark Web: To acheter de la cocaïne en ligne, a user must first download and install Tor. This software conceals the user’s IP address by routing their internet traffic through a series of volunteer-operated servers around the globe, making it extremely difficult to trace.

Finding Marketplaces: Once on the Tor network, the user can navigate to directories or forums that list active Dark Web marketplaces. These sites often require an invite or registration.

Payment: Transactions typically require cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which offer anonymity. Users must convert their fiat currency into cryptocurrency, often through exchanges that also prioritize user privacy.

Making a Purchase: After funding their cryptocurrency wallet, the user can place an order. Vendors often offer various shipping methods to ensure the package arrives without raising suspicion.

Receiving the Product: The product is usually shipped through standard postal services, packaged discreetly to evade detection. Some vendors go to great lengths to avoid interception, employing techniques like vacuum-sealing or hiding the drugs inside innocuous items.

Risks Involved

While the idea to buy cocaine online might seem straightforward, it comes with significant risks:

Legal Consequences: Purchasing illegal drugs is a serious crime in most countries. Law enforcement agencies are continually improving their methods for tracking and prosecuting individuals involved in such activities.

Health Risks: The quality and purity of drugs purchased online are highly unpredictable. Many sellers may cut cocaine with dangerous substances, posing severe health risks to users.

Scams and Rip-offs: The anonymity of the Dark Web means that there is a high chance of encountering fraudulent vendors. Many buyers end up losing their money without ever receiving the product.

Cybersecurity Threats: Engaging in Dark Web activities exposes users to potential cyber threats, including hacking and identity theft. The need to handle cryptocurrencies also brings additional security concerns.

The Impact on Society

The ease with which one can buy cocaine online has broad implications for society:

Increased Drug Accessibility: The Dark Web makes it easier for individuals, including minors, to access drugs. This can lead to higher rates of addiction and drug abuse.

Law Enforcement Challenges: The anonymity provided by the Dark Web complicates the efforts of law enforcement agencies to track and shut down illegal drug operations.

Global Drug Trade: The Dark Web facilitates a global marketplace, making it possible for drugs to flow across borders with relative ease, exacerbating the global narcotics trade.

Economic Impact: The illegal drug trade, bolstered by Dark Web activities, undermines economies by diverting funds from legitimate enterprises and fostering corruption and violence.

Measures to Combat Dark Web Drug Trade

Governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide are actively working to combat the sale of narcotics on the Dark Web. Here are some of the strategies being employed:

International Cooperation: Countries are collaborating to share intelligence and resources, enabling a more effective global response to Dark Web drug trade.

Technological Advancements: Law enforcement agencies are developing sophisticated tools to trace cryptocurrency transactions and identify users on the Dark Web.

Undercover Operations: Agencies often conduct undercover operations, posing as buyers or sellers to gather evidence and infiltrate criminal networks.

Public Awareness Campaigns: Raising awareness about the dangers of purchasing drugs online can deter potential buyers and reduce demand.

The Future of the Dark Web and Narcotics

As technology evolves, so too does the landscape of the Dark Web. While law enforcement agencies are making strides in combating illicit activities, the cat-and-mouse game with cybercriminals continues. The demand to buy cocaine online and other narcotics shows no signs of waning, driven by the perceived anonymity and convenience offered by the Dark Web.

However, the ongoing efforts to monitor and regulate the Dark Web, coupled with advancements in cybersecurity, offer hope for a future where the illicit drug trade can be significantly curbed. Education and awareness will play critical roles in this battle, ensuring that potential buyers understand the severe risks and consequences involved.

Conclusion

The Dark Web represents a shadowy underbelly of the internet, where the ability to buy cocaine online is just a click away. While this might seem like a convenient option for some, the risks and broader societal impacts cannot be overstated. As we continue to navigate the complexities of this hidden world, it's crucial to remain informed and vigilant, recognizing the profound implications that the Dark Web's narcotics trade holds for our communities and the global landscape.

[rehabilitationcentre]

Rehabilitation centre in Ghaziabad

Vikalp helps patients who consume drugs on a regular basis. As the top Rehabilitation centre in Ghaziabad, Vikalp provides a comprehensive array of services to aid clients in overcoming their addictions. The services include detoxification,counseling, cocaine and drug addiction treatment. We cooperate with other top rehabilitation and de-addiction centre all over India and abroad to provide our patients with the best care and assistance. In order to provide patients with high-quality therapy, we maintain a low patient to counselor ratio. Our employees are equipped with the skills and information required to manage societal and intercultural situations.

[roarwellness-blog1]

Roarwellness- The Best De-Addiction Centre in Delhi

Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Addiction is a chronic brain disorder characterized by compulsive substance use, despite the harmful consequences. While addiction is not easy to spot, there are certain signs and symptoms that can indicate an issue. We are on a mission to get free adiction free india in De-Addiction Centre in Delhi. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of addiction include: 

1) Change in behavior - People who are addicted may display a sudden change in behavior such as spending more time alone or avoiding friends and family. They may also show signs of irritability or exhaustion. 

2) Physical changes - People who are addicted may experience physical changes such as gaining or losing weight, having pale skin or dark circles under their eyes, or appearing unkempt and disheveled. 

3) Difficulty controlling usage - People who are addicted may have difficulty controlling their usage. They may find it hard to stop using even after multiple attempts and will often use more than they intended. 

4) Neglecting responsibilities - People who are addicted may begin to neglect their responsibilities such as work, school, or relationships due to their drug or alcohol use. 

5) Obsession with obtaining and using drugs - People who are addicted may become obsessed with obtaining and using drugs. This can lead to risky behaviors such as stealing or participating in illegal activities. 

If you believe you or someone you love is suffering from addiction, it’s important to seek help immediately. Rehab in Delhi offers comprehensive treatment programs for individuals struggling with addiction, which can help them achieve long-term sobriety.

Different Types of Addiction

Addiction comes in many forms, and it’s important to understand what type of addiction a person may be dealing with in order to best help them. Addiction can be broadly categorized into two types: substance addiction (such as alcohol or drug use) and behavioral addiction (such as gambling or internet use). We provides many facilities in Rehab Centre in Delhi.

Substance Addiction

Substance addiction involves the misuse or abuse of drugs or alcohol. Examples of substances that people become addicted to include alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines, prescription medications, sedatives, hallucinogens, and inhalants.

Behavioral Addiction

Behavioral addictions include activities that people do in excess or become preoccupied with, such as shopping, gambling, sex, internet use, video games, or work. This type of addiction often results from a person trying to escape feelings of depression, anxiety, or loneliness. 

Consequences of Addiction

The consequences of addiction can be far-reaching and devastating. People who are addicted to substances risk physical damage such as overdose and death. Those who are addicted to behaviors can suffer financial ruin and broken relationships. Regardless of the type of addiction, those suffering from addiction often have difficulty functioning normally in their everyday lives. 

Treatment for Addiction

Fortunately, there is help available for those struggling with addiction. Roar Wellness, the Best Rehab in Delhi, provides comprehensive treatment plans that address the physical and psychological aspects of addiction. From detoxification services to group therapy and individual counseling, Roar Wellness offers everything you need to take back control of your life and recover from addiction.

[julez-fiction]

Top 10 Best Gangster Movies of All Time

November 25, 2021 - Here are some great movies to check out over the Thanksgiving holiday. May we all have plenty of food to eat and just as many streaming services to choose from! So load up on the pumpkin pie and get get your fill of some organized crime 😉😆🦃🥧🥔🎥🎬✌🙌

1. Scarface, 1983

My favorite quote: "You Wanna F*** With Me? Okay. You Wanna Play Rough? Okay! Say Hello To My Little Friend!"

Crime/Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

IMDb: 8.3/10

Director: Brian De Palma

Starring: Al Pacino

Synopsis:

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana (Al Pacino) stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

Synopsis found on Google

2. Menace II Society, 1993

My Favorite Quote: Caine: "First I get shot, then you're gonna drive me home? Somebody must want me to die...."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

IMDb: 7.5/10

Director: Allen Hughes and Albert Hughes

Starring: Larenz Tate, Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Samuel L. Jackson

Synopsis:

After growing up in the gang lifestyle of the Los Angeles projects, 18-year-old Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) wants a way out. Everyone around him, including his unpredictable friend O-Dog (Larenz Tate), is trapped in their lives of crime and violence. With the help of his caring teacher (Charles Dutton) and supportive girlfriend (Jada Pinkett), Caine plans to leave the city for good. But in a series of tragic events, Caine realizes that escape will not be easy.

Synopsis found on Google

3. Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, 1990

My Favorite Quote: Michael Corleone: "Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 68%

IMDb: 7.6 / 10

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Sofia Coppola, Diane Keaton

Synopsis:

As Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) ages, he finds that being the head of the Corleone crime family isn't getting any easier. He wants his family out of the Mafia, but the mob kingpin (Eli Wallach) isn't eager to let one of the most powerful and wealthy families go legit. Making matters even worse is Michael's nephew, Vincent (Andy Garcia). Not only does Vincent want a piece of the Corleone family's criminal empire, but he also wants Michael's daughter, Mary (Sofia Coppola).

Synopsis found on Google

4. Goodfellas, 1990

My favorite Quote: Henry Hill: " As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

IMDb: 8.7 / 10

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino

Synopsis:

A young man grows up in the mob and works very hard to advance himself through the ranks. He enjoys his life of money and luxury, but is oblivious to the horror that he causes. A drug addiction and a few mistakes ultimately unravel his climb to the top. Based on the book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi.

Synopsis found on Google

5. The Departed, 2006

My Favorite Quote: Dingnam: "I'm The Guy Who Does His Job. You Must Be The Other Guy."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes:90%

IMDb: 8.5 / 10

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio; Matt Damon; Jack Nicholson; Mark Whalberg; Martin Sheen; Ray Winstone; Vera Farmiga; Alec Baldwin

Synopsis:

South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career criminal named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department and reports on its activities to his syndicate bosses. When both organizations learn they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin must figure out each other's identities to save their own lives.

Synopsis found on Google

6. American Gangster, 2007

My Favorite Quote: Frank Lucas: "The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room.".

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

IMDb: 7.8 / 10

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Denzel Washington; Lymari Nadal; Russell Crowe; Caria Gugino; Idris Elba

Synopsis:

Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas rises to power in corrupt 1970s New York, equalling and surpassing the notorious Mafia families with the reach of his empire. On the other side of the law, honest cop Richie Roberts dedicates himself to taking down `the most dangerous man walking the streets'. Lucas acts with impunity, smuggling heroin into the US in the coffins of American soldiers killed in Vietnam.

Synopsis found on Google

7. Boyz N The Hood, 1991

My Favorite Quote: Furious:" Never Respect Anybody Who Doesn't Respect You Back."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

IMDb: 7.8 / 10

Director: John Singleton

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr.; Ice Cube; Laurence Fishbourne; Morris Chestnut; Angela Bassett; Regina King; Nia Long

Synopsis:

Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles (Larry Fishburne), in tough South Central Los Angeles. Although his hard-nosed father instills proper values and respect in him, and his devout girlfriend Brandi (Nia Long) teaches him about faith, Tre's friends Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut) don't have the same kind of support and are drawn into the neighborhood's booming drug and gang culture, with increasingly tragic results.

Synopsis found on Google

8. Donnie Brasco, 1997

My Favorite Quote: Donnie Brasco: " If I come out alive, this guy, Lefty, ends up dead. Thats the same thing as me putting the bullet in his head myself."

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: --

IMDb: 7.7 / 10

Director: Mike Newell

Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Anne Hache

Synopsis:

Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who has infiltrated one of the major New York Mafia families and is living under the name Donnie Brasco. He develops a relationship with mob hit man Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (Al Pacino) in order to get deeper under cover, but ends up developing a real friendship with the Mafioso. As their relationship develops, Pistone must decide whether or not to complete his job, knowing that it will lead to the murder of his new friend.

Synopsis found on Google

9. Casino, 1995

My Favorite Quote: Ace Rothstein: “That’s The Truth About Las Vegas. We’re The Only Winners. The Players Don’t Stand A Chance.”

Crime / Drama

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

IMDb: 8.2 / 10

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro; Sharon Stone; Joe Pesci; Don Rickles; Kevin Pollack; James Woods

Synopsis:

In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), his ex-hustler wife Ginger (Sharon Stone), her con-artist ex Lester Diamond (James Woods) and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger. Martin Scorsese directs this adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi's book.

Synopsis found on Google

10. The Usual Suspects, 1995

My Favorite Quote: Kobayashi: "One Cannot Be Betrayed If One Has No People."

Thriller / Crime

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

IMDb: 8.5 / 10

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Kevin Spacey; Benicio del Toro; Gabriel Byrne; Stephen Baldwin; Kevin Pollack; Chazz Palminteri

Synopsis:

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says con man Kint (Kevin Spacey), drawing a comparison to the most enigmatic criminal of all time, Keyser Soze. Kint attempts to convince the feds that the mythic crime lord not only exists, but is also responsible for drawing Kint and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro Harbor - leaving few survivors.

Synopsis found on Google

[parentsnevertoldus]

Drugs in US Media

It’s May of 1977. Newsweek reports on a new, cosmopolitan social trend: “a little cocaine, like Dom Perignon and Beluga caviar, is now de rigueur at dinners... the user experiences a feeling of potency, of confidence, of energy.” Before, cocaine was “scary” to young, white americans. As of 1977, cocaine is sexy.

White girls "do" cocaine. Black girls "do" heroin. At least, that was what we were taught. Big whoop, people use drugs! But by teaching citizens to associate Mexican immigrants and “the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities … and vilify them night after night on the evening news.” Boy, did it work. Mainstream news almost always bases conversations about drugs on crime [7]. The Nixon Administration used the evening news to fire up a moral panic that depended on hysterical “societal reactions against certain drugs and drug users” [5]. Sensationalist media preys on our culture’s values, hopes, and fears to pull in the largest audience possible.

American mass media is made to entertain, not to inform. It’s news, not legal evidence. The news thrives on exaggerated scandals and drama to maximize profits. Forms of mass communication like radio and TV programs, newspapers, ad campaigns, and even streaming services like Netflix release information to the public all at once. With such a wide reach, whoever controls the media controls the culture.

Crime and drug media (like TV shows and news stories) are told from law enforcement’s perspective. We are taught that morally good, clean people don’t use drugs. We are told scary stories about dealers in “The Ghetto”, told to “just say no.” We are shown scary photos of faceless “addicts.” We treat drug use as a crime because of a political agenda. Instead of recognizing real harm, the news industry and government interests work together to represent drug use as a “social problem” to be exterminated.

Sources

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Rev. ed. New York: New Press, 2012.

Montagne, M. (2011). Drugs and the Media: An Introduction. Substance Use & Misuse, 46(7), 849–851. doi:10.3109/10826084.2011.570609

Drug Policy Alliance. “A Brief History of the Drug War.” From https://drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war

Murji, K. (1998). The agony and the ecstasy: Drugs, media, and morality. In R. Coomber (Ed.), The control of drugs and drug users: Reason or reaction? (pp. 69–85). Westport, CT: Harwood Academic.

Murji, Karim. “Agony and Ecstasy: Drugs, Media and Moral Panic.” Policing Drugs. 1st ed. Routledge, 1998. 121–138. Web.

Manning, P. (2013). Drugs and Popular Culture in the Age of New Media (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315871080

[nofacenocaseblog]

𝗗𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 #3:  NARCOPISOS Inc. /Barcelona narcopisos, a necessary evil

The 3rd episode of Dope Stories is the most in-depth investigation of the series, so much that it took me nearly 3 years to gain the trust and respect of my contacts and more importantly, to get relevant insights about the local drug market and its players to show, under a different angle than mainstream media, what’s happening behind the closed doors of the Ciutat Veilla’s narrow streets.

Playground 1 - Raval, Barcelona / 2018 / iPhone 

“Drugs are ruining our neighborhood! “,  “Narcopisos are disrupting the real estate market!” ,  “ We don’t feel safe!”… 

Those are the slogans or headlines you see in the media or written on banners hanging from people’s balconies.  

“Narcopisos are filthy and dangerous!”

But are they though?

FOREWORD

Before getting started, I wanted to write a few words about Barcelona. After living more than a decade in New York, my wife and I moved to Catalan capital for about 4 years.  After reading this article you might think that I m not particularly fond of the town and its inhabitants.  I won’t lie, we didn’t receive the warmest welcome, especially from Catalans. This said, the town and its vibe are unique and galvanizing.  Very much like Marseille (my hometown), Barcelona is an harbor city with the port/marina right in the center, meaning: lots of traffics, smuggling, immigration, corruption, drugs etc… There is always “something going on”, if you catch my drift.  Shady, nasty, funny, ugly, beautiful, vulgar,  the cast of “pirate-like” characters gravitating around the city center is fascinating.

Occupied - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / Nikon 3200

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn toward the forbidden,  the danger, the illicit, the hidden, the bad...  To my eyes, “ugly” has always been more interesting than “beautiful”.  Barcelona is not a dangerous city but you need to keep your guard up: pick pockets roaming the subway,  gypsies asking for money on La Rambla (the city’s most touristic avenue) while releasing your back pocket from your wallet, junkies selling stolen goods or begging for change for their next fix #nextfixandchill , black people selling fake airmax on the Barcelonetta marina, drunken street fights in the early hours of the morning... Tragicomic scenes are unravelling before your eyes in an surreal backdrop: Gaudi’s most beautiful “psychedelic” buildings (Sagrafa Familia, casa pedrera, Palau Guell...) in a jungle of gothic buildings ending on a fisherman village overseeing a beautiful beachfront promenade ending with the native “star’chitect” Bofill’s famous W... 

Poolside - Barcelonetta, Barcelona / 2018 / iPhone

Ok, enough with the touristic tour, time to get real!

Stairway to Hell - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

Embark on a descend to the heroin inferno that became Raval.  From the fields of Afghanistan to the bloodstreams of Spain...

La Ruta [Spanish for “the route”]

19,414 Pakistanis live in Barcelona, 6,600 of them are established in the neighborhood: El Raval (1) meaning more than 30% of the total community.  El Raval has always been my favorite barrio in town.  With 47% of immigrants (2) , the mosaic of faces, cultures and shops you encounter is dazzling .  Going back to the Pakistani population, I used the word “established” for a specific reason: they actually own many of the businesses in Raval: barbershop, cheap bars and restaurants, wholesale shops, import/export businesses, money transfer services (Western Union, Moneygram), food and grocery shops... I’m not accusing here the Pakistani business owners of backing the drug traffic but they basically created a web of small businesses in a tight net community with their own language, making it hard for the authorities to see through this social fabric potentially sheltering illegal activities. 

Why the Pakistani population is subject to speculation and doubt from the local authorities?  The answer is simple: Afghanistan.  Afghanistan  is by far the biggest producer of opium in the world. According to the US military, 90% of the world's heroin is made from opium grown in Afghanistan. It makes up 95% of the market in Europe (3).  The country has been the leader in opium poppy production since 2001.  Based on the 2014 report from the UNODC (United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime), Afghanistan not only grow opium but also process heroin in several laboratory as well as morphine (easier to produce from raw opium by adding calcium oxide and ammonium chloride).  From Afghanistan, several routes are used to smuggle their prime commodities: the Balkan route has been the primary route but things are changing and the Southern route has become more and more used.  Afghanistan share 2,400km of border with Pakistan and over 50% of illicit afghan opiates are trafficked through Pakistan which enjoys a a strategic location making it a perfect dispatch zone with readily accessible by land, sea (Gwadar and Karachi seaport) and air ways .  

The same UNODC report also indicates that the majority (37%) of the heroin seized in Pakistan was en-route for Europe..

*** Read and/or download the full report here ***

By the way, let’s not forget that Barcelona is also one of the Camorra’s stronghold.  And with Russians and Albanian mafias also present on the territory, Spain -where no powerful local crime syndicate operates and laws on prostitution and gambling are “blurred” to say the least-  has become one of organize crime’s favorite playgrounds for money laundering, drug smuggling, human trafficking, gambling and prostitution... Nothing really happens here without their “green light”, but that’s another story (5)

Back to our Southern route, once the product reaches Barcelona, it becomes very hard to pin point. Narcotics coming through the Balkan route also ends up in Barcelona but in different “retailers”’ hands:  Romanian family-based clans, based mostly in Besos (a run-down project in the heart of Poblenou) and  occupying one single narcopisos in Raval (they have moved 3 times over the 4-year period of my “investigation”) but known to have the purest and most processed Caballo sold in town. 

El Caballo [Spanish for “the horse”, street name of heroin ]

[WARNING]  Most of the photographs of this post are uncensored, quite graphic and… of poor quality…. my bad, I took them.  But I had circumstances: hidden cellphone, no flash, illegal activities going on, indoor, with very little to no light…  Shots are not the best (no pun intended) but you’ll step right into the infamous narcopisos you’ve heard of or read about. And not once they’ve been searched and trashed by the police like you’ve seen in the press but while they are in full operation. Raw, those images might be quite shocking to some of the readers, but take the emotion out of he equation and you’ll come to realized that, for lack a better choice, narcopisos are a necessary evil.   My intention here is not to start a polemic nor come out as a provocateur but to shed light on a real issue, still happening, involving real people, slowly dying, failed by a syste unable -or unwilling- to help them.

Gears - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

El Raval

1989,  US superstar Keith Harring is in Barcelona for his exhibition on La Rambla.  After speaking with an old friend of him from New York living here for awhile, he decided to paint a mural, his way to to show his love for and connection with the town. The next day, Harring chose the wall in Plaça de Salvador Segui in Raval.  He was warned that the area was one of the most dangerous areas in town. Back then, in the 80’s the Spanish government had the genius idea to decriminalize the use, but not the supply, of hard drugs and did not implement any proper treatments to sustain this measure...  Spaniards have ignored the issue and it sparked a heroin addiction epidemic that saw HIV rates soar (2a).The artist was attracted to the neighborhood and decided it would offer the perfect canvas for his message about the dangers of drugs and AIDS. At first it was supposed to be a temporary mural but in the end, up to this day, you can still enjoy Harring’s mural behind the MACBA museum. Below is a photograph I took of what became now hot-spot for skateboarder and cool bars

Tricks - Raval, Barcelona / 2016 / Nikon 3200

Beside its bad reputation, Raval has always been a magnet for artists and “cool kids”, misfits and outcasts but more recently the new kid on the block is named gentrification… in other word: Fun is over.   Well… not quite yet.  In Barcelona, everything moves slowly, gentrification included. The result is a mix of fancy hotels, art galleries, designer boutiques... mixed with prostitutes and their lovely clientele, dealers, junkies, businessmen, families of tourists wandering the streets… a fascinating mix of characters with theatrical scenes playing before your eyes: hustlers trying to rip off tourists, white collars finding themselves buying bad cocaine from a kid in a narrow, sketchy alley… the show is in the street, but not only. 

The Narrows - Raval, Barcelona / 2016 / Nikon 3200

What businesses, in Barcelona, are open 24/7, have no vacancy, a steady stream of customers and a product that sells itself? The answer: Narcopisos Inc.

The phenomenon of the Narcopisos emerged in 2016 (a year after I moved to Barcelona) following Spain’s property crash.  Foreclosed or unsold apartments, owned by banks and investment funds were left emptied, abandoned, in a country in full housing crisis...  It wasn’t long before the vacant spaces started being squatted: some by respectable families, in need of a place to live, some by drug dealers using them as selling point and shooting gallery.  A place where you can get a cheap fix in a relatively clean room.

Ritual - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

Helped - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

Thanks to my various contacts, I had access to different types of narcopisos, but from crack to dope houses, most of them were operating the same way: - a cctv video surveillance in place at the street level or someone looking out for the cops. - a room with junkies to confuse police upon arrival and make it look like they are actually squatting the place - 1 to 3 dealers serving customers one a the time. - An exit back door (if available) in case the police knocks on the front door. - One or two rooms for users. - Hourly cleaning of the premises to make the place look “decent” and “squatted” in case of a bust - Little quantity of drugs at the time, no more than 10 grams of each. - Open 24/7 - Re-up every hour or so - Single use paraphernalia available to the users - In some cases, Narcan at hand (medicine used to reverse the effect of an OD).

Cleaning Session - Career d’en Road 22, Raval, Barcelona / 2016 / iPhone

My connections in the Pakistani community took time to build but  strengthen throughout the years to reached a level of trust where we came to split the bread at several occasions… no seriously, we actually got invited in their Halal “canteen” in Raval where only Pakistanis could enjoy their local cuisine, a unique experience… They also gave me access to two of their stash houses: located in legit apartments, in proper buildings, on the outskirt of Raval, close to Sant-Antoni, less prone to police check.  No users there, only wholesalers, dispatching heroin to “representatives” of each narcopisos at below retail-price: between 20 and 40 euros the gram depending on the quantity purchased. 

Going back to the narcopisos, some were run by junkies (where the product was often cut from the bash they were getting from the stash houses), some by pakistani or afghan immigrants, with decent quality product, some by Catalan families, living there for decades under stabilized rent and with their own connection and product of fluctuant quality.  Last but not least, one narcopiso was occupied by the Romanian clan mentioned earlier.  Below are some photos of one of their spot at 22 Carrer d’en Roig, later busted and walled by the Mossos d’esquadra (Catalan police)

Romanian at work - Career d’en Road 22, Raval, Barcelona / 2016 / iPhone

Boss - Career d’en Road 22, Raval, Barcelona / 2016 / iPhone

If narcopisos was selling both crack and heroin, two rooms were at the disposal of users, one for smoking their bottles or pipes and the other room to shoot up or smoke heroin on tiny pieces of foil.

Sterile hospital-like garbage disposal were available for discarding the used paraphernalia.

Bloodstream Hunt - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

#NextFixandChill - Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

Everything is provided to avoid the spread of disease and the use of the drug in plain sight in the street therefore reduce public disorder.

Not that dealers became humanitarian all of a sudden, but kicking customers with their (illegal) purchase out in the street expose them to being ratted on or worst, having an overdose in plain sight attracting the police and paramedics... either way, it’s not good for business so narcopisos’ “managers” rather keep their clientele indoor until they’re done using and good to do.

Now, there is another type of business in Barcelona dealing with drug users and addiction: it’s called Centre de Dispensació de Metadona - Centre d'Atenció Primària Casc Antic (the methadone clinic in short....). 

* They’re not open 24/7 but rather in the morning only * It can take up to 2 weeks to see a doctor in order to enroll in a Methadone Maintenance Treatment -MMT (true story...when a single day can be the last one for a heroin addict living in the street) * Last but not least, since the doctors and nurses’ work schedule is way more important tthan their patients’ care, some centers give up 3 to 4 days worth of supply of methadone at once to heroin users so the health workers can have their days and weekends off. The result of this amazing system: the methadone is sold in the street by users so they can buy their heroin and/or in certain case, the methadone is saved up (for rainy days) and the patient keeps using heroin instead.  Yes, the patient: let’s not forget that those “filthy junkies” actually are patients (even if they’re hardly seen as such in those centers),  suffering from a disease called addiction, or substance abuse disorder if you prefer the american way of calling it, and in need of medical care but what can I say... old habits die hard (both way...). 

Patients taking methadone to treat opioid dependance must receive the medication under the supervision of a practitioner. After a period of stability (based on progress and proven, consistent compliance with the medication dosage) and only then, patients may be allowed to take methadone at home between program visits... but not in Barcelona.

Methadone substitution as a treatment of opioid addiction does not function as much to curb addiction as to redirect it and maintain dependency on legal channels. Methadone has been designed that way, as a lifetime treatment whereas alternative palliatives such as Buprenorphine are not even considered by doctors when those therapies would be more efficient in certain cases: with users who do not shoot the drug for example, or with users wishing to quiet and get sober... but let's be honest here, sobriety has never been the objective of those methadone programs.  The real goal of this public service is not to cure addiction, but to make sure junkies don’t use, steal, rob and/or commit act of violence in the streets to feed their habits

The patient here is not the users but the society.   Those centers aren’t trying to help the user quit his habit, but to make sure the society doesn’t suffer from it.  Good or bad, Narcopisos are curbing down the spread of diseases, cleaning up the streets from users as they offering temporary shelter to their customers and operate around the clock..  It seems to me that their function is almost... complementary if not necessary.

So before eradicating narcopisos from the face of Raval, let’s pause and look at the alternative: junkies buying and using drugs in the streets of the city center, in the worst sanitary condition possible with no regard for the residents around.

Mañana

So what’s next? Keeping those illegal activities going on? Certainly not.

But before jumping the gun and closing it all at once, better get ready for the alternative because drug addiction will not disappear with the narcopisos. In my last article, I speak about users stigmatization and how society still struggles to see addiction as a disease and not a will power issue, turning the blind eye to a sheer amount of studies and discoveries explaining how heroin addiction, over time, modify the pathway of your brain frontal lobe and affect your decisional power, making it hard -to not say impossible- to say “no”. 

Don’t take me wrong.  It would be naïve to think all users roaming the streets are here trying to quit and become their better self. Most of them have no intention to do so. I’m not here to judge nor take side.  But in order to find a solution to the narcopiso situation, I would like to introduce Barcelona to his neighbor: Portugal.

Portugal had one of the worst heroin epidemic in Europe back in the 90′s and after the failed many “US war on drug”-type of approaches. They finally shift approach and started treated drug addicts as patients who needed help, not as criminals” says Goulao, the architect of Portugal drug policy.  After the decriminalization and treatments, they planned to open “supervised drug consumption facilities” Naina Bajekal says in her 2018 article in the Time “where drug users can consume drugs in safer conditions with the assistance of trained staff. Such facilities have been running in Europe since 1986, when the first was opened in Berne, Switzerland.”(5)

The result? Evidence (6) shows these these type of sites save lives, reduce public disorder, and curb the spread of diseases.

Does that sound familiar? Yes, that's right, the first of the two businesses we spoke about: Narcopisos Inc.

Purgatory - Carrer d’en Roig 22, Raval, Barcelona / 2017 / iPhone

For No Face No Case: Dope Stories chapter 4, we’re going to Italy.  Don’t worry, it won’t be another mafia-related article explaining how the N’Drangheta and Camorra became the most powerful crime syndicates in the world, you can watch that on TV.  Called “Il Racconto dei Racconti”  (Tales of Tales in english), the article will keep it real, street style: short stories from North to South: Torino, Milano, Genoa, Roma, Napoli... Stay tuned for some dope stories on how drugs are sold, used and abused in the Renaissance country 

References (1) https://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/featuresx/report-barcelona-pakistani-community/ (2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Raval (3) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47861444 (4)https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/12/07/inenglish/1544171107_204329.html (5) https://time.com/longform/portugal-drug-use-decriminalization/ (6) https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/portugal-heroin-decriminalization/

[thegreatmarijuanadebate]

Is Legalizing Marijuana Destructive to Society? We will examine both sides of the controversial topic of whether to legalize Marijuana.

The million-dollar question seems to be is legalizing marijuana destructive to society or can we function and live normally in a society where marijuana is legal? The topic has been debated for years but even more now because of how popular and open people are with it in today’s society. Back then, people were not as open with using marijuana. There were not medical uses for marijuana or stores that could legally sell marijuana for recreational uses. In our society today, people are more expressive about their opinion when it comes to legalizing marijuana and fighting for the right to legally obtain marijuana without being considered a criminal. Then there are people who believe that marijuana is not good for our society. Others believe that marijuana should be kept as an illegal drug and those who obtain it should be criminally charged. They believe marijuana will negatively affect our society rather then add value to it. Today we will explore both sides of the great debate to further understand the viewpoints of many who have an opinion on the legalization of marijuana.

THE GREAT DEBABTE

The main issue on concerning the debate is whether marijuana should be legalized or not. More recently millennials significantly supported the legalization of marijuana. As of 2015, data shows “Millennials (currently 18-34) have been in the forefront of this change: 68% favor legalizing marijuana use, by far the highest percentage of any age cohort. But across all generations –except for the Silent Generation (ages 70-87) – support for legalization has risen sharply over the past decade.” Since 2015, states have proposed bills that would add laws on medical marijuana use and the recreational use of marijuana. States that have proposed legal the usage of medical marijuana is Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia. States that have proposed legal the usage of recreational marijuana is Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Because of COVID-19 states had to pause the voting process and up until 2021 states have resumed voting on the proposed bills. As of March 25, 2021 lawmakers in New York came to a consensus with Governor Andrew Cumo on legalizing marijuana. “Following several failed attempts, lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, a move that officials hope will help end years of racially disproportionate policing that saw Black and Hispanic people arrested on low-level marijuana charges far more frequently than white people.” Those who are IN favor of legalizing marijuana believe that the government think they know what is best for people so instead of knowing forcing the collective to follow a particular rule, they should give them the option to legally engage with marijuana. As history repeatedly shows us is that race plays a huge part in who gets in trouble with the law or not. “According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black and White people use marijuana at roughly the same rates.1 And yet, Black people are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for a drug-related crime.2". If we look to philosophers like Douglas Husak who believe that the prohibition of drugs is counterproductive, he gives several reasons on why this is true. Husak is in agreeance with many others and what the United States’ history has shown us that “In the first place prohibition has always been aimed or selectively enforced against minorities. Contemporary statistics are shocking. Although whites and Blacks are roughly comparable in their rates of illicit drug use, Blacks are arrested, prosecuted, and punished for drug offenses far more frequently and harshly than whites. About 10 million whites and 2 million blacks are current users of illicit drugs. Five times more whites than Blacks use marijuana, and about four times more whites than Blacks use cocaine”. Another reason Husak introduces is how expensive prohibiting drugs are in 2005 “state and federal governments now spend close to $40 billion each year combating illegal drugs. Most of this money has been wasted.” Specifically concerning marijuana “in 2005, Milton Friedman and a group of over 500 other economists advocated for marijuana legalization on the basis that prohibition directly costs more than $7.7 billion per year.” Research shows that there is a considerable amount of tax paying dollars being spent on the prohibition of marijuana and other illicit drugs. So, considering what the data has provided us, another argument in connection with the expensive argument is “A 2010 Fraser Institute study found that legalizing and taxing marijuana could produce considerable revenue for British Columbia. Economist Stephen T. Easton estimated the annual amount at $2 billion.”

The debate of whether or not to legalize marijuana would not be a debate or a controversial topic if there was not an opposing viewpoint to legalizing the drug. Those who are NOT in favor of legalizing marijuana say that “Marijuana use harms more than just the person using the drug. [129] Societal costs of marijuana use include paying for increased emergency room visits, medical care, and addiction treatment for the uninsured; more victims of drugged driving accidents; increased crime; and a negative impact on health from secondhand smoke.” Those opposed believe that it will cause harm to society by adding to medical accident and an increase in hospital visits. Another reason is teen usage, “Marijuana is especially dangerous for young people, because human brains are not fully developed until around age 25 (four years past the legal age in states that allow recreational marijuana). [79][80] The American Academy of Pediatrics said that adverse effects of teen marijuana use include “impaired short-term memory and decreased concentration, attention span, and problem solving, which clearly interfere with learning. Alterations in motor control, coordination, judgment, reaction time, and tracking ability have also been documented; these may contribute to unintentional deaths and injuries.” [156] Studies show that students who use cannabis perform worse in school. There is also the fear of addiction, “Dr. Drew Pinsky, a board-certified internist and addiction medicine specialist, said, “I’ve been treating cannabis addiction for 20 years. When people are addicted to cannabis, cocaine and alcohol the drug they have the most difficult time giving up is the cannabis.” [93].”.

My thoughts

After researching the topic whether marijuana should be legalized or not, I have concluded that if we were in a time like 10 plus years ago then the coins of legalizing marijuana would outweigh the pros. But now that we are living in a time where people are educated about marijuana, where it comes from, how it is used, and what it could be used for the pros outweigh the cons. With the data that I have researched marijuana does in fact destroy our society if anything it adds value to our society. This is because we live in a nation where there is an increasingly amount of people who use marijuana responsibly and love it. Also, there are people who don't use it but are educated enough to know that it does not hurt people or others around them. There are states that have legalized it and there are states that are currently creating bill's bad what allow for the legalization of marijuana. This shows how progressive our nation is becoming towards something that has been controversial four years. As a young African American woman, I can say that the research definitely explains to us how racial profiling and mass incarceration could slow down because of allowing people to use marijuana. There are so many people in our society that use marijuana and out of those people who use it African Americans are incarcerated and punished more for using marijuana. African Americans are looked at as criminals because now they have a criminal record because of something as small as using marijuana. The research provided shows that the cons tend to repeat their cells there is not much of a difference and each argument provided. What this tells me is that those who oppose legalizing marijuana cannot come up with a legitimate reason why it would be destructive to our society. So, what I think the research tells us is that we still have quite a way to go in figuring out whether or not to legalize marijuana, but we are definitely close as a nation to accepting that marijuana is not harmful to our society and that it can be legally used responsibly whether it is for medicinal usage or recreational usage. The question of whether legalizing marijuana is destructive to our society is still out on the jury to be answered but research is showing that the favor leans more towards those who are in support of legalizing marijuana.

Citations

Husak, Douglas N., and De Peter Marneffe. The Legalization of Drugs. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2015/04/14/in-debate-over-legalizing-marijuana-disagreement-over-drugs-dangers/

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/marijuana-legalization-update-early-2021-legislative-developments

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/nyregion/ny-legalize-marijuana.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/reasons-why-marijuana-should-be-legalized-721154 https://marijuana.procon.org/

[tabloidtoc]

Globe, December 28

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Farewell to 93 legends we loved and lost in 2020 

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Steve Martin holds a green pepper on the NYC set of Only Murders in the Building, Derek Hough is light on his feet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards 

Page 3: Julia Roberts looks scary skinny during a solo stroll in Hawaii, Chris Pratt hoists a hoverboard during an L.A. workout 

Page 4: Troubled twosome Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are hoping to put their year from hell behind them by renewing their vows over the holidays in a desperate big to keep their love alive -- Ellen wants to prove her long-suffering wife comes first ahead of Ellen’s daytime talk show and her many celebrity friends and is going all out to show it -- penny-pincher Ellen opened her wallet as wide as her heart telling Portia she could spend whatever she wants on clothes, food, drinks, music and invite whoever she wants at the New Year’s vow ceremony on a Santa Barbara beach

Page 5: Obsessive Blake Shelton is so stressed over his upcoming wedding to Gwen Stefani he’s turning into the Groomzilla from hell -- he is sparing no expense and shelling out millions to redo his Oklahoma ranch to impress the couple’s Tinseltown friends but the mountain of stuff still to be done is driving him around the bend even though no one’s putting pressure on him but he’s obsessed with the wedding details and driving his staff crazy with his constant orders and revisions -- he’s building a chapel on the ranch and a lighted boat for a romantic wedding cruise on the lake and picking the style of the canopy for the banquet floor and re-landscaping the grounds and adding a color-themed garden

* Kenya Moore of Real Housewives of Atlanta reveals she went on a date with Kanye West but bolted when she caught him watching inappropriate flicks -- she described the outing with Kanye as a disaster date and they ended up going to his house where he left her alone, wandering around and when she followed the noises he was watching something on TV that he probably shouldn’t have been and that was her exit 

Page 6: Matthew Perry was such a slave to his addiction his former galpal Kayti Edwards says he’d send her to score drugs while she was pregnant and Matthew insisted she was the perfect drug mule because he believed cops wouldn’t stop a gal in her condition Kayti claims in a shocking tell-all about her 2011 romance with Matthew -- she says his ravenous cravings for cocaine and heroin were so out of control that he once superglued his hands to his legs and he took up to 80 Vicodin pills daily -- Kayti claims she was trying to protect Matthew because she feared he’d end up wandering around the streets and being nabbed by cops or snapped by photogs but she was also getting paid big bucks like $3000 to $4000 a day 

Page 7: Duchess Camilla’s taste for an early morning tipple has rubbed off on husband Prince Charles who is now so hooked on the sauce he starts the day guzzling a powerful gin martini with breakfast and now Charles’ alarmed staffers and pals are talking about an intervention to remind him not to go down the path that put his second wife in rehab -- Charles’ booze consumption has been off the charts for years but drinking first thing in the morning with his breakfast is a new low -- Charles laughs off suggestions he has a booze issue but one look at his bloodshot face tells the story 

* Now that a COVID-19 vaccine’s been approved in Britain Queen Elizabeth says she’s going to get the shot but wait her turn instead of pulling royal rank but she and husband Prince Philip won’t wait long because at their ages they’re in the second group to get the vaccine which is health care workers and people over 80 

Page 8: Helena Bonham Carter has a world-shakin’ suggestion for gals frustrated by the COVID-19 lockdown: get a vibrator -- she says women shouldn’t worry about snaring a beau during the pandemic but that’s easy for her to say because she’s currently cuddling with toyboy writer Rye Dag Holmboe 

* George Clooney confesses wife Amal Clooney had him shaking in his boots when he popped the question and she didn’t answer -- he asked her out of the blue but instead of squealing yes immediately the brainy lawyer just stood there -- George says he was on his knee for like 20 minutes and finally said he was going to throw his hip out -- Amal finally agreed and the couple have three-year-old twins 

* The nip/tuck freak daughter of Olivia Newton-John is being blasted as a hypocrite for coming out against the new COVID-19 vaccines -- Chloe Lattanzi claims she doesn’t trust doctors or the vaccine but critics note she had no problem shelling out an estimated $550,000 to plastic surgeons for nose jobs, super-sized boobs and ballooned lips 

Page 9: Since his life-threatening health scare game show icon Pat Sajak’s been testy and snapping at contestants and crew members leaving insiders fearing he’s heading for a breakdown -- the once-cheery Wheel of Fortune host is a different man since recovering from emergency surgery for a blocked intestine and is having difficulty coping with the workload -- he just can’t keep up with the pace and he’s pushed to the very limit and can’t seem to function doing this job and it’s all spilling over and manifesting into these ugly outbursts which are shocking viewers -- he even glares at long-time help-mate Vanna White when he gets frustrated or forgetful and she is really too nice to complain about it but she’s definitely been taken aback by his behavior 

Page 10: Proof UFOs are real -- new photos taken by Navy jets reveal we are not alone 

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- WWE legend Ric Flair (picture), Real Housewives of Orange County’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke maintains she’s not attracted to men despite renewing her wedding vows with her husband of over two decades -- she says she is gay but she loves husband Sean Burke and they plan on staying married although they don’t sleep in the same bedroom and they are raising their kids together but he knows the girl she’s dating and he’s been given the thumbs-up to date too, Liam Payne believes he’s being haunted by spooks -- convinced spooky spirits were inhabiting his West London digs Liam moved but spooks popped up at the new pad and he thinks the new house is even more haunted than the old one, George Clooney handpicked an even better looking doppelganger to play his younger self in his new flick The Midnight Sky who is screen legend Gregory Peck’s grandson Ethan Peck -- George said it was tricky because people know what he looked like when he was 35 years old but he rejected the high-tech gizmos used to weirdly reverse Robert De Niro’s age in The Irishman but he did mix his voice with Ethan’s since his voice is pretty recognizable, Matthew McConaughey’s kids Levi and Vida used their phones to photograph him for his latest magazine covers because of quarantine they couldn’t do normal photoshoots so the kids became the photographers 

Page 13: Tom Arnold dines out in Rome (picture), Aubrey O’Day (picture), Brooke Burke in Mexico (picture), pregnant Meghan Trainor was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and she’s healthy and her baby boy is healthy but she has to really pay attention to everything she eats 

Page 14: Luke Evans denies hiding in the closet to advance his Hollywood career saying it was the last thing he had because everything else he’d given to the world and adding that he left home at 16 because he was gay and went into the world as a kid because he had to, Mindy Kaling managed to keep two pregnancies under cover and kept the kids’ middle names under wraps until now -- a fan wondered why Mindy who is of a Indian heritage gave her kids Caucasian names but their names are Katherine Swati and Spencer Avu 

* Fashion Verdict -- Blanca Suarez 3/10, Olivia Palermo 1/10, Nicky Hilton 9/10, Bella Heathcote 2/10, Catt Sadler 8/10 

Page 16: True Crime 

Page 17: Martha Stewart confesses her painful divorce in 1990 was a terrible thing and she hasn’t talked to ex-husband Andrew Stewart since but she bounced back from the pain and her infamous prison stint because she’s very strong and motivated to get on with life -- still Martha admits being dumped by her husband for another woman after 29 years of marriage nearly did her in -- Martha also reveals serving five months in West Virginia in 2004 on a federal insider stock trading rap was a struggle but she got through it by working on her arts and crafts 

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Don Lemon 

* Dolly Parton pulled no punches when discussing her longtime romance with Carl Dean dishing she and her husband have been together for 57 years and married for 54 and she’s sick of him and she’s sure he’s sick of her -- the couple have rarely been seen in public together and she says their marriage succeeds because she stays gone and they’re not in each other’s faces all the time 

* Miley Cyrus says she’s mastered the art of staying safe during lockdown love and it’s by having online sex -- she said the safest sex in these COVID-crazy times is the virtual kind and that’s where Miley has been hooking up

Page 21: Cover Story -- Thanks for the Memories -- tribute to the stars we loved and lost in 2020 

Page 22: Alex Trebek 

Page 23: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, Kelly Preston 

Page 24: Kirk Douglas, Sean Connery 

Page 25: Olivia de Havilland, Chadwick Boseman 

Page 26: Robert Conrad, Naya Rivera 

Page 27: Regis Philbin 

Page 28: Kenny Rogers, Roy Horn 

Page 29: Eddie Van Halen, Little Richard 

Page 36: Health Report -- eating bread can toast your brain 

Page 38: Ghostbusters icon Dan Aykroyd has turned into a ghoulish recluse who rarely leaves his $25 million Martha’s Vineyard estate where he’s now eerily planning his own funeral -- the bizarre 68-year-old appears perfectly healthy yet he spooks around in his bed clothes muttering about who he wants to officiate at his memorial service and the goodies the chef should serve at the wake -- the curious thing is he appears to be in no danger of dropping dead anytime soon and he’s sturdy as a horse which is surprising given the cigars and the vodka and the big meals he enjoys -- Dan’s wife of 37 years Donna Dixon has gotten used to her husband’s ghoulish monologues

* Bob Dylan sold his extensive back catalog of more than 600 songs including Blowin’ in the Wind and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door to Universal Music in a blockbuster deal topping $300 million 

Page 40: Patrick Stewart confesses he’s been furious all his life and he’s still seeing a shrink to control his rage -- he reveals he’s burned with rage inside since childhood when he witnessed his dad’s violence against his mom and he had to suppress all that anger -- at age 14 he feared he’d explode and kill his headmaster when he caned him and later he worried he’d hurt his two children with first wife Sheila Falconer in a fit of fury and now at age 80 it’s still there so he sees a therapist every week 

Page 44: Straight Talk -- The Weeknd has his nose out of joint because he wasn’t nominated for any Grammys this year and he claims he’s being snubbed because he’ll be starring on the February 7 Super Bowl halftime show a week after the Grammys 

Page 45: Jeffrey Epstein’s accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell is a paranoid mess losing her hair and wasting away in federal prison where she’s terrified shadowy forces have marked her for death -- the shrinking British socialite who denies recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein’s twisted lust is charged with sex trafficking minors as she rots in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting trial next year 

Page 47: Bizarre But True 

[kaixx]

Indestructible

Robyn Rihanna Fenty known as Rihanna, born on February 20, 1988, at St. Michael parish, Barbados. A Barbadian pop and R&B singer who started her career in May 2005, known for her distinctive and versatile voice, beauty and for her fashionable appearance.

Her father Ronald Fenty 66 years old while her mother's name is Monica Braithwaite 51 years old, she has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's side.

Rihanna also struggled with hyperlipidemia for several years during her childhood, By the time she was 14, her parents had divorced due to her abusive father's alcoholism and cocaine addiction. As a teenager, she sings to release her troubles at home and formed a girl group with two classmates; when they were 15 years old, they scored an audition with music producer Evan Rodgers, who was visiting the island. Roger was amazed on how talented and beautiful rihanna was but unfortunately she outshined them, "The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist" according to roger.

In early 2005, she auditioned in New York City, where Jay-Z introduced her to music mogul Antonio "L.A." Reid and In May 2005, her first debut single, "Pon de Replay", was released under her mononym "Rihanna". She made her first appearance at the Met Gala in 2007. On 8 February 2009, her performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was cancelled and reports surfaced that then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, had physically assaulted her and was charged with assault and criminal threats.

Rihanna has the most digital single awards and is the first and only artist to surpass RIAA's 100 million cumulative singles award threshold. Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards and honours, including 9 Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 8 People's Choice Awards, among others.

Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) in 2012, in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite.

On 30 March 2015, it was announced that Rihanna is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal.

In November 2015, Rihanna and Benoit Demouy launched a beauty and stylist agency named Fr8me.

In 2017, Rihanna launched her critically acclaimed cosmetics company Fenty Beauty under LVMH's Kendo Brands. focusing on a wide range of products for all skin types and tones.

In 2018, Rihanna launched a lingerie brand named Savage X Fenty. The line was born from Rihanna's vision creating an inclusive brand.

In July 2020, Rihanna announced that she was launching a skin care brand called "Fenty Skin".

I want to be rihanna someday, I adore her passion, talent, courage and hard work to everything she do and will do. She is one of the reasons why i'm motivated in life, i feel like if she can do or overcome something means i can do it too. Her songs always comforts me and motivates me everytime.

Photo Sources:

Flair-magazine.com

Globalcosmeticsnews.com

dailymail.co.uk

rap-up.com

smule.com

thesun.co.uk

badgal_rihanna (Instagram)

badgalriri (Instagram)

Sources:

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1982597/bio

https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/rihanna/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rihanna

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rihanna-mn0000367188/biography

http://www.rihannanow.com/bio/#:~:text=rihanna%20is%20the%20%E2%80%9Cbest%20selling,among%20other%20countless%20music%20accolades.

https://en.geneastar.org/genealogie/?refcelebrite=fentyr&celebrite=RIHANNA#:~:text=Rihanna%20has%20two%20brothers%2C%20Rorrey,a%20stall%20on%20the%20street.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8206119/Rihannas-dad-Ronald-Fenty-66-thought-die-stricken-coronavirus.html

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/monica-braithwaite-46132.php%23:~:text%3DMonica%2520Braithwaite%2520is%2520an%2520Afro,was%2520born%2520in%2520February%25201988.&usg=AOvVaw04kWmYCUB94HE9Kq7_up7V

[politijohn]

In case you missed it -

Bernie Sanders released the most comprehensive criminal justice reform plan - 

Highlights include:

Ensure Law Enforcement Accountability and Robust Oversight

Provide More Support to Police Officers and Create A Robust Non-Law Enforcement Alternative Response System

Right to Counsel

Ensure Accountability and Fairness in Prosecution

Ending Mass Incarceration and Excessive Sentencing

End the War on Drugs and Stop Criminalizing Addiction

End the school-to-prison pipeline

Reform Our Decrepit Prison System to Make Jails and Prisons More Humane

Ensure a Just Transition Post-Release

End Cycles of Violence and Provide Support to Survivors of Crime

Reverse the Criminalization of Disability

Invest in Our Communities 

Below are the concrete steps he will take as President. I have never seen anything like this; It’s gold. 

Ban for-profit prisons.

Make prison phone calls and other communications free.

Audit the practices of commissaries and use regulatory authority to end price gouging and exorbitant fees.

Incentivize states and localities to end police departments’ reliance on fines and fees for revenue.

Remove the profit motive from our re-entry system and diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs, and ensure people leaving incarceration or participating in diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs can do so free of charge.

End the use of secured bonds in federal criminal proceedings.

Provide grants to states to reduce their pretrial detention populations, which are particularly high at the county level, and require states to report on outcomes as a condition of renewing their funding.

Withhold funding from states that continue the use of cash bail systems.

Ensure alternatives to cash bail are not creating systematic disparities.

Rescind former AG Jeff Sessions’ guidance on consent decrees.

Use DOJ investigations, consent decrees, and federal lawsuits to address systemic constitutional violations by police departments.

Ensure accountability, strict guidelines and independent oversight for all federal funds used by police departments. 

End federal programs that provide military equipment to local police.

Create a federally managed database of police use of deadly force.

Provide grants for states and cities to establish civilian oversight agencies with enforceable accountability mechanisms.

Establish federal standards for the use of body cameras and establish third-party agencies to oversee the storage and release of police videos.

Mandate criminal liability for civil rights violations resulting from police misconduct.

Conduct Attorney General’s investigation whenever someone is killed in police custody. 

Establish a federal no-call policy, including a registry of disreputable federal law enforcement officers, so testimony from untrustworthy sources does not lead to criminal convictions. 

Provide financial support to pilot local and state level no-call lists.

Ban the use of facial recognition software for policing.

Establish national standards for use of force by police that emphasize de-escalation.

Require and fund police officer training on implicit bias (to include biases based on race, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religion, ethnicity and class), cultural competency, de-escalation, crisis intervention, adolescent development, and how to interact with people with mental and physical disabilities. 

Ensure training is conducted in a meaningful way with strict independent oversight and enforceable guidelines.

Ban the practice of law enforcement agencies benefiting from civil asset forfeiture. Limit funding to those who do not comply.

Provide funding to states and municipalities to create civilian corps of unarmed first responders, such as social workers, EMTs, and trained mental health professionals, who can handle order maintenance violations, mental health emergencies, and low-level conflicts outside the criminal justice system, freeing police officers to concentrate on the most serious crimes.

Incentivize access to counseling and mental health services for officers.

Diversify police forces and academies and incentivize officers to live and work in the communities they serve.

Triple congressional spending on indigent defense, to $14 billion annually.

After a review of current salaries and workload, set a minimum starting salary for all public defenders.

Create and set a national formula to assure populations have a minimum number of public defenders to assure full access to constitutional right to due process.

Establish federal guidelines and goals for a right to counsel, including policies that reduce the number of cases overall. 

Create a federal agency to provide support and oversight for state public defense services. 

Authorize the Department of Justice to take legal action against jurisdictions that are not meeting their Sixth Amendment obligations. 

Cancel all existing student debt and cancel any future student debt for public defenders through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Rescind former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ orders on prosecutorial discretion and low-level offenses. 

Appoint an Attorney General committed to public safety and creating a more just and humane criminal justice system.

Limit “absolute immunity” for prosecutors, which is used to shield wrongdoers from liability.

End the practice of jailing material witnesses.

Place a moratorium on the use of the algorithmic risk assessment tools in the criminal justice system until an audit is completed. Ensure these tools do not have any implicit biases that lead to unjust or excessive sentences.

Abolish the death penalty.

Reverse the Trump administration’s guidance on the use of death penalty drugs with the goal of ending the death penalty at the state level.

Stop excessive sentencing with the goal of cutting the incarcerated population in half.

End mandatory sentencing minimums.

Reinstate a federal parole system and end truth-in-sentencing. 

People serving long sentences will undergo a “second look” process to make sure their sentence is still appropriate.

End “three strikes” laws. 

Invigorate and expand the compassionate release process so that people with disabilities, the sick and elderly are transitioned out of incarceration whenever possible.

Expand the use of sentencing alternatives, including community supervision and publicly funded halfway houses.

Revitalize the executive clemency process by creating an independent clemency board removed from the DOJ and placed in White House.

Stop the criminalization of homelessness and spend more than $25 billion over five years to end homelessness. This includes doubling McKinney-Vento homelessness assistance grants to build permanent supportive housing, and $500 million to provide outreach to homeless people to help connect them to available services. 

In the first year of this plan, 25,000 Housing Trust Fund units will be prioritized for housing the homeless.

Legalize marijuana and vacate and expunge past marijuana convictions, and ensure that revenue from legal marijuana is reinvested in communities hit hardest by the War on Drugs.

Provide people struggling with addiction with the health care they need by guaranteeing health care — including inpatient and outpatient substance abuse and mental health services with no copayments or deductibles — to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program.

Decriminalize possession of buprenorphine, which helps treat opioid addiction, and ensure first responders carry naloxone to prevent overdoses.

Legalize safe injection sites and needle exchanges around the country, and support pilot programs for supervised injection sites, which have shown to substantially reduce drug overdose deaths.

Raise the threshold for when drug charges are federalized, as federal charges carry longer sentences.

Work with states to fund and pursue innovative overdose prevention initiatives.

Institute a full review of the current sentencing guidelines and end the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine.

Ban the prosecution of children under the age of 18 in adult courts.

Work to ensure that all juvenile facilities are designed for rehabilitation and growth.

Ensure youth are not jailed or imprisoned for misdemeanor offenses.

Ensure juveniles are not be housed in adult prisons.End solitary confinement for youth. 

Abolish long mandatory minimum sentences and life-without-parole sentences for youth.

Eliminate criminal charges for school-based disciplinary behavior that would not otherwise be criminal and invest in school nurses, counselors, teachers, teaching assistants, and small class sizes to address disciplinary issues.

Ensure every school has the necessary school counselors and wrap-around services by providing $5 billion annually to expand the sustainable community school model.

End the use of juvenile fees.Decriminalize truancy for all youth and their parents. 

Eliminate federal incentives for schools to implement zero-tolerance policies. 

Invest in local youth diversion programs as alternatives to the court and prison system.

Work with teachers, school administrators, and the disability rights movement to end restraint and seclusion discipline in schools.

Ending solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is a form of torture and unconstitutional, plain and simple.

Access to free medical care in prisons and jails, including professional and evidence-based substance abuse and trauma-informed mental health treatment.

Incarcerated trans people have access to all the health care they need.Access to free educational and vocational training. This includes ending the ban on Pell Grants for all incarcerated people without any exceptions.Living wages and safe working conditions, including maximum work hours, for all incarcerated people for their labor.

Re-enfranchise the right to vote to the millions of Americans who have had their vote taken away by a felony conviction.

End prison gerrymandering, ensuring incarcerated people are counted in their communities, not where they are incarcerated.

Establishment of an Office of Prisoner Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the Department of Justice to investigate civil rights complaints from incarcerated individuals and provide independent oversight to make sure that prisoners are housed in safe, healthy, environments.

Protection from sexual abuse and harassment, including mandatory federal prosecution of prison staff who engage in such misconduct.

Access to their families — including unlimited visits, phone calls, and video calls.

Determination for the most appropriate setting for people with disabilities and safe, accessible conditions for people with disabilities in prisons and jails.

Make expungement broadly available. 

Remove legal and regulatory barriers and facilitate access to services so that people returning home from jail or prison can build a stable and productive life. 

Create a federal agency responsible for monitoring re-entry.

“Ban the box” by removing questions regarding conviction histories from job and other applications.

Enact fair chance licensing reform to remove unfair restrictions on occupational licensure based on criminal history.Increase funding for re-entering youth programs. 

Pass a massive youth jobs program to provide jobs and job-training opportunities for disadvantaged young Americans who face high unemployment rates.

Guarantee safe, decent, affordable housing.

Remove the profit motive from our re-entry system and diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs, and ensure people leaving incarceration or participating in diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs can do so free of charge.

Guarantee jobs and free job training at trade schools and apprenticeship programs.

Focus law enforcement resources to dramatically increase the solve rate of the most serious offenses like homicides and sexual assaults.

Fund Cure Violence and similar proven effective violence interruption models to stop violent incidents before they begin.

Fund programs for people who are at serious risk of being either the perpetrator or victim of gun violence, provide non-law enforcement-led services including job training and placement assistance, education, and help covering basic needs such as housing, food, and transportation.

Provide funding to end the national rape kit backlog and institute new rules requiring that rape kits be tested and that victims are provided with updates on the status of their rape kits.

Address gender-based violence on college campuses by reversing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ decision to weaken Title IX protections. We will protect and enforce Title IX.

Prevent and address sex trafficking with “safe harbor” policies that treat trafficked persons involved in illegal activities such as prositution as victims rather than criminals, and that offer legal and financial support for victims.

Funding sex trafficking research and prevention programs that include early identification of vulnerable populations, like foster children and youth in transition, as well as Native American women.Immediately reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Provide housing assistance and paid leave for victims of sexual assault.

Expand non-police interventions for domestic violence, including a national help hotline and state-funded, long-term counseling.

 Make discriminatory law enforcement interactions with people with disabilities a major enforcement priority of the Civil Rights Division. 

Use the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision to challenge states that have failed to adequately support the voluntary, community-based mental health services that can divert people with mental illness from ending up in the criminal justice system.

Bar criminal charges for school-based behavior that would not otherwise be criminal and invest in school nurses, counselors, teachers, teaching assistants, and small class sizes to address disciplinary issues. 

Ensure every school has the necessary school counselors and wrap-around services by providing $5 billion annually to expand the sustainable community school model.

Work with teachers, school administrators, and the disability rights movement to end restraint and seclusion discipline in schools.

Invigorate and expand the compassionate release process so that people with disabilities are transitioned out of incarceration whenever possible.

Invest in diversion programs as alternatives to the court and prison system for people with disabilities and ensure those people have the community-based supports and services they need.

Create an Office of Disability in the DOJ focused on coordinating these efforts, including the reduction of incarcerated people with disabilities, reducing recidivism and guaranteeing a just re-entry for people with disabilities, and ensuring every aspect of our criminal justice system is ADA compliant.

Guarantee mental health care to people with disabilities as a human right, including all the supports and services needed to stay in the community. Mental health care, under Medicare for All, will be free at the point of service, with no copayments or deductibles which can be a barrier to treatment. The plan will also provide home- and community-based long-term services and supports to all and cover prescription drugs.

Train, recruit, and increase the number of mental health providers to provide culturally competent care in underserved communities.

Guarantee that people with disabilities have safe, accessible, and integrated affordable housing.

People with disabilities deserve jobs that pay a living wage. It’s time to end the subminimum wage and guarantee truly integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Triple Title I funding, expand the IDEA, and make other major investments in public K-12 education as outlined in the Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education and Educators. Provide mandatory funding to ensure that the federal government provides at least 50 percent of the funding for IDEA and guarantee children with disabilities an equal right to high-quality education by enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Guarantee tuition- and debt-free public colleges, universities, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs and the end equity gap in higher education attainment for people with disabilities by ensuring all our students get the help they need so they are ready for college and receive the support they need when they are in college.

Increase educational opportunities for persons with disabilities, including an expansion in career and technical education opportunities to prepare students for good-paying community employment.

Enact a federal jobs guarantee to provide good jobs at a living wage revitalizing and taking care of the community.

Pass a $15 minimum wage.

Provide people struggling with addiction the health care they need by guaranteeing health care, which includes inpatient and outpatient substance abuse and mental health services with no copayments or deductibles, to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program. 

Provide transportation benefits to and from health services for those who need it. Invest in our health care workforce and infrastructure to ensure that all communities have access to  these services.

Enact paid family leave, so people can take time off from work to help themselves or a family member as they go through treatment. 

Ensure that people who interacted with the justice system are still able to get the rehabilitation services they need and are able to find housing and employment.

End the exploitative practices of payday lenders and ensure all Americans have access to basic financial services through the Post Office, and capping interest rates on consumer loans and credit cards at 15 percent across all financial institutions. States will be empowered to cap rates even lower than 15 percent.

Tie Department of Transportation funding to integration and improving commuting in urban centers, and restore the TIGER program to focus on public transportation. Create a $10 billion grant program within the Minority Business Development Agency to provide grants to entrepreneurs of color.

Pass the WATER Act to create a $35 billion annual fund to remove and replace lead pipes in communities throughout the country.

Ensure federal resources are focused on the Americans who need it most — often as a result of structural disadvantage. We will implement the 10-20-30 approach to federal investments which focuses substantial federal resources on distressed communities that have high levels of poverty.