AHS Views

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.

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.

Canada’s Prime Minister is taking a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. In the process, it looks like he’s going to be withdrawing approval for at least one safe injection site and reducing funding for other harm reduction programs. Instead, he’s committed $64 million to law enforcement, preventive education, and drug rehab that will actually get people off drugs. Drug rehab and education will get the majority of the money.

Some critics of his plan say that education, in the past, has not worked. Frankly, I don’t necessarily believe that  - it depends on how you educate and, as importantly, who.

One type of education that has proven probably more successful in preventing drug and alcohol abuse than any other is education from parents. Kids whose parents talk to them about drugs and alcohol are 42% less likely to use them.

Perhaps Canada’s PM could include education for parents – “How to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol.” But, make it mandatory. In fact, it could be a prerequisite to getting your kids into a school. And, the parents would have to show proof that they do it.

People who are already on drugs need addiction help services like a good drug rehab program, but if we could get parents on the ball and educating their kids, we could reduce the incidence of future drug addiction by a whopping 42%.

Some people become addicted to prescription drugs after getting them from their doctor for surgery, injury or illness. But, for many, the drug problem starts by ‘borrowing’ a drug from a friend’s or parents’ medicine cabinet – a Xanax to help them sleep or a Vicodin for a headache. As a drug counselor I’ve run into a lot of people who got started that way, and eventually contacted me to help them find a drug rehab program.
 
A recent study from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that more than ten percent of 12 to 17-year-olds have taken prescription drugs from their parents, other relatives, or their friends without asking.

80% of parents say they keep their prescription drugs in a place where they’re inaccessible. I find that hard to believe. They may think their kids don’t have access to them, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Seriously, if you’re a parent and taking drugs that could be dangerous, your best bet is to get through a drug rehab program yourself. You’ll kill a few birds with one stone – there won’t be drugs around the house for your kids to get, you’ll be setting a good example, and you’ll be off drugs yourself.

I don’t know what happened to Lindsay Lohan. She was with her dad, telling him about the awful things she’d done and vowing to stay away from the Hollywood influence, then moving into drug rehab and, apparently, on her way to a new life. But she now seems to have failed a drug test. Great drug rehab center she went to, they can’t even keep drugs out of the place.

According to a recent article, she tested positive for cocaine. And, a friend has been sneaking vodka to her in a water bottle.

I don’t know if any of this is true. It would be great if it’s not. Unlike Britney Spears, she seemed sincere. But, really, someone in that drug rehab program needs to be keeping a closer eye on things if they expect people to actually get off drugs while they’re there.

Baltimore, Maryland has more heroin addicts and heroin-related crime than almost any other city in the U.S., but officials are now taking steps in the right direction: According to a recent article, two congressional leaders held a hearing at the University of Maryland School of Law to learn more about the city’s violence reduction and drug rehab plans.
 
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, one of the congressmen chairing the hearings, said he used to live in Baltimore’s ‘inner-inner city” where he saw “whole generations” being destroyed as a result of cocaine and heroin addiction.

There are currently some in-patient drug rehab centers in Baltimore but the relapse rate is high. The director of a recovery program blames the relapse rate on a lack of aftercare options that help addicts integrate into the community when they leave. No doubt that’s true, but a successful drug rehab program would address that problem before the program was considered complete.

Completing a drug treatment program is a milestone for a former addict. But how do you know when the person is really complete with drug rehab and can stay off drugs?

A recent article reports that Lindsay Lohan, having completed her third rehab program this year, is ready to leave. The article says she’s a totally changed person.

That may be. But having worked in the drug treatment field for many years I’ve seen many clients with that kind of positive change – they leave rehab “totally changed” and drug-free - all the indicators of success are there. But I’ve been fooled by some: despite the fact that it all looks good, they relapse.

A successful drug rehab program doesn’t just get people off drugs – of course they’re going to feel better, look better and have a better attitude about life. What’s important is the lessons they learn about life while they’re there, and whether or not they put those to work for them when they leave.

Former heavyweight boxer George Chuvalo lost three sons to heroin addiction. A recent article reports that the 70-year-old is now traveling around the world speaking with kids about the dangers of addiction; with hopes that many won’t start drugs in the first place and that those on drugs will get through drug rehab before it’s too late.

Chuvalo has been talking to kids about the dangers of drugs since 1996. He lost two sons to heroin overdoses: one in 1993 and the other 1996. A third son committed suicide in 1985, which was also related to his drug addiction. Chuvalo tries to educate young people on the dangers of heroin addiction because “he didn’t want his sons to die in vain.”

While Chuvalo can’t go back in time and save his sons, all of them would probably still be alive if they had completed a successful drug rehab program.

When asked where he’d been since winning and losing the Ultimate Fighting Championship 4 ½ years ago, Ricco Rodriguez said he’s basically been hanging out and partying while fighting for small time promotions. But he also did something else during that time – went to drug rehab. And that’s why he’s now back in the big ring.

Rodriguez’ real break came in 2006 when, after testing positive for cocaine and marijuana before a fight, he was called by a talent agency about participating VH1’s Celebrity Rehab reality show. After going through the treatment, which he described as “a very intense thing,” Rodriguez was drug free.

And, he’s back. He’s booked on the International Fight League team championship finale between the New York Pitbulls and Quad City Silverbacks at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

“My philosophy and attitude is quite different these days,” said Rodriguez.  Thanks to a successful drug rehab program, he has another chance.