AHS Views

“People using these (prescription drugs) recreationally have no idea what they’re getting into,” emergency room physician Dr. Lawrence Wilson commented after yet another Texas prescription drug death. One more reason to ensure that anyone taking prescription drugs gets the addiction help they need before they, too, end up in the hospital or the morgue.

The patient in question, a young adult, had come into the ER with a prescription drug overdose and, as far as the doctor could tell, she left in stable condition and things seemed under control. But it appears she died from a combination of prescription drugs. What the doctor obviously was not aware of was that this person needed addiction help. Not even the overdose was enough motivation for her to stop.

That’s because she was addicted - she needed professional addiction help services.

Bill Irving, a local alcohol and drug abuse counselor, says prescription drug abuse is “so accepted right now it scares me to death.”

Where are people getting these drugs? Many are getting them right out of the medicine cabinet but according to Dante Sorianello, a Texas DEA agent, adults and teens often get prescription pads and write their own prescriptions. Or they pretend they’re in pain then go to several doctors with the same symptoms to get more than one prescription. Or they get them on the Internet - with 70% of Internet pharmacies you don’t even need a prescription to get the drugs and it doesn’t matter how old you are.

They use the drugs themselves and give or sell them to others.

But it’s all much harder to control than street drugs because it’s buried within the medical system - officials are used to looking on the street.

There are plenty of addiction help services available in Texas and across the U.S.  Check with a specialist to find out which one is best for your situation.

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.

For some, the idea of drug rehabilitation went out the window when the methadone clinic was introduced. Now, instead of getting addicts through drug rehab, they are being kept “in treatment” for life while being given no actual solution for their heroin addiction.

I just read an article about a methadone clinic in Madison, Wisconsin that has 300 people lined up every morning for their methadone. One of the guys has been coming there for 10 years.

Last week I spoke with a mother whose daughter just got kicked out of a methadone program because she could not afford the $125.00 per week they were charging her to stay on drugs. The mother was upset because she couldn’t understand why her daughter had to stay on a drug and pay for it every week. Good question.

Many people complain about the cost of drug rehab. But the cost of methadone at $125/week for 10 years is less than you’d have to pay for a successful drug rehab program, and the person would be off drugs – which is why they went into treatment in the first place. Which route makes more sense?

When looking at the overall cost of drug rehab programs, there are several things to consider. One of them is, what is the cost if you don’t try to rehabilitate? This means crime, incarceration, lives lost, broken families, spread of disease, etc. This also is a number that multiplies each year the addiction is left untreated. Some estimates have found that society saves $7 for every $1 spent on drug rehab programs.

Depending on which drug rehab program you choose, the cost can vary. The cost of a residential drug rehab facility is about $7,000 per month. While some groups, such as methadone clinics, tout lower costs for outpatient treatment or only 30 days in rehab, it doesn’t mean they work. The relapse rate is actually pretty high for drug replacement treatment, regular outpatient rehab, and even traditional 30-day drug rehab programs.The Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (www.datos.org) provides statistics on this.

To increase your chances for a successful recovery, a longer-term stay is going to be more beneficial, so you should expect the cost of drug rehab to be anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000 when looking at 90 days or more. But as mentioned earlier, you must compare the monetary cost to what it is really costing you – your life!