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 a report released this week, British Columbians are consuming more alcohol, and dying more from alcohol-related health harms, than they were ten years ago.

The report, “Alcohol Pricing, Public Health & the HST: Proposed Incentives for BC Drinkers to Make Healthy Choices” from the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research (CARBC), found that alcohol consumption in the province rose 16 percent from 1998 to 2008, compared to a 9 percent increase in the rest of Canada.

This translates into an increase from 7.5 litres in 1998 to 8.7 litres of alcohol consumed per capita in 2008. Thus, the average British Columbian aged 15 years or older drank 525 alcoholic drinks in 2008 compared to 475 drinks in 1998.

Furthermore, perhaps even more alarmingly, researchers found an increase in alcohol-related deaths to 1,993 deaths in 2007, a 9.6 percent increase in just five years.

Specifically, deaths due to liver cirrhosis, which researchers consider the most accurate indicator of alcohol-health harms, rose 39 percent in the same time period.

Researchers also discovered an increase in crack cocaine and ecstasy use in the province, but a decrease in marijuana, synonymous with BC, and crystal meth.

The report, part of the BC Alcohol & Other Drug Monitoring Project, attributes the rise in alcohol consumption to the ease of access to alcohol due to recent increases in the number of liquor stores in the province, an increase in disposable income, and the dip in the price of alcohol compared to the overall cost of living.

Researchers recommend the price of alcoholic beverages be increased in order to stem abundant consumption. Furthermore, they would like to see pricing be in relation to alcoholic content, thereby making drinks with high alcohol content have a high price tag.

Will a bump in the price of alcohol really deter people from drinking or drinking more?

Do you think we would see British Columbians drinking less or, taking a lesson from prohibition, marijuana and other illegal drugs, would we see a rise in a black market?

Source: Canada.com

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Alcohol, 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

Have you ever wondered what Alcohol does to your brain?

A recent blog entry at Psychology Today helps explain the known effects of alcohol on the brain, beyond intoxication.

If you ever thought that drinking more than moderately wasn’t detrimental to your mind long-term, think again.

According to research gathered by blog author Susan Tapert, about 50 percent of those who meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol addiction show some signs of thinking and memory problems. Abilities to plan ahead, withhold responses, learn and hold new information, and work with spatial information were all particularly affected.

Furthermore, alcohol appears to negatively impact the organ itself. The size and shape of brain structures were found to be abnormal in heavy drinkers. Overall, the amount of grey matter, or your brain cells, and white matter, the cabling between your brain cells, were significantly reduced.

This was particularly true within the frontal lobes, where planning, withholding responses, decision-making, and emotional regulation all occur. The quality of white matter was also found to be poorer in chronic heavy drinkers, effecting how information is relayed within your brain.

What does this mean?
Chronic heavy drinkers, or those with an alcohol addiction, must work harder to think and retain information.

Some good news
The adverse effects of misusing or abusing alcohol won’t last forever—if you stop abusing alcohol. Difficulties with concentration and memory tend to greatly improve once alcohol is no longer introduced into your system. Even in just the first month of sobriety, you’ll find that suddenly you have a “clear mind”, helping you find a new appreciation for your life and sobriety.

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Alcohol, 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

The Health Department in the UK has released an alcohol tracker smart phone app, ‘Drinks Tracker’, to help you keep track of your alcohol consumption, reports the BBC.

We all know how difficult the holiday season can be. It is an especially difficult and dangerous time of the year for those struggling with substance abuse, particularly with alcohol. With the holidays comes party after party, situations ripe for social drinking. It can be all too inviting to go overboard, especially when you can’t seem to know when to stop.

With Britain’s Department of Health’s drinks tracker, you receive a personalised chart of your alcohol consumption. A ‘drinks diary’, you can monitor and very literally see that you’re drinking too much.

The app is offered free across the UK, downloaded straight to your smart phone (internet access on your phone required) from the NHS Choices website or iTunes.

For those without a smart phone, or not in the UK, a downloadable drinks tracker for your desktop is available at the NHS Choices site.

The tracker requires that you enter the number of alcoholic drinks consumed each day, and providing you with a personal graph that tracks your alcohol drinking habits, making it very clear whether you are drinking too much.

The tracker helps you become aware of your excessive alcohol consumption, can help you avoid alcohol by holding you accountable, or signal that you may need professional help including residential alcohol addiction treatment.

The tracker is part of the British government’s £9 million “Know Your Limits” marketing campaign, aimed at encouraging safe drinking habits in relation to the healthy drinking guidelines set forth by the Department of Health.

Source: BBC News

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Alcohol, 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

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

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

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

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

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

Last week, we discussed the SAMHSA study on baby boomers' drug use. Now comes the news that binge drinking is also particularly prevalent in baby boomers.

In a recent LA Times blog post, it was reported that hard drinking is no longer a game for the young, as shown in a recent study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. They have found that approximately 25% of US men and nearly 10% of US women aged 50-64 years old participated in "binge drinking".

'Binge drinking' was defined as imbibing at least 4 to 5 servings of alcohol in a two-hour sitting in the last 30 days.

This segment of binge drinkers was also found to be more likely to use tobacco and illicit drugs. Of the women surveyed, binge drinking was more common in the employed and those already abusing prescription medications (using prescription medications for non-medical use). Binge drinker males were more likely to be unmarried and with a higher income bracket.

Authors of the study suggest that doctors should be asking more pointed questions about alcohol use, especially as this behavior poses an increasingly more serious health risk with age, as well as mental health risks. Binge drinking, although no less serious, seems to fall under the standards of alcohol-disorder screens.

It remains unknown, as this is not a lifetime study, whether this group ever moderated their drinking or if this is a lifelong-using pattern. It was, however, found in a 2000 national survey that 67% of baby boomers who drank, did so in levels that exceeded moderation.

Again, this study fails to address questions of addiction and addiction treatment options.

Labels: Alchohol Addiction, Alcohol, News, Substance Abuse

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

Last month, the new so-called 'drug czar', Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Office's Director of National Drug Control Policy, announced plans to move away from the 'war on drugs'. The Obama Administration's viewpoint, in contrast to Administration's past, favors treatment over incarceration.

For October 2009, the Obama Administration is increasing funding for substance abuse treatment programs to $3.6 billion--a 4% increase, moving away from a criminal-justice approach, framing it as a public health issue including a needle-exchange program, which has been banned federally in the US.

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he exlpained in an interview. "We're not at war with people in this country."

This moves the American's approach to illicit drugs to more closely align with the drug policies of Europe--policies that have time and time again proven more effective in countering drug abuse. This isn't to say that we will be seeing the US loosen their drug crime laws, but that a focus on treatment and prevention will be added to the mix.

For those of us in the addiction community on both sides of the border, this is what we have all been waiting for. We've known for years that a purely punitive approach is not successful in combating substance abuse and addition. Your approach may fall into the 12-step framework, it may not. Each person's recovery is different, a personal road filled with its own curves and pitfalls.

But we all have a common goal: treating the deeper issues at hand, burrowing down to each individual's unique root of the addiction, and finding forgiveness both for oneself and others. We seek to provide solace, not punishment.

And it is only once you have healed can you grow and find release from the addictions that have haunted you.

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

This is a staggering statistic.

Released yesterday, The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that in the last year, approximately 7 million young American adults, aged 18 to 25 years, were classified as 'in need of treatment' for substance abuse issues. This is the equivalent to 1 in 5 persons in that age group.

Of the 7 million, 93% never received any professional or specialized treatment. Moreover, an unbelievable 96% of those classified in need of but did not receive treatment, did not perceive themselves as having a substance abuse problem. Of the 4% who did recognize that they were in need of help, only about a third actually sought treatment out.

During the past year, a little over 17% were struggling with alcohol addiction problems; 8.4% with illicit drug dependency; and 4.4% with a combination of drug and alcohol abuse.

SAMHSA Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., said in a statement:
“Substance use disorders are preventable and treatable yet we continue as a Nation to allow the lives of 1 in 5 young people and their families be torn apart by substance abuse. As a nation we must redouble our efforts to prevent substance abuse in the first place and ensure treatment is available to those in need.”

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

Released today, a new study by Canada's Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) finds that a whopping 1 in 25 deaths worldwide are directly attributable to alcohol use, up from 2000. The study, among other factors, sites the increase in the number of female drinkers.

The study looked at the average adult consumption rates, measured by the number of standard drinks (defined as alcohol equivalent to one can of beer, one glass of wine, or one one-oz. shot of hard alcohol) per person per week, for both countries and regions globally. Europe, for example, averages 13 standard drinks.

North America showed slightly lower numbers, with 10 to 11 standard drinks per person per week. Canada, lower still, came in at 9 standard drinks. However, the Canadian average represents a steady increase each year, along with an increased rate in high risk drinking behavior.

The global average is currently seven.

Europe also has the highest proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths, with 1 in 10 deaths due directly to alcohol use. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, is showing 15% of all deaths. The deaths were generally due to injuries, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and liver cirrhosis.

Dr. Jurgen Rehm of CAMH and others said that alcohol-attributable disorders were "among the most disabling disease categories within the global burden of disease, especially for men." Furthermore, unlike most other risk factors for disease, these impact younger people more than older. Of all people living with disabilities due to alcohol, overwhelmingly 34% are between the ages of 15 and 29, compared to 22% aged 45 to 59.

The report, one of three, is being published in The Lancet, a leading medical journal.

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

Recently, former head of the FDA, Dr. David A. Kessler, published The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatible American Appetite. As one who suffers from overeating personally, Dr. Kessler set out to explore the neuroscience behind the behavior--what drives us to unhealthy and unreasonable excess?

Dr. Kessler discovers that overeating, much like any addiction, is not a result of absent willpower, as so many diet-designers would have us believe. Much like any physical addiction, it is a biological challenge that needs to be managed, not cured.

Best known for his investigations into the tobacco industry and his allegations of intentional manipulation of nicotine in order to increase tobacco products' addictive qualities, Dr. Kessler discovered many similarities with the food industry. The right combination of fats, sugar, and salt taps into the brain's natural wiring, stimulating the reward system.

Substance abuse is the same hijacking of the brain, triggering responses from the pleasure centre despite damage to the physical body. Substances, be it drugs, alcohol, or food, shifts the brain's perception of what is desirable, thereby rewiring the brain.

In order to address the problem, attests Dr. Kessler, one must address the behavioral, cognitive, and nutritional factors. Moreover, you can actually use food to unlearn this behavior.

Catherine Cosgrove, Director of Heritage Home, has begun working with Dr. David Miller of Nutritional Strategies for Breaking Addiction, having become aware of his work through the UK organization The Brain Bio Centre. The centre studies and promotes the link between mental health and nutrition. Her work with Dr. Miller will only serve to broaden the staff's understanding on the neuroscience behind addiction, further filling out our therapeutic offerings.

At Heritage Home, we believe that a healthy body lends to a healthy mind.

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

New Study Finds Link Between Good Nutrition and Addiction Recovery
The Mental Health Foundation has found that food can have lasting and powerful effect on one's sense of well-being, often felt immediately. A good diet, therefore, can play an integral role in the treatment of such mental health disorders as depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, and others.

Mental health disorders that are all contributing factors in substance abuse and addiction.

Thus, a careful and well-balanced diet can be an important aspect of one's recovery. Food has the power to invoke memories of comfort, security, and happiness as we are transported to a different time and place. The tastes and smells of the foods we eat can help us cope with our feelings of sadness, loneliness, and even longing.

Beyond the emotional side-effects of our meals, studies have found that certain neurotransmitters, primarily dopamine, serotonin, and GABA (gammma-aminobutyric acid), hop between nerve cells carrying vital and very pleasurable signals as they go. Some addictive drugs mimic their actions. Other addictive drugs enhance them. Either way the body tends, as a result, to give up making these neurotransmitters.

At that point the person needs the addictive drug as a substitute for the missing transmitter--i.e. are physically addicted.

At Heritage Home, this improved understanding of the biochemistry of addiction is being translated into improvements in our treatment. Heritage’s approach recognizes, respects, and works with, the biochemistry underlying drug addiction to improve the recovery addiction process.

Our tools in this case are not therapies but dietary changes. The dietician and chefs at Heritage incorporate local and sustainable foods into the cuisine, rich in the precursors of these lost transmitters. This boosts the level of neurotransmitters in the braind, thereby reducing cravings.

When nutritional therapy is combined with psychotherapy one’s drug rehab recovery is significantly (and deliciously) improved.

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

Recently, The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) released a new report detailing the costs of substance abuse and addiction to local, state, and federal governments in the US. The 287-page report, Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State, and Local Budgets, is the first to calculate costs on all three levels.

According to CASA, in 2005 a total of $467.7 billion US was spent by governments across all three levels, in what was deemed a "reckless misallocation of public funds."

Of the nearly half-trillion of taxpayer money:

• 95.6% ($357.4 billion US) was devoted to cleaning up the consequences of substance abuse and addiction--crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and other problems associated with addiction
• of this money, 58% was associated to health care costs and 13.1% to justice systems
  
• only 1.9% was streamed to prevention and treatment
• of the rest of the money, 0.4% was spent of research; 1.4% to taxation and regulation; 0.7% to interdiction
• $238.2 billion was spent by the federal government
• $135.8 billion by state governments
• $93.8 billion by local governments
  

Detailing cost effect solutions for this ill-fated spending, CASA offered remedies in the categories of:

• prevention and early intervention
  
• treatment and disease management
• tax and regulatory policies
• expanded research
  

Labels: Drug Addiction, News, Substance Abuse