We are really proud to announce the launch of our first ever microsite!

Explaining our Methadone Treatments--from Methadone Therapy and Methadone Maintenance, to our Methadone Reduction Program--our new microsite is packed with information.

Are you or your loved one considering methadone as part of their drug addiction treatment? If so, make sure to peruse the site and call us to discuss any of your questions or concers.

Labels: Addiction Treatment, Drug Addiction, Prescription Drugs

New research explains how addiction to prescription anxiety medication works, and may lead to development non-addictive versions of the drugs.

Scientists from the US and Switzerland have discovered how anxiety medications, such benzodiazepine drugs as Ativan, Xanax, and Valium, work in the brain. As it turns out, the drugs use the same reward pathways as heroin and cannabis—pathways that may lead to addiction.

The calming effects of benzos are due to an increased activity of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). This in turn activates dopamine, the ‘gratification hormone’, resulting in a reward pathway in the brain.

Reward pathways are both naturally occurring and already exist in the brain. They are an evolutionary mechanism that was essential to our survival. Their main function is to make us feel pleasure when we engage in behaviours central to survival—such as eating or sex.

Opioids, such as heroin, and cannabis work in the same fashion. And dopamine, as we know from new research earlier this month, is directly linked to a propensity for addiction.

Researchers behind the study, published in the journal Nature, say these findings may lead to non-addictive alternative benzodiazepines. Benzos work by binding to a specific part of the GABA, the alpha 1 sub-unit of GABA type A receptor according to scientists. Developing similar drugs that bind to a different part of the GABA may offer the same benefits and calming-effects without the addictive side effects.

Drug companies for quite some time have been trying to develop a new generation of benzos with very little success. This, however, could be the breakthrough needed.

Source: Reuters

Labels: Addiction Treatment, Benzodiazepine, Drug Addiction

New research on dopamine and dopamine receptor profiles could lead to new drug addiction prevention and treatments.

Japanese and Danish scientists have shown in new research that those with higher dopamine levels in the brain have a greater need for stimulation, due in part to the lowered dopamine-sensitivity.

Dopamine is the “gratification” hormone, widely known to relate to the physiology of addiction. Previous research has discovered that drug addictions such as cocaine addiction work by causing a build-up of dopamine in the brain. This build up, in turn, causes a lower sensitivity to the neurotransmitter.

However, according to the new research, it is the naturally occurring higher levels of dopamine in the brain that can lead to addictive behaviours. Dopamine levels can indicate a natural predisposition to risk-taking, and addiction.

Dopamine has been connected to both behaviours—each involve chasing a high, whether naturally induced or chemically. As well, drug addiction can be classified as a high-risk behaviour. Studies have shown that sensation seeking, the constant need for stimulation, and drug or alcohol abuse involves the same reward system in the brain.

Higher levels of dopamine, and lower sensitivity to the hormone, leads to greater risk-taking—and thus greater chance of addiction to drugs, gambling, and more.

Lead by Albert Gjedde of Copenhagen University, researchers used brain scans of volunteers to measure dopamine and dopamine receptor levels. Those on the higher end of the dopamine scale felt less affects from the same amount of the hormone than those on the lower end of the scale.

They also discovered that those who fell on opposite ends of the scale had significantly different dopamine and dopamine receptor profiles.

Their research suggests that it could be more effective to increase or decrease dopamine levels, rather than try to block dopamine receptors in the brain, to treat drug addiction. These findings could help to develop new ways to prevent and treat addiction.

Source: The National Post

Labels: Addiction Treatment, Cocaine, Drug Addiction

US Researchers at NIDA report having identified a key brain mechanism, better explaining how and why cocaine addiction occurs.

Announced last week, January 7th 2009, government scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said that the new discoveries about the root of cocaine addiction could lead to the development of new drug treatments.

In experiments with mice, scientists showed how cocaine affects the epigenetic process histone methylation. Prolonged cocaine use, they found, can cause permanent changes to the way certain genes turn on and off.

Epigenetic is a process that influences a gene’s expression or appearance without changing the underlying DNA sequence, causing the gene to behave, or express, itself differently.

Histone methylation is the modification of certain amino acids in a histone protein, or the protein around which a DNA strand wind, which essentially turns the DNA off.

Cocaine in the brain prevents the enzyme from shutting off genes in the pleasure circuits of the brain, heightening cravings for more cocaine.

Furthermore, scientists were able to reverse the effects by increasing the activity of that particular gene, completely reversing the effects of chronic cocaine use. As well, scientists reported that it is likely that this be the same process for other addictions, including alcohol addiction, thereby potentially leading to new, more effective, addiction treatments.

“This fundamental discovery advances our understanding of how cocaine addiction works," Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA, said via press release. "Although more research will be required, these findings have identified a key new player in the molecular cascade triggered by repeated cocaine exposure, and thus a potential novel target for the development of addiction medications."

The findings also help to explain addiction’s long-term cravings and relapse despite periods of total abstinence.

Source: Business Week & Ottawa Citizen

Labels: Addiction Treatment, Alchohol Addiction, Cocaine, Drug Addiction

Researchers in the UK have identified a bacterial enzyme that, they say, breaks cocaine down in the body, effectively reducing the drug’s addictiveness and may help fight both cocaine addiction and overdose.

The naturally occurring bacterial enzyme, Cocaine esterase or CocE, essentially breaks cocaine molecules down in the body, reducing its physical addictiveness and eventually lead to a new way to treat cocaine addiction, as well as help reduce cocaine overdose.

CocE, researchers found, is only active in the body for a rather short period of time. However, they have also found a more stable version in a double mutant bacterial version, DM CocE.

In their clinical trial, published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute trained rats to self-administer cocaine. By pressing a button, cocaine would be released to the rats, mimicking human drug-seeking behaviour common to all addictions.

Once given the double mutant bacterial enzyme, the rats pressed the cocaine-administering button far less, suggesting that the enzyme successfully broke the cocaine down and rendered it far less physically addictive.

Lead researcher told reporters that although the enzyme is not a fail-safe cure for “determined users”, it could nonetheless prove to be a new effective therapeutic approach.

As with all medical interventions to treat addiction, this new treatment should be used in conjunction with a therapeutic drug addiction treatment program.

However, unlike others, it seems at first to have far less harmful side effects and be less addictive in the long term, and could very well prove to be an exciting development in the treatment of cocaine addiction.

Source: The Telegraph

Labels: Cocaine, Drug Addiction, Treatment Approaches

New research from the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Qc. suggests that the effect of daily cannabis use on the teenage brain is worse than previously thought. Moreover, the long-term effects appear irreversible.

Marijuana, the most used illicit drug, has long been considered a ‘soft’ drug—minimally damaging in comparison to most other, ‘hard’, drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Marijuana’s addictive properties have also been long argued.

However, according to researchers at the McGill University Health Centre, daily cannabis use leads to depression and anxiety, as it impacts both serotonin and norepinephrine—the chemical compounds that help control mood and anxiety in the brain.

Researchers observed 18 teenage rats as they were exposed to cannabis. The rats showed decreased levels of serotonin, affecting mood, and higher levels of norepinephrine, making them more susceptible to long-term stress (anxiety).

Permanent changes in these parts of the brain, say researchers, are linked to several different mental illnesses.

Even if the cannabis exposure was stopped, the study continues, at the end of the teenage years, the changes were still detectable in the rats in adulthood. T

he study’s lead researcher says that the study shows that the effects of cannabis use in teenagers is far more devastating, than in adults. Cannabis, it seems, interferes with the development of the serotonin and norepinephrine systems.

Next, researchers say they will observe young marijuana smokers.

Findings were published in The Neurobiology of Disease.

Source: Canadian Press

Labels: Cannabis, Drug Addiction, Marijuana

Just in time for the Holidays, yet another reason to eat chocolate!

The “healing” properties of chocolate have long been suspected—the euphoric rush of endorphin triggered love-like feelings, the surge of satisfaction. For some, chocolate is even an aphrodisiac. Dark chocolate, with its high levels of antioxidants, has been purported to have a number of health benefits, from anticancer, to cough preventer and antidiarrhoeal effects.

There are also many connections between the foods we eat and addiction, with a great deal of research on addiction and nutrition. Good nutrition has proven to positively impact symptoms of withdrawal and craving. At Heritage Home, we have seen it for ourselves, taking great care to incorporate a healthy menu into our holistic addiction therapy program.

New research from the Nestle Research Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland now suggests that a daily dose of dark chocolate reduces stress in those experiencing high levels—great news for all of us here as we approach this chocolate-filled time of year. Recovering from alcohol or drug addiction can be a highly stressful experience as you learn to live and experience your life free of drugs and alcohol. And a new stress reliever is always welcomed news.

In their most recent study, Nestle researchers studied 30 healthy adult men and women who consumed two portions of 20 grams of dark chocolate daily for 14 consecutive days. Participants were split into two groups—low stress and moderate stress as measured by a questionnaire.

Individuals reporting higher levels of stress had such anxiety traits as experiencing higher levels of everyday stress, showing distinct differences in energy and hormonal metabolism, and differences in gut microbial activities.

With the daily dose of dark chocolate, these subjects showed reduced levels of stress-associated hormones and the normalization of stress-related metabolic differences, suggesting that a daily dose of dark chocolate positively impacts stress-related metabolic differences in individuals with higher levels of stress.

Source: Behavioral Health Central

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Nutrition, Substance Abuse

A new report released last month found that the hard drug problem in Vancouver is “epidemic”, according to a new article.

The report from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS cites a ten-fold increase in the use of crack cocaine and a major increase in the use of crystal meth by Vancouver’s street youth over the last 10 years.

Specifically, researchers found that an approximate 90 percent of adult drug users could score crack or cocaine within 10 minutes, and 60 percent of street youth claimed to be able to score crystal meth in the same time frame. Furthermore, 40 percent of street youth surveyed reported having injected drugs publicly.

The study, the “first comprehensive look at the epidemic of hard drugs in Vancouver”, concludes that the federal government’s drug strategy is “failing”, according to authors Evan Wood and Thomas Kerr.

They argue, instead, for more harm reduction policies, like the controversial supervised injection sites, as the key to reducing the various harms related to drug addiction. Insite, one such injection site, and initiatives are cited as the reason for significant reductions in both HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C cases from the reduction in needle sharing.

Consequently, the Canadian government is in the process of trying to shut down Insite. At the moment, the government is appealing a May decision from the BC Supreme Court that keeps their doors open while their fate is being decided.

Critics, however, argue that Vancouver has the more harm reduction programs in place and yet has the largest drug problem in the country. Although harm reduction policies, they say, successfully reduce harms to addicts, the programs don’t necessarily work to curb or end drug use.

At Heritage Home Drug Rehab Centre, we work closely and intensely with all of our clients to achieve total abstinence through a psychotherapeutic addiction program.

However, we also recognize that this can be unrealistic goal for some and so we also provide services such as Methadone Therapy, also considered a harm reduction program, to support and enhance our holistic addiction treatment program.

Source: Maclean’s

Labels: Crack-Cocaine, Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) annual survey, Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) of 2009, the number of high school students reporting prescription drug abuse in the US continues to be high, while the use of other illicit drugs decreases.

Major usage trends among US teens include a significant decrease in methamphetamine use, stalled declines of marijuana use, and consistently high abuse of prescription drugs.

Findings, released yesterday December 14th 2009 at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., were announced by President Obama’s so-named drug czar Gil Kerlikowske (http://www.sobriety.ca/blog/2009/07/shifting-rhetoric-from-war-to-treatment.html).

The Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) is a series of classroom surveys of 8th, 10th and 12th grade students across the US. In all, researchers from the University of Michigan, under a grant from NIDA, surveyed 46,097 students from 389 public and private schools.

The number of high school students reporting past year use of methamphetamine in 2009 was at its lowest since 1999, when questions regarding the drug were first added to the survey. In 1999, 4.7 percent of students reported having used methamphetamine in the 12 preceding months. In 2009, this number is now at 1.2 percent of students.

Smoking tobacco was also at its lowest rate in the MTF’s history across all grades.

The past year use of cocaine also decreased, to 3.4 percent of 12th grade students—down an entire percentage point from the 2008 survey. Hallucinogen use also decreased in the last year, down over a percentage point to 4.7 percent of 12th graders.

The perceived harmfulness, a factor in determining future drug addiction and abuse, of LSD, amphetamines, sedatives/barbiturates, heroin, and cocaine all increased, while the perceived availability of many of these illicit drugs decreased significantly—both good signs.

However, marijuana use across all three grades, having showed a consistent downward trend since the mid-1990s, seems to have stalled in 2009. Rates of marijuana use among the high school students were the same as five years ago, with about 32.8 percent of 12th graders, 26.7 percent of 10th graders, and 11.8 percent of 8th graders all reporting past year use of the drug.

Nevertheless, this is still significantly lower than in the mid-1990s.

Furthermore, slightly more than half the students, about 55.2 percent, did not perceive the occasional use of marijuana as potentially harmful.

There is also a continued high rate of the non-medical use of prescription drugs and cough syrup among US teens. Seven of the top 10 drugs abused by 12th grade students, for example, in the past year were either prescribed or bought over the counter. Furthermore, about 10 percent of students reported non-medical use of Vicodin, and five percent non-medical Oxycontin use. Finally, more than five percent of 10th and 12th grade students also reported non-medical use of Adderall.

Non-medical use of these painkillers has increased among 10th graders in the past five years.

The 2009 MTF also measured how students obtained their prescription drugs, a recent addition to the survey. Researchers found that 19 percent of 12th grade students reported to have obtained their prescription drugs with a doctor’s prescription, eight percent from a dealer, and 66 percent reported having obtained the drugs from a friend or relative. Of this last group, 12 percent reported that they “took them, 21 percent that they “bought them”, and 33 percent that they were “given them”. The Internet does not appear to be a major source for these drugs.

Teen prescription drug abuse has been a very hot topic as of late, attracting much media attention. NIDA’s survey points to this generation’s apparent preference for prescription medication for those in search of a high, serving to highlight where policymakers, educators, counsellors, and parents need to focus their attention and preventative measures—before it’s too late.

Results can be viewed at the Monitoring the Future website: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

Source: NIDA

Labels: Cocaine, Drug Addiction, Prescription Drugs, Substance Abuse

New statistics, released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) in the UK show more young people are seeking treatment for cocaine addiction in the last four years.

According to the National Health Service (NHS), Britain’s government health department, the number of 18 to 24 year olds who sought cocaine addiction treatment at NHS funded treatment centres has increased by 88 percent in the last four years.

The total number of 18 to 24 year olds who sought treatment with the NTA rose from 1,591 in 2005-06 to 2,998 in 2008-09. From this group, the number of women seeking drug addiction treatment rose 80 percent to 592, while the number of men rose 91 percent to 2,406.

Among those under 35 years, the number of women seeking cocaine addiction treatment rose 60 percent, and the number of men 75%, during the same time period. The average age of first cocaine use, according to data gathered by the NTA, was 21 years.

Conversely, the number of women in the UK seeking treatment for heroin and crack cocaine dropped ever so slightly, by eight percent. Experts say it is encouraging to see women drug users start to turn away from heroin and crack cocaine, which involve the most crime, physical harm, and family problems.

However, experts in the UK say that it is still very concerning to see such great increases in the number of cocaine users. There seems to be mounting evidence of a generational shift in hard drug users, and a growing preference for cocaine.

Experts say that these new findings not only demonstrate cocaine’s growing popularity in the UK, but of its capacity to damage users.

The NTA’s findings can be viewed on BBC News’ website.

Source: BBC News

Labels: Cocaine, Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse

New study concludes that narcotic prescription medicines are fatal when mixed with alcohol or sedatives, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Moreover, prescription painkillers, opioids, have been linked with more deaths due to misuse or abuse. The number of deaths associated with opioids in Canada has nearly doubled in the last 13 years, according to the study released Monday December 7, 2009.

Researchers called opioids “Canada’s hidden drug problem”, killing more that heroin overdoses. In Ontario alone, opioid-related deaths nearly doubled from 1991 to 2004, due largely to the increasing popularity of these prescription drugs.

Prescriptions in Ontario increased by a shockingly 850% between 1991 and 2007, directly correlated, researchers say, to the introduction of oxycodone to the Canadian market.

Increases in prescription drug abuse and addiction in Canada has been a hot topic for a number of months, including its rise in popularity among teens. Currently, Canada ranks among the world’s heaviest consumers of prescription drugs—the fourth highest per capita use according to a 2002 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) report.

What is new, and alarming, is the sharp rise in opiod-related deaths over the last 15 years.

When the drug was released in Canada in the late 1990s, opioid-related deaths shot up by 40 percent. Oxycodone-related deaths have, over the years, increased fivefold to 103 people in 2003 in Ontario, compared to 16 in 1999. In the last year of the study, opioids were responsible for 300 deaths in Ontario.

There seems to be a common misconception of the drug’s safety since a licensed, trusted physician has prescribed them.

Researchers are alarmed, calling opioid-related deaths a “major public health issue”. They point to the growing trend among physicians to prescribe narcotic painkillers, over other effective pain-relievers on the market.

Oxycodone, for example, was originally prescribed for pain management among terminal cancer patients and other severe cases of chronic pain. Today, doctors write prescriptions for the narcotic for anything from back pain to Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

The medical community is seemingly unaware of the health risks, and researchers aren’t entirely clear whether both doctors and patients fully understand or are fully aware of the serious side effects—including the high risk of death.

There appears to be a wide public misconception that street or illicit drug abuse is a more prevalent problem. However, in reality, prescription drug addiction is a much bigger problem, and can often be left untreated.

Opioid addiction is a serious grave problem. Not only can their misuse or abuse lead to death, but they are also highly addictive. Treatment for an opioid addiction often requires methadone therapy along side a drug addiction treatment program that focuses on psychotherapy.

View video here.

Source: The Montreal Gazette

Labels: Drug Addiction, Prescription Drugs, Substance Abuse

According to The Partnership for a Drug Free America prescription drug abuse among American teens is reaching troubling levels, reports the BBC News.

A recent survey by The Partnership revealed that one in five US teens admit to experimenting with legal medication, including prescription drugs and over the counter medications, at least once in their lifetime—a very “troubling trend”.

Experts in the States are also witnessing an increase in the number of young persons admitted to the hospital for drug overdose.

All this prescription drug abuse and its associated behaviours indicate that these teens are self-medicating, as well as looking for a high. Teens illegally obtaining prescription medications tend to be very tactical, according to experts, strategic even.

Furthermore, teens are experimenting with a wide variety of drugs, not simply painkillers, as most would believe. Sedatives, stimulants, psychoactives, and anti-depressants are all among abused drugs.

As such, “pharm parties” have emerged as a new trend, where the price of admission to the evening is a handful of pills. Once the party has begun, all pills are combined in a large bowl and passed around. Pills are popped at random and partygoers sit back and wait for the effects, whatever they may be.

The BBC interviewed a teen from New York about his experiences with prescription drug abuse. Henry Walkdale, 16, is currently enrolled in an addiction treatment program at a drug rehab centre.

He recounts how it was easier to find prescription drugs than other illegal drugs, as fake prescriptions are easy to come by and by “people that literally sell them out of the back of hospitals if you know the right neighbourhoods to go to,” he says.

Later, his addiction worsened when he was hospitalized for a leg injury. While there he was given painkillers, and later discharged with a prescription. From that point on he “started eating them like candy.”

Listen to Henry’s story in his own words.

Henry was lucky. He was able to get help, admitted to a drug addiction treatment program before he died. Others, unfortunately, are not as lucky as he.

The US’ Drug Enforcement Agency is now trying to engage parents in the matter. "We've asked people to talk to their kids,” the DEA’s Gerard McAleer told the BBC, “look in the medicine cabinet, take an inventory, secure the medicines you need to keep and dispose of those that have just been sitting there."

Source: BBC News

Labels: Drug Addiction, Prescription Drugs, Substance Abuse

New research from the UK links Ketamine with memory loss and other adverse psychological effects, as well as reveals the drug might be more addictive than previously thought.

Ketamine, also known as Speical K, has become an increasingly popular party drug, especially among young clubbers, due largely to its drop in price in recent years. Now about half the price of cocaine, Ketamine is a popular alternative to ecstasy and cocaine.

Ketamine is a stimulant that is also known to induce hallucinations. In previous studies, it was found to cause kidney and bladder damage.

Researchers from The Universtiy College London performed a range of memory and psychological tests on 120 people. Participants were split into five groups:

• Frequent users, using ketamine each day
• Recreational users, using ketamine one to two times a month
• Former users
• Users of other drugs
• Abstainers

All participants took part in a series of tests, and then were followed up with a year later. Researchers found that the frequent user group performed significantly worse on the memory tests, at times having twice as many errors.

There were no significant differences between the other groups in the study.

Furthermore, performance on the tests weakened over the year. All ketamine user groups showed evidence of unusual beliefs and mild delusions, such as conspiracy theories, in the psychological questionnaires.

Alarmingly, the research also revealed evidence pointing to a high rate of addiction in ketamine. Hair samples from the recreational user group showed that their ketamine use doubled over the study year.

Source: BBC News

Labels: Drug Addiction, Ketamine, News

At Issues of Substance 2009, over 13 sessions, The CCSA will also examine the role of treatment systems from a variety of perspectives, including Canada’s National Treatment Strategy (NTS) program.

It is estimated, according to the CCSA, that only one in 10 persons requiring addiction treatment services actually receives it through the current health care system.

The NTS provides a framework for a national program of treatment and care throughout the country. It is the first multi-jurisdictional strategy that aims to identify the steps required to create an integrated addiction treatment system for the country.

The NTS has imagined a five-tier model wherein a continuum of services is integrated from the community level through to specialized services for severe and complex cases.

It is a system where “every door is the right door”, thus no matter how or where the individual enters the system, all paths lead to the level of care required by that individual.

“Our focus has been to find the most efficient and effective ways to enable multi-agency, culturally appropriate service delivery that responds to the unique needs of each individual, “ said Jim Cincotta, Co- Chair of the National Treatment Strategy Working Group in a statement. "The NTS has provided a blueprint to develop system-level strategies with various jurisdictions across Canada.”

The CCSA with the National Treatment System has effectively created a framework for a national addiction treatment system. This framework is person-centric, incorporating the continuum-of-care treatment model, and focuses on integrating treatment, social services, housing, and educational systems.

Source: The CCSA

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse, Treatment

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) announced its biennial national conference on substance abuse, Issues of Substance 2009.

There will be a number of discussions and sessions surrounding several major topics concerning the substance abuse community. A primary focus of the conference is co-occurring disorders—namely the role of neuroscience, mental health and addictions, and how research, treatment, and educational systems must evolve to effectively recognize and treat co-occurring disorders.

Co-occurring disorders, or concurrent disorders, are two disorders or illnesses occurring in the same person. Substance abuse or addiction with any number of mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, or depression, is rather common and becoming of more and more interest within the field.

It is estimated, according to the CCSA, that more than 50 percent of those with alcohol or drug addiction also have a mental illness. Addiction and mental illnesses often have common biological, psychological, and social precursors.

However, they are not very often treated concurrently. In fact, there are few unified and integrated approaches, especially in the public addictions treatment system.

At The Heritage Home Drug Rehab and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Centre, on the other hand, our addiction treatment programs incorporate individual treatments and therapies. We believe that success does not come from a fit-all program, but is born out of addressing your underlying issues and emotional difficulties.

As part of our holistic approach to addiction treatment, we offer a number of different therapeutic approaches from both the traditional and non-traditional schools of thought, as well as different options within each school, to address any mental health issues.

Mental health and alcohol and drug addictions are very closely related. Research has shown that impulse-control problems are the single strongest predictor of future substance abuse.

Individuals suffering from anxiety disorders are at two-and-a-half times greater risk of developing an alcohol or drug addiction.

The risk of addiction is at least double for those with Major Depressive Disorder.

And the statistics go on.

Source: The CCSA

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse, Treatment

Drug addiction is often not sufficiently, if at all, covered in medical schools’ curriculum, despite being a national major public health issue. Addiction severely affects overall health, puts lives at risk, and results in a wide range of health conditions.

In response to the education gap, the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) is launching a new program in the US to encourage medical schools to incorporate substance use and abuse into their curricula.

NIDA's series of teaching tools, disseminated through its Centers of Excellence for Physician Information Program (NIDA CoE), provides accurate scientific information on substance abuse, addiction, and their consequences. Tools include lectures, case studies, faculty workshops, and a web module. It is designed to fit into any existing curriculum, to ease adoption.

"Our long term goal is for doctors to incorporate screening for drug use into routine practice like they currently screen for other diseases,” said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow in a statement, “to help patients that are abusing to stop, and to refer more serious cases to specialized treatment.”

Three themes have emerged from the materials: the importance of communication in the doctor-patient relationship, especially with sensitive topics; the recognition that substance abuse may play an integral role in many disorders; and the crucial role physicians play in both identifying substance abuse in patients and reducing the risk of developing an addiction.

More information on the NIDA CoE resources can be found at:
www.drugabuse.gov/coe.

Information on the NIDAMED program can be found at:
www.nida.nih.gov/nidamed.

Source: NIDA

Labels: Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse, Treatment

Recently we reviewed Methland, a look at America’s meth epidemic through the eyes of small town Olewein, Iowa.

Earlier this week, a report from Iowa’s Office of Drug Control Policy found that, although alcohol remains the state’s number one intoxicant of choice, that marijuana and methamphetamine are the most abused illicit drugs by Iowans.

The epidemic, it seems, has not relented.

Based on admissions data from addiction treatment centres, 61 percent of admissions are for alcohol addiction, 23 percent for primarily marijuana abuse, and 8 percent for meth. Although this represents all age groups, marijuana was the primary abused substance for 56 percent of juvenile clients.

Meth, which had been declining in Iowa steadily for the last five years, has recently spiked in popularity again.

Source: The Iowa Independent

Labels: Drug Addiction, Methamphetamine, News

Philadelphia and Connecticut are emerging as the leaders in drug addiction treatment in the US, renovating an antiquated system that supports incarceration over treatment.

Currently, laws in the States, resulting from the thirty-year ‘war on drugs’, create a revolving door of drug addiction and relapse. Addicts either face jail-time or are rehabilitated for 30 or 60-day stints, only to be discharged with nothing more than instructions to join a local 12-step program. Addiction treatment in this form is nothing more than triage.

In Philadelphia, however, public and private programs have teamed up to create a larger program to provide more social and practical support to the newly sober—those at the highest risk for relapse. The Philadelphia model looks to treat the underlying personal or emotional issues, giving individualized treatment and long-term support and post-treatment care.

Not a replacement for AA or NA, organizers were looking to add more services, peer support, and social activities to the 12-step program. A network of treatment centres, recovery houses, and a community centre, they offer long-term follow up with counseling, practical aid, housing, schooling, jobs, and, possibly most important of all, social ties. Staffed by peers in recovery, they, beyond all else, have created a community of support.

Community is what keeps addicts sober. Before, recounted one member of the Philadelphia community, no one cared if he lived or died. Now, he is accountable for his life. “This time around, people with the same histories as me are talking to me, telling my story,” he told The New York Times. “That never happened before.”

The addiction treatment model in the US is now moving beyond treating the physical addiction, away from acute care and into a holistic approach with a focus on comprehensive aftercare.

Heritage Home has long adopted this holistic approach to addiction treatment. Our program was built to provide a well-rounded, long-term care that meets the individual’s recovery needs, treats the individual addiction, and includes a comprehensive exit strategy and aftercare program.

Philadelphia and Connecticut are so successful at preventing or significantly shortening the relapse that the federal government has given grants to 24 sites across the US with the mandate to adopt the model.

And the Obama administration is widely expected to announce a comprehensive approach to fighting addiction in March 2010.

Could this be the first step?

Source: The New York Times

Labels: Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse, Treatment Approaches

Vancouver advocates, who won the battle to have supervised injection sites back in 2003, have turned their attention to the city’s crack addicts. Looking for a similar program, advocates are pushing for supervised inhalation rooms, connecting addicts with treatment programs and other health services in an attempt to, above all else, stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in the population group.

Earlier in the month, a study, published October 19th 2009 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that smoking crack increases the risk of HIV infections, although the exact link has yet to be pinpointed.

The program is back by British Columbia’s Public Health Minister Perry Kendall, who called it a pressing health concern. Clearly there is an urgent need for public health programs aimed at these addicts. Recommendations included distributing safe crack kits, with glass stem and mouthpiece, lip balm and hand wipes, along with the supervised inhalation rooms.

Some cities have already begun distributing the kits.

Much like the injection sites, inhalation rooms must be associated with treatment options to be successful. The controversial harm-reduction program is aimed at engaging addicts in care, likely to lead them to the ultimate form of self-care: getting clean and living sober.

Harm-reduction subscribes to the idea that while an individual is in the throes of addiction, it is best to keep them safe in order to prevent overdose and the spread of the infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C, that are so prevalent in this population.

Researchers sited several risk factors that may cause the link between smoking crack-cocaine and HIV, including sharing pipes and oral sex with mouth wounds.

Researchers in Vancouver followed 1,048 injection drug users over a nine-year period. All participants were HIV-negative when enrolled in the study. By the end of the period, 137 or 13.1% were HIV-positive.

Of those who tested positive, the proportion that smoke crack-cocaine daily increased to 39.7% in the final stage of the study, up from 11.6% in the first three stages—a significant increase by any measure. This led the researchers to conclude that crack smoking is somehow linked to the HIV infection.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Labels: Crack-Cocaine, Drug Addiction, News, Treatment Approaches

New research out of the US, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that changes to the brain’s circuitry brought on by stress may lead to cocaine-use relapse.

Changes to the circuitry are related to the regulation of serotonin—the neurotransmitter that regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions as memory and learning. Changes to serotonin levels in the studied mice, it is believe, causes low moods, thus triggering the drug-seeking behaviour.

Until recently, it was commonly believed that dopamine regulated drug seeking, by affecting the area of the brain where the motivation and reward seeking is controlled. It was believed that stress caused the prevention of dopamine in the brain, making the mice feel miserable. Resulting drug-seeking behaviours were thought to be an aversive response to the reduction in dopamine—an aversion to the negative feelings.
Scientists were quite surprised then to see adverse effects of stress converging on the region of the brain where serotonin-using nerves are located.

Dopamine-deficient bred mice, or mice with continuous ‘low moods’, continued to respond to stress-inducing scenarios with aversive behavior. When the scientists were able to deactivate the receptors in the serotonin-rich area of the brain, where there was much activity, they were able to effectively stop the aversive response and cocaine-seeking behaviors in the mice.

Researchers concluded that activation of receptors in the serotonin-rich area of the brain, either through pharmaceuticals or a stress-evoking trigger, may regulate the serotonin system. Furthermore, it may be possible to regulate drug-seeking behaviours through regulation of this system.

The findings, although very preliminary with a number of other factors still needing investigaton, the evidence is interesting for relapse prevention as manipulation of the brain’s serotonin levels could, theoretically, control the re-ignition of drug-seeking impulses.

By the same accord, earlier in October at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, findings on amino acid’s effect on cocaine addiction were presented. This study showed that the amino acid derivative NAC reverses changes to the brain’s circuitry made by cocaine addiction.

With advanced brain imaging, scientists can now map what occurs when the brain is exposed to drug-associated cues—or craving triggers. Cocaine, it was found, causes imbalances in the circuits regulating reward and cognitive control.

NAC, on the other hand, seemed to return normal function to the circuits of previously cocaine-addicted rats. Furthermore, after having received the amino acid, the rats did not return to their drug seeking behaviours, even while in the presence of drug cues.

Currently, a phase III clinical trial of NAC is underway. Findings could lead to an extremely useful biomedical treatment and relapse-prevention option.

Source: ScienceDaily.com

Labels: Cocaine, Drug Addiction, News, Treatment Approaches

In Methland, New York journalist Nick Reeding serves up a realistic account of the destruction of Middle America at the hands of methamphetamine, as told through the eyes of one small Iowan town.

Meth is a highly addictive and extremely potent stimulant that affects the central nervous system. The drug is injected, snorted, smoked, or even ingested orally. Often associated with poor and working class Caucasians, meth, along with its euphoric high, results in increased activity and decreased appetite.

The drug is both manufactured locally in illegal makeshift home labs and smuggled from Mexico, the vast majority of which lands in the country’s heartland. It is a shockingly easy production process using readily available ingredients—namely over-the-counter cold medicine and industrial chemicals. Manufacturing, albeit incredibly dangerous, is highly lucrative, making it incredibly tempting in impoverished communities across the US and Mexico.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, meth is second only to alcohol and marijuana as the most used illicit drug in Western and Midwestern states. Over recent years, though, the drug has spread across the country, now affecting every region.

However, data and statistics are often meaningless. Reeding illustrates the scourge of meth, its deadly consequences and destruction of a way of life, through the personal story of Olewein, Iowa and its disheartened cast of characters.

Olewein, with its a population of roughly 6,700, is a town in crisis where big business and agricultural conglomerates have taken over the economy and small town way of life. Many residents are impoverished, forced to work two jobs, shifts running one into the other. Meth lab explosions and bike riders cooking the drug in soda bottles have become the norm.

Of all the stories in Methland, that of Rolan Jarvis is most telling. Meth-addict Jarvis was very literally melted when his kitchen-come-meth lab exploded. Now more depressed and addicted than ever, he rarely leaves his smoke den.

Reeding’s picture is clear—Olewein’s succumbing to meth was inevitable. A town of marginalized persons, Olewein was perfect prey.

Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town. By Nick Reeding, 255 pp. Bloomsbury, $25
Website: http://www.methlandbook.com/
Available at Amazon, among other retailers.

Labels: Book Review, Drug Addiction, Methamphetamine, Substance Abuse

Recently, CNN reported on a new, relatively innovative and controversial, treatment program in the UK—treating heroin addicts with heroin. The program is being led by a research team at Britain's National Addiction Centre, associated with King's College in London.

Government-funded heroin clinics dispense controlled, safe doses of heroin to addicts in a controlled, safe environment. Moreover, while the physical addiction and cravings are controlled, addicts participate in an intensive counseling and addiction treatment program.

Counselors reported to CNN that the “bond that is formed and the commitment that's established between the patient coming in for treatment and the staff is far greater than you would ever ordinarily see."

The program, however, is expensive--$22,000 per client per year. With the social stigma of heroin and heroin use in combination with the hefty price tag, many fear that the program will be shut down. However, those involved say the initial cost is by far offset by the long term social and economic savings—the social and financial costs of street addicts, jail time, repeat offenses, and the seemingly never-ending cycle of addiction.

The goals of the program, although lofty, have proven achievable. The program has aimed to take heroin of the streets, stop heroin-associated crimes, keep addicts safe and healthy, stopping the spread of heroin-associated diseases, and getting heroin addicts into a successful treatment program.

Thus far, reports have shown that street heroin use is down by 75% and associated-crimes by 66%. These numbers are not simply about having a free supply of heroin, clients of the program report wanting to stop heroin completely. A medically supervised program, heroin injections are safe and clean, reducing the risk of overdose and the contraction and spread of injection drug associated diseases.

Watch the report here:


Source: CNN.com

Labels: Drug Addiction, Heroin, News, Treatment Approaches

Despite an earlier report from SAMHSA on the decline of prescription drug abuse in the US, from 2.7% to 2.5% of Americans, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prescription painkiller abuse remains an severely unrecognized and under served problem in the US.

According to the report, released last Wednesday, September 30 2009, more than half of the 26,000 fatal overdoses each year are caused by prescription painkillers, overtaking both heroin and cocaine. Moreover, death from opioid painkillers more than tripled from 1999 to 2006, with rates equally as high in rural areas than as in metropolitan areas.

Prescription painkillers are now the leading cause of fatal overdoses.

Prescription drug abuse can easily go unrecognized for a number of factors. Especially on a national level, there is very little increase in street crime and violence in association with prescription drug abuse. As well, there is the pervasive misunderstanding that anything prescribed by a doctor must be safe. Prescription painkillers do not have the stigma of illicit drugs and as such, their overuse and abuse can be easily excused. Nonetheless, prescription drug abuse is best treated with a drug rehab program involving counseling.

Labels: Drug Addiction, News, Prescription Drugs

Three national organizations, the Partnership for a Drug Free America, the National Military Family Association and the National Association of School Nurses, have teamed up to focus on America's military teens with an online education campaign, launched yesterday.

TimeToTalk.org/Military provides parents with guidance, tips, tools, and scripts to help and encourage parents to talk to their teens about substance abuse--how to bring up the topic, initiate effective conversations, and to encourage their teens to talk about what they're going through, especially now, in a time of war.

Overall, teens are more susceptible to try and experiment with drugs and alcohol during periods of transition, due to the heightened stress and anxiety. Military kids are especially susceptible, having more than several regular transitions. On average, a military teen moves every three years from ordinary military relocation. During times of war, the frequency increases as parent(s) mobilize for duty, in addition to the stress and anxiety of watching a parent leave for combat.

Moreover, as more military personnel return home injured, teens have more access to prescription painkillers--one of the most commonly abused substance along with alcohol and marijuana.

Although there is currently no available evidence that suggests that there is more substance abuse amongst American military teens versus non-military teens, the anecdotal reports that the three organizations have encountered is alarming enough to cause concern and a need to take action.

Source: AP

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, News, Prescription Drugs

Today is the last day of September, representing, among many things, the end of this year's Recovery Month. Over the past month, we shared different personal stories of alcohol and drug addiction and recovery. Some were better-known stories than others, others simply from better-known storytellers; we had stories of long-lasting sobriety and others of multiple attempts at sobriety.

Most importantly though, all were deeply personal and shared in the spirit of healing through honesty.

As Recovery Month comes to a close, we would like to hear from you. What did you do to celebrate your or your loved one's recovery throughout the month?

What will you do to commemorate the final day?

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Personal Stories, Recovery Month

A new poll released this month suggests that Americans on both sides of the aisle support including addiction treatment in health care reforms. Furthermore, a great majority of Americans polled are willing to pay to make treatment options more affordable and accessible.

The poll, sponsored by the Open Society Institute for Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap initiative who advocates accessible addiction treatment options, found that Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike agree that treatment is an effective, ongoing process. Furthermore, the poll shows that:

• 77% of Americans support including addiction treatment in health care reform
• 69% support paying $2 more a month in health insurance premiums in order to make addiction treatment more affordable, and thus accessible
• 47% report having an inadequate number of affordable, quality treatment options in their community
• 49% reported that they could not afford the costs of treatment if they or a family member required help

Of those polled who knew or knows someone who has looked for addiction treatment, 46% reported difficulty finding affordable, quality services.

According to Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap's statistics, 23 million Americans are currently struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. They estimate that only one in ten receive addiction treatment, largely due to the high costs and lack of insurance coverage.

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse

Building on a SAMHSA's earlier report, The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Data, the director of the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap initiative reports that untreated addiction has reached pandemic levels in the United States.

Although the SAMHSA survey found that both prescription drug and methamphetamine abuse declined in the US in 2008, the overall rate of drug and alcohol abuse remained steady. Declines in some drugs were offset by an increase in popularity of other drugs--marijuana and hallucinogens in particular.

According to the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap initiative, however, as recently published on Wellness.com, only 1 in 10 of the 23 million alcohol and drug addicts in the United States enter into an addiction treatment centre. This sad discrepancy is due most commonly to the inability to pay for treatment.

Access to affordable addiction treatment options, whether through the federal public health insurance plan or by some other means, is a necessary step in addressing this public health issue. Clearly, a punitive-stance on drug abuse and addiction does not result in recovery. In fact, overall, it breeds further substance abuse and cyclical incarceration. In this time of the healthcare reform debate, addiction treatment, which has been grossly overlooked, must be addressed. Now is a chance for substantial change.

"Ignoring any disease -- be it addiction, diabetes or hypertension -- is bad medicine and should not be an option in today's healthcare system. Addiction treatment should be fully covered by all insurance plans," says Victor Capoccia, director of the initiative.

The initiative actively advocates for addiction treatment programs to be covered by health insurance coverage, be it private or public.

Source: wellness.com

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse, Treatment Approaches

As Recovery Month continues, it's important to recognize the power of sharing one's addiction and recovery story. Healing comes from sharing, as the weight of holding on is lifted, replaced with feelings of understanding and support.

Yesterday, it was announced that Burt Reynolds entered into a drug rehab program to address his addiction to prescription painkillers. The celebrated actor recently underwent back surgery, the recovery from which can be excruciating. This is not his first battle with prescription drugs. He has, in the past, battled with a reliance on the sleeping aid Halcion.

In a recent statement from his publicist, Mr. Reynolds "felt like he was going through hell and after a while, realized he was a prisoner of prescription pain pills. He checked himself into rehab in order to regain control of his life.”

The purpose of sharing his story is not as celebrity gossip or fodder for the water cooler, but in hopes of educating and enlightening. Prescription drugs can be highly addictive. Possibly most dangerous of all, is their misconception--because a medical professional prescribed them, they are safe and trustworthy. The symptoms of addiction can be hard to recognize, easily ignored and excused away. With time, you can find yourself taken hostage by the pills, unable to live without them, requiring ever more as your tolerance builds.

By coming forward, Mr. Reynolds' story can serve to highlight these dangers and help ease the stigma of addiction some. In his own words: "He hopes [others] will not try to solve the problem by themselves, but realize that sometimes it is too tough to do on their own and they should seek help, as he did."

Source: MSNBC

Labels: Drug Addiction, Personal Stories, Prescription Drugs, Recovery Month

A new study released yesterday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed a decline in prescription medication abuse in 2008 in the US. Approximately 6.2 million Americans, or 2.5% of the population, abused prescription medication in the past month, down from 2.8% in 2007.

The decline is attributed to the national, and much publicized, health reports on the dangers of their misuse and the federally funded anti-drug ad campaign.

Methamphetamine use also declined in 2008, from 529,000 users in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008. But, in amongst this good news, the study found that overall the national rate of drug use remained steady due to the increase in both marijuana and hallucinogen use. Approximately 20.1 million Americans, or 8% of the population, reported past-month drug use in 2008.

Drug use amongst the 50-59 year olds also increased, from 2.7% in 2002 to 4.6% in 2008. The study attributes this increase to aging baby boomer drug users.

Drug use among the 12-17 year olds remained steady at 6.7%.

Labels: Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse

Late onset alcohol and drug addiction is quickly becoming a prevalent problem that poses many new problems to addiction treatment specialists. A recent study from SAMHSA, for example, reported that drug use is continuing well into the later years of life.

Older addicts fall into one of two groups--the older addict and the young older addict (i.e. the baby boomer).

The baby boomer addict represents a significant challenge both in their sheer number and the complexity of their treatment and addiction requirements. Studies have shown that, between 2003 and 2005, illicit drug use among those aged over 50 years increased by more than 60%. It is estimated that there will be 4.4 million older addicts by 2020, versus the 1.7 million in 2001.

Each generation of addict poses their own challenges, requiring their own addiction treatment model. The older addict, for example, mostly abuse alcohol or prescription medications (often accidentally) and require a much slower-paced treatment process that considers the demographic-specific values, taboos, moral judgments, and worldviews. This generation holds a disdain for illicit drugs and users; respects and trusts authority; prides itself on handling one's own problems, often privately and alone; and was never taught to express their feelings freely. Peer group therapies are ideal for this group for both treatment and ongoing sobriety.

The baby boomer generation, on the other hand, has spent their life pursuing youth and happiness, resorting to quick fixes for pleasure and problem alike. The Me Generation, baby boomers grew up with a distinct distrust for authority, rebelling against both their parent's generation and the establishment as a whole, while freely experimenting with marijuana and psychedelic drugs. Beyond their generational values, baby boomers are facing unique emotional issues, such as death of a spouse and retirement, as well as the physical issues that come with aging, such as hormonal changes.

Treating baby boomer addicts often requires a dual diagnosis--addiction in conjunction with, most commonly, depression and anxiety. They also often poly-addict alcohol or illicit drugs with easily-available prescription medications. Because of this, baby boomer addicts require a medically-based holistic treatment program.

The baby boomer makes decisions based on choice, requiring treatment providers to work closely with their clients when designing treatment plans, while being clear that there are no quick fixes in addiction treatment. Due to these unique and specific generational characteristics and attitude towards alcohol and drug addiction treatment, a personalized addiction treatment program that is holistic in scope, such as the residential treatment programs provided by Heritage Home, is ideal.

Sources: The New York Times, Aging Well Magazine

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse, Treatment, Treatment Approaches

September is official Recovery Month of 2009--Happy Recovery to you all.

Recovery Month focuses attention to alcohol and drug addiction, the professionals who work so tirelessly treating thousands, and to the benefits of treating, not punishing, substance abuse. Above all else, this event allows us to celebrate those who have or are courageously finding their way towards recovery.

On this first day of Recovery Month, we take this time to celebrate you, wherever you may be in your recovery, and we encourage you to take a moment to celebrate yourself. Do something special today. Reach out and celebrate a fellow-addict. Reflect upon your own recovery and all that you have accomplished.

Share with us your own recovery story and how you will celebrate this month.

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Recovery Month, Substance Abuse

Dr. Dr. Barton Goldsmith recently published the article "10 Reasons to Kick Addictions" for the Scripps Howard News Service.

These are great reasons for those who are considering entering into an addiction treatment program and for those who are already in any of the various stages of recovery. If you are thinking about getting sober, take a long moment to consider what you are about to read--imagine it for yourself, envision how your life will be once you aren't chained down by your addiction anymore. Live it in your mind.

For those of you have already started down your path to sobriety, take a moment to soak these in. Let them live in you, and to serve as a reminder, especially during hard times, of all the reasons why you have taken up this hard, yet dazzlingly rewarding, task.

Ten Reasons to Kick Addictions:

1. Your friends and family will be happy to see and count on you again. If you are continually doing things that are self-indulgent or hurtful to those you love, they have no choice but to turn away from you.

2. You will like yourself better. Once you give up your habit, you will be able to look at yourself in the mirror and smile. You also won't be sick and tired of being sick and tired.

3. You will have more joy in experiencing a day rather than sleeping through it. When the demon has you in its grip, you have no life.

4. Your body and mind will feel awake and alive once again. One reason people continue to drink and use is because they physically experience the withdrawals of the substance and need to continue the addiction just to "feel normal."

5. You can now have honest, deep and lasting relationships. Addicts don't have relationships; they take hostages. Once you are sober, someone can choose to love you rather than choose to stay because they are afraid for you or of you.

6. You are now available to follow (and reach) your dreams. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself because you haven't achieved your goals, you will be able to take the necessary steps to get there.

7. You will make the world a tiny bit better. Just by being a little nicer, as well as extending a helping hand to others, (which will help you stay sober), you will make this world a better place.

8. Others can once again trust you. An added benefit is that you can also trust yourself again, because you have gotten through one of the most frightening things in life.

9. You will have more money. Many people who are addicted spend all their money on their drug of choice. Sober, you no longer have that extra expense and are capable of earning more.

10. You give yourself a life. Many people drink and use because they are afraid of dying. Others are afraid of living. And all addicts are afraid of stopping. Using drugs and alcohol doesn't make you less afraid; it just numbs you.

We all have our reasons. What are yours?

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Treatment

Released today, a new study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that many baby boomers are continuing drug use well into the later years of their life.

In An Examination of Trends in Illicit Drug Use among Adults Aged 50 to 59 in the United States, the first in a series of reports, SAMHSA found that as the baby boomers age, we are seeing an increase in drug use in the population group aged 50-59 years--almost doubling since 2002 to 9.4 percent. Rates in other age groups studied have either remained constant or have decreased in the same period.

The study, says SAMHSA spokesperson, speaks to the importance of preventing drug use at an early age. The study does not, however, address whether these people sought drug addiction treatment, nor whether they continued their extended drug use as addiction.

Nonetheless, it does show an interesting, possibly cultural, trend in the Woodstock generation.

Labels: Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse

Carole Bennett, a rather new contributor to The Huffington Post, has been blogging about substance abuse issues over the last several weeks in a new column 'The Road to Addiction'. Carole is the founder of a nation-wide US phone counseling service after having suffered the effects of substance abuse in her family for many years--from her husband to her step-children.

Her blog posts are always eloquent, speaking from both a personal and clinical perspective. The result is an article that is at once informative and powerful.

This week, Carole, in response to her previous article 'How Trauma Can Lead to Addiction', published one reader's letter--a soulful, moving account of one man's addiction. Although, no two path's to addiction are the same, there is always common-ground in every shared human experience, and great comfort in the act of sharing. With this in mind, we felt it important to share one man's story of trauma, healing, recovery, and success in hopes that it inspires you to either make a powerful change or rejoice in your own success:

Dear Carole,

Reading your column in The Huffington Post was a Godsend for me today. I'd never heard of you and have felt for years that my opinion on my reasons for substance abuse were only my own.

On August 9, 2001 my mother suddenly and unexpectedly died. Six months later, on February 14, 2002 my only daughter was abducted, held at her captor's home and brutally raped for six very long days.

I responded with the worst experience of substance abuse imaginable, ending a 25 year marriage and concluding in treatment at the VA Medical Center. While there, trying to get a handle on what was happening to me and rejecting this antiquated theory that I was genetically predisposed to be an addict, it became a personal goal of those providing treatment to put me in my place and break me into a "time to go to a meeting" 12 step addict.

My storied experience persisted for over 6 years and has culminated in acts of patient abuse that would make your hair stand on edge. It did not help that I am black and my abusers are white. Racism dominated these relationships and concluded with seven VA. employees no longer holding positions in the Mental Health Care Line of the Dayton VA. The last person to be forced out for my charges of patient abuse was actually the Director-Chief of the Mental Health Care Line.

I have been free of substance abuse for five and a half years now and I live a productive life again. I knew that something horrible happening to me combined with my lack of the coping skills to deal with catastrophes was the cause of my problems but I was in the minority.

Having an entire department of Mental Health professionals pounding everyday to convince me that I was wrong and I was simply a hopeless addict actually hindered my recovery by years. It made the mountain so much harder to climb.

Thank you for bringing new thought and new words to recovery.
　
Sincerely yours,
Darrell Hampton

We applaud The Huffington Post for featuring Carole, bringing important issues of addiction treatment and substance abuse to light and hope that they reach out addicts, inspiring positive and powerful change.

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Drug Addiction, Personal Stories, Substance Abuse

Published in The New York Times yesterday, "Lost in an Abyss of Drugs, and Entangled by Poverty" follows a local Argentinian fighting for survival in the Buenos Aires shantytown Ciudad Oculta. Pablo Eche has returned home from yet another stint in drug rehab, battling his addiction to paco. Although rather uncommon and unknown in North America, paco is the highly-addictive smokable drug currently laying siege on Argentine.

Paco is made of residual cocaine, averaging a mere 10% according to experts, mixed with such solvents as kerosene or rat poisoning. Nerve and brain cells, according to doctors interviewed by The NY Times, start to die almost immediately following use. The drug is also a powerful appetite suppressant, many addicts literally dying of starvation. The vast majority of discovered operations, according to Argentinian officials, are home-based and family-run, cooked up in local kitchens. Paco has a street value of about $1.30 a dose.

As the drug is so new, no clear, successful treatment has been established.

The story of Pablo Eche, although set in a far-off impoverished country and centering around a relatively unknown substance, is the story of drug addicts everywhere. His is the face of depression, isolation, and drug addiction.

“This is what keeps me company now. [Paco] doesn’t demand anything of me. It doesn’t promise me anything, nothing at all.” Mr. Eche told The NY Times.

These are universal feelings echoed throughout the sobriety community. This is the lure of drugs and alcohol. This is at the core of fighting addiction.

In times of depression and darkness, what do you tell yourself to keep you on your path to sobriety?

Photos credit: Drugs seized in Argentinian raid; Pablo Eche. The New York Times.

Labels: Drug Addiction, Substance Abuse, Treatment