Many people get addicted to prescription painkillers after being prescribed them by their doctor for the pain of surgery, an accident or injury. Some of the conditions they take the painkillers for are fairly mild – the person may have gotten away with something much lighter than OxyContin, hydrocodone or fentanyl or other drugs that can cause prescription drug addiction. In fact, two recent studies have shown that their pain may have been relieved with a placebo.

The first study gave placebos to people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). They told them the pills were placebos, but also told them that IBS has been helped by placebos. Not only did the placebos work, they actually had better results than recent studies done on the drugs doctors would normally prescribe for the condition.

The second study hooked people up to an intravenous drip and applied heat to their legs to the point of causing pain. The researchers then told the participants that they were putting a powerful painkiller into their IV. The pain abated. The participants were then told that the painkiller going through their IV had been stopped, at which point the pain returned to the pre-painkiller levels. But, the drug had not actually been stopped – they were still getting it.

The researchers, of course, concluded that placebos are often just as effective as dangerous drugs. And it doesn’t even matter if you tell the patient that it’s a placebo! Amazing.

If someone does get addicted, they can go to drug rehab – although it’s important to get rehab asap because the risk of serious injury or death is very real. But if you can avoid taking addictive painkillers in the first place, then there’s virtually no risk of addiction or any of the other problems.

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Proposition 36, the California law that enables non-violent drug offenders to get counseling rather than go to prison, is on the rails in yet another California county, Santa Cruz. That’s about 300 people a year who, having been caught with illegal drugs in their pocket – enough for themselves only, not dealers – who will be told to get addiction help and be given a list of places that offer drug rehab, but will not be given any financial help to do that.

Sounds fair really – don’t you think? Why should we, the taxpayers, pay for that person to go to drug rehab?

Well, for one thing, it’s either rehab or prison. And rehab is a lot cheaper. The cost varies from county to county, program to program, but analysts say it roughly equates to $2.50 saved for every $1.00 paid towards rehabilitating drug offenders. That’s a lot of taxpayers dollars.

But it does kind of make you feel like you’re in between a rock and hard place, right? Especially since you really feel $1.00 coming out of your pocket every time you see the taxes taken out of your paycheck or write your annual IRS check, but you never really experience the joy of getting back $2.50. In fact, you can’t really see that $2.50 anywhere – California owes $265 billion.

Getting people off drugs so they can be productive members of the California citizenship might be a good thing – obviously the state is producing far less than it’s consuming, or someone involved in the state budget just doesn’t have a clue what to do with money.

On a more personal level, I’m sure the ‘every $1.00 spent on drug rehab saves $2.50 for taxpayers’ applies with even higher numbers in families. How much is your son or daughter being drug-free, happy, productive and out of danger worth to you? How much is it costing you to have them addicted to drugs – financially and emotionally? I would say lots more than 2.5 times the cost of drug rehab.

Ever look at it that way? If you’re tired of living with drug addiction and abuse, call Drug Rehab Referral to find help.

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Charlie Sheen, having just started his drug rehab program, gave a speech the other day about the evils of alcohol and drugs to the UCLA baseball team.  Wild Thing urged the team to stick to chocolate milk.

He was very well received, but I don’t know how much impact it’s going to have when he’s in such deep trouble himself.

On one hand, it might make more sense to get himself straightened out before he starts giving advice to others.

But, on the other hand, maybe the best poster boy for drug rehab is actually someone who’s really messed up.

Looking at the mess someone else’s life is in is a pretty effective deterrent. I recently read an article about an addict who had gone to jail 18 times for drugs. Each time he was in prison, the only thing he could think about was getting out so he could get high again.

During his last prison stint, his sister visited him and told him what was going on with his closest friends who also had problems with drug addiction – two had died, from drugs, one went to prison for life, and others also had horrible stories.

He was sober at the time, so these things meant something to him. And he decided to turn his life around.

Maybe Charlie Sheen’s story will have a similar effect. Here’s a guy who seems to have everything who can’t stop wanting to destroy himself. And there’s no doubt that the drugs and alcohol, along with his other addictions, have had a hand in that.

What do you think is the best motivation for getting off drugs?

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A news story this week said California is going to instruct people on the safe use of Ecstasy. Come on!! Not only is it going to send more people to drug rehab, not to mention that some users be trying to function in life in a state of enforced euphoria with their perception altered, society, families and individuals will be coping with the negative aspects of the drug.

What could you feel on Ecstasy other than all those warm, cuddly feelings?

A couple of things you can count on are increased heart rate and sweating – Ecstasy raises your body temperature. It’s easy to get dehydrated, especially since people tend to take Ecstasy at raves where the dance a lot. Many people have wound up in the hospital, and some dead, from dehydration and poisoning. The liver and kidneys just can’t handle it.

As if that weren’t enough, you may also experience some of the other common side effects.

Confusion
Amnesia
Hallucinations
Panic attacks
Anxiety
Depression
Paranoia
Nausea
Stiff arms and legs
Jaw clenching and clamping
Excessive thirst
Insomnia
Muscle cramping
Blurry vision

When you’re coming down it is not uncommon to feel:

More anxiety
Exhaustion
Physically and emotionally drained

It can also cause:

Impaired memory
Brain damage
Heart failure
Kidney failure
Hypertension

It also decreases serotonin production by 20 to 60%. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that facilitates the conduction of nerve impulses throughout the body and brain. It affects arousal, thermoregulation, mood, appetite, sleep and the perception of pain.

Low serotonin levels have been linked to aggression, irritability, eating disorders, sleep disorders and impulsivity.

What does all of this mean? That the person is going to feel they need more Ecstasy to feel good.  Which means more of the side effects above and a higher risk of impaired memory, brain damage, heart or kidney failure, high blood pressure, and so on.

In fact, what they needed to do in the first place is figure out why they didn’t feel good in the first place and do something about that. Which is exactly what will happen if they do a good drug rehab program.

So now California’s going to educate people at raves on how to take Ecstasy safely. As if anyone’s going to remember or care about any of that information once they’re high.

What a joke.

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