Not your usual courtroom scene - families, laughter, beaming smiles on all, this day in court celebrates the most recent 25 graduates from drug court. Many of these families - including that of Pamela Erlston who had been battling drug addiction for 27 years and lost her children because of it - are reunited and looking forward to a bright future as a fully functional family thanks to the California drug rehab programs they did through drug court. Pamela was in rehab for a year - the longest she’s ever been clean - and was accompanied by her husband and children when she attended court.

The other great thing about drug court is that it is cheaper for the state to put someone through drug rehab than it is to keep them in prison - where they’re not going to really get much help at all.

This is the just the kind of courtroom drama we need. Unfortunately, going to prison is’t much of a win-win situation. If we have to spend money on people who are for one reason or another being supported by the state, where drugs are involved there’s no better investment of public funds than in a drug rehab program that will turn lives around. However, a word to the wise, if you know someone with alcohol and drug addiction problems, get them help now. Don’t wait til they wind up in court.

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Kentucky, along with the other Appalachian states, was one of the hardest hit when OxyContin came on the market. There was more drug addiction and abuse, more trips to hospital emergency rooms and more deaths than just about anywhere in the country. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed - drug addiction and abuse is as bad as ever in Kentucky, and steps are being taken to make drug rehab and other treatments more successful.

One of the recent additions to the arsenal of tools to fight drug addiction is the new Kentucky Family Drug Courts. They’re in 18 counties now, and more are planned. Family Drug Court is primarily aimed at getting parents the drug rehab program and other addiction help they need. Often these parents have already had their children taken by social services, and Family Drug Court works with them over a period of 12 - 18 months. Parents hope that by completing a drug rehab program and getting back on their feet, they’ll get their kids back.

Many lives and families are ruined because of drug addiction. If you want to avoid that, call Drug Rehab Referral to help you find a drug rehab in Kentucky before you get into the justice system. Family Drug Court may help you get your kids back, but they don’t guarantee it.

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Will drug rehab be needed by hundreds of thousands of high school athletes in the U.S. because they use both steroids and painkillers to compete? The aches and pains associated with a high school football schedule may surprise you. In fact, every sport from tennis to wrestling has associated injuries. But as more coaches allow student athletes to rely on painkillers to compete, the more drug rehab will be needed going forward.

I don’t know how many coaches follow the example set by Jim Tressel of Ohio State (400% increase in drug tests), but you can come to a conclusion based on the recently published book Steroid Nation, by Shaun Assael of ESPN The Magazine.

The idea that prescription drugs are safe may have coaches looking the other way as their young athletes try to compete for not just wins but also for scholarships and roster spots on top college teams.

Prescription drugs, including painkillers and steroids, are being abused by hundreds of thousands of teenage Americans according Assael. In Steroid Nation he describes this drug abuse and calls it the country’s most insidious drug addiction.

I would disagree that the use of steroids is this country’s biggest problem. In fact, millions of Americans are already dependent on prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin and millions more are taking anti-anxiety drugs (e.g. Valium and Xanax), and prescription stimulants (e.g. Ritalin and Adderall) - along with what ever steroid abuse is occurring.

Eve though steroids are unlikely to be America’s biggest problem, Assael has brought to light the huge problem that exists with prescription drugs. And, for that, I thank him.

Drug Rehab Referral can help you find a successful drug rehab program. We will be happy to help you, a family member or a friend with whatever guidance we can.

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Another Doctor Caught Making Money on Addiction 

As long as doctors like Dr. Stephen Schneider are churning out prescriptions for painkillers like OxyContin and Lortab, drug rehab will become more and more common.

“I totally trusted him” said Schneider’s former patient, Justin Brawner. “You know a doctor is a doctor. You know he tells me something and that is all I have to go on. All I have to believe”.

Sadly for the medical profession, this story is being played out all over America as more and more doctors forget the Hippocratic Oath. The percentage of doctors prescribing painkillers for money is probably small, but the damage they are doing to the environment is great. More people will need to go through a medically supervised drug detox and then through drug rehab as the years go on.

Mr. Brawner sounds smarter and luckier then most: He was able to beat his dependency and addiction to these dangerous addictive drugs. The FDA, DEA, and local authorities should put not only the doctors on notice, but also the distributors and drug companies who are making big profits from these shady sales.

Last month Cardinal Health was put on notice by having their license suspended - let’s hope there is more of this to come so we can end the prescription drug addiction and dependency issues in this country.

Larry Wall, a Wichita attorney, is representing 12 families who claim their relatives died after Dr. Schneider prescribed frequent high doses of painkillers, ultimately resulting in overdose. Mr. Wall commented ““This is an appalling statement about the medical practice.”

It is alleged that Dr. Schneider may be responsible for the deaths of 56 people. Perhaps Mr. Wall should also look into suing the distributors and manufacturers of these drugs. If a sales person’s bonus or any increase in pay is at all connected to the number of drugs sold or given out, it might explain the never ending supply to doctors like Mr. Schneider.

Prescription drugs are worse than many illegal drugs: They are highly addictive, and  only a few lucky people like Justin Brawner beat their addiction or dependency on their own.

Drug Rehab Referral can help you find a successful drug rehab program if you or a family member aren’t so lucky.

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As prescription drug addiction, abuse and dependency rampages through Florida you have to wonder when the other shoe will drop. More and more people will need a prescription drug detox, followed by a successful drug rehab.

These statistics come from the Florida medical examiners office and, really, when companies like Cardinal Health are busted for drug dealing and doctors will sell prescriptions for thousands of dollars, you just can’t expect anything else.

Medical examiners detected drugs in 3980 corpses during the first 6 months of 2007 –what’s not so surprising is that 69% of the people who died had prescription drugs in their system. And that’s only in the first six months. We still don’t have the stats from the rest of the year, and God knows what will happen next year.

More people died with prescription drugs in their systems than cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin combined. That is really frightening, especially when you consider that over 50% of the population think they are safe with prescription drugs because they came from the doctor. It never occurs to them they’re going to get addicted or dependent, or need drug detox and drug rehab to get off them.

Florida has been hard hit by prescription drug addiction and abuse from Broward county right over to Sarasota. There are articles not just every day, but all day long from all parts of Florida.

Prescription drugs are so embedded into society that people think nothing of taking Oxycontin, Vicodin and Xanax or sharing them with their friends. Students take them from their parent’s medicine cabinets and buy them from their friends.

The sad part about the prescription drug problem is that so many more addicted people will eventually turn to heroin or other replacement drugs if they don’t get into a successful drug rehab. The supply of heroin is rising and prescription drugs will eventually be hard to come by as the DEA puts in more stringent rules and the supply dries up. Those addicts will turn to heroin: it’s cheaper and there is ample supply.

We will see higher numbers from every age group as people step forward to say they have a prescription drug addiction problem

Drug Rehab Referral is here to help your family find a successful drug rehab program when you need it.

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Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter has checked into a drug rehab in Florida. Carter told former Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson that he was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and Henderson, a former addict himself, is backing him all the way. Carter hopes that after he completes a successful drug rehab program, he’ll be back with the NFL to resume his career.

Carter was arrested when he was spotted selling marijuana in a gas station, and the observer call 911.

What Carter was doing selling marijuana in a gas station is beyond me. He’s well-known, obviously doesn’t need the money – it’s just goes to show you how off the rails things can get when people get involved in drugs.

It’s good to see another athlete stepping forward, admitting he has a problem, and getting into drug rehab so he can do something about it.

If more pro athletes did the same, it could have a very positive impact on drug abuse among other athletes, and their fans. It means a lot when someone you admire takes a stand against drugs. If role models can influence people to take drugs, they can also influence them to get into drug rehab so they can stop.

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I read an article today by an NBC news correspondent about a 15 year old Texas girl, Mariela Torres, who just completed treatment for heroin addiction – cheese heroin. The reporter was alarmed by her story, and by the fact that heroin dealers are targeting kids before they even get into high school. Obviously, the drug scene is not his usual beat. Mariela is now drug free thanks to drug detox and a three-month drug rehab program, but thousands of high school kids in Texas are still in trouble.

She was offered ‘cheese’ – a mixture of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that looks like parmesan cheese – when she was 13 years old. The “friend” who gave it to her told her it wasn’t really a drug, it just makes you feel happy. Two years later, a heroin addict, she was lucky enough to get into a drug detox and drug rehab that sorted her out.

She told the reporter that when she sees other kids using cheese heroin at school, she still wants to take it, but she knows she shouldn’t and, so far, has resisted the temptation.

Parents educating their kids about drugs is a major influencing factor on whether or not kids take them. Kids are 50 percent less likely to use drugs and alcohol if their parents teach them about the dangers. But parents also have to understand the drug scene and know what to tell their kids to expect.

More than 5000 school kids in Texas have tried cheese, according to a recent study by the Dallas Independent School district, and more than two dozen have died of overdose. Check your kids out carefully, become familiar with the drug scene, the terminology, how they can get it – and make them aware that someone who tells them it’s not really a drug isn’t telling them the truth. Find out if your kids are trying it, or other drugs and, if so, get them into a drug rehab program fast before the situation gets worse.

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I came across an article today about a doctor who was addicted to prescription drugs. And while it is unfortunate to read a story about someone struggling with addiction, what was more unfortunate about this story was the fact that several people noticed she was suffering from substance abuse and never made an effort to get her into a drug rehab program.

The result was she was finally arrested on charges related to her prescription drug addiction. The Medical Board in the state suspended her license. She then ended up getting into a three month long drug rehab program and is now awaiting sentencing on charges that could prevent her from practicing medicine for 10 years.

The signs that she was addicted were there. Per the article the doctor showed many signs that her addiction could even endanger patients. And many noticed the signs, including her staff, pharmacists and even the authorities. Yet no one did anything to get her help.

When I was struggling with drug addiction several years ago I was not willing to get help. The only reason I went into a drug rehab program was because of a push from family members. That push saved my life and I now have over six years off drugs.

Why didn’t friends, families or co-workers reach out to this woman and try to get her help when they saw signs that she was on drugs? Why didn’t anyone help her to get into a drug rehab program?

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I just read an article about a house in Salem, Oregon being purchased for mothers getting court-ordered drug treatment. The plan is to use the facility to house both the mothers doing drug rehab and their children so the kids won’t have to go to a foster home.

Although this seems like a great idea, it could actually be a drawback. Anyone who is going through drug rehab - mother or not - has to be able to focus on their treatment without the distractions and responsibilities of their normal day to day activity.

In fact, being able to concentrate on handling the issues behind your drug addiction one of the major reasons why residential, long-term drug rehab is more successful that other treatment models.

Although you definitely have to make sure kids are well taken care of, I think a different arrangement would be best all around. If mom can be given the time to get through a drug rehab program successfully, the kids will benefit from her absence in the end. 

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I read an article today about a high school kid who was arrested for possession of marijuana. School officials found the drug in the kid’s pocket, wrapped in a pamphlet telling parents how to recognize the signs of drug use. One might think of the packaging as the classic ploy of the criminal trying to get caught, but it may also be the drug dealer teaching his customer how to ensure his parents don’t know he’s into drugs - which is what I suspect happened. One way or another, the kid needs to get into drug rehab fast.

Statistics have shown that the sooner you get someone into drug rehab, the better the chances are of them getting off drugs and staying that way.

If your kid, or someone else you care about, is showing signs of drug abuse, get them into a drug rehab program fast. Obviously, dealers are doing everything they can to get people hooked and help them avoid detection. Unfortunately, you need to be smarter about these things than they are.

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