AHS Views

I read an article today that had a link in it that allows you to find 15,000 drug rehab centers with one click. If someone you care about is on drugs, the last thing you need is to have to search through 15,000 different drug rehab programs and centers to find the one that’s right for you. Really, if you’re concerned about someone who’s taking drugs, or who is be abusing alcohol, your best course of action is to contact a drug counsellor - a specialist who knows all about it, can answer your questions, and help you find the right drug rehab or other treatment that you’re loved one needs. Not all drug rehab programs are the same: you have to make sure that the one you choose is one that will work for the person you’re trying to help. Choosing the wrong one could result in relapse - which happens to many people. A good drug rehab program counselor can help you find one that will work. 

It looks like Lindsay Lohan needs to go back to rehab. She was seen drinking at a Utah bar less than a week after completing two months of drug rehab.

If Lohan is back to partying already then I am sure more trouble is soon to follow. Just this year she has been in three different drug rehab programs, and has had several run ins with the law - including a driving under the influence.

In the process, Lohan is killing her career. Her last film, “I Know Who Killed Me,” was her lowest grossing yet. Granted she’s not one of the great actresses of our time yet, but she does have potential. And she’s throwing it away.

If she doesn’t get it together she is going to end up in jail or worse. Her best move right now would be to get back into a drug rehab program and stay there until her alcohol and drug addiction is really handled.

“Babyshambles” front man Pete Doherty is in the news much more for his drug addiction, on and off relationship with model Kate Moss and run-ins with the law than for his music. After years of drug addiction, he’s finally in a drug rehab program and has been clean for seven weeks – the longest time he’s gone without drugs in eight years..

What’s cool about this is that he’s proud of it. “In the last eight years, I’ve never been that long without drugs. I’m not going to lie and say it’s not a struggle, because it is. But in a way, I’m quite proud to be able to admit it, particularly for my mum and dad,” he told reporters.

After three years, Doherty has also reunited with his dad. “My dad has welcomed me back into the fold. I can actually go home, I can actually talk to him. He came in for some family therapy, which is a miracle in itself. It was an emotional time, to be honest,” he said.

Doherty’s attitude is a far cry from other celebs in the news who seem to be largely using their rehab as a media magnet.

Thanks for the good news, Pete. And good luck. It’s great to have another celeb actually taking a drug rehab program seriously.

Should addicts who commit crimes as a result of drug addiction get their prison sentence reduced if they successfully complete a drug rehab program?

I read an article today about a man who robbed 11 restaurants, a liquor store and a convenience store to get money for drugs. While awaiting sentencing, he got into a drug rehab program and, so far, appears to have handled his addiction. As a result, the judge reduced his seven-year sentence to five.

The judge noted that this is the first time in the man’s adult life that he’s been clean and that “his efforts should be encouraged as being the best means of protecting the public.”

The success of drug courts in the U.S. has proven his point. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration quotes about 80% of addicts commit crimes directly related to their drug addiction. If the criminal gets help with his addiction through a successful drug rehab program, he’s likely to stay out of prison permanently.

The most difficult news articles to read are the ones about addicts losing their lives because of drug addiction. When you have seen that drug rehab can be successful, someone dying from a addiction-related circumstance is unreal – it is so preventable.

I came across an article about this today - a man who had been addicted to cocaine for 10 years died when he made an aggressive move towards police and was shot.

According to the article the man was not violent but had a criminal record; mostly crimes that were drug related. At one time he was successful in life - a good job, a family and a nice home. But his addiction to crack cocaine destroyed all of it, and now it’s destroyed him.

Anyone that has worked in or gone through a successful drug treatment program could tell you that a successful drug rehab program would have helped.

The New Jersey Star Ledger just reported that an employee of a drug treatment center was arrested for sexual assault. He’s worked at the center for the last five years but was picked up after investigations revealed he had demanded sex from two clients in exchange for swapping their dirty urine samples for clean ones so they could pass their drug tests. Not exactly the ideal employee for a drug rehab program.

Currently the man is not allowed to counsel women doing court-mandated drug rehab but, believe it or not, he’s still working there!
 
That kind of behavior is bad enough under any circumstances but having worked in the drug rehab field for a while now I can guarantee you that the chances of those girls completing the program successfully are very slim. Several years ago a client told me she got involved in a relationship with her drug counselor at another rehab center – both she and the counselor wound up on drugs. Thankfully, the client ended the relationship and got into a successful drug rehab program.

But others aren’t so lucky. When a drug rehab program employee steps over the line and behaves inappropriately towards a client, they should be out of there. Forever. And never allowed to work in another drug rehab program.

David Hasselhoff went on another binge and spent two days in the hospital. It’s amazing that he’s still in a custody battle. The kids were taken from him temporarily after the video appeared online, taken by his daughter, of him lying on a floor, drunk, trying to eat a hamburger, but he got them back. I don’t know anything about his wife, but she’s got to be a real monster if a judge thinks Hasselhoff is the better parent. Fortunately, his girls are 15 and 17 years old, and can more or less take care of themselves. But Hasselhoff really needs a good alcohol rehab program.

He obviously cares about his kids, but even the possibility of losing them to his ex isn’t enough motivation for him to stay away from the booze. I’d say that only a long-term residential alcohol rehab program is going to straighten him out – short stints here and there are obviously not working.

When you think about it, the hold drugs and alcohol can have on you it is really nothing short of evil. Hasselhoff’s problems may be in the news, but there are 15 million people out there, in America alone, who abuse alcohol enough to need treatment.

Drug education programs should add the Hasselhoff video to their arsenal. Would you want your kids to take a video of you in that condition? An alcohol rehab program is a much better choice.

Tom Sizemore’s reality TV Shooting Sizemore centers around Tom’s legal difficulties stemming from his drug addiction. Sizemore has been to drug treatment more times than I can count but, once again, he’s violated probation. Fortunately, a judge is sending him to drug rehab.

Sizemore’s troubles started in 2004 when he was arrested for possession of crystal meth. Last May he was arrested again, and was initially sentenced to 16 months in prison.

But Sizemore got lucky: He says he’s ready to kick the habit and a judge has given him another shot at rehab. If he makes it through rehab successfully, he won’t serve any more prison time but, if he blows it, he could be in prison for four years.

Sizemore says some people may not think he deserves another chance, but he’s glad he got it. Let’s hope that having a successful TV show about your drug escapades doesn’t stop him from getting through a drug rehab program successfully.

When a celebrity is addicted to drugs, it is not often that the media lets the story slip through the cracks. But a recent article on Donatella Versace is the first I’ve heard about her cocaine addiction. Donatella was handling a lot – she’d gone through a divorce, her sister died, her daughter was anorexic and her brother, Gianni, was murdered, leaving her to take control of his company. It got to be too much – she eventually had to close down the Versace line and, a year later, was in drug rehab for cocaine addiction.

But, she got through it all and is now back in the driver’s seat. Her new clothing line is out, she has 12 more Versace hotels planned, and she’s working on interiors for private jets.

While Donatella admits she’s made mistakes, her story is one that exemplifies rehabilitation. Perhaps the Britney Spears of this world could take a lesson or two from her. Spears may be a celebrity, but do you really want to be famous for abusing your kids and having shots of you without your underwear all over the tabloids? Come on, Brit, get serious about life. Get through a real drug rehab program and set your personal standards a little higher.

Lindsay Lohan’s checked out of rehab, which is kind of strange since a report just a few days ago said she had been drinking and using cocaine while in rehab and had failed a drug test. Apparently a friend was bringing her vodka in a water bottle. (Great friend. Thanks for the support.) Who knows where she got the coke? If Lindsay’s leaving regardless, she’s making a big mistake. If you want to avoid relapse, you have to stay in drug rehab long enough to actually get off drugs (which she obviously had not if the reports were true), and you have to address the reasons for the drug addiction, and be able to withstand the temptation of relapse.

If Lindsay couldn’t resist drugs and alcohol while she was still in rehab center, you can be certain she won’t be able to do so after she leaves.

Although you can’t force someone into drug rehab unless it’s court-ordered, I think it would be a good idea to get the person coming into rehab to at least sign an agreement that they won’t leave until the professionals at the rehab center have done their jobs. The agreement wouldn’t hold up in court, but it might make the person think twice about leaving before they’re ready. A drug rehab program that included such an agreement would be far more successful and the client’s drug addiction really would be handled.