AHS Views

Today, I came across a news release about a Nebraska man who was drunk at his drunk driving sentencing hearing. I have to admit that I chuckled a bit after reading the headline, and thought of the movie Arthur, before reading the entire article and the events that took place at his hearing.

It started out with the young man, Jason Botos, driving his car, and then all of a sudden, jumping the curb and hitting five other vehicles and critically injuring three people. He was scheduled to attend his sentencing hearing for his offenses this week, and he attempted to go to that hearing, but he was drunk. Not just a little drunk, he was inebriated and unable to stand up on his own.

His father drove him to the hearing and couldn’t even get Jason to the courtroom. And, the punishment for Jason not showing up? An arrest warrant was issued. He was arrested, taken to jail, and now will have an even heftier sentence than he would for the drunk driving alone.

While I believe that Jason should be in some sort of trouble for his actions, I also think that there is a very big underlying problem here, which is alcohol addiction. This man is getting absolutely smashed drunk to the point where he can’t stand up. This signals a major problem.

I think it’s crucial that he get into a good alcohol rehab program to actually handle the problem that got him into the mess that he’s in. If it’s not addressed, who knows what he’ll do when he’s done with his jail time? The consequences will most likely be quite tragic!

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s office has recently stated that “prescription drug abuse has become more fatal than abuse of illegal street drugs”. The top two drugs that people overdose on in Tampa, FL are Oxycodone (which can be formulated as Percocet and OxyContin) and Methadone used to “treat” heroin addiction and for chronic pain.

What’s really interesting is that Florida was approved for a prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP, that is supposed to help prevent people from getting multiple prescriptions filled (a.k.a. doctor shopping). But, after approval, the program wasn’t provided with any funding by legislature. Apparently, $1 million needs to be raised by Florida’s Office of Drug Control, and only $150,000 of that has managed to be gotten together.

I absolutely believe that this needs to be a very high priority for Florida. The death toll, as of now, is around 300 people per year in Hillsborough County alone. People of all walks, young, old, richer and poorer are getting their hands on prescription drugs and taking them in lethal doses.

If you or someone you know has a problem with prescription drugs, it’s imperative that you get addiction help now. You could save a life!

A woman’s life has come crashing down, thanks to drug addiction. Kristin Parker, a scrub tech in Colorado who fell prey to an addiction to painkillers (and heroin for a short time) wound up contracting Hepatitis C. But, that’s not the worst of it. She worked as a nurse for two different hospitals, where she had access to needles and prescription drugs that were administered by injection.

I don’t believe that the hospitals would have hired her if they knew that she was a drug user, but they definitely were aware that she had Hepatitis C. And, they put her into an area of the hospital where people were being operated on and given injections. Doesn’t seem very safe!

As time went on, Parker’s addiction continued, and she decided to start using syringes full of prescription painkillers and then replaced the medication with saline. Then, the same needles were used on patients at the hospital. As it turns out, she put the lives of as many as 6000 patients at risk, and gave the incurable disease to 3 dozen people.

So, just to recap: she used drugs that had to be injected, she got Hepatitis C and she gave 3 dozen people an incurable disease (maybe more). All of this because she was addicted to drugs!

Do you really think that no one knew about her problem? Did she really think she could just fly under the radar and continue this behavior? She’s only 27 years old and is now facing 30 years in prison. And there are 36 people out there dealing with a horrible disease from an unfortunate hospital stay. Absolutely heartbreaking!

I wonder how her life would have turned out if she had gotten the addiction help she needed. I have a strong feeling if she had gotten help finding a drug detox and drug rehab program that could address her addiction then all of these tragedies could have been avoided and she’d be living a normal life as well as her victims and this horrible mess wouldn’t exist.

While not everyone hits this low of a rock-bottom when they do drugs, this just goes to show that addiction is a powerful force that must be dealt with – before it’s too late.

Have you ever thought about whether you could be an “alcoholic”? Like when you hear about people who drive drunk or the neighbor down the street who had a few too many at the BBQ last weekend… Has it ever made you question your own habits with regard to alcohol consumption?

There are a several problems that can come from the consumption of alcohol. Take Binge Drinking, for example. People who binge drink have a purpose. They intend to get intoxicated and drink several drinks in a short period of time in order to get drunk. This is practiced by many, many people ranging from younger kids to older adults. In can be done once a week or once a month but is still a drinking problem.

Then, there is alcohol abuse. This can basically be defined as the use of alcohol interfering with a person’s life. Perhaps a mother is waking up in the morning and immediately getting intoxicated before she even gets her children out to the school bus. This would “interfere” with her life. This would also create problems, most likely, for the lives of her family members.

Alcohol abuse can lead to dependency. Alcohol dependency is not only a mental need to drink, but actually a physical one as well. An individual who is dependent on alcohol will actually experience physical withdrawal symptoms like feeling shaky, jumpy or nervous, depression, fatigue and irritability if they don’t drink. An alcohol detox program will most likely be needed to help a person through the withdrawal process.

Alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems that someone might encounter, as well as negative social consequences.
If you, a friend or a family member fit into any of these scenarios, there may be a need for addiction help through alcohol detox and a good alcohol rehab program. It could save a life!

Have you ever heard that “relapse is part of recovery”? As much as people believe this to be true, it is not, plain and simple. If someone relapses after they receive their treatment, then a basic element of the recovery process was missed or omitted and the addiction help they received was incomplete.

A good percentage of the time, there will be indications that a person may relapse or be relapsing. Adam Goldstein, a.k.a. DJ AM was sober after getting addiction help for four years. He relapsed and was found dead last August in his New York apartment from an overdose. He died from a combination of cocaine, Oxycodone, Vicodin, Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax, Benadryl and Levamisole (a drug used to cut cocaine).

While an addiction to crack cocaine and/or prescription drugs isn’t easy to overcome, if a drug rehab program is thoroughly done, there is absolutely no reason that relapse has to be a threat. If done right, drug rehab is the solution to a drug free life!

Detoxification is defined by most people as simply just withdrawing from drugs. In a lot of cases, a withdrawal that is medically supervised isn’t necessary and can just be done at home. This is especially true with most stimulants, painkillers and even heroin, although it is often preferred with the latter two to do a medically supervised drug detox to ease the pain of the withdrawal symptoms.

When large quantities of alcohol or drugs are consumed, it can be very a difficult process to withdraw. Medical detoxification, with the use of other medicines and reduction of the consumption the drugs or alcohol over a period of time, can help someone to systematically withdraw. This helps to ease the process of detoxing and eliminate the risk of seizure and other acute withdrawal symptoms.

Some of the drugs that people most often want or need a medically-supervised detox for include large amounts of alcohol, barbiturates (Phenobarbital), benzodiazapines (Xanax, Valium) and opiates (prescription painkillers, heroin, methadone).

There’s a common misconception though, which is that many drug and alcohol users will think their problem is solved once they’ve tackled the detoxification step. This step does handle the physical dependence, but in actual fact, they are much better off statistically to go into a longer-term residential drug rehab program after detoxification to handle the mental aspects of their addiction and prevent relapse. Detox is only a part of the big picture.

Fairly recently there have also been other classes of prescribed drugs that require medical detox to step down from. They include antidepressants (Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, etc.), antipsychotics (Zyprexa, Risperdol, Seroquel), as well as other mind-altering prescriptions.

Through education and information discovered each year on the side effects of these drugs, a lot more people are being proactive and making the decision not to take them and are seeking alternative treatments. Withdrawal symptoms from these types of drugs can be very severe and people coming down from them oftentimes experience sudden psychotic episodes, so stepping down little by little in a medically-supervised atmosphere is a recommended approach rather than weaning down at home.

Do you know of anyone, or have you heard stories of someone trying to withdraw from some of these drugs on their own? Did they succeed and beat it?

I know it doesn’t seem like it, but a lot of people who take drugs really do want to stop. Unfortunately, withdrawal is one of the biggest reasons for fear of quitting, as it can be physically and emotionally overwhelming. An addict who has gone too long without using (between hits) has encountered some of those withdrawal sensations.

Dreading withdrawal symptoms is not the only reason people have a difficult time quitting. A person can go through the motions to get detoxed, but until they complete a successful drug rehab program that addresses the reason they started taking drugs or alcohol in the first place, the urge to continue using will remain the same.

Whatever the reasons are that drive a person to take drugs or do alcohol, for the user, the problems are very real and they want to cover them up or drown them away. And, though people make it out to be enjoyable or even glamorous in places like Hollywood, being a drug addict isn’t easy. In fact, it never leads people in a positive direction and can often result in losses of jobs, homes, families and even lives.

A drug user will start out with times when they are very high and nothing much seems to matter – basically in a dream-like state, and their troubles seem further away – but this wears off. The rest of the time, the most important thought in their mind is where to get more. Then, they’re dealing with two problems – the one that made them reach for the drugs in the first place, and the dependency or addiction that they’ve acquired.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that drug addicts and alcoholics enjoy that life. They do want to get off drugs or stop drinking alcohol. The way to successfully do this is Rehab. And, if you aren’t able to talk your friend or loved one into going to rehab, make sure to get in contact with an interventionist. This is their specialty and they’re experience lends to getting even the toughest addicts to go and get the addiction help they need.

Without going into a lot of details, the short answer is probably no, and unfortunately the line between the two is pretty grey, but there is a definitely more to it…

A drug “addiction” is generally defined as compulsive, drug-seeking behavior which is due to physical and/or mental dependency on a drug, despite knowingly causing damage to oneself and others regardless of consequence. Most people associate drug addiction with illegal drugs like cocaine, meth or heroin, but the truth is that people can easily become addicted to prescription drugs that were originally prescribed by their doctor.

An individual with a drug “dependence” may not exhibit the compulsive drug-seeking behavior and may have a more normal and collected appearance in life. This doesn’t only include drugs, but can also include the moderate-to-heavy social drinker who has three alcoholic drinks several nights per week or more. You may as well additionally include the millions of people who take prescribed drugs on a daily basis.

As I mentioned before, there is a fine line between dependency and addiction, and a person who is dependent can very easily become addicted. What happens if a drinker gets cut off at the bar? A lot of times, they become belligerent and will go to another bar or store to buy more alcohol, which would be an all too common example of compulsive drug (or alcohol) seeking. They may not even know they are an alcoholic yet but these are the first signs not to ignore.

Another factor, which most people are unaware of, is tolerance. This can absolutely play a role in dependence turning into addiction. An example of this might be someone being prescribed a narcotic painkiller after an injury or surgery. They takes it as prescribed for the recommended time period, but when the medication use stops, the user goes into withdrawals because their body became dependent on it. The next reaction, in a lot of scenarios, would be that they have to get more of the drug to not feel those withdrawal symptoms anymore. They’re basically trapped into use - which leads to addiction.

Learning disability labeled teenagers being put on amphetamines (stimulants) is another common example. These are legally prescribed drugs, by doctors and/or psychiatrists. The children can naturally develop a tolerance to these drugs and then need more, something stronger. In many cases of illegal drug use by teens, it comes on the heels of a long history of Ritalin, Prozac, etc.

So, the one thing we do know is, despite different characteristics and definitions, one does have to be drug dependent to be an addict, but the line  certainly isn’t definite when it is crossed. And, knowing how easily this can happen, it’s extremely important to pay attention. Pay attention to yourself, if you find that you need to take a prescription painkiller. Pay attention to your kids. And, if you find yourself knowing of or learning about someone with a dependence, help them get into a good detox program before it leads to addiction.

Have you ever heard of “non-addictive” drugs? Sounds a bit like an oxymoron to me, but there are many drugs in existence today, both legal and illegal, which claim to be just that – non-habit forming.
Pharmaceutical companies have come out with “non-narcotic” forms of pain and insomnia relief like Ambien and Ultram that are “safe when used as directed and non-addictive” yet the amount of people getting hooked on these prescription drugs continues to rise. Even though they say “non-narcotic”, if you read the fine print, it actually says there is “some” risk for dependency. And, even worse, allergic reactions, in rare instances, can be fatal!

There’s actually nothing new about pharmaceutical companies coming out with new non-addictive drugs. In the 1850’s, when opium addiction first reared its ugly head in the United States, morphine was used as a non-addictive alternative until it was banned in the 1920’s because of its addictive properties.

Then, there’s marijuana. There have been statements that this illegal drug is a “non-addictive” and “non-harmful” one, yet it’s one of the most abused drugs in the country.

How about LSD? Another drug said to be “non-addictive”, which is in fact one of the most harmful drugs out there. It can cause long-term damage to users as well as flashbacks (where a portion of their LSD experience reoccurs). People who abuse frequently can build a tolerance and require more and more of the drug to achieve the desired effect. It can also cause long-lasting psychoses. After using LSD and experiencing their first high, many people take it over and over again, in spite of the negative effects that are associated with the drug.

My point is that drugs alter the senses and perceptions. They create a high in the user and continue the cycle of the user wanting to take the drugs to achieve the desired effect. In many cases, it takes more and more of the drug to reach that high so the tolerance level also rises. This is true of all drugs – from LSD to marijuana to legal prescription drugs and replacement drug therapies that are so heavily promoted routinely.

Calling these drugs “non-addictive” is not only downright false, but is easily proven untrue. Not only with illegal drugs like marijuana and LSD but also with legally approved drugs like anti-depressants, prescription pain killers and replacement drug therapies.

If these drugs were non-addictive, as claimed, why does the number of people becoming addicted to them continue to increase? And why are alternative drugs being produced to “help” ease addiction symptoms? Take a hard look at the facts; you’ll realize that “non-addictive” drugs simply do not exist.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple answer to that question? With so many illegal drugs on the scene, the answer to that question becomes relative to viewpoint and what kind of damage is caused, whether it is physical damage, emotional pain and suffering, damage to the family, cost involved, or a combination of any of these.

There is no question about how deadly crack cocain, heroin and meth are, but it has been suggested that hallucinogens like LSD (acid) are the ones with the worst lingering effects. This is because they alter the mind and its perceptions, and people can have “acid flashbacks” for many years after they stopped taking the drug.

In the hallucinogen class of drugs, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the major players. Like the name of this drug class suggests, hallucinogens cause hallucinations, which are greatly alters a person’s perception of reality. Under the influence of hallucinogens, people can see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem very real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce rapid, intense emotional swings.

LSD’s effects are unpredictable and can be different each time the drug is consumed. They depend on how much is taken, the user’s personality, mood, expectations and their surroundings where the drug is used. Generally, the user will feel the first effects of the drug about 30 minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors.

Most of the time, a user will refer to their LSD experience as a “trip” and when it is a frightening experience it’s called a “bad trip”. The effects of this drug take quite awhile to wear off after taking it. A trip can last around 12 hours. Users on a bad trip can experience severe and terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control, even fear of insanity, death and despair. Some fatal accidents have taken place during states of LSD intoxication and people have been known to get stuck in a bad trip and display extreme psychosis or paranoia.

Most LSD users willingly decrease or stop its use over time. Since LSD doesn’t produce intense physical cravings like other drugs, it’s not considered to be a drug that people have to get addiction help for. However, a user can still build a tolerance to the drug, requiring larger amounts of the toxin to be consumed to experience another trip.

In more recent years, use of hallucinogens, especially LSD, has decreased. It seems to be catching on that it is one of the worst drugs, as evidenced by the drop in usage. Why risk becoming a vegetable? It doesn’t seem worth it!