AHS Views

A Maui woman who is addicted to drugs is being given a chance to change her life by completing a drug treatment program. According to a recent article, the woman faced burglary and theft charges stemming from her own drug addiction. She feels that with a successful drug rehab program, she will be able to handle her own addiction so she can pursue a long-time goal of becoming a drug counselor.

While some may thing it is a bit odd that someone addicted to drugs would want to work as a drug counselor, I have found it to be increasingly common that once a person handles their own drug addiction, they end up gainfully employed in the drug treatment field.

In fact, several months ago I was doing some research on different types of drug rehab centers and, through speaking to many different counselors at centers, found out that many drug counselors are former addicts. This is also true of the colleagues that I’ve worked with over the years in the drug rehab field. Many former addicts have been the most effective drug counselors I’ve seen.

A former addict’s personal experience gives them unique insight into the problems drug addicts are faced with. And they are very successful at interventions: when it’s impossible for a friend or family member to convince the addict to get help, an interventionist often succeeds.

In a successful drug rehab program, staff who have been through it themselves and come out the other side, clean and sober, may be their most valuable asset.

Have you ever heard someone say that drug addiction is ‘just a phase?’ Working in the treatment field, I’ve heard this from families of addicts more times than I can count. In many cases, even after drug rehab, the family will still refer to the addiction as a ‘bad phase’ in their child’s life. And, even worse, some families will put drug rehab on hold waiting until their child ‘grows out of this phase.’

I recently read an article about a methamphetamine dealer who got three years in prison. He told the judge that he started selling meth because of his own drug addiction.  The man tried meth when he was younger, completed a drug rehab program and eventually relapsed, leading to him manufacturing and then selling the drug to fund his habit. There are people that will tell you that this man is ‘going through a phase’ right now. He is 50 years old and has been using meth on and off since he was a young adult.

I also have some close friends who are suffering from this ‘just a phase’ syndrome. They have a daughter who drinks heavily three to four times per week, smokes marijuana at least once a week and takes other drugs like cocaine, LSD and even pain pills every so often. The last time I saw her she was walking out of the house with a full bottle of vodka to drink that night. But when you ask her parents if they thing something is wrong, their responses invariably include: “it’s just a phase all kids go through” and “she’ll grow out of it soon.”

I’d like to tell them that was the same thing my parents said until they realized my drug addiction had gotten so bad that I was doing $100.00 of heroin every day, had lost my job and dropped out of college. Thankfully, they were aware enough to realize that I needed help and they got me into a successful drug rehab program where I was able to get off drugs permanently.

If anyone else out there is hanging their hat on the fact that drug addiction is ‘just a phase,’ please read over this again and then get your loved one into a drug rehab for help with his addiction.

The Star reports that 11 inmates – that’s right, inmates - of a drug rehab center in Asia recently escaped after a morning roll call riot. So far, four have been captured – that’s right, captured - and brought back to the center. The one most recently located was caught napping at the edge of a jungle. This is definitely a far cry from the treatment model used for drug rehab in the U.S.

We don’t yet know what the riot was all about, or why one of the inmates died from exhaustion and a kidney condition. The Human Rights Commission in Malaysia is planning a visit next week to determine if the center is violating human rights.

Although the U.S. has a number of different types of drug rehab programs and facilities – everything from bare bones where you’re simply fed and given a bed to luxurious quarters, tennis courts, pools and personal chefs.

American rehab centers have been accused of being too light on their clients – some are even allowed to leave the centers to go shopping, have personal visits with families and friends, and even dine at expensive restaurants while still undergoing treatment.

Obviously, the center written about in the article is very extreme. And probably too extreme. But may be need to be a little less lenient in the U.S. What do you think? How strict do the rules have to be for a drug rehab center to be successful?

Have you ever heard of NIMBY? It stands for “Not In My Back Yard” and that’s exactly the feeling of many people who don’t want drug treatment facilities in their community. The facilities usually protested are drug rehab centers, half way houses and transitional homes where many former addicts go to change their lives.

A rural community in Michigan is currently protesting the expansion of a drug rehab center close to their homes. According to an article in the The Times Herald, residents say that they moved to the suburbs to get away from the problems of the city – including drugs.
.
But where is the right place to put centers that offer help to drug addicts? The reality of the situation is that in urban areas, ex-addicts are more exposed to drugs that in a rural setting, which makes it harder for them to stay off drugs once they’ve completed a drug rehab program.

How would you feel if a drug rehab center was going to be set up in your neighborhood?

Former drug court graduates plan to take out their bikes to raise funds for people who want to end their drug addiction, according to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. The bikers intend to use any money raised to help pay expenses and housing for new people entering drug rehab through the courts.

One of the graduates, who’s been riding motorcycles for 35 years, says that the drug court “saved his life.”

The drug courts in Utah are set up to help people who commit minor drug-related offenses stay out of prison – if you complete a long-term alcohol or drug rehab program successfully, the charges can be reduced or even dismissed.

Right now over 400 adult offenders in Utah participate in the courts. The Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Heath reports that 84% of people enrolled in a drug rehab program through the courts have had zero arrests while in the program.

Seems Amy’s changed her mind again: After a 3-day binge on drugs and alcohol that ended in the hospital, Amy Winehouse and her husband have headed to a U.S. drug treatment program to kick the habit. An article in the Post Chronicle reports that Winehouse and her husband agreed to go into drug rehab after their families had it out about their shared addictions.

It’s great they’ve decided to get help but couples doing rehab together reduces their chance of success: one person might decide to not complete the program, or will relapse after leaving the treatment center – and that influences the other.

One of the reasons Winehouse’s overdose and potential admission into drug rehab has gotten so much press is because of her song “Rehab”. She says in the song that she’ll never go into rehab. In a recent news report she said rehab is a cop-out.

Let’s hope she really has changed her mind and will get through a successful drug rehab program. Otherwise, her most recent songs may be among her last.

Wow. What happened to Winehouse? After nearly killing herself after a three-day drug and alcohol binge, she now says she won’t check into rehab and she just needs to spend time with her dad. And, believe it or not, her dad agrees. He says she’s going to be fine. Sorry, dad, you’re delusional. Your daughter needs to get checked into a long-term inpatient drug rehab center that will get to the bottom of why she’s doing this and straighten her out.

Her dad’s attitude is pretty unbelievable. Doesn’t he understand that the next time this happens could be her last? And I don’t mean because she’ll stop doing drugs or drinking.

Amy says rehab is a cop-out. Her dad says she’s just been through an ordeal and is on the mend. This is starting to look like a publicity stunt to boost sales for her 2006 tune “Rehab”. Or maybe she’s trying to get some of those headlines recently devoted to Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and so on.

She may not be dead, but she’s not fine. Wake up, dad. Get her into a successful drug rehab program before you lose her.

A surgeon in Charleston, West Virginia, surrendered his license and agreed to go to rehab, according to a recent news article. With four malpractice suits behind him – he won the first and settled the other three – the Board of Medicine finally launched an investigation that resulted in discussions with the doc, and he’s now going to drug rehab.

Although details are slim, it appears this doc’s problem is a lot more than drug abuse. The Board decided he could not practice medicine or perform surgery due to “abuse of drugs, unprofessional conduct, failure to maintain records, prescribing drugs other than in good faith and failure to practice acceptably.”

It’s clear that he’s not just taking drugs, he’s dealing them. That’s a whole different story.

Selling drugs doesn’t go hand in hand with taking them. Sometimes addicts get into desperate situations and start dealing to support their own habits. I’m not condoning that, but at least it’s something you can understand.
 
But what’s in it for this doc? He’s writing bogus prescriptions. Unless he’s getting paid for it – substantially – and needs that money to support his habit, I don’t see any justification for simply letting him off with rehab.

Yes, he should get his drug problem handled. But what about the others who may be addicted to or abusing drugs because of his prescriptions? Who’s going to get them through a drug rehab program?

The cheese heroin deaths of two dozen children has prompted a $100 million federal grant for school districts in Dallas/Ft. Worth to educate children and parents on the dangers of the drug, according to a recent news article in the Carrollton Leader. While education certainly helps, the program unfortunately does not include drug rehab.

“There are not many treatment centers, and most of those that are on the voluntary basis are very expensive and out of the reach of some of our parents,” said Charles Cole, an assistant superintendent in a local school district. “That’s why we try to educate our parents on some things that they can do that would be helpful.”

Cheese heroin is heroin cut, or mixed with, less potent drugs such as Tylenol. The combination is perceived as less dangerous than heroin, but the number of overdose deaths in the area certainly doesn’t support that perception.

Education will help fight the drug, and fewer people will get hooked. But if some of that $100 million was spent on a successful drug rehab program, it would also help those who are currently addicted, and prevent deaths from overdose.

Drug addiction in South Africa is growing, and its victims are getting younger and younger. In an effort to reduce the number of addicts in the country, more and more drug treatment centers are opening. But, if you are looking for help, beware, because bogus treatment centers are sprouting up all over South Africa in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of addicts in the country. You have to look hard to find a successful drug rehab program.

A recent article reports that several unregistered drug rehab centers have opened in the Durban and KwaZulu-Natal, both of which are located on the southeastern coastline. The concern with the centers is that they are administering drugs to addicts, and “endangering their lives,” according to the director of the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

In South Africa, drug rehab programs are required to register with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and every registered center is issued a practice number. The United States has similar registration requirements.

When looking for a good treatment center, is it very important to check out the credentials and licensing certificates of the program to ensure you are going into a legitimate, trustworthy drug rehab program.