BY SYDNEY KEEFE Joe Schrank co-founded the rehab facility, High Sobriety that uses cannabis as an exit drug. The philosophy behind the rehab is that AA will not work all the time for everyone, in fact it is only estimated…
Smartphone addiction and self-help apps rewire the brain
BY: JARED BEAUBIEN-TAYLOR I have a Facebook friend whose life always seems perfect. They have a great job, live in a nice condo, and are always doing new and exciting things. They’re always posting happy comments about how blessed they…
The government is working to reverse decades of damage caused by legal drug distribution
BY: CHARLOTTE LEFAVE The rising epidemic of opioid abuse in Canada is spurring the government to take matters into their own hands. The misuse of marketed drugs has reached an extreme point, with a significant amount of the population having…
Hunter S. Thompson once spread a rumor of a presidential candidate’s drug addiction and it was taken seriously
BY: M.TOMOSKI After spending a few tedious months on the 1972 campaign trail, Ed Muskie—the Democrat favored to win the party’s nomination—had been putting his entire press corps to sleep with hopelessly repetitive stump speeches. “I didn’t get a quote…
Why politicians everywhere should take a lesson from Vancouver’s drug treatment program.
BY: JACK M. “During its eight years of operation, Insite has been proven to save lives with no discernible negative impact on the public safety and health objectives of Canada.” Unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, 2011.…
China is fighting “digital heroin” by shipping Internet addicts to a controversial bootcamp
BY: MELISSA BOODOO Young men line up in rows beside barrack-style bunkbeds wearing camo uniforms. But this isn’t some sort of military boot camp, it’s a rehab centre for Chinese addicts of “digital heroin.” It is believed that 24 million…
Addicts of the world’s most dangerous drug are rotting while they are still alive
BY: LISA CUMMING Krokodil will literally eat you from the inside out. This poor man’s heroin, an opiate derivative of codeine, is ravaging the lower class in Russia because a) it’s dirt-cheap and b) it can be made completely from…
Photo series shows our phones literally sucking away our souls
BY: MELISSA BOODOO Genuine human connection is getting harder and harder to find these days as we depend more than ever on our phones, laptops and computers as our main source of communication and entertainment. Why bother taking a streetcar…
Research says that chocolate is just as addictive and harmful as cocaine
BY: ERIK HUSTON What is your favorite food? Is it pizza or cookies – if it’s anything made in a factory you’re likely in for a treat. Scientific reports have found that processed foods can be as addictive as narcotics.…
Are we becoming slaves to our smartphones? And are we afraid to admit it?
BY: JACK M. Do you place your smartphone on the night table beside your bed, or worse yet, under your pillow? Or maybe you’ve splurged a couple of paycheques on a waterproof Galaxy S5 just so you don’t feel disconnected…
Boy, psychosis was one hell of a drug
I think it was midnight, but it could have been 6 p.m. for all I know. I was in some space time vector that was completely unfamiliar to me. There were strange owl men hanging from the branches of a…
Cheap suburban thrills have weighty consequences
BY: SAREEMA HUSAIN It’s a Wednesday and I find myself sinking into my living room couch. If I stare at my ceiling long enough without blinking, it’ll start to move. An unexpected giggle lurches out of my throat and my…
Social media is the debilitating Crack of a crippled generation of addicts
BY: KAROUN CHAHINIAN Refresh. Re-refresh. It’s the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before going to sleep. Photo by: yipengge Yup, you’re checking your social media profiles to see if you received…
Skateboarding coach used travel and ayahuasca to overcome substance abuse
BY: MICHAEL LYONS In this world of post-secondary degrees and political correctness, Netflix and net income, self-help books and selfie-sticks, iPhones and IPAs, crushing banality and cutting mediocrity, most of us just want an authentic experience; for a moment when…
Former Bumfights star went from homelessness to being a property manager, activist and author
BY: TED BARNABY Former “Bumfights” star, Rufus Hannah, has since retired from a life of homelessness and alcoholism to become a property manager, activist, and author. “Bumfights” first aired on the Internet in 2002, a product of Indecline Films—a less…
Scientists discover a hormone that turns you into a cuddle addict
BY: KHADIJA KHAN It’s a no-brainer TLC improves intimacy in relationships, but did you know cuddling can be addictive? No, seriously you can become biologically addicted. This is because our bodies release a hormone, oxytocin, which makes us feel more…