Hope for Alcoholism Treatment
Many families have learned the frustration of trying to help an alcoholic family member when they did… [more]
Crack Cocaine Recovery
The devastation that crack cocaine wreaked on America in the late 1980s was about as destructive of families… [more]
Teen Alcohol and Prescription Drug Use May Create Need for Rehab
It may come as no surprise to parents of teenagers that there is often a hidden world among teens that… [more]
Should Parents Use Drug Tests if More than Half of All High School Students are Abusing Drugs?
In light of recent study results that show that more than fifty percent of schoolchildren have abused… [more]
How Pain Killers Can Lead to Addiction
How Pain Killers Can Lead to Addiction It can often happen that one inadvertently gets hooked on pain… [more]
The Benefits to Your Community of Effective Drug Rehab
If one looks at the costs of drug treatment, law enforcement, the judicial system and welfare costs due… [more]
At What Age Does One Need Alcohol or Drug Abuse Rehab?
It seems that some people try alcohol at a very young age and become “hooked” very fast. The addiction to alcohol can be very strong, and may start early, making a young person never really able to give up drinking after that. In many cases, his addiction isn’t limited to alcohol, as more drugs get added to the mix whenever an opportunity occurs. As drug usage continues, alcohol and other drug addiction rehab is needed.
Many people are turning to alcohol at earlier ages. In 2010, the average age of those starting to drink was 16.1 years of age, when one considers those who started drinking under age 21 in the U.S. Almost five million young people start drinking each year while they are still under 21. And, some of these also need alcohol rehab even at that young age. More than 28,000 youths under 21 went to alcohol abuse rehab while another 36,000 started at drug rehab for help with addiction to alcohol plus another drug, (often prescription pills or marijuana) in 2009.
On a somewhat positive note, the Monitoring the Future Study for 2010 showed a decrease in teenagers’ smoking (of tobacco) and alcohol use, but at the same time, there were increased numbers of students reporting marijuana smoking and prescription pill abuse. This annual survey of school-aged children in the eighth, tenth and the 12th grades showed no net improvement, but a switch in preferences, with marijuana smoking now outranking cigarette smoking and prescription pills gaining popularity at an alarming rate.
If you can raise a teenager who never drinks or uses drugs up until the age of 21, the National Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction at Columbia University studies show that this person will be almost certain never to drink or abuse drugs. And luckily, if they never use drugs or alcohol they will definitely not need alcohol abuse or drug rehab programs.
But, if your family is affected by the pain and suffering of drug abuse, even by very young people, the solution is effective drug rehab. Worldwide, one of the best results for lasting sobriety is obtained at Narconon drug and alcohol recovery centers. There are Narconon facilities in fifty locations on six continents of the world. In all drug treatment programs, most average about a 16 to 20 percent recovery rate. At Narconon, the average recovery rate is 70% of those who complete the program. Based on follow-up interviews, seven of ten stay drug and alcohol free at least two years following graduation from Narconon.
One of the reasons for this success is that Narconon treats both the body and the mental or emotional ties to drugs. It addresses first the physical withdrawal, closely followed by the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program, which effectively removes the drug toxins and residues from the body. This program addresses the urges or cravings that the residues can cause if left in the body’s fatty tissues where they are stored. Because of the unique regimen of daily moderate exercise, good nutrition with carefully administered nutritional supplements, and time spent in a dry heat sauna, the body is able to eliminate these residues so that they can no longer cause cravings. People completing this part of the Narconon program report far fewer and sometimes no more drug cravings, in addition to a fresh outlook on life and clearer thinking unclouded by the fogginess of drugs.
The Narconon program also addresses the life skills that the recovering addict needs to be able to reclaim his life and begin a drug-free and productive lifestyle that will last long after rehab is done. Before one completes the full Narconon program, he will have done eight different portions of the program, each addressing a different aspect of handling addiction and new life skills. This is a comprehensive, long-term program which is uniform all over the world. Whether you are in Asia, Africa, Russia, Europe or North or South America, there is a Narconon near you.
Find out all the details of the Narconon program by calling and speaking with a trained Intake Counselor at Narconon’s International headquarters
Resources:
http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm#Ch5
http://www.casacolumbia.org/templates/ChairmanStatements.aspx?articleid=607
Choices for Addiction Recovery
While it is accurate that drug and alcohol affects the mind as well as the body, there is a physical dependence which the body develops after taking drugs. The body actually builds up a tolerance to any drug, meaning more and more of the substance is required to have the desired effect. And, when one removes the drug, the body physically goes through aches, pains, cramps and sometimes nausea and vomiting while it is trying to get back to its normal functions minus the drugs.
These effects may be severe, but there are also the mental or emotional ties to drugs. When someone uses a drug for any period of time to escape or cope with the problems he faces in life, he feels he needs the drug to continue functioning. In fact, when he is drunk or in some way under the influence of a drug, he is not able to feel the usual feelings of stress or anxiety in his life, and may be operating with a sense of false euphoria. He may not even notice dangers in the environment which he should be aware of, and may cause or be involved in accidents or injuries due to operating in this fog created by alcohol or drugs.
Whether one decides to take his first steps to recovery and break the cycle of addiction, or he has tried many times to put the addiction behind him and failed, there are many alternative recovery resources available that do not follow the pattern of conventional 28-30 day programs.
Sometimes people don’t agree with the philosophy of various rehab programs, and wish to find one that more closely matches their own philosophy. Some people recognize it will take longer than just one month to repair the damage that drug or alcohol addiction can cause.
Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs around the world offer a comprehensive and drug-less approach to rehab which results in 70% of its program completions staying sober and drug free at least two years after graduation. This compares to about 16-20% recovery achieved at most conventional rehabs.
The whole person is addressed at Narconon in a holistic, long-term program that allows him to recover both physically and mentally from his drug abuse. One has the opportunity to examine the causes that led into the substance abuse in the first place, to repair the damage he may have caused others while he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and he learns the life skills he will need to maintain his sober lifestyle once recovery is complete. For most people, this complete rehab program will take anywhere from three to five months. Each person progresses through the eight parts of this recovery program at his own speed. He then gets to achieve for himself each skill he will need so that he is sure he will be able to use these tools to rebuild and create a productive, happy and drug -free life.
Find out all the details of the Narconon program by calling and speaking to a trained Intake Counselor at Narconon’s international headquarters. You can talk to them about your own situation for yourself or a family member suffering with addiction. You may feel better by just talking to someone who really understands the problem of addiction. There is hope for effective rehab at this alternative resource. Narconon operates fifty centers on six continents and has been helping people to recover from addiction for the past forty-five years.
There is also drug education available at various Narconon centers worldwide. Call today to schedule a drug education presentation, or to get help for you or your loved one.
Club Drug Rehab at Narconon
The term club drugs signifies drugs that have been developed recently and are used most often at parties, dance clubs, raves and similar venues. The drugs in this class include those synthesized substances that are known by various names like Ecstasy, GHB, ketamine and mephedrone. Some other drugs like cocaine, marijuana, PCP and LSD, as well as alcohol are also sometimes used at these locations.
Of all of them, Ecstasy is the most popular. It is very addictive and can be fatal if the user’s body temperature goes too high. For this reason, some party locales offer bottles of cold water at exorbitant prices and some offer “chill rooms” where the temperatures are kept low so that dancers can cool off.
Ecstasy is a stimulant, similar to methamphetamine, causing rapid heart rates and increases in body temperature. It also causes increased tactical pleasure in the user and sometimes leads to casual sex with persons who are practically strangers. One example was a woman who would go to clubs and get Ecstasy from a man. She then would feel close to him, thought he was her “true love,” and sleep with him, waking up the next morning wondering why she had done so. Then, due to her addiction to Ecstasy, she would repeat the same action the next night, and so on.
GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is a popular club drug that can be deadly. It often is used in the case of drug-related sexual assault, as the assault is made easier since this drug makes one physically incapacitated and helpless, and its victims are unable to consent to sexual activity. It is nicknamed “Grievous Bodily Harm” because it makes one disassociate from his body, and have no sensation of injury to it.
Since this class of drugs is synthetic, is all one would have to do is change a single molecule of the chemical formula to create a different drug, which may enable dealers to dodge laws designed to keep these drugs off the street.
As with any drug addiction like heroin, alcohol or cocaine, if one is addicted to club drugs, he needs effective drug rehab. For most users who are on the road to recovery, a long term program or 90 days or longer is the best chance one has for lasting sobriety.
At Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in fifty locations around the world, it’s been found that a drug-less approach to rehab treatment is possible. The drug addict does not need to substitute another drug for the one he is addicted to in order to recover. Narconon offers an effective, long-term, alternative solution to drug abuse and dependency.
The Narconon rehab program addresses the physical drug cravings, as well as the guilt, destruction of relationships and other losses in self-respect that a drug addict suffers. In each Narconon facility, both the physical, mental and emotional reasons for drug abuse are thoroughly addressed in a safe, secure environment, designed for a complete recovery. The person who is recovering from drug abuse has a chance to regain his integrity and chart a course for his future, based upon common sense moral values and personal goals.
One learns skills at Narconon that can enable him to maintain a drug-free, productive life upon completing the program, and seven of ten graduates of Narconon remain sober and drug-free at least two years after finishing the program.
Anyone addicted to club drugs needs help to achieve a lasting drug-free future. There is help available at Narconon centers, with locations on six continents. Please call a trained intake counselor at Narconon to find out all the details of the full Narconon program. You can help someone you care about who is using club or other drugs to get clean and straight and back on track.
Non-Traditional Drug Rehab Treatment at Narconon
Many people who are faced with the prospect of drug rehab are not enthralled with the idea of taking one drug to get off of another. In fact, many heroin addicts who were given methadone to “cure their addiction” are now addicted to methadone. The cure was to substitute one drug for another!
At Narconon, no drugs are used to replace the drug addict’s drug of choice. The rehab philosophy Narconon uses is a holistic approach, addressing the entire person, his lifestyle, his relationships with his family and friends, and how he can successfully get off drugs and stay off them.
Many families are seeking a non-traditional program which really produces results. In particular, this may occur when the drug addict has gone from one rehab to another, never really breaking the cycle of addiction. The reason for this is that the real core issues of handling his life haven’t been addressed. Drugs were a solution for him for some area of his life he could not confront and handle. Until he makes this change, so that he has skills to confront and handle those areas, the revolving door pattern of drug rehab will continue.
What really qualifies a drug rehab programs as successful is their sobriety rate after completing the program. In most US Rehab programs there is about a 16 to 20 percent success rate. In some other countries of the world such as Russia, there is no real drug-free future envisioned. Instead, the drug addict is treated after rehab or “narcology” as they call it, by using barbiturates for the rest of his life.
A Drug-Free Life is Achievable
With a completely different philosophy that says a drug-free life is not only possible but completely achievable, the Narconon drug and alcohol treatment program helps to repair the damage done by drugs and alcohol first, and then addresses the life skills needed to handle life. In that way, the graduate has the skills needed to stay sober and live a productive, drug-free life when he returns home.
The staff at Narconon understands the pattern of addiction and that some recovering addicts are battling the urge to use drugs again and return to the addictive lifestyle.
One part of the program that helps to eliminate those urges is the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program. It consists of a very specific regimen of nutrition, including good food, minerals and vitamins, and some moderate exercise along with daily time in a dry-heat sauna. The program has been proven to flush out the drug residues and toxins from the body. Once these are eliminated, those completing say that their drug cravings reduce or are gone and slow, unclear thinking goes away too. Many addicts report that following this phase of the program, they also have more energy.
This is only one of eight steps of the program, and once one has completed this step, the person at Narconon will study and learn many life skills which will help him to reverse the damage he has done during his drug addiction. He will learn to make better decisions and to start a life that is controlled by his own restored moral compass and not determined by the need to get a “fix.”
Narconon program results speak for themselves. Fully seven out of every ten persons who complete the program stay drug-free and sober at least two years after graduation. Narconon mettings are not needed either.
Drug addiction doesn’t have to be a revolving door of rehabs that don’t work. There is hope for a drug-free life and thousands of people have found the help needed at Narconon.
The Narconon program exists on six continents of the world. Call a counselor to learn more about Narconon and its non-traditional drug treatment program.
Mexican Drug Cartels Responsible for Deaths of More than 40,000 Since 2006
According to a recent New York Times1 article, Mexico is deeply engrossed in a battle with well-financed drug cartels.
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.
Resources:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/us/31border.html
Narconon Spokesperson Asks “What is Our Wish for Our Young Adults? Probably Not Abusing Prescription Pain Relievers!”
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.
Narconon Spokesperson Issues Urgent Warning: New York City Becoming Inundated with Opioid Prescription Drugs
A new report paints a very grim picture of the escalation of prescription drug consumption in New York City. Narconon Spokesperson Bobby Wiggins of Narconon International warned that increases in New York City serve as a harbinger for effects that are rolling out across the rest of the country. Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and education.
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.
Narconon Spokesperson Reports: Appalachian Region Hard Hit by Ruthless Prescription Drug “Cartels”
Sometimes there are statistics that just take your breath away. Like this one: “Law enforcement officers estimate that 90 percent of all property crimes committed in Cabell, Lincoln, and Wayne Counties, West Virginia, stem from OxyContin abuse.” That statistic illustrates the pain and problems existing in Appalachia due to the prevalence of prescription drug abuse throughout the area.
http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs40/40380/drugover.htm
The Appalachian mountains stretch, depending on who is describing them, from Maine to Central Georgia, and from Eastern Ohio to the Coastal Plains. The core of the Appalachians is generally considered to be Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia and these areas bear the brunt of the prescription drug abuse problem. But outlying Appalachian areas are just as hard hit in many cases.
Like Scioto Country in Eastern Ohio. Few families escape the curse of having at least one of their members addicted to prescription opioids. Sometimes more than one, as in the case of the Mannering family, who lost one daughter to a drug-related murder and a son to prison on drug charges.
Narconon spokesperson Bobby Wiggins commented, “Drug dealers bringing prescription pain killers into this area are essentially predators, seeing an opportunity to reap huge profits for very little risk when they can find a corrupt medical professional to dispense the drugs. The ones who suffer most are the families at the distribution end of the supply chain.” Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and education.
Babies Tested Positive for Drugs
In Scioto County, nearly one in ten newborn babies tests positive for drugs. Fatal overdoses have quadrupled in the last ten years and surpassed traffic accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/us/20drugs.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
One report stated that the Appalachian region of Kentucky experienced drug-related deaths at four times the rate of the rest of the state. And a law enforcement officer commented that more people in Ohio died in 2008 and 2009 of overdoses than died in the World Trade Center attack in 2001.
http://www.reachoflouisville.com/SIG/Appalachia.pdf
One of the oddities of the drug abuse in the area is that much of the illicit prescription drug supply comes from other states, particularly Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania or Ohio.
South Florida has been a particular problem for Kentucky law enforcements for years. Individuals board planes in Kentucky, visit pain clinics in South Florida and return with hundreds of pills to dispense for a dollar a milligram or more when it’s OxyContin.
In March 2011, Dr. Michael Shook pleaded guilty to illegally distributing 25,000 doses of OxyContin and methadone from the Lauderhill Medical Clinic in Oakland Park, Florida, to Kentuckians who made the trip south. Conveniently, his clinic even had an on-site pharmacy.
By late 2008 and all of 2009, 90 percent of the Lauderhill Medical Clinic’s patients were from Kentucky. For $6,000 a week, this doctor performed limited or no exams and prescribed addictive narcotics that were taken back to Kentucky for illicit sale. Some of the same patients also visited former doctors Randy Weiss of Philadelphia and Lloyd Naramore in Ohio for more supplies. Dr. Shook faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and the lingering knowledge that he supplied the drugs that could have caused hundreds of overdose deaths far from home.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/kye/press/march/shook_michael_sent.html
In 2009, the number of people traveling to Philadelphia and Ohio for illicit supplies of narcotics skyrocketed. In just four month’s time, the number of people visiting out of state pain clinics on a regular basis increased from 10 to an astonishing 140. In one clinic in Philadelphia, Dr. Timothy Hall managed to dispense 200,000 pills before being caught. In some areas, so many people are involved in these drug trafficking rings that they are now being referred to as cartels.
http://www.facesofdrugabuse.net/documents/2011-conference/presentations/6-prescriptions-addressing-the-epidemic.pdf.
http://www.claiborneprogress.net/view/full_story/10677996/article-%E2%80%9CPill-Mill%E2%80%9D-dismantled
The potential profitability of this type of drug ring is staggering. Each supply of 180 OxyContins can score the drug dealer between $14,000 and $18,000 once the drugs are sold.
Fighting Drug Addiction
“At Narconon centers around the world, we are fighting the drug abuse and addiction problem with our successful in-patient drug recovery programs and our proven drug education curriculum,” added Wiggins. “We will continue to support families who wish to rescue their loved ones from drug addiction with our long-term residential drug rehab program and educate young people and employees on the real dangers associated with substance abuse.”
Narconon drug rehabilitation services and drug education classes are available at more than 120 centers on six continents.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for help if you know someone suffering from drug addiction. Our drug rehab counselors are here to help.
Smuggling Efforts Reach New Highs in Sonora, Mexico Reports Narconon Spokesperson
With the billions of dollars of profits that are raked in each year in the illicit drug trade, there is enormous motivation for traffickers to innovate new smuggling methods. The last year has seen homemade submarines bringing loads of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, cocaine smuggled into the US in Easter eggs, and new, sophisticated tunnels dug under the US-Mexico border. And then there are the usual vehicles with drug packages hidden in the frames, seats, doors, roofs or gas tanks, and pedestrians with drugs taped to their bodies or hidden among their belongings.
In late January 2011, traffickers in the Mexican state of Sonora came up with a new one: a nine-foot catapult that would sling packages of marijuana far across the international border.
The US National Guard in Arizona monitoring a remote video feed spotted the primitive catapult that was hauled into place next to the international border by a team of men, and then was used to toss four-pound packages of weed over the border. The National Guard tipped off the Mexican military and military personnel disrupted the operation, seizing 45 pounds of marijuana and the catapult but making no arrests.
“The efforts of drug cartels to get their products into our neighborhoods is never-ceasing,” stated Narconon spokesperson Bobby Wiggins. Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and education. “Once the drugs are in this country, traffickers and the drug dealers distributing the products on the street draw no lines. They will sell their addictive wares to anyone without concern for destroying lives. The only protection comes from avoiding substance abuse and finding lasting recovery from addiction.”
Wiggins cited the report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that said that nearly half of all addiction treatment admissions were repeats. When the addictive substance was an opiate, the proportion of repeat treatments went up to 60 percent. “As long as addiction treatment fails, Americans will continue to be customers of the drug cartels. That is why Narconon centers have developed a workable system of helping people achieve a lasting recovery. Since 1966, drug addicts have been learning to live clean and sober, the Narconon way.”
In more than 100 Narconon centers around the world, seven out of ten graduates succeed in staying clean after they go home. For more information on the Narconon drug rehab program, visit http://www.narconon.org
Rising Statistics of Children Killed Due to Neglect or Abuse Says Narconon Spokesperson
There are many areas in which we want to see growth. We would like to see children’s reading and math scores increase, and we’d like the economy to grow. 
But when the statistics of the number of children losing their lives to neglect or abuse rise, then it’s time to take action to counter this trend.
From 1998 through 2007, the statistics of children killed from neglect or abuse have risen from just over 3 per thousand to nearly 5 per thousand. Tragically, much of the neglect or abuse of children is related to the substance abuse problems of the parent.
It’s estimated that more than 60 percent of child maltreatment cases involve a parent with a substance abuse problem. In 2008, more than 1,700 children died from abuse or neglect. Alcohol was frequently related to physical abuse and cocaine use was often connected to sexual abuse of children.
Saving children’s lives ranks very high as a good reason to help an addict overcome their addiction. As more than five million children live in a home where illicit drugs are used and nearly ten million live with someone who abuses alcohol, eliminating addiction could save a thousand young lives each year.
One of the major problems with helping addicts with children overcome addiction is the fact that many drug rehabilitation centers see the same addicts for treatment, over and over again. Some rehab facilities will state a sobriety rate of 10 percent to 20 percent and then explain that “relapse is simply part of recovery. This is not the way addiction treatment has to be.
At Narconon drug and alcohol recovery centers around the world, seven out of ten graduates stay clean and sober for at least two years after they go home. This is the way drug treatment should work. This is the kind of substance abuse treatment that saves young lives.
In more than 100 centers across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa, addicts find the help they need to achieve a productive, enjoyable and sober life, and students learn the truth about drug and alcohol abuse. For more information on Narconon, visit www.narconon.org
