Addictions

I went into an anesthesiology residency and began my love affair with Fentanyl, a narcotic-anesthetic that we use all the time. I saw how great it made patients feel. I tried it intravenously. With Fentanyl, if you use it once, you are hooked. It removed every trace of anxiety and tension I had felt. But I never became so high that I felt detached; I felt efficient and in control. My mistake was in thinking I would always feel this way. Getting Fentanyl was ridiculously easy.

Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to study tearing down part of the Men's Central Jail and replacing it with a facility designed for mentally ill and drug-addicted prisoners. The new facility could save the county millions of dollars and offer inmates a better chance of rehabilitation, according to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who proposed the idea. Yaroslavsky has opposed earlier plans to spend up to $1.4 billion to renovate or replace the Men's Central Jail and the adjacent Twin Towers Jail.

After putting in a full day at his computer technician job, a 30-year-old Internet game player known as Ebaid went home, logged on to a game called "EverQuest" and started his night job. His game character donned armor, slapped on his sword and began slaying beasts so he could make some real money. Hail the rise of yet another strange creature of the Internet revolution--the professional online game hunter. Ebaid played for hours, slaying every computer-generated monster on his screen.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky wants the board to consider tearing down part of the troubled Men's Central Jail and building a facility to house mentally ill and drug addicted inmates, which he says would offer all prisoners a better chance of rehabilitation while potentially saving the county millions of dollars. Supervisors have been struggling over what to do with their aging and overcrowded jails for more than a year. Sheriff Lee Baca, who oversees the nation's largest jail system, initially called for spending nearly $1.4 billion to replace or renovate the Men's Central Jail and the adjacent Twin Towers, but the price tag was more than supervisors would accept.

She said she only smoked heroin, but there were needle bruises on her neck. She said she loved her boyfriend, but she stood on a corner and offered herself to others. She said she was a girl, but then remembered she had become a woman. She said she wanted to quit, but she knew she wouldn't. Across town in a brick chapel, Father Jon Atle Wetaas lighted three votive candles. "These are for peace and reflection," the priest said. "We never know what we'll meet out there."

Their day begins at 6 a.m. and ends with lights-out at 9 p.m. They cannot drive cars or watch television in their rooms. Instead, they spend hours pacing the white beaches here, their world limited by the edge of the aquamarine water and the yellow lines on the paved parking lot outside their hotel. They are captives in paradise, this group of obese men and women who dwell in this small resort town.

When we got wind of a new show on TLC called "Freaky Eaters," we couldn't resist. Based on the UK show of the same name, the premise is fairly simple: Take people who have bizarre eating habits and rehab them. In 22 minutes. By "freaky," the producers aren't always referring to adult picky eaters, men and women who find textures and flavors of most foods unpalatable to the point of throwing up if they eat, say, a tomato or a piece of meat. The people profiled on this show have issues with specific foods or food groups, always with a psychological component -- the young man who has devoured nothing but pizza since he dropped out of volleyball; the father of two who finds safety in eating at least three cheeseburgers -- and nothing but cheeseburgers -- a day; and the woman who, after getting divorced, turned to sugar to console herself, gradually working it into an all-day, everyday thing.

Tiger Woods, who recently admitted to multiple extramarital affairs, said he is receiving treatment. David Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed professor on the TV show "Californication," underwent rehab in 2008. Dr. Drew Pinsky has launched a reality series dealing with the subject. Sex addiction talk seems to be everywhere. But mental health experts are split on what underlies such behavior. The American Psychiatric Assn. has proposed that out-of-control sexual appetites be included as a diagnosis in the next edition of the psychiatrists' bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to be published in 2013.

Frequent trips to the beach could mean more than fun in the sun. New research shows that some people who regularly bask in the sun's rays qualify as tanning addicts. "Most people know that UV light causes skin cancer and premature aging," says lead scientist Richard Wagner, a dermatologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. "Like others with substance abuse disorders, people who seem addicted to the sun find it hard to stop tanning."

Vaccines to help people recover from such addictions as nicotine, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines now appear scientifically and medically achievable after doctors reported Monday that a vaccine to treat cocaine dependence had produced a large enough antibody response to reduce cocaine use in 38% of addicted individuals. Those results come on the heels of last week's announcement that the federal government would fund a large clinical trial of a nicotine vaccine based on earlier promising studies.

Re "Felons allowed to help addicts, a report finds," May 14 The fact that addiction counselors in California who are sex offenders and other types of felons are allowed to provide addiction treatment is just the tip of the iceberg in a fundamentally flawed system of addiction care throughout the United States. Addiction is a complex disease for which there are effective, evidence-based treatments. But unlike other diseases, the majority of the 40 million people in need of treatment do not receive anything that approximates evidence-based care.

Josh Hamilton said he was assured by doctors this week that the allergies that lead to occasional sinus and throat discomfort and dizziness were not caused or exacerbated by his heavy cocaine use from 2002-2005. "You have a hallway up the middle of your nose and sinus cavities on each side," said Hamilton, whose addiction to drugs and alcohol led to a ban from baseball from 2003-2005. "When you breathe air, it goes up and down the hallway. "Same thing when you do drugs, it goes up the hallway, not into the sinus cavities.

California's lax rules governing who can work as substance abuse counselors have allowed sex offenders and other felons to treat addicts with little to no scrutiny by the state, according to a report by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes released Monday. California does not require a criminal background check for drug and alcohol counselors, nor does it ask applicants to report their criminal histories, according to the report, which found that at least 23 sex offenders have been permitted to work as counselors since 2005.

I've tumbled down another rabbit hole, wound up in Long Beach, which isn't a worst-case scenario, though close. The cars here all need mufflers, the young fans need more clothes. What kind of sordid little event is this? Indy car racing had always been pretty much a mystery to me, then it split off into two separate circuits, then NASCAR got huge (overwhelming it), then suddenly the big names aged out of the sport. Or worse, died. Sure, more pretty-boy drivers came along, but they seemed like robots.

A ruthlessly self-aware political wife reconsidering her choices. A sensual socialite facing down an oppressive age with informed good humor. A group of young women so busy defying social expectations they've forgotten to have any of their own. A working mother with a gift for passionate stillness. A recently recovered drama addict determined to save the world. A bipolar CIA operative, an optimistic bureaucrat, a frightened sex slave turned canny warrior. The female leads of "House of Cards," "Parade's End," "Girls," "The Good Wife," "Enlightened," "Homeland," "Parks and Recreation" and "Game of Thrones" are very different sorts of women who share one important trait: We have never seen their like before.

What do you think is the leading cause of accidental death in California? If you said car accidents, you were wrong. In 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 3,200 people in the state died in automobile crashes, while 3,561 people died of drug overdoses, the bulk of them involving prescription pills. That high number of deaths is particularly tragic because we have a powerful weapon against drug overdoses, and it isn't used nearly as often as it could be. Naloxone (trade name: Narcan)

Ronald Siegel's theory on drugs ("Artificial Paradise," by Bob Sipchen, Aug. 14) was interesting and correct when stating "Just say no" is woefully inadequate. I also agree that every society, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated has had a need to alter consciousness--like the great American ritual of getting drunk on New Year's Eve. However, Siegel does not seem to take into account the fact that most people alter consciousness only occasionally--like one takes an aspirin for a headache.

Tiger Woods was never the sort of athlete to get involved with social issues, not like Muhammad Ali protesting the Vietnam War or Martina Navratilova championing gay rights. But the scandal enveloping the superstar golfer has prompted national debate on several fronts, touching upon the intersection of celebrity and private life, raising questions about whether any athlete should be considered a role model. Now comes a new topic: Sex addiction. A spate of unconfirmed news reports and blog items this week have Woods checking into a private clinic in Mississippi to treat an alleged addiction to sex. Regardless of whether the reports are true, they have people talking about something that ranges far outside the world of sports.

While Cory Monteith's character on "Glee" decides what he wants to be when he grows up, Monteith in real life has decided to enter rehab.  The actor "has voluntarily admitted himself to a treatment facility for substance addiction," his rep told the Ministry on Monday. "He graciously asks for your respect and privacy as he takes the necessary steps towards recovery. " Monteith's "Glee" costar and real-life love interest Lea Michele, 26, passed along her good wishes publicly.