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According to a piece in the Zanesville Times Recorder, the funding for treatment is continually shrinking, while the number of addicts needing help is not following the same trend.

For Steve Carrel, Muskingum Behavioral Health executive director, his office is treating 600 clients per year, but doing so with a 20 percent cut in staff and a budget of $800,000, down from $1,000,000 two years ago.

National Drug Control Policy Director, R. Gil Kerlikowske told international delegates at a conference in Vienna, Austria that drugs are a huge threat to society and one that demands a comprehensive and effective response.

Kerlikowske has A National Drug Control Strategy due later in the year, which is expected to emphasize and focus on a commitment to reduce drug consumption in the United States. One key theme will be community-based prevention which will mean an increase in the national drug budget of 13 percent.

At present, substance abuse costs the United States more than $50 million in health care spending every year. Kerlikowske believes it is time to integrate care for substance use disorders into the entire health care system. This inclusion would mean the expansion of screening and brief intervention and referral to treatment programs in an array of settings.

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency in Ohio, run by John Postlethwaite, lost $2.9 million in funding, a big loss for an agency that helps other law enforcement agencies with overtime, additional officers and drug interdiction programs.

“It’s been a tight budget,” Postlethwaite said. “What I suggest people do is write their leaders in Washington. We sponsor 13 task forces across the state, but right now have no discretionary funding. That results in our highway interdiction program, which produced tremendous results by stopping drugs from coming into the state, being cut.”

Budget Cuts Not Helping Drug Abuse in U.S. is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The former pitcher for the New York Mets and New York Yankees had a child in his vehicle at the time of the two-vehicle crash around 9 a.m. Tuesday, Franklin Lakes police Capt. Joseph Seltenrich said. Police wouldn’t say whose child it was, but they said no one was hurt.

Gooden also was charged with child endangerment and motor vehicle violations, authorities said. They wouldn’t release details, including the type of drugs.

The Associated Press reports that Gooden, 45, was released on his own recognizance until a municipal court hearing. It was unclear whether Gooden, who has waged a well-publicized battle with alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, had an attorney.

The driver of the other car, Phil Schmidt, of Franklin Lakes, said he recognized Gooden right away.

“I looked at him, and I knew it was Dwight Gooden,” Schmidt told WABC-TV in New York. “I think he was surprised I recognized him, (and) he shook my hand.”

Gooden, nicknamed Doc Gooden and Dr. K because of his phenomenal strikeout numbers early in his career, had served as a senior vice president with the minor league Newark Bears baseball team, which plays in the Atlantic League. But he left in November 2009 when the Mets invited him to join them at spring training, an offer he ultimately turned down.

“He did great things while he was here,” said Tom Cetnar, the Bears’ senior vice president. “We’re very saddened by the reports we’re hearing. We don’t have any details on what happened. Doc did right by us and the city of Newark.”

Mets spokesman Jay Horowitz said the team “was aware of the situation,” but he declined to comment further.

Gooden’s dominant pitching helped lead the Mets to a World Series title in 1986 and another National League East crown in ’88, and he also was a member of the championship Yankees teams of 1996 and 2000. After making his major league debut in 1984 at the age of 19, he went on to win the Rookie of the Year award that season and eventually won 194 games over his 17-year career, which included a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1996.

But drugs and legal troubles derailed his career and continued after his retirement in 2001. He was arrested several times and repeatedly entered rehabilitation facilities.
Besides the two New York teams, Gooden also pitched for Cleveland, Houston, and Tampa Bay.

Former MLB Star Charged with Drugged Driving is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The research, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, has been published in the journal PloS ONE.

Poor sleep patterns and drug habits are two habits that may spread easily in an adolescent’s social group, and one may influence the other. According to lead researcher Sara C. Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, this is the first investigation of the spread of illegal drug use in social networks. It is also the first study in age population on the spread of sleep behaviors through social networks.

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed to determine how sleep deprivation and the spread of drug use within social groups are related. About 8,349 teens in grades 7 through 12 were studied for a period of eight years. Each of these participants was asked to name five friends who also participated in the study.

The findings of the study revealed that participants belonging to the same large social group with poor sleep had tried marijuana. It was also found that teens’ sleep and drug habits are influenced by their friends and even the friends of their friends.

"Our behaviors are all connected to each other and we need to start thinking about how one behavior affects our lives on many levels. Therefore, when parents, schools, and law enforcement want to look for ways to influence one outcome, such as drug use, our research suggests that targeting another behavior, like sleep, may have a positive influence," says Mednick.

It is difficult to predict which teenager would take up drugs but will quit and who will progress to dependency. Instilling good habits like limiting hours of watching television and spending time in front of the computer, using the phone only during daytime and early evening hours, and promoting getting a good night’s sleep may help.

Sleep-Deprived Teens More Likely to Abuse Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Beyoncé related how she first came to know the Brooklyn chapter of Phoenix House, the nation’s leading non-profit provider of substance abuse and prevention services, when she was preparing for the role of Etta James in the 2008 film “Cadillac Records.”

To play the part of the former heroin addict, Beyoncé met with women in treatment at the Career Academy, and she was so moved by their powerful stories of addiction and recovery that she later donated her salary from the film.

Last year, she and her mother, who is also her business partner and a fashion designer, conceived of the idea of Phoenix House’s new cosmetology program.

The Beyoncé Cosmetology Center, which Beyonce is also funding, will offer a seven-month cosmetology training course for adult men and women, teaching the theory and practical skills that clients need to pass the New York State Cosmetology Licensure Exam.

As Beyoncé is a spokesperson for L’Oréal Paris, the company is generously providing all makeup, skin care, and hair care products.

“We were thrilled when Beyoncé and her mother Tina approached us about creating a cosmetology center for our clients,” said Phoenix House President and CEO Howard Meitiner. “Their generosity and compassion toward the men and women we serve is extraordinary. With this tremendous gift, they have given our clients a route to achieve successful, rewarding lives in recovery.”

Tina Knowles recalled how some of the stylists in the Houston salon she once owned struggled with addiction and other problems, but when they got behind the styling chair they could “throw down” with the best of stylists, and that the trade changed their lives.

“We all make mistakes, but as I learned from my daughter, it’s not how you fall down, but how you get up,” she said.

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HealthDay News reports that in a new study published online in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, researchers report that they’re moving toward a possible solution through the development of a longer-lasting version of the protein. In rats, it lessened the desire for cocaine and prevented the rodents from dying of overdoses.

The researchers tested the protein by allowing rats to administer cocaine to themselves by pressing a button; they did so less often when they were treated with the longer-lasting version of the protein.

“These therapeutic approaches may not be ‘fail-safe’ for reducing cocaine intake by determined users,” Friedbert Weiss, of Faculty of 1000 Medicine, said in a news release.

But the long-acting forms of the protein “represent potentially valuable treatment approaches not only for the prevention of cocaine-induced toxicity but also for ongoing cocaine abuse in humans,” said Weiss, who reviewed the research.

Protein May Help Cocaine Addicts Quit is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Madeline Ellis of HealthNews.com writes that the study was carried out over two evenings, a week apart. In the 24-hour period before each of these evenings, the participants were required to abstain from alcohol, illicit drugs, sleep aids, and caffeine. On one night, the participants consumed either 100 proof Absolut vodka, which contains relatively few congeners, or 101 proof Wild Turkey bourbon, which has about 37 times more congeners than vodka, until their breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) levels reflected inebriation.

Another night they drank an alcohol-free placebo beverage. Overnight their sleep was monitored and the following morning they were asked to rate their hangover in terms of severity, ranging from little or no impact to incapacitating. They were also asked to perform tasks to access speed, vigilance, and concentration skills, and their polysomnography recordings were assessed.

Bourbon drinkers reported a worse hangover than those who drank vodka, suggesting that higher congener levels increase the intensity of the hangover. Alcohol also impaired the participants’ performance on the cognitive tasks and disrupted sleep, but there was no difference between the two alcoholic drinks. Most participants did not think that their driving ability was impaired in the morning. However, they said they would be less willing to drive the morning after alcohol than after placebo.

“The most important thing for people to realize is that if you’re feeling hung-over, you’re probably impaired in terms of performing tasks that require vigilance and making quick decisions,” said study author Dr. Damaris J. Rohsenow, associate director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University.

Rohsenow added that while people who drink to inebriation will still feel hungover from vodka or white wine, they “are going to feel sicker after drinking an alcohol—such as bourbon—which is among the darker liquors, and therefore has a lot more naturally toxic poisons in it.”

Dr. Marc Galanter, a professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, agrees that overindulgence is the root cause of a hangover, regardless of alcohol choice. “What’s clearly emerged is that it’s the alcohol content that is the most salient factor in terms of damage and long-term damage and addiction,” he said. “It’s the actual amount of alcohol that counts. Nonetheless, we see emerging some interesting issues in terms of which congeners go along with which alcohol. For example, in terms of what produces more hangover.”

The study will be published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

New Study Finds that the Color of Alcohol Effects Severity of Hangover is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

In a Time magazine article on Michael Jackson’s use of the powerful anesthetic Propofol, Dr. David Sack of Promises Treatment Centers in Malibu, said, “Whenever a drug gets attention like this in the media, people want to try it. It takes a while for things to break out. Sometimes they never do. But there are always people who abuse drugs who are looking for the next big thing.”

It seems counter intuitive for someone to try a drug that they know only because it killed a celebrity, but drug abusers often believe they will be different: They won’t do it to excess; they’re smarter than that; it won’t kill them. This self-deception creates a mindset that allows drug abusers to continue to try new drugs in riskier and riskier combinations. Combinations of opiates and alcohol that would scare off the average person sound like thrilling opportunities to the drug abuser seeking a better high.

“Cautionary tales do not necessarily break through the barrier of denial,” Dr. Sack says. “Even drug abusers who have had very close calls with death will justify and rationalize continued drug use.”

This sense of personal invulnerability puts drug users at extreme risk of overdose. If they don’t believe it can happen to them, they will take greater and greater risks to achieve the highs they experienced at the beginning of their drug use.

While celebrity substance abuse may signal to others that this behavior is somehow acceptable, their recoveries can also serve as examples. Stories of Robert Downey, Jr.’s drug use and arrests were gossip-page fodder for many years. Most people had written him off as a hopeless addict. His remarkable recovery and second-life as a critically acclaimed actor show that even the seemingly most intractable drug abusers can overcome addiction.

Because the media are more inclined to print mug shots and compelling stories of drunk driving, bizarre behavior, and arrests than they are inspiring stories of recovery and freedom from addiction, stories such as Downey’s are often lost to the noise surrounding the latest celebrity embarrassment. The message needs to be clear that drug addiction is a deadly affair that impacts all strata of society, not something that gives us an opportunity to mock celebrities.

Do Celebrities Create Drug Trends? is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Tens of thousands of college students visit Cancun and Acapulco each year to celebrate spring break, and police are now concerned that they will go because they can get drugs. “For a country that has experienced thousands of deaths from warring drug cartels for many years, it defies logic why they would pass a law that will clearly encourage drug use,” said San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne.

The new law is part of a growing trend in Latin America to treat drug use as a public health problem rather than a crime and make room in overcrowded prisons for violent traffickers rather than small-time users.

Brazil and Uruguay have already eliminated jail time for people carrying small amounts of drugs for personal use, although possession is still considered a crime in Brazil. Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled out prison for pot possession on Tuesday and officials say they plan to propose a law keeping drug consumers out of the justice system. Colombia has decriminalized marijuana and cocaine for personal use, but kept penalties for other drugs.

Officials in those countries say they are not legalizing drugs—just drawing a line between users, dealers, and traffickers in the midst of a fierce drug war. Mexico’s law toughens penalties for selling drugs even as it relaxes the law against using them.

"Latin America is disappointed with the results of the current drug policies and is exploring alternatives," said Ricardo Soberon, director of the Drug Research and Human Rights Center in Lima, Peru.

Between 2002 and 2008, drug use increased by more than 50 percent in Mexico, according to the government, and prisons are filled with addicts, many under the age of 25. The new law requires officials to encourage drug users to seek treatment in lieu of jail, but the government has not allocated more money for organizations that are supposed to help them.

Supporters of the change point to Portugal, which removed jail terms for drug possession for personal use in 2001 and still has one of the lowest rates of cocaine use in Europe. Portugal’s law defines personal use as the equivalent of what one person would consume over 10 days. Police confiscate the drugs and the suspect must appear before a government commission, which reviews the person’s drug consumption patterns. Users may be fined, sent for treatment, or put on probation. Foreigners caught with drugs still face arrest in Portugal, a measure to prevent drug tourism.

The same is not true for Mexico, where there is no jail time for anyone caught with roughly four marijuana cigarettes, four lines of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine or 0.015 milligrams of LSD.

"It provides an officially sanctioned market for the consumption of the world’s most dangerous drugs," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said. "For the people of San Diego the risk is direct and lethal. There are those who will drive to Mexico to use drugs and return to the U.S. under their influence."

However, Don Thornhill, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor who investigated Mexican cartels for 25 years, said Mexico’s rampant drug violence will likely deter most U.S. drug users, and the new law will allow Mexican police to focus on "the bigger fish."
 

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We only have to look to ourselves for the answer.

Addiction Can Happen To Anyone

Daily life carries numerous stresses: get a good job, keep a job, get a raise, get good grades, do well at sports, be popular, be thin, be successful, raise the kids, multi-task, do this, do that ad infinitum. It all takes a toll on an individual. Some are better equipped to deal with it than others, but we all need help at times just to keep up.

Sometimes that help comes from a bottle, or a few pills, or a line of cocaine, or from smoking a joint or a crack pipe. Sure, it starts off with just a little, and it doesn’t seem like much, surely we don’t have a problem. That’s what all the addicts tell themselves.

The list of celebrity addicts who have publicly battled their demons includes actress Drew Barrymore (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana), singer Whitney Houston (cocaine, alcohol, marijuana and pills), supermodel Kate Moss (cocaine), actress Nicole Richie (alcohol, heroin, marijuana, Vicodin), rocker Eddie Van Halen (alcohol, cocaine, crystal meth), actor Gary Busey (alcohol, cocaine, GHB), actor Nick Nolte (alcohol, GHB), singer-actress Courtney Love (heroin, Oxycontin), actor Samuel L. Jackson (alcohol and drugs), actor Matthew Perry (alcohol and Vicodin), singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (alcohol, drugs and sex), actor David Hasselhof (alcohol), rocker Ozzy Osbourne (alcohol and drugs), musician Anthony Kiedis (alcohol and cocaine), actor-director Mel Gibson (alcohol), musician Keith Urban (drugs and alcohol), actress Lindsey Lohan (cocaine and alcohol), musician Pete Doherty (drugs), and many more.

Some have successfully completed drug and alcohol treatment and are in recovery. Others have relapsed one or more times. All are examples of what happens every day in countless situations across the country and the world.

I Hear about Celebrities Relapsing after Rehab – So Does Rehab Even Work?

The stories that make the news are the ones where the celebrity has messed up once again. The celebrity blogs focus on the negative – they believe happy stories without lurid elements are not going to get them readers. For this reason, those celebrities who have successfully stayed off drugs and alcohol slowly slip below the radar, while those who continue to use drugs and create drama stay in the public eye.

Sometimes the gist of these negative stories is that rehab doesn’t work, or that “celebrity rehabs” pander to their famous clients and do not offer true treatment. However, high-end rehabs rarely have celebrity clients and have many success stories that involve both ordinary people and celebrities. Unfortunately, the few celebrities who are not ready for recovery grab the headlines and give a negative impression. If these rehabs did not work, they would go out of business – there simply aren’t enough celebrities to keep them open. They must give effective treatment or clinicians and doctors will stop recommending them to patients and clients.

Is Drug Addiction Different for “Ordinary” People?

The homemaker who needs a little help from some pills to overcome pain, the stockbroker who pops stimulants to keep going, the athlete who takes steroids to get bigger, the young people that mix party drugs and alcohol in rave and club scenes – are they any different? Sooner or later, when use becomes abuse, they’re all in the same boat: they’ve become addicted.

Addiction doesn’t happen overnight. And it doesn’t respect gender, ethnicity, age, social circumstances or occupation. What may have started seemingly innocently enough soon manifests itself as a full-blown addiction.

The trials and tribulations of celebrity addicts in recovery shows us – everyman and everywoman – that the road to recovery isn’t easy, it isn’t fun, but it is necessary.

Some Examples of Celebrity Recovery

As rocker Eminem has said, “It’s no secret I had a drug problem [with Valium and Ambien and later, Vicodin]… the numbers got so so high I don’t even know what I was taking.” He turned to Elton John, who himself had experienced a substance abuse problem in the 1980s. Through phone conversations, Eminem said Elton helped him in his decision to quit drugs, since he understood the “pressure, other reasons people come up with for doing drugs.” Eminem and Elton have become friends and talk regularly.

Singer Fergie, of the Black Eyed Peas, has been very public about her addiction to crystal meth. In 2006, she told U.S. Weekly that “ecstasy led to crystal meth and… people don’t know how addictive that drug is.” She went on to say, “It’s such a fun drug at first. You lose weight and look great for a while, but … if it takes six months or five years, it will creep up on you. Don’t be fooled and think you’re special.” Fergie turned to hypnotherapy to help her stave off her drug cravings and to relax. She is now married to actor Josh Duhamel.

Actor Robert Downey, Jr.’s addiction started with marijuana at age 6. By the time he was 22 he had a serious drug problem. The media covered his multiple arrests for drug and weapons charges in 1996, and his subsequent stints in and out of rehab. But the actor still wasn’t out of the woods and needed further help to quit. Today, Robert Downey, Jr. has been sober for several years. As he told Parade Magazine in 2008, “I’m not a poster boy for good behavior and recovery in Hollywood. I’m just a guy who knows he has a lot to be grateful for.” He credits his current wife, producer Susan Levin, with helping him overcome. Finally, he really cared about someone, cared enough to quit the drug dance. The most poignant statement from the actor may be this: “People rise out of the ashes because, at some point, they are invested with a belief in the possibility of triumph over seemingly impossible odds.”

When country singer Keith Urban entered the Betty Ford Center for a 3-month alcoholism program in October 2006, it came after previous addiction in 1998 to cocaine, which he has publicly admitted. Urban, whose wife is actress Nicole Kidman, talked about rehab in his website in 2007. He praised his wife who “stayed extraordinarily strong and loving” and for “my friends and family.” Why did he enter rehab? As Urban says, “It was a lot of small things that were happening in my life, a lot of small moments that were starting to accumulate that were telling me very loud and clear that I was a long way from my program of recovery, and they were making my life unmanageable.”

How Does Celebrity Recovery Help Us?

Don’t think that only celebrities can make it through recovery. The easy argument is that they have money, people to look after them; they have it easier than everybody else. That’s a fallacy on all counts. True, treatment and recovery don’t come cheap, but there are federal, state and local programs to provide some financial assistance. There are community support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous, as well as others that are free. In fact, following treatment, recovering addicts are strongly encouraged to continue participating in support group meetings.

Recovering addicts do need the support of friends and family – whether or not the addicts are famous actors, musicians, politicians, or other headline grabbers. With the glare of the spotlight, it is undoubtedly harder to maintain recovery than it may be for others of less well-known status. All recovering addicts have to continue to fight the cravings, the temptations to return to their former crutches – especially when depression hits. That’s something everyone faces. That’s why it’s important to continue to seek the help and counseling support available.

What celebrity addiction and recovery teaches us is that we are all human, we all are subject to incredible stresses and sometimes we’re all prone to succumbing to the easy way out. It also shows us that there is a path to recovery, and it’s up to us to walk down that road of our own accord with confidence and hope in the future.

The Effect of Celebrity Stories on Drug Addiction Treatment is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment