Interventions for drug or alcohol addiction saves lives and ends the misery for anyone dealing with an addiction problem of any kind. Do you have a son, daughter or loved one who needs help? Do you know what to do? Where to go? Or how to act? So often families are so embroiled in the chaos of addiction and the associated turmoil and strife, they cannot see the forest for all the trees. Struggling with someone who has an addiction to any substance, drugs or alcohol is one of the most frustrating, if not THE most frustrating thing you could ever face. We know about interventions and what it takes to handle addicts, we have dealt with literally hundreds of people with addictions of all kinds and won the battle ourselves. Interventions work and in most any situtation and against all odds.

People seeking treatment for prescription drug addiction has increased nearly 400% in the last ten years. Many addiction experts and law enforcement officials feel opioid prescription drugs contribute significantly to heroin addiction as addicts seek out easier and less expensive ways to feed the addiction. Being dopesick is not an option and with heroin being easily obtainable it seems the easy path for addicts to take. Another seemingly easy path for opiate addicts to take are suboxone and methadone maintance programs. BUT WAIT ! Addiction to these drugs and subsequent drug addiction treatment admissions along with deaths and illegal drug diversion organizations have increased hundreds of times over in the last decade as well!!!

For those of us in the substance abuse treatment and prevention fields it’s not hard to figure out why we have such a drug problem. Millions of people need drug rehabilitation services or alcohol addiction treatment. Follow the money. It’s like a flow of lava encapsulating and capturing those who are unaware of the potential danger in its path. With all the efforts being made to prevent substance abuse, one has to realize... where do the drugs or alcohol come from and who is making the money. 

The radioactive fallout from Fukushima has disseminated radiation via land, sea and air. The long term effects of this have yet to be determined and there are definitely cross and mixed messages about the overall damages and causes. One thing we know for certain is the source of the problem.  Many safety issues may or may not have been addressed and those who oppose nuclear power, specifically those in the coal, solar or oil industries would pump out false and misleading information making the true data hard to discern. It’s hard for me to imagine that we, as intelligent as we are, cannot create a safer more environmentally friendly and less dangerous resource for power than any that we currently have.

Regardless, the source of the problem is known, the nuclear plant itself and those who created it hopefully be held accountable for the damages caused, regardless the reason the accident happened. If you own an automobile and have an accident, you have to pay the damages, regardless if you are at fault or not. The more accidents the more at risk you are and the higher you pay in premiums. The same should be applied to other areas of life we depend on.  

Those that promote the use of drugs, regardless of what kind or where they come should be held accountable for the havoc and devastation they create. Some might consider it collateral damage by saying “look at all those we have helped”. No one wants a cancer patient to live in pain, but if we were to chase down the true cause of cancer we may not need the pain medication as it is. I have a hard time believing with all the money that has been raised for cancer research we cannot chase we do not know many of the possible causes.

We know smoking causes lung cancer, alcohol and aspirin can cause liver cancer but what about other forms of cancer?  What toxins are causing these and where are they coming from? Our food supply, cleaning solvents, or maybe chemically polluted air?  Until people who create these possibly toxic products and the possible damage they can create, reducing the need for drug addiction treatment seems like an impossible challenge.

Pharmaceuticals are the biggest money maker right now and yes they have created some chemicals which have made lives more liveable and less painful but they have also killed millions and made money all the while. They do this with false, deceptive and purposefully misleading information. It has been proven time and time again. But to get the drugs into the hands of the consumer there has to be a conduit.

There are those that are getting our kids hooked on drugs, prescribing anti-depressants, stimulants, sleep aids and a host of other toxins at young ages. This is all done by labeling kids with disorders and causing a yet to be determined long term effect on kids who are proven to later be chemically dependent. If you want to know why we have such a drug problem please take a look at the where they are coming from and who is making the money.

Drugs don’t pop out of thin air and most good hearted people cannot begin to fathom the sinister behavior of those that stand to profit from our ignorance. All drugs were at one time legal and promoted as safe.

Being involved with addiction for the last 25 years and having struggled with my own substance abuse problems it never ceases to amaze me how the medical community theorizes various societal problems without looking at all the facts. It is very misleading and purposefully so, to the demise of those struggling needing addiction treatment help.

The great society of doctors known as the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) took a position by redefining addiction as a chronic brain disorder and not just a behavior problem. Quoted recently in USA today Dr Michael Miller says "At its core, addiction isn't just a social problem or a moral problem or a criminal problem. It's a brain problem whose behaviors manifest in all these other areas," Dr. Michael Miller, Past President of ASAM, who oversaw the development of the new definition, said in a news release. "Many behaviors driven by addiction are real problems and sometimes criminal acts. But the disease is about brains, not drugs. It's about underlying neurology, not outward actions."

What these fine physicians fail to mention are the nutritional and physical deficiencies that are directly related to changes in brain function and modifies behavior. Some deficiencies usually are present prior to substance abuse occurring which exacerbates the problem, further altering behavior and brain function. What about addicts who have entered drug rehab treatment and successfully been able to end addiction? Does that require continued treatment or are they magically cured?

According the article nearly two decades of research has gone into these findings which determined addiction affects the neurotransmission and interactions within reward circuitry of the brain, leading to addictive behaviors that supplant healthy behaviors, while memories of previous experiences with food, sex, alcohol and other drugs trigger craving and renewal of addictive behaviors.

This altered brain circuitry then governs impulse control and judgment that result in continued reward seeking with alcohol or drugs. The article goes on to say the area of the brain though the responsible is still developing during teen‐age years, which may be why early exposure to alcohol and drugs is related to greater likelihood of addiction later in life.  

Note the disclaimer "this may be why" which leaves room for doubt and if this is true how can medical professionals justify medicating kids with amphetamines and antidepressants to modify behavior. Of course there are underlying issues surrounding any addiction problem, and some kind of satisfaction is pursued which then turns into a learned behavior.

The studies on brain activity show the after effects of substance abuse and addiction problems which basically are the toxic effects of drugs. They still don't have it right and I have my suspicions as to why. I'm wondering how many of these fine doctors are on Pharmaceutical boards. The imagery shown in this study is the alteration of brain function have it has been inundated with toxins, not prior. Also many of these scans are of children of people who have been medicated on ADHD and psychotropics.

Doctor's have to label it a disease so they have something to treat and continue to medicate. Ironically more addicts are being created from prescription drugs prescribed by a doctor. What people who have suffered injuries and illnesses and followed the prescription drug instructions of their physician, became addicted to pain killers. Did they have a brain disorder prior to becoming chemically dependent? 

From infants being born suffering the severe effects to opioid withdrawal to states claiming these drugs an epidemic, prescription drug addiction is wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country. Back years ago “crack babies” or infants born addicted to crack were common and are still an issue. Addiction treatment facilities still experience a high volume of crack addicted babies, but prescription drugs are now a much more prevalent issue.

In Florida drug rehab centers and hospitals are experiencing a high volume of babies being borne withdrawing from drugs according to a recent article at CNN. According to the article just the first 6 months of 2010 brought forth 635 infants addicted to prescription drugs.  The babies “go through withdrawal symptoms,” Head Nurse Mary Osuch of Broward General Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit told CNN. “They’re crampy, miserable. They sweat. They can have rapid breathing. Sometimes, they can even have seizures.”

Many women will not seek help for fear of losing the babies and medical centers fear losing the baby if withdrawal occurs in the womb. The kicker here is the majority of these drugs are prescribed to pregnant women. Although there is a large amount of prescription drug diversion in Florida with a significant amount of addicts becoming addicted to prescription drugs with legal means and then resorting to illegal means.

As with state like Vermont, in 2010 more people were prosecuted in federal court for trafficking prescription drugs like Oxycodone and other opioids than any other drug. These drugs have accounted for more than half of drug overdoses for six years in row.  Surprisingly Vermont ranks second only to Maine for prescription drug addiction treatment admissions.

Furthermore, prescription drugs thought to curb heroin (an opiate) and prescription opioid painkillers like methadone and Suboxone are now serious issues for many addicts. These drugs are highly addictive as well and tens of thousands of addicts seek addiction treatment as a result of being prescribed these.

Brook Mueller has been battling her addiction demons for years now and continues to grab headlines in her struggle. To bad she really doesn't seem to want to truly confront what's really going on in her life causing the addiction problem. Her medical advice she is getting is terrible and we are liable to be watching another Brittany Murphy, Health Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith or Michael Jackson ( just to name a few) incident.

 

In California alone an average of 1,000 people die each year from drivers high on marijuana and the numbers are expected to dramatically increase as more and more people are prescribed the drug. Medical marijuana users who drive under influence of what would now be considered a controlled drug have little or no repercussions in most states. The problem is there is no standard amount of THC allowed in the blood. Addiction Treatment admissions for marijuana have risen as much as 1/3 in states with medical marijuana laws.

The United States Army is taking steps to slow down the number of soldiers addicted to prescription drugs and all we can say is IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) released reports showing opiate treatment admissions for drugs other then heroin up 6% over the last decade. Oxycontin and other drugs like Hydrocodone increased from 1% up to 7% which included both outpatient and inpatient treatment programs. Prescription drugs like this increased 25% for all opiate treatment admissions in 2009.

Since its inception in 1996, drugs like OxyContin have accounted for hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the country, yet today, doctors are now claiming to “not know” the addictive qualities of these drugs. The Director-at- large for American Academy of Pain Medicine, Lynn Webster identified addiction to prescription drugs started increasing about ten years ago, as “pain management” doctors began prescribing more of these killer drugs, seeing them as safe. In the report by USA today, Ms Webster claims doctors were naïve in treating people suffering pain.

Countless times the addiction treatment counselors here at Addiction Treatment Watch speak to addicts and families who have told their doctors they were struggling with addiction, alcohol abuse and having problems yet the prescription still flowed. Many families we deal with had to be threat doctors with legal action before getting the prescriptions stopped. Now to have the top executive of the governing body basically claim ignorance seems wrong. These clinicians are those we trust to help us, and are profiting from our misfortune.    

Prescription drug addiction has yet to reach its peak. Over 7,000 kids try prescription drugs every day in the United States, and approximately 20% of these will become addicted. Adding to that are the number of heroin addicts borne out from prescription drug addiction. Many youth become addicted to prescription drugs and then move onto heroin as the drug is easier to obtain. States like Tennessee see this as a major threat, and Florida legislatures are taking drastic measures to curb the distribution of prescription drugs in Florida’s “pill mills”.

Truthfully it’s up to the public to be aware of any substance they are ingesting, but if we are to place our trust in those that are supposed to know and care for our health, then they have a responsibility too. 

Drug or alcohol addiction and its treatment is one of the most challenging tasks one could ever undertake. Knowing how to handle it and all the aspects of addiction is the place to start in this endeavor. Many addiction treatment facilities are quick to hand out diagnosis of the apparent symptoms occurring that are caused by the drugs themselves and left in the wake of substance abuse.