Posts Tagged Drug Abuse Treatment

Sports and Drugs (or should we say drug abuse?)

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 6th, 2009

sports

Sports have been upheld as an alternative of drugs. Young people are encouraged to take part in sports activities since apart from being a constructive source of recreation, sports help to develop a sound mind in a sound body. But the irony is that drug abuse has been increasingly associated to sports – thanks to those who, in search of glory and fame, could do anything – even drugs just to be the winner. “What counts is not the winning but taking part,” is not acceptable. It is not just winning but the rewards that follow and this serves as the primary driving force to take drugs.

Drugs in sports act as performance enhancers. Such drugs, known as ergogenic drugs have been used by sports personalities for a long time. The instance of drug abuse has been reported since the start of the Olympics in Greece in 776 B.C. The competitors then were reported to have consumed certain chemicals that would increase their performance level and provide that extra edge over the others.

The problem of drug abuse became a threat to sports from the 19th century. Today doping is a common term that has affected all forms of sports – athletics, soccer, weight lifting, cricket and so on. I firmly believe that you don’t have to tax your memory to name some of the big names associated with sports of different sorts who have either been banned or atleast suspended for their misdemeanor.

Generally drugs are used for the following benefits:

  • Raising concentration level
  • Boosting up strength and power
  • Increasing endurance level
  • Speed acceleration
  • Enhancing aggressiveness
  • Improving fine motor co-ordination
  • Reducing anxiety, tremor and pain sensation

But the effects of ergogenic drugs could be extremely dangerous. Liver function, reproductive system, metabolic impairment and psychological effects are common. The anabolic steroids hinder the normal hormonal balance and feedback system.

Have faith on your capability, work hard and you can be the winner.

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Prescription Drug Abuse Needs Special Attention

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on October 4th, 2009

prescription drug

The dangers associated with prescription drug abuse were brought to light in 2007 when a 24 year old man and a 13 year old girl overdosed within a spell of three months. Since then abuse of Rx drugs has reached alarming proportions. It is high time that the government pays special attention to the issue or else the loss that the country is sure to face in terms of youth potentials, is beyond imagination.

Inland Rep Mary Bono Mack told the members of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee that the nation’s domestic drug policy should give emphasis on the problem of prescription drug abuse – a problem which is growing beyond proportions. “Just because it’s sitting in the medicine cabinet doesn’t mean its safe,” she said before the subcommittee that had approved legislation that would create a commission to assess the effectiveness of U.S. counter-narcotics efforts.

The members of the legislation agreed to what Bono Mack said. Subcommittee Chairman Elliot Engel said, “For too long our country has been overly focused on the supply side of the drug trade, while paying far too little attention to what happens here at home.”

Bono Mack’s own son, Chesare is a recovering addict who first started taking Oxycontin, a painkiller, after the death of his father, former entertainer and Inland Rep. Sonny Bono. Chesare’s Oxycontin addiction later escalated to heroin addiction. This transition from prescription drugs to heroin is a common feature amongst this population.

A special drug-diversion unit is being formed by the Montana Department of Justice to fight against the growing problem in the state. The special unit will be funded by a $ 1.2 million stimulus grant through the U.S. Department of Justice. The team will comprise of six members – three investigators, a public outreach and education co-ordinator, a prosecutor and an administrative assistant. Their approach will include prevention, law enforcement and treatment.

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Myths About Pot Smoking

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Other Addictions on September 30th, 2009

PotSmoking

Substance abusers who fail to abstain from chemicals despite several treatment efforts, generally think of switching over to some other forms of chemicals for harm minimization. Often we come across confused parents who try to make a deal with their children that, “if you stop using all other drugs you will be allowed to smoke only pot.” This is not really surprising since throughout the world marijuana is the most popular drugs because of its euphoric effects. The myths associated with marijuana are also responsible for its widespread acceptance. A good number of users and their family members believe that they are smoking herb – a natural product. Isn’t that a consolation!

But parents must be aware about the three common myths about marijuana use and then decide on their course of action.

#  Marijuana is not addictive. It does not create physical dependence. This is absolutely an incorrect notion since continued use of pot leads to physical dependence which is evident from the symptoms that are noticeable once the substance is withdrawn. Lack of appetite, poor sleep, fatigue, aggression are some of the withdrawal symptoms associated with the substance. 

# Marijuana is natural and thus good for health. All natural products are not safe for health. Mother nature also produces certain things which are detrimental for health. Marijuana affects the Central Nervous System specially the cognitive aspect of the brain. The effects, though subtle, are often irreversible. Short term memory is impaired, a slower processing speed leads to slowing down of the brains ability to solve problems. Prolonged usage in adolescence might lead to neuroplasticity.

# Marijuana is a natural healer for diseases that cause pain. Studies have shown that THC, the primary chemical in marijuana helps AIDS patients to gain weight and prevents cancer patients from experiencing nausea. Thus THC is filtered and extracted and used in different pills. But actual marijuana has at least 400 cancer causing chemicals apart from THC which might cause devastating effects when they react with THC in the body.

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Approaches of Primary Prevention for Drug and Substance Abuse

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Other Addictions on September 28th, 2009

primary prevention

The use of substances has been a very common practice amongst people in all cultures since the earliest times. But today the pattern of abuse as well as the nature of substances has changed considerably thereby affecting the consequences.

Newer substances are being found. The present day youth can also design drugs! But citizens like us, who have taken up the challenge to combat against this hydra headed monster, are also finding out better ways of reaching out to people and sensitizing them against the issue and the results have been quite rewarding. 

Globally primary preventive activities are being adopted and implemented to control substance abuse. The approaches basically aim at reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors at the individual and environmental levels. In order to make primary prevention effective the involvement of the government, communities and others is an absolute necessity.

The Individual Approach of primary prevention aims at imparting necessary knowledge and developing skills and resources which helps in bringing about a change in the attitude, beliefs and values of the individual. Peer Education has proved to be very effective since it involves young people both as receivers and providers of information.

Building social and personal/cognitive skills improves young people’s abilities to interact socially, clarifies values and enhances self awareness. Participation in group projects providing leadership opportunities, discussion of feelings, values and perception through role play motivate young people to resist social pressure and teach them skills like decision making, problem solving and goal setting. Developing vocational and livelihood skills can increase work opportunities and increase independence.

The Environmental Approach aims at developing positive social norms by providing a safe and supportive environment. Providing interesting recreational activities, participation in community service projects, etc. helps in social bonding which acts as a protective factor. Availability of adequate resources and referral system, involvement of key persons in the local community are prime factors in primary prevention.

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Primary Prevention of Drug Abuse

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

primary prevention

Drug abuse can be prevented at three levels –

(i) Primary,

(ii) Secondary and

(iii) Tertiary.

Primary prevention aims at preventing initiation of substance abuse or delaying the age of initiation. The secondary prevention programs target those individuals who have already started using substances. This program aims at controlling the degree of damage to the individual by preventing substance use from becoming a problem. Tertiary prevention programs are sometimes referred to as rehabilitation and relapse prevention. This form of prevention program aims at making the individual drug free thereby minimizing the problems associated with its use. It strives to enable the individual to attain and maintain improved levels of functioning and health.

Primary prevention, by far, has been known to be the best strategy to control substance abuse and a number of countries across the globe have adopted different types of strategies for preventing drug use at the primary level. The chief goals of primary prevention are

  • Targeting young people before they start using or experimenting with substances.
  • Discouraging or terminating drug use among those who have already experimented with or used substances.

A successful primary prevention program should be comprehensive. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical and social well- being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition includes all factors that affect health. The health promotion concept is used while dealing with substance abuse. This concept implies that people have the capacity to influence their own health and quality of life when empowered with appropriate knowledge and skills. This has an effect on their decision making and they can adopt correct measures to improve their own health as well as that of the community.

The government, communities and others should find effective primary preventive approaches to reach out to as many people as possible and help them in making healthy choices.

Remember, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

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Influence of Drugs on Memory and Learning

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 22nd, 2009

brain

Recently a study conducted by researchers on freely moving mice showed how the use of addictive drugs influence the neural processes associated with learning and memory.

The use of drugs, as is known to all, affects the level of dopamine secretion in the brain and this neurochemical has a pivotal role to play in the brain’s reward system. Dopamine also takes part in the neural processes involved in learning by strengthening the neural connections known as synaptic potentiation. Research evidence has also pointed out that the hippocampus, a brain structure involved in formation of new memories, is also responsible for development of drug addiction. 

Physiologically relevant quantity of nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco was applied to freely moving mice and the corresponding changes in the brain were recorded by the researchers. It was noted that nicotine induced synaptic potentiation correlated with the mice learning to prefer a place associated with nicotine use. But these effects require a local dopamine signal within the hippocampus.

“Although addictive drugs like nicotine have been shown to influence the induction of synaptic potentiation, there has been little or no research in freely moving animals that monitors ongoing induction of synaptic potentiation by a biologically relevant drug dose,” explains senior author Dr. John Dani from the Department of Neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

“An animal’s memories or feelings about the environment are updated when the dopamine signal labels a particular event as important, new, and salient. Normally these memories help us to perform successful behaviors, but in our study, those memories were linked to the addictive drug.

When specific environmental events occur, such as the place or people associated with drug use, they are capable of cuing drug-associated memories or feelings that motivate continued drug use or relapse,” concluded Dani.

The study has been published in the journal “Neuron.”

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