Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Substance Abuse Linked to Higher Risk for Suicide
The study results indicate that about 32,000 American adults kill themselves each year, but millions more think about suicide or even make plans to kill themselves.
Substance abuse disorders are associated with an increased risk to consider, plan or attempt suicide. Eleven percent of people with substance abuse disorders had serious thoughts of suicide, compared with 3 percent of people with no history of substance use disorders.
Individuals aged 18 to 25 are the most likely to experience suicidal thoughts.
(Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Labels: substance abuse, suicide
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 12:14 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Monday, September 28, 2009
Prison Gambling Associated with Parolee Crime, Substance Abuse upon Re-Entry to Community
According to the report, gambling is prevalent in prisons and researchers found that even inmates who do not gamble habitually prior to incarceration can acquire a taste for it that they are unable to shake when they are released.
D.J. Williams and Gordon Walker, researchers from the UA Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, examined the perceptions of 15 correctional officers in the states of Nevada (a gambling state) and Utah (where gambling is illegal) on offender gambling and its impacts on offender re-entry.
Williams, the report's lead author, said he and Walker found that problem gambler offenders lack the resources and support to successfully reintegrate into the community. Correctional officers participating in the study reported that it was often assumed that other forms of treatment would address gambling problems; however, the findings show that isn't necessarily the case.
Researchers found that gambling often complicates offenders' efforts to live crime-free, and said this problem urgently needs to be addressed if parolees are to transition successfully from prison to their community.
(Source: www.eurekalert.org)
Labels: gambling, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 5:10 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Friday, September 25, 2009
September is National Recovery Month
Recovery Month is an annual observance that highlights the benefits of substance abuse treatment, applauds the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is attainable. In addition, Recovery Month celebrates people in recovery and those who assist them, and serves to educate the public that substance abuse as a national health crisis, that addiction is a treatable disease and that recovery is possible.
According to the official Recovery Month website, over the past 20 years, the month has inspired millions of people to raise awareness about addiction, share their stories of recovery and assist other who are still struggling.
According to SAMHSA, more than 23 million people in the United States needed substance abuse treatment in 2007. Many people who need treatment do not receive it, often because of social stigma or lack of access. SAMHSA estimates that, in 2007, approximately 20.8 million people who needed substance abuse treatment services did not receive help.
(Source: www.recoverymonth.gov)
Labels: recovery, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 12:07 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Painkiller Addicts Turn to Heroin when Prescriptions Run Out
Bristol Police Detective Sergeant Chris Lennon of the narcotics division says that heroin is the second most prevalent drug in the area, after marijuana. Lennon believes that heroin use has also seen a resurgence because the drug is highly addictive, and -- in recent months -- has become easily accessible and cheap. Lennon reports that a dose of heroin can cost between $5 and $10, and has begun coming into the area via nearby cities such as Hartford and Waterbury.
In the past, heroin users became addicted through experimenting with heroin. Now, Lennon states, many of the heroin addicts his unit encounters are painkiller addicts who lost access to their drugs of choice. The link between the two is not surprising considering that OxyContin, one of the most potent and popular painkillers used for nonmedical purposes, is a chemical cousin of heroin.
(Source: www.bristolpress.com)
Labels: heroin, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 3:15 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Monday, September 21, 2009
Prescription Drug Abuse Dips
According to the survey results, approximately 6.2 million Americans (2.5 percent) ages 12 years and older reported abusing prescription drugs during the month prior to the survey. That represents a decrease from 2007, when 2.8 percent of the population reported past-month abuse of prescription drugs. In addition, reports of past-month methamphetamine use declined dramatically, from 529,000 in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008.
Gil Kerlikowske, director of national drug control policy, credits last year's federally funded anti-drug campaign with helping to turn the tide. "If people perceive alcohol, drugs and tobacco as being risky, they are more inclined not to do it," he said.
Despite Kerlikowske's optimism, however, overall illicit drug use held steady from 2007 to 2008. Approximately 8 percent of Americans, or 20.1 million, reported past-month use of an illicit drug in 2008, the same as in 2007.
(Source: www.usatoday.com)
Labels: drugs, prescription-drug-abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 12:02 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Friday, September 18, 2009
U.S. Prison System Lacks Adequate Substance Abuse Treatment
Despite the fact that existing programs and research have demonstrated the social, medical and economic benefits of opiate replacement therapy (ORT), only half of all federal and state prison systems offer ORT with the medications methadone and buprenorphine, and only in very limited circumstances.
In addition, only 23 states provide treatment referrals for some inmates upon release from prison. Guidelines issued by both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say prisoners should be offered ORT for treatment of opiate dependence.
"Pharmacological treatment of opiate dependence is a proven intervention, is cost-effective and reduces drug-related disease and reincarceration rates, yet it remains underutilized in U.S. prison systems," said Amy Nunn, ScD, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "Improving correctional policies for addiction treatment could dramatically improve prisoner and community health as well as reduce both taxpayer burden and reincarceration rates."
Josiah Rich, MD, MPH, co-director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights at The Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School, believes that addiction treatment is as crucial as treatment of other long-term chronic diseases.
"Opiate addiction, like all forms of addiction, causes long-term changes to the structure and functioning of the brain, which is why it is classified as a disease," he said. "Addiction requires treatment just as other chronic diseases, like diabetes and cancer, do. Unfortunately, there is a large gap between the number of prisoners who require addiction treatment and those who actually receive it."
(Source: www.eurekalert.com)
Labels: addiction, heroin, opiates, substance abuse, treatment
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 9:56 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pennsylvania Launches New Counseling Program for Gambling Addicts
People living within 10 miles of a casino have twice the rate of gambling problems as other adults, according to a national study by John Welte, a researcher at Buffalo State College. He said it correlated with a similar study, used by a national commission on gambling a decade ago, which found that the rate of problem gambling among adults doubled within 50 miles of a casino.
Studies have also found that slot machines tend to attract more problem gamblers than any other type of gambling because they provide rich sensory stimulation and are programmed to present tantalizing near misses to users.
State officials are hoping that a newly created state-funded treatment system will assist problem gamblers. The program was created within the same bureau that oversees drug and alcohol treatment because of the similarity among the addictions.
Proponents of the casino argue that the revenue and jobs created by the casino more than compensate for the possible social toll.
(Source: www.post-gazette.com)
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 4:10 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Monday, September 14, 2009
Women Are at Higher Risk for Medication Abuse
CASA found that approximately 7.5 million girls and women misuse or abuse prescription drugs each year, and that women who use sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs or hypnotics are almost twice as likely as men to become addicted to these drug. CASA also found that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to use prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.
The effects of this trend are real. For example, in Park County, Wyo., approximately 90 percent of suicide attempts in the past year involved prescription drugs, alcohol or both. County prosecuting attorney Jonathan W. Davis stated that women with children seem to gravitate toward prescription medications as their drugs of choice.
"You can't justify meth, but people taking prescription drugs tend not to think it's a problem. It doesn't eat up your face and rot your teeth," he said. "But it certainly is a problem. It's easy to obtain and highly addictive. It's not just the typical drug users abusing. It crosses all strata and all ages."
(Source: www.codyenterprise.com)
Labels: addiction, prescription-drug-abuse, sedatives
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 11:36 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Friday, September 11, 2009
Employment in Gaming Industry Linked to Substance Abuse
According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately three-quarters of all illicit drug users 18 and older are employed, and one industry often identified as having a high rate of illicit drug users is the gaming industry.
The SAMHSA report also revealed high rates of substance abuse among workers who service the gaming industry, including repair and maintenance workers, food and beverage workers, and landscaping workers. Among repair and maintenance workers, 11.6 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 15.3 percent reported alcohol use.
Among food and beverage workers, 18.4 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 12.8 percent reported heavy alcohol abuse. Among landscaping workers, 14.4 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 16.5 percent reported heavy alcohol use.
(Source: www.indiancountrytoday.com)
Labels: alcohol, drugs, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 11:33 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Celebrity Overdoses Highlight Disturbing Trend
These highly publicized deaths point to a disturbing trend among average Americans. According to government data, fatal overdoses from prescription pain killers more than doubled between 2000 and 2005. In 2000, approximately 3,994 people died from prescription pain killer-related overdoses, compared to 8,541 in 2005.
According to available data, the prescription drug abuse epidemic is eclipsing similar epidemics from the recent past. At the height of the crack cocaine crisis in the 1980s, there were approximately 500,000 crack users. In 2004, amidst the meth epidemic, experts estimated that there were approximately 600,000 meth users. By comparison, experts estimate that 3.8 million Americans were abusing prescription drugs in 2000, and that number grew to 7 million by 2007.
(Source: www.chron.com)
Labels: drug-abuse, painkillers, prescription-drug-abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 2:16 PM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Monday, September 7, 2009
Dr. Drew Blames Pain Medication for Death of Famous DJ
Goldstein, a former drug addict who promoted sober living, was found dead in his apartment at the end of August. A crack pipe and prescription pills were found in his Manhattan residence. Goldstein was 36 years old.
Although Goldstein was prescribed the medication for legitimate reasons -- he sustained serious injuries in a plane crash two years earlier that required two skin graft surgeries -- the drugs probably triggered the addictive behaviors that he previously conquered.
Pinsky commented on the effects of pain medication on a former addict: "It very slowly and subtly reawakens addiction. I'm not saying it was inappropriately prescribed, I'm saying he didn't know the risks."
(Source: Associated Press)
Labels: addiction, drug-abuse, painkillers
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 11:25 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Friday, September 4, 2009
Parents' Substance Use Endangers Infants
Since 2008, more than a dozen child deaths in the area investigated by the state's Department of Children and Families were linked to some substance misuse by parents. One father admitted to killing his 1-month-old daughter when he rolled over on her in bed after drinking 18 beers and snorting cocaine.
The consequences to parents, however, seem to differ with every case. Some argue that the death of a child should be punishment enough, but others are pressing for greater consequences.
Bob Dekle, a University of Florida legal skills professor who worked as an assistant state attorney for three decades, commented on these cases: "Simple negligence is not enough to support a criminal charge. This is an area where reasonable people can disagree, where one state attorney's office might file charges and another might not just by general human nature of the calculus."
(Source: www.news-press.com)
Labels: cocaine, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 8:42 AM
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Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Louisiana Mother Prosecuted for Passing Painkiller Addiction to Unborn Infant
Anahit Dufrene of Houma, La., was arrested after doctors at Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center reported to law enforcement officers that her newborn girl was suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
Dufrene's now 7-month-old daughter has been undergoing addiction treatment since birth. Dufrene's other two children have been placed in the custody of her husband's parents.
"A mother needs to be punished rather severely for making this choice for the child, who couldn't make the choice on its own," said Jason Lyons, a Terrebonne Parish assistant district attorney. "There is no crime that specifically mentions a mother who gives birth to a child who is addicted. It fits under the cruelty statute."
Dufrene may be sentenced to spend up to 10 years in jail.
(Source: www.wwltv.com)
Labels: addiction, painkillers, substance abuse
posted by Drug-Rehab.com at 11:09 AM
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