Charlie Sheen: March 2012

DJ Deadmau5 and Trance DJ Paul Van Dyk Standing Up for what is Right

DJ Deadmau5 and Trance DJ Paul Van Dyk are setting a good example for young people and are putting Madonna and drug using concert goers on notice, that promoting drug use is NOT OKAY. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Van Dyk made a public statement, heard around the world, that Madonna's comments (made in front of a crowd of 50,000) about "Molly", hinting at Ecstasy use, were STUPID, counterproductive and do not represent what electronica dance music is about.

I wonder if Madonna even knows that Ecstasy can cause serious irreversible brain damage and damages the central nervous system. Five Years From Now's CommonSenseRecovery Blog reported on the tragic story of a young girl who has been forever disabled by a drug reaction to Ecstasy. Hey Madge! Try watching this!

In the above TMZ segment, we can learn more about the reckless comments Madonna made and what impression she left on her audience by doing so. Ironically, the original video, showing Madonna making these comments, has now been removed from YouTube.

Remembering DJ AM

Super Celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, known to his fans as “DJ AM” (AM stands for his middle name Adam Michael) would have been 39 years old today. Sadly however, in 2009, he lost his life to relapse through a lethal combination of prescription drugs and cocaine. Adam was someone who had struggled with abuse in the home at the hands of his father; subsequent weight issues in his younger years, followed by drug abuse in his early 20’s. But for more than a decade, he figured out a way not to let any of these obstacles to get in his way, by becoming one of the most successful DJs of all time.

When Adam found recovery, he lived it by the book for 11 years and became an example to all those who thought recovery was a hopeless undertaking. Adam was open about being sober and sponsored other addicts to help them find recovery as he had. Tragically, Adam got seriously injured in a 2008 plane crash. His injuries warranted necessity for medical treatment and one could only guess that this could be how Adam lost his way back through the gates of addiction.

Adam was found dead in his New York City apartment August 28, 2009 around the hours of dawn. Toxicology results later concluded Adam had multiple drugs in his system such as Cocaine, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Alprazolam, Diphenhydramine and Levamisole. Whoever Adam’s docs were, that treated him after the plane crash, those docs were clearly not trained in recognizing a drug-seeking patient.

If we had laws to protect those in recovery, perhaps Adams death could have been prevented. Here’s the law I would like to propose.

Lindsay Lohan: Take the Judges Advice

When we get sober and earn some time in recovery, we find out that our greatest days are still ahead of us. I hope Lindsay Lohan finds this path and stays on it. In the last five years, we have seen Lindsay struggle with her addiction and have watched how the legal system and a "no nonsense" judge has literally saved her from a very self-destructive downward spiral. So far it's a happy ending and if Lindsay takes the judges advice, it will continue to be that way.

Charlie Sheen to Act as Therapist in upcoming FX Sitcom?

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Is it socially healthy for someone who is a known addict, who has mocked the underprivileged American public, has been in rehab and claims he still drinks (I’m assuming to feel sane), to then play a therapist in a comedic sitcom? Is it comedy to play a therapist when one does not understand the mechanics of therapy, nor knows the various assessment models and how they apply?

I guess we’re going to find out because this is what we are apparently about to buy into on the new FX show “Anger Management”, where Charlie Sheen plays a therapist. In my view, this is neither funny, socially healthy and it seems rather obvious that Charlie Sheen is in pursuit of further self-indulgence with reckless disregard of the social harm he is doing to our youth and to people who are thinking about getting sober.

Madonna Lies when She Says She does Not Promote Drug Use

Madonna has been promoting "the art of crossing the line" for a long time. But now I think she has stepped over the line. At 2 min 28 seconds in this 2010 music video of "Give It 2 Me", Madonna who said only yesterday, as reported by TMZ, that she does not support drug use, had a song that hit the airwaves that said the words "get stupid, don't stop it" 32 two times (lyrics here). The lyrics also say "if it's against the law arrest me." If that is not promoting drug use and alcohol abuse I don't know what is.

Madonna’s comments about Ecstasy: Irresponsible, Crazy, Reckless

[Update: March 30, 2012]

Is it a sign of guilty conscience that the video showing Modonna making comments about "molly" has suddenly vanished from YouTube?

[Update: March 27, 2012]

While TMZ reports that Madonna disputes any knowledge of the term "molly" to mean Ecstasy, this is hardly believable. Even if she knew about it and knew she would lessen the perception of harm of this very dangerous illicit drug by saying what she said, if she did not refer to Ecstasy with her comments, she also should have said so. In my opinion, Madonna has no acceptable excuse for what she said.

Recently Madonna performed at the Ultra Music Festival and asked the audience if anyone had seen “molly”?

“Molly” is a known ingredient in the illicit drug Ecstasy and to ask this question is about as irresponsible, crazy and reckless as it gets. Madonna made these comments knowing there were thousands of people in the audience. Guess her comments about how sad she was that Michael Jackson died were never meat to be sincere in the first place. I am glad to see that DJ Deadmau5 had the courage to stand up to her and speak his mind.

Promoting illicit drug use is unfortunately part of the music industry and since it became widely known back in the 1970’s, i.e. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix to name a few, we have not been able to regulate it or stop it. Nowadays some recording artists feel it is “part of their craft” to be intoxicated and promote their drug of choice; be it alcohol, marijuana or other dangerous substances. I for one would advise anyone not to buy the music these artists produce. While the music may sound nice, the lyrical message calls for drug use and it promotes an unhealthy way of thinking. I wonder what Madonna’s daughter thinks about her remarks to the audience?

It also goes to show that artists have the power to use his or her voice to either do good or to instigate stupid ideas like “has anyone seen molly?” Madonna has always had a track record of doing whatever she wants regardless of what others thought of her. From standing on the street naked, while hitchhiking and smoking a cigarette, to crossing the line between religious principles and fornication, Madonna’s message leaves us with one certainty. She could care less!

Parents beware! Don’t let your kinds believe Madonna’s attitude toward drug use is innocent or harmless. Madonna should apologize for her comments immediately.

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Addiction has No Friends and Whitney Houston was No Different

I read in yesterday’s news that there is likely no further need to investigate the death of Whitney Houston and that the investigation is coming to a close. With that being the case, enablers and drug dealers get away without being held accountable for contributing to Whitney’s death.

Are we ready to settle for the fact that large entertainment gatherings, especially in the music industry, are sought out to be a drug users playground where anything goes? Are we just going to stand by and condone this, turning a blind eye so evildoers can pray on those who are vulnerable? In my view, more should be done to protect sober people in his or her first two years of recovery. Here is my solution.

When Whitney was able to achieve recovery and spoke openly about her, then past struggle with drug addiction, no one except a physician trained in addiction disorders should have had the right or authority to aide Whitney with any medical need. Those who allowed drug dealers back in Whitney’s life and condoned her drug use, have a lot to answer for. Whoever gave Whitney the cocaine she used on the day she died should step forward and take responsibility for his or her actions.

Dr. Drew: Whitney Houston is an "Addiction Death"

Tribute to Britney Spears: Here's to Overcoming the Obstacles!

Meth and Modeling: Dying Early and Making your Fat Look Good?

The illicit drug trade has a lot of dirty little secrets, especially in the fashion and entertainment industry. Young women in search of the “perfect size zero”, (shown in this picture), who want the emaciated skinny model look, know, that skipping meals and going to the gym alone, seldom does the trick for quickly desired results. Because of this, models seek out dangerous, life threatening methods to force their bodies into starvation to get the body they want. Case in point; recently arrested model and alleged meth trafficker Simone Farrow.

Some aspiring models like to get their exposure in the underground club scene where they also run into the underground drug trade. There they find the drugs such as meth, cocaine or ecstasy to name a few, that have the desired outer affect models may be looking for. Some models are so desperate to fit the mold of what the fashion and entertainment industry dictates in terms of body type, that they don’t care if they are doing damage to their brain and circulatory system. They just want the desired look and are willing to put their lives on the line for it.

This is a tragedy and we have to stop it. If we look at meth, loosing weight when taking meth means loosing muscle tissue and valuable nutrients and vitamins such as niacin, essential for the brain and body to function normally. While loosing muscle tissue, the fat tissue remains because when starving the body, in the first 45 days, the body uses it’s own protein resources to survive. Then it tapers off and uses some fat tissue, but really very little. For this reason we see meth addicts who stop using gain weight like crazy because they starved the body and put it into shock, now making it convert everything into fat and storing it.

Being a size zero and having an emaciated meth body, accompanied by neurological damage and behavioral problems, should not set the standard for how a model should look on the outside. Besides, if we really knew the truth about what we are looking at, we’d prefer not to look at a meth body and would rather see a healthy body with a healthy weight.

The Velvet Underground Sues Andy Warhol Foundation for Trademark Infringement

Issues of copyright and trademark ownership can become tricky when an artist makes a work for hire. This is currently the case with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and 60’s rock band The Velvet Underground. Many people would recognize the Andy Warhol stylized print of a banana as the Velvet Underground’s unofficial logo. Many of the same people would also know that the banana was created by Warhol, who often collaborated with the band. But who owns the rights to the iconic print?

The banana print was never properly trademarked through a trademark attorney, neither was the copyright. The Velvet Underground recently filed a trademark infringement lawusit that claims that the print was taken from a newspaper ad that was part of the public domain. The Andy Warhol Foundation currently owns most of Warhol’s copyrights, which are valued at over $120 million. The foundation earns about $2.5 million a year by licensing these copyrights. When the foundation decided to start using the banana print as part of its copyrighted repertoire, the band sued. According to the lawsuit, the band wants a judicial declaration that the foundation has no copyright protection for the banana icon.

Charlie Sheen