“You want to feel better? Take a pill. You want to get better? Face the truth.”

—Ed.

EMINEM: New Album “Relapse” Finally Drops Today

Eminem's new CD "Relapse"in stores on Tuesday May 19th.

The stepfather-homosexual-incest-rape thing aside, Relapse seems worth the wait. It’s been nearly 5 years since Eminem went off the music grid—an absence he is attributing to his pharmaceutical addiction. Primarily Valium and painkillers.

“I fall in bed with a bottle of meds and a Heath Ledger bobblehead”

The tracks on this one take me back to Eminem’s early major-label releases The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP, in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Em is best when he turns the pen on himself, and he doesn’t disappoint on Relapse.

This latest album reads like a lyrical memoir of pharmaddiction. Highly recommended.

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My interview with Dr. Michael Stein, author of “THE ADDICT: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year”

"The Addict" by Michael Stein

I would like to thank Dr. Stein for granting me this interview,
which took place via e-mail. –Brian G.

• Buy the book
• About Michael Stein

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Swallow

Your treatment program, as discussed in the book, revolves around the use of buprenorphine. In your opinion, what would make someone who is addicted to painkillers a good candidate for this form of treatment?

Dr. Stein

I’ve found buprenorphine to be helpful for anyone interested in getting out of the drug chase, who is willing to commit to regular medical office visits over a good number of months, and is not abusing other substances such as cocaine, benzodiazepines or alcohol. While certainly not the answer for everyone, the long-term success rates with buprenorphine are as good or better than any other existing treatment for opiate users.

Off Topic: Local: Poetry Reading tonight in NEPA

NYC poets ICE and Jane Ormerod read tonight @ 8:15 @ Paper Kite Press in Kingston, PA.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers: No Booze for Bums!

"Buddy, can you spare a benefits card?"

Finally, lawmakers in the PA House of Representatives are getting serious about the big issues. The issues that us taxpayers really care about. That keep us awake at night…

Like welfare recipients using their benefit cards to buy alcohol for instance. Personally, I can’t tell you how outraged I was to find out that this may-or-may-not be a problem! The measure also bans the use of child support payments for alcohol purchases. Which I’m guessing may-or-may-not be a problem as well!

Godamn welfare rats using my hard-earned tax dollars to [maybe] buy alcohol! Thank God I can count on my elected officials to squash this [hypothetical] epidemic!

See, dear readers, what you probably don’t know is, because Pennsylvania is not your typical state—we’re fond of calling ourselves a Commonwealth (even though we fit no accepted definition of said)—we have some nifty Quakery-type outfits like the PLCB. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. That’s right… you guessed it… the fucking State runs the liquor stores!

So, for fun lets pretend that this problem actually exists—neither the State Department of Public Welfare nor the Liquor Control Board compile statistics on such purchases (read: they don’t even fucking know if it actually happens). Why do we need another fucking law for this!?!

Can’t Governor Edward G. Rendell (D) or Liquor Control Board Chairman Patrick J. Stapleton, III—fucking do something and actually manage the fucking operation? Set policy. Employ technology. Something. Something other than perpetuating stereotypes of people they don’t even know and wouldn’t speak to if they did.

How much taxpayer-funded booze do you suppose is purchased every year for official functions, etc.  in Harrisburg?

I’m sorry if this comes off like a rant. But these people are just fucking assholes.

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