Prescription Drug Addiction and the elderly seem to be overlooked in our society. My grandmother died of pulmonary fibrosis, however, before this diagnosis, the doctor kept giving her codeine cough syrup and Xanax for her chronic cough. She went misdiagnosed until 8 months before her death. Once her disease had progressed, she was in and…
Meth around the World
Methamphetamine continues to surface in the news around the world. Many different countries are struggling at attempting to control the manufacturing and selling of meth. Recently in Mexico City, soldiers found 15 tons of methamphetamine, which in America would retail for $100 per gram. Meth production crackdowns in America and China may have contributed to…
Disfiguring Drug Sweeps Russia
Addicts in Russia have become desperate to achieve heroin high in the midst of the rise in the price of heroin. Heroin addicts have found that the simple mixing of codeine with some household items such as iodine and industrial cleaning oil combined create a poor substitute for the heroin rush. This synthetic heroin is…
5 Ways to Help Addicted Employees Get into a Drug Rehab Program
A new study conducted by the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addiction found that supervisor contact alone is not sufficient to stop employees from drinking or drugging while on the job. However, researchers found that if employees believed that supervisors would take corrective action if substance abuse was detected, drug and alcohol use at…
Alcohol Makes You Feel Good
Consuming alcohol causes our brain to release endorphins which contribute to feeling pleasure and reward. The Science Translational Medicine published a research study that scanned the brains of 13 heavy drinkers and 12 non-drinkers after they drank the same amount of alcohol. Both had a release of many endorphins; however, in heavy drinkers, there was…
Quitting Marijuana with Aid
Quitting Marijuana with Aid Researchers from the University of NSW, Australia, believe that the same inhalant used for multiple sclerosis may be helpful for those who are attempting to terminate their marijuana dependence. Sativex, the inhalant medication, contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the two main ingredients found in marijuana. Long term marijuana abuse has…
H.A.L.T. – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
H.A.L.T. – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired One of the most common acronyms in recovery is H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired). This recovery tool learned in a drug rehab program is simple to use and applicable to all addicts in recovery, or even those who are not in recovery. No matter how you are feeling or…
Stress Management a Necessity for the Recovering Addict
Stress Management a Necessity for the Recovering Addict Recovery depends on many things, not the least of which is managing stress. Individuals attending quality treatment programs may learn some stress management tools during a drug rehab program. There are many approaches to managing stress and, in most cases, a person will utilize more than one…
Prescriptions, Overdoses and Deaths
Prescriptions, Overdoses and Deaths Thomas Frieden, director of the Center for Disease Control, issued a statement in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). He stated, “Overdoses involving prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels and now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined.” The JAMA article further describes that drug prescriptions in 2010…
Brain Injury and Addiction
In Canada, there was a conference where Dr. Garbor Mate investigated the medical literature around brain injury and addiction. He was hoping to find information about brain injury leading to addiction; however, he found that addiction was present before a brain injury. Mate reports, “Brain injuries happen mostly to young men and they tend to…
