Tomorrow is January 1, 2009. Time for new year’s resolutions. I was reading a list of well-known people who died in 2008. The youngest on that particular list was Heath Ledger, who died from a prescription drug overdose at 28 years old.

Although it’s true, obviously, that Heath took drugs, it wasn’t just taking drugs that killed him. It was a combination of drugs that, I’m sure, he had no idea would interact in a way that would kill him.

Even if he had been somewhat educated on the subject of prescription drugs, there’s really no way of telling whether or not a person will react badly to a drug or to a specific drug combination because each person’s metabolism works differently.

Prescription drugs have killed thousands of people this year – some people who died took them recreationally and others were prescribed them by their doctor. In any case, you can bet that only a very small percentage of those deaths were expected.

If you want to make sure 2009 isn’t the last year you have with someone you love, get them into an addiction treatment center NOW so they can get off prescription drugs.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Merry Christmas!!

We at Drug Rehab Referral have helped a lot of people over the last year. Thanks to their hard work in an addiction treatment center, they’ll be enjoying a sober Christmas – for some, it’s their first in many years. No drugs, no alcohol, and with new family and personal relationships that truly make the holidays the warm, joyous and fun experience they should be!

If you are among the millions of people who still have loved ones with a drinking or drug problem, even a problem with prescription drug addiction, contact us soon. No matter what you’ve been through already, no matter what you’ve tried or how hard you’ve worked at it, it is not a hopeless situation. Contact us, and we will find a way to help you.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Christmas is upon us. And it’s a good time to figure out how you’re going to avoid sending people home, getting into their cars, with several drinks under their belt. Did you know that half the traffic-accident deaths over Christmas and New Year’s are caused by drunk drivers? We don’t need any more drunk drivers on the roads.

Last night my son was at a Christmas party where they ran out of booze before he got there. He had two beers all night – and so did the three other young people who arrived with him. It was a big relief for me and, I’m sure, for the other parents.

Some of the young people left the party so they could go someplace where there was more alcohol. Drinking was more important to them than spending time with their friends and family over Christmas. They’re the ones who more than likely need a stint in an addiction treatment center.

Many people associate drinking with having fun. But if they’re in an environment where people are having fun without drinking, they see that it’s possible to have a good time while sober.

If you have young people, or older people, who drink coming over for Christmas, try not serving alcohol. Or serve non-alcoholic beer, wine and other drinks that taste good but don’t get anyone drunk. You’ll make the roads safer, and chances are you won’t get your Christmas tree knocked over.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Many people feel that a drug rehab center is the last place they want their loved one to spend Christmas. But for alcoholics and drug addicts, it can be a relief. One center in Canada even says admissions are higher during Christmas than other times of the year. It’s an ideal time for families to get together, do an intervention, and send their loved one to get some real help.

So, what about the idea that Christmas is a happy time when everyone lets by-gones be by-gones. Some experts say it’s a myth. And anyone who has an alcoholic or drug addict in the family would probably agree. The addicts are filled with guilt, the families are embarrassed and frustrated, and it often ends with recrimination and hopelessness.

Imagine the relief of knowing that the person you love will feel good about themselves this Christmas, and the family will feel they’ve given a gift that’s really life-changing. It’s not too often you get to give someone something like that.

Here’s the story of one alcoholic who is thankful she spent Christmas without alcohol and without guilt.

It’s not hard to find an addiction treatment center than allows visits from family and friends at Christmas – some even have their own celebrations and parties. Check it out.

Popularity: 20% [?]

In the UK, where they are determined to reduce binge drinking, they have a program called Know Your Limits. It’s currently being piloted in 12 different areas around the UK. Part of the campaign this holiday season is store fronts with manequins that look like they’ve been out drinking for the night. Check it out.  That’s the only photo I can find with a quick search but, personally, I hope they also have a few mannequins passed out in pools of vomit, lying broken on a highway after being hit by a car, hitting their little kids while in a drunken stupor, and sitting in a detox unit with 12 other people in similar conditions. That should really get the point across – binge drinking and alcohol abuse is not pretty.

If you don’t have any mannequins but do have people in your life that binge drink, you might consider taking photos of them to show them what they look like, or videos for the full picture, when they’re drunk. I had a friend who did that with her husband. It turned him right around. He was shocked at how he changed when he was drinking.

It might be just the wake-up call someone needs to decide to go into an addiction treatment center for help.  But, of course, wait until their sober before you show it to them.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The University of Georgia has the right idea about preventing and handling alcohol and drug addiction. They have a program called SAAF (pronounced ‘safe’ - stands for Strong African-American Families program), and its statistics show alcohol use reduced by 28% two years after starting, 25% six years after starting, and a decrease in sexual behavior problems, marijuana use, and caregiver depression. They also estimate that the likelihood of conduct problems was reduced by 74% – they checked that after two years.

They’re really changing lives. And that’s what it takes to get rid of or prevent problems with drugs and alcohol.

Unfortunately, the program is only for African-Americans. God knows there are just as many caucasians and other races that need the same thing.

How do they do it? With videos, games and activities, the parents learn how to monitor their kids and how to communicate with them and give them emotional support. The kids – both younger and older kids - learn to set goals, handle peer pressure, and build strong relationships with their parents and other adults.

The program also includes instilling pride in being African-American. Something I’m sure Obama’s election also strengthened.

Someone should Obama about this program so it can be used more widely.  And parents who are having trouble with their kids or want to form a better relationship should find out more about it. Even if they don’t live in Georgia, they may be able to get some helpful hints on how to do something like it on their own.

Parents whose kids are already involved in drug or alcohol abuse - or parents in the same position – should get into an addiction treatment center for help. A good alcohol or drug rehab program will actually address some of these issues.

But if your kids aren’t taking drugs or drinking, and you want it to stay that way, consider something similar to SAAF. It will do a lot more than curb alcohol and drug abuse.

Popularity: 20% [?]

There’s a new drug in town – and it’s falling between the cracks legally. It’s called dode or doda and it’s being sold openly in flea markets and grocery stores in Canada. It’s made with the husks and seeds of the poppy flower, which is where we get opium and heroin and, like heroin, it’s dangerous and anyone using it will probably need an addiction treatment center to help them quit.

Police in Toronto recently seized 27 kilograms of it, but because the way the drug is formulated falls into a grey area, they need to wait for adjudication from Health Canada, the equivalent of the FDA, to lay charges.

Bad scene. Obviously, being able to buy it just about anywhere gives it legitimacy but, worse, it may also lead people to think it’s safe.

Watch out for the stuff – if it’s in Canada, it’s probably also in the U.S. Especially in and near the border states. You might even want to check out a few flea markets and local stores to see if you can find any. If you do, let the police know.

And let us know, too, so we can warn people in the area about it.

Popularity: 20% [?]

A recent blog on wiredin.org, from the UK, said that one of the reasons heroin addicts don’t believe they can quit is because they’ve never seen anyone do it. Well, of course, heroin addicts are going to be around heroin addicts - not former heroin addicts. Once a person gets off heroin, they’re not likely to be hanging out with the same crowd.

The blog also said that some people who work at an addiction treatment center or in the recovery field have also never seen someone get off heroin. How that can be, I’m not quite sure. But, in any case, the fact that the treatment professionals can’t offer any hope due to their lack of experience is also discouraging to a user.

Well, I’ve gotten off heroin. And it was many, many years ago. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in life since then and have never relapsed, or even had a desire to do so.

So, yes, there’s hope.

But you do have to know what kind of addiction treatment center to go to if you’re going to be successful.

A short-term drug rehab program won’t work - I can tell you that for sure. Short-term programs – a month or so – give you barely enough time to get over the physical effects of heroin addiction. That’s just the beginning. After that, you have to deal with the life problems that got you onto drugs in the first place. And you have to figure out those issues so they are no longer problems you feel you can’t control.

Sometimes you also need education of some sort. And you’ll definitely need to work out a change in environment for when you leave.

No way you can do that in a month. Check out long-term residential drug rehab that digs into and helps resolve all of your issues. Get to the point where you have other solutions so you no longer think of drugs as a way to solve problems.

Then you’re ready to leave, and there’s a good chance you won’t be back.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Utah, which has a serious problem with prescription drug addiction, has nevertheless been making headway with methamphetamine. But, as happens with so many similar programs, it looks like the funding is being cut just when they’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Their success so far has been largely through community education – a lot of it on non-drug users. The fear of drug addicts, especially those on meth, has been so severe that non-drug users steer clear of and reject anyone who’s taking the drug, even if they’ve already been to an addiction treatment center and are in recovery.

That kind of rejection can drive a person right back to drugs. They need help. They need to be part of the community. If they’re isolated, they’re more likely to get back into drugs.

The program highlights not making the person feel any more guilty than they do already.

That’s a good call. Making someone feel guilty is never a workable option. Unfortunately, people who deal with drug addicts in their family, for example, can get so frustrated dealing with them and trying to get them to quit that they frequently resort to just making the person feel bad. Well, they already feel bad. And that’s probably one of the reasons why they’re still taking drugs.

If you need help getting someone to agree to get help to end their meth addiction and feel you can’t do it by yourself, contact Drug Rehab Referral. We can help you with intervention so the person can get the help they, and you, need. 

Popularity: 17% [?]

A new drug rehab therapy has popped up and is gaining in popularity – talking to horses. It apparently builds confidence and self-esteem. I can see that. Horses can be kind of scary to some of us and feeling comfortable and in control with a horse could mean feeling comfortable in just about any situation.

The training is being used to promote social skills. That might sound a big strange – after all, horses aren’t people – but, really, a relationship with a horse requires some pretty finely-tuned perception and requires just the right touch, the right amount of force, and intelligence.

To a degree, horses, and other animals, will respond like people. But is the similarity enough to ensure that when the person is with others who are taking drugs, or when they get stressed about work, bills or family pressures they’re not going to turn to drugs as a solution? It’s not likely.

If a person goes through drug rehab at an addiction treatment center and gets down to the bottom of why he was taking drugs in the first place, and gets help with the life and social skills he needs to overcome the problems that drive him to drugs, he has a good chance of staying clean.

What can horses do for you? Actually, I would think riding horses, developing relationships with horses, caring for them, and so on, would be pretty therapeutic for anyone under any circumstances. If you do it right, just about anything that gets you involved in something other than what’s going on in your own head is a good thing – especially if it also involves physical challenges and learning new skills.

So, by all means, do the horse thing – but only after getting help through an addiction treatment center.

Popularity: 14% [?]