According to a recent article, 26 Australian Football League (AFL) players have gone through drug rehab in the last two years. Obviously, there is a major drug problem in the AFL.

Many blame the problem on the quality of drug testing – players have admitted they have used drugs, but the system didn’t catch it. But would better drug testing be enough to eliminate the drug use?

I spoke with a sports medicine doctor who feels that implementing a better drug testing system would catch more players and get them into successful drug rehab, but he didn’t feel it would prevent drug use in the league as a whole.

Preventive measures such as drug education and drug-free workplace programs might be one possible solution. And far less disruptive to the team – not only would fewer players be using drugs, they would also be available for the games instead of trying to find a successful drug rehab program.

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The latest “news” on Lindsay Lohan is that she just tested positive for drugs while in treatment. And, as if that wasn’t enough, other reports say she was having sex with another patient at the center. I’m not condoning her behavior, but what ever happened to confidentiality? That kind of information should be protected. It certainly is in the drug rehab centers I recommend.

When a person is in drug rehab they should be protected by federal confidentiality laws – just like any other medical treatment. Doesn’t this fall under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)’s Privacy Rule? The Act was set up to protect patient information – it can’t be disclosed without the patient’s permission. There are very limited exceptions to the rule and violations carry heavy penalties.

Anyone who works in a drug rehab center knows that you can’t even confirm or deny someone’s presence at the center unless you have the patient’s written consent.

A successful drug rehab program takes precautions to ensure the privacy rights of all clients, including celebrities, are protected.

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I read quite a fabulous article today – fabulous because the person agrees with me – about celebrities using drug rehab as an end-all-be-all apology. I don’t know that I’d go that far: I think the motivation might be getting out of jail time. However, the point the author made is that sometimes drug rehab just isn’t enough.  Especially when the rehab consisted of a few weeks in luxury, and when they go back there time and time again. Might be better off to try a successful drug rehab program next time – one that takes the subject a little more seriously than what the sous-chef is planning for dinner or who to assign to accompany the celebrity on their shopping spree. 

Should people have to pay their debt to society? I think so. Rehab them first, then they do the right thing. Probably prison isn’t a great idea – lots of drugs in there – but community service would be great! 

Maybe soup kitchens? Helping the homeless? Orphans? Get a taste of what life is like on the other side of the tracks, and maybe they’ll appreciate all they’ve got and take drug rehab, and life, a little more seriously. 

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Bill Brown worked as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner for Richard Nixon over 18 years ago. As Commissioner, Brown dealt with lobbyists and influenced special interest groups, and admits that he “would do anything to make a buck” in those days. What many don’t know about Brown is that during that time he was also struggling with an alcohol addiction that he was able to handle through a successful drug rehab program.

Today Bill Brown is a major advocate of substance abuse treatment. In fact, a recent article reports that Brown and his wife organize an annual Art of Recovery Expo, an event that that educates the community about addiction and helps people to connect up with solutions for drug treatment.

Brown and his wife want people drug addicts to know where to get help and to promote the fact that there are many good resources out there for drug rehab.

The media has recently been inundated with drug treatment failures. It’s good to see a story about someone who made it through alcohol or drug rehab successfully, and works hard to ensure others do the same.

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I was on the phone with a client the other day when he told me he was dealing with a very severe addiction to drugs and had relapsed after just completing a treatment program. I asked him what drug he was taking. He said it was cocaine, but told me he was also on Respiradol. in the last drug rehab center.

“Respiradol,” I asked, “why were you put on that?!!”

 “I was having a lot of ups and downs when I was withdrawing from cocaine and so they gave it to me.” He added that the drug seemed to help him at first but he was now starting to suffer some side effects.

I was angry. I just kept thinking how far downhill drug rehab has gone when more and more of the clients I speak with are being put on drugs like Respiradol and later relapsing.

Not only is Respiradol widely used in the treatment field, it is now being given to children. According to a recent article, Respiradol was approved by the FDA to be used on children and adolescents to treat bi-polar, schizophrenia, and even autism. And this is a drug with side effects like drowsiness, fatigue, increase in appetite, dizziness, anxiety, nausea, rash, tremor and dry mouth.

I don’t know how much more clear I can make this message: If we keep putting kids on drugs, they will end up addicted later in life. And if we keep putting addicts on replacement drugs, the drug rehab program will not be successful!

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Amy Winehouse has quit drug rehab twice since her recent overdose. Her last stay was five days. She has apparently admitted she needs help, but now says she won’t go back into drug rehab because her husband threatened to kill himself if she left him alone.

This was after he told her she wasn’t good enough for him, having found her in a hotel room about to get high with a prostitute. Amy responded to his pronouncement by cutting herself. Then they got into a physical fight that left them both bruised and bloody.

This is the life of celebrity Amy Winehouse. After years of drug and alcohol abuse and a recent overdose, she’s now back into drugs and drinking and can’t do a thing about it without risking the life of a husband who’s also strung out and basically blackmailing her into staying hooked.

For all you fans out there that are thinking you might like to be like Amy Winehouse, you might take another look at that. And get into a successful drug rehab program.

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Just about every article I have read lately is about a celebrity going into drug rehab so I was pleasantly surprised to read an article about celebrities that have opened a drug rehabilitation program. A recent article reports that Kelly Preston, wife of John Travolta, has opened a drug rehab center in Hawaii.

Preston is a native of Hawaii and was quoted as saying she wants to open this drug rehab center because she “knows this program works.”

Hawaii is currently having major problems with the drug “ice,” a form of methamphetamine. According to the White House Drug Policy, ice  is the drug of choice in Hawaii and poses a real threat to Hawaii residents. Methamphetamine has damaged the economy and contributed to a major rise in crime.

Both Preston and Travolta are behind this successful drug rehab program and are hoping to help drug addicts with their own Hawaii drug rehab center.

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I was reading an article today called Struggling to Find Me Again. It was about an 18-year-old girl who struggled with OxyContin addiction. The girl, who did eventually get cleaned up through drug rehab, was sharing her personal story of opiod prescription drug addiction and recovery.

Having struggled with an OxyContin addiction myself, and having worked in the drug rehab field for years, this article definitely hit close to home. Most interesting was that that the girl started with marijuana in grade school and soon graduated to prescription pain medications. When she tried OxyContin and was hooked immediately. After her life spiraled out of control she went to her family and got help: they got her into drug rehab.

As I was reading this story I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen without drug rehab. In many cases those addicted would never get help and would end up going down the road that leads to prison or death. I know that if I hadn’t sought treatment when I did, those roads would have been inevitable for me.

Today as I read about someone being helped through treatment I see the value of drug rehab. Many think that when someone is addicted they can just stop, or move to a new city, or start a new job or school, but that is not the case. Addiction can be overcome, but the essential element is a successful drug rehab program.

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I came across an article today about a patient in a drug treatment center who murdered another patient. In an argument over food, one guy hit the other with a chair. An ambulance transported the victim to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. This type of incident is very unlikely to occur in a successful drug rehab program.

I worked at a very successful drug rehab center for several years. The guidelines regarding violence were very strick: one physical confrontation resulting in immediate dismissal, not suspension, from the treatment center – with no opportunity to return. Clients knew that about this zero tolerance policy, and such behavior was rare.
 
This type of incident might make others reluctant to get someone they care about the help they need. If you’re looking at getting someone  you know into drug rehab, make sure you check out their policies, and their records, first.

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I read an article today about South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel being indicted on federal drug charges: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Apparently, Ravenel’s had a drug problem for some time, has done two drug rehab programs and is currently in aftercare.

Ravenel was also the state chairman for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign before his arrest.

Although Ravenel’s drug trial has been delayed, he could face 20 years in prison, a fine of $1 million, or both, if convicted.

The mystifying thing about this case is how Ravenel managed to get elected and onto Giuliani’s campaign with this going on. Don’t they check these guys out? In my books this also casts an even darker light over Giuliani – first he’s got the back of the Purdue Pharma execs that lied to the public about OxyContin, now a state chairman for his presidential campaign might be a coke dealer.

Ravenel may have done some good things as a public servant, but he’s going to have to get through a successful drug rehab program that gets down to the bottom of his drug problem if he hopes to have any kind of a future in politics. And even that might not be enough. He did way more than inhale.

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