AHS Views

Hanover Hospital, in Hanover PA, sponsored a ‘town hall’ meeting to educate residents on Hanover’s drug problems. With 30 percent of police department calls directly related to drugs, and 60 - 70 percent indirectly related, Hanover Police Chief Randy Whitson expected a full house. “This room, with the problem that we have, should be standing-room only. This room should be packed,” he said. But the room was almost empty. Unfortunately, the community’s lack of interest may prevent people from getting the addiction help they need.

The police chief’s viewpoint on the war on drugs? “We’re losing,” he said. “We’re losing badly.”

Hanover is not the only area in Pennsylvania with a drug problem, and heroin is the state’s biggest problem - as it is in Hanover. ER visits related to heroin are 3 times higher than the national average, and 36% of people going into treatment for drug addiction help are on heroin - more than any illegal drug in the state.

If you live in Pennsylvania and need help with a drug problem, call Addiction Help Services. We’ll help you find the addiction help you need. 

Addiction help for your cat or your kids? It sounds like it could be funny – but it’s not. Palo Alto High School is in California is a mile from Stanford University and about six miles from Internet juggernaut Google. I would think that in a place like Palo Alto, students would be intelligent and would think things through. But, in this case, I am not sure anyone is really thinking at all. They’re giving drugs to their pets. Should someone tell an animal rights activist and let a group picket Palo Alto High School, or should we just get some addiction help for the kids so they won’t be tempted to give drugs to their pets?

I am certain in Palo Alto a group like that exists and would protest heavily any cruelty to animals.

The cat looks small and the high school students are 14, 15 and 16. Lindsey luckily knows that giving her cat meth would be a bad choice. Apparently some of the students think that ecstasy is ok, but Carson draws the line at acid. “I don’t think it’s bad to give my dog marijuana or any such thing” says Carson. Sheesh, what are you thinking Carson?  You are abusing your dog’s rights.

I guess freshman Lindsey can talk to her cat - she blew marijuana smoke in her cat’s face and knew the cat liked it - there is no other explanation. Lindsey, this may be a surprise but you also are abusing your cat’s rights, no matter what the cat says.

The students, one for one, didn’t think there should be any laws opposing this behavior. But what about their rights, kids?

Then there is Dave, a senior who gave his cat whiskey and watched him stumble around drunk. Susan says her dog ate a sack of marijuana, she doesn’t know how he got it but she, at least, let him sleep.

One voice of reason, Dan Schwartz says “it’s not fair because animals can’t make their own decisions about whether or not to take drugs.,

My guess would be that one or more of these kids will end up with either a drug or alcohol addiction problem. Dave the senior could be fifty-fifty on becoming an alcoholic.

Don’t think because Palo Alto is an affluent area addiction help won’t be needed. If you find yourself wondering what to do about friend or family call Addiction Help Services, we will try and help.

Anyone who watches the news knows about the trials and tribulations of Britney Spears. Now an article reports that her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, has just released a music video said to tell the story of Spear’s life spiraling out of control leading to her getting addiction help through a stint in drug rehab.

While it is being reported that the video is about celebrity culture in general, as many young celebrities have recently checked into drug addiction treatment recently, the co-writer of the piece, Duran Duran is quoted as saying is it “loosely based on Spears.”

And judging from the girl in the video, dressed in a “Spears inspired” outfit and oversize designer sunglasses, I would say that the video is more than loosely based on the pop star whose time in an addiction treatment program and bizarre behavior since then has caught the attention of the media on an almost daily basis. 

With all of the negative influences on young adults these days through pop culture, and role models such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan possibly making alcohol and drug addiction look attractive and glamorous, this video might be useful to educate kids on the flip side of the story and encourage them to either stay away from drugs, or to get the addiction help services they need.

While no specific numbers have been reported, I would imagine there are several hundred thousand drug addicts out there who are parents. And parents, just like anyone else struggling with substance abuse, often end up needing some type of drug addiction help treatment to handle their addiction.

Unfortunately, when that times comes, many parents will chose to not get the addiction help they need because they know that once they are in a program it will be left up to their families or the state to decide who will take care of their children. Losing or being away from their children can be too much for any parent to bear, even when a parent knows that if they don’t get addiction help they could lose their children permanently.

But what if drug addiction treatment centers provided child care or allowed children of addicts to stay with their addicted parent while they were undergoing substance abuse treatment?

This is actually the plan at a drug addiction treatment center in Oregon. Facilities are being built to accommodate six mothers and their children.

The center is one of the first to offer this option and it may open the door for more addicts to get the addiction help services they need while also enabling mothers to learn to be responsible for their children again in a controlled, drug-free environment.

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.

I read an article today about a man who was stole prescription pain relievers from his terminally ill mother. Stealing drugs from parents isn’t unusual, but this guy’s mom was using fentanyl patches. He was extracting the drug from the patches and then taping the patch back on his mom. How desperate can you get? If you have any doubt about whether or not someone using drugs needs drug rehab, that gives you a clue as to how bad the situation can get.

As a drug counselor, I’ve known many addicts who have done unthinkable things to get drugs. They sell their possessions, or those of their family and friends, they lose their savings, their houses, their cars. Really, there’s nothing they won’t do in their desperate need to get the next hit. And, it’s not unusual. That’s what drug addiction does to you. And without drug rehab, the situation is not going to improve – no matter what the addict tells you.

I’ve also heard a lot of excuses from family members who put up with this sort of thing because they know, or assume, that the addict can’t help themselves. Maybe that’s true – but somebody better do it. If you think that forgiving them and making excuses for them is going to help them get off drugs, think again.

If someone in your life is involved in drugs, get them into drug rehab fast. You may be forgiving, but the rest of the world isn’t. One of these days, that person you love, who you’re making excuses for, will wind up in prison, in the hospital, or in the morgue.

If you really love them, get them into a successful drug rehab program, no matter how much they protest, and no matter how many promises they make that they’re going to stop.

A recent report from the United Nations says the drug problem is stabilizing. “For almost all drugs — cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines — there are signs of overall stability, whether we speak of production, trafficking or consumption,” said Antonia Maria Costa, head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Of that’s the case, why are drug rehab centers still busy?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that prescription drugs are taking over the drug scene? They’re easier to get, cheaper, legal to possess and some give you the same high as heroin? Why not?

Fortunately, many cities and states are starting to do something about it. A new law in Tennessee, for example, makes doctor shopping illegal for those with specific insurance providers, and it’s illegal to fraudulently obtain prescriptions. With enough states cracking the whip, we might see a change in the trend toward prescription drug abuse – and in the skyrocketing admissions into drug rehab treatment programs that can help with prescription drug addiction.

Drug addiction treatment will be financed by $206 million confiscated in drug bust 

A recent article in Reuters reported that $206 million was found by Mexican police in the Mexico City mansion of Zhenli Ye Gon. Ye Gon was later arrested in Wheaton, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. He is suspected of importing pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to make crystal meth. Both U.S. and Mexican authorities are calling this the largest ever drug cash seizure and, the best news of all, at least part of the money is earmarked for drug rehab for Mexican addicts.

Ye Gon said he was set up by associates of President Felipe Calderon. Not very believable as Calderon has been very aggressive in the war on Mexican drug cartels. But stranger things have happened.

According to the DEA, Mexican drug trafficking organizations are the primary source of drugs in almost every part of the U.S. So this bust, and the way the money will be used, is great for us. In addition to financing drug rehab for addicts, the money will also be spent on shoring up Mexico’s police and judiciary systems so they are better able to control the drug situation.

Drugs are a serious problem in Mexico. Perhaps getting more people through a successful drug rehab program so they can end their drug addiction will help.

There may be hope for government spending for drug treatment. In a recent article, U.S. Representative Chet Edwards announced that he has secured $150,000 for a new Byran, Texas project called Project Focus - a drug rehab placement program designed to “combat the spread of crime associated with alcohol and drug abuse at the community level.”

The project’s aim is to decrease the number of crimes committed by drug addicts by by finding them a successful drug rehab program. The project will also offer drug education and prevention programs to deter addiction. These programs will be available to loved ones and families.

Looking at the scope of drug addiction in the United States, this program sounds very beneficial for both addicts and their friends and families. For several years I worked at a drug rehab center delivered drug education lectures to an average of 30,000 children every year, as well as providing drug rehab services to thousands. The people who were educated said they would never take drugs, and those already addicted were able to quit.

Drug addiction is epidemic in the U.S. and successful drug rehab programs are in short supply. Hopefully this funding is just the beginning.

I read an article in The Facts about the extent of prescription drug addiction, specifically painkillers, in the U.S. When I worked in a drug rehab facility the biggest problems were heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. They’re still big problems – it hasn’t gotten any better – but, according to that article, even in 2003 there were 15 million people in the U.S. taking prescription drugs, mostly painkillers, for non-medical reasons. How many of these are going to need drug rehab to get off them?

OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet, Vicoden and Darvocet, the painkillers being referred to, are opioids, similar to heroin. They are highly addictive. I’ve known a few painkiller addicts who went from one doctor to another faking injuries, aches, pains and illnesses to get prescriptions. One told a doctor she had an allergy to the painkillers she was prescribed after surgery and asked for a different, stronger, drug. She got the new prescription she asked for, but also kept the pills from the first one. She wound up taking both of them and wound up addicted. She eventually needed drug rehab.

Is it possible for doctors to write a prescription for a drug rehab program instead of drugs? If not, that might be a solution.