AHS Views

I don’t usually watch reality shows, but I have to say that some of the legal/police type shows that take on social issues can be very insightful. Recently, when discussing the problem of drug addiction, someone on TV asked ‘Why don’t they just burn all the poppy fields?” The response – “Because there has to be a war on something or the people in Washington wouldn’t get elected.” That was probably an old show because the war on drugs certainly isn’t the only war in town right now, but it does make you wonder about the true intentions of the powers that be when there are, really, some pretty simple solutions to the war on drugs available. At least from the standpoint of getting people through drug treatment successfully.

The country spends millions, or billions, on various drug treatment methods and facilities -but a large portion of them don’t even work! They’re out-patient facilities, week or month-long residential programs that are barely enough to dry the person out, halfway houses (may be fine AFTER a real drug rehab program to help the person get their lives in order), and so on.

But, there are tons of facilities and drug treatment programs that have high success rates. Why not drop the programs that only rehabilitate 30% of their clients and throw more support behind those that see success for 70%?

A short-term or out-patient drug rehab program may work for some, but don’t make the mistake of trying one of those first – chances are they’ll be a waste of time and money.

More importantly, you and the person you’re trying to help can get very discouraged by attempting something that fails and it might be very difficult, if not impossible, to get the addict to try again.

Check with Addiction Help Services counselors to find out what’s best for your situation before you make any decisions. They know all the programs, all the treatment methods, and can assess your situation to find out what’s best.  
 

I receive emails from a group of people who support non-drug solutions for mental and emotional problems. They’ve recently gotten into the subject of drug addiction and have suggested that psychiatry can help this problem. I beg to differ – and I’ll tell you why.

During the years that psychiatry rose to power as the ‘expert’ in the field of mental health, although that reputation is very tarnished at this point, more and more conditions, previously thought of as just part of life, have been classified as mental diseases or disorders.

Some of these alleged disorders include kids not being able to do math as well as their classmates, feeling sad when your spouse of 50 years passes away (yes, we’re actually supposed to believe there’s something strange about that), to smoking cigarettes. (As one blogger pointed out prior to Obama swearing in “Does that mean we have a deranged President Elect who should seek treatment?”).

It’s pretty obvious to me that this practice of turning everything into a mental illness is merely a ploy to get money (and to do anything they can to salvage what’s left of this dying discipline.)

If these conditions are ‘officially’ disorders, insurance companies will pay for treatment. Which opens the door to millions more patients (and many more millions of dollars) who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. In fact, these ‘patients’ probably wouldn’t even have sought treatment because they didn’t think anything was wrong with them until psychiatry ‘made it so’. And they were probably right.

The docs also make money researching and promoting bogus disorders.

This really puts their diagnostic skills, not to mention their integrity, into question.

Do you want your friends or family members in the hands of someone who thinks that being distraught about the loss of someone you’ve raised children with and loved and depended upon for 50 years is mental illness? I know I don’t.

The next point is that much of the treatment they offer is drugs. Why? Number one, they don’t have a great reputation for curing anyone and, two, they can see someone for 10 or 15 minutes to prescribe or renew a prescription for a drug and make more money than if they’d spent 45 minutes actually talking with the person and helping resolve the problems they’re having in life that cause him to feel less than wonderful.

Addiction help is intensive. It takes many, many hours - generally about three months – of working with the individual, getting down to the bottom of why they’re taking drugs, helping them sort those things out so they really can overcome them, teaching them the skills they need in life, finding out who’s influencing them, if anyone, and helping them overcome that influence, and working out a plan they can stick to that will help them stay drug free.

And drugging them is a big mistake. A person can’t even think clearly on drugs - not to mention all the other dangerous side effects, like antidepressants that make you want to kill yourself. How is that person going to figure out their lives and get better if they’re drugged?

If psychiatry was so adept at enabling people to figure out and change their lives, why does so much of their treatment come down to giving the person drugs?

No, your best bet for addiction help services is experienced rehab professionals who really know the ropes and have a good success rate. Call us, we can help you find something that works.

The purpose of this blog is to help people with drug problems, not to denigrate any profession. But to fail to make people aware of what doesn’t work could prevent them from getting real help. Hence, this post.

Pennsylvania has a small population of drug users that can use addiction help. We are not talking about prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Xanax or Vicodin. We’re not even talking about the common illegal drugs. We’re talking about toad licking. And anyone who would go to those extremes to get high needs addiction help.

That’s right – toad licking. And it’s back in the news. Bill Graff, the Drug Czar of York County, Pennsylvania thought it was a joke. So did Diane Weaver of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Commission’s External Affairs Department and Dan Tredinnick, the press secretary for the Pennsylvania State Fish and Boat Commission.

All three laughed out loud about the prospect of toad licking as a way to get high and knew nothing about the arrest of the 21-year-old Colorado man in November of this year.

Toad licking will probably not make the news that often and certainly there are easier ways to abuse drugs. The venom from the toad could kill a dog, cause paralysis and all the while you can hallucinate. If you have it as a pet I suppose you could keep it out of harm’s way but still it could be dangerous.

Some people might make the case that hallucinogens such as these are more natural and thus they are safe. It would seem that a toad that has a self defense mechanism such as this is not safe as either a pet or a way to get high.

At Addiction Help Services we don’t believe that getting high is safe. And whether a hallucinogenic substance comes from a lab, toads, or is grown in the ground, it should not be used..

If you, a family member or a friend are using drugs, or toads, to get high we would like to get you the help you need at a successful drug treatment center. While the use of toads may seem funny, the abuse of drugs in any form is not. Addiction help services are available and we can help you find them.

I don’t know of many drug addicts who want to get arrested, but I came across a story about NASCAR driver Aaron Fike who reportedly told a judge that he was thankful for an arrest that got him the addiction help he needed to handle his problem with heroin.
 
According to the article, Fike was arrested while shooting up in an amusement park parking lot and was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of heroin. After four days in jail, Fike was admitted into a drug addiction treatment program where he spent four months.

Fike had struggled with addiction for many years. It started with him taking prescription painkillers to handle a physical injury. He got hooked on them very quickly, then graduated to OxyContin, and then started shooting heroin.

After his arrest he was thankful for the opportunity to get addiction treatment help to handle his substance abuse issues. Today, although he still may face some sentencing for his arrest, Fike is trying to deliver drug education to schools, racetracks and other community venues in order to reduce his charges.

His personal story shows what can happen when a person gets the addiction help services they need.

The story of the Reid sons has been in the news a lot recently. I thought the saga would end with their sentencing. I thought that both sons would serve some time in prison, get addiction help through drug treatment, and disappear from the public eye.

Now today there is another article in the news about Garret Reid, who was caught smuggling drugs into the prison where he is serving time.

This is a crime that could carry the penalty of two additional years in jail and will take away the chance that Reid was given for addiction help through a drug court treatment program.

 Getting someone the addiction help can reverse the cycle of drug addiction and criminal activity much more effectively than a jail sentence. If you know someone who need addiction help services, get them into a drug rehab center now. Don’t wait until they go to jail.

When it comes right down to it, you’re the only one who’s going to educate your kids on drugs and alcohol and ensure that your kids, family members and others you care about get the drug addiction help they need. And the first thing you have to do is recognize that there is a problem.

An article today about the Kentucky forum on drug abuse, entitled “Not My Child! (Are You Sure?),” featured Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force Director Cheyenne Albro. Winning the war on drugs requires success in three areas, says Albro, enforcement, education and treatment. Law enforcement, while active, is obviously not solving the problem. So, if your kid is in trouble, it’s up to you. “Drug abuse is a devastating disease. It’s got a death grip on our nation. The cure for that disease is you, the public,” said Albro.

‘Not My Child! (Are You Sure?)’ is probably what almost every parent thinks when they hear their kid is doing drugs. It may be just as shocking to you – but, nevertheless, if that’s what’s going on, you need to know about it. And you need to do something about it fast. Drugs ruin lives, and sometimes they end them. Don’t let it happen to someone you love. Contact a drug rehab counselor and get the addiction help treatment you need.

The most difficult news articles to read are the ones about addicts losing their lives because of drug addiction. When you have seen that drug rehab can be successful, someone dying from a addiction-related circumstance is unreal – it is so preventable.

I came across an article about this today – a man who had been addicted to cocaine for 10 years died when he made an aggressive move towards police and was shot.

According to the article the man was not violent but had a criminal record; mostly crimes that were drug related. At one time he was successful in life – a good job, a family and a nice home. But his addiction to crack cocaine destroyed all of it, and now it’s destroyed him.

Anyone that has worked in or gone through a successful drug treatment program could tell you that a successful drug rehab program would have helped.

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.

Whose responsibility is it to make sure that there are enough drug treatment centers available to help addicts? Should setting up successful drug treatment programs fall on the shoulders of governments, church groups or religious leaders? Or even private citizens? How about the communities in which drug rehab is needed most?

A recent article reports that one community in southern Tennessee is setting up drug treatment facilities by forming their own association. The group, which consists of several business owners, has seen what drug addiction is doing to their area and they want to do something about it.

The community group currently has 15 members – all from an area responsible for nearly half the city’s drug complaints.  The group hopes to raise enough money and get some government help to get a successful drug rehab program up and running. Unfortunately, the local government is currently not offering much support.

I read an article today about the residents of Washington Heights, an area in upper Manhattan, protesting a drug rehab opening right behind a school. “Why would you put a drug facility right on a street where there are drugs, constantly drugs?” comments one of the residents. That’s like asking why would you want to bring a policeman into an area where there’s crime. Washington Heights is notorious for its drug abuse problems, and has been for nearly 30 years. The place would probably do better if there was a drug rehab behind every school, not just one.

Residents are afraid that the facility will expose more kids to drugs – no, it will expose more kids to people who want to get off drugs. That’s a different story. It might even inspire some of the local addicts to get help, and it might run off some of the dealers.

There are different types of drug rehabs: there’s the kind that just pay lip service to rehabilitiation – methadone clinics are a good example – and there are those that help people get down to the bottom of why someone is taking drugs and actually enables them to begin a new life. The latter is a successful drug rehab program. If the new facility in Washington Heights follows that model, residents should count their blessings.