Posts Tagged Drug Abuse Treatment

Admission to Drug Abuse Is Significant to Recovery

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Rehabilitation on November 7th, 2009

It may be excruciatingly hard to tear away from the habit of using drugs. In some cases, the shock of withdrawal can kill the user, and in other cases, it drives the user insane. Before this can happen, it is important to acknowledge the problem before it gets any worse. Admission is the first step on the road to recovery and rehabilitation.

drug abusePerhaps it may not be noticeable during the first few times, but as it goes on, the habit may become as frequent as eating and breathing. As the dependence grows, so does the shame of admitting it. After all, it would make one feel foolish to admit that they have become a slave to a substance that they thought they would never even think of using in their lifetime.

The feeling of isolation may prevent the user from acknowledging the problem, thinking that they are the only ones who are going through with that kind of experience. The only surefire way to evade this problem is for the user to realize that he is not alone. Drug abuse has become an underground culture around the world, and it spares no one, regardless of race, nationality, and financial status.

The people around the drug abuser also play a significant role in recovery. Confronting the user directly and prematurely can lead to his denial of drug use, which can make things a lot more complicated later on. And even if you get an admission, you cannot be assured that the user would want to undergo rehabilitation, especially if he or she feels threatened. The feeling of being supported through the whole ordeal can give the user some degree of assurance, and this can also give him a sense of comfort knowing that there would be someone to help him get through the rough patches in the road to full recovery.

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Crisis Intervention – An Important Aspect of Drug Recovery

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 24th, 2009

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The risk of relapse remains for most drug abusers throughout their life. Several factors might trigger relapse, crisis being one of them. Crisis is a painful event or situation that can disturb the normal functioning and emotional state of the individual. A crisis in an abstinent person’s life can push him back into the nasty cycle of drug addiction. But, every problem is not a crisis. The individual, in his course of recovery, learns to solve several problems on his own. But there are situations that cannot be solved with just his usual problem solving resources. It is during such situations that a professional help is required to deal with the situation and help the person continue with his recovery.

For a recovering drug user crisis may emerge from any of the following situations –

Family situations like lack of family support, separation, physical illness in the family, death of a close family member can give rise to crises for the abstinent user.

Interpersonal problems arising from difficulties in relationships within and outside the family can lead to crises. Positive emotions like a promotion, marriage, birth of a child could also act as crisis situations.

Personal and social situations involving problems resulting from the person’s previous drug use like legal action for some criminal action done before, ostracism from the community due to previous behavior are also potential causes of crisis.

Economic situations like losing a job, failure to repay debt, failure to find a job could also spark off a crisis.

Following a crisis, the person feels anxious, hurt, upset or angry. He might try to deal with the problem on his own or with the family members. But if he fails then the emotional problems might worsen and he might run the risk of relapse. This possibility usually lasts for 4 to 6 weeks and it is a critical period when he needs help to stay on his path of recovery.

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Women and Drug Addiction: Any Correlation?

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 14th, 2009

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Drug addiction is a serious problem that has been affecting both the genders without any bias. Women have been known to play the multiple roles of home makers as well as bread earners. But the common notion about the fairer sex is that they are emotionally stronger than males and have a strong shoulder to bear all the responsibilities that their counterparts fail or resign from doing. But the truth is that the more you are tough the easier it is to break you.

The underlying vulnerability is masked by the toughness and the burden of responsibilities and constant stress make them internally vulnerable and a physical or emotional disturbance might cause a turmoil triggering drug abuse leading to drug dependency.

Women drug abusers face serious challenges to their well-being during their lives. Researches show that a large number of them present a history of physical and sexual abuse. The condition worsens when such women get into flesh trade just to earn the money to sustain their drug taking habit. The result is obvious – sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS.

Often it is found the initiation of the habit is through her male counterpart – spouse or boyfriend- who is also an addict. In such cases it becomes very difficult for the women to abstain from drugs since the lifestyle of the partner supports it.

Research indicates that women become more easily dependent on certain drugs like cocaine even after experimental or casual use. Thus by the time she seeks treatment she may be severely addicted.

A problem with female addicts is that most of the time they do not seek treatment due to fear of rejection from their family members, community. But treatment is an absolute necessity for them. A comprehensive treatment approach that takes care of the special needs of women together with support and encouragement from the family and community is essential to help them in refraining from addiction.

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Legalizing Pot – will that really help?

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 12th, 2009

Pot
The ban on cannabis use in California had been in effect since 1913. After 96 years the state Assembly is considering the issue of legalizing the use of pot just like alcohol. The Assembly Public Safety Committee considered the legal, financial and criminal consequences of legalizing the drug. The state has been going through budget crisis and it is being held that the millions of dollars that goes towards fighting cultivation, sale and use of this cash crop could be utilized to aid the state to overcome this crisis. Tax officials believe that the struggling state could earn revenue of around $1.4 billion annually.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said, “It is time to take our heads out of the sand and start to regulate this $1.4 billion industry. By doing so, we can enact smart public money that will bring much needed revenue into the state and improve public safety by utilizing our limited law enforcement resources more wisely. The move toward regulation is simply common sense.” The $1.4 billion is Ammiano’s estimated value of both illegal and medical marijuana. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger does not support the matter but said that he is open to a “robust debate” since the legalization could save money and generate state funds.

The law enforcement agencies stand against the issue. According to them, legalization of pot will increase the use of the drug and crimes associated with it. But Ammiano felt that regulation would decrease the accessibility of the drug to young people, “specially those recruited to sell it.”

Opponents like John Redman of Californians For Drug Free Youth said, “This is bad to tax something that is going to be harmful to our youth, harmful to our communities, harmful to our churches.”

Problems related to alcohol and prescription drug use has been growing by leaps and bounds in the state and the nation as a whole. Don’t you think legalization of pot will add to the problem?

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Cocaine Addiction Escalates in London

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 10th, 2009

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Britain has the highest number of cocaine abusers than any other country in the European Union – a report furnished by the Home Office (interior ministry) declared this.

The official figures showed that 12,354 adults were now receiving treatment for dependency on cocaine. The figures also indicate that 3 percent of all 15-69 years olds used cocaine in the previous year meaning that almost a million people had taken the drug – the highest number since data was first collected in 1996.

The workers of the finance sector have been worst affected and the major responsibility for this critical situation has been attributed to the constant stress and depression that has resulted from recession. Don Serratt, the Chief Executive of Life Works, said he has noticed a 25 percent increase in the number of people seeking treatment for alcohol or cocaine abuse in the past few months. American born Mr. Serratt was addicted to drug and alcohol but has maintained sobriety for the past 27 years.

“It has a lot to do with the current economic environment,” voiced Serratt. “Either they have been made redundant or (they have) fears around being made redundant or fears around lowered income because many of these people have high personal overheads,” he said. “Even if you keep your job but you are looking at making a fraction of what you made, it adds quite a bit of stress.”

The users generally did not admit that they were having a problem until their performance was affected. Thus it took nearly nine months for the problem to surface. He accused the firms for not being able to handle the problem and for not treating it seriously. “Most of them do not even have a drug or alcohol policy,” he said. A lot of firms even have no training to identify and to deal with addiction.

Britain’s economic crisis might be easing now but the situation regarding drug use might not improve with that ease.

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UK Anti-Doping Heads for a Start

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 8th, 2009

anti doping

The first anti-doping body in UK is ready for a start from 14th December. The Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe announced this initiative recently. UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) will be based at Cockspur Street in central London and will be headed by Chair David Kenworthy and Chief Executive Andy Parkinson. A well experienced senior team, who are being recruited, will also be a part of the body.

Two other novel initiatives that were also announced are – (i) A “Drug Cheats” hotline which may be used to provide information on doping or supply of banned substances in sports. (ii) An athletes’ committee which will enable Ukad to liaise with the athletes and understand the best ways to support them in future. The hotline will start operating after Ukad starts working. The number of the hotline has not been decided as yet but will appear in its website when Ukad begins to function.  

The Sports Minister said, “UK Anti-Doping will be up and running, as promised, by the end of the year. It is the latest step in our war on drug cheats and will ensure this country is leading the way on anti-doping. The integrity of sport must not be put at risk and fans need to be confident that the athletes they are watching are clean. With greater links with law enforcement agencies Ukad will help us catch cheats before they get to the start line.”

Mr.Sutcliffe also said that he had proposed the International Olympic Committee and the organizers of the 2012 Games that the athletes should agree to the terms of their rooms being searched anytime by anti-doping officials. This would be the first time that Olympic anti-doping officials will get the right to enter the athlete’s room unannounced and search them on suspicion of doping. But it is doubtful whether athletes will agree to it.

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