Follow up after a residential alcohol and drug addiction treatment program is extremely important. But it’s hard when you’re in college, where alcohol and drugs are plentiful and, worse, if you don’t drink or take drugs you’re somewhat of an outcast. Sad situation.  Take a look at the reaction college student Maggie Howard gets when she tells other students she doesn’t drink. Maggie recently completed a stint in an alcohol rehab center. She quit drinking, and she’s determined to stay sober..

Many colleges have alcohol and drug-free dorms but, as the agreements to be substance free are loose, they’re not as effective as they could be. One current solution in Texas is the ’sober dorm’ facility. The majority of people living there are college students who, like Maggie, have completed a program in a residential drug or alcohol rehab center and they too want to stay sober.

Sober dorm is strict - men and women are segregated, there’s a curfew, and everyone has to attend regular 12 step meetings.

It’s not exactly the carefree college life, but for students who really want to quit drinking or taking drugs so they can get through college and get the most out of their education, it may be the only option.

‘Just say no’ hasn’t worked very well as an anti-drug/alcohol campaign, but it’s imperative that you do just that after getting out of an alcohol rehab center. Living in a dorm with others as determined as you are could be pivotal. The first step is an alcohol or drug addiction treatment center, but make sure arrangements are made for what’s going to happen when the program is complete.

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As I covered in a recent article, methadone-related deaths increased by 700% between 1999 and 2006, and the numbers are still rising. Yesterday’s New York Times article about methadone deaths definitely shed some light on what’s going on. Until a couple of years ago, the dose recommended by the FDA was 80 mg/day - enough to kill some people who are not used to taking opiates. And it’s killing some people very quickly - they don’t even have time to get addicted or get into a drug addiction treatment center.

Doctors not understanding how to prescribe the drug is another major factor. Of course, they followed the FDA’s recommendations.

The third factor is that patients sometimes take more than is prescribed because they don’t get the immediate relief they expect. But because the drug is already in the blood-stream, they overdose.

The fourth factor is the combination of drugs and alcohol. This is probably where drug addiction treatment should come into play. Doctor’s aren’t looking at the patient’s history to see if they can be relied upon to not take other central nervous system depressants - including alcohol. The doctor who prescribed the methadone to one person who died knew of this history and said he told the patient to stop drinking. Well, as anyone familiar with addiction knows, telling someone who’s taking drugs or drinking a lot to stop is simply not enough. They need the help of a drug addiction treatment center.

Bottom line - this is one area where doctors just don’t know what they’re doing. Nor do the patients. Nor does the FDA.  There might be studies out there somewhere that could have predicted something like this happening with methadone but, since drug companies that conducted the studies don’t exactly have a reputation for putting all the cards on the table, we don’t really know.

Drugs are a little like politics - if you don’t really do your research and understand the issues, you can wind up voting for someone who can wind up with some big, and unfortunate, surprises.

Do your research, look for drug-free solutions, and if you or someone you care about has a drug or alcohol problem, get them into a drug addiction treatment center. The prescription drug addiction epidemic is bad enough - we don’t need people getting killed by these drugs right off the bat.

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A recent news story about the relationship of drugs and crime really highlights how easy it is to make the transition. Here’s the story of a young man, now 29 and drug-free for three years, who spent much of the last decade in jail. And all the crimes he committed were simply to get drugs - not a lot of them, just enough to stave off withdrawal symptoms. If he had gotten into a drug addiction treatment center early - he started on drugs at the ripe old age of 12 - his ife would have been different.

Some parents think that kids will grow out of their interest in alcohol or drugs but, more often than not, the younger they start the lower the chances are of them stopping. Also, the longer it takes to get them into drug addiction treatment, the lower the chances of them ever getting rehabiliated and the harder it’s going to be.

Read this story. Realize that it’s not an isolated incident. And that, no matter how great your kids are, drugs can do this to them. And if you have kids doing any drugs or even drinking more than rarely, contact Drug Rehab Referral to speak with a counselor and see if your kid does need alcohol rehab or drug addiction treatment.

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Parents of kids going to the University of Florida - now the number one party school in the U.S. - may breathe a little easier knowing that the rules drinking rules on the UF campus are being changed. No more kegs, drinking games and other behavior that leads to alcohol poisoning, injuries, accidents, rapes, and so on will be allowed. Punishment includes everything from wrist slapping to expulsion but, unfortunately, alcohol rehab is not included.

While it’s not a school’s responsibility to get kids into alcohol rehab, it would be an interesting turn of events. If kids were told they have to go to alcohol rehab to continue in school, it would open the door for them to stay and get their education - and would also drastically change their life. They’d no longer be alcoholics, and they’d still have a chance to accomplish their education and career goals.

Do you think college students should be ordered to alcohol or drug rehab? Florida has plenty to choose from. At the very least, parents should ensure it happens.

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Young mothers who cut down or stop alcohol and drugs during pregnancy usually get back into those bad habits within two years, according to a recent study. It might be easier for them to stay off the alcohol or drugs if they did drug or alcohol rehab. But they don’t usually go that far. They’re just doing it for the baby.

One of the major problems staying clean and sober after the baby is born is that the husband, who was drinking and doing drugs just as the mother was before the pregnancy, doesn’t stop. It’s just the mom. So, after the baby is born the mom is still in the same environment and gets back into it. If the dad had gotten into alcohol rehab or drug addiction treatment, she would have had a much better chance of staying clean herself.

Saddest, of course, is what this does to the child. The mom obviously had good intentions, but now the kid is going to grow up with parents who drink and take drugs. I don’t know the exact statistics on it, but I’m certain that most kids in foster care are there because their parents were substance abusers.

Those who are soon to be grandmothers and grandfathers would be wise to get both their son and daughter-in-law, or vice versa, into an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center to make sure both parents get their substance abuse problems fully handled. Don’t think that because mom managed to quit or cut down during pregnancy, that she’ll be able to continue. It’s going to take the support of the husband as well. If both go into an alcohol or drug addiction treatment center, they’ll both get straightened out and can create a good family.

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The new party school ratings from the Princeton Review are in and the number one position has been taken over by the University of Florida, in Gainsville - which means a lot of college students will need alcohol and drug rehab. Florida State, in Tallahassee, has moved to number 10.

Prior to gaining this number one party school position, an estimated 10,000 of the University of Florida’s 51,000 students may have needed alcohol or drug rehab. There’s a good chance that being the number one party school in the U.S. will bump this up even more. 

With prescription drug addiction and abuse being a problem with about 15,000 students as well, it looks like roughly half the kids at U of F may be either taking drugs or drinking - both to excess.

Parents should be on the lookout for drugs and drinking and do something about it. With about $50,000 being spent on most State college educations, you want to make sure that, if needed, your kid gets alcohol and drug rehab. Florida has several alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers to choose from. If you need help, call Drug Rehab Referral - they can help you find one that’s good for your situation in or around Gainsville.

Of the 51,000 students in the University of Florida

With prescription drug addiction and abuse also being so prevalent in Florida, it’s

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Students starting and the University of Virginia this semester will have the opportunity to do a special orientation on alcohol abuse. The program actually starts in August online and continues once school starts. This is sure to prevent a lot of college kids from needing an alcohol rehab center but what I can’t figure out is why this program is optional.

Shouldn’t it be for every student?  ”Every year we hear about students across the country dying from alcohol poisoning,” said Susan Bruce, director of the university’s Center for Alcohol and Substance Education. “We don’t want that to happen here.” So, if the school is so concerned, what is the deal with making it optional?

Another kind of strange thing about the program is the focus on ensuring kids don’t think the alcohol problem is that bad at UV. While UV is not even in the top 20 party schools, to UV’s credit, I hope this doesn’t have the effect of minimizing the situation or the dangers.

According to statistics, it’s likely that about one in five college students could use some time in a drug or alcohol rehab center. It really is time colleges  and universities cracked down. So, even if this program is not the ideal, it’s a big effort. And if it’s done right, it should keep a lot of kids safer and ensure an alcohol rehab center isn’t the next step in their education. Want more info. Check out these articles on alcohol and drug addiction treatment?

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One of the attractions of beer for someone who’s an addict is that it’s relatively cheap. But this guy in Australia doesn’t seem to care how much it costs. He’s a father of four, a construction worker, takes home $1440 a week, spends $150 on rent, $150 on buses and taxis, $50 on his phone and spends about $1000 a week on beer. That’s one serious alcohol addiction. How he manages to work is beyond me.

He was also just convicted of drunk driving for the seventh time. In one of the accidents he killed someone. His most recent arrest came when he was driving his motorcycle at 123 mph.

He has now allegedly gone cold turkey and is involved in an alcohol rehab program. Let’s hope he gets into a long-term residential program that can get down to the bottom of his addiction problem.

This is an unusual case, no doubt about it. Not many people spend that much money on beer every week. However, alcohol addiction is the most common addiction in the U.S. and it kills thousands every year. Most of those people die from accidents or by taking risks they wouldn’t take if they were sober.

If you know someone who needs alcohol rehab, contact Drug Rehab Referral. They can help you find a drug and alcohol rehab that will really work. They can also help you with intervention services if you can’t convince someone they need alcohol addiction help.

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I read a column online today with a letter from a woman asking “is my boyfriend addicted?” She said he does cocaine and Vicodin and takes Xanax to come off the cocaine high when he goes to sleep. He told her he does it at least once a week and that his friends ‘drag him into it.’ He also uses drugs alone and the night before the letter was written he had gone on an alcohol and cocaine binge. The next day he told her he felt like a loser. Is this guy addicted? Absolutely. At this point he probably is addicted to cocaine and has a prescription drug addiction problem.

He may not be a loser - he could be a great guy. She wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t have some redeeming qualities and the relationship might have great potential. But, honestly, the way he’s going - especially when he’s combining drugs with other drugs, and with alcohol - if he doesn’t get into an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center they might never get the chance to find out.

He’s not a loser. He’s an addict. And he needs help. She can either make sure he gets it, or she can leave him - which is what she is considering doing. It’s not fun taking on a person with a drug addiction problem but, on the other hand, if she can get him into an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center, she may save his life. Whether or not the relationship will continue is another story. But if she doesn’t help him by getting him some real drug addiction help, there’s a good chance no one else will either.

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I’ve just run across some amazing statistics about drug abuse in Sarasota, Florida. Alcohol consumption is the highest rate in the state - as it is in any area - but centers offering drug rehab in Florida are being inundated with people taking prescription drugs. In fact, the number one cause of accidental death in Sarasota County is now poisoning, and 96% of those are from drug overdoses. And I can guarantee the majority of that involves prescription drug addiction or abuse.It’s worse than Tampa, worse than Miami - and those places are pretty bad.With so many drugs around, and with so much drinking going on, the chances of someone you know – even your kids or your spouse – not taking drugs or drinking to excess are slim to none.  One out of every ten high school kids have used prescription drugs illegally, and one in five young adults in college or work got high on some drug or other in the last month - those are Florida-wide statistics, but Sarasota is at the top of the list.Families should be aware of this problem and ensure that their kids, their husbands and wives and so on are aware of the dangers. And if there’s any kind of problem – with alcohol, illegal drugs, or which prescription drug addiction or abuse, get help immediately. Finding a drug rehab in Florida is easy, but finding one with a high success rate isn’t. Contact Drug Rehab Referral to get the help you need.

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