I’m a pretty sympathetic mom. My son can wangle just about anything from me. But, really, one mom in Germany wins the prize. Sort of. According to an article in Der Spiegal, one sympathetic mom sent her 16-year-old son marijuana hidden in cigarette packs while he was in treatment. Not exactly the support he needs to get through drug rehab successfully.

The boy was continually failing his drug tests and when staff at the treatment center investigated, they checked his mail and found out why.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to his mom, but let’s just hope her son doesn’t rush home when he gets out. Obviously, she’s not taking his drug rehab too seriously. Perhaps someone should send her the recent news stories about marijuana causing psychosis.

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As a certified addiction counselor I’ve spoken with many people hooked on drugs, and their families. I’ve seen and heard many personal struggles with drug addiction and I’ve tried to help a lot of people  In many cases, I was able to get people into drug rehab – a very satisfying experience, and a relief for all concerned.

Of all the people I have spoken to, I would have to say that crack cocaine addiction is one of the worst. More people do unthinkable things to themselves and others because of crack cocaine addiction that with any other drug. They sell their homes, cars and everything else they own to get crack. They steal, borrow or beg . I read a news article today about a mother who forced her teenage daughters into prostitution to get money to support her own crack addiction.

If you are addicted to crack or know someone who is, this probably isn’t a surprise.

When I speak to someone with a crack addiction, or someone who cares about them, my advice is always to get into drug rehab immediately. And, in the majority of cases, long-term inpatient programs are the only successful drug rehab programs for crack addicts. If you know someone on crack, or are on it yourself, I would advise you to do the same.

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Just imagine you are a drug dealer. You’ve spent some portion of your life hurting other people by getting them hooked on drugs. Then you’re busted. But instead of going to prison on drug dealing charges, you get a chance to go to drug rehab. How careful would you be not to mess up that chance?

Unfortunately, two dealers who were admitted to a new Rockford, Illinois treatment center for drug dealers weren’t careful enough. According to a WREX TV news item, two of the five participants in this new program were arrested and kicked out - one for assault charges and the other for retail theft. The program was set up in May to give dealers a second chance to get their lives back on track. They were offered this program instead of facing charges for dealing drugs. However, now that they’ve violated the conditions of the program, they will face the new charges, and the old ones.

Both are currently in jail on $75,000.00 bond and, unfortunately, have blown the chance to change their lives through a successful drug rehab program.

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Without drug rehab funding by insurance or government, many will stay addicted

Unless you’re an A-list celebrity, paying for drug rehab can be difficult. Even when someone has health insurance that covers drug rehab centers, the coverage is typically only good for certain in-network drug rehab programs, some outpatient treatment and possibly alcohol or drug detox. Most plans do not cover the kind of long-term inpatient drug rehab programs that get results. And if they do cover it, the monthly premiums are extremely expensive.

Despite the fact that drug addiction has become epidemic, especially now that prescription drug addiction has been added to the mix, substance-abuse spending fell from 2.1 percent of all health spending in 1986 to 1.3 percent in 2003. The average annual growth rate for substance-abuse spending was 4.8 percent, while total U.S. health spending grew by 8 percent a year, according to a recent article.
 
Several years ago I had a friend I was helping get into drug rehab. We found a successful drug rehab program with a very good success rate. He was willing to go, and wanted to change his life. He had worked full time for years and had insurance coverage. But when we checked the details of the coverage we found that the insurance didn’t cover inpatient drug rehab, and he made too much money to get into a state-run program.

As it turned out, he was covered for a few weeks of outpatient treatment. He did the treatment, but he has struggled with relapse for years. Unfortunately, he is one of millions of Americans in the same boat. If insurance companies aren’t going to cover successful drug rehab on their own, the government should step in so we can get drug addiction handled once and for all.

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While the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill is definitely an improvement over current legislation, it still leaves much to be desired. Currently, the FDA approves drugs that are not thoroughly tested – long-term treatment studies take place after approval. Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t change that, but it does mandate an additional review seven years after a drug’s approval according to a release from Consumer’s Union. However, if drugs were approved after long-term studies it would reduce the incidence of dangerous side effects, including the need for drug rehab to treat addiction.

But there is good news: Results of studies will be made available in a new clinical trials database so the public can easily see what’s happened when the drug has been tested; negotiations between the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA will be made public; and the FDA will have the power to review drug ads to ensure they’re not misleading.

Perhaps the best news of all is the limitation on conflict of interest. Currently, the panels that approve drugs to go to market often include several members who have financial ties to the drug manufacturer. It would be nice to think that those financial ties did not influence their decision, but it’s not realistic. The panels will now be limited to only such member. Let’s hope that member isn’t everybody else’s best friend. Also, the FDA has routinely waived the conflict of interest laws in the past. The new bill will put an end to that as well.

There are actually two bills on the floor – one for the House and one for the Senate. The Senate bill has already passed, and the two bills will have to be reconciled. Let’s hope the toughest restrictions are held in place during that process. It’s high time the FDA started protecting consumers so we can reverse the alarming trend of drug rehab admissions for prescription drug addiction.

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A recent news article in News-Medical.Net, discussed Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc.’s upcoming clinical trial for CPP-109, the new ‘drug addiction treatment’ pill you take to supposedly curbs the craving for cocaine. That’s one giant leap forward for Catalyst, and one giant leap backward for mankind. Yet another pharmaceutical company is going to spend millions on advertising and make billions in profits by cheering on the millions of Americans whose lives are already being destroyed by one drug and hooking them on another. How about investing that money in drug detox and successful drug rehab programs that can help alleviate the problems already created by prescription drug addiction?

In a recent blog post we discussed methadone as a substitute for heroin. One of the people who commented on the post said medications are being created to treat people addicted to other drugs, as well as alcohol. She made it sound like the ideal society. Obviously, her prediction of new drugs to replace other drugs was not out of line.

Although drug addiction has become a big problem, let’s not forget that, in reality, it’s a symptom. If we want a healthy society, a society of people who can deal with life without drugs – and I’m not talking about people taking prescription drugs because they’re in pain or have a legitimate medical condition – then the only solution to addiction is drug detox followed by a successful drug rehab program that gets down to the bottom of why a person is taking drugs in the first place and addresses those issues.

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We recently posted a blog regarding methadone therapy, which we described as trading one drug for another, and were immediately deluged with comments. Many were from people currently taking methadone and most cited endorphin production, or lack thereof, as the reason they need it.

Others were from people who had been injured and have been enduring incredible pain for years. A couple mentioned that they had tried drug rehab, one had tried 13 times, but had been unsuccessful. Some cited the reason for the lack of success with drug rehab as no longer having the ability to produce endorphins in adequate quantities. Maybe, maybe not.

I’m not going to argue that no one needs to take drugs. If someone is faced with a life of severe pain, of course they have to do something about it. If they have tried everything and still have unbearable pain, the drug can at least improve their quality of life.

And perhaps there is the rare person who is unable to produce endorphins. On the other hand, even the fact that someone has attempted drug rehab 13 times isn’t proof that they need methadone to live a normal life. In itself, it only proves that the drug rehab failed. And given the success rate of most drug rehab techniques, that’s not surprising.

I was a heroin addict myself. For quite a while. When I wanted to get clean, I went to a doctor for help.  The doctor didn’t tell me that it would be better to be off all drugs. He didn’t do any medical testing to see if there was something medically wrong with me that would prevent my being off opiates.  He didn’t talk to me about drug rehabs where I could have gotten off heroin.  No, his solution was to give me methadone.

How many people on methadone, as a replacement for heroin or other opiates, have actually had any medical testing or have tried going to rehab for drug addiction treatment first? I would bet the number represents only a fraction of those currently on the drug. How many people are told they’re going to have to take methadone for two or three years before drug rehab is even attempted?

Don’t let someone do that to you. Methadone is a dangerous drug. If you have any doubts, go to the website that one of the people who commented so kindly provided - http://www.harmd.org. And, if you’re one of the people who are not in excruciating pain, and if you’re just assuming that you’re miserable because your body can’t produce endorphins, and if you’re so inclined, try a successful drug rehab program as an alternative.

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While watching a TV show the other night I saw a young girl ask if she could go to the tanning salon for the “Lindsay Lohan” fake tan. She was having her school picture taken and wanted to look good. She said she didn’t mind the horrible chemicals the salon would have to use because, in the end, she’d look like Lindsay Lohan. I couldn’t help but wonder what other aspects of Lindsay’s life she would emulate and how long it would be before she was drinking and taking drugs. When that does happen, I hope she’s be able to find a successful drug rehab program that really works so she can decide to become herself again, instead of Lindsay Lohan.
 
Do celebrities glamorize drugs and drug rehab? No doubt about it. In fact, it’s become a bit of a joke. How are young people supposed to take drug abuse and drug rehab seriously when their role models obviously do not?

This has been the subject of many recent news and television items. Check Google for celebrities glamorizing drug rehab and you’ll see what I mean.

With any luck, fans will recognize that not everything celebrities do is admireable. And, with any luck, they’ll make the right decisions about life, even though their role models do not.

If someone would actually get these celebrities through a successful drug rehab program that digs in and finds out why they are on drugs and alcohol, they might stand a chance of being truly rehabilitiated and becoming a contributing member of society.

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No way.  Successful drug rehab is possible. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of hearing about Lindsay Lohan and the revolving door of drug rehab with her and other celebrities. I checked Yahoo news for info on drug rehab the other day and almost everything on the first page was about Lohan or other celebrities. I know that celebrities usually equal controversy which equals readership, but what is this news doing to the subject of drug rehab? People who are having a problem with drug or alcohol abuse could definitely be discouraged by the barrage of news items that give the impression that even when you spend $40,000 a month you’re going to revert. Well, I’ve got a news item for you - successful drug rehab is possible.

Don’t pay attention to the media hype. The fact is, there are successful drug rehab programs out there. And because of them, people are getting off drugs every day. Not only are they resuming their normal lives and reuniting with family and friends, they are usually better off after drug rehab than they were before they started drugs. Why? Because the reasons they started abusing drugs or alcohol in the first place are addressed and resolved through alcohol and drug addiction treatment.

Don’t give up. Don’t believe the media hype. Don’t use celebrities as your measuring stick. Find a successful drug rehab. It can work, and it won’t cost you $40K a month.

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The Purdue OxyContin addiction and abuse hearing is complete and distribution of the $634.5 million is approved. Where will the money go? Some of it is earmarked for those who have already sued Purdue Pharma, but most of the rest goes to one branch or another of the government – law enforcement, Medicare, and other unnamed Federal departments. The judge who approved the distribution said he would rather the money go to the victims of OxyContin abuse, but he approved the arrangement nevertheless. It looks like most of those suffering from OxyContin addiction will be on their own when it comes to finding a successful drug rehab program that can help get them off the drug.

Twenty victims or their families appeared at the hearing. Most of them wanted jail time for the three Purdue executives who pled guilty to misleading the public regarding the addictive qualities of OxyContin - not surprising when you consider that one of the speakers presented a small bottle containing the ashes of her dead son.

How many victims of OxyContin addiction are out there needing drug rehab? Millions of prescriptions have been written and it’s apparently not difficult to get hooked. Kenny Keith of Roanoke was reported to have said to it took very little time for him to get addicted to the painkiller and that the withdrawal symptoms were worse than the pain he was trying to alleviate by taking the drug.

Addiction to prescription drugs like OxyContin has become epidemic in the U.S.  Law enforcement officials in Florida, for example, said that prescription drug abuse has reached unprecedented levels and is now considered a serious threat.
 
If you or anyone you know has been taking OxyContin for an extended period of time, it is wise to suspect addiction and get into a drug rehab program now.

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