AHS Views

“The definition of alcohol abuse is when the use of alcohol is interfering in a persons life, the definition of alcohol dependency is a more severe form of the problem, with the consumption of alcohol a central preoccupation in the afflicted person’s life’, says Dr. Michael Levy, a columnist in The Eagle-Tribune. There are 24 million people in the U.S. who may fall in one of these two categories and who will need some form of addiction help.

Jockey Patrick Valenzuela has had a conditional license for the past several years due to substance abuse problems. On Friday he had his conditional license revoked by the California Horse Racing Board after being stopped and arrested for a DUI in Upland, California. It’s time for him to get the addiction help he needs.

During his stellar career - 3968 wins, including the 1989 Kentucky Derby aboard Sunday Silence - Mr. Valenzuela has had 10 interruptions due to drug or alcohol problems. He’s only 45 years old, and he has not been able to get his drug or alcohol abuse under control. He does need to finally make a change and get himself into a successful drug rehab program.
 
Mr. Valenzuela is not alone when it comes to substance abuse problems - nearly 20% of Americans over the age of 26 binge drink at least monthly, and millions of Americans use prescription drugs for reasons other than a medical condition.

It is also not a surprise that Mr. Valenzuela has not received the addiction help he needs to over come his dependence on drugs or alcohol. The same can be said of the majority of those who need treatment.

Tom Knust, Mr. Valenzuela’s agent said he was shocked by the news. He also said he wouldn’t represent him any longer.

The help Mr. Valenzuela  needs is available to him. I hope he gets it so he can end his drug and alcohol addiction issues.

Addiction Help Services can find you, a family member or a friend the treatment that you need.

Prescription drug abuse and addiction can be caused by many things, but how about your credit card company. Picture getting home opening your mail and someone or a computer has decided you are a bad risk. Your monthly payment has gone through the roof and your interest payment is now more then your whole payment used to be. In fact based on the new interest payment you will be paying MasterCard, Visa or Amex for the rest of your life.

You know what is wrong but the anxiety won’t go away so you ask a friend for some Xanax or Valium. 60% of prescription drugs taken non medically are received from a family member or friend. It might be that you don’t consider this a non medical reason as you are stressed out.

The next day you get some more and within a few days or weeks  you are addicted to a benzodiazepines or you go to your Doctor; he spends 7 minutes with you and he gives you a prescription , you haven’t stopped worrying exactly but you are  stoned so what the heck. You take your medication, the credit card company won’t quit calling so you up the dose without calling your physician.

Some how you realize that the problem is with your credit scores and the Xanax isn’t working so you try and stop and feel so bad you can’t. You still have a prescription and everything is legal so you don’t worry too much. You may be embarrassed but rather then go through withdrawal you just keep taking them. You can’t stop because the drug is addictive you have become dependent on the drug and no you aren’t a drug addict you just physically need it.

The social impact of this type of prescription drug abuse is increasing every day.  Prescription drug abuse can get started in many ways and you don’t have to feel embarrassed by it. If something like this has happened to you or someone you love, don’t wait any longer call and get information on successful drug rehab and detox programs available to help you.

Drinking alcohol early in life can lead a lot of alcohol-related problems, and set your kids up for future alcohol abuse and need for alcohol rehab.

It’s not unusual for the kids of parents who drink to ask for a sip, and giving it to them may seem harmless. But researchers from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health studied about 4,000 sixth to eight graders in the Chicago area and found that among the 12-year-olds who had tried alcohol, a few said they stole it from the family liquor cabinet, 2.4 percent said they got it in a store, and one third said their parents had given them their first drink. Those parents are setting their kids up for alcohol abuse or addiction and the need for alcohol rehab.

As children get older, their alcohol intake increases: 17 percent of sixth graders have tried it, but by eighth grade the percentage nearly triples. This is exactly what most parents hope to prevent – when their kids are offered alcohol, parents hope they’ll just say no.

If your children want to try alcohol at an early age, it’s time to start educating them on the dangers of alcohol. Parents who are drinkers themselves may have a little trouble with this – kids are notorious for doing as you do, not as you say. Educate them early, and you could prevent the need for an alcohol rehab program in the future.

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.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control, 20% of all alcohol consumption in the U.S. is done by kids 12 to 20 years of age. Statistics have shown that the younger you start, the higher the chances of getting hooked and needing alcohol rehab.

Regardless of the statistics, some people think it’s ok to give alcohol to underage kids. In fact, I saw it suggested in a book. The author said that parents who give their kids alcohol in moderation won’t get addicted later in life.

My experience as a drug counselor has shown this to be mistake. One family I was in touch with even hosted after-prom parties, with alcohol. Today, both their kids abuse alcohol regularly, and they’re taking drugs. The parents are now looking for a drug rehab program.

Studies on parental influence on kids’ drinking and taking drugs has proven that kids whose parents talk to them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol are far less likely to drink and take drugs as they get older. So, if you’re going to give your kids alcohol, be prepared to find an alcohol rehab program.

Formerly contracted performers of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have apparently received letters from WWE offering alcohol and drug rehab completely financed by WWE.

The letter says that too many WWE performers have died from drugs and alcohol, and the organization wants to prevent further tragedy.

WWE is also offering to provide intervention for those who have a problem, but think they don’t. Families and friends of formerly contracted performers need only contact WWE to take advantage of this offer. It doesn’t matter how long the performer was contracted, or what the circumstances were when the contracted ended.

I’m impressed. The interventionists and treatment centers are chosen by WWE. I’m sure they’ll avoid the overly-expensive luxury centers that are churning out celebs who go out one door and in the other. Let’s hope they choose a successful drug rehab program that will help our sports figures turn their lives around.

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.

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.

I’ve been reading about all these movie stars and celebrities in trouble with the law recently because of their drug and alcohol abuse, and it suddenly struck me that I (stupidly) hadn’t connected the dots. They were all driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sometimes both. Many of them have announced intentions to handle their dependencies through treatment, usually alcohol or drug rehab programs.

Actors, musicians, professional athletes, politicians and high-profile businessmen seemed to be lining up to get arrested for drunk driving over the past year. Hollywood and sports have been hard hit. We’ve read about the actors, actresses, directors and producers. But I didn’t know that more than a dozen professional football players and coaches have also been arrested for DUI recently (one of them in the nude), including several players for the Cincinnati Bengals alone! Several sports figures are already in court-ordered or voluntary alcohol or drug rehab programs, while others are pending various court actions.

Here’s just a partial list of Hollywood’s impaired driving arrests in recent months:

• Lindsay Lohan – actress
• Paris Hilton – tv celebrity
• Nicole Richie – tv celebrity
• Mel Gibson – actor, director, producer
• Ray Liotta – actor
• Vivica A. Fox – actress
• Jessica Smith – actress
• Michelle Rodriguez – actress
• Lane Garrison – actor, two counts of Felony DUI, one of Vehicular Manslaughter
• Ty Pennington – television personality
• Tracy Morgan – comedian
• Yancy Butler – actor
• Rip Torn – actor
• Anneliese van der Pol – television show “That’s So Raven”
• Gus Van Sant – director

Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr., who says he has been sober for nearly three years, attended alcohol rehab and drug rehab programs after several alcohol and drug related arrests. He said actor friend Mel Gibson, whose Malibu DUI last year was much publicized, helped him through his own repeated DUI and drug arrests during his struggles with alcohol, cocaine, and heroine addiction. Downey told the Toronto Star that Gibson supported him while he spent a year in prison, and then gave him a role in “The Singing Detective” which Gibson produced when everyone else in Hollywood refused to give him a job. Gibson was ordered to a mandatory one-year alcohol rehab program after his drunk driving conviction. Downey said Gibson’s DUI arrest “gave me pause to think about how formidable and cunning addiction is. It is a terrible, terrible, evil and tragic disease.”

He’s right about that. Alcohol and drug abuse is epidemic, and dangerous. Let’s hope these public figures get into an alcohol or drug rehab center with a program that works!