AHS Views

A recent government survey was done on over 67,000 people, which indicated that prescription drug abuse in the country is continuing to grow. An article in Reuters reports that that non-medical use of prescription drugs, especially prescription pain pills, among young adults increased a full percentage in 2006. What many may not have considered is the relationship between the legal use of these drugs either by doctors or through drug rehab and the amount of people getting hooked on prescriptions drugs.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicates that the most commonly abused prescriptions include Oxy Contin, Vicodin, Valium, and Xanax  to name a few. Benzos like Valium and Xanax have been prescribed more and more in the drug treatment field as a treatment method to handle those withdrawing from hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and even methamphetamine. After leaving treatment, many addicts continue to take these prescriptions often times becoming addicted to them.

OxyContin, which is one of the most abused prescription pain medication, is prescribed most often to those with physical injuries. Unfortunately the most significant increase in non-medical use is with those in the 12th grade as reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The more prescriptions for these types of drugs that get written in and out of treatment programs the higher the chances that young adults will abuse them. We need more successful drug rehab programs that don’t use drugs to get people off drugs.

There’s a new movie coming out – Happy Valley. It’s filmed in Utah, where anti-depressant use is double the national average. Ron Williams is the director/creator/producer and, from his viewpoint, the denial of addiction is a more serious problem than addiction itself. I agree. I have often wondered why drug rehab facilities even have to bother to advertise: With over 22 million Americans needing treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, you’d think they’d be beating down the doors. Not so.

To get subjects for Happy Valley, a documentary, Williams put up a major freeway billboard offering free drug rehab. He got 12 calls – no question why he thinks denial is a big issue.

The film will address some big issues, very big. Here’s a quote from the website: “What price are we really paying to fund pharmaceutical companies? Why are we the sickest generation of Americans ever if we have more patents and drugs than ever before? Do pharmaceutical companies design business models to prey on the sick? We, the people, continue to nobly fund profits for multi-trillion dollar corporations instead of appropriately investing in our health. Why.”

Very good questions. If enough people see this movie, and are inspired to take action, no good drug rehab program will have an empty bed, and more Americans will be drug free.

A big change in the life of Lindsay Lohan – she’s vowed to move away from Hollywood to stay off drugs. After meeting with her dad, whom she hasn’t seen since he went to prison for DUI and other charges two years ago. Looks like they’ve both been pretty messed up. Lohan has checked into a drug rehab in Utah, no word on whether dad’s handled his own alcohol or drug problem.

It takes a lot of courage to leave Hollywood when you’re in Lohan’s position. It isn’t as if she’s at the end of her career – it’s really just beginning. But, if she doesn’t get off drugs, her career won’t have much of a chance anyway. And worse, her life may end a lot sooner than she expects.

Hopefully, she’ll make it through her drug rehab program with flying colors and, if she’s stable enough, she can go back to Hollywood and resume her career.

For the umpteenth time, I’ve just read another article about people protesting a drug rehab facility being opened in their area. I do understand that parents are trying to keep their kids from being exposed to drugs but, really, is this the way to do it? Your kids are going to be exposed to drugs whether you like it or not. There’s probably not one school that doesn’t have kids using drugs, and who don’t offer them to others. Wouldn’t your kids get a better education on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse being close to a drug rehab program and people who don’t think taking drugs is a good idea?

Some of the most successful drug abuse and addiction preventions programs are school education programs that tell the real story – addicts in doorways, people living under bridges, deformed and retarded babies going through withdrawal, people dying of Hep C and AIDS, parents at the graves of their children, and children at the graves of their parents.

If you think you’re going to keep your kid off drugs by showing them the world through rose-colored glasses, think again.

It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this. If there was one Norman Rockwell town left in the U.S., it wouldn’t stay that way for long because everyone and their brother would want to move there. Let kids see that drugs are bad. Let them see recovery – the before and after. Kids whose parents really educate them on drugs are 50 percent less likely to become drug addicts. Let a successful drug rehab program be part of their education. It may save your kid’s life.

A new recommendation from the Australian Parliament regarding how to handle drug addicts is causing considerable controversy: According to a recent article, they want to pull funding from harm minimization programs and put the funds into drug rehab programs that offer drug free approaches.

The committee also announced that young people addicted to drugs should be mandated into drug treatment programs, and that children of addicts should be adopted.

The CEO of an Australian drug rehab center strongly disagrees with the recommendation. He said it will alienate users, and that it ignores families.

Honestly, as a professional in the addiction field and a former addict I think part of this program could work. It will, at the very least, get young people the help they need at an early age so they won’t struggle with substance abuse for years. They also won’t be such a drain on the economy.

The other issues may be controversial, but getting someone through a successful drug rehab program that actually gets them off drugs instead of getting them on a substitute drug is definitely a step in the right direction.

A recent study tested Atomoxetine, a generic form of the ADHD drug Straterra, on cocaine addicts. They’re testing to see if Straterra can help cocaine addicts kick the habit. Fortunately – all we need is one more treatment program that substitutes one drug for another – the test failed. So, I guess we’re going to have to stick with good, old-fashioned drug rehab. I hope the drug’s manufacturer isn’t too disappointed.

To “test the effectiveness of the drug” and “prove that it wasn’t dangerous”, patients were hooked up to a heart monitor while they did four lines of cocaine. They repeated this five times. Three out of five times the coke addicts also took Atomoxetine. When combined, the drugs caused an elevated heart rate, even though it’s listed as a non-stimulant. 

Having lost that opportunity, Atomoxetine is now being tested to see if it will work better on marijuana dependence. Three trials, one for children and two for adults are currently underway.

The side effects of Atomoxetine include exhaustion, dizziness, drowsiness, hallucinations, heartburn, upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, decrease in appetite, sexual side effects, and a risk of suicidal thoughts among children and adolescents - to name a few. Just what we need.

I have to admit to being baffled at times: Why, when millions of people have gotten off drugs through a drug rehab program of one form or another, do we keep trying to find more drugs for them to go on instead? I don’t know the answer, but I do know where to find it: Follow the money.

A recent article reported that Sharon Osborne said her son, Jack, got hooked on OxyContin when it was given to him by rock star Courtney Love. Jack struggled with OxyContin addiction for many years before heading to drug rehab.

Sharon alleges that Love encouraged her son Jack to take OxyContin when he was 15 years old. She also said her son may have gotten into drugs without that influence but was nevertheless appalled that Love, also a mother, would give a kid drugs.
 
While it’s true that people are influenced to take drugs, the decision to take them is ultimately made by the individual.

I worked with a client for many years that had a very rough childhood, on which he blamed his drug addiction. He felt that if some of the things that happened to him as a child hadn’t happened, he would never have taken drugs, and would never have ended up in drug rehab.

But this viewpoint - blaming everyone else for his condition - actually slowed his recovery. To finally make it through drug rehab, he had to take responsibility for his own actions and put the other stuff behind him.

In Jack Osborn’s case, I would guess that Courtney Love was probably not the first person who offered him drugs. I’m not defending her actions, but Jack had to have had his own issues. Hopefully, they’ll be addressed in a drug rehab program.

One of the latest trends in schools is drug testing for students. The testing may be on individuals chosen randomly, as a requirement for participation in sports or other activities, or it may be done on entire schools. Drug testing is being implemented as a preventative measure in hopes that fewer kids will get addicted and later need some type of drug rehab.

Fortunately, the trend is catching on. A recent article reported that a superintendent survey done by the University of New Hampshire indicated that 12% of schools are doing drug testing and another 10% are implementing policies to do so. The most common method used at this time is random testing: the kids tested are selected randomly from a database. Anyone testing positive is referred to some type of drug treatment.

I think this is an excellent idea. The number of people using drugs will be reduced because they’re afraid of being tested, and those who are using and do test positive will get help early. If the early treatment is successful, fewer kids will become addicts and fewer will need drug rehab later in life.

When I was in high school I was on the track team, played tennis and volleyball. I also drank alcohol and smoked marijuana pretty frequently. I can tell you that if I was required to take a drug test seasonally, I probably would not have used drugs. The embarrassment of failing a drug test and not being able to participate in sports would have been enough to stop me from getting high.

Would fewer people wind up in a drug rehab program if drug testing was required for all students in all schools? I can say with confidence - the answer is yes.

When a person is abusing a drug while in treatment, you know that things are really out of control. I just read an article about a man who was on his way home from a meeting for drug rehab, when he was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and suspicion of dealing the drug.

The man was served with a warrant to have his home searched after just completing his meeting for drug treatment. The police found almost 30 grams of meth, a scale and packing materials and a pipe. The man was also using his drug rehab ID card to weigh and scrape the drug.

This incident happened in Napa, California where methamphetamine is a major drug of choice. In fact, government statistics indicate that meth is the biggest threat to California currently: in 2005 almost 500 people were arrested and sent to jail for offenses related to methamphetamine.

If the man who was recently arrested is lucky, he may be given another opportunity for drug treatment through the California drug courts. If he can manage to get into a long-term residential successful drug rehab program, there may be hope.

The Wardle Academy, a center in Cheyenne, Wyoming that provides both prison facilities and substance abuse treatment for young people, has recently had a rash of incidents where the kids in jail have beat up the kids in drug treatment. As a result, the state has removed about 2 dozen kids to other drug treatment facilities, and is possibly going to remove more by the end of September. The kids being relocated are between 12 and 17 years old – that’s the kids who are there for substance abuse treatment – and are being placed in drug rehab programs where they will be safe.

There’s a bunch of political stuff going on with this – the facility says the state hasn’t removed any kids, the state says they have, one report says the state is withdrawing the facility’s license for substance abuse treatment, another report says they might renew it, etc., etc. etc. The usual stuff.

But nevermind all that – they’ve got 12-year-olds kids in there for alcohol and drug abuse! And when they get there, they’re getting beaten up by the kids in jail. On top of that, there was a 26 year old guy arrested there within the last week or two on suspicion of selling and delivering cocaine. Officials won’t reveal his connection with the facility.

All in all, a messy scene. Not conducive to successful drug rehab – that’s for sure. If you’re looking at checking into rehab, or helping someone you care about get off drugs, make sure you find a drug rehab program that’s safe. It’s almost impossible for a person to get down to the bottom of their drug problem and be rehabilitated in a threatening environment.