Want to get rid of drugs in your community? Check out what happened in Tallahassee, Florida. Several members of the community told the police that people were growing marijuana - in about 1/2 dozen different locations - and now the offenders are busted. The result could be a lot of kids who aren’t looking for a drug rehab in Florida.

The program that furnished the police with the information for the bust is called Crime Stoppers - it has, among other things, an anonymous tip line for members of the community who want to report criminal activity. The organization is funded by the State.

Great idea. In many communities it’s hard to remain anonymous when reporting something to the police. People think it’s dangerous to ‘get involved.’ And, in truth, it can be. Especially when you’re talking about drug addiction - drug addicts, and dealers, can get pretty nasty when someone comes between them and their drugs, or their money.

Check in with the police in your area to see if a similar program is available. There are literally thousands of drug addiction treatment centers in Florida and many are supported by taxpayers. Programs like Crime Stoppers could reduce the drug addiction problem, and enable communities to put their money into education and other beneficial programs.

Popularity: 3% [?]

One of the attractions of beer for someone who’s an addict is that it’s relatively cheap. But this guy in Australia doesn’t seem to care how much it costs. He’s a father of four, a construction worker, takes home $1440 a week, spends $150 on rent, $150 on buses and taxis, $50 on his phone and spends about $1000 a week on beer. That’s one serious alcohol addiction. How he manages to work is beyond me.

He was also just convicted of drunk driving for the seventh time. In one of the accidents he killed someone. His most recent arrest came when he was driving his motorcycle at 123 mph.

He has now allegedly gone cold turkey and is involved in an alcohol rehab program. Let’s hope he gets into a long-term residential program that can get down to the bottom of his addiction problem.

This is an unusual case, no doubt about it. Not many people spend that much money on beer every week. However, alcohol addiction is the most common addiction in the U.S. and it kills thousands every year. Most of those people die from accidents or by taking risks they wouldn’t take if they were sober.

If you know someone who needs alcohol rehab, contact Drug Rehab Referral. They can help you find a drug and alcohol rehab that will really work. They can also help you with intervention services if you can’t convince someone they need alcohol addiction help.

Popularity: 3% [?]

This week’s Prescription Drug Addiction Radio Show (on WGUL 860 AM on Sunday night, July 20 - 9:05 p.m. Eastern, live online at www.860wgul.com) will feature pharmacists talking about the problem of - guess what - prescription drug addiction. Here’s what Larry G, the show’s host, has to say about the problem:

“The drug companies call them pain pills and the drug addicts call them Oxys, Roxies and Blueberries. The doctors call them alprazolam and on the street they are called Ladders, Bars and Totem Poles, but horribly it is now estimated that deaths that include prescription drugs are surpassing deaths from guns in the United States.”

Drug rehab in Florida has especially got it’s hands full - Florida medical examiners reported 8,620 drug-related deaths in Florida in 2007, and about 69% of them involved prescription drugs. The drugs that were involved in the majority of deaths were methadone, benzodiazepines, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine.

The saddest thing is that, unlike people who take street drugs, many of the people who overdose on and die from prescription drugs though the drugs were safe, and never saw it coming.

Larry G, a pharmacist for 30 years, is doing our society a great service with this radio show. Tune in, find out more about prescription drug addiction, and get anyone you think might need help into a drug addiction treatment center asap.  Also, check out Drug Rehab Referral for additional info on prescription drug addiction, street drugs, and drug addiction treatment.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I was recently reading information about drug rehab in Florida and the substance abuse problems in various Florida counties. I came across an alcohol and drug abuse survey from Hernando County that had a section on protecting your kids from drug use. In 2000 the drug problem was much different than it is today - prescription drug addiction and abuse is as big a problem as illegal drugs.

According to the Hernando County document, you are more likely to prevent drug use if your kids have healthy beliefs and clear standards, if you have bonded with your kids and are involved in their lives, if they have opportunities for development, if their efforts are recognized, if they have the skills necessary to be successful, and if they have a sense of hope.

Have you checked the above list as it applies to your kids lately? If these things are in place, and if you talk with your kids and let them know about the dangers of drugs, there’s a much better chance of them saying no when they’re offered drugs - which you can bet they will be. Prescription drug addiction is growing at epidemic proportions and often requires drug detox and drug rehab. In Florida there are several facilities to get help, but the only real way to be safe is prevention.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I’m sure a lot of people are asking themselves why there’s a prescription drug addiction epidemic all of a sudden. As unpalatable as it may seem, the problem with prescription drugs isn’t really any different than the problem with street drugs - if you follow the money, you’re likely to find the true motivation. Who’s making the money on prescription drug addiction?

Well, obviously, the drug companies are number one - also, bear in mind that the more drugs are sold, the more money the drug companies make. Drug companies have a vested interest in prescription drug addiction - the longer people take them, the more money they make.

But the number two vested interest may well be the doctors who are prescribing them.

Let’s take Xyprexa, for example, the anti-psychotic usually given to people diagnosed with schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder - both of which diagnoses, by the way, have also reached epidemic proportions. In the state of Vermont, anti-psychotic drugs are the largest expense in the state’s medicaid program.  In 2005, psychiatrists - the specialists who usually prescribe anti-psychotics - received an average of $20,835 from drug companies. In 2006, they received an average of $45,692. In 2007, they received $57,000 - in fact, the total paid to psychiatrists was $630,000 (that was only to 11 doctors), and that represented about one-third of the pharmaceutical industry’s $3 million spent on marketing drugs in the state of Vermont.

Am I telling you this so you’ll blow up a drug company building? No, I’m telling you this so you’ll think twice when someone - even your doctor - suggests you take drugs. And so that you’ll consider the possibility that your son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, or friend is being duped. That they, too, have become victims of the marketing dollars dedicated to get people on drugs, and to keep them on them. In other words - to promote prescription drug addiction.  Is is possible your friends or family, or you, need a drug addiction treatment center, not a refill on a prescription?

Some drugs save lives. Others destroy them. Learn to tell the difference. Find out about prescription drug addiction today.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I read a column online today with a letter from a woman asking “is my boyfriend addicted?” She said he does cocaine and Vicodin and takes Xanax to come off the cocaine high when he goes to sleep. He told her he does it at least once a week and that his friends ‘drag him into it.’ He also uses drugs alone and the night before the letter was written he had gone on an alcohol and cocaine binge. The next day he told her he felt like a loser. Is this guy addicted? Absolutely. At this point he probably is addicted to cocaine and has a prescription drug addiction problem.

He may not be a loser - he could be a great guy. She wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t have some redeeming qualities and the relationship might have great potential. But, honestly, the way he’s going - especially when he’s combining drugs with other drugs, and with alcohol - if he doesn’t get into an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center they might never get the chance to find out.

He’s not a loser. He’s an addict. And he needs help. She can either make sure he gets it, or she can leave him - which is what she is considering doing. It’s not fun taking on a person with a drug addiction problem but, on the other hand, if she can get him into an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center, she may save his life. Whether or not the relationship will continue is another story. But if she doesn’t help him by getting him some real drug addiction help, there’s a good chance no one else will either.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I’ve just run across some amazing statistics about drug abuse in Sarasota, Florida. Alcohol consumption is the highest rate in the state - as it is in any area - but centers offering drug rehab in Florida are being inundated with people taking prescription drugs. In fact, the number one cause of accidental death in Sarasota County is now poisoning, and 96% of those are from drug overdoses. And I can guarantee the majority of that involves prescription drug addiction or abuse.It’s worse than Tampa, worse than Miami - and those places are pretty bad.With so many drugs around, and with so much drinking going on, the chances of someone you know – even your kids or your spouse – not taking drugs or drinking to excess are slim to none.  One out of every ten high school kids have used prescription drugs illegally, and one in five young adults in college or work got high on some drug or other in the last month - those are Florida-wide statistics, but Sarasota is at the top of the list.Families should be aware of this problem and ensure that their kids, their husbands and wives and so on are aware of the dangers. And if there’s any kind of problem – with alcohol, illegal drugs, or which prescription drug addiction or abuse, get help immediately. Finding a drug rehab in Florida is easy, but finding one with a high success rate isn’t. Contact Drug Rehab Referral to get the help you need.

Popularity: 9% [?]

I read a blog today which referred to an article about drug testing in schools. The author was against the testing because, he said, the only drug that stays in the system long enough to be detected is marijuana.  This is apparently driving school kids to other drugs. This may also be one of the reasons for the increase in prescription drug addiction and the number of people on prescription drugs going into drug rehab. Florida is nicknamed the ‘pill state.’ That gives you an idea of how serious the situation is.

Personally, I don’t think drug testing is the source of the problem. I believe the majority of schools don’t do drug testing at all - and they have the same problems.

Prescription drug addiction is largely due to the accessability, acceptability, and convenience of prescription drugs. They’re in practically every household medicine cabinet, they come from a doctor so are considered safe, and you don’t have to find a drug dealer to buy marijuana or find a place to smoke it where the smell is not going to be noticed. You just pop a pill.

If your kids are already taking drugs of one form or other - and if you don’t know, you’d better find out - there’s a good chance they’ll also get into prescription drugs. And, believe it or not, they’re more dangerous than many of the illegal drugs around. Your best bet is to get help. Drug rehab in Florida is plentiful.  In the meantime, what about drug testing? Should it be stopped? 

Popularity: 10% [?]

If you’d like to get an inkling of what prescription drug addiction can be like, check out Addressing Addiction: A Letter to OxyContin. The author of the letter is getting help through drug court.

She’s a mom. Although, from the letter, it seems she’s now lost her kids. And her husband. And just about everything else she owned. Her prescription drug addiction took it all. For her, the drug was OxyContin. A drug that millions of people in America are taking right this minute, and most of them got the drug from their doctor.

And some will end up in the same condition as the author of this letter.

To find a drug addiction treatment center that can help you or someone you care about before it gets to that point, give Drug Rehab Referral a call.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Going into a drug addiction treatment center for a short time is not enough to handle a drug problem according to Dr. Drew. That’s no surprise to professionals who deal with drug addiction every day - and the stats are there to prove it. Long term residential treatment programs have better results than the two-to-four week stays in the luxury drug addiction treatment centers most frequented by celebs.

They are a revolving door, and they give people the idea that drug rehab doesn’t work.

In fact, it does. There are people who have gone to drug rehab over and over again without ever really devoting the time necessary to get through the addiction and get their lives turned around so they can stay drug-free. They get off the drugs and think that’s about all there is to it. Not so - you have to address the reasons behind the drug use. And those reasons are often deep-seated. They’re not going to go away in a week or two.

We’re talking about addiction, not just a physical dependency.

The first step is to realize you have a problem. Handling the problem begins with addressing the physical dependency on drugs but, once that’s handled, you still have to get down to the bottom of why the person’s using drugs in the first place. And that’s what a good, long-term residential drug addiction treatment center does. Make sure that’s the kind you choose if you have a drug problem - whether it’s with street drugs or prescription drug addiction. Drug Rehab Referral can help you find one. Check them out.

Popularity: 15% [?]