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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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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PalmBeachPost.com in Florida has an announcement about a town hall meeting to curb underage drinking. They want to do something about the fact that kids are drinking at younger and younger ages. Those starting their binge drinking at 12 or 13 will probably need a drug rehab as they get older.

From TheDay.com in Connecticut there is an article “Skeptics ask: Does Setting Drinking Age at 21 Save Lives”? I don’t know if it saves lives, but it probably saves some from needing drug detox or drug rehab for heavy drinking. My co-workers talk to enough people who need drug rehab because of alcohol abuse for me to be certain of that.

There is an online petition to sign if you think 21 is too old to start drinking legally. One man compared the age limit to the death penalty for juveniles. I guess he meant if you can die for killing someone at age 17 you should be able to drink. I don’t think the two are comparable. College and high school students think the law is absurd and they should be able to drink. The statistics speak for themselves: If you drink at an early age, and often, you are four times as likely to need drug rehab.

If you are a parent don’t let your kids drink, it is healthier. If you are a teenager learn more about drugs and alcohol, if you understand them you won’t be so eager to get stoned. You can avoid needing a drug rehab program by learning for your self.

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For someone who’s a heavy drinker or binge drinker, going to a drug detox before drug rehab doesn’t have to be unpleasant. Really, the fact that you have to go at all may be the worst part of it.

At Santa Barbara State College they have drug rehab or similar programs for college students who have become addicted to alcohol. The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention office sees four or five cases a week.

]n Texas binge drinking is such a problem that the East Texas Review wrote an article entitled: “What Every Parent Should Know about College Binge Drinking.” Included in the article are some good things you should know if you’re a parent:

Students who live in a fraternity or sorority are the heaviest drinkers.  In fraternities, 86% of the residents report binge drinking, in a sorority it’s 80%. Nearly 50% of all college students report binge drinking nationally.

The article suggests noticing if alcohol is cheaper near the campuses or if nearby outlets run specials for students. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, February is bar month. I wouldn’t send my kids to college anywhere near there.

In colleges over the U.S., there are hundreds of thousands of accidents, physical assaults and sexual assaults every year. 25% of students report missing class, falling behind and getting poor grades because of alcohol abuse.

If you assume your kids are in the half that is not drinking too much, and you just let it go at that, there’s a good chance yours will be the ones in a drug detox or drug rehab program, in jail for drunk driving, or worse.

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Marc Katz, sports writer for the Dayton Daily News out of Ohio, has a good idea: He thinks the NCAA should ban beer commercials. Huge numbers of college students binge drink - over 40% of the student body in most schools - and more than 20% of the students need drug rehab or some sort of help. Over 90% of parents think that drinking is part of college life and many allow their high-school-aged kids to drink at home. What most parents don’t realize is that nearly half of underage drinkers become alcoholics and will need an alcohol or drug rehab program.

Most colleges, including Ohio State and Ohio University, have problems with students drinking too much. Mr. Katz had some interesting statistics in his article: 1700 college aged students die each year from alcohol related accidents including drunk driving, there are 600,000 injuries, 700,000 assaults and nearly 100,000 incidents of sexual abuse - all good reasons for not showing drug or alcohol commercials on TV..

Despite these outragrous statistics, most of Mr. Katz’s readers were horrified at the concept of not seeing beer commercials. But the numbers speak for themselves.

Parents should insist on their kids not drinking and the NCAA should ban beer ads. Prescription drug and alcohol abuse are sending millions of people to drug detox and drug rehab, why make matters worse with ads promoting drinking? One last point, Ohio University is a top ten party school. Does your child go there?

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At Stillwater High School in Minnesota, 99% of the seniors said they haven’t used meth in the past year. A very good number overall, and more than likely none of them will need drug rehab for meth abuse.

On the other hand, 27% of high school students and 41% of college students engage in high risk drinking. It is well known that the Midwest has an alcohol problem and Minnesota is no exception. Half of these students will need drug rehab for alcohol addiction. Far fewer than half will ever actually go to rehab, but they will need it.

In fact only 17 people between the ages of 18 and 25 entered treatment for alcohol abuse in 2007 in the entire Minneapolis area despite the fact that thousands of students are doing high risk drinking in Minnesota on a regular basis. It’s great that meth use is so low, but alcohol abuse figures need to be lowered in Minnesota or the drug rehab programs will be too full to meet the demand.

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