I recently came across a headline about Steven Tyler entering drug rehab for prescription painkiller addiction. After 10 years of use for pain management due to performance injuries, he’s now facing the process of addiction recovery.

Tyler is the lead singer of the band Aerosmith, which has been around for decades. He battled addiction to drug and alcohol abuse in the 70’s and early 80’s and went through rehab to battle his addictions successfully in 1986.

Many Americans are all too familiar with prescription drug dependency. After an accident or injury, doctors will prescribe painkillers to manage the pain, but most of the prescription painkillers are subject to dependence.

Dependence can happen to anyone on “pain management” who is taking prescription drugs to alleviate chronic pain. A person who’s dependent will usually suffer from withdrawal symptoms when they lower their dosage or try to stop taking their medication. Often times, it’s not something that a person can handle on their own.

A drug rehab center is a good solution for anyone seeking to get off of drugs, whether illegal or legally prescribed and taken as directed. If you know someone taking drugs, help them out, get them into a successful drug rehab program.

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Some women and fathers-to-be have no clue what the effects of drugs and alcohol are on an unborn baby. Let’s get educated, shall we? If you or your significant other is pregnant, or are planning a pregnancy, or you know someone who is, here are plenty of good reasons to get into a drug rehab program first:

Alcohol can cause: impaired muscle and joint use, impaired speech, behavioral problems, unusual facial characteristics, heart and limb defects and miscarriage. And, just so you’re aware, alcohol use by dad can also produce the same problems.

• Marijuana can cause: hyperactivity or an inability to pay attention, impulsivity, impaired decision making skills and memory problems.
• Cocaine can cause: sudden infant death syndrome, mental deficiencies, lowered IQ and miscarriage.
• Amphetamines can cause: problems with the circulatory system – the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries
• PCP can cause: abnormal development
• Barbiturates can cause: seizures, poor feeding, withdrawal symptoms for the baby and birth defects.
• Opioids can cause: preeclampsia (high blood pressure, swelling, headaches, changes in vision), growth retardation while in the mother, premature labor, complications during pregnancy and abnormalities – all of these problems can effect both mother and baby and can be fatal for both)
• Prescription Drugs can cause: many prescription drugs can have similar effects as described above. The best policy one can have is NO DRUGS WHATSOEVER during pregnancy.

But, what if you’re already pregnant? I’d highly recommend that you consult a medical doctor who specializes in drug detox and drug rehab. If you’re planning on getting pregnant or it’s a possibility, a successful drug rehab program that will get you off of drugs and/or alcohol and help prevent relapse should be done without delay.

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What’s the deal here? Why is it that people who are addicted to morphine, heroin and other opiates are put on methadone (a synthetic narcotic used for more than 30 years to “treat” opiate addiction)? Methadone is a drug that is addictive. Does it actually make sense to trade one drug addiction for another when an addict can be helped immediately through drug detox and a successful drug rehab program?

According to the official descriptions from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), methadone withdrawal symptoms are slower and easier to withstand. The theory is that when it’s taken orally once a day, it suppresses narcotic withdrawal for between 24 and 36 hours. When used as a “treatment” it gives time for the addict to eventually be weaned off drugs entirely. Or so goes the theory.

This is from the product information: “It is possible to maintain an addiction to methadone without harsh side effects . .  .” and “. . . many patients require continuous treatment, sometimes over a period of years.”  – Yes, folks… you read correctly. It says YEARS of methadone treatment!

If someone really wants to get help to end their addiction, why on earth would they take an addictive drug instead of using drug detox and drug rehab to handle it in just weeks, or a few months at most?
Here is another crazy fact: Methadone is given away for FREE to people on the street through methadone clinics. In many instances, people turn around and sell their methadone so they can continue to buy heroin or morphine. Methadone has been available as an illicit street drug for decades. The people on the street aren’t taking it to taper their use and eventually wean themselves off heroin or get through some form of drug rehab. They’re taking it to get stoned, and stay stoned. And by handing out free methadone we’re just keeping them addicted to opiates.

Then, there are the dangers involved in methadone use. A few years ago, the FDA issued a methadone public health advisory because it can suppress breathing and cause dangerous, and sometimes fatal, changes in heartbeat. In fact, there has been a huge rise in deaths due to methadone use – even when it’s consumed in low doses. Six percent of people carry a gene that makes methadone a life-threatening killer, according to the ONDCP.

Providing help to free addicts from the violence, crime and dwindling spiral that they will end up going down is a good thing. Handing out methadone and watching them return to continue to struggle is not. Handing out methadone to anyone for any reason is not a good thing! We have got to change our point of view, and demand some system changes that create the means for all addicts to fully recover and reclaim their lives through proper drug detox and drug rehab.

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