By some specialists, addiction is stated to be a disease comparable with other diseases like diabetes or hypertension. With this mindset, patients who come in for drug abuse and addiction treatment can be told that this disease is incurable and the best that can be done is to “manage” the addiction with other drugs.

Several drugs have been tested and a few have been approved by the FDA for treating certain drug addictions, such as methadone, buprenorphine (brandnamed Suboxone or Subutex), benzodiazepines and Antabuse. These are used to treat addiction in some treatment centers, making it easier for them to bill insurance companies for their rehab treatment.

Unfortunately what this treatment actually does is prolong a dependency on drugs, just substituting different ones than those the patient came in on. Curing drug addiction with drug addiction certainly doesn’t offer a lasting cure.

In fact, there are countries where a heroin addict, for example, is given access to free clean needles, safe houses, and even free drugs at times, so he can maintain his drug habit but avoid some of the other public health perils that his addiction can lead to. HIV, AIDS, hepatitis and other life-threatening diseases are common in drug addicts and are often the result of injecting themselves with contaminated or reused needles.

The theory underlying this type of treatment is that drug addiction is not only a disease, but an incurable one, and once one is a drug addict, he will remain one for his lifetime.

Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers do not believe that drug addiction is a disease at all. In fact, it is not their experience that addiction is incurable. From all reports, both staff and people who have undergone the Narconon program found it is fully possible to recover from drug addiction and enjoy a healthy and productive life. It is even commonplace at Narconon that people completing the program resume their lives with a totally fresh outlook, free from the cravings that drove them to constant drug use before rehab.

Seventy Percent of Narconon Graduates Stay Drug-free

This may sound unrealistic to some people, but it is the common experience of hundreds of thousands of people who have been helped to break the addiction cycle at Narconon over the past 45 years. Seventy percent of Narconon graduates stay drug-free and sober after completing the program. Narconon offers real help for drug addiction.

Narconon does not use legal drugs to help people recover from illegal substance addiction.

In the Narconon drug-free program, one first goes through a surprisingly tolerable withdrawal period, followed by an intensive detox on the unique Narconon New Life Detoxification Program. It is during this stage of the program that many participants report a much lower desire for drugs or even no cravings at all after this part is completed.

Then, Narconon ensures that the person will be able to maintain his drug-free state by learning important life skills. These include the skill he needs to face and handle those reasons he originally became addicted to drugs. He works at improving his communication skills; he finds out the reasons that people experience ups and downs in life; and he learns who to associate with instead of those who helped him become or stay addicted to drugs.

He also learns how to take responsibility for his past actions, including making up the damage done to loved ones. And, before he completes the Narconon program, the student has charted his own course for his future drug-free, healthy and productive life.
Narconon exists on six continents and there are more than 50 Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers around the world.

Call a Narconon rehab program today for more details or to get some information about Narconon school drug education programs.

The definition of addiction is a condition that consists of a repeated, compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance despite the adverse social or mental or physical consequences. Often this is accompanied by a physical or a psychological dependence and tolerance, and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.

The person addicted to drugs or alcohol may truly desire to quit and may make many promises to do so, but despite his sincere desire to stop and get clean, he cannot seem to do so. In these cases, the problem is addiction, and the individual needs professional help to get and stay sober.

There are many drugs of choice, and one can become addicted to any one of several illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine or marijuana. One can be hooked on “speed” type drugs such as methamphetamines or amphetamines, or to any form of alcohol. Lately there has been a huge increase in addiction to prescription drugs, particularly the opioid painkiller oxycodone, sold under the brand name OxyContin.

In fact, people can even become addicted to inhalants, which are “huffed” or inhaled, such as compressed air for cleaning computers and spray paint.

Another category is the synthetic drugs often referred to as “club drugs.” These include GHB, Rohypnol and ketamine. These have addictive properties too, although one might consume them initially unintentionally (such as Rohypnol, which is known as the “date rape” drug). And many people become addicted to more than one drug.

You Can Overcome Drug Addiction

Whatever drug one is addicted to, when one has decided to actually get free of the addiction, there is help available.

The Narconon program is a drug-free program which has helped many tens of thousands of people to get off drugs and stay off them for the past 45 years. It consists of two main phases.

In the first phase, one rids the body of the harmful effects of drugs, and detoxifies it with a very effective yet tolerable program. The newly arrived person to a Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center will be given plenty of good nutrition and supplements such as vitamins and minerals. In addition he experiences one on one counseling and physical assists, much like gentle massages which make this first withdrawal phase much more tolerable than one might expect.

After the initial withdrawal, he is ready for the unique Narconon New Life Detoxification program. This deep detoxification consists of daily moderate exercise, time in a dry-heat sauna, and more nutritional supplementation. The length of time needed to fully rid the body of the toxins and drug residues lodged in the fatty tissues of the body will vary from person to person, but following this step, most Narconon students (not patients) report reduced or no drug cravings.

After completing this step, the Narconon student goes on to the second phase, where he will study six more courses giving him several key life skills needed to return to a life without dependency on drugs or alcohol. His former addictive life choices are replaced with healthy drug-free alternatives. He learns how to confront, communicate and control his life without resorting to drugs for escape. During this time in the program, he also really regains his self-respect and his own moral compass, and only graduates the program when he has a workable plan for living a drug-free and alcohol-free life.

Seventy percent of Narconon graduates remain drug and alcohol-free two years after completion of the program. When you or a loved one is ready to overcome drug addiction, call a Narconon rehab center and a representative will assist you.

In the 1920s, as a result of Prohibition, the use of marijuana as a psychoactive drug began to grow. Even following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, marijuana (along with morphine, heroin, and cocaine) continued to be widely used.

In 1937, 46 states banned the use of marijuana. Less than fifty years later, in 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave approval for the use of two psychoactive chemicals from marijuana to prevent nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy in cancer treatment. Medical researchers also propose using marijuana to ease the effects of glaucoma, as a bronchodilator (a drug that helps open the bronchial air passages in the lungs), and as an antidepressant. Because of these uses, the term “medical marijuana” was coined.

Medical marijuana use has surged in the 16 states and the District of Columbia that allow its use. But states and cities are also still wrestling with the question of what medical marijuana is, or should be. Many states and the Federal government still consider the drug illegal, and so the sixteen states with legalized medical marijuana have laws which are in conflict with some Federal laws at this time.

Many different opinions have been voiced by voters in different states and the legislatures vary significantly in their acceptance of such legalization. The federal government continues to oppose any decriminalization of the drug. And while the Obama administration has indicated some leeway when it comes to medical marijuana, raids on dispensaries and growers by law enforcement agencies are still common – even in California, where the industry effectively began in 1996, with the passage of the landmark Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana.

In any case, recreational, non-medical use of marijuana has been steadily increasing among teenagers. According to a December 2011 government report, one out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on a near daily basis, a figure that has reached a 30-year peak even as use of alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine among teenagers continued a slow decline. The long-running annual study, called the Monitoring the Future, conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, questioned more than 46,000 students from 386 public and private schools nationwide. Overall, about 25 percent of 8th, 10th and 12th graders who took part in the study reported using marijuana in the past year, up from about 21 percent in 2007.1

The popularity of marijuana, which is now more prevalent among 10th graders than cigarette smoking, reflects what researchers and drug officials say is a growing perception among teenagers that habitual marijuana use carries little risk of harm. That perception, experts say, is fueled in part by wider familiarity with medical marijuana and greater ease in obtaining it.

If you or your loved ones are regularly using marijuana or other drugs, there is a way out that is effective and drug-free. The Narconon program has been effectively helping to rehabilitate drug addicts and alcoholics since 1966.

The Narconon school drug education program is also available to help educate kids about the dangers of drugs.

http://drugabuse.gov/infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html

http://drugabuse.gov/newsroom/11/mtf11overview.html

Alcohol, as any family member of an alcoholic knows too well, also causes harm to the well-being and health of people surrounding the drinker. In 2005, the worldwide total consumption was equal to 6.13 liters of pure alcohol for every person aged 15 years and older. This is just what was recorded, and unrecorded consumption is estimated to make that statistic about thirty percent higher.

In 2010, WHO launched its first global report on substance use disorders and resources to deal with this global problem of epidemic proportions.

As part of this project, the WHO collected data from 147 countries, which representats 88% of the world’s population. One of its findings was that alcohol kills 35 people and illicit drugs kill four people per every 100,000 people annually.

Dr. Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse said that alcohol and illicit drugs are harming millions of people the world over in many different ways, including injuries, cardiovascular disease, HIV, Hepatitis C and several cancers. Dr. Saxena added, “WHO’s new report on substance abuse lays out what resources exist today in different parts of the world to reduce this harm, and highlights critical gaps in service delivery which should be overcome.”

Men are more likely to be affected by alcoholism and its burden of disease and injuries, which in 2004, accounted for 7.6% of all diseases and injuries among men. In the same year, 1.4% of women’s injuries and disease were linked to alcohol use, according to the report.

Another report also published by WHO, also calls for action to reduce the health impact of harmful alcohol use. In their Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health3 published early in 2011, data is provided on over 100 countries on alcohol consumption. In this latest report, they found that twenty percent of men in the Russian Federation and neighboring countries die from alcohol-related causes.

Harmful use of alcohol has other significant impacts on public health:

Almost 4% of all deaths worldwide are related to alcohol. Most alcohol-related deaths result from injuries, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis.

Globally, 320,000 young people aged 15-29 years die annually, from alcohol-related causes, accounting for 9% of all deaths in that age group.

From 1999, when WHO first began to report on alcohol policies by various countries, more than 34 countries have adopted some type of formal policies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Restrictions on alcohol marketing and drunk driving have increased, but there is no clear movement on most preventive measures. Many countries have weak and ineffective alcohol policies and prevention programs, according to this report.

Narconon has been helping alcoholics and drug addicts to effectively deal with their addiction and get sober and straight and stay that way for more than 40 years. Since 1966, on six continents of the world, each Narconon rehab center has effectively helped people stay free of alcohol.

If you suspect a family member might be an alcoholic, call today.

http://www.who.int/gho/alcohol/en/

http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/Media/en/

http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/alcohol_20110211/en/index.html

Her death was not ruled a suicide by the London coroner because she presumably didn’t realize that by drinking so much she pushed her blood alcohol level over five times the legal limit for drunk driving, and that this level was potentially fatal.

Her tragic death points out the actual risk factors involved in chronic excessive alcohol abuse. Amy was trying to battle the addiction according to this report, and had been prescribed, among other drugs, the sedative Librium to help her cope with the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, but clearly she couldn’t cope with those symptoms and literally drank herself to death.

Excessive drinking can cause death in many ways. One is the aspiration of vomit which can lead to asphyxiation; another is poisoning of the respiratory center in the brain. Of course, fatal automobile accidents and fights and violent crimes resulting in injury are some others.

Sadly, many college students and other young people who watch others drink excessively or even laugh at others who are passing out due to alcohol, later say they wish they’d sought medical attention for their friends. In many cases, these students end up feeling guilty for alcohol-related tragedies which could have been prevented.

Knowing the signs of alcohol poisoning would help, and also knowing what to do if one suspects someone they know has alcohol poisoning are crucial educational measures to prevent more needless deaths.

There are common myths about sobering up including taking a cold shower, drinking black coffee and sleeping it off. But these don’t work and could be dangerous as they overlook the fact that alcohol levels can keep climbing after drinking stops.

The only thing that reverses the effects of alcohol is time, which unfortunately is something your friend may not have if he is suffering from alcohol poisoning. Also, because many different factors affect the level of intoxication for each individual, it is hard to gauge exactly how much is too much alcohol consumption for one person.

Here is what happens to the body when it gets alcohol poisoning:

Alcohol depresses some of the nerves involved in involuntary actions of the body like breathing and the gag reflex which prevents choking.

Vomiting is a common response to alcohol drinking to excess, as alcohol is a stomach irritant. A person who is unconscious due to intoxication can inhale this vomit and therefore die of asphyxiation.

After a person has passed out in a drunken stupor, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise in their body. This is because the alcohol in the stomach and intestines keeps being absorbed into the bloodstream and it circulates throughout the body. Therefore it is dangerous to think the person will be okay if you just let them sleep it off. Their BAC can reach such high levels that they stop breathing before the body can break down the alcohol into harmless components.

So, what should one do if you suspect your friend has alcohol poisoning? First, know the danger signs, such as mental confusion, stupor, coma, vomiting, seizures, slow breathing and irregular breathing. Also, hypothermia is a symptom of alcohol poisoning, which can be evaluated by the paleness or bluish color of the skin, as well as a cold feel to the body.

Second, don’t wait for all these symptoms to present themselves in your friend. If you see one or two, it is time to call 911 and get help. If your friend is unconscious due to excessive alcohol consumption, they may never wake up.

You can take action also by seeing that any friend or family member who uses alcohol to excess gets help at a reputable and effective drug and alcohol rehab center. Surprisingly, in a 2009 study, nearly two-thirds of all alcohol addicts never even seek help to recover from their addiction.

Narconon has been helping alcoholics and other drug addicts to get sober and straight and stay that way for over 45 years on six continents of the world.

Call a Narconon alcohol treatment center if you know someone who needs help with alcohol abuse.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/story/2011-10-26/amy-winehouse-pathologist/50927104/

http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/otheralcoholinformation/factsaboutalcoholpoisoning.aspx

The Mexican government says more than 40,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calder took office in 2006 and threw the might of his federal police and military at the cartels. However, the death toll for 2010 was 15,237, the heaviest yet. The violence has been fueled by a splintering of drug organizations under siege, which leads to escalating rounds of bloody infighting over territory and criminal control. Some of the battles have spanned the border with the US, and now many heroin addicts in the Midwest of the US can trace their heroin usage to drugs supplied by the Mexican cartels.

In October 2010, the Mexican government announced that it was preparing a plan to radically alter the nation’s police force, hoping to instill a trust the public has never had in them and to choke off a critical source of manpower for organized crime.

In October, a New York Times article described how American law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations.

This is probably only the tip of the iceberg, however, as the problem of drugs from Mexico infiltrating the US is growing at an alarming rate. More and more American families are affected by this influx of illegal drugs, and despite the best efforts of Mexican and American authorities, it seems the supply of the drugs is endless.

How does one really stop this ever-burgeoning crime and drug wave? The answer is to cut down the demand for illegal drugs. This is a daunting challenge which will need to be approached by everyone, not only those directly affected by drug abuse. A concerted effort by churches, community groups, government, police and others will need to sincerely attack the drug dealers and ultimately the drug abusers so that they don’t have such a large demand for drugs.

But, if you or your family member has been directly affected by drug abuse, you know that it is a very difficult pattern to break. In fact, only with an extremely effective rehab program do drug abusers stand a chance of changing their destructive patterns and turning around their lives.

Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs are making a significant dent in the problem. The Narconon program has been helping all kinds of drug and alcohol abusers for over forty years. It boasts a success rate of seventy percent of its graduates who stay clean and sober for at least two years after they complete the program.

There are even simple programs which allow a friend or family member to help the addict to safely and comfortably withdraw from the drug. This “First Step” program has already been successfully introduced in many parts of Mexico, and its acceptance is rapidly growing.

Call one of our representatives if you need help finding a Narconon drug rehab center.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/us/31border.html

It is fairly well known that drinking and driving is a significant factor in automobile injuries and deaths in the U.S. In fact, alcohol was involved in forty percent of traffic crash fatalities and seven percent of all crashes in 2003, which tallied more than 17,000 fatalities and over 275,000 car accidental injuries, according to the NHTSA study of 2004.

In 2008, the NHTSA study found that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and that one out of three of those deaths are alcohol-related. Moreover, teen alcohol use kills about 6,000 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined.

If you or your family members have been involved in one of these accidents, you understand quite well the desire to get drunken drivers off the road, and more to the point, prevent them from drinking and driving in the first place. Many organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and others have sprung up and are working very diligently to lobby against drinking and driving.

It is evident that alcohol and its repercussions have potentially devastating consequences for both the individual and society.

But, how does this situation change? Is it just by better laws or enforcement of the existing laws? The NHTSA study states that while laws exist that restrict sales to intoxicated patrons and at events like “happy hour”, they can reduce alcohol-related harm only if they are adequately enforced. Enforcement or rather, lack of enforcement of these laws becomes one key to handling the issue.

Many states have program that try to increase compliance and enforcement, and some of these could be used as models for other states to adopt.

Prevention of drinking to excess by adequate educational programs early in school is another key to reducing alcohol-related destruction. Effective education which gets at the youngest children, as early as elementary school, is needed to change this behavior pattern.

By junior high school it is already too late. Although recent trends show that younger teens are binge drinking less (reduced from 9% to 6.4% among 8th graders in a recent study), there are still 15% of 10th graders reportedly binge drinking, and 22% of high school seniors who report that they have drunk 5 or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks, according to the 2011 study.

When one has an alcoholic in their midst, or when one’s family has been involved in these tragic accidents, the issue becomes very personal. If you are faced with the personal wreckage that living with an alcoholic brings, or if you want to help someone to successfully stop abusing alcohol or other drugs, there are several effective programs you could choose.

Narconon is one program which has been helping to broadly educate young people and getting people off drugs and alcohol effectively and with great success for over forty-five years. In over 50 countries around the world, Narconon has safely and successfully used its drug-free methods to help tens of thousands of addicts and alcoholics to live sober and drug-free lives.

We do not have Narconon meetings, but for more information and to learn how the Narconon drug and alcohol rehab program works, please read this article: http://www.narconon-news.org/program/narconon-alcohol-rehab-program.html.

DOT HS 809 878 Revised February 2005, Preventing Over-consumption of Alcohol Ð Sales to the Intoxicated and “Happy Hour” (Drink Special) Laws, National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/alcohol/pireweb/images/2240pierfinal.pdf

(NHTSA, 2009) Full cite: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety Facts 2008: Young Drivers”. DOT 811 169. Washington DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2009. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811169.PDF

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2004). Traffic Safety Facts 2003: Alcohol. DOT HS 809 761.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809897.PDF

Hingson, Ralph and D. Kenkel. “Social and Health Consequences of Underage Drinking.” In press. As quoted in Institute of Medicine National Research Council of the National Academies. Bonnie, Richard J. and Mary Ellen O’Connell, eds. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003.

http://drugabuse.gov/infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html

http://drugabuse.gov/newsroom/11/mtf11overview.html

In fact, in a large U.S. survey in 2009, it was estimated that more than 10 million people had driven under the influence in the prior year. Also, it revealed that in tests of drivers who had died in a car crash, 28 percent had tested positive for drugs other than alcohol. More than eleven percent of drivers in general also tested positive for drugs other than alcohol.

Marijuana is the second most commonly found drug after alcohol. And, as might be expected, the risk is even higher if the driver had also been drinking alcohol.

Authors of this study published online Oct. 4 in Epidemiologic Reviews believe their findings are especially relevant in light of recent moves to legalize medical marijuana in many states. However, none of the studies in this group looked directly at the use or effect of medical marijuana, now legal in 16 states plus the District of Columbia.

Experts cite that marijuana may interfere with reaction times and coordination, among other effects. The immediate effects of taking marijuana include rapid heart beat, disorientation, lack of physical coordination, often followed by depression or sleepiness. Some heavy users suffer panic attacks or anxiety. Marijuana is a hallucinogen which means that it is a substance that distorts one’s perception of the world around him.

The authors of the new study said it is critical to determine the crash risk related to marijuana in different doses, strengths, and administration methods, such as smoking versus vaporization.

They did conclude that the more the drug that was smoked, both in terms of frequency and potency, the greater was the likelihood of a crash.

These studies looked at effects on drivers in different time frames: some assessed marijuana use as little as one hour before driving while others looked at use as long ago as one year. According to one study cited, driving skills are acutely affected for three to four hours after use.

Couple these findings with the fact that marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world, and that more than 14.4 million individuals reported that they had smoked marijuana at least once during the previous month, according to a 2007 survey in the U.S., and the future of automobile safety policy comes into question.

Despite some people’s opinions, marijuana is addictive and people often cannot stop using it when they want to, thus increasing their risk of accidents, causing harm to themselves and others.

Narconon has been successfully rehabilitating drug and alcohol addicts for the past 45 years, with its very effective, drug-free methods of withdrawal. Narconon has centers in 50 countries and offers residential rehabilitation as well as outpatient options in some places.

If you know someone who has a drug abuse problem call a Narconon drug rehab counselor today.

• http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011-10-14/Pot-smoking-may-more-than-double-crash-risk/50774786/1
• http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/04/epirev.mxr017.abstract
• http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/marijuana.html

What would we want for our young adults? As future business owners, legislators and professors, they should be completing their educations, starting their careers, and giving the next generation its start.

Unfortunately, too many are getting their plans for the future derailed by prescription pain reliever abuse and addiction. As an example of one of the prescription pain relievers seeing the most growth, OxyContin was introduced to the United States in 1996. In 1998, only 1.5 percent of all drug addiction treatment admissions for those between 18 and 24 were for prescription pain relievers.

Some very effective marketing for OxyContin followed and prescription numbers began to skyrocket. By 2008, US sales of OxyContin alone topped $2.5 BILLION. And by 2008, treatment admissions for pain reliever addiction in the 18 to 24 age bracket hit 13.7 percent of all drug rehab admissions. The percentage of admissions for those between 25 and 34 increased from 2.1 percent to 13.5 percent over the same ten years.

“When it comes to abuse of prescription pain relievers, the only protection is a good education on drugs,” stated Bobby Wiggins, spokesperson for Narconon. Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and education. “The person trying to sell you an 80 milligram OxyContin tablet is not going to warn you that the drug is addictive. And Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of OxyContin is certainly not going to make this plainly known.”

When Purdue Pharmaceuticals was fined more than $630 million dollars in 2007, the US Attorney’s Office charged them with failing “to adequately warn consumers of the risks,” particularly the risk of addiction. But by 2007, it was too late for many people who had already become addicted or even overdosed on “Oxys.” Many other people will never read or hear about this charge and will make the very common assumption that “if a doctor prescribes OxyContin, it cannot be harmful.” Tragically, this will be a fatal assumption for some people. For others, it will rob them of their plans and goals, their families and perhaps even their freedom, if they are unlucky enough to become addicted and lose it all.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycodone

OxyContin or its generic version oxycodone is not the only prescription pain relief drug addicting our young adults. The list is long. By their generic names, the list includes: codeine, fentanyl (calculated to be at least 50 times stronger than heroin), hydromorphone, meperidine, morphine, pentazocine, dextropropoxyphene, methadone (used both for opiate addiction treatment as well as pain relief), and hydrocodone combinations sold as Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet. All opiates create euphoric effects when abused by crushing and snorting, injecting or smoking.

• http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/18862/ndic_2010.pdf

Most of those who succumb to prescription drug abuse are abusing more than one drug at a time and are not the holders of a legitimate prescription for the drug or drugs that killed them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found this in a statistical analysis of those who died of prescription drug overdoses in West Virginia in 2006.

More than 79 percent of these people actually had multiple substances in their bodies at the time of death. These multiple substances included other prescription drugs, alcohol and/or illicit drugs. The same analysis showed that 63 percent had no prescription for the drugs they were abusing.

Naturally enough, deaths follow the increase in prescriptions being issued and admissions to drug addiction treatment. The number of people dying due to unintentional opioid overdoses increased from 5,547 in 2002 to 11,001 in 2006, a 98 percent increase.

“Without sufficient education on the risks of abusing prescription drugs, young and old alike are taking their lives in their hands when they snort or shoot oxycodone, hydrocodone or any of these drugs,” stated Wiggins.

“That’s why Narconon drug and alcohol rehab centers around the world offer drug education classes to schools, civic groups and corporations, wherever young and career-minded people gather. “Addiction must be treated on both fronts: rehabilitating the addicted individual and preventing the young from using or abusing substances that might result in addiction. With both lines of attack at work, we intend to achieve a drug-free future for all.” Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and Narconon drug education groups operate from major cities on every continent.

For more information about the Narconon drug rehabilitation and education program, contact us by phone or email.

In March 2011, Bridget Brennan, New York’s special narcotics prosecutor, testified that prescriptions for oxycodone doubled in the city over the past three years. Ms. Brennan defined the problem with a frankness seldom seen: “The public flat out needs to be better informed about how widespread the problem is and how dangerously addictive these substances are. It’s pure opium. And that’s an addictive drug.”

In 2007, 500,000 prescriptions for OxyContin and its generic form oxycodone were filled in the five boroughs of New York City. By 2010, the number had jumped to more than one million. This means one prescription for one of every eight people, or 13 percent of the population.

But in Staten Island, there were enough prescriptions for this addictive painkiller issued to supply 28 percent of the borough’s population. Add hydrocodone, another popular opioid painkiller, and the supply increases to 33 percent.

In Brooklyn and the Bronx, oxycodone prescriptions increased 116 percent and 120 percent, respectively, between 2007 and 2010.

In a 2010 visit to a New York City drug rehabilitation center serving US military veterans, Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske noted that one in eight active duty military personnel are also current users of illicit drugs, primarily prescription drugs.

• http://www.vosizneias.com/78820/2011/03/16/new-york-ny-1-in-8-new-yorkers-is-on-oxy-pain-killers
• http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press10/111010.html

High Drug Crime Numbers Follow High Prescription Numbers

How many of these prescriptions wind up in the illicit market? There is no way to know. But one index may be found in a similar increase in drug crime and emergency room visits.

Drug Crime: In these same three years, the special prosecutor’s caseload of prescription drug arrests constituted just 6 percent of her total workload. By 2010, the proportion of the caseload devoted to this type of arrest more than doubled, arriving at 15 percent. Ms. Brennan noted the high levels of violence that accompanies the black market sale of prescription drugs.

Every year, about 80,000 people with drug or alcohol problems leave New York City jails and return to the community or the streets. Few received any drug recovery treatment while they were in jail. Without any substantive help, they are likely to re-offend, return to drug or alcohol abuse and possibly return to jail.

Emergency Room visits: In New York City, for every 100,000 people, more than 150 of them will visit an emergency room for abuse or misuse of pharmaceutical drugs. Add to this another 62 who consumed alcohol along with their pharmaceutical drugs, another 39 who added an illicit drug and 32 who abused both prescription and illicit drugs together.

Of these ER visits, thirty were for opiates/opioids and of these, nearly 12 per 100,000 people in New York City visited an ER for abuse or misuse of oxycodone. With more than eight million people in the city, this brings the total number of visits to almost 1,000 per year for oxycodone alone .

• http://www.samhsa.gov/statesinbrief/CityReports/7401_MetroReports_NewYorkCity_NY.pdf

  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16739041

“When you have a situation spiraling out of control like this,” stated Wiggins, “one component of the solution must be effective drug rehabilitation programs like the one administered at Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers around the world. In more than 120 Narconon drug rehab centers, the Narconon drug recovery program results in seven out of ten graduates returning home knowing how to stay clean and sober.”

Contact us immediately if you know someone who has a problem with drug addiction. Our drug rehabilitation counselors are always on standby to help.