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Press TV: Big Pharma: Getting high on big profits

May 27th,2015

Coast to Coast AM with Gregory Alan Smith, M.D.

May 27th,2015

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<p><strong>Pain Killer Addiction</strong></p>
<p>Dave Schrader (email) welcomed Dr. Gregory A. Smith, who founded a medical group that focuses on integrative medicine for the treatment of chronic pain and prescription narcotic dependence and addiction. He discussed how powerful pharmaceutical corporations legally manufacture and distribute addictive and often deadly medications with the full authority of the US government.</p>
<p><strong>Host:</strong> Dave Schrader</p>

Gregory Alan Smith, M.D. on The Doctors

May 27th,2015

<img src="http://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/greg.jpg" /><p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6IHk9eoHyyQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Drs TV: Killer Pain Medication?</p>
<p>The Doctors: Is Zohydro Dangerous?</p>
<p>The Doctors discussed a controversial new pain medication. Every day, 40 people die from a prescription pain killer overdose. More people die every year from prescription drug overdose than cocaine and heroin combined. A new drug has doctors concerned the number may rise. The drug is called Zohydro.</p>
<p>It's 5 to 10 times stronger than Vicodin, making it potentially deadly. One pill is powerful enough to kill a small child. The FDA approved the drug, even though its own advisory counsel voted 11 to 2 against it. Now, Massachusetts has banned the drug and is facing a lawsuit from Zohydro's parent company over whether their ban is unconstitutional.</p>
<p>The Doctors: Is Zohydro Dangerous?</p>
<p>But did Massachusetts get it right? Dr. Gregory A. Smith, a pain management specialist who is lobbying against Zohydro, joined The Doctors over satellite. He said that this drug was like "throwing gasoline on a bonfire." He said this drug "will make the Oxycontin epidemic look like child's play." The 50 milligram strength of Zohydro is the equivalent of 10 Vicodins. It can be crushed or snorted. There's no anti-tampering devices in this medication.</p>
<p>Dr. Smith said that this medication does have a place in the market, but they need to take it back and reformulate it to make it safer. He also said the people who make Zohydro know this and are already reformulating it, but because it will take so long to get the new version of the drug out there, they just want to get the drug out there to recoup the money spent developing the drug.</p>

ABBY Martin “Breaking the Set” with Producer Gregory A Smith MD

May 26th,2015

Johnson & Johnson 2.2 Billion Dollar Penalty Al Jazeera “America Tonight”

May 25th,2015

Heroin Boom Al Jazeera “America Tonight”

May 24th,2015

ABC News: Newborns addicted

May 23rd,2015

play

Dr Smith Radio Clip

May 14th,2015

A Hillbilly Heroin World – How America Got Hooked On OxyContin

May 14th,2015

Military’s drug policy threatens troops’ health, doctors say

May 14th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/boots-370x214.jpg" /><p>Army leaders are increasingly concerned about the growing use and abuse of prescription drugs by soldiers, but a Nextgov investigation shows a U.S. Central Command policy that allows troops a 90- or 180-day supply of highly addictive psychotropic drugs before they deploy to combat contributes to the problem.</p>
<p>Drug formulary includes drugs like Valium and Xanax, used to treat depression, as well as the antipsychotic Seroquel, originally developed to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, mania and depression.</p>
<p>Dr. Grace Jackson, a former Navy psychiatrist, told Nextgov she resigned her commission in 2002 “out of conscience, because I did not want to be a pill pusher.”</p>
<p>A June 2010 internal report from the Defense Department’s Pharmacoeconomic Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio showed that 213,972, or 20 percent of the 1.1 million active-duty troops surveyed, were taking some form of psychotropic drug: antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedative hypnotics, or other controlled substances.</p>
<p>Dr. Grace Jackson, a former Navy psychiatrist, told Nextgov she resigned her commission in 2002 “out of conscience, because I did not want to be a pill pusher.” She believes psychotropic drugs have so many inherent dangers that “the CENTCOM CNS formulary is destroying the force,” she said.</p>
<p>Dr. Greg Smith, who runs the Los Angles-based Comprehensive Pain Relief Group, which treats chronic pain and prescription drug abuse through an integrative medical approach called the Nutrition, Emotional/Psychological, Social/Financial and Physical program, said he was shocked by CENTCOM’s drug policy for deployed troops. “If I was a commander I’d worry about what these troops would do,” as a result of their medications, Smith said.</p>
<p>Dr. Peter Breggin, an Ithaca, N.Y., psychiatrist who testified before a House Veterans Affairs Committee last September on the relationship between medication and veterans’ suicides, said flatly, “You should not send troops into combat on psychotropic drugs.” Medications on the CENTCOM CNS formulary can cause loss of judgment and self-control and could result in increased violence and suicidal impulses, Breggin said.</p>
<p>The Army implicated prescription drugs as contributing to suicides in a July 2010 report, which said one-third of all active-duty military suicides involved prescription drugs.</p>
<p>When the suicide report was released, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, said the service needed to develop better controls for prescription drugs. “Let’s make sure when we prescribe that we put an end date on that prescription, so it doesn’t remain an open-ended opportunity for somebody to be abusing drugs,” Chiarelli said.</p>
<a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/01/18/militarys-drug-policy-threatens-troops-health-doctors-say/" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

From Seed to Cure: The Truth About Cannabis Oil

May 14th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/oil-370x214.jpg" /><p><strong>Cannabis and Rheumatoid Arthritis</strong><br />
When I was asked to write about RA, I was a little overwhelmed. I started this project knowing so little about the condition. Of course, I hear the commercials that blanket daytime television. The list of side effects, spoken at breakneck speeds, still taking longer to list than the actors paid to sell the good sides of this chemical cocktail. Don’t get me wrong, as skeptical as I am about new drugs, I respect the fact that some people need certain drugs, and really are helped by them.I started this project knowing nothing, so lets learn the basics together.Rheumatoid arthritis, according to Wikipedia.com, is a chronic condition characterized by systemic inflammation, primarily of the joints. It can also cause deformed joints in some cases, as well as damage to other organs, occasionally unbeknownst to patient or doctor.</p>
<p>Currently, researchers aren’t sure what causes RA. They do know the process of the disease causes an inflammatory response of the synovium (the capsule surrounding the joint), which then causes swelling as well as the formation of fibrous tissue. This tissue can cause stiffness and limited range of motion. Erosion and thinning of bones and cartilage, as well as inflammation of the lungs, heart and eyes can also occur.</p>
<p>Diagnosis usually entails a lot of doctors visits, blood tests, x rays and fluid draws. Exclusion of other conditions and disorders, resulting in more tests and expenses, is almost always utilized. It is a lot of time, money, guessing and pain to just obtain a diagnosis.</p>
<p>chronic pain cycle with rheumatoid arthritis is a vicious cycle</p>
<p>A support group, RAChicks.com, recently posted a survey for their users. 55% of respondents say they take between 1 and 5 different medications per day. Another quarter of all respondents take between 6 and 9 different medications every single day. 16% are taking more than 10 medications per day. Only 4% of those responding are free of medications. This is one support group, but it seems to me to ring true with my other searches, and I can only assume its a relatively fair assessment.</p>
<p>Current treatments include non medication therapies such as physical therapy, splints and braces, occupational therapy and dietary changes.</p>
<p>Medications including pain killers, anti inflammatory drugs and steroids can help in suppressing symptoms, but do nothing to stop the progress of the disease. Disease-modifying anti rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are able to slow, or even halt the progress of the disease, but tend to have a lot of side effects. DMARDS suppress the immune system, and therefore must be stopped if an RA patient gets sick or has any kind of infection. Given that RA tends to have co-morbidity for 15-25% of patients, its hard for some patients, especially those with hypersensitivities to drugs, to have a solid regiment of these medications. There is also very little data available on the side effects of DMARDS, due a lot to their relative newness to the market.</p>
<p>Surgical treatments exist, often arthroscopic, sometimes open synovectomy. This involves the removal of the inflamed synovia and can slow down the deterioration of the effected joint.</p>
<p>Rheumatoid arthritis effects between 0.5% and 1% of people worldwide. Onset usually happens around middle age, but people of all ages have been diagnosed. The first documented case of RA was made in Paris, France by Dr. Augustin Jacob Landré-Beauvais.</p>
<p>All very dry reading, but its important to understand a condition before addressing possible treatments.</p>
<p>Sarah R. (33) from New York her tells of her account with RA –<br />
“I had a severe reaction to a sinus infection and couldn’t walk. I didn’t know what was wrong for 3 months. The rheumatologist sent me for a ton of blood work and diagnosed me 3 years ago. They put me on remicade, methotrexate and naproxin. It kills your immune system and if you get sick you have to stop. The remicade is a form of chemotherapy and methotrexate used to be used for abortions. I started having problems with my asthma and had to stop those. I tried humera and it did nothing. So for now I’m on naproxin as needed and just push through it. I get swelling in my ankles, knees and hands. Getting up is awful until I get moving and at the end of the night my ankles are huge!”</p>
<p>Sarah lives in New York, a state that has yet to put medical cannabis into practice. Even if she was a candidate for relief, and her doctor agreed, she doesn’t even have it as a choice.</p>
<p>So, now we know what RA is and how it can effect a person. And if you are reading this, you are at least mildly curious to know how cannabis effects RA. You shouldn’t be surprised to hear how few actual studies have been done.</p>
<p>It is worth noting that smoking anything, including marijuana, increases your heart rate. One study by the National Drug Abuse Institute, says that for an hour after smoking your heart attack risk increases to 500% that of a persons normal risk. However, The Institute on Drug Abuse has found no studies have linked marijuana use to lung or upper respiratory cancers.There are also many other ways to utilize cannabis. Topical creams, tinctures, edibles, vaporizing, my guy even makes these gelcaps that have medicated coconut oil in them.</p>
<p>A 1999 study conducted at the Institute of Medicine found that marijuana was “moderately well suited for particular conditions,” including pain.</p>
<p>Huffington Post recently reported a story about Steve, who has RA. “I’m an old-man weight lifter,” he says. He lost one of his kidneys after being diagnosed with cancer in 2004. Steve claims to have used marijuana for 30 years, long before this resurgence of acceptance and research. Steve feels his choices are limited to manage his pain. “If my pain is at a 10, it will take it down to a 6 or 6.5. After I smoke I am able to work my shoulders and arms to keep my joints healthy. It gives me the desire and ability to get through a workout.”   Steve smokes everyday, more at night than during the day. It helps him sleep and relives his pain, but he does report a “couch lock” experience sometimes. “It makes you lazy.”</p>
<p>Patients with kidney problems can still take DMARDs, says Ogechi “Helen” Mbakwe, M.D., from Central Washington Internal Medicine and Endocrine Center, as long as their dose is adjusted and they are monitored closely. However, Dr. Mbakwe, who practices in a medical marijuana state, is one of the many who are reluctant to prescribe marijuana. While many arthritis patients swear by the medical benefits of marijuana, the FDA issued a statement claiming it “has no accepted medicinal value in treatment in the United States, and evidence that there is a general lack of accepted safety for its use even under medical supervision.” These safety issues range from issues of dosage (thc and cbd levels can vary from about 10% to 25+%. Most reputable dispensaries and caregivers will have a label, or at least someone informed on this information) to quality control (mold and parasites can be an issue for even the most discerning grower) to tolerance (blood levels of users can range from from an estimated 7 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL). These are valid concerns. All things should be handled safely, checked often and monitored by at least the user. “Rheumatologists should advocate for further study of individual cannabinoid molecules whereby dosing can be accurately controlled and efficacy and safety can be assessed using standard scientific method,” Fitzcharles</p>
<p>Medical director of the Los Angeles–based Comprehensive Pain Relief Group, Gregory A. Smith, M.D., is a pain management and addiction specialist. He says in a Huffington Post article, “Marijuana does not have that kind of chemical reaction in the brain. It is safer than a lot of the prescription narcotics that I detox people from.”</p>
<p>According to arthritistoday.org, despite these risks, a 2011 Journal of Pain survey says that almost 10% of RA patients responding who needed pain management, use cannabis alone or in conjunction with other treatments.</p>
<p> </p>
<a href="http://seed2cure.org/news/cannabis-and-rheumatoid-arthritis-by-anna-jane/" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

Medical Marijuana For Rheumatoid Arthritis?

May 14th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/rx-370x214.jpg" /><p>Health.com | By Tammy Worth<br />
Posted: 06/08/2011 12:50 pm EDT</p>
<p>Steve is a horticulturist of sorts. He raises orchids, Japanese maples, and other plants at his southern Rhode Island home. Tending the plants helps ease his rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pain, he says. But the garden offers more than Zen; he grows one plant -- marijuana -- specifically to relieve RA pain and discomfort.</p>
<p>"If my pain is at a 10, it will take it down to a 6 or 6.5," he says. "I’m an old-man weight lifter. After I smoke I am able to work my shoulders and arms to keep my joints healthy. It gives me the desire and ability to get through a workout."</p>
<p>Steve has had permission to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes since 2006. He smokes it and cooks it in butter (for baking) and makes THC-containing solutions called tinctures (which can be added to foods and drinks) for himself and five other patients with various medical conditions. His home state is 1 of 16, along with the District of Columbia, where marijuana is permitted for medicinal use.</p>
<p> </p>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/can-medical-marijuana-help-arthritis_n_873189.html" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

6 Sneaky Signs You Drink Too Much

May 14th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/drink-1-370x214.jpg" /><p> </p>
<p class="p1"><strong>A whopping 1 out of 6 Americans drinks too much. Here is how to tell if you—or someone you love—is overdoing it.</strong></p>
<section class="info"><span class="byline-role">By </span><span class="field-author">Holly C. Corbett</span></section>
<p class="p1">You rarely turn down wine with dinner, not to mention that second (or third) cocktail at happy hour—but that doesn't make you a binge drinker, does it? It depends, but according to a new report by the CDC, an exploding number of Americans are in the drinking danger zone—and they aren't always who you'd think.</p>
<p class="p1">More than 38 million adults binge drink an average of four times a month, according to a the report, and while 18 to 34 year olds are more likely to go overboard than any other age group, it’s actually the over-65 set that does it most often. Tying one on now and then may seem harmless, but overindulging in alcohol is responsible for more than 80,000 deaths in this country per year, and is the third leading cause of preventable deaths.</p>
<p class="p1">So how much alcohol means you’re overdoing it? For women, binge drinking means having four or more drinks in a short period of time, compared to five or more for men.</p>
<p class="p1">Most people who binge drink don’t fit the definition of an alcoholic, but there aren’t just two camps of drinkers, say experts: Many of us are somewhere in between. To find out where you fall on the problem-drinking spectrum, read on for these surprising signs you may be drinking too much.</p>
<p><strong>You become a daredevil.</strong><br />
Anyone who’s seen their normally shy co-worker dancing on the bar at the company party knows drinking can lower inhibitions. Getting drunk can come with repercussions far worse than feeling embarrassed—it can lead to risky decisions. “Drinking too much on just one occasion can change your life for the worse,” says Gregory A. Smith, MD, an addiction specialist at the Comprehensive Pain Relief Group in Los Angeles. Alcohol is also a factor in approximately 60% of fatal burn injuries and drownings, 40% of fatal falls and car accidents, and half of all sexual assaults, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).</p>
<p> </p>
<a href="http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/binge-drinking-how-tell-if-you-have-alcohol-problem" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

WORLD EXCLUSIVE! ANGIE’S NEW FEARS: THREE YEARS TO LIVE?!

May 12th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/angie-370x214.jpg" /><div class="date"><em>Published on: September 16, 2013</em></div>
<div class="byline"><em>by LYNN ALLISON & MICHAEL GLYNN, NATIONAL ENQUIRER</em></div>
<div class="photo-credit"><em>Photography by: WireImage</em></div>
<div class="photo-credit"></div>
<h2 class="photo-credit">PLAGUED by several devastating health woes, ANGELINA JOLIE fears she has as little as three years to live and has secretly drawn up a “bucket list” of goals to complete before she dies.</h2>
<p>In a bombshell world exclusive, sources told The ENQUIRER that the 38-year-old Oscar winner is convinced that the maladies – including her family’s history of deadly cancer – will end her life prematurely.</p>
<p>The courageous beauty recently underwent a preventive double mastectomy to minimize her risk of breast cancer and plans to have additional surgery due to an elevated risk of ovarian cancer – but she’s still convinced she’s only got three to five years left, say insiders.</p>
<p>“Angelina is trying to live her life to the fullest because she feels deep down that she doesn’t have much time left,” a source close to the actress told The ENQUIRER.</p>
<p>“She’s going to do everything she can to prolong her life but really believes she won’t even reach her mid-forties.”</p>
<p>Experts consulted by The ENQUIRER say the “Tomb Raider” star’s past history of drug abuse, her near-starvation diet, extreme stress and a grueling schedule can all contribute to cutting her down in the prime of life.</p>
<p>Her hectic lifestyle and medical conditions “can shorten her life-span considerably,” Dr. Damon Raskin, a prominent internist and addiction expert who hasn’t treated Angelina, told The ENQUIRER.</p>
<p>The screen siren is painfully aware that her genetic makeup is a ticking time bomb.</p>
<p>Angie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died at 56 in 2007 following a long battle with ovarian cancer. The actress also lost her maternal grandfather, grandmother and uncle to cancer.</p>
<p>AND on May 26, her mother’s sister, Debbie Martin, died of breast cancer at 61 – less than two weeks after Angelina revealed she’d undergone her preventive double mastectomy.</p>
<p>She disclosed her courageous decision in an article she wrote for “The New York Times,” noting that doctors estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer due to a “faulty” BRACA1 gene.</p>
<p>She also divulged that she had a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer and planned to undergo surgery to forestall that disease.</p>
<p>“There is no longevity on my mother’s side,” Angelina told “Esquire” magazine.</p>
<p>And the sexpot probably didn’t help matters during a wild youth in which she confessed to using drugs, including heroin. Experts say that could raise her chances of contracting deadly hepatitis C and possibly needing a liver transplant someday.</p>
<p>As The ENQUIRER reported, the 5-foot-7 actress is now down to an estimated 92 pounds. To make matters worse, she’s under tremendous physical and emotional wear and tear due to an almost nonstop schedule of film and humanitarian work. Since June she’s helped partner Brad Pitt promote his movie “World War Z” in London, Europe and Japan, visited Jordan’s Za’atri refugee camp, flew to Hawaii and Australia to scout movie locations and, most recently, headed back Down Under with her kids to start shooting her movie “Unbroken.”</p>
<p>“She’s trying to cram everything into her life right now because she feels she could be gone in as little as three years,” revealed a concerned insider.</p>
<p>“That’s why number one on her bucket list is her plan to marry Brad. She wants to make sure they are legally husband and wife so there are no disputes when she passes on. She’s getting her affairs in order and wants her six children to be well taken care of.”</p>
<p>Angie’s fears are grounded in real concerns, say health experts.</p>
<p>Dr. Raksin, who’s based in Pacific Palisades, Calif., told The  ENQUIRER: “A severe weight</p>
<p>loss along with a past history of drug abuse is of grave concern.  She may have already damaged</p>
<p>her heart from substance abuse  and at 92 pounds may be suffering from an eating disorder, which</p>
<p>also can cause heart arrhythmia  and muscle-wasting.”</p>
<p>Dr. Gregory Smith, who has not treated Jolie but is a noted Los Angeles addiction expert, told The ENQUIRER: “She’s been under a lot of stress lately  with her surgeries, the deaths  in her family and children to  care for. When adversity strikes, it’s common to return to old, destructive behaviors. If this is happening to Angelina, she may be risking an early death.”</p>
<a href="http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/world-exclusive-angies-new-fears-three-years-live" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

NEW FEARS FOR LIZA MINELLI

May 12th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/liza-370x214.jpg" /><div class="date"><em>Published on: March 5, 2013</em></div>
<div class="byline"><em>by NATIONAL ENQUIRER staff</em></div>
<div class="photo-credit"><em>Photography by: Splash News Online</em></div>
<div class="photo-credit"></div>
<h2>LIZA MINNELLI’s years of hard partying have finally caught up with her, and now pals fear the Hollywood icon is suffering from early-onset dementia!</h2>
<p>The 66-year-old Hollywood legend – who has battled booze and drug addictions for three decades – is becoming increasingly confused, forgetful and distant. And experts say Liza’s latest health crisis could be a direct result of her former substance abuse.</p>
<p>“Drug and alcohol abuse are directly linked to long-term and short-term memory loss, as well as Alzheimer’sdisease and dementia,” Dr. Gregory Smith, a Los Angeles addiction expert told The ENQUIRER.</p>
<p>AND pals are said to bealearmed over repeated incidents of the “Cabaret” star’s disorientation.</p>
<p>“Lately she’s become more forgetful and often has to pause, sometimes for inordinately long periods, to collect her thoughts,” an insider told The ENQUIRER. “She’s been forgetting names of people, misplacing a lot of things and one time insisted it was 2:30 in the morning when it was barely eight o’clock in the evening.”</p>
<p>In November, someone described Liza as a “total mess” when she slurred her way through a New York event where she was being honored. An eyewitness observed her drinking an unknown beverage and chain-smoking throughout the night.</p>
<p>By the time she got onstage to accept her award, “she clung to the podium for dear life” and slurred her words as she rambled on and even had trouble singing, the eyewitness said.</p>
<p>Liza, who’s battled a booze addiction since the early 1980s, has admitted: “I’m a recovering alcoholic though I will never say I’ve recovered.”</p>
<p>Friends now fear that Liza’s concert tour, including gigs in New York, Canada, London and Paris, may be too much for her to handle.</p>
<p>“By taking on so much she’s setting herself up for a total mental collapse,” said another source. “If her recent history of being unsteady and forgetful is any indication, there could be a major disaster looming.</p>
<p>“Everyone’s praying she can hold it together.”</p>
<a href="http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/new-fears-liza-minelli/" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

EXCLUSIVE! HARRY POTTER BOOZE & PARTYING HELL

May 12th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/dan-370x214.jpg" /><div class="date"><em>Published on: August 29, 2013</em></div>
<div class="byline"><em>by BRETTE TROST & LYNN ALLISON, NATIONAL ENQUIRER</em></div>
<div class="photo-credit"><em>Photography by: Splash News Online</em></div>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Friends fear “Harry Potter” actorDANIEL RADCLIFFE is spiraling out of control with a dangerous drug and booze habit  – just like “Home Alone” child star Macaulay Culkin!</h2>
<p>Sources say Radcliffe leads a secret party-hearty lifestyle that’s taking a toll on his health, and exclusive photos reveal the 24-year-old has morphed from the fresh-faced boy wizard into a gaunt, sweaty, bleary-eyed mess!</p>
<p>“Daniel looks like death warmed over,” a friend told The ENQUIRER. “It’s nothing for him to knock back vodka shots, tequila shots and whiskey sours. There’s real fear among his friends that he’s turning from booze to drugs.”</p>
<p>Radcliffe has been quoted as telling pals: “I love weed.” A headline in his native Britain even referred to him as “Harry Pothead,” although he denied smoking marijuana at the time.</p>
<p>A Radcliffe representative said stories of Radcliffe’s drinking or doing drugs are “absolutely untrue.”</p>
<p>The actor claimed to quit drinking in 2010 after suffering blackouts, but The ENQUIRER reported that he fell off the wagon in late 2012 during a partying binge in the Big Apple.</p>
<p>Radcliffe – who’s amassed an $86 million fortune thanks to the “Harry Potter” series – has no steady girlfriend.</p>
<p>“Daniel’s had a string of girlfriends, but none of them stick,” said the source. “He can’t find love, but he doesn’t like to be alone. So he goes out and parties with questionable characters.”</p>
<p>Radcliffe reportedly looked strung-out while partying at the London nightclub Embargo 59 recently, with an eyewitness saying he “was bumping into people and the walls.”</p>
<p>Other photos show Radcliffe looking shockingly haggard, his eyes sunken in huge dark circles, while signing autographs in early August outside a London theater where he’s performing.</p>
<p>Experts who reviewed the photos at The ENQUIRER’s request warn that Radcliffe could be headed for trouble.</p>
<p>“He’s pale and gaunt, and his eyes are inflamed, which could indicate alcohol abuse or drug use,” Dr. Damon Raskin, an addiction specialist from Pacific Palisades, Calif., who has not treated Radcliffe, told The ENQUIRER. “Even at 24 years of age, alcohol abuse could kill him. Based on his appearance, I would bring him in for complete medical testing.”</p>
<p>Dr. Gregory Smith, producer of the documentary “American Addict,” has not treated Radcliffe, but calls his appearance “alarming.”</p>
<p>“He could have relapsed and returned to drinking or he could have switched his addiction to drugs, which is quite common,” said Dr. Smith, an addiction specialist from Los Angeles, Calif.</p>
<p>“Judging from his appearance, I’m concerned that he’s in danger.”</p>
<p>Friends worry Radcliffe could follow in the footsteps of Culkin who, as The ENQUIRER has reported, has battled addictions to heroin and the powerful prescription painkiller oxycodone. He looked as haggard as Radcliffe does now.</p>
<p>“Daniel has been working nonstop since the age of 11,” said another pal.</p>
<p>“He needs to get himself cleaned up. No one wants to see him end up like Macaulay Culkin.”</p>
<a href="http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/exclusive-harry-potter-booze-partying-hell" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

Rehab Director Reveals: Scott Disick Is an Official Paid Spokesperson For His Rehab Center

May 12th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/rehab-370x214.jpg" /><p><em><span class="post-published-at">Mar 17, 2015 3:42PM </span>| <span class="post-byline">by <span class="post-author">In Touch Weekly</span></span></em></p>
<h2></h2>
<h2>On March 16, after a 10-city U.K. club tour and one last all-night drinking binge in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Scott, 31, checked into rehab at Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica — for which he happens to be an official paid spokesman, Charles Johnston, director of addiction treatment at Rythmia exclusively reveals to ‘In Touch.’</h2>
<p>READ MORE: Scott Disick’s Pre-Rehab Rant — “London Can Suck My F--king D-ck and Balls!”</p>
<p>“Scott knows he needs help,” a source tells ‘In Touch.’ “But being paid for it is probably what motivated him the most.”</p>
<p>It’s not Scott’s first time at the facility — ‘In Touch’ exclusively reported that he was there in February, but fled after one day. “It’s a learning process for some people,” Johnston tells ‘In Touch.’</p>
<p>But the center he chose uses a controversial treatment, a drug called Ibogaine. “It produces hallucinations similar to LSD,” says Dr. Gregory Smith, an addiction specialist who hasn’t counseled Scott, adding that while it has helped some addicts, “others have committed suicide after taking it.” Which worries Kourtney Kardashian, Scott’s longtime girlfriend and the mom of his three kids.</p>
<p>Scott and Kourtney. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)</p>
<p>“She wants him to get help, but she’s not sold on having him do drugs to get healthy,” says a source close to Scott. “But he wants to prove himself to her. He knows this will be his last chance.”</p>
<p>For more on this story, check out what ‘In Touch Weekly’s’ own Noah Levy has to say on ‘The Gossip Table!’ Get the inside scoop daily by tuning in to ‘The Gossip Table’ weekdays at 10 AM on VH1!</p>
<a href="http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/rehab-director-reveals-scott-disick-is-an-official-paid-spokesperson-for-his-rehab-center-54041" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

Siff TV Interview on American Addict

April 22nd,2015

Celebrity Addiction Recovery with Dr. Gregory A. Smith

April 22nd,2015

<img width="370" height="214" src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Blog-Talk-Radio-1-370x214.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Blog-Talk-Radio-1-370x214.jpg 370w, https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Blog-Talk-Radio-1-370x214-300x174.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px" />    <div id="jquery_jplayer_1158" class="jp-jplayer jp-jplayer-audio" data-pid="1158" data-mp3="http://www.drgregorysmith.com/psyched-up-radio_2012_10_02_celebrity-addiction-recovery-with-dr-gregory-a-smith.mp3"></div>
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<p>Gregory A. Smith, MD, QME, is the movie producer of the new release "The American Addict" and the expert<br />
commentator in the movie about Michael Jackson's death "What Killed The King Of Pop?" Dr. Smith is the former Director of Pain Management at Harbor UCLA and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA. He went on to form Comprehensive Pain Relief Group inc. in 2001 and is currently President and Medical Director. He has published numerous research articles, published over 12 books, hosted 2 radio shows and has appeared as guest on multiple local and national radio and television shows. He is currently completing his newest book “American Addict, How doctors have created a generation of drug addicts”. He has lectured around the United States and currently resides in Redondo Beach, CA with his family.</p>
<p>Dr. Smith grew up in Yellow Springs Ohio. He is a graduate from Indiana University with a degree in both Chemistry and Biology. He went on to graduate from Washington University Medical School in St. Louis and completed a residency in Anesthesiology at State Univ. of New York (SUNY) in Brooklyn New York. There he was elected chief resident and completed a fellowship in pain management. He is board-certified in both Anesthesiology and Interventional Pain Management.</p>

Sky News interview – American Addict – Gregory A Smith MD

April 22nd,2015

Celebrities and Drugs

April 22nd,2015

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Gregory A. Smith, MD on Dr. Decker Radio Show

April 22nd,2015

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Radio 3Fourteen – Gregory Smith & Jon Rappoport – American Addict

April 22nd,2015

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KLEAN Radio – “American Addict” w/ Dr. Gregory A. Smith (08.04.2013)

April 22nd,2015

Local LA-Based Doctor, Activists Protest Release Of New Painkiller

April 22nd,2015

<img src="http://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/fda.jpg" /><p>IRVINE (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles-based doctor, along with several activist groups, protested the recent release of the painkiller Zohydro ER in front of the Food and Drug Administration building in Irvine.</p>
<p>Dr. Gregory A. Smith, who specializes in the treatment of chronic pain and also addiction to prescription painkillers, expressed his concern Thursday about the FDA’s pending approval of the drug because it does not have any anti-abuse safeguards built into its formulation to help reduce diversion.</p>
<p>“It can be crushed and snorted or liquefied and injected, and the 50 milligram size is like taking 10 Vicodin tablets at once. This is insane!” he said.</p>
<p>Smith has produced the recently released movie “American Addict,” which discusses the important business dynamic of the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>“Prescription drug addiction and abuse already has skyrocketed in the U.S.A and making easily available a drug such as Zohydro ER has the potential to be a death sentence,” he said. “It’s time for America to stand up against the release of further medications that have the capacity for further abuse, and I hope this protest send a clear message that we have had enough.”</p>
<p>Orange County mother Alice Whynaught told KCAL9’s Jeff Nguyen that her son died from an overdose after a long battle with addiction that started with pills.</p>
<p>“He did seven rehabs. He did two or three hospitalizations,” she said. “[After that, he started] smoking heroine and then eventually shooting it.”</p>
<p>Whynaught added, “I don’t think that parents are aware that prescription drugs are synthetic heroine.”</p>
<p>Carol Roane said she lost her daughter because a doctor over-prescribed a cocktail of three opioids.</p>
<p>“It’s too late for me, but it’s not too late for other parents,” she said.</p>
<p>In a written statement, the FDA said it has taken steps for more than a decade to prevent opioid abuse through the use of warning labels, surveillance efforts and by improving appropriate prescribing by doctors.</p>

Hooked on Heroin – Part 1 & 2

April 22nd,2015

NBC NonStop News

March 27th,2015

Gregory Alan Smith, M.D. on NewsTalk 1290AM

March 27th,2015

<img width="1181" height="303" src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/newstalk.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/newstalk.jpg 1181w, https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/newstalk-300x77.jpg 300w, https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/newstalk-1024x263.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1181px) 100vw, 1181px" />    <div id="jquery_jplayer_1058" class="jp-jplayer jp-jplayer-audio" data-pid="1058" data-mp3="http://www.drgregorysmith.com/1290am.mp3"></div>
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<div class="s13imageItem_panelWrap" data-reactid=".0.$SITE_ROOT.$SITE_STRUCTURE.$PAGES_CONTAINER.1.1.$SITE_PAGES.$galleryPage.1.$Cntnr2-aw9.1.$MtrxGllry1.0.$#image1k11.1.0"><span id="MtrxGllry1image1k11description" class="s13imageItemdescription" data-reactid=".0.$SITE_ROOT.$SITE_STRUCTURE.$PAGES_CONTAINER.1.1.$SITE_PAGES.$galleryPage.1.$Cntnr2-aw9.1.$MtrxGllry1.0.$#image1k11.1.0.1">Andy Oudman and Pam Killeen speak with Dr. Greg Smith, co-writer and executive producer of the documentary, American Addict. They discuss the many problems we're seeing today with the overuse of prescription medication. May 8, 2014</span></div>

Gregory Alan Smith, M.D. on Dr. Decker Radio Show

March 27th,2015

<img width="1181" height="303" src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/weisthumb.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/weisthumb.jpg 1181w, https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/weisthumb-300x77.jpg 300w, https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/weisthumb-1024x263.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1181px) 100vw, 1181px" />    <div id="jquery_jplayer_1055" class="jp-jplayer jp-jplayer-audio" data-pid="1055" data-mp3="http://www.drgregorysmith.com/dr_decker_1345dw1c.mp3"></div>
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Painkiller Addiction

March 25th,2015

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<table class="showstable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="shows1">Date:</td>
<td class="shows2">Sunday - February 9, 2014</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="shows1">Host:</td>
<td class="shows2">Dave Schrader</td>
</tr>
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<td class="shows1">Guests:</td>
<td class="shows2"><a title="Dr. Gregory A.  Smith" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/smith-dr-gregory-a/66489">Dr. Gregory A. Smith</a>, <a title="Emily  Cooper" href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/cooper-emily/66516">Emily Cooper</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="divider15"></div>
<p><a href="http://www.darknessradio.com/" target="_blank">Dave Schrader</a> (<a href="mailto:dave@darknessradio.com" target="_self">email</a>) welcomed <a href="http://www.painreliefgroup.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Gregory A. Smith</a>, who founded a medical group that focuses on integrative medicine for the treatment of chronic pain and prescription narcotic dependence and addiction. He discussed how powerful pharmaceutical corporations legally manufacture and distribute addictive and often deadly medications with the full authority of the US government. Although the US citizenry constitutes only 5 percent of the global population, Smith revealed, Americans consume a whopping 80 percent of the world's hydrocodone, which is found in painkillers like Vicodin and Norco, as well as 50 percent of all the prescription drugs in the world.</p>
<p>According to Smith, this overwhelming reliance on medication is due to a deliberate shift in medical philosophy which has focused on the treatment of symptoms rather than solving the root cause of ailments. Driving that agenda, he said, is the pharmaceutical industry, which reaps huge profits by ensuring that people continuously need medication. "Let's face it, sick people that don't die are great for business," he observed, "because they keep coming back every 30 days for a prescription," often for years or even decades over the course of their lifetime. Additionally, he said, economic factors like taxes and regulations have forced doctors to treat more patients per hour than in previous years in order to simply keep their practices in business. As such, doctors who devote time trying to treat their patients' ailments often make far less money than their colleagues who merely prescribe drugs to combat symptoms.</p>
<p>Since the FDA receives the majority of their funding from the pharmaceutical industry, Smith said, the government is unlikely to put a stop to this broken medical system and, therefore, the onus of protecting one's health falls on the individual. "The days are over where you can simply just blindly trust the doctor or the system to do what's right for you," he warned, "you have to ask questions." To that end, Smith suggested that people ask their doctor if there are alternatives, specifically natural remedies, to drugs prescribed to them. Should they be dissuaded from such an approach, Smith said, "it's time to look for a new doctor." Ultimately, he stressed that people need to take a more proactive and informed approach to their own health care.</p>

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: DEADLY TRUTH ABOUT MIAMI CANNIBAL MADMAN

March 14th,2015

<img src="https://www.drgregorysmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/canninball.jpg" /><div class="date"><strong>Published on: June 6, 2012</strong></div>
<div class="byline"><strong>by LYNN ALLISON, NATIONAL ENQUIER</strong></div>
<div class="photo-credit"><strong>Photography by: doc+furious_graphix</strong></div>
<p>The shocking truth behind the MIAMI CANNIBAL ATTACKER who gnawed a homeless man’s face off while high on bath salts!</p>
<p>Bath salts – the newest deadly craze in street drugs – cause bizarre psychotic reactions and can kill youngsters who don’t even realize what they’ve taken!</p>
<p>That’s the shocking truth behind the drugs that some experts believe sparked the so-called Causeway Cannibal’s horrific attack on a homeless man in Miami.</p>
<p>Chillingly, the readily available concoction of chemicals can be secretly mixed with marijuana and other commonly used drugs, turning them into death traps for unsuspecting kids experimenting with illegal substances.</p>
<p>In the recent headline-making nightmare, a 31-year-old man savagely chewed the face of Ronald Poppo – a 65-year-old homeless man – on Miami’s MacArthur Causeway until being fatally shot by police officers on May 26. Witnesses said that the crazed man, Rudy Eugene, even growled at cops, exhibiting animal-like behavior.</p>
<p>“This can be a common reaction to ingesting or snorting bath salts,” Los Angeles addiction expert Dr. Gregory Smith told The ENQUIRER.</p>
<p>“The drug can produce a psychotic state and cause hallucinations. The man may have thought he was an animal being attacked by another animal and reverted to cannibalistic behavior under the influence of this powerful, toxic drug.”</p>
<p>In recent years, young people have been unknowingly victimized by date rape drugs as well as PCP (angel dust), a mind-bending animal anesthetic that can be sprinkled on marijuana.</p>
<p>“There is always a danger with street drugs that people will cut them with other drugs,” warned Dr. Smith, executive producer of the documentary “American Addict.”</p>
<p>“Even smoking marijuana can become potentially deadly if someone mixes it with bath salts.”</p>
<p> </p>
<a href="http://www.nationalenquirer.com/true-crime/special-investigation-deadly-truth-about-miami-cannibal-madman" target="_blank" class="btn rounded btn-flat shadow btn-small" style="border-color: ;background-color: ">View Full Article</a>

Why Michael Jackson should have never got it in a home setting

February 27th,2015

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Downloadable Drugs, i-dosing NBC 4

February 27th,2015

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The Ripple Effect Podcast # 15 (Dr. Gregory A. Smith)

February 27th,2015

Radio Interview Sasha Knezev and Gregory Smith MD discuss AMERICAN ADDICT with Tyrone Tann

February 14th,2015

The Pain Of A Hidden, Debilitating Illness

January 27th,2015