Several weeks ago I read an article about a major controversy surrounding the location of a proposed drug rehab center in Tennessee. The center, which wanted to open in a former retirement home, was half an acre short on the land they needed to legally operate. It went to the zoning board for adjudication, and was turned down. Which means that it will be basically that much harder for an addict to get into drug rehab.

Making it difficult for someone to get into rehab is the worst mistake you can make. When an addict decides he’d like help, you need to take advantage of it quickly. While an addict may continually profess to want to get off drugs, it usually takes work on someone else’s part to get them to follow through. And the more barriers you put there, the less chance there is of it actually happening.

If you or someone you care about wants to get off drugs, contract a professional drug rehab program counselor. He can help you find out if there’s a successful drug rehab in your community, or can help you find another alternative.

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I came across another article today about singer Amy Winehouse. In her now famous song, Rehab, Amy says that her dad thinks she’s fine so she’s not going to rehab. I don’t that her father ever told her he thinks it’s fine for her to be a drug addict but, if he did, he’s now decided otherwise. He said he’s made arrangements for her to go to drug rehab as soon as she’s ready.

Waiting until a drug addict is ready to go to rehab before something gets done about it is a real mistake. Amy, for example, almost died from a three-day drug and alcohol binge a few months ago. She was taken to the hospital, and she lived. But not everyone is that  lucky. Many people don’t survive an overdose.

Amy’s been in and out of rehab a couple of times since then and it’s pretty obvious she’s back on drugs. Not surprising, considering that she didn’t stay in rehab anywhere near long enough to get any kind of a handle on her problem.

Her dad blames her drug addiction on her husband. That also wouldn’t be surprising – she apparently left drug rehab initially because her husband, who was not in rehab, threatened to kill himself if she left him alone. So, she left drug rehab. Believe me, if you want to get an addict off drugs, you have to get them away from that kind of influence.

The amazing thing about the article is the last sentence: “What do you guys think - Loving father OR should he butt out?” I would hope that if I’m ever again in that kind of trouble, someone will care enough about me to do something about it. I don’t see that ‘butting out’ is going to do anyone any good. 

If Amy’s dad doesn’t do something about it soon, or get help from someone who does know what to do about it – like a professional drug rehab program counselor – he’s risking the chance of yet another overdose. And this time, she might not make it. Don’t let that happen to someone you care about.

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It’s no surprise that when West Coast Eagles football star Ben Cousins was caught using drugs, he chose one of the posh drug treatment centers in Malibu, California – an area which is home to the largest concentration of private programs in the country. That’s also not much of a surprise since Malibu and nearby communities – Hollywood, for example – are also home to many of the rich and famous whose drug and alcohol escapades dominate the news. However, recent reports about these treatment centers may make them a bad choice if you or a loved one wants to get through a drug rehab program successfully.

Recent news items have discussed the low success rates, lax rules and an inability to get results with clients such as Lindsay Lohan and Brittney Spears. Nevertheless, celebrities still choose them for alcohol and drug rehab, probably for the same reason they’re seen in the right places with the right people. But they’re not getting help with their addiction problems.

I’ve worked with many clients in private drug treatment. Some have tried luxury programs in Malibu and other locations in the country. They’re drawn to them because of the luxury amenities – posh accommodations, pools and gourmet meals. But they didn’t get results, which is why they were contacting me to find another drug rehab program.

If you are choosing a drug rehab program, remember that the most important thing to assess is the program’s lost term success rates – are people leaving the program and relapsing, or are they actually rehabilitated. Contact a drug rehab program counselor to find a drug rehab program that works.

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As people get older – into their ‘60s, for example – they often find themselves without the friends and family they’ve been with for so many years. Their parents have often passed away, friends, husbands or wives may have as well, their children are out there living their own lives and contact is less frequent. Their careers also may have come to end. All of these changes conspire to make the elderly person feel isolated. Many elderly people turn to prescription drugs to make them feel better, and some become addicted. Unfortunately, many older people hide their drug problem from those around them but, in truth, they need drug rehab.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, non-medical use of prescription drugs is the second most common form of substance abuse among adults older than 55. The study doesn’t tell us what the most common substance abuse is, but I would imagine it’s alcohol – as it is for every other age group.

If you’re one of the older adults suffering from prescription drug addiction, you should contact a drug rehab program counselor to see if you need help. As we get older, our bodies can be more susceptible to the dangers of drugs and you could be looking at serous trouble if you don’t get off them. Whatever you tell a counselor will be confidential, so no one but you will know what’s going on.

For the rest of us, keep an eye out for older people. Check their medicine cabinets, find out if they’re using drugs and, if so, how much, how often, and for how long. They may not tell you they need help, but if you notice any signs, you should contact a drug rehab program counselor for help. The last half of your life should be better than the first, but it’s not going to be that way if you’re on drugs.

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No parent wants to see their kid turn into an alcoholic or drug addict, and many educate their kids on the dangers of drugs and alcohol while they’re still young so the risks of alcoholism and drug addiction are minimized. Nevertheless, an alarming number of   college-age kids are getting into alcohol and drugs every year, and your kid could be one of them. Entire educations can be wasted if your kid isn’t gotten into drug rehab sooner rather than later.

In 2006, the average age of the one million people who took cocaine for the first time was 20. Ecstasy was about the same both for the number of people introduced to it, and their average age. More than twice that number of people used marijuana for the first time, the average age was 17, and the nearly 100,000 people who were introduced to heroin also averaged 20 years old.

What does that mean? That millions of kids are taking drugs for the first time just when they’re starting their college education and working out their careers and their futures. And many of them are living out of the home and beyond their parents’ immediate observation. They’re in college, but it’s possible they should be in drug rehab instead.

If you have a kid who is going to college soon, or is already in college, you should find out very quickly if they’re involved in drugs or alcohol and, if so, get them into a successful drug rehab program now. That will ensure they get the most out of their education, proof them up against the pressures to take drugs and drink, and possibly prevent serious injury, or worse. A drug rehab program counselor can help you figure out if your kid is taking drugs, and what to do about it.

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Parents, relatives and friends often try for years to get someone they know into treatment for alcohol or drug addiction. Sometimes the person realizes they need help, and sometimes they don’t. In fact, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the vast majority of people who need alcohol or drug rehab deny they have a problem. Why is that?

No matter what an addict may tell you, they’ve become addicted to alcohol or drugs because they have things going on they feel are preventing them from being happy. They don’t have to look or act depressed – in fact, they could have been the life of the party before they started drinking or taking drugs – but somewhere in there, something is going on. The alcohol or drugs seem to take the edge off but, as soon as they stop, the problems are there again. Which is why the addict resists alcohol or drug rehab or other treatment.

But drugs and alcohol won’t ever address the problems. They’ll debilitate the body, and sometimes even kill it, they’ll ruin the person’s life, and, possibly the lives of those who care about them, they’ll risk the person’s career, they’ll ruin their marriage, alienate their kids, teach their kids that drugs and alcohol are okay – they’ll do a lot of things. But none of them are good, and none of them will handle the person’s underlying problems. And, in fact, until the person gets into a successful alcohol or drug rehab program that addresses the issues, things will never get anything but worse.

If you’re having trouble getting someone to get the help they need, realize that that’s what you’re up against. If you can’t get them into treatment, or don’t know what kind of treatment they need, contact an experienced drug rehab program counselor who can help you. It’s really their only way out – things won’t get better for them, or for you, until you take this step.

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You’ve probably heard or read stories of people doing drug detox and drug rehab over and over again. I read a story today about a guy who’d been through heroin detox ten times – once in a hospital, eight times ‘cold turkey,’ and once through rapid detox – which he said was more painful than any of his cold turkey attempts and had side effects that lasted for months. None of them helped the guy handle his heroin addiction – he eventually settled for methadone treatment. He’s now more or less permanently addicted to methadone and, from what I read in the article, he doesn’t seem to be even looking at the possibility of ever coming off it. What went wrong? He never did drug rehab.

Drug detox does nothing more than help the person through withdrawal. Some people have the idea that if they can just get through withdrawal, they can stop taking the drug. But if you don’t address the issues behind the addiction – which are not just physical – then the person will go back to drugs.

If you know someone who has gone through drug detox and has relapsed, make sure they get into a good drug rehab program. That’s the only way you can handle drug addiction. And, make sure the program is long enough to actually dig in, find, and address the underlying problems.

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If someone you know is addicted to drugs, be aware of where that can take them. Today I read the story of one young man who became addicted to prescription painkillers, OxyContin, after several surgeries following a car accident: he became addicted to the drug and was soon part of a distribution network – he became a dealer – that fed his habit. He wanted to stop, but the dealers who were higher up the food chain threatened to hurt his mother if he did. So, he couldn’t stop the drug, and he couldn’t stop dealing. Eventually his mother found out about it and, $70,000 later, her son is now through drug rehab.

The drugs are dangerous enough in themselves, but the criminal element is also hard to avoid. The world of drugs is also a world of criminals – and they’re very nasty. When you’re talking about a drug habit, you’re talking about people who will do just about anything to feed it.

A good drug rehab program can get someone rehabilitated: they’ll be out of the drug scene – which means they’ll no longer be taking drugs - and they’ll no longer be in danger of becoming, or becoming involved with criminals. A good percentage of people in prisons are there because of drug-related crime. Don’t let it happen to someone you care about. Get them into a drug rehab program fast.

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In recent months we’ve all heard about Britney Spears shaving her head or getting drunk with strangers, Lindsay Lohan wearing an alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet and Nicole Richie getting a DUI. As a parent, you might be asking yourself what happened to these girls. At one point they were young and fresh, and probably the last people you would expect to wind up in drug rehab – maybe they were just like your daughter.

Maybe you think they turned out like that because they live in cities like L.A. or because they are young, beautiful, rich celebrities. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Drugs and alcohol are abused in just about every environment in the U.S. If you think that your small town, or your kid, is immune you may get a big wake up call when you find yourself desperately searching for an alcohol or drug rehab program.

Have you ever asked yourself “Could this happen to my daughter?”. The answer, unfortunately, is yes. And it may really be a problem if your daughter is one of the many who idolize the Britneys, Linsdeys and Nicoles of the world. Those girls make everything you want to avoid for your daughter look like fun! Even drug rehab is just another laugh.

How do you prevent it? Educate yourself and your daughters about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and, if you’ve already left it too late, contact a good drug rehab program counselor who can help you find the help they need.

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An article in the New Hampshire Daily News reported another death from methadone. The victim was Christopher L’Esperance, a police chief’s son. He took a methadone wafer, not realizing that he still had methadone in his system, and died from an overdose. Chris had been using methadone for three years. Had he done a successful drug rehab program, he’d probably be alive today. And anyone who is taking methadone should be made aware of the dangers immediately, and gotten into a drug rehab program that can help them get off the drug.

Chris’s father, unlike others, didn’t believe methadone was safe. “On television there are ads for every kind of pill,” he said. “You have a pill to go to sleep, a pill to wake up, a pill to feel good, a pill to enhance your you-know-what. It certainly gives the impression prescription drugs are safer.”

He knew his son was taking drugs because his eyes were glassy and his temperament changed. But despite everything his parents did to help, Chris couldn’t kick the habit.

But it can be done. And if you or someone you care about is suffering from methadone addiction, find a successful drug rehab program fast. Don’t be fooled by prescription drugs: prescription drug addiction is just as dangerous as anything you’ll find on the street.

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