I read an article today about a man who broke more than 100 vending machines, stealing about $12,000 to support his habit. He’s a classic example of what can happen when a person goes to the wrong rehab program – he learned how to crack those machines from a fellow drug rehab program client.

I’ve read quite a few articles about mishaps at drug rehab centers - clients having sex with employees, people getting shot, fights breaking out, and drugs being smuggled in to the clients.

If you or someone you love is looking for a drug rehab program, make sure you really check the facility out closely. For drug rehab to succeed, the person must be in a safe environment where they can focus on rehabilitation. That’s doesn’t include being in an environment where you can learn or perfect your techniques for theft of other criminal activity.

Make sure you consult with a drug rehab program counselor to help you choose a facility that is safe, and has a problem that is effective.

Popularity: 4% [?]

People who have a problem with drug or alcohol abuse and don’t get help may find themselves doing more of a drug rehab program than they bargained for: According to an recent article, a Modesto, California man was just sentenced to lockdown drug rehab, and he’ll be there for three years – far longer than it would have taken to do a drug rehab program before he got himself into trouble with the law.

The guy has been addicted to methamphetamine for years, already had four arrests under his belt, has been involved in more than one hit and run and, in the words of the prosecutor, “We can’t risk him being in our community anymore.”

Fortunately, he hadn’t killed anyone yet but a couple of kids did have to dive onto a fence to escape his swerving, speeding vehicle.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to kill someone while driving under the influence. It would be pretty hard to live with yourself after that. But it happens thousands of times every year.

If someone you care about is abusing drugs or alcohol, get them into drug rehab fast. Without it, they’re going to ruin their lives, and possible yours, and they could have the blood of innocent people on their hands. A good drug rehab in California isn’t hard to find - don’t wait until the problem is worse than it is now.

Popularity: 6% [?]

War kills a lot of people. But we have another type of  casualty that is also ruining lives - drug addiction. According to a recent article, drug addiction is now rampant among military personnel; many of whom just returned from active duty in Iraq. One treatment center - Penrose-St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs, Colorado - went from treating no active duty soldiers for substance abuse before the war to between 30 and 40 now. An earlier report said that some military bases are contracting with non-military drug rehab facilities to keep up with the demand for help.

One solider told reporters, “The nightmares were killing me from being over there. The pain was so bad I didn’t want to deal with it. Well, amphetamines is a real quick way to get rid of it,” Hartmann said. “I was snorting it, and I was smoking it, and then I was hot railing it, and then I got to the point where I was actually injecting it in my arms.”

Another said “Right when we got back, there were people using cocaine in the barracks; there were people smoking marijuana at strip clubs; one guy started shooting up.”

It’s going to take a great drug rehab program to get these guys turned around after their traumatic experiences. A similar thing happened with Vietnam vets. It’s not easy to watch and participate in such devastation – especially when you find out that the reasons behind the war were false. Let’s hope Colorado drug rehab programs can help.

Popularity: 4% [?]

OxyContin addicts, like anyone with a drug addiction, will do whatever they have to to get the drug - legal or illegal prescriptions, theft, fraud – whatever it takes. I just spoke to a family whose daughter was arrested for forging prescriptions for OxyContin and had to go to drug rehab or go to prison.

Sadly, she’s not the only one who goes to such extremes. In fact, I just read an article on the problems with OxyContin in South Dakota where it’s become the most abused prescription painkiller in the state. 

According to some of South Dakota’s doctors, doctor shopping – going from one doctor to another faking symptoms to get a prescription – is very common. Some doctors said the patients even ask for the drug by name.

They also said they have to keep a close eye on prescription pads.
 
I hope the recent news on OxyContin has made both doctors and the public more aware of its dangers. If you or someone you care about is using OxyContin and not able to get off it, contact a drug rehab program counselor to help find a good drug detox and drug rehab in South Dakota.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I just read an article on two drug rehab recovery homes being sued by the city of Newport Beach, California. According to the article, the city council enacted a temporary suspension earlier this year that prevented all Newport Beach, California drug rehab recovery homes from opening or expanding into the area.

The suspension was due to complaints from residents in the area who were demanding stricter regulations on drug rehab recovery homes, accusing them of excessive noise, loitering and littering.

The owners say that the accusations are exaggerated, and that the problems stem from other, short term residences in the area.

What many of the neighbors probably don’t realize is that without these recovery homes – interim housing where recovering addicts can live a sober life before going back to their home environment – there is much less chance of addicts actually staying off drugs after drug rehab. This leads to possible relapse and more addicts becoming a problem in their area as well as for society in general.

This, in turn, would lead to more crime, more accidents and more deaths that could have been prevented if the former addicts had had the backup and support of after-drug rehab recovery homes.

If the city council doesn’t lift the ban on drug rehab recovery facilities soon, the problems in Newport Beach could be far worse than noise, loitering and littering.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Some people worry that if they ‘force’ someone into treatment for alcohol or drug addiction the person will resent them, and maybe not make it through alcohol or drug rehab. In fact, that is not necessarily true.

It can be difficult to get an addict willing to get treatment, but once they get started -when they’re no longer on alcohol or drugs and are actually starting to feel better - they are happy you took action.

Amy Winehouse’s husband is the perfect example. When Winehouse first went into rehab she left because her husband had threatened suicide if she left him alone. Winehouse left, and got right back into drugs.

After that, her husband was busted on assault charges, put in jail, and forced to get off drugs. Now his attitude is completely overturned and he wants Amy to get into treatment.

Don’t be afraid to get the person you care about into a drug rehab program - often all they need is to get on the road to recovery, see that they can reclaim their life, and they’ll thank you helping them.

Popularity: 5% [?]

When I hear the name Mike Tyson I don’t think of a boxing champion. I think of a guy who has had major legal problems over the years for assault and battery, drugs and, mostly recently, a DUI that just landed him in drug rehab.

A news article reports that Tyson’s driving under the influence charge came after a police officer saw him wiping a white substance off the front of his car - later identified as cocaine. Tyson admitted he uses cocaine whenever he can get his hands on it and was snorting it, and smoking it.

Tyson’s cocaine use is no secret, and it’s nothing new. He was using it years ago when he was a boxing champion. Obviously he didn’t get effective drug rehab at that time. In fact, his addiction to cocaine may be the reason why behind his failing career and his continuous legal problems.

When someone is addicted to drugs, it’s not unusual for careers to fail – no matter how good the addict is at what he does. Failing marriages and other personal relationships can also be expected. The only way to really handle it is by completing a successful drug rehab program.

Would Tyson still be on top if he’d done a drug rehab program years ago when his drug problems first started?

Popularity: 4% [?]

When you’re writing about alcohol and drug addiction every day, it’s hard not to wonder why Americans – people who live in what is considered by many to be the best country in the world – seem to be so prone to alcohol and drug abuse. According to government statistics, about 22 million people living in America need alcohol or drug rehab.

I just watched Michael Moore’s latest movie, Sicko. While it’s supposed to be about the health-care industry, I believe it nevertheless provides, at least in part, an answer to that question.

In Sicko, Moore chronicles the lives of Americans who despite their full medical coverage lose their savings, their homes and everything they’ve worked for as they watch their husbands, wives and children die because they can’t get the help they need: Americans who are $35,000 in debt for their education, and still have at least a year of college to complete, and who will start their career with a heavy debt load that turns them into compliant yes-men – afraid to lose their jobs because they have to pay their debts, and are afraid to lose their health-care benefits; Americans who have to work three jobs just to make ends meet.

Could these conditions be driving Americans to alcohol and drug addiction? I think so.

Moore interviewed a former MP from England who described America’s lack of support of its people as designed to keep people uneducated, unhealthy and frightened so they will be too apathetic to protest the conditions under which they live. Basically, to turn them into sheep who will just take whatever comes their way.

Even the country’s most widely used government-supported alcohol and drug rehab program is based on fear and lack of education – people are led to believe that once an alcoholic, once a drug addict, always an alcoholic or drug addict. No one ever recovers; they spend their entire lives ‘recovering.’

Every person who becomes involved in alcohol and drug abuse has their own reasons, but this question remains: Is living in a culture where we can’t fight City Hall – the structure created by our forefathers to ensure our freedom – creating an atmosphere that people want to escape through drugs and alcohol? I think so.

If someone you care about is involved in drugs or alcohol, do everything you can to empower them, to give them the skills they need to create the lives they envision for themselves and their family. And find a drug rehab program that does the same.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Having a kid who’s a good athlete makes every parent proud. But what parent would have thought they’d have to worry about their athletic kid becoming a drug addict when prescribed painkillers after an injury? And what parent would have thought they’d be looking for a drug rehab for their kid instead of a college?

Drug detox and drug rehab centers see it every day – not just with athletes, but with people from all walks of life. They were prescribed OxyContin or a similar painkiller to handle the pain of an injury, surgery or some chronic physical problem and then they couldn’t get off them. Next thing you know, they’ve got a nasty habit.

I don’t know if that’s what happened to Danny Pasanella, the 17-year-old football player whose father recently found dead from a heroin overdose – but Danny was also taking OxyContin and it may well have come first.

A school resource officer commented that it’s hard to tell when someone is addicted to heroin. Well, no, it’s not actually. You drug test. Randomly, and frequently.

I know - that’s controversial. But which would you rather be arranging for your kid – a drug rehab program, or a funeral?

Popularity: 5% [?]

I can’t believe it. Someone told me a few months ago that they wouldn’t be surprised if celebrities in rehab were the subject of a new reality TV show. And, here it is ladies and gentlemen - Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, to be released in 2008. The question is this: will the show make a mockery of drug rehab programs the way many celebrities have, or will it treat the subject seriously enough to discourage people from taking and becoming addicted to drugs?

Personally, I think this is a pretty disgusting idea. According to a recent news article, Jessica Sierra, American Idol finalist, will be one of the celebs appearing on the show. I can’t help but hear the American Idol theme music going through my head as I picture her, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and several others walking onto the stage.

Will Simon Cowell be there to judge whether or not they’ve completed their drug rehab program successfully? Or will he be deciding who deserves to get into rehab in the first place?

Next thing you know we’ll be watching heroin addicts overdose and alcoholics take their last drink before succumbing to liver failure. It’s like throwing someone in with the lions and watching them be torn apart. Barbaric.

Reality TV is a misnomer. The real story of drug addiction can’t be seen in posh Malibu facilities where celebrities get massages and pedicures - the real story is in the tears streaming down the cheeks of Britney Spears’ children. And that’s why people need drug rehab.

Popularity: 4% [?]