Colorado lawmakers who are concerned about rising gambling addiction and betting scandals in professional sports filed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit sports betting apps from offering proposition bets on individual athletes’ performances.
The bipartisan responsible gaming bill — SB26-131 — would also attempt to slow down gambling habits by eliminating credit card usage on sports betting apps, limiting the number of deposits a person can make into an account, and banning push notifications to gamblers’ cellphones from betting companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
“Frankly, the more I looked into i,t the more I became really, really alarmed by everything that has happened as a consequence of legalized sports betting and, in my view, placing very few restrictions on it,” said Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Ball, who is sponsoring the bill with Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, said the rapid growth of sports betting in Colorado is causing unexpected problems — including financial debts — across the state, and the legislature needs to move to protect people and the integrity of professional and collegiate sports. The bill also has a Democratic and a Republican sponsor in the House.
He cited studies that show more than half of 18-to-22-year-olds have engaged in some form of sports betting, and surveys of high school students that report that between 60% and 80% have gambled for money within the previous 12 months.
“We just didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Ball said of Colorado’s quick entry into legalized sports betting. “It’s just exploded and it’s happened very fast. I think we can see the harm that’s happened very clearly.”
Colorado voters legalized sports betting in 2019 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a law that previously had prohibited states from allowing it. It was one of the first states to launch online sports books in May 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the country, including putting a pause on most sports. But the state’s residents quickly took to sports betting apps as the world returned to normal.
The amount Colorado bettors have wagered has steadily increased each year, with people betting more than $6 billion on sports in 2025. At the same time, the number of people calling the state’s problem gambling hotline has risen, too. The hotline averaged about 350 calls per month in 2025, according to the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado.
Joshua Ewing, executive director of Healthier Colorado, an advocacy group that pushes for better health policies in the state, said new studies are showing a growing rate of addiction among young men and boys who gamble, and addiction is causing financial debt, strained relationships and emotional stress.
“It’s not about rolling back voter-approved betting. It’s about guardrails,” Ewing said of the bill. “The goal is smart policy, not prohibition.”
The sports betting industry is prepared to push back on the legislation.
“Colorado should seize this moment to strengthen its state-regulated market — not hand it back to illegal operators or chase bettors to federally regulated platforms,” said Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance. “This proposal undermines the very consumer protections it claims to advance, rewarding actors who openly flout Colorado law and contribute nothing to the state’s communities by way of tax revenues.”
Maloney said the alliance will continue to engage elected leaders and regulators to reinforce consumer protections and responsible gaming standards that the industry already follows.
Proposition bets, or prop bets, are the moneymakers for sports betting apps because they come with higher odds. In those bets, a gambler could bet on whether Denver Nuggets star Nicola Jokic will score 30 or more points in a game or whether Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will throw more than one touchdown.
Sports betting apps also allow gamblers to make multiple prop bets at one time to form parlays, which further increase odds in favor of the sportsbooks, but are wildly popular with gamblers.
For example, Bet365 on Wednesday offered a parlay bet called “Joker x Jamal,” where a gambler would win if the Nuggets’ Jokic and Jamal Murray both scored more than 20 points, and if Murray had more than 10 assists and Jokic grabbed more than 10 rebounds. A $10 wager could earn $100 if all four things happened in the Nuggets game against the Celtics.
Colorado already prohibits prop bets on college athletes, but Ball and the bill’s other sponsors want to prohibit all of these bets because of the temptation among athletes to take bribes to influence outcomes for gamblers.
The bill also aims to curb the barrage of television advertisements and phone notifications that people see during sporting events.
It would prohibit advertisements for sports betting apps between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. It would also ban the betting companies from sending push notifications or text messages to gamblers that solicit bets or deposits.
Revenue from Colorado’s sports betting market goes to the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which awards grants to various projects around the state that protect and conserve lakes, streams and groundwater.
Ball did not anticipate that the bill would impact those projects, saying sports gambling continues to grow in Colorado every year.
“Any impact that this has on revenue of the sports betting industry is going to be vastly outweighed by the growth of the industry and how much more tax money is coming into Colorado year over year,” he said.
This is the second bill filed this month that addresses gambling in Colorado. Last week, a group of legislators filed a bill that would block the Colorado Lottery Commission’s plans to open online lottery ticket sales.
new video loaded: Why Tech Giants Are Accused of Causing Social Media Addiction
In a series of landmark trials, plaintiffs are alleging that Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube caused personal injury through addictive products. Our technology reporter Cecilia Kang describes what’s at stake for tech giants and social media users.
By Cecilia Kang, Christina Thornell, Laura Salaberry, Nikolay Nikolov and Thomas Vollkommer
February 12, 2026
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Cecilia Kang, Christina Thornell, Laura Salaberry, Nikolay Nikolov and Thomas Vollkommer
Veteran comedian, actor and Southern California native T.K. Carter has died. He was 69.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived at the actor’s Duarte home Friday evening after receiving a call about an unresponsive male, the Associated Press reported. He was declared dead at the scene. No foul play is suspected, though officials have not yet released a cause of death.
Born Thomas Kent Carter in New York City, Carter was raised in the San Gabriel Valley, according to IMDb.
After several small roles in 1970s sitcoms, including “Good Times,” “The Waltons” and “The Jeffersons,” he found his breakthrough role in the 1982 horror movie “The Thing” as the chef Nauls.
He went on to play teacher Mike Fulton in “Punky Brewster” and Clarence Hull in “The Sinbad Show,” among a host of other film and television credits through the 1980s and ‘90s.
In later decades of his career, he took on consulting roles in addition to on-screen appearances.
He worked with Chris Tucker as a dialect coach on the 1998 film “Rush Hour,” and was brought on to the set of the 1996 movie “Space Jam” to help the film’s star, Michael Jordan, learn lines and feel more comfortable in front of the camera.
“T.K. was a terrific actor, and I wanted him to help Michael with his dialogue,” director Joe Pytka told The Times in 2020.
While Carter was best known for his comedic work, describing himself in his Instagram bio as a writer and performer “born to act and make you laugh,” he also took on more serious roles.
He starred in the 2000 HBO miniseries “The Corner,” a drama in which he played Gary McCullough, a west Baltimore father struggling with addiction.
“I just totally felt for Gary,” Carter told The Times. “I’ve had drug problems and cocaine addiction. I lost my father to a drug-related death. I’ve lost a lot of friends. I was fortunate to come out on the other side and get my life together. But I haven’t forgotten. I kept Gary with me all the time. I slept Gary. I breathed Gary.”
As news of the actor’s passing spread, friends and colleagues took to social media with tributes.
“As a young kid, I looked up to T. K. because seeing an African American actor starring in a major film meant a lot to me. I always felt he was headed for stardom,” entrepreneur Shavar Ross posted on X. “I want to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, his friends, and everyone who loved and admired his work. He will always be remembered and respected.”
A few years back, Phillip West lived on the streets of San Antonio, waiting to die.
He had once held down a sales job at a nonprofit. He paid taxes. He took college courses. He was a part of society — fully human, he said. Back then, he frowned on people suffering from addiction, living and dying outside.
“I didn’t know it could be that bad,” he said. “I didn’t understand how a person could be that lost. And so I had no sympathy for them.”
Even as he started selling drugs for extra cash, he couldn’t imagine falling that low. He felt on top of the world.
But then he was arrested. He served time in prison. And after his release, he couldn’t stay sober.
“It’s horrible,” he said. “It’s a struggle. It’s dark. And you don’t feel anybody understands you. Being homeless and on the street, you almost don’t care what people think. You don’t care what people think. You know they don’t like you, because most of them are hard on you. You know they are judgmental.”
But now Wells is finding his way out of homelessness and addiction, returning to school and dedicating his life to helping others.
Wells told Denverite his story of addiction and recovery at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community, Colorado’s new supportive housing and treatment campus on 560 acres near Watkins, east of the Denver metro.
The Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
He was one of the first five residents at a new facility that the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless sees as a potential “national model” for addressing the intersection of homelessness and addiction.
Sage Ridge, run by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, opened in September. It is the rare kind of place people of all political stripes have been asking for. The nearly 200-bed facility offers housing and treatment, job training, case management and hope for a better future for people who’ve lost nearly everything.
But the path to Sage Ridge has been a hard one.
From a death wish to treatment
West’s friends on the streets of San Antonio were dying around him — including the ones he thought could help him get back on his feet. Every time West saw his mom and son, he was either high or withdrawing. Too ashamed and hoping to protect them, he cut ties, hoping his life would end.
“My son’s with my mom,” he thought. “It’s OK for me to die. I think he’ll be OK in her hands.”
So he was alone.
One day, drug dealers tried to kill his friend, another homeless man, he said; when West tried to defend him, he became their target.
“I tried to help somebody else out,” he recalled. “And they tried to kill me for it.”
Phillip West walks through the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, where he’s lived for the last few months. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Surviving the attack, he went to his mom’s home, where his son was living. West was battered, wearing only one shoe.
“I never wanted my mom to see me like that, and my child also,” he said.
The next day, his mom drove him to Great Oaks, a rehab in Texas where he began his recovery journey.
“It was almost like a resort,” he said. “They had a hot tub and everything, and they had great doctors. The doctors and therapists there were great. And so they helped me see that there’s a different way.”
He met other people who came from the streets, who had recovered from addiction and who were helping other people.
“That gave me hope,” he said. “That’s where my life changed.”
A journey to Colorado — and a devastating crash
When it came time to leave rehab, West feared returning to San Antonio. It didn’t feel safe. So he started looking for other options and found Denver CARES Transitional Residential Treatment — a locked treatment center in the city that allows residents to leave the community for fresh air breaks and eventually to look for housing and work.
He didn’t plan to stay in Denver, but he fell in love with Colorado. So he got a job at the National Western Stock Show complex and started looking for an apartment.
Then, while riding a Lime scooter to work early one morning, he crashed and shattered his leg.
“I was mad at God,” he said.
He wound up at the Stout Street Clinic, a homeless rehab facility, where he healed for a few months. Somehow, he stayed sober through it all — a challenging feat.
Stout Street doctors referred him to CCH’s Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community, a few hours outside of Denver. He stayed there for a stint, and when he learned Sage Ridge was opening, he moved there three months ago — one of the very first guests at the new facility.
Sage Ridge is a 26-mile drive southeast of the Colorado Capitol.
The campus is sandwiched between sprawling Eastern Plains and a towering but oddly scenic landfill that looks more foothill than trash heap.
The Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Future clinic space at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
It’s the site of the former Ridge View Youth Services Center, a school and training program for troubled youth that was shut down by the state of Colorado in 2021 after teens disappeared and fights and drugs tarnished its reputation.
In 2022, state lawmakers passed a bill to prioritize drug and alcohol recovery for people experiencing homelessness. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless was tapped to run the 560-acre campus for drug treatment recovery and long-term supportive housing.
The state has allocated $45 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to renovate the facility and run it for its first two years.
Sage Ridge is the rare recovery center for people experiencing homelessness that’s tranquil, cost-free and led, in part, by residents on a stunning campus that looks more like a community college than an institution.
The Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
A kitchen and common area at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Cathy Alderman, a spokesperson for the Coalition, said Sage Ridge is one of two campuses like it in the country: free to guests and offering permanent supportive housing and medical aid. The other is Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community, also run by the Coalition.
While it’s unclear how much it will cost to run Sage Ridge long term, Fort Lyon’s budget is about $8 million a year.
Sage Ridge has room for nearly 200 guests. There’s a medical area, a football field, basketball courts, dining areas and plenty of room to spread out.
Guests currently have their own rooms, but ultimately they will share dorm-style rooms as the new program reaches capacity.
A staged dormroom at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Unfilled apartments at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The program’s not for everybody. To go to Sage Ridge, you’ve got to want to work on recovery. You have to be either homeless or on the cusp of losing your housing. You need to be 18 or older and a Colorado resident for the past six months.
This isn’t a place a judge can force you to go. You cannot be there as part of your probation or parole. You can’t have violent criminal charges. And sobriety is mandatory.
Phillip West happened to be a perfect fit.
Some of the early participants left because they found Sage Ridge too lonely. But West has appreciated the peacefulness of the place. The longer people stay, the more positive they become, he said.
Around 20 people are living at Sage Ridge as it ramps up. Eventually, there will be nearly 200.
While there, West has earned his peer recovery certificate. And he’s preparing to take college classes again. He’s launched a sobriety podcast and blog — and he has found purpose in helping others.
Chairs are arranged in a circle in a community space at the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Now, when people come to Sage Ridge, he welcomes them. Some are sure they want to be there. Others still feel hesitant.
He doesn’t tell people what to do, how to get sober. But he does share his story and listen to other people’s.
“This is what I’m supposed to do in my life,” West said. “I’m supposed to help others. This is what it is all about. This is what life is about: giving back, just helping each other.”
Soon, he hopes, he will be well enough to reunite with his son.
Phillip West walks through the Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community in Watkins, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, where he’s lived for the last few months. Dec. 31, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
When Ashlee Chaidez’s black Lab mix, Duck, charged toward her and rubbed his face — a little more gray than the last time she had seen him — against her cheek, she knew her struggles over the past several months had been worth it.
Six months ago, Chaidez, 27, and 6-year-old Duck were living out of her car around the Front Range. Chaidez dropped Duck off at doggy daycare to get him out of the summer heat while she delivered orders for Instacart, narrowly earning the money to board her beloved dog.
Chaidez barely broke even financially, was off her mental health medication and needed help, she said. But the thought of giving up Duck — her best friend and reason for getting up in the morning — while she sought inpatient psychiatric care was a blow that felt insurmountable.
After reaching out to animal shelters, Chaidez learned about a program through the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that finds foster caregivers for people’s pets while they recover from addiction, abuse or mental health problems.
Through that program, Duck lived with a foster family while Chaidez got back on her feet.
“One of the main things preventing me from getting help was that I didn’t want to give him up because he’s my family,” Chaidez said. “This gave me the peace of mind to get the help I needed, and I don’t think I would be where I am now without this program.”
The program, Pawsitive Recovery, launched in Denver in 2021 and is so popular that the organization is looking to expand it across the country.
“This program gave me a lot of hope when I didn’t really see any,” Chaidez said.
Serena Saunders got sober from alcohol about five years ago through an inpatient program. The former veterinary technician told her therapist at the time that she wished she could work with dogs while going through recovery. That was the impetus for Pawsitive Recovery, a nonprofit Saunders started out of her Denver home, where she cared for the cats and dogs of people in recovery.
Two years ago, Saunders met an employee with SPCA International who became interested in her work. The longstanding animal advocacy organization hired Saunders and folded her nonprofit into their mission.
“It was probably the best decision of my life,” Saunders said.
Pawsitive Recovery partners with mental health treatment and sober living facilities across Colorado. People who need inpatient care but have pets they don’t want to leave behind get referred to the SPCA and connected with a foster caregiver.
The organization and its host of volunteers care for around 30 to 40 animals at a time — mostly cats and dogs, although Saunders has looked after 10 tarantulas in her office and found temporary homes for guinea pigs, too.
The fosters are typically volunteers from the recovery space — therapists, people in long-term recovery, parents of family members impacted by addiction, Saunders said. (Anyone interested in volunteering or getting connected with the program can find information at spcai.org/our-work/pawsitive-recovery.)
Sometimes, due to challenges like homelessness, the pets have trauma that can lead to behavioral issues, Saunders said. The program partners with a training facility in Brighton that takes on behaviorally challenged animals, she said.
Ashlee Chaidez, right, hugs SPCA volunteer Sara Broene after being reunited with her dog, Duck, after six months apart while Chaidez sought psychiatric care, on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at Hounds Town dog daycare and boarding in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
They also have a standing arrangement with local boarding facility Hounds Town, which can take in pets quickly, Saunders said. A fast placement can be critical if a client is escaping a domestic violence situation and needs to leave right away, she said.
“We are not limited to dogs that are in perfect shape,” Saunders said. “We can take broken ones, too, which is amazing because the dog and the person get to heal simultaneously.”
Pawsitive Recovery commits to fostering pets for six months, giving the person in recovery time to figure out their next move, Saunders said. The SPCA charges $100 per month for a boarding fee, which Saunders described as an accountability tool for the person in recovery.
“It’s part of their responsibility, having a little skin in the game when it comes to the care of their animal,” Saunders said. “If they’re in treatment, a lot of these people are not working, so what we do is set up a fundraiser for them, and as they start rebuilding their life, they can go in and make payments. It’s all situational.”
For Chaidez, the program was life-changing.
She got the medical care she needed, secured a job at a Starbucks in Vail and got her own apartment.
When times in recovery got hard, the thought of reuniting with her furry friend kept her motivated, she said.
Ashlee Chaidez give a kiss to her dog, Duck, after being reunited after six months apart while Chaidez sought psychiatric care, on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at Hounds Town dog daycare and boarding in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
“I didn’t really notice how much he helped me out until I didn’t have him anymore,” Chaidez said. “He’s my best friend. He’s the whole point.”
On the day of reunification — a Saturday in mid-December — Chaidez grew nervous that Duck might not remember her or might be angry with her for leaving him.
But Duck was elated to see his favorite human again.
“I took a big sigh of relief because I made it,” Chaidez said.
That night, when Chaidez crawled into bed with Duck sleeping at her feet, she realized what a big milestone she had achieved.
“I did it,” Chaidez said. “I was in my own place, I have my own bed, my dog is back, and it really clicked. Even though it was so hard to give him up, I made the right decision.”
Abstaining from alcohol for short periods of time — like Dry January — leads to reduced drinking in the long run and various physical and psychological improvements, new research shows.
Researchers at Brown University analyzed 16 studies that evaluated Dry January, the month-long sobriety challenge, and found that participants reported improved sleep, better moods, weight loss, improved concentration and more energy. They continued to drink less alcohol afterward and showed an improved ability to refuse drinks.
Avoiding alcohol for a month also reduces liver fat, improves insulin levels and lowers cancer-related growth factors, Suzanne Colby, one of the study’s authors and a professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences, told the Boston Globe.
Even cutting back on alcohol led to similar benefits, Colby said.
“They still had some reduction in drinking that was sustained and part of that was they still gained confidence for reducing or refusing drinks in social situations, which I think is a big part of the effect: Learning how to navigate socializing without drinking, which can be really challenging to do because they are really intertwined.”
Dry January began in the United Kingdom in 2013. Each year, millions of people participate by vowing to not drink alcohol, or reduce their consumption habits, during January. Participants tend to be younger, female, have higher incomes and a college degree, the Brown University researchers found. Participants also tend to be heavy drinkers.
The analysis, published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism in September, analyzed data from more than 150,000 Dry January participants, mostly from the U.K.
The Dry January participants that found the greatest success in abstaining from alcohol formally registered on the Dry January campaign website, used guides like the Try Dry app or received daily coaching emails, the study found. The campaign’s success at targeting heavy drinkers — a group difficult to reach through intervention programs — led the researchers to recommend expanding outreach on the benefits of the Dry January and investing in tools that keep participants on track.
“The effort leads to sustained moderation: most participants continue to drink less alcohol rather than increasing consumption afterwards,” Megan Strowger, who led the study as a postdoctoral fellow and now works at the University of Buffalo, said in a press release. “Overall, participating in Dry January allows people to pause, reflect and rethink their relationship with alcohol, including how it affects their social life, mental health and physical health.”
Americans have shown a growing wariness to drink alcohol as its health implications have become more publicized. A Gallup poll released in August found that 54% of adults say they drink alcohol. That’s the lowest reported percentage since 1939.
In January, the U.S. surgeon general published an advisory report that linked alcohol use to seven types of cancer. A study published in Marchsuggested alcohol consumption at any level increases the risk of dementia.
For people interested in eliminating alcohol consumption,experts recommend tracking one’s progress, participating in a social environment that supports the goal of staying sober or trying “Damp January,” which consists of cutting back on drinking rather than giving it up entirely.
“There is so much more support for living an alcohol-free lifestyle now,” Colby said in the press release. “It is more socially acceptable than ever to be ‘sober curious’ or alcohol free. Social norms have shifted, in part with the help of influencers on social media sharing the benefits of sobriety and reducing the stigma of not drinking.”
(CNN) — You grab your phone and in thatfirst swipe, you see someone traveling the world. Why aren’t you on vacation? Swipe again, and someone is living off the grid. Wow, shouldn’t you get rid of your laptop? Swipe once more, and a tech CEO is telling you how AI is going to optimize your hustle.
Does it feel like your brain is rotting away?
If it seems as though social media and online content are dragging you around instead of enriching your daily life, you probably relate to Tiziana Bucec, a content creator in Berlin whose social media posts combat a slang term that’s widely used online: “brain rot.”
“I’m making this series because I’m tired of feeling like social media makes us dumber, more anxious and less aware,” she said in her first anti-brain rot video, which then became a series on how social media use impacts the brain and how to moderate use.
Brain rot isn’t a scientific term. It has cometo refer to content that might be funny nonsense, Bucec said. Think Skibidi Toilet or 6-7. But it has evolved into a popular way to complain that excessive use of social media has decreased critical thinking and attention span.
While there’s not much scientific research on brain rot and its possible effects, we can use knowledge about the brain and addiction to infer some possibilities, said Dr. Costantino Iadecola, Anne Parrish Titzell Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and director and chair of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute.
The mechanisms that keep you mindlessly scrolling may be similar to those behind addictions such as drug and alcohol use or gambling. In teens diagnosed with internet addiction, past research has found disrupted signaling between brain regions important for controlling attention, working memory and more. It’s reasonable to expect that the amount of time people spend mindlessly engaging with low-quality content, or brain rot, can have detrimental effects, Iadecola said.
What makes content low quality?
The main culprit of brain rot is low-quality content, which often refers to short-term videos, like those funny cat compilations or that teen doing a viral dance, said Dr. Nidhi Gupta, a pediatric endocrinologist in Franklin, Tennessee, and author of “Calm the Noise: Why Adults Must Escape Digital Addiction to Save the Next Generation.”
“Our attention spans are finite, and when we have so much content competing for our attention span, something essential is going to be missed, whether it is health, whether it is work, relationships or sleep,” Gupta said. “We download that low-quality digital media, that digital noise, into our brain space.”
Short-form content, whether it’s watching someone try on outfits or prank their partner, is designed to give you a big hit of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for reward and motivation, and get you to keep coming back, Iadecola said.
Often, but not always, that content isn’t helping the viewer learn, grow or develop, he added.
Watching a lot of it can prime a brain to expect frequent and explosive bursts of excitement, which can make longer and more deeply engaging forms of media feel boring and inadequate, Gupta said.
Not just a kid problem
Iadecola is most concerned for kids when it comes to brain rot, he said.
As with other addictions, there are ways to address excessive social media use and change a bad habit throughout your life, he added. But young children who areglued to a device, rather than running around on a playground learning to interact with people, may be missingkey milestones.
As children develop, they need a lot of different experiences to form a brain that can learn and develop productively, including emotional, social and facial cues, Iadecola said.
Spending so much time with short-form content is “kind of fast pacing and not really teaching you something that may be useful in the long term, which will eventually affect your ability to learn, and so you’re going to be at a disadvantage,” he noted.
But helping children have a healthy relationship with social media also can mean examining how adults use it, too.
“Screen addiction is not a kid problem anymore. It is a human problem,” Gupta said.
“We as human beings are being role models for kids,” she added. “When we are reaching for our phone while driving, we are silently sending a message in the back seat toward children that it’s OK to do this. So, when they get behind the wheel, they are likely to follow suit.”
Modeling behavior for children is often more effective than lecturing them about what they should –– or should not –– be doing, Gupta added.
Can you still tune it out?
If you’re worried about compilations, fan edits and other lower-quality content, it can be tempting to try to ban it from your feeds and thoseof the kids you may have in your life. That might not be the answer, though.
Whenteens use the term brain rot, it’s an acknowledgment that they are letting their minds not be utilized fully, which is easy to bristle at, said Dr. Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist in Ohio and author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable and Compassionate Adolescents.”
But many of today’s teens are doing more work in school than earlier generations, and every generation has had their ways to disengage that adults in their lives might not have preferred, she added.
“I myself watched a ton of ‘Gilligan’s Island,’” Damour said. “As long as kids are accomplishing the things they need to, being good citizens all around, they absolutely deserve some mindless leisure.”
Want to set limits?
Social media can have benefits for adults, so the goal shouldn’t be complete elimination for everyone, said Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, who studies how digital media affects our lives.
“Set limits if you’re such a person that goes down rabbit holes (and) can spend hours on social media,” she said.
Limits can look like setting up a daily time slot tocheck in with your social media platforms that happens right before something you have to do so you can’t keep scrolling without end, Gupta said.
In addition to limits, deleting the applications and only accessing social media through a browser may also help moderate social media use –– and the potential brain rot, she added. Using it that way puts more effort between you and a scroll, and a browser version is usually less set up to be addictive than an application, she said.
“Willpower does not work,” Gupta said. “Environmental changes matter more.”
Need a little more motivation to cut down? Now is the time to formulateNew Year’s resolutions, and you can start by reducing your consumption or making a plan to set limits come January.
Some might say the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus that opened recently in a former 255-room hotel is undergirded by one of humanity’s seven deadly sins — envy.
The intent is to turn that feeling into a motivational force. For his part, Mayor Mike Coffman prefers to refer to the three-tiered residential system at the homeless navigation center as an “incentive-based program” — one that awards increasingly comfortable living quarters to those showing progress on their journey to self-sufficiency.
“The notion here is (that) different standards of living act as an incentive,” Coffman said in early November during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the campus, which occupies a former Crowne Plaza Hotel at East 40th Avenue and Chambers Road. “The idea is to move up the tiers into much better living situations.”
Clients in the new facility, which opened its doors on Nov. 17, start at the bottom with a cot and a locker. They can eventually migrate to a hotel room, with a locking door and a private bathroom.
But that upgrade comes with a price.
“To get a room here, you have to be working full time,” Coffman said.
It’s an approach that the mayor says threads the needle between housing-first and work-first, the two prevailing strategies for addressing homelessness today. The housing-first approach emphasizes getting someone into a stable home before requiring employment, sobriety or treatment. A work-first setup conditions housing on a person finding work and seeking help with underlying mental health and addiction problems.
“We’re providing a continuum of services that starts with an emergency shelter,” said Jim Goebelbecker, the executive director of Advance Pathways.
Advance Pathways, the nonprofit group that ran the Aurora Resource Day Center before its recent closure, was chosen through a competitive bidding process to operate the new navigation campus in Aurora — with $2 million in annual help from the city. Goebelbecker said the tiered approach at the new facility “taps into a person’s motivation for change.”
The Aurora Regional Navigation Campus’ debut nearly completes a mission that has been in the works for more than three years. It is the fourth — and penultimate — metro Denver homeless navigation center to go online since the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 1378 in 2022.
The bill allocated American Rescue Plan Act dollars to stand up one central homeless navigation center. The plan has since shifted to five smaller centers, with locations in Aurora, Lakewood, Boulder, Denver and Englewood. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs in late 2023 approved $52 million for the centers. The final center, the Jefferson County Regional Navigation Campus in Lakewood, is undergoing renovations and will open next year.
Aurora’s center, with 640 beds across its three tiered spaces, is by far the largest of the five facilities.
Cathy Alderman, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said the opening of Aurora’s navigation campus is “a really big deal.” Aside from serving its own clientele, she expects the center to send referrals to the coalition’s newly opened Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community near Watkins, where people without stable housing go to address their substance-use disorders.
“A person can go to one place and get multiple needs met,” Alderman said, referring to the array of job, medical and addiction treatment services that give homeless navigation centers their name. “We are excited that the new campus is now up and running.”
The new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus, operated by Advance Pathways, photographed in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
‘How do I move up?’
Walking into the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus feels like walking into, well, a hotel.
The swimming pool was removed during renovation, as was a water fountain in the lobby. Everything else stayed, including beds, bedding, furniture — even a stash of bottled cocktail delights. But not the alcohol to go with it.
“They left everything, down to the forks and knives and a wall of maraschino cherries,” said Jessica Prosser, Aurora’s director of housing and community services, as she walked through the hotel’s industrial kitchen.
The kitchen, which was part of the $26.5 million sale of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to Aurora last year, was a godsend to an operation tasked with serving three meals a day to hundreds of people. The city spent another $13.5 million to renovate the building.
“To build a new commercial kitchen is a half-million dollars, easy,” Prosser said.
The layout of the navigation center was deliberate, she said. The hotel’s convention center space is now occupied by Tier I and Tier II housing. The first tier is made up of nearly 300 cots, divided by sex. There are lockers for personal belongings and shared bathrooms. Anyone is welcome.
On the other side of a nondescript wall is Tier II, which is composed of a grid of 114 compartmentalized, open-air cubicles with proper beds and lockable storage. The center assigns residents in this tier case managers to help them treat personal challenges and get on the path toward landing a job.
The Tier II “Courage” space, which offers overnight accommodation for people who are working on recovery, employment and housing pathways at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Tier III residents live in the 255 hotel rooms. They must have a full-time job and are required to pay a third of their income to the program. Residents in this tier will typically remain at Advance Pathways for up to two years before they have the skills and stability to find housing on the outside, Goebelbecker said.
People living in the congregate tiers can house their dogs in a pet room, which can accommodate 40 canines. (No cats, gerbils or fish). The center also doesn’t accept children. Around 60 staff members, plus 10 contracted security personnel, will work at the facility 24/7.
Shining a bright light on the path forward and upward inside the facility — the windows of some of the coveted private rooms are fully visible from the lobby — is an “intentional design feature,” Prosser said.
“How do I move up?” she mused, stepping into the shoes of a resident eyeing the facility’s layout. “How do I get in there?”
The Tier III “Commitment” space, which provides private rooms that will serve people who are in the workforce and are building towards financial independence, seen at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
It’s a system that demands something of the people using it, Coffman said, while at the same time providing the guidance and help that clients will need.
“This is not just maintaining people where they are — this is about moving people forward,” the mayor said.
The approach is familiar to Shantell Anderson, Advance Pathways’ program director. She told her life story during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, bringing tears to the eyes of some in the audience.
A native of Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, Anderson fell in with the wrong crowd. She became pregnant at 15 and got hooked on cocaine. She spiraled into a life on the streets that resulted in her children being sent to an aunt for caretaking.
But through treatment and by intersecting with the right people, she recovered. She earned a nursing degree and worked at RecoveryWorks, a nonprofit organization that operated a day shelter in Lakewood, before taking the job at Advance Pathways.
The Tier I “Compassion” emergency shelter, which provides immediate short-term shelter for those in need at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
“This is a system that honors people’s dignity,” Anderson said, her voice heavy with emotion.
In an interview, she said assuming the burden to improve her situation was critical to her transformation.
“I actually did that — no one gave me anything,” said Anderson, 48. “If it was handed to me, I didn’t appreciate it.”
How much responsibility to place on the people being helped by such programs is still a matter of intense debate by policymakers and advocates for homeless people. The housing-first approach favored by Denver and many big cities across the country is anchored in the idea that work or treatment requirements will result in many people falling through the cracks and staying outside, particularly those who face mental-health challenges.
The Bridge House in Englewood, one of the five metro area navigation centers, follows a “Ready to Work” model that is similar to that of the upper tiers of the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus.
Opened in May, the Bridge House has 69 beds. CEO Melissa Arguello-Green said the organization asks its clients (called trainees) to put skin in the game by landing a job with Bridge House’s help and then contributing a third of their paycheck as rent.
“We help them find employment through our agency so they can leave our agency,” she said. “We’re looking for self-sufficiency that will get people off system support.”
Arguello-Green said she would like to see more coordination between the metro’s five navigation centers, though she acknowledged it’s still in the early going.
“We’re missing that come-to-the-table collaboration,” she said.
Advance Pathways volunteer outreach coordinator Evan Brown organizes the clothing bank before the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus’ grand opening ceremony in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Homeless numbers still rising
Shannon Gray, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, said her department had started convening quarterly in-person meetings across the locations.
“While each navigation campus is unique and reflects community-specific strategies, they are all a part of a regional effort to bring external partners together onsite to provide needed services and referrals,” Gray said. Together, they are “building towards a larger regional system to connect homeless households to a larger network of opportunities.”
The centers are permitted to “tailor their approach to their unique needs and vision,” she said. While Englewood and Aurora use a tiered system, Gray said, the other three centers don’t.
“It is important to understand that DOLA serves as a funder for these regional navigation campuses — we do not oversee their operation or maintenance,” she said.
Denver’s navigation center, which opened in December 2023 in a former DoubleTree Hotel on Quebec Street, offers 289 rooms to those in need, said Julia Marvin, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Housing Stability.
She called the facility an “integral component of Denver’s All in Mile High homelessness initiative,” Mayor Mike Johnston’s ambitious effort to appreciably reduce homelessness in the city. The center is just one of several former hotels and other shelter sites in the system.
Earlier this year, his administration cited annual count numbers showing a 45% decrease in the number of people sleeping on the streets since 2023 — dropping from 1,423 to 785 people, despite overall homelessness continuing to increase in that time.
In fact, homelessness numbers are still going in the wrong direction across the seven-county metro, per the latest Point-in-Time survey from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, which captures a one-night snapshot. The January count revealed that 10,774 people were homeless on the night of the survey, up from 9,977 in the count the year before.
Anderson, the Advance Pathways program director, said the new Aurora facility was opening at just the right time. Despite a recent calming in runaway home values in metro Denver, the $650,000 median price of a detached home in October still demarcated a housing market that was out of reach for many.
“I am excited,” Anderson said of the Aurora navigation campus’ debut. “I’m waiting for people to walk through the door and start the next chapter of their journey.”
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a way to help identify people at risk of overdosing on stimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine.
“We wanted a tool that would help us predict people at high risk in order to be able to provide them with the services and interventions and supports,” said Dr. Rebecca Arden Harris, who specializes in addiction medicine and research at Penn.
Harris and colleagues used data from more than 70 million Medicaid recipients to track emergency department visits related to stimulant overdoses. Then the team identified key risk factors, including diagnosis of substance use disorders, prior overdoses, higher poverty rates, crowded housing and being male.
The motivation for the research is a spike in overdose deaths involving stimulants, Harris said.
Nationwide, fatal overdoses linked to stimulant use jumped from 4,681 in 2011 to 29,449 in 2023 nationwide. Nearly 60% of fatal overdoses between 2021 and 2024 involved stimulants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And while opioids, fentanyl in particular, remain the primary cause of fatal overdoses in Philadelphia, 70% of people who died from opioid overdoses in 2023 had cocaine, meth or other stimulants in their systems. About one-quarter of illicit opioid samples between January and June also contained cocaine or crack, according to the city’s drug-checking program.
People who think they are buying dope on the street may be getting bags with stimulants mixed in. Also, people who use opioids, which are sedatives, sometimes also use stimulants, or uppers, to combat the drowsiness, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
City addressing cardiovascular dangers
In reaction to the spike in overdose deaths involving cocaine and meth, Philadelphia recently started a campaign to educate people about the links among stimulant use, heart disease and overdose risk.
Cocaine and other stimulants increase heart rate and blood pressure and cause vasoconstriction and vasospasm – so people who use them have heightened risks of stroke, heart failure, sudden cardiac death and other cardiovascular problems.
Stimulant use poses other serious health problems, including the potential of meth-induced psychosis and permanent brain damage.
Philadelphia’s outreach focuses on the heart health risks of stimulant use. It also aims to reduce barriers to primary care and help people learn how to talk to providers about stimulants, said Fatimah Maiga, a spokesperson for the health department’s Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction Division.
“We really want people to be able to have an open conversation with their provider, make sure that they’re reporting their drug history, any symptoms and signs that they’ve experienced that might be related to heart disease, and then talk to their doctor about next steps, what they hope to accomplish from that visit, or continued visits with that provider,” Maiga said.
The campaign’s website lists walk-in primary care clinics around the city. It also has a guide for how to talk to health care providers about substance use and tools for clinicians for assessing people who use stimulants.
Limited of treatment options
Part of the challenge of helping people who use stimulants is that no medication exists to reduce cravings or to help prevent and reverse overdoses.
For people who use opioids, there are medications, like methadone and buprenorphine, which help reduce cravings and dependency. Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, reverses opioid overdoses by temporarily blocking their effects.
Although research is ongoing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved such medications for cocaine or meth addiction. In the meantime, contingency management – which offers monetary or other tangible rewards for people who reach specific goals for reducing or stopping cocaine or meth use – is considered the most effective treatment for people addicted to stimulants.
The health department wants providers to consider a harm-reduction approach, advising that “reduction in stimulant use is often more achievable than total abstinence” and that “reduced use improves health outcomes” and “should be considered a valid, positive outcome for patients who use stimulants.”
Prediction as means to help prevention
Penn’s Dr. Harris hopes the stimulant overdose prediction model she and her colleagues developed will assist in efforts to address the dangers of using cocaine, meth and other stimulants.
Limitations of the study include the fact that it was confined to people with Medicaid and only looked at overdoses that resulted in emergency department visits. While more research is needed, Harris said the tool has potential for integration into public health surveillance systems. It could help identify not just individuals at risk of stimulant overdoses, but also neighborhoods that could benefit from targeted interventions, she said.
“Part of prevention is being able to match the intervention and resources to the individuals who would most benefit from it,” Harris said.
Much of life went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic — work, school and even some doctor’s appointments. So did many support groups for people with alcohol use disorder.
But people who attended Alcoholic Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety and other mutual-help groups in person were “significantly” more likely to maintain sobriety than people who participated in these groups only online, a recent study shows.
“Online meetings are convenient and widely available, so they could theoretically support many people who face barriers to in-person attendance, such as young people and rural populations,” Sarah Zemore, the study’s principal investigator, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, attending online meetings exclusively was associated with poorer outcomes.”
The study, led by researchers at Stanford University and the Alcohol Research Group, used data from more than 1,000 adults who took part in a previous study conducted between 2015 and 2021. It found that people who only attended mutual-help groups online were about half as likely to report that they had maintained their sobriety. At a three-month follow-up, people who attended only online were three times more likely to report problems with alcohol.
People who attended groups in person and online were as likely to maintain abstinence as people who only went to meetings in person.
One of the reasons why people attending only online may have had worse outcomes may have been because they reported lower participation levels in the meetings, researchers said.
Nearly 28 million people in the United States have alcohol use disorder. They have trouble stopping or controlling their consumption of alcohol despite adverse effects on relationships, careers and overall health.
Two years ago, the World Health Organization declared that no level of drinking is safe – not even moderate drinking. In January, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about alcohol consumption increasing the risk for seven types of cancer. He called for warning labels on alcohol about its carcinogenic risk.
Several medications are available to treat alcohol use disorder, including naltrexone, which helps decrease cravings and reduce the amount of alcohol consumed during drinking episodes. Therapy and group supports are also important parts of a full recovery program for alcohol use disorder.
Holli Hammer, the director of nursing at Texas Health’s Addiction Recovery Center, demonstrates the VR headset that is used to help people in recovery practice sobriety.
Ciara McCarthy
cmccarthy@star-telegram.com
Patients at Texas Health’s Addiction Recovery Center are using virtual reality to aid in their recovery, helping them cope with their substance use disorder in a safe and controlled environment.
Texas Health’s Addiction Recovery Center began using virtual reality in treatment in July. The tool helps patients practice going to environments where there might be alcohol or drugs, like a house party or a liquor store. The treatment is based on exposure therapy, which has been in use for more than 20 years.
“Typically with exposure therapy, a therapist would actually perhaps ride with them to the parking lot of the liquor store that they’re familiar with that would create the physiological activation, then they could intervene and begin practicing those skills,” said Dr. Ken Jones, behavioral health clinical officer for Texas Health Resources. “VR kind of allows for us to bring that same cueing response mechanism into a controlled environment here.”
Each patient will practice in the VR setting for as many times as it takes for them to engage with the VR and not be activated, Jones said.
“Hopefully, by the time that they’ve had their third, maybe fourth exposure, we’ll see a trajectory of decrease in their response and an increased confidence in their ability to deploy the tools that we’ve given them,” Jones said.
There are multiple different environments for patients to experience. There’s a house party, a family gathering, and a bar scene, Jones said, all of which can be customized with a particular drink or drug. Inside the virtual reality world, patients can interact with other people, walk throughout the house party or bar, and even practice turning down an offer of alcohol or drugs. The VR world also comes with scents, like beer or wine, that the staff at Texas Health can offer the patient to increase the feeling that the setting is real.
At the 80-bed facility, the response from patients has been “overwhelmingly positive” since they began using it in July, Jones said. Jones added that the VR tool is the only one of its kind in use in the DFW area that he knows of.
“When you don’t provide the reward, the reward being the substance of choice, over time, those feelings will start to decrease, because the body’s not going to keep giving you this massive activation response every time you encounter the stimuli, if you don’t follow it up with the reward,” said licensed professional counselor Stuart Dietzmann.
Research on VR to treat addiction has shown “promising evidence that there could be some benefit,” said Dr. Tyler Wray, an associate professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health. Although the initial research has been promising, Wray said, it’s been limited by small sample sizes and short follow-up periods.
“We definitely do not have a good sense of which substances it’s most effective for at this point,” said Wray, who studies VR in his lab.
Kelly Courtney, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, added in an email that although “no one VR-based treatment has yet been ‘proven’ to be effective,” any treatment for substance use disorder could be adapted for VR, “so it could be useful for any part of treatment/recovery.”
The tool has helped patients successfully learn to urge surf when they’re exposed to triggering environments.
Ciara McCarthy covers health and wellness as part of the Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab. She came to Fort Worth after three years in Victoria, Texas, where she worked at the Victoria Advocate. Ciara is focused on equipping people and communities with information they need to make decisions about their lives and well-being. Please reach out with your questions about public health or the health care system. Email cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
Prison cells once used at the California Institution for Men in Chino. (Photo courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
It’s been nearly a year since Californians overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime measure providing what backers called “mass treatment” for those facing certain drug charges.
But few defendants have found a clear path to recovery under the law, according to new data released by the state.
Prop. 36 gave prosecutors the ability to charge people convicted of various third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felony, which would give them a choice between behavioral health treatment or up to three years in jail or prison. If they accept, they would enter a guilty or no contest plea and begin treatment. Those who complete treatment have their charges dismissed.
In the first six months since the law took effect, roughly 9,000 people have been charged with a treatment-mandated felony, according to the first-of-its-kind report released this month by the state’s Judicial Council. Nearly 15% — or 1,290 people — elected treatment.
So far, of the 771 people placed into treatment, 25 completed it.
The data reflects how different counties are using the law, with the highest number of treatment-mandated felonies charged in Orange County at 2,395. Kings and Napa counties each had one such charge.
San Diego County accounted for roughly one-third — or 427 of 1,290 — cases in which defendants chose to pursue treatment, but did not report how many were placed into treatment or completed it.
The report notes that this missing data contributes to “a substantial portion of the drop-off” in regards to the overall number of people who elected treatment but have not yet been placed.
Francine Byrne, director of criminal justice services at the Judicial Council, said counties are still figuring out how to implement the law — and in many jurisdictions, it can take people a while to opt-in to treatment as they move through the court process.
“It’s not acceptable that so few people are actually going into treatment,” said Jonathan Raven, an executive at the California District Attorneys Association, which supported the measure. “The goal of this ballot measure was to take that population of people who have a substance use disorder and get them help, find them a pathway out of the criminal justice system and dismiss their cases. And that doesn’t seem to be what’s happening across the state.”
Raven said that district attorneys have been trying to implement Prop. 36 based on the will of the voters, but have been doing it “with one hand tied behind their back.”
The measure did not include dedicated funding when voters passed it, which was one of the reasons why Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the measure. Behavioral health experts have long sounded the alarm over the lack of behavioral health treatment and staffing across California, but proponents argued that Prop. 36 would be the great “forcing function” for the state to scale up treatment.
Since the law passed, Republican and Democratic state lawmakers requested upwards of $600 million annually to implement it. Newsom and the Legislature ultimately approved a one-time state budget allocation of $100 million.
On top of that, Newsom last month announced that the state had awarded $127 million in grant funding to build more behavioral health treatment capacity. Those funds were made available through Proposition 47, a 2014 voter-approved measure that reduced the penalties for certain non-violent drug and property crimes and stipulated that the resulting savings would be used for, among other things, substance use disorder and mental health treatment.
None of that funding was available during the time period associated with the report, which looked at case counts between Dec. 18 and April 30.
Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association said the data proves that Prop. 36 “is a fail” — not because people are treatment resistant but because treatment is not available.
“There’s no indication that anything will change,” she said. “Meanwhile, proponents are spending precious county resources on prosecution and incarceration in local jails and saying — magically — some money will appear for treatment. Proponents are the ones preventing those resources from being spent on treatment.”
Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow. CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable.
Dave Ramsey says gambling addicts need ultimatums from their loved ones
Sports betting is a major concern in the money world, Ramsey says
Dave Ramsey, the star of his namesake nationally syndicated finance radio show, recently heard from a 69-year-old caller who says her husband gambled nearly all of their retirement away on sports.
Dave Ramsey has some tough love for spouses of gambling addicts. He says they must give the addict an ultimatum about their betting problem. (Image: Ramsey Solutions)
Telling her story under obvious emotional distress, the woman detailed that her 79-year-old husband has lost almost all of their $1 million retirement portfolio betting on sports.
Saying she only recently became aware that their savings were down to $15K, the woman told Ramsey she began looking into their finances after she found a late notice on their taxes in the mail.
Ramsey has been hosting “The Ramsey Show” for more than three decades. Among the most listened to radio shows in the US, the daily program airs from 2 pm to 5 pm EST on terrestrial radio and podcast outlets, as well as on iHeartRadio and SiriusXM.
Addicts Need Ultimatums
The woman’s husband, who told her he can stop betting at any time and pledged to “get it under control,” needs clear parameters, Ramsey said.
Call a marriage counselor and someone who does addiction counseling,” Ramsey advised. “Both can give you a framework by which you lead them into an ultimatum, and the ultimatum is: you stop cold turkey, you are going to Gamblers’ Anonymous, and you are going to a therapist.”
Ramsey said that she needs to tell her husband that if he gambles another dime, “You will not see me anymore.”
Sports betting is probably the fastest growing addictive problem that we’re running into in the money world,” Ramsey said during a February show. “It’s out of control, sports betting. You can bet on anything, and they [addicts] are betting on everything. Some of you are losing your entire futures betting on someone else earning a living.”
An April report on Ramsey’s website — Ramsey Solutions — said one’s “odds of getting rich off sports betting apps are low.”
“It takes a huge bankroll to actually make money long term. You’d have to bet hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to see any kind of real money from it,” wrote Ramsey Solutions finance expert George Kamel.
“Don’t use betting on the big game as an investment plan — no matter how much Big Rick with the cheese on his head at the Packers game says you should. Smart investors who want to build wealth the right way don’t gamble on sports betting. They keep their investments diverse in the market and have a long-term mindset,” Kamel continued.
Problem Gambling Rate Softens
In July, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) released a national survey suggesting that the spike in risky gambling behavior observed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat subsided.
The National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences found that nearly 20 million American adults reported at least one problematic gambling behavior “many times” in the past year. That’s down from 27.5 million in 2021, though that level remains elevated compared with 2018.
“This new research shows that the nationwide efforts in responsible gambling and public awareness are making a positive impact, but the work is far from over,” said Derek Longmeier, NCPG president. “We must build on this momentum by embedding problem gambling into the broader public health infrastructure and investing in what we know works: collaboration across prevention, education, treatment, and research with the support of the government and communities.”
Obsessing isn’t just for humans. In a study out today, scientists have found evidence that dogs, too, can become addicted to certain objects—and especially, their favorite toy.
The researchers observed dozens of dogs as they interacted with their most prized toys. About a third of dogs exhibited addiction-like behaviors, such as becoming especially agitated when the toy was kept from them, they found.
These findings might come as no surprise to dog owners. But the researchers say their work is the first to empirically document the phenomenon.
“This is the first scientific study on addictive-like behavior in dogs,” study author Stefanie Riemer, a behavioral biologist from the Messerli Research Institute for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, told Gizmodo.
Ball junkies
Riemer notes that many pet owners and trainers use a (rather on the nose, it turns out) nickname for dogs that seemingly just can’t get enough of their toys: “ball junkies.”
But it’s never been clear whether this sort of behavior actually mirrors how addiction manifests in people. “After all, just being highly motivated, or highly aroused or very toy-focused does not imply an addiction,” Riemer notes.
Scientists already knew that it’s possible to induce addictive-like behaviors in animals like rats, which has allowed us to better study potential treatments for substance use disorders or other addictions in humans. But it’s still an open question as to whether animal besides humans can develop addictions, the authors said.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers tried to apply the criteria we use to determine addiction in humans to dogs.
The study involved 105 dogs, with the most common breeds being Malinois, Border Collies, and Labrador Retrievers. All of the dogs were described as toy-motivated by their owners. For the experiments, the researchers used toys the owners said their dogs would likely love the most, and also included the dog’s favorite toy at home if the owners brought it with them.
Excessive and maladaptive
Across all the tests, the researchers found that 33 dogs exhibited addictive-like behaviors with the toys. These behaviors included dogs staying laser focused on the toy if it was kept in the room but placed somewhere unreachable; dogs refusing to play with their owner in other ways; and even dogs turning down a free treat.
“This could indicate that the high motivation for playing conflicts with other important activities—the dogs are willing to forgo other activities or rewards when they are focused on the toy, even when they cannot access it,” Riemer explained. “It shows that the toys have a high salience for these dogs and that they are craving access to these toys.”
Perhaps the most illustrative example of addictive-like behavior was seen when the toys were entirely removed, she added. Some dogs were simply unable to calm down for up to 15 minutes after the toys were gone, their heart rates remaining elevated. That sort of prolonged arousal and high frustration seen in these dogs, Riemer said, suggests their motivation for toy playing could be considered “excessive and maladaptive”—an important criteria for diagnosing human addiction.
The team’s findings were published Thursday in Scientific Reports. A video of one of the dogs in these tests can be seen below and on YouTube.
More left to learn
The researchers say their findings should be taken with some caution. It’s hard to accurately measure and classify addiction in people, let alone non-verbal animals. And there’s still much to learn about the potential nature of addiction in dogs.
One important lingering question is exactly how and why these behaviors can emerge. The researchers found some evidence that the seeds for excessive toy-playing tend to show up in puppies. They’re also conducting a follow-up study examining whether certain breeds, particularly some kinds of working dogs, are more predisposed to toy addiction than others. Because this study focused on dogs already known to be toy-motivated, though, it’s not clear just how prevalent addictive-like behaviors are in dogs generally.
All that said, Riemer doesn’t want owners to overly worry about their dogs if they simply love playing with their toys in healthy amounts.
“Many dogs colloquially referred to as ‘ball junkies’ are just highly motivated, but they have no problems when the play is stopped,” she said. “I think toy play is a great reward for many dogs, but for the ‘extreme’ dogs, steps should be taken to reduce their fixation on toys.”
Riemer is now working on a grant to explore ADHD in dogs, since it seems to have lots of parallels with addictive-like behaviors in their research. Other studies have also suggested dogs might be a good model for better understanding ADHD in people.
Flavored vape products that critics say are aimed at youth, during a news conference aimed at Denver’s City and County Building on Monday, Dec. 12, 2024.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Michael Bloomberg is making an expensive statement in Denver’s referendum battle over flavored nicotine products.
Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist and the former mayor of New York City, is by far the biggest donor in the political fight. He gave $1.5 million last month to the anti-nicotine campaign that wants to keep Denver’s “flavor ban” in place.
That followed another contribution of $73,500 from him in August, and it means the supporters of the ban now have a 4-to-1 lead in fundraising. That’s according to campaign filings posted Monday by the Office of the Denver Clerk and Recorder.
The move drew quick criticism from backers of the repeal, who are asking voters to abolish the ban and once again allow the sale of flavored vaporizers and other products in Denver.
“The real David vs. Goliath story is out-of-state billionaire money flooding Denver to keep the flavor ban in place,” said Phil Guerin, who owns the vape shop Myxed Up Creations on Colfax Avenue, as well as locations in four other Colorado cities, via email.
CPR reached out to Bloomberg for comment but hasn’t yet gotten a response.
The pro-flavor ban campaign calls itself “Denver Kids vs Big Tobacco” and is supported by anti-tobacco, education and health groups. It has now raised more than $2 million.
Those opposing the ban, including vape shops and multinational corporations that sell flavored products, have raised almost $470,000, according to the filings.
Bloomberg has fought for tobacco and smoking regulations before
Bloomberg, a longtime tobacco opponent, served as New York City’s mayor for three terms. He has officially been a Republican, independent and Democrat, and ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 2020.
As mayor he championed a number of public health initiatives, including a ban on indoor smoking at workplaces, a hike on the cigarette tax, an increase in the legal age to buy tobacco products and a ban on flavored e-cigarette products including menthol flavors.
Bloomberg, who is 83, ranked #14 on Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2025, with a net worth of $105 billion. He cofounded Bloomberg LP, a financial information and media company, in 1981.
How the people working to repeal the ban reacted
The Denver City Council banned flavored tobacco sales in December. Mayor Mike Johnson signed the measure. Opponents started a petition drive to challenge the ban and successfully gathered nearly 11,000 valid signatures. That was enough to put the repeal on the ballot in November.
Guerin said a coalition of Denver citizens and family- and minority-owned businesses “stood up for our city” — collecting thousands of signatures in Denver “to give voters a voice.”
“While their side spends millions from New York to dictate Denver’s policy, we believe Denver should decide Denver’s future — not an outside billionaire,” Guerin said.
The opponents of the flavor ban are operating under the name CitizenPower! Among the nearly $500,000 raised: almost $173,000 from the Rocky Mountain Smoke Free Alliance and $75,000 each from the tobacco giant Altria and the company Philip Morris International (PMI).
The “no” campaign has been running a 30-second ad on Facebook.
Supporters of the ban demurred from mentioning Bloomberg
In a statement, the Yes on 310 campaign said they have broad support from doctors, nurses, individuals and public health organizations like the American Lung Association, with endorsements from organizations including the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
The statement did not specifically mention Bloomberg.
“Our supporters are committed to protecting the health of Denver kids and stopping Big Tobacco from hooking them into a lifetime of nicotine addiction,” said Jodi Radke, regional director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in an emailed statement.
She said she’s confident that Denver voters, “will side with kids over Big Tobacco and vote yes to end the sale of flavored tobacco and protect our kids from a lifetime of addiction.”
Bloomberg has committed more than $1 billion to combat tobacco use globally, according to the website for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, which is one of several organizations funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, a nonprofit affiliated with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, also has given more than $350,000 to the campaign. Health consortium Kaiser Permanente has given $50,000 and the American Heart Association has given $30,000.
The money paid for a number of 30-second campaign ads.
Nearly $1.3 million of the anti-tobacco campaign’s spending has gone to GMMB, a political communications and advertising firm based in Washington, D.C., with offices in Seattle and San Francisco.
Will tobacco corps respond?
One big question now is whether deep-pocketed corporations that sell flavored tobacco, like Altria and PMI, which have already given to the no side, will now respond with bigger contributions of their own.
CPR reached out to both, but has not yet heard back from either.
Does the Rocky Mountain Smoke Free Alliance have the funds to match Bloomberg’s contributions?
“I wish!” Guerin said via text. “The short answer is no.”
The voters themselves will weigh in soon
Denver’s Referendum 310 will decide whether to keep or repeal Denver’s ban on flavored tobacco, including nicotine vaporizers that come in a range of fruity flavors.
If a majority of people vote “yes,” the city will continue to ban the products. If a majority vote “no,” the ban would be repealed and businesses would be allowed to sell the products again.
The ban, which affects 575 retailers that sell the products in Denver, is already in effect, but city officials have said they wouldn’t enforce it until after the election.
People now in their 50s and 60s were the first generation to grow up when ultra-processed foods – often high in fats, salt and added sugar – became widely available.
New research shows that this segment of the population, which mostly includes Generation X, exhibit signs of addiction to ultra-processed food products including fast food, soda and sweets. The study, published Monday in the journal Addiction, has implications for public health, because many children are now exposed to ultra-processed food from a very young age.
“If current trends continue, future generations may show even higher rates of ultra-processed food addiction later in life,” said the study’s senior author, Ashley Gearhardt, who leads the Food and Addiction Science & Treatment Lab at the University of Michigan. “Just as with other substances, intervening early may be essential to reducing long-term addiction risk across the lifespan.”
For the study, researchers conducted phone and online surveys of a nationally-representative group of more than 2,000 people in the United States, ages 50 to 80.
The findings showed that 21% of women and 10% of men ages 50 to 64 had strong cravings for ultra-processed foods, repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down on consumption and withdrawal symptoms. They also avoided social activities because of fear of overeating – all symptoms meeting clinical criteria for addiction.
The percentage of older adults, ages 65 to 80, that met the criteria for addiction to ultra-processed foods was much lower: 12% of women and 4% of men.
A possible explanation for why Gen X women reported higher rates of addiction to ultra-processed food than Gen X men might be due to marketing of processed “diet” foods – such as low-fat cookies and microwavable meals – to women of that generation, the researchers said.
The study also found an association between social isolation and ultra-processed food addiction. People who reported their mental health status as “fair” or “poor” were also at higher risk for addiction to ultra-processed foods.
Treatment for addiction could be a lifelong journey. Doctors in Virginia are experimenting with an incision-free brain procedure that might help.
Treatment for addiction could be a lifelong journey. Now, doctors in Virginia are experimenting with an incision-free brain procedure that might help.
Focused ultrasound was pioneered at UVA Health to treat essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease.
“What we wanted to find was a treatment that can target those deep areas, like deep brain stimulation, but also be non-invasive,” said Dr. James Mahoney, an associate professor and clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
He said they’re researching the ability to use focused ultrasound on patients with addiction and substance use disorders.
“By being able to target those areas of the brain, which are really the center of the reward circuit, this can work for multiple substances and multiple types of addictions,” he said.
Mahoney said patients will have to wear a special helmet that has thousands of transducers that stimulates certain areas of the brain with ultrasound.
“Everything is MRI focused,” he said. “So we take a picture of the individual’s brain, and then we match it with the helmet … and by matching up kind of where the transducers are in the area of the brain that we want to target.”
In trials, they’re seeing one course of the 20-minute treatment go a long way.
“We’ve seen not only a reduction in craving — which is what we were really targeting, what we were trying to reduce — but we were also seeing those functional changes as well, and that was after a single treatment of focused ultrasound. So very positive results,” he said.
Dr. Daisy Thompson Lake, an assistant professor and a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said it will most likely be used in combination with other treatments for substance abuse.
“We certainly don’t believe this is pop into a clinic, have a quick focused ultrasound, and you never want drugs again. Because there’s so many different reasons people become addicted, and there’s also so many different reasons that people might go back to drug use,” she said.
While the treatment program is not currently in practice for the public, Mahoney said they’re working on getting regulatory requirements fulfilled.
“The hope is to make it so that we’re able to get a scalable version of this out to the public as soon as possible,” Mahoney said. “I don’t think it’s on the too-distant horizon.”
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Central Florida doctor unveils kratom research findings, potential dangers
Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center emergency medicine physician and toxicologist, Dr. Josef Thundiyil, joins WESH 2 to discuss the potential dangers of kratom.
ALERT AND FOCUSING ON A SUBSTANCE CALLED KRATOM. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, THE FDA HERE SAYS THIS SUPPLEMENT IS TYPICALLY MARKETED AS AN ENERGY BOOSTER, MOOD LIFTER, PAIN RELIEVER, AND OPIOID WITHDRAWAL REMEDY. IT’S FOUND AT DISPENSARIES, EVEN RESTAURANTS, SOMETIMES INFUSED WITH DRINKS. AND DESPITE ITS GROWING POPULARITY, THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE SUBSTANCE. SO HERE TO GIVE US ANSWERS AND SHARE RESEARCH AND FINDINGS, WE HAVE EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN AND TOXICOLOGIST AT ORLANDO REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, DOCTOR JOSEPH DUNHILL. GREAT TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. OKAY, SO YOU’VE DONE THE WORK HERE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE’VE HEARD A GOOD BIT ABOUT LATELY. THE KRATOM PRODUCTS. WHAT ARE YOUR FINDINGS IN TERMS OF LOOKING INTO THIS SUBSTANCE THAT IS REALLY WIDELY POPULAR AND WIDELY AVAILABLE? YEAH. AS A BACKGROUND, THERE’S A FEW CONCERNS THAT HAVE COME UP. NUMBER ONE, IT’S VERY UNREGULATED. THERE’S ABOUT 40 DIFFERENT CHEMICAL ALKALOIDS IN THIS. THE SECOND IS THAT WE KNOW IT’S ADDICTIVE. SOME OF THE REPORTS FROM PEOPLE IS THAT IT’S COMPULSIVELY ADDICTIVE. PEOPLE SPENDING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS A DAY TO GET SORT OF A FIX WITH IT. THE OTHER THING WE KNOW IS THAT IT INTERACTS WITH EXISTING MEDICATIONS THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE ON. WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THOSE INTERACTIONS ARE. AND THEN THE FINAL THING, EVEN BEFORE I GOT INTO THIS RESEARCH, IS THAT WE KNOW THAT THERE’S NO PROVEN MEDICAL BENEFITS. SO PEOPLE ARE USING THIS WITH THE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE HELPING, BUT WE DON’T KNOW THAT IT’S HELPING THEM WITH ANYTHING. AND YOU WORKED WITH A LOT OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO PUT THIS TOGETHER. MORE THAN TWO DOZEN, I BELIEVE. YEAH. WE WORKED ACTUALLY. IT WAS A GROUP OF US PHYSICIANS. WE ESSENTIALLY REACHED OUT TO 25 MEDICAL EXAMINERS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REALLY TO TRY TO ANSWER THE QUESTION IS, ARE PEOPLE DYING FROM KRATOM? AND WE FOUND SOME VERY INTERESTING THINGS. WE ACTUALLY HAD THE MEDICAL EXAMINER SEND US ANY REPORTED DEATHS, AND WE FOUND ALMOST 40 DEATHS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT FIVE YEARS. OKAY. AND WAS THIS TIED TO ANYTHING SPECIFIC? THE SUBSTANCE AND OPIOIDS OR ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES? NO, THESE ARE DEATHS IN THE ABSENCE OF OPIOIDS. NOW, WE KNOW THAT THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE RESEMBLES OPIOIDS. AND THAT’S WHAT GAVE US THIS CONCERN THAT IT COULD CAUSE DEATH. AND WE STILL ARE LEFT WITH NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHY SOME PEOPLE DIE AND SOME PEOPLE DON’T. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT STILL HAS SOME SIGNIFICANT DANGERS WITH IT. RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, AS A PHYSICIAN, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO’S, YOU KNOW, THERE’S SOMETHING THAT MAY CAUSE SOMETHING AS SEVERE AS DEATH? WHAT WHAT ARE YOU ADVISING PEOPLE? I WOULD ADVISE TREMENDOUS CAUTION. IT IS UNREGULATED. MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS DON’T HAVE ANY DOSING LISTED ON IT. WE KNOW IT INTERACTS WITH MEDICATIONS. YOU KNOW, MY TYPICAL ADVICE WOULD BE TALK TO YOUR PHYSICIAN ABOUT IT. BUT WHAT I’M FINDING IN THE COMMUNITY IS THIS THERE’S ENOUGH UNKNOWNS ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE THAT EVEN YOUR PHYSICIAN MAY NOT KNOW WHAT ALL THE INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER SUBSTANCES ARE. SO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. AND AT THE MOMENT, I PERSONALLY WOULD ADVOCATE FOR SAFETY. BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE IS HARM. WE KNOW THERE’S ADDICTION. ANYTIME THERE’S A POTENTIAL FOR ADDICTION AND ESCALATING USE, WE NOW KNOW THAT IT CAN ALSO CAUSE DEATH. YEAH. WHAT ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS YOU’RE SEEING WHEN IT COMES TO THE SUBSTANCE? YEAH. FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH STANDPOINT, WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN TERMS OF WHO MIGHT BE AT RISK. SO PEOPLE WHO ALREADY SUFFER FROM ADDICTION BECAUSE THEY MAY BE LOOKING FOR ANYTHING TO HELP THEM GET OFF OF SUBSTANCE USE. I ALWAYS AM CONCERNED ABOUT ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS. FOR THIS REASON, PEOPLE WHO ARE ON OTHER MEDICATIONS BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL TO INTERACT. AND SO THAT INCLUDES NOT ONLY YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE ON MEDICINES, BUT ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE OLDER AND THE ELDERLY. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST RISK GROUPS THAT WE GET CONCERNED ABOUT. YEAH, WELL, THIS IS REALLY AMAZING FINDINGS AND GREAT RESEARCH THAT YOU AND ALL THESE OTHER PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL EXAMINERS HAVE WORKED ON COLLECTIVELY. WE’RE GOING TO POST SOME MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE SO YOU CAN FIND OUT AND HELP NAVIGATE YOUR JOURNEY. IF YOU IF YOU HAV
Central Florida doctor unveils kratom research findings, potential dangers
Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center emergency medicine physician and toxicologist, Dr. Josef Thundiyil, joins WESH 2 to discuss the potential dangers of kratom.
Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center emergency medicine physician and toxicologist, Dr. Josef Thundiyil, joins WESH 2 to discuss the potential dangers of kratom.Click here to learn more.
Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center emergency medicine physician and toxicologist, Dr. Josef Thundiyil, joins WESH 2 to discuss the potential dangers of kratom.
The Camden County Board of Commissioners and the Addiction Awareness Task Force (AATF) launched the Break the Stigma campaign to change the conversation around addiction and recovery. This initiative was created to combat the misconceptions surrounding substance use disorder, highlight the reality of recovery, and ensure that individuals struggling with addiction receive support rather than judgment.
Recognizing that stigma is one of the biggest barriers to seeking help, the campaign has taken several proactive steps to foster understanding and support, including:
• Public Education & Awareness – Through community outreach, events, and personal stories, the campaign works to dispel myths about addiction and promote the importance of treatment and recovery.
•Advocacy & Resources – By providing access to critical services, including treatment programs and recovery support, the campaign ensures individuals and families have the help they need.
•Community Engagement – Working with local organizations, schools, and businesses, the initiative spreads awareness and encourages open discussions about addiction and mental health.
•Breaking Barriers to Treatment – Through partnerships and funding efforts, the campaign supports initiatives that remove financial and social obstacles to addiction recovery.
Addiction is a disease, not a choice, and recovery is possible for everyone. By fostering a compassionate and informed community, Camden County continues to take meaningful action to break the stigma and support those on their journey to recovery.
What is stigma and why does it matter?
Addiction is one of the most stigmatized health conditions, preventing individuals from seeking help and isolating families who fear judgment. Over 20 million people in the U.S. struggle with substance use disorders, yet nearly half of Americans don’t recognize addiction as a disease.
Recent research shows that over 80% of Americans are unwilling to associate with those suffering from a substance use disorder. Stigma leads to discrimination in healthcare, employment, housing, and more; and misconceptions about addiction being a moral failing reinforce these barriers.
Stigma doesn’t just affect individuals with addiction; it isolates families and perpetuates harmful stereotypes in society. People struggling with substance use disorders often face: Judgment from peers, which discourages open conversations about their challenges, and discrimination in workplaces and healthcare settings, limiting opportunities for recovery and success.
Understanding the root causes of stigma—such as fear, misinformation, and societal bias—is critical in dismantling it. By fostering empathy, education, and inclusivity, we can transform the way addiction is perceived and treated.
The numbers behind the crisis
In recent years, Camden County has made significant strides in combating the opioid epidemic. According to the NJ ROIC-Drug Monitoring Initiative, from January to July 2024, the county experienced a 39% decrease in overdose deaths compared to the same period in the previous year. Additionally, there was a notable reduction in Naloxone (Narcan) administrations, with 511 instances in the first half of 2024, down from 851 during the same timeframe in 2023.
According to the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner, there were 206 suspected drug deaths in Camden County from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, compared to 327 during the same time period in 2023.
“The progress that we have made over the past year in Camden County when it comes to overdose and addiction is incredible,” said Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. “We have continually seen overdose deaths plummet, which just goes to show that all our investment into public health and harm reduction resources is paying off. But as always, we are not done yet. We will continue this fight until no life is lost to overdose ever again.”
Provided Courtesy/Camden County
Camden County Board of Commissioners Director Louis Cappelli, Jr.
These improvements are a testament to the collaborative efforts of the Camden County Board of Commissioners, the Addiction Awareness Task Force (AATF), healthcare providers, law enforcement, community organizations, and the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, including the Office of Mental Health and Addiction (OMHA). Their ongoing initiatives have been crucial in connecting residents with treatment options, harm reduction resources, and life-saving interventions.
“When we look at the decline in fatal overdoses, we must recognize these percentages and statistics aren’t just numbers – these are actual lives saved,” said Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay. “These are members of our community with friends and loved ones who care about them. We must continue to partner with public and private entities to drive the number of fatal overdoses toward zero.”
However, despite these advancements, the mission remains incomplete. Stigma continues to be a significant barrier, preventing many individuals from seeking the help they need. The Break the Stigma campaign is dedicated to changing perceptions of addiction, fostering understanding, and creating a supportive environment where recovery is possible for everyone.
To effectively combat the stigma surrounding addiction, it’s crucial to understand the impact of our words and actions. Stigmatizing language and behaviors can deter individuals from seeking help and perpetuate misconceptions about substance use disorders.
Here’s how you can contribute to ending this stigma:
• Use first person language • Educate yourself and others • Share Camden County resources • Challenge stereotypes • Support policy changes
Break the Stigma campaign Spokersperson: Zac Clark
Zac Clark, a speaker at Camden County’s Remembrance and Hope Memorial in 2023 and a dedicated advocate for our Break the Stigma Campaign, is committed to raising awareness about mental health and addiction. In 2020, he gained widespread recognition after openly sharing his journey of addiction and recovery on ABC’s The Bachelorette. Since then, he has used his platform to inspire hope and break the stigma surrounding substance use disorder, particularly among young people.
Zac’s battle with addiction began after he was prescribed opioids following the removal of a brain tumor. Over time, his substance use escalated, leaving him alone and struggling on the streets of Camden. In one of his darkest moments, he attempted to cash a stolen check at a PNC Bank, where he met a guardian angel—bank teller Ronda Jackson. Instead of calling the police or handing over the money, she contacted Zac’s father, setting off the chain of events that ultimately saved his life.
Now in long-term recovery, Zac is the founder and CEO of Release Recovery, a full-service organization providing essential recovery support. He also co-founded the Release Recovery Foundation, and serves on the Board of Trustees at Caron Treatment Centers.
Learn more about Zac Clark’s mission and how you can support his efforts through Release Recovery and the Release Recovery Foundation at https://www.releaserecoveryfoundation.org/.
Resources for recovery and support
Office of Mental Health & Addiction Services For a list of community mental health resources, click here. For a list of substance use resources, click here.
SALEM — A group of about 30 community members walked from the Salem Common to Riley Plaza on Thursday as a part of the annual Walk for Overdose Awareness.
The event included speakers stressing the importance of creating a larger support network for community members struggling with substance abuse and addiction.
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