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]
Tragedy of Painkiller Addiction
Addiction to painkilling drugs has become one of the most prevalent addictions in America and other countries today. Recently America’s most popular prescription drug was hydrocodone, an opioid pain killer, in combination with acetaminophen – also called Vicodin, Lorcet or Lortab. In 2010, there were an astonishing 131.2 million prescriptions for this drug. (Or about one prescription written for every 2.5 Americans.)
By looking at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) statistics, one can see how dire this trend is. Their 2010 report showed that prescription drug addiction is up 430% from 1999 to 2009, based on the number of people who entered drug treatment for this addiction problem.
How does one get addicted to prescription pain medication? Surely, so many people are not in such horrific chronic pain that it takes huge doses of opiate pain medication to relieve it.
It starts for many with a simple legitimate use of pain medication after surgery, a severe injury, or even a tooth extraction. One may just need a few pills and the pain is gone. However, the person may continue to use the painkiller after that initial pain has gone away. He may seem to “feel better” or just not have some of his usual aches and pains when he takes the pills. Of course, they are opiates, so they do relieve pain, and they are highly addictive.
Some people won’t realize they have a problem even though they find they need more and more of the pills to keep the good feeling of a pain-free body. What has happened is the body has developed a tolerance for them, which means it needs higher doses to feel the relief that was previously achieved with a lower dosage.
Now the person may go back to the doctor and request more prescriptions, he may report that the medication he has isn’t sufficient to handle his pain. The doctor may fill this request a few times, but he may eventually refuse to do so, and now the person needs the drug in order to feel normal, and not feel so achy or sick. He is in trouble now, as he has no legitimate prescription to refill.
Many solutions have been used for this painkilling drug addiction dilemma, some pretty inventive. One can go doctor shopping, in different counties or cities, or even across State lines, in attempts to get prescriptions from different doctors and pharmacies that may not be aware of other prescriptions already written. (Several states are wising up to this phenomenon however, and are tracking prescriptions written for such drugs and penalizing pharmacies for filling multiple prescriptions.)
Some people even try crossing international borders, and purchase drugs over the Internet, even coming from China or India, which brings into question the purity or the actual dosage of the drugs they are getting.
Others switch to heroin when they can no longer obtain their prescription medicines, subjecting themselves to the potential danger of an accidental overdose.
In any case, what has happened is now the person has become addicted to these painkillers. He has lost control of his life and needs an effective drug rehab program to bring him back. Some programs state a recovery rate of only 10 to 20 percent, but the Narconon drug rehab program continues to have 70 percent of its graduates who go on to lead sober and productive lives.
The secret of this program is that it completely addresses the reasons for going down the road of addiction, as well as handling the physical results of such drug use, and giving the person the life skills he will need to continue to live drug-free after completing the program.
Narconon offers a long-term residential treatment program that gives the person a chance to reclaim his life and rebuild his personal integrity which may have been lost during his bout with addiction. He learns how he can stay stable and make good choices in his life, despite life’s challenges.
For the physical addiction, the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program is a unique combination of time spent in a dry-heat sauna along with moderate exercise and liberal nutritional supplementation. This strict regimen results in activating the body’s ability to flush out old drug residues that have been stored in the fatty tissues. Eliminating these toxins has been shown to help those recovering from addiction to have fewer cravings for drugs and in some cases eliminates the cravings altogether.
You may not believe it now, but you or your loved one can safely and completely get off pain pills. Call Narconon to find out more details of the comprehensive Narconon drug rehab program.
Resources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/king-of-pain_b_240998.html
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/DASIS/teds09st/teds2009stweb.pdf
http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1112074117.aspx
http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/?p=4888
Alcohol Poisoning Prevention through Alcohol Rehab
While it may seem improbable that one could drink so much alcohol to actually kill oneself, it certainly can and does happen. This is not from some collateral damage of drinking such as a car accident; it is that the person can actually drink themselves to death.
This was demonstrated recently by the unfortunate deaths of both Amy Winehouse and Jani Lane (lead singer of the band Warrant), who died of alcohol poisoning the month following Amy’s death. Amy died in July of 2011 of alcohol poisoning according to a London coroner’s inquest report. They found that her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was over five times the legal limit for driving.
What occurs when one drinks a large quantity of alcohol in a short amount of time is this causes the body to suppress its respiratory functions. The BAC rises in the body so much that the person may pass out (lose consciousness). He may be breathing very slowly and the body may feel cold to the touch; his heart may start to beat irregularly as well. If one hasn’t arrived at a hospital emergency room at this stage to get sobered up quickly, there is another stage that can occur which is potentially deadly.
This second phase of alcohol poisoning is what occurs when the person has actually stopped drinking. He may be passed out and yet there is so much alcohol in his body that the bloodstream continues to absorb the alcohol that is in his stomach or intestinal tract. This can cause his BAC to rise even further than what it was when he was awake, and can make him vomit while he’s unconscious, thus making him choke on the vomit. Or if the BAC is too high he can simply cease breathing. Then he’s dead.
Fortunately, there is effective help available in the form of Narconon alcohol and drug rehabilitation. When one cannot control their drinking they do not have control over when and how much to drink. They certainly are not able to judge when to quit consuming alcohol, and since alcohol also impairs good judgment, an alcoholic or one who is drinking excessively could actually cause their own demise.
Treatment programs abound but most claim success rates at about 16 – 20 percent. The Narconon program is a comprehensive, holistic and drugless long-term residential rehab (over 90 days on average), which actually results in lasting sobriety for seven out of ten graduates. This is without having to attend Narconon meetings. There are Narconon treatment centers on six continents in 50 locations around the world which have been helping alcoholics and drug addicts to get sober and clean and stay that way for the past 45 years.
The Narconon program provides a thorough detox of the body first, and follows that up with a full training program in life skills that are needed to regain a drug-free lifestyle.
In the first phase, a person entering Narconon goes through a closely supervised withdrawal period, made more bearable by good nutrition and gentle massage-like assists to ease the pains of the body’s withdrawal.
Then one enters the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program. This unique program offers the correct combination of vitamins and minerals, moderate exercise and daily time spent in a dry-heat sauna. All of these are closely supervised and personally tailored so that one can actually rid the body of harmful residues (toxins) left from the drugs or alcohol he had been taking. These toxins lodge in the fatty tissue of the body, and without this unique regimen, will remain there for years where they can cause one to feel cravings from time to time for more drugs or alcohol. When they are eliminated from the body, the result is a more awake, brighter person with either far fewer or no more cravings at all.
When the physical detox is complete, one enters the second part of the Narconon program. In this part, one learns essential life skills and makes a plan for a drug-free and alcohol-free future. When one is certain he can maintain his sobriety despite the hurdles that life puts in one’s path, he graduates the program.
Drinking while you are pregnant is unsafe for you and your baby. Please call and find out how Narconon drug and alcohol rehab can help.
If you know someone who needs help with alcohol abuse, please call a Narconon qualified drug rehab intake counselor today.
Resources:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/10/jani-lane-warrant-cause-of-death-alcohol-poisoning.html
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/10/26/coroner-rules-amy-winehouse-died-from-alcohol-poisoning/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/14-year-dies-alcohol-poisoning-slumber-party/story?id=14065038#.Tx9gZJhA9SU
Drug Abuse in College
A young person going to college represents hope for the future and the chance of fulfilling one’s dreams. Parents should be proud of the child who can accomplish this today, but should also be wary of the dangers colleges offer to can cause the student to veer off the straight path. These may not be something that they have prepared their child to handle.
One pitfall that is all too easy to fall into is heavy alcohol consumption or binge drinking. It has been found by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse that nearly half of all full-time college students engage in this activity. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting. Some forty percent of college students report binge drinking, and 68% of students say they drink some alcohol.
Unfortunately, alcohol-related accidents claim more than 1,700 students’ lives annually. Some overdose themselves on alcohol to the point of dying from alcohol poisoning, where they fall into a coma and never awaken. Some die in traffic accidents related to alcohol-impaired driving.
Another hazard of college campuses which has been going sky high recently is the use of prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. A short time ago this was restricted to tranquilizers and sedatives, and then prescription painkillers, so that now drugs such as OxyContin, Fentanyl, Vicodin, Xanax, and Nembutal are drug names now known to most college students. In addition, in the past ten years or so, stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin have gained popularity on college campuses. These are often prescribed to younger children and teens for difficulties studying that are labeled ADD and ADHD, which supposedly require drugging for a student to learn. However, these drugs are very strong stimulants, similar or almost identical to speed, which people buy to get high, often becoming addicted. College students using Adderall to supposedly aid their concentration can easily start down the road to addiction to this drug early on.
Marijuana represents another very popular pastime with a third of all college students reportedly abusing the drug. This, according to the latest Monitoring the Future study, is on the increase, now surpassing tobacco use among young people in high schools.
The risk of marijuana isn’t just that of the drug’s effects, but unfortunately those who smoke marijuana heavily also seem to be involved in other higher risk behavior such as unsafe sexual activity and they often combine marijuana with alcohol and sometimes with other drugs. The result is that students who use marijuana often do not maintain optimum study schedules so they have poorer academic performance than non-drug users.
It isn’t typical that one would plan a drug rehab or alcohol rehab program in the middle of one’s college career, or that one would have to enter rehab after college, but now this is often the case.
Fortunately, there is effective help available. Narconon rehab programs exist on six continents and have been helping students and others to regain lasting sobriety for the past 45 years. There are more than fifty Narconon long-term residential rehab facilities located as far away as Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and England and in many cities of the United States.
At Narconon, one has the opportunity to handle both the physical and emotional or mental effects of drug abuse.
The recovering addict at Narconon will have a full detox from drug or alcohol use that has poisoned the body and left behind toxic residues. This occurs on the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program, which consists of daily moderate exercise plus nutritional supplementation, and time spent in a dry-heat sauna. The combination of these, done in a closely-supervised, strict regimen, gives the body an opportunity to rid itself of drug and alcohol residues which have the potential to cause more drug cravings. Once these are eliminated from the body, recovering users report many fewer and sometimes no drug cravings, a fresh outlook on life, and a brighter view of the future.
Then the Narconon program has five more parts which are actually courses one studies to address many aspects of why the person had resorted to drugs or alcohol in the first place. These also give one the life skills he will need to maintain a sober life. The courses include one designed to help the person in recovery regain their personal integrity. There’s also one which involves how to choose one’s associates and friends so that they will be supportive of a drug-free and productive lifestyle. The last course helps one to learn a common sense moral code to guide his decisions for future actions. All graduates also complete a plan for a drug-free and sober future that ensures the person can face life’s challenges without the need for drugs or alcohol again.
Give us a call or visit Get Help With Addiction Now to get help with alcohol or drug abuse for you or your loved one today.
Resources:
http://www.casacolumbia.org/templates/publications_reports.aspx: National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse
http://www.higheredcenter.org/files/product/marijuana.pdf
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-vol2_2010.pdf
Drinking and Driving Fatalities
Anyone can tell you that drinking and driving do not mix, and that alcohol contributes to higher accident rates for drivers.
But exactly how destructive is this factor?
In just five months, according to the head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) there were 5,700 traffic fatalities related to alcohol use, the same number of people that have been killed in US commercial jet airline accidents for the entire history of the NTSB’s keeping track of such accidents.
Taking a few drinks and then getting behind the wheel of a car is a recipe for disaster. Not only is the drinker’s reaction time made much slower and his ability to drive safely impaired, but so is his judgment. Thus, it makes it easy for him to think it is fine to drive when it really is not.
Some states have made laws and equipment that check the breath of a convicted DUI or DWI driver before his car will start. Others encourage designated drivers be selected before anyone goes into a bar to drink. But, these measures have as yet been ineffective in eliminating tens of thousands of alcohol-related traffic deaths which could otherwise be avoided.
In 2009, there were an estimated 30,797 total people who died in motor vehicle accidents, and while there were a lower percentage of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, those still represented 32% of all driving fatalities. In other words, a third of all accidents which resulted in a death were attributable to a driver who had been drinking.
Somehow, we have to get a handle on the decision that a person makes to take a drink and then get behind the wheel. When one is an alcoholic, or even just enjoys drinking frequently, one may not be able to make such a wise decision. Alcohol abuse also increases around holiday times, and since so many people drink heavily at these times, the abuse can easily be overlooked.
A Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center can help the alcohol turn his or her life around, and literally make the difference between life and death for anyone who is addicted.
When the person decides to kick his addiction, he should get a program that is effective and produces results for the majority of those who enroll. In fact, the Narconon drug and alcohol rehab centers, located on six different continents of the world, and all over the United States offer a program which produces drug-free lives in more than 70% of its graduates. These Narconon program completions have been followed up and found to remain sober and drug free at least two years after graduation.
There are Narconon centers in Taiwan, Russia, Italy, Australia, Mexico, South America and North America. Each offers truly lasting recovery through a holistic, drugless, comprehensive, long-term, inpatient rehab program.
One part of recovering from addiction is to reduce one’s cravings for the substance they had been addicted to. In the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program, one gets help with this aspect of their physical recovery. With moderate exercise, some daily time spent in a dry-heat sauna, and ample nutritional supplements, one is setting up the perfect regimen for the body to rid itself of the accumulated toxins that are stored in the fatty tissues of the body.
When one has gotten rid of these toxins, not only are cravings much less or often gone altogether, but the person also recovers a fresh viewpoint on the world, and feels brighter, more optimistic and ready to go on to the next stage of the Narconon Rehab program.
This next phase involves training in life skills to ensure that the person understands the reasons he went down the road to alcohol or drug abuse in the first place. There are five more stages during this part of the program, all of which contribute to the person fully recovering his ability to make good decisions and to choose his associates wisely. He will only graduate the full Narconon program when he has formulated a plan that will ensure he can remain drug-free after leaving, and live his life without the crutch of drugs or alcohol, even when life presents its inevitable challenges.
Narconon represents a solution for anyone who truly wants to turn their addiction around, and live a productive life without the need for drugs or alcohol.
Call to find out all the details of the Narconon alcohol abuse recovery program today.
Resources:
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/sumwalt/rls110823.html
Traffic Safety Facts 2009: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811402.pdf
National Center for Statistics and Analysis U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/sumwalt/rls110823.html
Traffic Safety Facts 2009: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Celebrities Affected by Prescription Drug Abuse
Another one of many celebrities struggling with prescription drug abuse is Matthew Perry, former star of “Friends” TV show and current star of ABC’s “Mr. Sunshine.” He has had a history of substance abuse and has gone twice to rehab for treatment of prescription pill addiction.
Celebrities aren’t the only ones fighting the battle with prescription drugs. In the state of Florida, prescription drug abuse is an epidemic. In fact pills are involved in 75% of all the drug-related deaths and on average, 11 people die daily in Florida from prescription drug overdoses.
In the United States, more people are now abusing prescription drugs than heroin, cocaine and ecstasy combined. The drug of choice for a growing number of users is oxycodone, a synthetic opioid sold under the brand name OxyContin. OxyContin is essentially synthetic heroin made in a lab by pharmaceutical companies. Oxycodone has become the most-abused prescription drug in the United States, with hydrocodone coming in second, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s annual count of drug seizures sent to police drug labs for analysis.
Current TV’s series Vanguard aired a disturbing documentary, The Oxycontin Express, in which South Florida was labeled “the Colombia of prescription drugs” and exposed the difficulties facing law enforcement in dealing with prescription drug abuse in what is truly a national epidemic.
Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott finally signed a bill into law in June of 2011 penalizing doctors who overprescribe painkillers, and authorizing a database that monitors prescription drugs in an attempt to control the state’s widespread “pill mills.”
How to Overcome Drug Addiction
But what if you, a loved one or a family member is faced with this highly-addictive drug problem? What would you do? How do you tell if a rehab program is effective? What will work to get one off of drugs for good? Is there a drug-free solution?
Fortunately there is help available. One can rid oneself of the addiction and live a productive, drug-free life again. Narconon is a very effective program, founded more than 45 years ago, which helps the prescription pill addict find his way back to health and sobriety. Narconon drug rehabilitation centers exist worldwide, on six continents and specialize in drug-free detoxification and treatment methods.
The Narconon program consists of two phases. In Phase one, the recovering addict will experience a physical rehabilitation. During the first part the person entering a Narconon will have one-on-one counseling and assistance and plenty of nutritional supplements to replace those destroyed during drug use. This makes for a more tolerable withdrawal. This is followed by the unique Narconon New Life Detoxification Program composed of daily exercise, time in a dry-heat sauna, and more nutritional support. Upon completion of this part of the program, many recovering addicts report fewer cravings for drugs.
However Narconon rehabilitation does not stop here, as this is just the first phase. The issues which led the person to abuse drugs have to be handled in order for him to return to a drug-free life. In Phase two, the student at Narconon studies several life skills courses helping him to rebuild his self-esteem, ability to communicate and control of self and his environment. In doing this, he handles the underlying reasons the person used drugs in the first place.
The Narconon program differs from many others in that it does not substitute one drug for another, and it offers the life skills necessary to live a drug-free life. Once a person graduates the program, there are no Narconon meetings to attend. The person is able to apply the life skills attained to live drug-free.
If you or a family member has a prescription drug abuse problem, call a Narconon rehab center for assistance.
Is Addiction a Disease?
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.
What is Addiction?
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.
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.
Drug Abuse Treatment Restores Life
Worldwide drug use has climbed to epidemic proportions. You could talk about stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamine or other drugs such as heroin, opium, morphine and other opiates. Or you could look at marijuana, hashish and prescription painkilling drugs taken for non-prescribed purposes. All in all, there are tens of millions of people abusing drugs all over the world. This doesn’t even include those who abuse alcohol.
In a recent report on national drug usage from 2009, it was found that illicit drug use in the United States had risen to its highest level in eight years. In the 2010 edition of this report, the rate of use held steady (8.9 percent in 2010 compared to 8.7 percent in 2009), and both remained above the 2008 rate of 8.0 percent.
More disturbing is that in the group of young adults aged 18 to 25, the rate increased even more than in the general population, from 19.6 percent in 2008 to 21.5 percent in 2010. This increase seemed to be driven largely by a rise in the rate of current marijuana use among this group of people.
The 2010 report showed that while some areas are improving, overall there were 22.6 million Americans age 12 and older who were currently using illicit drugs.
These are just statistics. The real situation is even more devastating when the drug scourge attacks your own family. If you have a child or other family member who has walked down the road of trying drugs, trying some more drugs, and then being hooked on drugs, you know what heartbreak and sadness is like, seeing your own loved one unable to break out of the shackles of drug abuse.
There is Hope
Fortunately there is hope. Narconon offers a holistic, drug-free treatment program which has been effectively helping people to get off of drugs and stay off them for more than 45 years. Effective drug abuse treatment brings a person back to life! He may have lost his job, she may have lost her friends and even close ties with families, but if the person can be gotten to a Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, there is an excellent chance of finding his or her way back. Each individual experiencing the Narconon program recovers his self-esteem, his personal integrity and his determination to live life fully and without the crutch of drugs or alcohol.
No matter what drug or drugs have been abused by the individual, Narconon helps the person to get back the bright viewpoint he once had on life, before he got hooked on drugs. It is a long-term program that really works. There are no Narconon meetings to attend after graduation. In fact, Narconon has tracked its graduates and found that seventy percent of them are clean and drug-free two years after completing the program.
Narconon centers exist all over the world, on six continents, so it is likely that there is one near you. If you would like to help your loved one to fully recover using an effective, holistic drug abuse treatment program that really does restore life, call Narconon today at: 800-775-8750.
Resources:
US Dept of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, (2010). Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-38A, HHS Publication No. SMA 10-4856Findings). Rockville, MD.
And Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-41, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 11-4658. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011.
Kids Helping Kids
Narconon Peer Leadership Training Program
It is a fact that peer pressure is a tremendous force in determining individual behavior. At Narconon we learned early on that peer training would go a long way to solving problems of drug abuse long before it starts. Peer leaders are a tremendous resource, and with the proper training are very effective in educating their peers on substance abuse and other subjects.
In order to take advantage of this fact the Narconon Peer Leader Training Program has been developed and refined over many years. Students are trained on the skills which enable them to become competent leaders amongst their peers. They are, additionally, trained in the methods of drug abuse prevention. Combining these skills they are then encouraged to take an active role in working with their peers to combat substance abuse. The first, and most important thing which is accomplished in this program is the instillation of a true desire to help their fellows. Once this is accomplished the peer trainee is taught how to show that life is better without drugs. This is accomplished through a series of exercises and lessons in communication and listening skills. Training in the nurturing of interpersonal relationships and means of relaying information on alcohol and other drugs to other children in such a way as to have that information absorbed and inspected is stressed.
As with any other pursuit involving relationships with others, the development of excellent communication skills is paramount. Our students participate in training exercises aimed at increasing ability to capture and focus attention, face and address issues they might otherwise shy away from, develop and sharpen listening skills, relay communication accurately and effectively. All of this depends on one most important factor – the peer leader must have his own confidence level raised to one of complte certainty.
Before being designated a Peer Leader the student is required to demonstrate complete competence in the relay of information to their peers.
The second segment of the drug education training program involves gaining learning skills which enhance the student’s ability to work with people of different ages and literacy levels so that they can overcome the barriers to communicating information to them.
No two programs are identical in content. Each program is specifically tailored to the needs of the particular group, taking into consideration such factors as the group’s purpose, goals and activities. Emphasis is placed on creating a more functional group that will become, and remain more active in the school and community. The above skills are then applied to the specific theme of the program. Some of the specialized programs available are:
- Leadership skills and positive role models
- Conducting effective community projects
- Alcohol and drug education
- Violence prevention and mitigation
- Public speaking
Drug Educator Training Workshops
In addition to its peer training programs, Narconon also provides training programs for drug educators. Narconon objectives were developed to provide skills involving the primary methods and tools used in the Narconon program, so that professional educators can take advantage of the classroom setting in imparting proper, effective drug abuse education to their students.
More comprehensive training is also available at the Narconon International Drug Rehab Training Center, located in Canadian, Oklahoma.
Is There an Effective Alcohol Rehab Program?
The latest World Health Organization’s statistics show that over 2.5 million deaths each year can be related to the harmful use of alcohol.
This includes disease and injuries to the drinker himself, and through his dangerous actions such as drinking and driving or violence, those injuries he causes to others. Alcohol is a direct cause factor in more than 60 types of diseases and injuries and a component cause in 200 others.
Alcohol is indeed the most popular drug on the planet and kills far more people worldwide than any other drug. It is the cause of death in nearly 4% of all deaths worldwide, greater than those caused by HIV/AIDS, violence or tuberculosis. While not everyone who drinks alcohol is abusing it, so many are that it is a public health problem of global proportion.
Taking into account how many people are thus affected by alcohol abuse, it would be wonderful if there were an effective alcohol rehab program that really works!
An Effective Alcohol Rehab Worldwide
Fortunately, there is an effective alcohol rehabilitation program worldwide. It is called Narconon, and has been in existence for over 45 years. It was started by a man named William Benitez in an Arizona State Prison, as he needed help to recover from his own heroin addiction that kept landing him in jail and saw that other prisoners needed similar help. It is based on the research and work of humanitarian and author L. Ron Hubbard.
A Narconon alcohol treatment center is not a typical drug and alcohol rehab center. At Narconon each person entering the program is treated as a student, not as a patient. During the entire Narconon program each student is learning more and more things about himself and about ways of dealing with life without the need for alcohol or drugs. One learns to take control over his previous alcohol or drug solutions to problems he would not confront directly. In the course of the Narconon program, one goes through eight individual courses, each of which gradually gives back more of the person’s own personality and his desire to live a drug and alcohol-free life.
In the first step, he is withdrawing from the alcohol while being given plenty of one-on-one assistance and nutritional support and supplementation with vitamins and minerals. In this environment, it is possible for the person to begin to see that life can be lived without the crutch of alcohol.
In the next step, he will go through the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program, which gets the residues of drugs and alcohol out of the fatty tissue of the body, where it has been stored. Without the residual toxins in the body, it is far less likely that the person will crave the drugs or alcohol he once was addicted to.
Outside Influences Can Help Create More Alcoholics
One problem which alcoholics who are not able to control their drinking often engage in is called “binge drinking.” This involves consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting. This trend has been increasing recently among young people. It has even taken its place in the social media networks. For example, on Facebook, alcohol abusers are bragging about how much they can drink in one sitting, a factor that some researchers say adds to the increasing alcohol consumption and binge drinking among youth.
Alcohol abuse is a societal problem and one that we need to take much more seriously. Although pervasive, it rarely ranks as a top concern until it affects you, your family, or your loved ones. When that happens, there is a solution. Narconon drug and alcohol rehab centers exist on six continents in more than 50 locations worldwide.
It is possible to find an effective alcohol rehab program at Narconon. Call today!
Resources:
Global status report on alcohol and health.
World Health Organization. ISBN 978 92 4 156415 1 (NLM classification: WM 274)
© World Health Organization 2011.
Florida Finally Cracks Down on Pill Mills
Florida has recently earned a new nickname, replacing its well-used “Sunshine State” with “The Oxy Express,” due to the exorbitant rate of oxycodone sales which occur in the state. An estimated 89% of all of the nation’s oxycodone sales actually take place in Florida, and finally the legislature and Governor Scott have agreed to take action. The law, passed and signed by the Governor in June 2011, provides for a drug-monitoring data base to track sales of all controlled drugs, and also cracks down on the dishonest doctors, pharmacies and pill mills who earned the state its new nickname.
Perhaps as an effort to keep the pharmaceutical industry from interfering in its enforcement, the law prohibits the pharmacy industry from funding the drug monitoring system. This new system is to be funded by local law enforcement agencies.
Right after passage of the bill, two Orlando clinics were raided by federal authorities as part of a larger pill mill investigation. According to investigators, one of the Orlando doctors wrote prescriptions for more oxycodone than had been written in the entire state of California.
Here are some of the provisions of the new Florida law:
It creates a prescription-drug monitoring database that tracks the purchase of all controlled drugs.
It forces clinics to keep actual track of patients who receive prescriptions and to report them if they develop drug-abuse problems.
It provides minimum fines of $10,000 and six-month suspensions for doctors who overprescribe painkillers.
It creates a first-degree misdemeanor offense for a pharmacist who fails to report anyone who tries to fraudulently obtain drugs.
It tightens the rules for writing prescriptions, keeping medical records and written pain treatment plans.
There are several more provisions in the law, but overall, its purpose is to crack down on the wrongful and far too common practice of over-prescribing opioid prescription painkillers, and to curtail or stop the clinics which go into business simply to supply illegal drugs to patients who are addicted to these painkillers for the “high” rather than for any legitimate medically mandated use.
It took several years to pass the database. Efforts by proponents were repeatedly limited by legal challenges and lobbying over privacy rights. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, and State House Republican leaders opposed the creation of the database, saying it raised too many privacy concerns and that it was not the most effective way to curb the problem.
The real problem of course, is to curtail the demand for such pain clinics, and the drugs they so willingly dispense. In order to do that, one has to address the drug problem more completely including treatment for those who are addicted to these and other drugs. When one is suffering from addiction to any drugs, and particularly the opioid, heroin-like painkillers, it is a huge challenge to both the drug addict and the families of drug addicts to get the person clean and sober again.
Narconon has been effectively treating drug addicts for over 45 years in 50 countries around the world. They have even started to train other drug rehab programs in their drug-free withdrawal methods, in what is termed the “First Step Program.” This program also allows for families to follow guidelines of a regime of withdrawal that can be done at home by anyone that can follow the instructions of the program.
If you need help with drug addiction, contact a Narconon rehab center today. We are here for you.
Resources:
Wall Street Journal “Florida Governor Signs Bill Regulating Pill Mills” June 3, 2011
The New York Times “Florida Shutting Pill Mill Clinics” September 1, 2011.
Cocaine Use in Europe Decreasing
Cocaine use in Europe is falling and may have peaked, partly because of the impact of austerity measures according to a recent report. The European Union’s drug agency, (the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, EMCDDA) writes in their annual report that Europe’s cocaine use is falling and may have peaked due to the tough economy and partly because the drug is no longer seen as part of the affluent lifestyle image.
However, the risk of HIV among heroin users could increase due to drug agency budget cuts as Europe adopts stricter austerity measures. HIV epidemics among drug injectors continued to pose “a major health problem for many countries bordering the EU”, the agency stated.
Greece reported a large outbreak of new HIV infections among drug injectors in July, with 170 known cases to date, the report said. Recent increases in infections were also found in Bulgaria, Estonia and Lithuania.
Heroin use in Europe was relatively stable, where there are an estimated 1.3 million regular users, the agency said. But there were also “positive signs that cocaine use may have peaked and that cannabis use continues to decline among young people”.
Approximately four million people in Europe used cocaine last year, according to the Lisbon-based EMCDDA, the agency that collects and analyzes information for European policymakers.
But the report also stated that Denmark, Spain, Italy and the UK, which are among the countries with the highest levels of cocaine use, reported a decline in use in 2010, echoing a similar trend in the US and Canada.
“The financial burden associated with regular cocaine use may make it a less attractive option in countries where austerity is now the order of the day” the report said. Also according to the EMCDDA report, “the drug’s ‘positive image’ as part of an affluent lifestyle, is being challenged by a growing recognition of cocaine-related problems,” including increasing numbers of hospital emergencies and deaths.
Furthermore, the report states that heroin use continues to account for the largest share of drug-related disease and deaths in the EU, but the number of fatal overdoses – 7,600 reported in 2009 – may be “just the tip of the iceberg.” There may be as many as “10,000 to 20,000 problem opioid users who are dying each year in Europe” from overdoses, disease, suicide and other causes.
The fact remains that there are still millions of cocaine users in Europe and around the world. Families still despair of saving loved ones who go to rehab over and over again in attempts to recover from addiction.
What do you do if you have a cocaine problem? Or, your family member is hooked on cocaine? Narconon has been helping cocaine addicts to get free of their addiction and staying clean and drug-free for over forty years. Narconon uses a holistic, drug-free approach to drug rehab that works! There are Narconon centers in fifty countries on six continents of the world.
Narconon school drug education programs are also available to help kids understand the dangers of using drugs. Call today to schedule a drug education presentation.
Resources:
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/annual-report/2011
www.emcdda.europa.eu/events/2011/annual-report
Freshman Women at Greater Risk of Sexual Assault When Binge Drinking
According to a new article in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, based on a study led by the University of Buffalo, many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they’re in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault. The college years are notably associated with drinking. But little was known before this study about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.
This study’s research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of the women who reported that they had never drank heavily in high school (if at all), nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking — commonly called binge drinking — at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued that pattern when in college.
More importantly, binge drinking was linked to students’ risk of sexual victimization — regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.
Of all young women whose biggest binge had included four to six drinks, 25 percent said they’d been sexually victimized in the fall semester. That included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.
And the more drinks those binges involved, the greater the likelihood of sexual assault. Of those women who’d consumed 10 or more drinks in a sitting since starting college, nearly sixty percent were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester. Though young women are not at fault for being victimized – the blame lies squarely with the perpetrator — if colleges can make more progress in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process.
The study also underscores the fact that even kids who don’t drink in high school are yet at risk of heavy drinking once they head off to college, Maria Testa, lead researcher of the study, from the University of Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions, said.
For parents, the bottom line is to talk with your kids about drinking before they go to college — whatever you think their drinking habits have been in high school, according to Testa. And after they’ve left for college, keep talking. “Parents still do have an impact on their kids after they go to college,” Testa said. “Parenting is not over.”
But what if your child, or other family member of any age has already walked down the road to heavy or binge drinking? How to get them turned around and get them out of alcohol addiction is a dilemma faced by many parents and other members of the family. Once someone has gone into heavy drinking you may wonder if you are dealing with an alcoholic.
The characteristics one may use to identify alcoholism include:
- Alcohol consumption has become so strong that the person has cravings, or a strong urge or need to drink
- Person losing control; unable to impose discipline on his or her drinking
- A physical dependence and symptoms of withdrawal if the person quits consuming alcohol
Developing a tolerance and thus needing to drink greater amounts to get the same effect as lower amounts gave before.
If these characteristics describe someone you know or love, Narconon may be the answer you’ve been looking for. Narconon has successfully been helping alcoholics and drug addicts to get and stay clean and sober since 1966. There are no Narconon meetings to attend but, there are Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers on six continents of the world that can help with alcohol abuse.
If you or someone you needs help with alcohol abuse, contact a Narconon drug rehab center today..
Resources:
NIH, NIAAA Alcoholism References
Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, World Health Organization, 2011.
The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration definition of alcoholism.
The World Health Organization also adds that when the drinker tries to cut down on use, he or she is unable to, even when the habit is having a destructive effect on their life.
Alcohol Abuse Affects Many Levels of Society
When one reads newspaper headlines, it is noticeable how many prominent people are affected by drug and alcohol abuse. A quick scan of some recent headlines reveals that Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife was arrested recently in Aspen on assault and cocaine possession charges; the former Miss USA, Rima Fakih was arrested in Michigan on drunk driving charges; and most recently (December 6, 2011), the chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, Randy Babbitt stepped down from his position following an arrest for drunken driving in Fairfax City, VA. Police stopped Babbitt after they spotted him driving on the wrong side of the road.
Babbitt’s arrest information was made public in accordance with a Fairfax City police general order that says they will release information on any arrest of public officials, including federal officials, for any criminal charge or serious traffic charge (e.g. driving under the influence, reckless driving).
The FAA has been in the spotlight for the past few years and suffered weeks of criticism following revelations last spring that at least nine air traffic controllers had fallen asleep on the job or were unresponsive to calls.
The FAA has also been plagued by a rash of pilots who were violating federal regulations regarding alcohol and flying.
In November of 2009, a United Airlines pilot was arrested in London’s Heathrow airport before takeoff for allegedly drinking too much before entering the cockpit.
In 2008, 13 pilots violated the Federal Aviation Administration’s alcohol-related rules. Their rules state that pilots can’t fly if they have a blood-alcohol level of 0.04% or higher, half the legal driving limit in most states. They are prohibited from drinking any alcohol in the eight hours before reporting for work, a provision known in the profession as the “bottle-to-throttle” rule.
British law is even stricter with a 0.02% limit, a level which can be reached with about one regular beer.
Despite these regulations and attempts to have other crew members look out for the safety of all passengers, alcohol is a pervasive problem, and not just among professional pilots.
The problem of alcohol abuse reaches to the top and bottom rungs of society, and once an alcoholic, it is extremely hard to break free of the addiction. Anyone can have a few drinks from time to time, but when an otherwise rational person chooses to drink excessively despite the damage it may be causing to their health, work, finances, and relationships, and they cannot quit of their own accord, it may be termed alcoholism.
Only effective alcohol abuse rehab programs with a proven track record can ensure that you or a family member will become free of this societal and personal curse.
Narconon objectives have been helping alcoholics and other drug addicts to live sober and drug-free lives for 45 years. Narconon has programs all over the world, in six continents and more than 40 countries.
For Narconon school drug education programs to help educate kids about alcohol and other harmful drugs, contact a Narconon center today.
Resources:
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/news/a/drugnews.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-11-12-pilot-drinking-episodes_N.htm
How Alcoholism Affects Many More People than Just the Alcoholic
Alcohol use affects more than 130 million Americans aged 12 and older. That is just the number who reported themselves as being current drinkers of alcohol on the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. These people comprise more than half of the population of the United States (51.9 percent). When you consider that all of them are part of a family, have co-workers or students they attend school with, etc. the number of people potentially affected by alcohol is huge.
Furthermore, in 2009, a quarter of persons age 12 or older said they participated in binge drinking (drinking 5 or more drinks on one occasion) in the 30 days prior to being surveyed.
While not all alcohol drinkers are alcoholics, there are nearly 20 million people in this country in 2009 who needed assistance to quit, but only a very small percentage of them (less than 10%) sought and got help in that year.
So, why do so few seek help? What can you do if one of those people who drinks excessively or can’t control his drinking is your spouse, child, or close friend? With so many people affected and not seeking help, the problem may be that one doesn’t know where to turn to find effective help. There are many programs out there, but which are effective?
Alcohol Solutions to Alcoholism
The Narconon drug rehab program has been effectively helping drug and alcohol abusers for over 45 years, and offers an effective solution to drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. Narconon is a unique program which is drug-free, and doesn’t substitute one drug for another. Many families have been able to restore their happy homes after the alcoholic completed the alcohol recovery program at Narconon.
While some students in school are so concerned about their test performance and ability to concentrate on their studies that they are resorting to study drugs, such as Adderall and other amphetamine-type drugs, other students resort to alcohol to escape from their worries. In 2009 nearly 15 percent of those aged 12-17 reportedly used alcohol, and nearly 42 percent of those young adults aged 18-25 reported binge drinking in that year. Clearly, some students are using alcohol as an escape from facing the facts of what they are confronting in school and in their lives.
Narconon offers a holistic program in that it takes into consideration the whole person, and what they need to function successfully in the society, as well as addressing the issues that led to their addictive pattern. Narconon alcohol treatment is a comprehensive program which takes as long as needed to rehabilitate the person so that he no longer feels the compulsion to drink or use drugs. By the end of the program, the participant regains the needed life skills to rebuild his life as a fully functioning member of his family, his community and when he has regained respect for himself.
Narconon saves everyone in the family the stress of alcoholism. This program is offered in Northern California at Narconon Vista Bay, in Destin, Florida at Narconon Gulf Coast, and across Europe. Other centers are located in Latin American, Asia, Australia and South Africa.
In only a matter of months, an alcohol-addicted person can reverse his downward trend and turn his life around. It is being done every day at Narconon centers all over the world. The Narconon program for alcohol and drug rehabilitation can help one to find his way back to an enjoyable and productive life.
Resources:
Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k9NSDUH/2k9Results.htm
Prescription Drug Addiction & Treatment
Narconon Addiction Treatment Admissions for Prescription Drugs Reflect Rising Abuse and Overdose Problems in America Across the country, the number of people entering the Narconon program shows increases in prescription drug addiction, matching the national pattern of growth in this category of abuse, treatment and overdose deaths.
According to recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overprescribing and abuse of prescription drugs have been climbing. Following right behind those statistics are addiction and overdose death statistics. While a decade or so ago, the main drugs killing people through overdoses were drugs like heroin and cocaine, these days far more people are being killed by prescription drugs – drugs that were intended to make life bearable for people with chronic pain or other serious conditions.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6043a4.htm?s_cid=mm6043a4_w
Mirroring this shift is the pattern of admissions to addiction treatment at Narconon drug recovery centers across the country. In the thirteen rehabs in the US that use the standardized Narconon addiction treatment protocol, the common pattern is an increase in the number of prescription drug addicts, as many as half of all admissions at some centers.
“The number of people needing to recover from prescription drug addiction – especially painkillers – has reached epidemic levels,” warned Bobby Wiggins, drug education specialist for the international headquarters of Narconon, located in Los Angeles. “More young people are abusing these drugs as well, so much so that abuse of prescription drugs threatens to overtake the use of marijuana by teens.” Mr. Wiggins cited the National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which reported in that in 2009, nearly a million 14 and 15 year olds had abused a prescription drug at some point in their young lives. This is nearly eleven percent of all children of this age.
http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs1to46.htm#Tab1.1A
“Young people see their parents using these medications and then may see the drugs being abused in television shows and movies. Young people who feel they are stressed or anxious or are just curious or bored may take a few pills for their own use,” Mr. Wiggins explained. “But as the young people get older and have more means and freedom, this occasional use can become abuse and addiction very easily.”
The CDC report reviewed the number of drug overdose deaths in the US between 1999 and 2008 that were related to prescription drugs and then noted that opiate pain reliever use contributed to the largest number of drug deaths. Out of 36,450 drug overdose deaths in 2008, a specific drug or drugs were named in 27,153 deaths. Opiate pain relievers were responsible for nearly 74% of these deaths. Non-Hispanic whites and American Indian/Alaska Natives were the hardest hit, with three times the deaths of Hispanic whites or African Americans.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6043a4.htm?s_cid=mm6043a4_w
According to SAMHSA, there were 142,000 people admitted to addiction treatment facilities for problems with pain reliever addiction in 2009. But of all those who need treatment for addiction, fewer than 10% actually get treatment. Of those who did not receive treatment, only about one in twenty felt that they needed help with addiction. The remainder did not see the problem even though they fit the criteria for dependence or addiction. This means that there are probably around a million and a half Americans struggling with addiction to OxyContin, Roxicodone, hydrocodone (sold as Lortab, Lorcet or Vicodin), morphine, methadone, or the many other drugs on this list.
http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.cfm#7.3
“The solution to this problem is multi-faceted,” reported Mr. Wiggins. “The CDC encourages the states to implement greater controls over opiate prescribing. The public must be better educated on the dangers of prescription drug abuse and there must be effective drug rehabilitation available.”
SAMSHA data gathering also found that in 2008, nearly four times as many of those people entering treatment for the second, third or more times reported pain reliever abuse as repeat admissions did in 1999. This follows the trend of broader prescribing and abuse followed by higher numbers of those addicted.
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/230/230PainRelvr2k10.htm
Mr. Wiggins concluded, “The cycle of addiction is broken when treatment eliminates the key factors that have been discovered at Narconon: guilt, cravings and depression.” At Narconon rehab centers around the world, seven out of ten graduates remain drug-free after they go home, whether they are getting help for alcohol, heroin, cocaine or prescription pain relievers.
Drinking and Driving Still Leading Cause of Teen Deaths
Although early estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the 2010 traffic fatalities are down by approximately three percent, the number of people who died in automobile crashes still totals over 32,700 people that year. The fatality rate in fact, is projected to decline to the lowest on record for 2010, to 1.13 fatalities for every million vehicle miles traveled. These statistics sound promising but if you are a parent of a teen or young adult driver, the picture isn’t quite as encouraging.
In 2008, the NHTSA found that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and that one out of every three of those deaths is alcohol-related. More significantly, teen alcohol use and abuse kills about 6,000 people each year, more than the total caused by all illegal drugs combined.
However, the NHTSA found that a young driver having an accident after drinking isn’t the only thing his or her family should be concerned about. When a young driver drinks, it is often true that the accident is far more severe than an accident caused by a young, non-drinking driver. Which means a much greater chance of a fatality.
An examination of 2008 statistics tells the story:
That year, only two percent of the drivers under 21 years of age who were involved in property-damage-only crashes had been drinking.
Four percent of those involved in crashes resulting in injury had been drinking.
But a whopping twenty-two percent of those involved in fatal crashes had been drinking.
When alcohol affects your own family, it is often very personal and the result of not dealing with this issue can be devastating. The question becomes “How do I prevent my own child or his friends from driving when drinking? How do I prevent or stop him or her from drinking at all? What do I do to educate my child to protect him from drunk drivers?”
If you think your teen or young adult is involved in drinking, particularly binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks at one sitting), start off by talking to them. Make it clear that you are concerned about their safety and the safety of their friends and associates. Ensure that they know the impairment that can be caused by even a little drinking (buzzed drinking and driving still kills).
Cover this point too: They should never allow someone else who has been drinking to drive. Also make sure your child knows that it is safe to call for a ride home at any time of the day or night. This one point alone could save his or her life.
If you think he is already drinking excessively, he may need to go to an effective drug and alcohol Narconon program. Narconon has been successfully helping drug and alcohol addicts with its drug free methods for forty-five years in 50 countries around the world.
For more information about Narconon and its effective alcohol rehab program, call today.
Resources:
Traffic Fatalities in 2010 Drop to Lowest Level in Recorded History, A Press Release, from Ê NHTSA 05-11, Friday, April 1, 2011, DOT Estimates Three Percent Drop Beneath 2009 Record Low, http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/NHTSA-05-11
(Hingson and Kenkel, 2003) Full cite: 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.
Alcohol Potentially a Fatal Poison
Headlines of USA Today proclaimed in October, 2011 that Amy Winehouse, who was well known to have been battling drug and alcohol abuse problems, ultimately died after drinking too much alcohol. She was found to have died of an “unintended consequence” of her drinking.
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.
Resouces:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/story/2011-10-26/amy-winehouse-pathologist/50927104/
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/otheralcoholinformation/factsaboutalcoholpoisoning.aspx
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
