Free Republic

The Seattle homeless population is the tragic result of failed policies. But it’s not just a problem — it’s a manufactured disaster, enabled and exacerbated by left-wing policies that have done nothing but invite more homelessness while refusing to address its root causes. A new study from the Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness explains how dire the situation truly is in Seattle. The study lays out in devastating detail how Seattle’s approach has not only failed but made everything worse. The city’s leaders, obsessed with progressive ideology over practical solutions, have created a system that draws homeless individuals from outside the...

Gambling addiction has soared since the legalization of sports betting in most American states, reveals a new study. Researchers found a “dramatic” increase in sports betting and gambling addiction help-seeking since the landmark Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision in 2018 paved the way for states to legalize gambling on sports. Since the ruling, researchers from the University of California San Diego Qualcomm Institute and School of Medicine found a “staggering” growth in the sportsbook industry. The number of states with operational sportsbooks grew from one in 2017 to 38 last year while total sports wagers skyrocketed from US $4.9...

According to recent statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2022, approximately 991,000 people over the age of 12 in the United States misuse fentanyl. This data does not specify the exact number of people addicted to fentanyl, as misuse can include non-addictive use, but it provides a significant insight into the scale of the problem. For a more precise figure on addiction specifically, one would need to consider those with an opioid use disorder where fentanyl is the primary substance involved. However, specific statistics on just fentanyl addiction are less commonly delineated in national...

Researchers find that hornets have several copies of the gene responsible for producing the enzyme that breaks down alcohol.A new discovery from researchers at Tel Aviv University has identified a surprising champion of alcohol tolerance – the Oriental hornet. In their recently-published study, the researchers put the Oriental hornet in the spotlight, where it stands alone — and completely sober — as the only known animal capable of consuming high concentrations of alcohol continuously without experiencing any adverse effects. This finding could revolutionize scientists’ approach to alcohol-related research. “This is a remarkable animal that shows no signs of intoxication...

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Three things stand out within a few minutes of talking to Beverly Aikins: Her grandchildren are her everything, she is deeply grateful she has earned her nursing license back, and the mother of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), the Republican vice presidential nominee, has found redemption and peace through helping others struggling with addiction. Aikins said it is a life of purpose. “I want people who are struggling with addiction or who have family members who are struggling with addiction to know that recovery is possible, and you get back so much more from recovery than you ever...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The man accused of pointing a rifle into the golf course where former President Donald Trump was playing last weekend, was known in his hometown as something of a bad actor. “Weird” is how one of Ryan Routh’s former neighbors in Greensboro described him. She told reporters he once had a horse in his house and that he also kept guns. A man, who like the first neighbor asked not to be identified for fear of being associated with Routh, says he didn’t know the 58 year old well but got a similar vibe. “I mean, [he]...

So many things can keep you from seeing your loved ones in person, from busy schedules to long distances to a rather unexpected pandemic. Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, the people we miss are often only a phone call or text message away. But if you're someone who's more prone to typed out messages than verbal ones, you may want to reconsider. According to science, if you want to feel more connected to the people you're talking to, you should call them instead of texting. A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that communication interactions that...

People working in pregnancy help, increasingly those in maternity housing, are responding to pregnant women struggling with such addictions through various means, guided by a white paper written by the Maternity Housing Coalition. “It was written because we were talking to homes and seeing such a high incidence rate [of addiction],” said Valerie Harkins, director of the Maternity Housing Coalition, a project of Heartbeat International. “At the time, it was a notable increase in conversations with homes experiencing struggles with women who have a history of substance abuse or even currently struggling with maintaining their sobriety,” Harkins said. The white...

n the month before Mathew Perry’s death, a doctor the actor contacted to acquire ketamine called him a “moron” in a text message, according to federal prosecutors. A dealer who authorities say supplied the drug to Perry referred to him as “Chandler” — the sarcastic yet sweet-natured character he played on the hit television show “Friends,” court documents say.

The wealthy are doing just fine at the moment, but they don’t seem to understand that much of the country is deeply hurting right now. 59 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. economy is currently experiencing a recession, and that is because most of them are personally experiencing economic pain. Literally just about everything is substantially more expensive in 2024, more major layoffs are being announced with each passing day, and thousands of businesses are going bankrupt. We haven’t seen a tsunami of economic suffering like this in a long time.If you live in a wealthy area in a...

Sean Burroughs, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist, Little League World Series winner and former first round MLB pick, died Thursday, the California-based Long Beach Little League organization announced Friday. He was 43. Burroughs died of a cardiac arrest, his mother, Debbie, told the Southern California News Group via text, the San Bernardino Sun reported. According to Doug Wittman, Long Beach Little League president, Burroughs was found unresponsive next to his vehicle at the Long Beach complex after dropping his son off for a game Thursday, The Sun reported.

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Drug cartels from Mexico are operating in Hawaii, making and pushing deadly drugs including methamphetamines and fentanyl. New tougher penalties akin to murder charges are aiming to take them down. Authorities told KHON2 that the big cartels are ramping up business not just south of the border but right here in our island state. The top federal law enforcement official in Hawaii warns of the dangers not just to drug users, but to drug pushers once caught. Authorities have seen a big shift in recent years to Hawaii’s most dangerous drugs methamphetamine and fentanyl especially coming mostly...

Sprawled languidly on an ornate silk rug in the palatial home of oil-heiress Ann Getty for a 2004 magazine shoot, San Francisco's new Mayor and his glamorous wife looked entirely deserving of the Harper's Bazaar headline: 'The New Kennedys'. Clearly, the couple thought the glossy fashion mag's Camelot comparison fitting, too. 'Do I think he could be President?' San Francisco's First Lady wondered aloud. 'Absolutely, I'd gladly vote for him.' Whether she still might two decades later seems distinctly unlikely even if the question is, ironically, suddenly more relevant than ever. For she is Kimberly Guilfoyle, now fiancée of Donald...

The ex-head of the state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports was busted in Queens for drunken driving last week — and allegedly was so plastered that she slammed into parked cars and urinated on herself. Arlene González-Sánchez, 68, had a blood-alcohol content of .20 — or two and a half times the legal limit of .08 — and at one point she uttered to the cop who pulled her over, “Commissioner,” the Queens District Attorney’s Office said Monday. The former commissioner — who left her top job in 2021 after 10 years — was arraigned Saturday for driving under...

KEY POINTS: * Patients taking diabetes and weight loss drugs say they’ve also noticed changes in their cravings for alcohol, nicotine, opioids and some compulsive behaviors, such as online shopping and gambling. * These anecdotal reports add to the growing list of potential benefits of GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy beyond shedding unwanted pounds. * Several studies in animals back up those reports, but more research needs to be done in humans to prove that those treatments can curb addiction. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heather Le Biller shed 9 pounds within the first week of taking Novo Nordisk ’s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic...

It didn’t take long for Oregon to realize decriminalizing hard drugs was a bad idea. On Tuesday, Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, signed legislation that recriminalizes drug possession, reversing Measure 110, which 58 percent of voters approved in 2020. By August, however, 56 percent of Oregonians disapproved after a major uptick in overdose deaths and addiction in the state. Lawmakers from both parties got to work drafting legislation to reverse the measure.

Cullan Mais used to shoplift almost every day. The 31-year-old would often travel from his home in Cardiff to towns such as Abergavenny where he would then steal up to £4,000 worth of goods in a day. “We’d park up on the one end of town and we’d hit the shops,” he told ITV Cymru Wales while visiting Abergavenny for the first time since kicking his habit. “We’d take the stuff back, we’d drive back around to this side of town and do the same here. “There’s certain opticians up here, pharmacies, clothing shops, that were hit frequently. I would...

<p>Chrissy Reifschneider had just left rehab to treat her heroin addiction in 2017 when she started taking tianeptine, popularly dubbed “gas station heroin." The 41-year-old from Alabama was struggling with low energy, so a family member who worked at a gas station recommended she try the pills.</p>

A self-proclaimed “vaping addict” is calling for the devices to be banned after her right lung collapsed twice and she suffered permanent scars. “You never think this type of thing will happen to you — but it happened to me. It felt like my lung was on fire,” Wisconsinite Karlee Ozkurt, 20, told SWNS. “I fell into the trap of thinking vaping was cool,” Ozkurt confessed. “But it’s stupid. I didn’t realize until it was too late.” Ozkurt’s plea follows a recent study that found that 11.3% of American high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days...

Three years after Oregon voted to de-criminalize drug offences - residents are now begging to reverse their decision after seeing an astonishing number of deaths from opioid overdoses. In 2020 - Oregon voters approved a measure to decriminalize the possession of all drugs including heroin and cocaine. The proposal, known as Oregon Ballot Measure 110, passed with 58.8 percent support. Now residents of the liberal state are crying out to their politicians to do something about the open-air drug markets that their cities have turned into. Opioid deaths in Oregon have gone up from 280, before the de-criminalization was voted...