Alcohol Statistics
•Each year, a typical young person in the United States is inundated with more than
1,000 commercials for beer and wine coolers and several thousand fictional drinking
incidents on television.
•Alcohol is involved in 50% of all driving fatalities.
•In the United States, every 30 minutes someone is killed in an alcohol related
traffic accident.
•Over 15 million Americans are dependent on alcohol. 500,000 are between the age of
9 and 12.
•Each year the liquor industry spends almost $2 billion dollars on advertising and
encouraging the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
•Americans spend over $90 billion dollars total on alcohol each year.
•An average American may consume over 25 gallons of beer, 2 gallons of wine, and 1.5
gallons of distilled spirits each year.
•Pregnant women who drink are feeding alcohol to their babies. Unfortunately the
underdeveloped liver of the baby can only burn alcohol at half the rate of its
mother, so the alcohol stays in the baby's system twice as long.
•Each year students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more then they spend on soft
drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee, or books combined.
•56% of students in grade 5 to 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to
drink.
•6.6% of employees in full time jobs report heavy drinking, defined as drinking five
or more drinks per occasion on five or more days in the past 30 days.
•The highest percentage of heavy drinkers (12.2%) is found among unemployed adults
between the age of 26 to 34
•Up to 40% of all industrial fatalities and 47% of industrial injuries can be linked
to alcohol consumption and alcoholism.
•In 2000, almost 7 million persons age 12 to 20 was a binge drinker; that is about
one in five persons under the legal drinking age was a binge drinker.
•The 2001 survey shows 25 million (one in ten) Americans surveyed reported driving
under the influence of alcohol. This report is nearly three million more than the
previous year. Among young adults age 18 to 25 years, almost 23% drove under the
influence of alcohol.
•Drunk driving is proving to be even deadlier then what we previously know. The
latest death statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), using a new method of calculation show that 17,488 people
where killed in alcohol related traffic accidents last year. This report represents
nearly 800 more people where killed than the previous year.
•Alcohol is the number 1 drug problem in America.
•43% of Americans have been exposed to alcoholism in their families.
•Nearly one out of 4 Americans admitted to general hospitals have alcohol problems
or are undiagnosed alcoholics being diagnosed for alcohol related consequences.
•Alcohol and alcohol related problems is costing the American economy at least $100
million in health care and lost of productivity every year.
•Four in ten criminal offenders report alcohol as a factor in violence.
•Among spouse violence victims, three out of four incidents were reported to have
involved alcohol use by the offender.
•In 1996, local law enforcement agencies made an estimated 1,467,300 arrests
nationwide for driving under the influence of alcohol.
DBC NETWORK KERJA DIRUMAH PENGHASILAN LUAR BIASA
Selasa, 01 September 2009
drug rehabs - Drugs and Alcohol
Drugs and Alcohol
Drugs and alcohol are both substances which alter the perceptions of the individual who consumes them. Using these substances regularly can cause a lot of trouble for the user. Many find that their occasional use turns into habitual use, which is more often than not just a step away from addiction. Addiction is where the individual depends on these substances just to feel good or get through their day.
Here are a few of the early warning signs that a person may have problems with drugs and alcohol:
relying on drugs and alcohol to have fun, forget problems, or relax
having blackouts (when a person can't remember what happened when drunk or high)
taking drugs and alcohol by their self
withdrawing or keeping secrets from friends or family
performing differently in school (such as grades dropping and frequent absences)
building an increased tolerance to drugs and alcohol - gradually needing more and more of the substance to get the same feeling There are probably as many definitions of "addiction" and abuse as there are substances to abuse. Misunderstandings occur when we get lost in quibbling over "how much" and "how many times" we take drugs and alcohol. In addition, many of us have cultural, religious, and social baggage about the use of drugs and alcohol. A more useful way to decide if a person is chemically dependent is to consider whether an "impairment" or "negative consequence" occurs as a result of use. This can happen in their physical, emotional, and/or social functioning. Sometimes they notice the effects of drugs and alcohol on their lives, sometimes others have to point it out to them. The range of use includes "experimentation" (use a few times to discover the effect), "regular" or "social use" (use without impairment or negative consequences), "problem use" (impairment in one area of functioning), and "addiction" (the inability to stop using or to stay stopped despite negative consequences in one or more areas of one's life). This includes compulsive use and the loss of control over use.
It is usually hard for people to recognize that they have a problem with drugs and alcohol. This is why friends or family often step in. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol may promise over and over that they'll stop. However, quitting is hard to do. Many people find they can't do it without help. The best thing for an individual who has problems with drugs and alcohol is to talk to someone they trust, preferably someone who can support them emotional. This way they don't have to deal with their problem alone. There are also lots of resources for people who have problems with drugs and alcohol.
Drugs and alcohol are both substances which alter the perceptions of the individual who consumes them. Using these substances regularly can cause a lot of trouble for the user. Many find that their occasional use turns into habitual use, which is more often than not just a step away from addiction. Addiction is where the individual depends on these substances just to feel good or get through their day.
Here are a few of the early warning signs that a person may have problems with drugs and alcohol:
relying on drugs and alcohol to have fun, forget problems, or relax
having blackouts (when a person can't remember what happened when drunk or high)
taking drugs and alcohol by their self
withdrawing or keeping secrets from friends or family
performing differently in school (such as grades dropping and frequent absences)
building an increased tolerance to drugs and alcohol - gradually needing more and more of the substance to get the same feeling There are probably as many definitions of "addiction" and abuse as there are substances to abuse. Misunderstandings occur when we get lost in quibbling over "how much" and "how many times" we take drugs and alcohol. In addition, many of us have cultural, religious, and social baggage about the use of drugs and alcohol. A more useful way to decide if a person is chemically dependent is to consider whether an "impairment" or "negative consequence" occurs as a result of use. This can happen in their physical, emotional, and/or social functioning. Sometimes they notice the effects of drugs and alcohol on their lives, sometimes others have to point it out to them. The range of use includes "experimentation" (use a few times to discover the effect), "regular" or "social use" (use without impairment or negative consequences), "problem use" (impairment in one area of functioning), and "addiction" (the inability to stop using or to stay stopped despite negative consequences in one or more areas of one's life). This includes compulsive use and the loss of control over use.
It is usually hard for people to recognize that they have a problem with drugs and alcohol. This is why friends or family often step in. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol may promise over and over that they'll stop. However, quitting is hard to do. Many people find they can't do it without help. The best thing for an individual who has problems with drugs and alcohol is to talk to someone they trust, preferably someone who can support them emotional. This way they don't have to deal with their problem alone. There are also lots of resources for people who have problems with drugs and alcohol.
drug rehabs - Valium addiction
Valium addiction is a very serious and sometimes life threatening dilemma. Not only is it difficult for the addict, it is extremely hard on those around them who care about them. For the addict, admitting they have an addiction problem can be difficult. However painful this may be, it must be acknowledged as the first gradient to overcoming the problem. The next hurdle is being willing to seek & accept help from an addiction professional. It can be hard for an addict to confront the fact that they can not do it alone. Once this fact is accepted, it is time to seek the appropriate professional treatment. Drug rehab programs based on the social education modality are highly successful. This means that individuals who are recovering from Valium addiction are not made wrong for their past indiscretions, but are taught how to avoid future ones. They are provided with knowledge on how to change their lives and how to live comfortably without Valium. Receiving treatment for addiction should be done in a safe & stable environment that is conducive to addiction recovery. Research studies show that residential treatment programs of at least 3 months in duration have the best success rates. 3 months may seem like a long time, but one day in the life of an individual addicted to Valium can feel like an eternity. Addiction is a self imposed hellish slavery. The chains can be broken people do it everyday. You can be free!
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Valium Detox Center
# Valium Rehab
# Valium Treatment
# Valium Addiction Treatment
# Valium Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Valium In-Patient Treatment
# Valium Out-Patient Treatment
Q) What is Valium?
A) Valium is a drug of the Benzodiazepine sedative class. Valium (diazepam) acts on the limbic, thalmic and hypothalmic regions of the central nervous system to potentiate the effects of inhibitory neurotransmitters.
Q) Is the difference between Valium and Diazepam?
A) There is no actual difference between Valium and Diazepam. Diazepam is the generic form of Valium which is the name brand manufactured by Roche.
Q) What does Valium look like?
A) Valium in mainly available in tablets. The 2mg tablet is white, the 5mg tablet is yellow, and the 10mg tablet is blue.
Q) How is Valium used?
A) Valium is usually taken orally in tablet form but is also manufactured in an intravenous form.
Q) When are the effects of Valium general felt?
A) The effects of Valium are felt within thirty minutes after taking it orally and one to five minutes after injection.
Q) What side effects may occur with the use and abuse of Valium?
A) Common side effects of Valium are clumsiness and sleepiness. Although, some experience abdominal cramps, blurred vision, dry mouth, racing heartbeat / palpitations, shaking / slurred speech, urination problems, convulsions, hallucinations, memory loss, trouble breathing, staggering / trembling, headache or confusion.
Q) What are the symptoms of a Valium overdose?
A) The symptoms of a Valium overdose include coma, confusion, diminished reflexes and sleepiness.
Q) Is Valium considered addictive?
A) Yes, Valium is considered addictive. The user builds a tolerance and feels the need to increase the amount they take to achieve the same "high". Over a period of time Valium becomes physically and psychologically addictive.
Q) Once addicted to Valium is there a withdrawal that comes with ending usage?
A) Yes, when you the withdrawal symptoms of Valium are similar to those of other barbiturates and alcohol which included: convulsions, tremor, abdominal and muscle cramps, vomiting and sweating. Consequently, after extended abuse, abrupt discontinuation should generally be avoided and a gradual dosage tapering schedule followed.
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Valium Detox Center
# Valium Rehab
# Valium Treatment
# Valium Addiction Treatment
# Valium Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Valium In-Patient Treatment
# Valium Out-Patient Treatment
Q) What is Valium?
A) Valium is a drug of the Benzodiazepine sedative class. Valium (diazepam) acts on the limbic, thalmic and hypothalmic regions of the central nervous system to potentiate the effects of inhibitory neurotransmitters.
Q) Is the difference between Valium and Diazepam?
A) There is no actual difference between Valium and Diazepam. Diazepam is the generic form of Valium which is the name brand manufactured by Roche.
Q) What does Valium look like?
A) Valium in mainly available in tablets. The 2mg tablet is white, the 5mg tablet is yellow, and the 10mg tablet is blue.
Q) How is Valium used?
A) Valium is usually taken orally in tablet form but is also manufactured in an intravenous form.
Q) When are the effects of Valium general felt?
A) The effects of Valium are felt within thirty minutes after taking it orally and one to five minutes after injection.
Q) What side effects may occur with the use and abuse of Valium?
A) Common side effects of Valium are clumsiness and sleepiness. Although, some experience abdominal cramps, blurred vision, dry mouth, racing heartbeat / palpitations, shaking / slurred speech, urination problems, convulsions, hallucinations, memory loss, trouble breathing, staggering / trembling, headache or confusion.
Q) What are the symptoms of a Valium overdose?
A) The symptoms of a Valium overdose include coma, confusion, diminished reflexes and sleepiness.
Q) Is Valium considered addictive?
A) Yes, Valium is considered addictive. The user builds a tolerance and feels the need to increase the amount they take to achieve the same "high". Over a period of time Valium becomes physically and psychologically addictive.
Q) Once addicted to Valium is there a withdrawal that comes with ending usage?
A) Yes, when you the withdrawal symptoms of Valium are similar to those of other barbiturates and alcohol which included: convulsions, tremor, abdominal and muscle cramps, vomiting and sweating. Consequently, after extended abuse, abrupt discontinuation should generally be avoided and a gradual dosage tapering schedule followed.
drug rehabs - Morphine addiction
Morphine addiction is a very serious and sometimes life threatening dilemma. Not only is it difficult for the addict, it is extremely hard on those around them who care about them. For the addict, admitting they have an addiction problem can be difficult. However painful this may be, it must be acknowledged as the first gradient to overcoming the problem. The next hurdle is being willing to seek & accept help from an addiction professional. It can be hard for an addict to confront the fact that they can not do it alone. Once this fact is accepted, it is time to seek the appropriate professional treatment. Drug rehab programs based on the social education modality are highly successful. This means that individuals who are recovering from Morphine addiction are not made wrong for their past indiscretions, but are taught how to avoid future ones. They are provided with knowledge on how to change their lives and how to live comfortably without Morphine. Receiving treatment for addiction should be done in a safe & stable environment that is conducive to addiction recovery. Research studies show that residential treatment programs of at least 3 months in duration have the best success rates. 3 months may seem like a long time, but one day in the life of an individual addicted to Morphine can feel like an eternity. Addiction is a self imposed hellish slavery. The chains can be broken people do it everyday. You can be free!
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Morphine Detox Center
# Morphine Rehab
# Morphine Treatment
# Morphine Addiction Treatment
# Morphine Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Morphine In-Patient Treatment
# Morphine Out-Patient Treatment
Q) What is Morphine?
A) Morphine is a narcotic analgesic. Morphine was first isolated from opium in 1805 by a German pharmacist, Wilhelm Sertürner. Sertürner described it as the Principium Somniferum. He named it morphium - after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Today morphine is isolated from opium in substantially larger quantities - over 1000 tons per year - although most commercial opium is converted into codeine by methylation. On the illicit market, opium gum is filtered into morphine base and then synthesized into heroin.
Q) How is Morphine used?
A) Morphinecan be taken orally in tablet form, and can also injected subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously; the last is the route preferred by those who are dependent on morphine.
Q) What are the side effects of Morphine?
A)
anxiety
Q) What are the symptoms of Overdose?
A)
* cold clammy skin
* flaccid muscles
* fluid in the lungs
* lowered blood pressure
* "pinpoint" or dilated pupils
* sleepiness
* stupor
* coma
* slowed breathing
* slow pulse rate
Q) What is Morphine addiction?
A) Morphine is highly addictive. Tolerance (the need for higher and higher doses to maintain the same effect) and physical and psychological dependence develop quickly. Withdrawal from morphine causes nausea, tearing, yawning, chills, and sweating lasting up to three days. Morphine crosses the placental barrier, and babies born to morphine-using mothers go through withdrawal.
Addictive drugs activate the brain’s reward systems. The promise of reward is very intense, causing the individual to crave the drug and to focus his or her activities around taking the drug. The ability of addictive drugs to strongly activate brain reward mechanisms and their ability to chemically alter the normal functioning of these systems can produce an addiction. Drugs also reduce a person’s level of consciousness, harming the ability to think or be fully aware of present surroundings.
Q) What are possible drug interactions when using Morphine?
A)
* Alcohol
* Certain analgesics such as Talwin, Nubain, Stadol, and Buprenex
* Drugs that control vomiting, such as Compazine and Tigan
* Drugs classified as MAO inhibitors, such as the antidepressants Nardil and Parnate
* Major tranquilizers such as Thorazine and Haldol
* Muscle relaxants such as Flexeril and Valium
* Sedatives such as Dalmane and Halcion
* Tranquilizers such as Librium and Xanax
* Water pills such as Diuril and Lasix
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Morphine Detox Center
# Morphine Rehab
# Morphine Treatment
# Morphine Addiction Treatment
# Morphine Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Morphine In-Patient Treatment
# Morphine Out-Patient Treatment
Q) What is Morphine?
A) Morphine is a narcotic analgesic. Morphine was first isolated from opium in 1805 by a German pharmacist, Wilhelm Sertürner. Sertürner described it as the Principium Somniferum. He named it morphium - after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Today morphine is isolated from opium in substantially larger quantities - over 1000 tons per year - although most commercial opium is converted into codeine by methylation. On the illicit market, opium gum is filtered into morphine base and then synthesized into heroin.
Q) How is Morphine used?
A) Morphinecan be taken orally in tablet form, and can also injected subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously; the last is the route preferred by those who are dependent on morphine.
Q) What are the side effects of Morphine?
A)
anxiety
Q) What are the symptoms of Overdose?
A)
* cold clammy skin
* flaccid muscles
* fluid in the lungs
* lowered blood pressure
* "pinpoint" or dilated pupils
* sleepiness
* stupor
* coma
* slowed breathing
* slow pulse rate
Q) What is Morphine addiction?
A) Morphine is highly addictive. Tolerance (the need for higher and higher doses to maintain the same effect) and physical and psychological dependence develop quickly. Withdrawal from morphine causes nausea, tearing, yawning, chills, and sweating lasting up to three days. Morphine crosses the placental barrier, and babies born to morphine-using mothers go through withdrawal.
Addictive drugs activate the brain’s reward systems. The promise of reward is very intense, causing the individual to crave the drug and to focus his or her activities around taking the drug. The ability of addictive drugs to strongly activate brain reward mechanisms and their ability to chemically alter the normal functioning of these systems can produce an addiction. Drugs also reduce a person’s level of consciousness, harming the ability to think or be fully aware of present surroundings.
Q) What are possible drug interactions when using Morphine?
A)
* Alcohol
* Certain analgesics such as Talwin, Nubain, Stadol, and Buprenex
* Drugs that control vomiting, such as Compazine and Tigan
* Drugs classified as MAO inhibitors, such as the antidepressants Nardil and Parnate
* Major tranquilizers such as Thorazine and Haldol
* Muscle relaxants such as Flexeril and Valium
* Sedatives such as Dalmane and Halcion
* Tranquilizers such as Librium and Xanax
* Water pills such as Diuril and Lasix
drug rehabs - cocaine addict
Cocaine addiction is a very serious and sometimes life threatening dilemma. Not only is it difficult for the addict, it is extremely hard on those around them who care about them. For the addict, admitting they have an addiction problem can be difficult. However painful this may be, it must be acknowledged as the first gradient to overcoming the problem. The next hurdle is being willing to seek & accept help from an addiction professional. It can be hard for an addict to confront the fact that they can not do it alone. Once this fact is accepted, it is time to seek the appropriate professional treatment. Drug rehab programs based on the social education modality are highly successful. This means that individuals who are recovering from Cocaine addiction are not made wrong for their past indiscretions, but are taught how to avoid future ones. They are provided with knowledge on how to change their lives and how to live comfortably without Cocaine. Receiving treatment for addiction should be done in a safe & stable environment that is conducive to addiction recovery. Research studies show that residential treatment programs of at least 3 months in duration have the best success rates. 3 months may seem like a long time, but one day in the life of an individual addicted to Cocaine can feel like an eternity. Addiction is a self imposed hellish slavery. The chains can be broken people do it everyday. You can be free!
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Cocaine Detox Center
# Cocaine Rehab
# Cocaine Treatment
# Cocaine Addiction Treatment
# Cocaine Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Cocaine In-Patient Treatment
# Cocaine Out-Patient Treatment
Cocaine addiction is one of society's greatest problems today. Individuals addicted to cocaine will do almost anything to get the drug. It has penetrated all levels of our society, rich, poor, and everyone in between. Family members connected to cocaine addicts live in chaos and confusion. Not understanding the underlying mechanics of cocaine addiction.
Q) What is Cocaine?
A) Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca bush, which grows in South America. Cocaine has been used for centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air, in the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others. Until 1906, this substance was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and was also used as a anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts against cocaine in the early 1900s. The danger associated with cocaine was ignored in the 1970s and early 1980s, and cocaine was proclaimed by many to be safe. With the accumulating medical evidence of cocaine's deleterious effects and the introduction and widespread use of cocaine, the public and government have become alarmed again about its growing use. To many Americans, especially health care and social workers who deal with cocaine users and have witnessed the personal and societal devastation it produces, cocaine addiction is, by far, the most serious drug problem in the United States.
Q) How is cocaine used?
A) There are four primary methods of ingesting cocaine. These are:
1. "Snorting" - absorbing cocaine through the mucous membranes of the nose.
2. Injecting - users mix cocaine powder with water and use a syringe to inject the
solution intravenously.
3. Freebasing - Cocaine hydrochloride is converted to a "freebase" which can then be
smoked.
4. Crack Cocaine - Cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda) and other ingredients, causing it to solidify into pellets or
"rocks". The crack is then smoked in glass pipes.
Q) How widespread is cocaine addiction?
A)
* In 1997, there were approximately 1.5 million regular cocaine abusers.
* 1-tenth of the population - over 22 million people have tried cocaine.
* Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine.
* Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia's #1 export,
coffee.
* 1 in 10 workers say they know someone who uses cocaine on the job.
In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million Americans (0.7 percent of those age 12 and older) were current cocaine users, according to the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). This number has not changed significantly since 1992, although it is a dramatic decrease from the 1985 peak of 5.7 million cocaine users(3 percent of the population). Based upon additional data sources that take into account users underrepresented in the NHSDA, the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the number of chronic cocaine users at 3.6 million.
Adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other age group. Overall, men have a higher rate of current cocaine use than do women. Also, according to the 1997 NHSDA, rates of current cocaine use were 1.4 percent for African Americans, 0.8 percent for Hispanics, and 0.6 percent for Caucasians.
Cocaine remains a serious problem in the United States. The NHSDA estimated the number of current cocaine users to be about 604,000 in 1997, which does not reflect any significant change since 1988.
The 1998 Monitoring the Future Survey, which annually surveys teen attitudes and recent drug use, reports that lifetime and past-year use of cocaine increased among eighth graders to its highest levels since 1991, the first year data were available for this grade. The percentage of eighth graders reporting cocaine use at least once in their lives increased from 2.7 percent in 1997 to 3.2 percent in 1998. Past-year use of cocaine also rose slightly among this group, although no changes were found for other grades.
Data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that cocaine-related emergency room visits, after increasing 78 percent between 1990 and 1994, remained level between 1994 and 1996, with 152,433 cocaine-related episodes reported in 1996.
Q) Why would anyone become addicted to cocaine?
A) The effects of cocaine are immediate, extremely pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine produce intense but short-lived euphoria and can make users feel more energetic. Like caffeine, cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects include feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with anxiety and restlessness. As the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the drug abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days.
Q) What are the physical effects of cocaine addiction?
A)
* Changes in blood pressure, heart rates, and breathing rates
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Anxiety
* Convulsions
* Insomnia
* Loss of appetite leading to malnutrition and weight loss
* Cold sweats
* Swelling and bleeding of mucous membranes
* Restlessness and anxiety
* Damage to nasal cavities
* Damage to lungs
* Possible heart attacks, strokes, or convulsions
HEALTH EFFECTS
Even though the public is often regaled with highly publicized accounts of deaths from cocaine, many still mistakenly believe the drug, especially when sniffed, to be nonaddictive and not as harmful as other illicit drugs. Cocaine's immediate physical effects include raised breathing rate, raised blood pressure and body temperature, and dilated pupils.
By causing the coronary arteries to constrict, blood pressure rises and the blood supply to the heart diminishes. This can cause heart attacks or convulsions within an hour after use. Chronic users and those with hypertension, epilepsy, and cardiovascular disease are at particular risk. Studies show that even those with no previous heart problems risk cardiac complications from cocaine. Increased use may sensitize the brain to the drug's effects so that less of the substance is needed to induce a seizure. Those who inject the drug are at high risk for AIDS and hepatitis when they share needles. Allergic reactions to cocaine or other substances mixed in with the drug may also occur.
Q) What are the short term effects of cocaine?
A) Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect. Short-term effects of cocaine
* Increased energy
* Decreased appetite
* Mental alertness
* Increased heart rate
* Increased blood pressure
* Constricted blood vessels
* Increased temperature
* Dilated pupils
The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes
The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.
Q) What are the long term effects of cocaine?
A) Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the brain's reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug of abuse. Long-term effects of cocaine Addiction
* Irritability
* Mood disturbances
* Restlessness
* Paranoia
* Auditory hallucinations
An appreciable tolerance to cocaine's high may develop, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant effects, without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.
Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.
Q) What are the medical complications of cocaine use?
A) There are enormous medical complications associated with cocaine use. Some of the most frequent complications are cardiovascular effects, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks; such respiratory effects as chest pain and respiratory failure; neurological effects, including strokes, seizure, and headaches; and gastrointestinal complications, including abdominal pain and nausea.
Medical consequences of cocaine abuse:
Cardiovascular effects
* disturbances in heart
* rhythm heart attacks
Respiratory effects
* chest pain
* respiratory failure
Neurological effects
* strokes
* seizures
* headaches
Gastrointestinal effects
* abdominal pain
* nausea
Cocaine use has been linked to many types of heart disease. Cocaine has been found to trigger chaotic heart rhythms, called ventricular fibrillation; accelerate heartbeat and breathing; and increase blood pressure and body temperature. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma.
Different routes of cocaine administration can produce different adverse effects. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum, which can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow. And, persons who inject cocaine have puncture marks and "tracks," most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous cocaine users may also experience an allergic reaction, either to the drug, or to some additive in street cocaine, which can result, in severe cases, in death. Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease food intake, many chronic cocaine users lose their appetites and can experience significant weight loss and malnourishment.
Research has revealed a potentially dangerous interaction between cocaine and alcohol. Taken in combination, the two drugs are converted by the body to cocaethylene. Cocaethylene has a longer duration of action in the brain and is more toxic than either drug alone. While more research needs to be done, it is noteworthy that the mixture of cocaine and alcohol is the most common two-drug combination that results in drug-related death.
Q) How does cocaine produce its effects?
A) A great amount of research has been devoted to understanding the way cocaine produces its pleasurable effects, and the reasons it is so addictive. One mechanism is through its effects on structures deep in the brain. Scientists have discovered regions within the brain that, when stimulated, produce feelings of pleasure. One neural system that appears to be most affected by cocaine originates in a region, located deep within the brain, called the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nerve cells originating in the VTA extend to the region of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens, one of the brain's key pleasure centers. In studies using animals, for example, all types of pleasurable stimuli, such as food, water, sex, and many drugs of abuse, cause increased activity in the nucleus accumbens.
in the brain - In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse, where it can bind with dopamine receptors on neighboring neurons. Normally dopamine is then recycled back into the transmitting neuron by a specialized protein called the dopamine transporter. If cocaine is present, it attaches to the dopamine transporter and blocks the normal recycling process, resulting in a build-up of dopamine in the synapse which contributes to the pleasurable effects of cocaine.
Researchers have discovered that, when a pleasurable event is occurring, it is accompanied by a large increase in the amounts of dopamine released in the nucleus accumbens by neurons originating in the VTA. In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse (the small gap between two neurons), where it binds with specialized proteins (called dopamine receptors) on the neighboring neuron, thereby sending a signal to that neuron. Drugs of abuse are able to interfere with this normal communication process. For example, scientists have discovered that cocaine blocks the removal of dopamine from the synapse, resulting in an accumulation of dopamine. This buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of receiving neurons, probably resulting in the euphoria commonly reported by cocaine abusers.
As cocaine abuse continues, tolerance often develops. This means that higher doses and more frequent use of cocaine are required for the brain to register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use. Recent studies have shown that, during periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous craving and relapse to drug use, even after long periods of abstinence.
Drug rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life.
Almost all addicts tell themselves in the beginning that they can conquer their addiction on their own without the help of outside resources. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. When an addict makes an attempt at detoxification and to discontinue drug use without the aid of professional help, statistically the results do not last long. Research into the effects of long-term addiction has shown that substantial changes in the way the brain functions are present long after the addict has stopped using drugs. Realizing that a drug addict who wishes to recover from their addiction needs more than just strong will power is the key to a successful recovery. Battling not only cravings for their drug of choice, re-stimulation of their past and changes in the way their brain functions, it is no wonder that quitting drugs without professional help is an uphill battle.
As an organization we are dedicated to finding the correct solution for your specific addiction problem. Our referral list contains over 3,000 resources which encompass the following treatment categories :
# Cocaine Detox Center
# Cocaine Rehab
# Cocaine Treatment
# Cocaine Addiction Treatment
# Cocaine Addiction Counseling
# Meetings
# Cocaine In-Patient Treatment
# Cocaine Out-Patient Treatment
Cocaine addiction is one of society's greatest problems today. Individuals addicted to cocaine will do almost anything to get the drug. It has penetrated all levels of our society, rich, poor, and everyone in between. Family members connected to cocaine addicts live in chaos and confusion. Not understanding the underlying mechanics of cocaine addiction.
Q) What is Cocaine?
A) Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca bush, which grows in South America. Cocaine has been used for centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air, in the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others. Until 1906, this substance was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and was also used as a anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts against cocaine in the early 1900s. The danger associated with cocaine was ignored in the 1970s and early 1980s, and cocaine was proclaimed by many to be safe. With the accumulating medical evidence of cocaine's deleterious effects and the introduction and widespread use of cocaine, the public and government have become alarmed again about its growing use. To many Americans, especially health care and social workers who deal with cocaine users and have witnessed the personal and societal devastation it produces, cocaine addiction is, by far, the most serious drug problem in the United States.
Q) How is cocaine used?
A) There are four primary methods of ingesting cocaine. These are:
1. "Snorting" - absorbing cocaine through the mucous membranes of the nose.
2. Injecting - users mix cocaine powder with water and use a syringe to inject the
solution intravenously.
3. Freebasing - Cocaine hydrochloride is converted to a "freebase" which can then be
smoked.
4. Crack Cocaine - Cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda) and other ingredients, causing it to solidify into pellets or
"rocks". The crack is then smoked in glass pipes.
Q) How widespread is cocaine addiction?
A)
* In 1997, there were approximately 1.5 million regular cocaine abusers.
* 1-tenth of the population - over 22 million people have tried cocaine.
* Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine.
* Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia's #1 export,
coffee.
* 1 in 10 workers say they know someone who uses cocaine on the job.
In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million Americans (0.7 percent of those age 12 and older) were current cocaine users, according to the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). This number has not changed significantly since 1992, although it is a dramatic decrease from the 1985 peak of 5.7 million cocaine users(3 percent of the population). Based upon additional data sources that take into account users underrepresented in the NHSDA, the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the number of chronic cocaine users at 3.6 million.
Adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other age group. Overall, men have a higher rate of current cocaine use than do women. Also, according to the 1997 NHSDA, rates of current cocaine use were 1.4 percent for African Americans, 0.8 percent for Hispanics, and 0.6 percent for Caucasians.
Cocaine remains a serious problem in the United States. The NHSDA estimated the number of current cocaine users to be about 604,000 in 1997, which does not reflect any significant change since 1988.
The 1998 Monitoring the Future Survey, which annually surveys teen attitudes and recent drug use, reports that lifetime and past-year use of cocaine increased among eighth graders to its highest levels since 1991, the first year data were available for this grade. The percentage of eighth graders reporting cocaine use at least once in their lives increased from 2.7 percent in 1997 to 3.2 percent in 1998. Past-year use of cocaine also rose slightly among this group, although no changes were found for other grades.
Data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that cocaine-related emergency room visits, after increasing 78 percent between 1990 and 1994, remained level between 1994 and 1996, with 152,433 cocaine-related episodes reported in 1996.
Q) Why would anyone become addicted to cocaine?
A) The effects of cocaine are immediate, extremely pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine produce intense but short-lived euphoria and can make users feel more energetic. Like caffeine, cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects include feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with anxiety and restlessness. As the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the drug abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days.
Q) What are the physical effects of cocaine addiction?
A)
* Changes in blood pressure, heart rates, and breathing rates
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Anxiety
* Convulsions
* Insomnia
* Loss of appetite leading to malnutrition and weight loss
* Cold sweats
* Swelling and bleeding of mucous membranes
* Restlessness and anxiety
* Damage to nasal cavities
* Damage to lungs
* Possible heart attacks, strokes, or convulsions
HEALTH EFFECTS
Even though the public is often regaled with highly publicized accounts of deaths from cocaine, many still mistakenly believe the drug, especially when sniffed, to be nonaddictive and not as harmful as other illicit drugs. Cocaine's immediate physical effects include raised breathing rate, raised blood pressure and body temperature, and dilated pupils.
By causing the coronary arteries to constrict, blood pressure rises and the blood supply to the heart diminishes. This can cause heart attacks or convulsions within an hour after use. Chronic users and those with hypertension, epilepsy, and cardiovascular disease are at particular risk. Studies show that even those with no previous heart problems risk cardiac complications from cocaine. Increased use may sensitize the brain to the drug's effects so that less of the substance is needed to induce a seizure. Those who inject the drug are at high risk for AIDS and hepatitis when they share needles. Allergic reactions to cocaine or other substances mixed in with the drug may also occur.
Q) What are the short term effects of cocaine?
A) Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect. Short-term effects of cocaine
* Increased energy
* Decreased appetite
* Mental alertness
* Increased heart rate
* Increased blood pressure
* Constricted blood vessels
* Increased temperature
* Dilated pupils
The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes
The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.
Q) What are the long term effects of cocaine?
A) Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the brain's reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug of abuse. Long-term effects of cocaine Addiction
* Irritability
* Mood disturbances
* Restlessness
* Paranoia
* Auditory hallucinations
An appreciable tolerance to cocaine's high may develop, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant effects, without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.
Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.
Q) What are the medical complications of cocaine use?
A) There are enormous medical complications associated with cocaine use. Some of the most frequent complications are cardiovascular effects, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks; such respiratory effects as chest pain and respiratory failure; neurological effects, including strokes, seizure, and headaches; and gastrointestinal complications, including abdominal pain and nausea.
Medical consequences of cocaine abuse:
Cardiovascular effects
* disturbances in heart
* rhythm heart attacks
Respiratory effects
* chest pain
* respiratory failure
Neurological effects
* strokes
* seizures
* headaches
Gastrointestinal effects
* abdominal pain
* nausea
Cocaine use has been linked to many types of heart disease. Cocaine has been found to trigger chaotic heart rhythms, called ventricular fibrillation; accelerate heartbeat and breathing; and increase blood pressure and body temperature. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma.
Different routes of cocaine administration can produce different adverse effects. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum, which can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow. And, persons who inject cocaine have puncture marks and "tracks," most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous cocaine users may also experience an allergic reaction, either to the drug, or to some additive in street cocaine, which can result, in severe cases, in death. Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease food intake, many chronic cocaine users lose their appetites and can experience significant weight loss and malnourishment.
Research has revealed a potentially dangerous interaction between cocaine and alcohol. Taken in combination, the two drugs are converted by the body to cocaethylene. Cocaethylene has a longer duration of action in the brain and is more toxic than either drug alone. While more research needs to be done, it is noteworthy that the mixture of cocaine and alcohol is the most common two-drug combination that results in drug-related death.
Q) How does cocaine produce its effects?
A) A great amount of research has been devoted to understanding the way cocaine produces its pleasurable effects, and the reasons it is so addictive. One mechanism is through its effects on structures deep in the brain. Scientists have discovered regions within the brain that, when stimulated, produce feelings of pleasure. One neural system that appears to be most affected by cocaine originates in a region, located deep within the brain, called the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nerve cells originating in the VTA extend to the region of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens, one of the brain's key pleasure centers. In studies using animals, for example, all types of pleasurable stimuli, such as food, water, sex, and many drugs of abuse, cause increased activity in the nucleus accumbens.
in the brain - In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse, where it can bind with dopamine receptors on neighboring neurons. Normally dopamine is then recycled back into the transmitting neuron by a specialized protein called the dopamine transporter. If cocaine is present, it attaches to the dopamine transporter and blocks the normal recycling process, resulting in a build-up of dopamine in the synapse which contributes to the pleasurable effects of cocaine.
Researchers have discovered that, when a pleasurable event is occurring, it is accompanied by a large increase in the amounts of dopamine released in the nucleus accumbens by neurons originating in the VTA. In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse (the small gap between two neurons), where it binds with specialized proteins (called dopamine receptors) on the neighboring neuron, thereby sending a signal to that neuron. Drugs of abuse are able to interfere with this normal communication process. For example, scientists have discovered that cocaine blocks the removal of dopamine from the synapse, resulting in an accumulation of dopamine. This buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of receiving neurons, probably resulting in the euphoria commonly reported by cocaine abusers.
As cocaine abuse continues, tolerance often develops. This means that higher doses and more frequent use of cocaine are required for the brain to register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use. Recent studies have shown that, during periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous craving and relapse to drug use, even after long periods of abstinence.
Detox Length of Detoxification
Detox
Length of Detoxification
Because detoxification often entails a more intensive level of care than other types of AOD treatment, there is a practical value in defining a period during which a person is "in detoxification." There is no simple way to do this. Usually, the detoxification period is defined as the period during which the patient receives detoxification medications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third-party payers often manage payment for AOD detoxification services separately from other phases of drug treatment, as though detoxification occurs in isolation from drug treatment. In clinical practice, this separation cannot exist. Detoxification is one component of a comprehensive treatment strategy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another way of defining the detoxification period is by measuring the duration of withdrawal signs or symptoms. However, the duration of these symptoms may be difficult to determine in a correctly medicated patient because symptoms of withdrawal are largely suppressed by the medication. Chapter 3 describes the typical lengths of regimens for withdrawal.
The Role of Detoxification in AOD Abuse Treatment
For many AOD-dependent patients, detoxification is the beginning phase of treatment. It can entail more than a period of physical readjustment. It can also be a time when patients begin to make the psychological readjustments necessary for ongoing treatment. Offering detoxification alone, without followup to an appropriate level of care, is an inadequate use of limited resources. People who have severe problems that predate their AOD dependence or addiction -- such as family disintegration, lack of job skills, illiteracy, or psychiatric disorders -- may continue to have these problems after detoxification unless specific services are available to help them deal with these factors (Gerstein and Harwood, 1990).
Immediate Goals of Detoxification
To provide a safe withdrawal from the drug(s) of dependence and enable the patient to become drug free. Many risks are associated with withdrawal, some influenced by the setting. For persons who are severely dependent on alcohol, abrupt, unsupervised cessation of drinking may result in delirium tremens or death. Other sedative-hypnotics may produce life-threatening withdrawal syndromes. Withdrawal from opioids produces severe discomfort, but is not generally life threatening. However, risks to the patient and society are not limited to the severity of the patient's physical disturbance, particularly when the detoxification is conducted in an outpatient setting. Outpatients experiencing withdrawal symptoms may self-medicate with street drugs. The resulting interaction between prescribed medication and street drugs may result in an overdose. Less severe side effects include sedation or a drop in blood pressure
To provide withdrawal that is humane and protects the patient's dignity. A caring staff, a supportive environment, sensitivity to cultural issues, confidentiality, and the selection of appropriate detoxification medication (if needed) are all important to providing humane withdrawal.
To prepare the patient for ongoing treatment of his or her AOD dependence. During detoxification, patients may form therapeutic relationships with treatment staff or other patients, and may become aware of alternatives to an AOD-abusing lifestyle. Detoxification is an opportunity to offer patients information and to motivate them for longer term treatment.
Repeated Detoxification
Alling discussed detoxification and treatment in a text published in 1992:
Those not familiar with the chronic nature of addictive disorders often characterize detoxification programs as 'revolving doors' through which patients come and go in an endless cycle, and which have little or no impact on the recovery process. Although it is true that many people undergo detoxification more than once -- and some do so many times -- the assumption that little or no progress has been made is often false. (Alling, 1992)
Alling(1992) described a pattern in individuals who return for several detoxification episodes, observing that young people with a history of AOD dependence of short duration (a year or less) "often are unrealistically optimistic about being able to remain drug free following detoxification." When recently AOD-dependent persons return after several months for repeat detoxification, it is usually with a more realistic expectation about what is needed to remain free from AODs. Individuals who subsequently relapse and return for detoxification a third time may have an even clearer understanding of what is required to sustain recovery (Alling, 1992).
During certain expected and predictable phases of recovery, addicted persons are at increased risk of relapse. However, relapse can occur at any point in recovery. Thus, relapse prevention is a legitimate area for patient education, and the relapsed patient is appropriate for clinical treatment. Treatment services designed precisely for this stage of the disease may facilitate the individual's return to abstinence.
Issues in Postdetoxification Treatment
Few addicted persons enter detoxification or seek further treatment with the idea of maintaining lifelong abstinence. They may still believe they can control their abuse of AODs. Some persons enter detoxification and other treatment to satisfy the demands of their families, employers, or the courts. They may be motivated to seek treatment because attempts to relieve pressure through other means have proved futile. Clinicians should consider patient motivation when deciding upon appropriate treatment placement.
Families suffer severe consequences from the AOD abuse of their loved ones. The consequences may include obvious problems such as lost income, domestic violence, or divorce. Less obvious consequences may also occur, such as issues concerning trust and children's mirroring maladaptive ways to deal with problems encountered in everyday living. Addiction is a family disease because of the seriousness of its effects on family members and family functioning. Just as the person who abuses AODs needs support, education, and counseling, so too does the family. It is appropriate and important for treatment providers to engage the family in treatment as early as possible, even while the individual is undergoing detoxification.
Effects of AOD Exposure and Withdrawal
Tolerance and Physical Dependence
Continued exposure to AODs induces adaptive changes in an individual's brain cells and neural functioning. The changes vary depending on the drug of abuse and are not completely understood. The term "neuroadaptation" is often used to refer to these changes. One result of neuroadaptation is drug tolerance; that is, increasing the amounts of the drug that are required to produce the same effect. A second consequence of neuroadaptation is physical dependence; the brain cells require the drug in order to function.
Drug Withdrawal
Sudden removal of alcohol or another drug of abuse from the system of a person who is physically dependent produces either an abstinence or withdrawal syndrome. The abstinence syndrome for each drug follows a predictable time course and has predictable signs and symptoms. Signs are defined by Webster's Medical Dictionary as "objective evidence of disease especially as observed and interpreted by the physician rather than by the patient or lay observer." Symptoms are defined in the same text as "subjective evidence of disease or physical disturbance observed by the patient."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three immediate goals of detoxification:
* To provide a safe withdrawal from the drug(s) of dependence and enable the patient
to become drug free
* To provide withdrawal that is humane and protects the patient's dignity
* To prepare the patient for ongoing treatment of his or her AOD dependence
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The signs and symptoms of drug withdrawal are usually the reverse of the direct pharmacological effects of the drug. Heroin use commonly produces elevation of mood (euphoria), a decrease in anxiety, insensitivity to pain (analgesia), and a decrease in the activity of the large intestine, often causing constipation. Heroin withdrawal, on the other hand, produces an unpleasant mood (dysphoria), pain, anxiety, and overactivity of the large intestine, often resulting in diarrhea. Alcohol usually reduces anxiety and causes sedation; large quantities may produce sleep, coma, or even death by respiratory depression. In a person who is physically dependent, cessation of alcohol use produces anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations, and seizures.
For short-acting drugs such as alcohol and heroin, the most severe signs and symptoms of withdrawal usually begin within hours of the individual's last use. With a long-acting drug or medication, such as diazepam (Valium), withdrawal symptoms may not begin for several days and usually reach peak intensity after 5 to 10 days. The most severe drug-withdrawal symptoms, during the initial stages of detoxification, constitute the acute abstinence syndrome. The adjective "acute" distinguishes the syndrome from a "chronic" or protracted abstinence syndrome, in which signs and symptoms of withdrawal may continue for weeks to months after cessation of use (Martin and Jasinski, 1969).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The signs and symptoms of drug withdrawal are usually the reverse of the direct pharmacological effects of the drug.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protracted abstinence syndrome is the subject of considerable controversy. Providers often find it difficult to distinguish symptoms caused by drug withdrawal from those caused by a patient's underlying mental disorder, if one is present. The signs and symptoms of protracted withdrawal are not as predictable as those of acute withdrawal. Some patients may be predisposed to a protracted withdrawal. Acute withdrawal syndromes produce measurable signs that researchers can study in animals under controlled laboratory conditions; protracted withdrawal in patients, by contrast, is often confined to distress symptoms that cannot be studied in animals.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Length of Detoxification
Because detoxification often entails a more intensive level of care than other types of AOD treatment, there is a practical value in defining a period during which a person is "in detoxification." There is no simple way to do this. Usually, the detoxification period is defined as the period during which the patient receives detoxification medications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third-party payers often manage payment for AOD detoxification services separately from other phases of drug treatment, as though detoxification occurs in isolation from drug treatment. In clinical practice, this separation cannot exist. Detoxification is one component of a comprehensive treatment strategy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another way of defining the detoxification period is by measuring the duration of withdrawal signs or symptoms. However, the duration of these symptoms may be difficult to determine in a correctly medicated patient because symptoms of withdrawal are largely suppressed by the medication. Chapter 3 describes the typical lengths of regimens for withdrawal.
The Role of Detoxification in AOD Abuse Treatment
For many AOD-dependent patients, detoxification is the beginning phase of treatment. It can entail more than a period of physical readjustment. It can also be a time when patients begin to make the psychological readjustments necessary for ongoing treatment. Offering detoxification alone, without followup to an appropriate level of care, is an inadequate use of limited resources. People who have severe problems that predate their AOD dependence or addiction -- such as family disintegration, lack of job skills, illiteracy, or psychiatric disorders -- may continue to have these problems after detoxification unless specific services are available to help them deal with these factors (Gerstein and Harwood, 1990).
Immediate Goals of Detoxification
To provide a safe withdrawal from the drug(s) of dependence and enable the patient to become drug free. Many risks are associated with withdrawal, some influenced by the setting. For persons who are severely dependent on alcohol, abrupt, unsupervised cessation of drinking may result in delirium tremens or death. Other sedative-hypnotics may produce life-threatening withdrawal syndromes. Withdrawal from opioids produces severe discomfort, but is not generally life threatening. However, risks to the patient and society are not limited to the severity of the patient's physical disturbance, particularly when the detoxification is conducted in an outpatient setting. Outpatients experiencing withdrawal symptoms may self-medicate with street drugs. The resulting interaction between prescribed medication and street drugs may result in an overdose. Less severe side effects include sedation or a drop in blood pressure
To provide withdrawal that is humane and protects the patient's dignity. A caring staff, a supportive environment, sensitivity to cultural issues, confidentiality, and the selection of appropriate detoxification medication (if needed) are all important to providing humane withdrawal.
To prepare the patient for ongoing treatment of his or her AOD dependence. During detoxification, patients may form therapeutic relationships with treatment staff or other patients, and may become aware of alternatives to an AOD-abusing lifestyle. Detoxification is an opportunity to offer patients information and to motivate them for longer term treatment.
Repeated Detoxification
Alling discussed detoxification and treatment in a text published in 1992:
Those not familiar with the chronic nature of addictive disorders often characterize detoxification programs as 'revolving doors' through which patients come and go in an endless cycle, and which have little or no impact on the recovery process. Although it is true that many people undergo detoxification more than once -- and some do so many times -- the assumption that little or no progress has been made is often false. (Alling, 1992)
Alling(1992) described a pattern in individuals who return for several detoxification episodes, observing that young people with a history of AOD dependence of short duration (a year or less) "often are unrealistically optimistic about being able to remain drug free following detoxification." When recently AOD-dependent persons return after several months for repeat detoxification, it is usually with a more realistic expectation about what is needed to remain free from AODs. Individuals who subsequently relapse and return for detoxification a third time may have an even clearer understanding of what is required to sustain recovery (Alling, 1992).
During certain expected and predictable phases of recovery, addicted persons are at increased risk of relapse. However, relapse can occur at any point in recovery. Thus, relapse prevention is a legitimate area for patient education, and the relapsed patient is appropriate for clinical treatment. Treatment services designed precisely for this stage of the disease may facilitate the individual's return to abstinence.
Issues in Postdetoxification Treatment
Few addicted persons enter detoxification or seek further treatment with the idea of maintaining lifelong abstinence. They may still believe they can control their abuse of AODs. Some persons enter detoxification and other treatment to satisfy the demands of their families, employers, or the courts. They may be motivated to seek treatment because attempts to relieve pressure through other means have proved futile. Clinicians should consider patient motivation when deciding upon appropriate treatment placement.
Families suffer severe consequences from the AOD abuse of their loved ones. The consequences may include obvious problems such as lost income, domestic violence, or divorce. Less obvious consequences may also occur, such as issues concerning trust and children's mirroring maladaptive ways to deal with problems encountered in everyday living. Addiction is a family disease because of the seriousness of its effects on family members and family functioning. Just as the person who abuses AODs needs support, education, and counseling, so too does the family. It is appropriate and important for treatment providers to engage the family in treatment as early as possible, even while the individual is undergoing detoxification.
Effects of AOD Exposure and Withdrawal
Tolerance and Physical Dependence
Continued exposure to AODs induces adaptive changes in an individual's brain cells and neural functioning. The changes vary depending on the drug of abuse and are not completely understood. The term "neuroadaptation" is often used to refer to these changes. One result of neuroadaptation is drug tolerance; that is, increasing the amounts of the drug that are required to produce the same effect. A second consequence of neuroadaptation is physical dependence; the brain cells require the drug in order to function.
Drug Withdrawal
Sudden removal of alcohol or another drug of abuse from the system of a person who is physically dependent produces either an abstinence or withdrawal syndrome. The abstinence syndrome for each drug follows a predictable time course and has predictable signs and symptoms. Signs are defined by Webster's Medical Dictionary as "objective evidence of disease especially as observed and interpreted by the physician rather than by the patient or lay observer." Symptoms are defined in the same text as "subjective evidence of disease or physical disturbance observed by the patient."
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There are three immediate goals of detoxification:
* To provide a safe withdrawal from the drug(s) of dependence and enable the patient
to become drug free
* To provide withdrawal that is humane and protects the patient's dignity
* To prepare the patient for ongoing treatment of his or her AOD dependence
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The signs and symptoms of drug withdrawal are usually the reverse of the direct pharmacological effects of the drug. Heroin use commonly produces elevation of mood (euphoria), a decrease in anxiety, insensitivity to pain (analgesia), and a decrease in the activity of the large intestine, often causing constipation. Heroin withdrawal, on the other hand, produces an unpleasant mood (dysphoria), pain, anxiety, and overactivity of the large intestine, often resulting in diarrhea. Alcohol usually reduces anxiety and causes sedation; large quantities may produce sleep, coma, or even death by respiratory depression. In a person who is physically dependent, cessation of alcohol use produces anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations, and seizures.
For short-acting drugs such as alcohol and heroin, the most severe signs and symptoms of withdrawal usually begin within hours of the individual's last use. With a long-acting drug or medication, such as diazepam (Valium), withdrawal symptoms may not begin for several days and usually reach peak intensity after 5 to 10 days. The most severe drug-withdrawal symptoms, during the initial stages of detoxification, constitute the acute abstinence syndrome. The adjective "acute" distinguishes the syndrome from a "chronic" or protracted abstinence syndrome, in which signs and symptoms of withdrawal may continue for weeks to months after cessation of use (Martin and Jasinski, 1969).
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The signs and symptoms of drug withdrawal are usually the reverse of the direct pharmacological effects of the drug.
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Protracted abstinence syndrome is the subject of considerable controversy. Providers often find it difficult to distinguish symptoms caused by drug withdrawal from those caused by a patient's underlying mental disorder, if one is present. The signs and symptoms of protracted withdrawal are not as predictable as those of acute withdrawal. Some patients may be predisposed to a protracted withdrawal. Acute withdrawal syndromes produce measurable signs that researchers can study in animals under controlled laboratory conditions; protracted withdrawal in patients, by contrast, is often confined to distress symptoms that cannot be studied in animals.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Be especially scrutinizing as you determine the drug rehab program that meets your specific needs. This site has listings of drug rehab detox programs and detox treatment centers , alcohol detox rehabilitation programs , teen drug rehab , sober houses , drug detox and alcohol detox centers .
Please call (866) 784-8411 to find the right drug rehabilitation center for you or your loved one.
drug rehabs - Prescription drugs
Prescription drugs are rapidly becoming primary drugs of abuse in the United States and throughout the world. There are many commonly held misconceptions of the abuse potential for powerful substances such as Oxycontin ®, because such substances can be obtained legally, and have legitimate use in the medical profession.
Preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse
Although most patients use medications as directed, abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs are public health problems for many Americans. However, addiction rarely occurs among those who use pain relievers, CNS depressants, or stimulants as prescribed; the risk for addiction exists when these medications are used in ways other than as prescribed. Health care providers such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists as well as patients can all play a role in preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse.
addiction drug treatment rehab centers
Prescription drugs are rapidly becoming primary drugs of abuse in the United States and throughout the world. There are many commonly held misconceptions of the abuse potential for powerful substances such as Oxycontin ®, because such substances can be obtained legally, and have legitimate use in the medical profession.
Although many prescription drugs can be abused or misused, there are three classes of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused:
* Opioids, which are most often prescribed to treat pain opioids
* CNS depressants, which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders cns depressants
* Stimulants, which are prescribed to treat the narcolepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obesity stimulants
Preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse
Although most patients use medications as directed, abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs are public health problems for many Americans. However, addiction rarely occurs among those who use pain relievers, CNS depressants, or stimulants as prescribed; the risk for addiction exists when these medications are used in ways other than as prescribed. Health care providers such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists as well as patients can all play a role in preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse.
Health Care Providers
About 70 percent of Americans - approximately 191 million people - visit a health care provider, such as a primary care physician, at least once every 2 years. Thus, health care providers are in a unique position not only to prescribe needed medications appropriately, but also to identify prescription drug abuse when it exists and help the patient recognize the problem, set goals for recovery, and seek appropriate treatment when necessary. Screening for any type of substance abuse can be incorporated into routine history taking with questions about what prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines the patient is taking and why. Screening also can be performed if a patient presents with specific symptoms associated with problem use of a substance.
Over time, providers should note any rapid increases in the amount of a medication needed - which may indicate the development of tolerance - or frequent requests for refills before the quantity prescribed should have been used. They should also be alert to the fact that those addicted to prescription medications may engage in "doctor shopping," moving from provider to provider in an effort to get multiple prescriptions for the drug they abuse.
Preventing or stopping prescription drug abuse is an important part of patient care. However, health care providers should not avoid prescribing or administering strong CNS depressants and painkillers, if they are needed. (See box on pain and opiophobia.)
Pharmacists
Pharmacists can play a key role in preventing prescription drug misuse and abuse by providing clear information and advice about how to take a medication appropriately, about the effects the medication may have, and about any possible drug interactions. Pharmacists can help prevent prescription fraud or diversion by looking for false or altered prescription forms. Many pharmacies have developed "hotlines" to alert other pharmacies in the region when a fraud is detected.
Patients
There are several ways that patients can prevent prescription drug abuse. When visiting the doctor, provide a complete medical history and a description of the reason for the visit to ensure that the doctor understands the complaint and can prescribe appropriate medication. If a doctor prescribes a pain medication, stimulant, or CNS depressant, follow the directions for use carefully and learn about the effects that the drug could have, especially during the first few days during which the body is adapting to the medication. Also be aware of potential interactions with other drugs by reading all information provided by the pharmacist. Do not increase or decrease doses or abruptly stop taking a prescription without consulting a health care provider first. For example, if you are taking a pain reliever for chronic pain and the medication no longer seems to be effectively controlling the pain, speak with your physician; do not increase the dose on your own. Finally, never use another person's prescription.
Treating prescription drug addiction
Years of research have shown us that addiction to any drug, illicit or prescribed, is a brain disease that can, like other chronic diseases, be effectively treated. But no single type of treatment is appropriate for all individuals addicted to prescription drugs. Treatment must take into account the type of drug used and the needs of the individual. To be successful, treatment may need to incorporate several components, such as counseling in conjunction with a prescribed medication, and multiple courses of treatment may be needed for the patient to make a full recovery.
The two main categories of drug addiction treatment are behavioral and pharmacological. Behavioral treatments teach people how to function without drugs, how to handle cravings, how to avoid drugs and situations that could lead to drug use, how to prevent relapse, and how to handle relapse should it occur. When delivered effectively, behavioral treatments - such as individual counseling, group or family counseling, contingency management, and cognitive-behavioral therapies - also can help patients improve their personal relationships and ability to function at work and in the community.
Some addictions, such as opioid addiction, can also be treated with medications. These pharmacological treatments counter the effects of the drug on the brain and behavior. Medications also can be used to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal, to treat an overdose, or to help overcome drug cravings. Although a behavioral or pharmacological approach alone may be effective for treating drug addiction , research shows that a combination of both, when available, is most effective
Preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse
Although most patients use medications as directed, abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs are public health problems for many Americans. However, addiction rarely occurs among those who use pain relievers, CNS depressants, or stimulants as prescribed; the risk for addiction exists when these medications are used in ways other than as prescribed. Health care providers such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists as well as patients can all play a role in preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse.
addiction drug treatment rehab centers
Prescription drugs are rapidly becoming primary drugs of abuse in the United States and throughout the world. There are many commonly held misconceptions of the abuse potential for powerful substances such as Oxycontin ®, because such substances can be obtained legally, and have legitimate use in the medical profession.
Although many prescription drugs can be abused or misused, there are three classes of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused:
* Opioids, which are most often prescribed to treat pain opioids
* CNS depressants, which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders cns depressants
* Stimulants, which are prescribed to treat the narcolepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obesity stimulants
Preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse
Although most patients use medications as directed, abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs are public health problems for many Americans. However, addiction rarely occurs among those who use pain relievers, CNS depressants, or stimulants as prescribed; the risk for addiction exists when these medications are used in ways other than as prescribed. Health care providers such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists as well as patients can all play a role in preventing and detecting prescription drug abuse.
Health Care Providers
About 70 percent of Americans - approximately 191 million people - visit a health care provider, such as a primary care physician, at least once every 2 years. Thus, health care providers are in a unique position not only to prescribe needed medications appropriately, but also to identify prescription drug abuse when it exists and help the patient recognize the problem, set goals for recovery, and seek appropriate treatment when necessary. Screening for any type of substance abuse can be incorporated into routine history taking with questions about what prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines the patient is taking and why. Screening also can be performed if a patient presents with specific symptoms associated with problem use of a substance.
Over time, providers should note any rapid increases in the amount of a medication needed - which may indicate the development of tolerance - or frequent requests for refills before the quantity prescribed should have been used. They should also be alert to the fact that those addicted to prescription medications may engage in "doctor shopping," moving from provider to provider in an effort to get multiple prescriptions for the drug they abuse.
Preventing or stopping prescription drug abuse is an important part of patient care. However, health care providers should not avoid prescribing or administering strong CNS depressants and painkillers, if they are needed. (See box on pain and opiophobia.)
Pharmacists
Pharmacists can play a key role in preventing prescription drug misuse and abuse by providing clear information and advice about how to take a medication appropriately, about the effects the medication may have, and about any possible drug interactions. Pharmacists can help prevent prescription fraud or diversion by looking for false or altered prescription forms. Many pharmacies have developed "hotlines" to alert other pharmacies in the region when a fraud is detected.
Patients
There are several ways that patients can prevent prescription drug abuse. When visiting the doctor, provide a complete medical history and a description of the reason for the visit to ensure that the doctor understands the complaint and can prescribe appropriate medication. If a doctor prescribes a pain medication, stimulant, or CNS depressant, follow the directions for use carefully and learn about the effects that the drug could have, especially during the first few days during which the body is adapting to the medication. Also be aware of potential interactions with other drugs by reading all information provided by the pharmacist. Do not increase or decrease doses or abruptly stop taking a prescription without consulting a health care provider first. For example, if you are taking a pain reliever for chronic pain and the medication no longer seems to be effectively controlling the pain, speak with your physician; do not increase the dose on your own. Finally, never use another person's prescription.
Treating prescription drug addiction
Years of research have shown us that addiction to any drug, illicit or prescribed, is a brain disease that can, like other chronic diseases, be effectively treated. But no single type of treatment is appropriate for all individuals addicted to prescription drugs. Treatment must take into account the type of drug used and the needs of the individual. To be successful, treatment may need to incorporate several components, such as counseling in conjunction with a prescribed medication, and multiple courses of treatment may be needed for the patient to make a full recovery.
The two main categories of drug addiction treatment are behavioral and pharmacological. Behavioral treatments teach people how to function without drugs, how to handle cravings, how to avoid drugs and situations that could lead to drug use, how to prevent relapse, and how to handle relapse should it occur. When delivered effectively, behavioral treatments - such as individual counseling, group or family counseling, contingency management, and cognitive-behavioral therapies - also can help patients improve their personal relationships and ability to function at work and in the community.
Some addictions, such as opioid addiction, can also be treated with medications. These pharmacological treatments counter the effects of the drug on the brain and behavior. Medications also can be used to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal, to treat an overdose, or to help overcome drug cravings. Although a behavioral or pharmacological approach alone may be effective for treating drug addiction , research shows that a combination of both, when available, is most effective
drug rehabs - Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine Facts
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make meth a drug with high potential for widespread abuse.
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." In its smoked form, it is often referred to as "ice," "crystal," "crank," and "glass." It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early in this century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers.
Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.
How Is Methamphetamine Used?
Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested, or injected. The drug alters moods in different ways, depending on how it is taken.
Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense rush or "flash" that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces euphoria - a high but not an intense rush. Snorting produces effects within 3 to 5 minutes, and oral ingestion produces effects within 15 to 20 minutes.
As with similar stimulants, methamphetamine most often is used in a "binge and crash" pattern. Because tolerance for methamphetamine occurs within minutes - meaning that the pleasurable effects disappear even before the drug concentration in the blood falls significantly - users try to maintain the high by binging on the drug.
In the 1980's, "ice," a smokable form of methamphetamine, came into use. Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe like crack cocaine. The smoke is odorless, leaves a residue that can be resmoked, and produces effects that may continue for 12 hours or more.
What Are the Effects of Methamphetamine Use?
Short-Term Effects
* Increased attention and decreased fatigue
* Increased activity
* Decreased appetite
* Euphoria and rush
* Increased respiration
* Hyperthermia
Long-Term Effects
* Dependence and Addiction Psychosis
o Paranoia
o Hallucinations
o Mood Disturbances
o Repetitive Motor Activity
* Stroke
* Weight Loss
Methamphetamine can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems. These include rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and irreversible, stroke-producing damage to small blood vessels in the brain. Hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) and convulsions occur with methamphetamine overdoses, and if not treated immediately, can result in death.
Chronic methamphetamine abuse can result in inflammation of the heart lining, and among users who inject the drug, damaged blood vessels and skin abscesses. Methamphetamine abusers also can have episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Heavy users also show progressive social and occupational deterioration. Psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or years after use has ceased.
Acute lead poisoning is another potential risk for methamphetamine abusers. A common method of illegal methamphetamine production uses lead acetate as a reagent. Production errors therefore may result in methamphetamine contaminated with lead. There have been documented cases of acute lead poisoning in intravenous methamphetamine abusers.
Fetal exposure to methamphetamine also is a significant problem in the United States. At present, research indicates that methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may result in prenatal complications, increased rates of premature delivery, and altered neonatal behavioral patterns, such as abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability. Methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may be linked also to congenital deformities.
How Is Methamphetamine Different From Other Stimulants, Such as Cocaine?
Methamphetamine is classified as a psychostimulant, as are other drugs of abuse such as amphetamine and cocaine. We know that methamphetamine is structurally similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter dopamine, but it is quite different from cocaine. Although these stimulants have similar behavioral and physiological effects, there are some major differences in the basic mechanisms of how they work at the level of the nerve cell. However, the bottom line is that methamphetamine, like cocaine, results in an accumulation of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and this excessive dopamine concentration appears to produce the stimulation and feelings of euphoria experienced by the user.
In contrast to cocaine, which is quickly removed and almost completely metabolized in the body, methamphetamine has a much longer duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body. This results in methamphetamine being present in the brain longer, which ultimately leads to prolonged stimulant effects.
For more information regarding meth treatment centers in your community, please call: 1 (888) 287-6189.
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make meth a drug with high potential for widespread abuse.
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." In its smoked form, it is often referred to as "ice," "crystal," "crank," and "glass." It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early in this century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers.
Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.
How Is Methamphetamine Used?
Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested, or injected. The drug alters moods in different ways, depending on how it is taken.
Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense rush or "flash" that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces euphoria - a high but not an intense rush. Snorting produces effects within 3 to 5 minutes, and oral ingestion produces effects within 15 to 20 minutes.
As with similar stimulants, methamphetamine most often is used in a "binge and crash" pattern. Because tolerance for methamphetamine occurs within minutes - meaning that the pleasurable effects disappear even before the drug concentration in the blood falls significantly - users try to maintain the high by binging on the drug.
In the 1980's, "ice," a smokable form of methamphetamine, came into use. Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe like crack cocaine. The smoke is odorless, leaves a residue that can be resmoked, and produces effects that may continue for 12 hours or more.
What Are the Effects of Methamphetamine Use?
Short-Term Effects
* Increased attention and decreased fatigue
* Increased activity
* Decreased appetite
* Euphoria and rush
* Increased respiration
* Hyperthermia
Long-Term Effects
* Dependence and Addiction Psychosis
o Paranoia
o Hallucinations
o Mood Disturbances
o Repetitive Motor Activity
* Stroke
* Weight Loss
Methamphetamine can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems. These include rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and irreversible, stroke-producing damage to small blood vessels in the brain. Hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) and convulsions occur with methamphetamine overdoses, and if not treated immediately, can result in death.
Chronic methamphetamine abuse can result in inflammation of the heart lining, and among users who inject the drug, damaged blood vessels and skin abscesses. Methamphetamine abusers also can have episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Heavy users also show progressive social and occupational deterioration. Psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or years after use has ceased.
Acute lead poisoning is another potential risk for methamphetamine abusers. A common method of illegal methamphetamine production uses lead acetate as a reagent. Production errors therefore may result in methamphetamine contaminated with lead. There have been documented cases of acute lead poisoning in intravenous methamphetamine abusers.
Fetal exposure to methamphetamine also is a significant problem in the United States. At present, research indicates that methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may result in prenatal complications, increased rates of premature delivery, and altered neonatal behavioral patterns, such as abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability. Methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may be linked also to congenital deformities.
How Is Methamphetamine Different From Other Stimulants, Such as Cocaine?
Methamphetamine is classified as a psychostimulant, as are other drugs of abuse such as amphetamine and cocaine. We know that methamphetamine is structurally similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter dopamine, but it is quite different from cocaine. Although these stimulants have similar behavioral and physiological effects, there are some major differences in the basic mechanisms of how they work at the level of the nerve cell. However, the bottom line is that methamphetamine, like cocaine, results in an accumulation of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and this excessive dopamine concentration appears to produce the stimulation and feelings of euphoria experienced by the user.
In contrast to cocaine, which is quickly removed and almost completely metabolized in the body, methamphetamine has a much longer duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body. This results in methamphetamine being present in the brain longer, which ultimately leads to prolonged stimulant effects.
For more information regarding meth treatment centers in your community, please call: 1 (888) 287-6189.
drug rehabs - Marijuana
Marijuana is the Nation's most commonly used illicit drug. More than 83 million Americans (37 percent) age 12 and older have tried marijuana at least once, according to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Use is widespread among adolescents and young adults.
What is Marijuana?
Marijuana - often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, Mary Jane, or MJ - is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis Sativa, the hemp plant. Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, among other names; some use pipes or water pipes called bongs. Marijuana cigars called blunts have also become popular. To make blunts, users slice open cigars and replace the tobacco with marijuana, often combined with another drug, such as crack cocaine. Marijuana also is used to brew tea and is sometimes mixed into foods.
The major active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the mind-altering effects of marijuana intoxication. The amount of THC (which is also the psychoactive ingredient in hashish) determines the potency and, therefore, the effects of marijuana. Between 1980 and 1997, the amount of THC in marijuana available in the United States rose dramatically.
What are the Effects of Marijuana Use?
Marijuana's effects begin immediately after the drug enters the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If marijuana is consumed in food or drink, the short-term effects begin more slowly, usually in 1/2 to 1 hour, and last longer, for as long as 4 hours. Smoking marijuana deposits several times more THC into the blood than does eating or drinking the drug.
Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, an individual's heart begins beating more rapidly, the bronchial passages relax and become enlarged, and blood vessels in the eyes expand, making the eyes look red. The heart rate, normally 70 to 80 beats per minute, may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or, in some cases, even double. This effect can be greater if other drugs are taken with marijuana.
As THC enters the brain, it causes a user to feel euphoric - or "high" - by acting in the brain's reward system, areas of the brain that respond to stimuli such as food and drink as well as most drugs of abuse. THC activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine.
A marijuana user may experience pleasant sensations, colors and sounds may seem more intense, and time appears to pass very slowly. The user's mouth feels dry, and he or she may suddenly become very hungry and thirsty. His or her hands may tremble and grow cold. The euphoria passes after awhile, and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.
Marijuana use impairs a person's ability to form memories, recall events (see Marijuana, Memory, and the Hippocampus), and shift attention from one thing to another. THC also disrupts coordination and balance by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture, coordination of movement, and reaction time. Through its effects on the brain and body, marijuana intoxication can cause accidents. Studies show that approximately 6 to 11 percent of fatal accident victims test positive for THC. In many of these cases, alcohol is detected as well.
Marijuana use has been shown to increase users' difficulty in trying to quit smoking tobacco. This was recently reported in a study comparing smoking cessation in adults who smoked both marijuana and tobacco with those who smoked only tobacco. The relationship between marijuana use and continued smoking was particularly strong in those who smoked marijuana daily at the time of the initial interview, 13 years prior to the followup interview.
Even infrequent marijuana use can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways.
Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong evidence that smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck, and that the more marijuana smoked, the greater the increase. A statistical analysis of the data suggested that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.
Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers. In one study, researchers compared marijuana smoking and nonsmoking 12th-graders' scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills. Although all of the students had scored equally well in 4th grade, the smokers' scores were significantly lower in 12th grade than the nonsmokers' scores were.
Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their co-workers to have problems on the job. Several studies have associated workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. A study among municipal workers found that employees who smoked marijuana on or off the job reported more "withdrawal behaviors" - such as leaving work without permission, daydreaming, spending work time on personal matters, and shirking tasks - that adversely affect productivity and morale.
Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances are all associated with marijuana use. Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana use has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills. Moreover, research has shown that marijuana's adverse impact on memory and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.
Is Marijuana Use Addictive?
Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they use the drug compulsively even though it often interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 5.6 million Americans age 12 or older reported problems with illicit drug use in the past year. Of these, 3.6 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on an illicit drug. More than 2 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on marijuana/hashish. In 1999, more than 220,000 people entering drug abuse treatment programs reported that marijuana was their primary drug of abuse.
Along with craving, withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop using the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety. They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately 1 week after they last used the drug.
What Treatments Are Available For Marijuana Abusers?
Treatment programs directed at marijuana abuse are rare, partly because many who use marijuana do so in combination with other drugs, such as cocaine and alcohol. However, with more people seeking help to control marijuana abuse, research has focused on ways to overcome problems with abuse of this drug.
No medications are now available to treat marijuana abuse. However, recent discoveries about the workings of THC receptors have raised the possibility that scientists may eventually develop a medication that will block THC's intoxicating effects. Such a medication might be used to prevent relapse to marijuana abuse by reducing or eliminating its appeal.
What is Marijuana?
Marijuana - often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, Mary Jane, or MJ - is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis Sativa, the hemp plant. Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, among other names; some use pipes or water pipes called bongs. Marijuana cigars called blunts have also become popular. To make blunts, users slice open cigars and replace the tobacco with marijuana, often combined with another drug, such as crack cocaine. Marijuana also is used to brew tea and is sometimes mixed into foods.
The major active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the mind-altering effects of marijuana intoxication. The amount of THC (which is also the psychoactive ingredient in hashish) determines the potency and, therefore, the effects of marijuana. Between 1980 and 1997, the amount of THC in marijuana available in the United States rose dramatically.
What are the Effects of Marijuana Use?
Marijuana's effects begin immediately after the drug enters the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If marijuana is consumed in food or drink, the short-term effects begin more slowly, usually in 1/2 to 1 hour, and last longer, for as long as 4 hours. Smoking marijuana deposits several times more THC into the blood than does eating or drinking the drug.
Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, an individual's heart begins beating more rapidly, the bronchial passages relax and become enlarged, and blood vessels in the eyes expand, making the eyes look red. The heart rate, normally 70 to 80 beats per minute, may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or, in some cases, even double. This effect can be greater if other drugs are taken with marijuana.
As THC enters the brain, it causes a user to feel euphoric - or "high" - by acting in the brain's reward system, areas of the brain that respond to stimuli such as food and drink as well as most drugs of abuse. THC activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine.
A marijuana user may experience pleasant sensations, colors and sounds may seem more intense, and time appears to pass very slowly. The user's mouth feels dry, and he or she may suddenly become very hungry and thirsty. His or her hands may tremble and grow cold. The euphoria passes after awhile, and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.
Marijuana use impairs a person's ability to form memories, recall events (see Marijuana, Memory, and the Hippocampus), and shift attention from one thing to another. THC also disrupts coordination and balance by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture, coordination of movement, and reaction time. Through its effects on the brain and body, marijuana intoxication can cause accidents. Studies show that approximately 6 to 11 percent of fatal accident victims test positive for THC. In many of these cases, alcohol is detected as well.
Marijuana use has been shown to increase users' difficulty in trying to quit smoking tobacco. This was recently reported in a study comparing smoking cessation in adults who smoked both marijuana and tobacco with those who smoked only tobacco. The relationship between marijuana use and continued smoking was particularly strong in those who smoked marijuana daily at the time of the initial interview, 13 years prior to the followup interview.
Even infrequent marijuana use can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways.
Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong evidence that smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck, and that the more marijuana smoked, the greater the increase. A statistical analysis of the data suggested that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.
Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers. In one study, researchers compared marijuana smoking and nonsmoking 12th-graders' scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills. Although all of the students had scored equally well in 4th grade, the smokers' scores were significantly lower in 12th grade than the nonsmokers' scores were.
Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their co-workers to have problems on the job. Several studies have associated workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. A study among municipal workers found that employees who smoked marijuana on or off the job reported more "withdrawal behaviors" - such as leaving work without permission, daydreaming, spending work time on personal matters, and shirking tasks - that adversely affect productivity and morale.
Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances are all associated with marijuana use. Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana use has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills. Moreover, research has shown that marijuana's adverse impact on memory and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.
Is Marijuana Use Addictive?
Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they use the drug compulsively even though it often interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 5.6 million Americans age 12 or older reported problems with illicit drug use in the past year. Of these, 3.6 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on an illicit drug. More than 2 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on marijuana/hashish. In 1999, more than 220,000 people entering drug abuse treatment programs reported that marijuana was their primary drug of abuse.
Along with craving, withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop using the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety. They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately 1 week after they last used the drug.
What Treatments Are Available For Marijuana Abusers?
Treatment programs directed at marijuana abuse are rare, partly because many who use marijuana do so in combination with other drugs, such as cocaine and alcohol. However, with more people seeking help to control marijuana abuse, research has focused on ways to overcome problems with abuse of this drug.
No medications are now available to treat marijuana abuse. However, recent discoveries about the workings of THC receptors have raised the possibility that scientists may eventually develop a medication that will block THC's intoxicating effects. Such a medication might be used to prevent relapse to marijuana abuse by reducing or eliminating its appeal.
drug rehabs - Heroin
Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and Heroin Addiction is a serious problem in America. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction.
Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names for heroin include "smack," "H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar."
What is Heroin?
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin."
Although less diluted heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.
How is Heroin Used?
Heroin is usually injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked. Typically, a heroin abuser may inject up to four times a day. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria (7 to 8 seconds), while intramuscular injection produces a relatively slow onset of euphoria (5 to 8 minutes). When heroin is sniffed or smoked, peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. Although smoking and sniffing heroin do not produce a "rush" as quickly or as intensely as intravenous injection, NIDA researchers have confirmed that all three forms of heroin administration are addictive.
Injection continues to be the predominant method of heroin use among addicted users seeking treatment; however, researchers have observed a shift in heroin use patterns, from injection to sniffing and smoking. In fact, sniffing/snorting heroin is now the most widely reported means of taking heroin among users admitted for drug treatment in Newark, Chicago, and New York.
With the shift in heroin abuse patterns comes an even more diverse group of users. Older users (over 30) continue to be one of the largest user groups in most national data. However, the increase continues in new, young users across the country who are being lured by inexpensive, high-purity heroin that can be sniffed or smoked instead of injected. Heroin has also been appearing in more affluent communities.
Consequences of Heroin Use
Short-Term Effects
* "Rush"
* Depressed respiration
* Clouded mental functioning
* Nausea and vomiting
* Suppression of pain
* Spontaneous abortion
Long-Term Effects
* Addiction
* Infectious diseases, for example, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C
* Collapsed veins
* Bacterial infections
* Abscesses
* Infection of heart lining and valves
* Arthritis and other rheumatologic problems
Medical consequences of chronic heroin abuse include scarred and/or collapsed veins, bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves, abscesses (boils) and other soft-tissue infections, and liver or kidney disease. Lung complications (including various types of pneumonia and tuberculosis) may result from the poor health condition of the abuser as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. Many of the additives in street heroin may include substances that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs. Immune reactions to these or other contaminants can cause arthritis or other rheumatologic problems.
Of course, sharing of injection equipment or fluids can lead to some of the most severe consequences of heroin abuse-infections with hepatitis B and C, HIV, and a host of other blood-borne viruses, which drug abusers can then pass on to their sexual partners and children.
Heroin abuse can cause serious complications during pregnancy, including miscarriage and premature delivery. Children born to addicted mothers are at greater risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), as well. Pregnant women should not be detoxified from opiates because of the increased risk of spontaneous abortion or premature delivery; rather, treatment with methadone is strongly advised. Although infants born to mothers taking prescribed methadone may show signs of physical dependence, they can be treated easily and safely in the nursery. Research has demonstrated also that the effects of in utero exposure to methadone are relatively benign.
What are the Treatments for Heroin Addiction?
A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction. Treatment tends to be more effective when heroin abuse is identified early. The treatments that follow vary depending on the individual, but methadone, a synthetic opiate that blocks the effects of heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms, has a proven record of success for people addicted to heroin. Other pharmaceutical approaches, like LAAM (levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol) and buprenorphine, and many behavioral therapies also are used for treating heroin addiction.
Detoxification
The primary objective of detoxification is to relieve withdrawal symptoms while patients adjust to a drug-free state. Not in itself a treatment for addiction, detoxification is a useful step only when it leads into long-term treatment that is either drug-free (residential or outpatient) or uses medications as part of the treatment. The best documented drug-free treatments are the therapeutic community residential programs lasting at least 3 to 6 months.
Methadone programs
Methadone treatment has been used effectively and safely to treat opioid addiction for more than 30 years. Properly prescribed methadone is not intoxicating or sedating, and its effects do not interfere with ordinary activities such as driving a car. The medication is taken orally and it suppresses narcotic withdrawal for 24 to 36 hours. Patients are able to perceive pain and have emotional reactions. Most important, methadone relieves the craving associated with heroin addiction; craving is a major reason for relapse. Among methadone patients, it has been found that normal street doses of heroin are ineffective at producing euphoria, thus making the use of heroin more easily extinguishable.
Methadone's effects last for about 24 hours - four to six times as long as those of heroin - so people in treatment need to take it only once a day. Also, methadone is medically safe even when used continuously for 10 years or more. Combined with behavioral therapies or counseling and other supportive services, methadone enables patients to stop using heroin (and other opiates) and return to more stable and productive lives.
Methadone dosages must be carefully monitored in patients who are receiving antiviral therapy for HIV infection, to avoid potential medication interactions.
LAAM and other medications
LAAM, like methadone, is a synthetic opiate that can be used to treat heroin addiction. LAAM can block the effects of heroin for up to 72 hours with minimal side effects when taken orally. In 1993 the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of LAAM for treating patients addicted to heroin. Its long duration of action permits dosing just three times per week, thereby eliminating the need for daily dosing and take-home doses for weekends. LAAM will be increasingly available in clinics that already dispense methadone. Naloxone and naltrexone are medications that also block the effects of morphine, heroin, and other opiates. As antagonists, they are especially useful as antidotes. Naltrexone has long-lasting effects, ranging from 1 to 3 days, depending on the dose. Naltrexone blocks the pleasurable effects of heroin and is useful in treating some highly motivated individuals. Naltrexone has also been found to be successful in preventing relapse by former opiate addicts released from prison on probation.
Another medication to treat heroin addiction, buprenorphine, may already be available by the time this Research Report appears. Buprenorphine is a particularly attractive treatment because, compared to other medications, such as methadone, it causes weaker opiate effects and is less likely to cause overdose problems. Buprenorphine also produces a lower level of physical dependence, so patients who discontinue the medication generally have fewer withdrawal symptoms than do those who stop taking methadone. Because of these advantages, buprenorphine may be appropriate for use in a wider variety of treatment settings than the currently available medications. Several other medications with potential for treating heroin overdose or addiction are currently under investigation by NIDA.
Behavioral therapies
Although behavioral and pharmacologic treatments can be extremely useful when employed alone, science has taught us that integrating both types of treatments will ultimately be the most effective approach. There are many effective behavioral treatments available for heroin addiction. These can include residential and outpatient approaches. An important task is to match the best treatment approach to meet the particular needs of the patient. Moreover, several new behavioral therapies, such as contingency management therapy and cognitive-behavioral interventions, show particular promise as treatments for heroin addiction. Contingency management therapy uses a voucher-based system, where patients earn ÒpointsÓ based on negative drug tests, which they can exchange for items that encourage healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral interventions are designed to help modify the patient's thinking, expectancies, and behaviors and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors. Both behavioral and pharmacological treatments help to restore a degree of normalcy to brain function and behavior, with increased employment rates and lower risk of HIV and other diseases and criminal behavior.
What are the Opioid Analogs and their Dangers?
Drug analogs are chemical compounds that are similar to other drugs in their effects but differ slightly in their chemical structure. Some analogs are produced by pharmaceutical companies for legitimate medical reasons. Other analogs, sometimes referred to as "designer" drugs, can be produced in illegal laboratories and are often more dangerous and potent than the original drug. Two of the most commonly known opioid analogs are fentanyl and meperidine (marketed under the brand name Demerol, for example).
Fentanyl was introduced in 1968 by a Belgian pharmaceutical company as a synthetic narcotic to be used as an analgesic in surgical procedures because of its minimal effects on the heart. Fentanyl is particularly dangerous because it is 50 times more potent than heroin and can rapidly stop respiration. This is not a problem during surgical procedures because machines are used to help patients breathe. On the street, however, users have been found dead with the needle used to inject the drug still in their arms.
Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names for heroin include "smack," "H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar."
What is Heroin?
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin."
Although less diluted heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.
How is Heroin Used?
Heroin is usually injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked. Typically, a heroin abuser may inject up to four times a day. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria (7 to 8 seconds), while intramuscular injection produces a relatively slow onset of euphoria (5 to 8 minutes). When heroin is sniffed or smoked, peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. Although smoking and sniffing heroin do not produce a "rush" as quickly or as intensely as intravenous injection, NIDA researchers have confirmed that all three forms of heroin administration are addictive.
Injection continues to be the predominant method of heroin use among addicted users seeking treatment; however, researchers have observed a shift in heroin use patterns, from injection to sniffing and smoking. In fact, sniffing/snorting heroin is now the most widely reported means of taking heroin among users admitted for drug treatment in Newark, Chicago, and New York.
With the shift in heroin abuse patterns comes an even more diverse group of users. Older users (over 30) continue to be one of the largest user groups in most national data. However, the increase continues in new, young users across the country who are being lured by inexpensive, high-purity heroin that can be sniffed or smoked instead of injected. Heroin has also been appearing in more affluent communities.
Consequences of Heroin Use
Short-Term Effects
* "Rush"
* Depressed respiration
* Clouded mental functioning
* Nausea and vomiting
* Suppression of pain
* Spontaneous abortion
Long-Term Effects
* Addiction
* Infectious diseases, for example, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C
* Collapsed veins
* Bacterial infections
* Abscesses
* Infection of heart lining and valves
* Arthritis and other rheumatologic problems
Medical consequences of chronic heroin abuse include scarred and/or collapsed veins, bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves, abscesses (boils) and other soft-tissue infections, and liver or kidney disease. Lung complications (including various types of pneumonia and tuberculosis) may result from the poor health condition of the abuser as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. Many of the additives in street heroin may include substances that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs. Immune reactions to these or other contaminants can cause arthritis or other rheumatologic problems.
Of course, sharing of injection equipment or fluids can lead to some of the most severe consequences of heroin abuse-infections with hepatitis B and C, HIV, and a host of other blood-borne viruses, which drug abusers can then pass on to their sexual partners and children.
Heroin abuse can cause serious complications during pregnancy, including miscarriage and premature delivery. Children born to addicted mothers are at greater risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), as well. Pregnant women should not be detoxified from opiates because of the increased risk of spontaneous abortion or premature delivery; rather, treatment with methadone is strongly advised. Although infants born to mothers taking prescribed methadone may show signs of physical dependence, they can be treated easily and safely in the nursery. Research has demonstrated also that the effects of in utero exposure to methadone are relatively benign.
What are the Treatments for Heroin Addiction?
A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction. Treatment tends to be more effective when heroin abuse is identified early. The treatments that follow vary depending on the individual, but methadone, a synthetic opiate that blocks the effects of heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms, has a proven record of success for people addicted to heroin. Other pharmaceutical approaches, like LAAM (levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol) and buprenorphine, and many behavioral therapies also are used for treating heroin addiction.
Detoxification
The primary objective of detoxification is to relieve withdrawal symptoms while patients adjust to a drug-free state. Not in itself a treatment for addiction, detoxification is a useful step only when it leads into long-term treatment that is either drug-free (residential or outpatient) or uses medications as part of the treatment. The best documented drug-free treatments are the therapeutic community residential programs lasting at least 3 to 6 months.
Methadone programs
Methadone treatment has been used effectively and safely to treat opioid addiction for more than 30 years. Properly prescribed methadone is not intoxicating or sedating, and its effects do not interfere with ordinary activities such as driving a car. The medication is taken orally and it suppresses narcotic withdrawal for 24 to 36 hours. Patients are able to perceive pain and have emotional reactions. Most important, methadone relieves the craving associated with heroin addiction; craving is a major reason for relapse. Among methadone patients, it has been found that normal street doses of heroin are ineffective at producing euphoria, thus making the use of heroin more easily extinguishable.
Methadone's effects last for about 24 hours - four to six times as long as those of heroin - so people in treatment need to take it only once a day. Also, methadone is medically safe even when used continuously for 10 years or more. Combined with behavioral therapies or counseling and other supportive services, methadone enables patients to stop using heroin (and other opiates) and return to more stable and productive lives.
Methadone dosages must be carefully monitored in patients who are receiving antiviral therapy for HIV infection, to avoid potential medication interactions.
LAAM and other medications
LAAM, like methadone, is a synthetic opiate that can be used to treat heroin addiction. LAAM can block the effects of heroin for up to 72 hours with minimal side effects when taken orally. In 1993 the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of LAAM for treating patients addicted to heroin. Its long duration of action permits dosing just three times per week, thereby eliminating the need for daily dosing and take-home doses for weekends. LAAM will be increasingly available in clinics that already dispense methadone. Naloxone and naltrexone are medications that also block the effects of morphine, heroin, and other opiates. As antagonists, they are especially useful as antidotes. Naltrexone has long-lasting effects, ranging from 1 to 3 days, depending on the dose. Naltrexone blocks the pleasurable effects of heroin and is useful in treating some highly motivated individuals. Naltrexone has also been found to be successful in preventing relapse by former opiate addicts released from prison on probation.
Another medication to treat heroin addiction, buprenorphine, may already be available by the time this Research Report appears. Buprenorphine is a particularly attractive treatment because, compared to other medications, such as methadone, it causes weaker opiate effects and is less likely to cause overdose problems. Buprenorphine also produces a lower level of physical dependence, so patients who discontinue the medication generally have fewer withdrawal symptoms than do those who stop taking methadone. Because of these advantages, buprenorphine may be appropriate for use in a wider variety of treatment settings than the currently available medications. Several other medications with potential for treating heroin overdose or addiction are currently under investigation by NIDA.
Behavioral therapies
Although behavioral and pharmacologic treatments can be extremely useful when employed alone, science has taught us that integrating both types of treatments will ultimately be the most effective approach. There are many effective behavioral treatments available for heroin addiction. These can include residential and outpatient approaches. An important task is to match the best treatment approach to meet the particular needs of the patient. Moreover, several new behavioral therapies, such as contingency management therapy and cognitive-behavioral interventions, show particular promise as treatments for heroin addiction. Contingency management therapy uses a voucher-based system, where patients earn ÒpointsÓ based on negative drug tests, which they can exchange for items that encourage healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral interventions are designed to help modify the patient's thinking, expectancies, and behaviors and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors. Both behavioral and pharmacological treatments help to restore a degree of normalcy to brain function and behavior, with increased employment rates and lower risk of HIV and other diseases and criminal behavior.
What are the Opioid Analogs and their Dangers?
Drug analogs are chemical compounds that are similar to other drugs in their effects but differ slightly in their chemical structure. Some analogs are produced by pharmaceutical companies for legitimate medical reasons. Other analogs, sometimes referred to as "designer" drugs, can be produced in illegal laboratories and are often more dangerous and potent than the original drug. Two of the most commonly known opioid analogs are fentanyl and meperidine (marketed under the brand name Demerol, for example).
Fentanyl was introduced in 1968 by a Belgian pharmaceutical company as a synthetic narcotic to be used as an analgesic in surgical procedures because of its minimal effects on the heart. Fentanyl is particularly dangerous because it is 50 times more potent than heroin and can rapidly stop respiration. This is not a problem during surgical procedures because machines are used to help patients breathe. On the street, however, users have been found dead with the needle used to inject the drug still in their arms.
drug rehabs - Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are drugs that cause hallucinations - profound distortions in a person's perceptions of reality. Under the influence of hallucinogens, people see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce rapid, intense emotional swings.
What are Hallucinogens?
Hallucinogens cause their effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.
LSD (an abbreviation for "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide") is the drug most commonly identified with the term "hallucinogen" and the most widely used in this class of drugs. It is considered the typical hallucinogen, and the characteristics of its action and effects described in this Research Report apply to the other hallucinogens, including mescaline, psilocybin, and ibogaine.
What are Dissociative Drugs?
Drugs such as PCP (phencyclidine) and ketamine, which were initially developed as general anesthetics for surgery, distort perceptions of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment - dissociation - from the environment and self. But these mind-altering effects are not hallucinations. PCP and ketamine are therefore more properly known as "dissociative anesthetics." Dextromethorphan, a widely available cough suppressant, when taken in high doses can produce effects similar to those of PCP and ketamine.
The dissociative drugs act by altering distribution of the neurotransmitter glutamate throughout the brain. Glutamate is involved in perception of pain, responses to the environment, and memory. PCP is considered the typical dissociative drug, and the description of PCP's actions and effects in this Research Report largely applies to ketamine and dextromethorphan as well.
Street Names of Hallucinogens & Dissociative Drugs
LSD
* Acid
* Blotter
* Blooter Acid
* Dots
* Microdot
* Pane
* Paper Acid
* Sugar
* Sugar Cubes
* Trip
* Window Glass
* Window Pane
* Zen
Ketamine
* Bump
* Cat Valium
* Green
* Purple
* Special la Coke
* Super Acid
* Super C
* Vitamin K
PCP
* Angel
* Angel Dust
* Boat
* Dummy Dust
* Love Boat
* Peace
* Supergrass
* Zombie
LSD's effects
The precise mechanism by which LSD alters perceptions is still unclear. Evidence from laboratory studies suggests that LSD, like hallucinogenic plants, acts on certain groups of serotonin receptors designated the 5-HT2 receptors, and that its effects are most prominent in two brain regions: One is the cerebral cortex, an area involved in mood, cognition, and perception; the other is the locus ceruleus, which receives sensory signals from all areas of the body and has been described as the brain's "novelty detector" for important external stimuli.
LSD's effects typically begin within 30 to 90 minutes of ingestion and may last as long as 12 hours. Users refer to LSD and other hallucinogenic experiences as "trips" and to the acute adverse experiences as "bad trips." Although most LSD trips include both pleasant and unpleasant aspects, the drug's effects are unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user's personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings.
Users of LSD may experience some physiological effects, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, loss of appetite, dry mouth, sweating, nausea, numbness, and tremors; but the drug's major effects are emotional and sensory. The user's emotions may shift rapidly through a range from fear to euphoria, with transitions so rapid that the user may seem to experience several emotions simultaneously.
LSD also has dramatic effects on the senses. Colors, smells, sounds, and other sensations seem highly intensified. In some cases, sensory perceptions may blend in a phenomenon known as synesthesia, in which a person seems to hear or feel colors and see sounds.
Hallucinations distort or transform shapes and movements, and they may give rise to a perception that time is moving very slowly or that the user's body is changing shape. On some trips, users experience sensations that are enjoyable and mentally stimulating and that produce a sense of heightened understanding. Bad trips, however, include terrifying thoughts and nightmarish feelings of anxiety and despair that include fears of insanity, death, or losing control.
LSD users quickly develop a high degree of tolerance for the drug's effects: After repeated use, they need increasingly larger doses to produce similar effects. LSD use also produces tolerance for other hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin and mescaline, but not to drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, and PCP, which do not act directly on the serotonin receptors affected by LSD. Tolerance for LSD is short-lived it is lost if the user stops taking the drug for several days. There is no evidence that LSD produces physical withdrawal symptoms when chronic use is stopped.
Two long-term effects, persistent psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), more commonly referred to as "flashbacks", have been associated with use of LSD. The causes of these effects, which in some users occur after a single experience with the drug, are not known.
What are Hallucinogens?
Hallucinogens cause their effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.
LSD (an abbreviation for "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide") is the drug most commonly identified with the term "hallucinogen" and the most widely used in this class of drugs. It is considered the typical hallucinogen, and the characteristics of its action and effects described in this Research Report apply to the other hallucinogens, including mescaline, psilocybin, and ibogaine.
What are Dissociative Drugs?
Drugs such as PCP (phencyclidine) and ketamine, which were initially developed as general anesthetics for surgery, distort perceptions of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment - dissociation - from the environment and self. But these mind-altering effects are not hallucinations. PCP and ketamine are therefore more properly known as "dissociative anesthetics." Dextromethorphan, a widely available cough suppressant, when taken in high doses can produce effects similar to those of PCP and ketamine.
The dissociative drugs act by altering distribution of the neurotransmitter glutamate throughout the brain. Glutamate is involved in perception of pain, responses to the environment, and memory. PCP is considered the typical dissociative drug, and the description of PCP's actions and effects in this Research Report largely applies to ketamine and dextromethorphan as well.
Street Names of Hallucinogens & Dissociative Drugs
LSD
* Acid
* Blotter
* Blooter Acid
* Dots
* Microdot
* Pane
* Paper Acid
* Sugar
* Sugar Cubes
* Trip
* Window Glass
* Window Pane
* Zen
Ketamine
* Bump
* Cat Valium
* Green
* Purple
* Special la Coke
* Super Acid
* Super C
* Vitamin K
PCP
* Angel
* Angel Dust
* Boat
* Dummy Dust
* Love Boat
* Peace
* Supergrass
* Zombie
LSD's effects
The precise mechanism by which LSD alters perceptions is still unclear. Evidence from laboratory studies suggests that LSD, like hallucinogenic plants, acts on certain groups of serotonin receptors designated the 5-HT2 receptors, and that its effects are most prominent in two brain regions: One is the cerebral cortex, an area involved in mood, cognition, and perception; the other is the locus ceruleus, which receives sensory signals from all areas of the body and has been described as the brain's "novelty detector" for important external stimuli.
LSD's effects typically begin within 30 to 90 minutes of ingestion and may last as long as 12 hours. Users refer to LSD and other hallucinogenic experiences as "trips" and to the acute adverse experiences as "bad trips." Although most LSD trips include both pleasant and unpleasant aspects, the drug's effects are unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user's personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings.
Users of LSD may experience some physiological effects, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, loss of appetite, dry mouth, sweating, nausea, numbness, and tremors; but the drug's major effects are emotional and sensory. The user's emotions may shift rapidly through a range from fear to euphoria, with transitions so rapid that the user may seem to experience several emotions simultaneously.
LSD also has dramatic effects on the senses. Colors, smells, sounds, and other sensations seem highly intensified. In some cases, sensory perceptions may blend in a phenomenon known as synesthesia, in which a person seems to hear or feel colors and see sounds.
Hallucinations distort or transform shapes and movements, and they may give rise to a perception that time is moving very slowly or that the user's body is changing shape. On some trips, users experience sensations that are enjoyable and mentally stimulating and that produce a sense of heightened understanding. Bad trips, however, include terrifying thoughts and nightmarish feelings of anxiety and despair that include fears of insanity, death, or losing control.
LSD users quickly develop a high degree of tolerance for the drug's effects: After repeated use, they need increasingly larger doses to produce similar effects. LSD use also produces tolerance for other hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin and mescaline, but not to drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, and PCP, which do not act directly on the serotonin receptors affected by LSD. Tolerance for LSD is short-lived it is lost if the user stops taking the drug for several days. There is no evidence that LSD produces physical withdrawal symptoms when chronic use is stopped.
Two long-term effects, persistent psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), more commonly referred to as "flashbacks", have been associated with use of LSD. The causes of these effects, which in some users occur after a single experience with the drug, are not known.
drug rehabs - ectasy
Ecstasy: Too Often a Fatal Trip
Ecstasy--an illegal drug often referred to as this decade’s version of LSD—is, according to some of its users "the hottest drug going now." It’s also one of the deadliest. While Ecstasy is most often associated with large open-to-the-public teen dance parties--or "raves"--federal officials say the drug also known as MDMA (and most commonly called "X" on the street) is so readily available that teens can easily buy it on the street or even on their school’s campus.
A recent survey of teens conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that one in four questioned said they had a friend or class mate whom they knew had used Ecstasy, and 17% said they knew more than one user.
Some of the slang terms for Ecstasy include:
oB-bombs
oDisco biscuit
oEssence
oGo
oHug Drug
oLove drug
oScooby snacks
oSweeties
oWheels
o"X"
Adding to the already existing dangerous potential of Ecstasy is the fact that, increasingly, other drugs altogether are being passed off as Ecstasy and that Ecstasy pills are sold heavily laced with other dangerous drugs such as PCP.
"When somebody tells me they’ve taken Ecstasy these days, I have no idea what they’ve taken," says Dr. Grob, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. Grob, who conducted the first Food and Drug Administration-approved study of MDMA’s effects in the mid-90’s, says the growing furor surrounding the illegal use and abuse of the drug has overshadowed its potential as a legitimate, professionally monitored psychiatric treatment for such ailments as posttraumatic stress disorder
Some of the Facts About Ecstasy
* When most people refer to Ecstasy they are usually referring to 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. Patented in Germany before World War I, MDMA was not tested on humans until the 70’s. Chemically, it’s structurally similar to both amphetamine and mescaline, a hallucinogen.
* In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Administration ordered that MDMA be classified as an illegal drug. However, that did little to stop its spread on the black market. By the mid-90’s, Ecstasy had become a popular "club drug" in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world.
* A dangerous trend has become pervasive and often proves fatal: In attempts to prolong the effects of the drug and enhance the "I love everyone" feelings, "stacking"--using multiple doses in one night--or combining Ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs is becoming increasingly widespread.
* Medical experts are also alarmed by commonly used impure forms of Ecstasy (laced with other drugs), as well as look-alike pills. Other critical concerns include the drug’s capacity to accelerate dehydration and overheating, which, especially at crowded dance clubs, has been the cause of death in some cases.
* If you or someone you care about is using Ecstasy, consider getting immediate and confidentialhelp from your doctor or local therapist. As tempting as this drug might be, there are lots of other healthier ways to feel euphorically "high on life"--ways that don’t risk killing you.
Ecstasy--an illegal drug often referred to as this decade’s version of LSD—is, according to some of its users "the hottest drug going now." It’s also one of the deadliest. While Ecstasy is most often associated with large open-to-the-public teen dance parties--or "raves"--federal officials say the drug also known as MDMA (and most commonly called "X" on the street) is so readily available that teens can easily buy it on the street or even on their school’s campus.
A recent survey of teens conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that one in four questioned said they had a friend or class mate whom they knew had used Ecstasy, and 17% said they knew more than one user.
Some of the slang terms for Ecstasy include:
oB-bombs
oDisco biscuit
oEssence
oGo
oHug Drug
oLove drug
oScooby snacks
oSweeties
oWheels
o"X"
Adding to the already existing dangerous potential of Ecstasy is the fact that, increasingly, other drugs altogether are being passed off as Ecstasy and that Ecstasy pills are sold heavily laced with other dangerous drugs such as PCP.
"When somebody tells me they’ve taken Ecstasy these days, I have no idea what they’ve taken," says Dr. Grob, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. Grob, who conducted the first Food and Drug Administration-approved study of MDMA’s effects in the mid-90’s, says the growing furor surrounding the illegal use and abuse of the drug has overshadowed its potential as a legitimate, professionally monitored psychiatric treatment for such ailments as posttraumatic stress disorder
Some of the Facts About Ecstasy
* When most people refer to Ecstasy they are usually referring to 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. Patented in Germany before World War I, MDMA was not tested on humans until the 70’s. Chemically, it’s structurally similar to both amphetamine and mescaline, a hallucinogen.
* In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Administration ordered that MDMA be classified as an illegal drug. However, that did little to stop its spread on the black market. By the mid-90’s, Ecstasy had become a popular "club drug" in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world.
* A dangerous trend has become pervasive and often proves fatal: In attempts to prolong the effects of the drug and enhance the "I love everyone" feelings, "stacking"--using multiple doses in one night--or combining Ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs is becoming increasingly widespread.
* Medical experts are also alarmed by commonly used impure forms of Ecstasy (laced with other drugs), as well as look-alike pills. Other critical concerns include the drug’s capacity to accelerate dehydration and overheating, which, especially at crowded dance clubs, has been the cause of death in some cases.
* If you or someone you care about is using Ecstasy, consider getting immediate and confidentialhelp from your doctor or local therapist. As tempting as this drug might be, there are lots of other healthier ways to feel euphorically "high on life"--ways that don’t risk killing you.
drug rehabs - cocaine
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. Cocaine has been labeled the drug of the 1980s and '90s, because of its extensive popularity and use during this period. However, cocaine is not a new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs. The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands of years.
What is Cocaine?
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Today, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
There are basically two chemical forms of cocaine: the hydrochloride salt and the "freebase." The hydrochloride salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water and, when abused, can be taken intravenously (by vein) or intranasally (in the nose). Freebase refers to a compound that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. The freebase form of cocaine is smokable.
Cocaine is generally sold on the street as a fine, white, crystalline powder, known as "coke," "C," "snow," "flake," or "blow." Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic) or with such other stimulants as amphetamines.
What is Crack?
Crack is the street name given to the freebase form of cocaine that has been processed from the powdered cocaine hydrochloride form to a smokable substance. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked. Crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water, and heated to remove the hydrochloride.
Because crack is smoked, the user experiences a high in less than 10 seconds. This rather immediate and euphoric effect is one of the reasons that crack became enormously popular in the mid 1980s. Another reason is that crack is inexpensive both to produce and to buy.
How is Cocaine Used?
The principal routes of cocaine administration are oral, intranasal, intravenous, and inhalation. The slang terms for these routes are, respectively, "chewing," "snorting," "mainlining," "injecting," and "smoking" (including freebase and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting releases the drug directly into the bloodstream, and heightens the intensity of its effects. Smoking involves the inhalation of cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection. The drug can also be rubbed onto mucous tissues. Some users combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin in a "speedball."
Cocaine use ranges from occasional use to repeated or compulsive use, with a variety of patterns between these extremes. There is no safe way to use cocaine. Any route of administration can lead to absorption of toxic amounts of cocaine, leading to acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies that could result in sudden death. Repeated cocaine use by any route of administration can produce addiction and other adverse health consequences.
What are the short-term effects of Cocaine Use?
* Increased energy
* Decreased appetite
* Mental alertness
* Increased heart rate and blood pressure
* Constricted blood vessels
* Increased temperature
* Dilated pupils
What are the long-term effects of Cocaine Use?
* Addiction
* Irritability and mood disturbances
* Restlessness
* Paranoia
* Auditory hallucinations
What Are the Medical Consequences of Cocaine Abuse?
Cardiovascular Effects
* Disturbances in Heart Rhythm
* Heart Attacks
Respiratory Effects
* Chest Pain
* Respiratory Failure
Neurological Effects
* Strokes
* Seizures and Hheadaches
Gastrointestinal Complications
* Abdominal Pain
* Nausea
What Treatments are Effective for Cocaine Abusers?
There has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction during the 1980s and 1990s. Treatment providers in most areas of the country, except in the West and Southwest, report that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug of abuse among their clients. The majority of individuals seeking treatment smoke crack, and are likely to be poly-drug users, or users of more than one substance. The widespread abuse of cocaine has stimulated extensive efforts to develop treatment programs for this type of drug abuse. Cocaine abuse and addiction is a complex problem involving biological changes in the brain as well as a myriad of social, familial, and environmental factors. Therefore, treatment of cocaine addiction is complex, and must address a variety of problems. Like any good treatment plan, cocaine treatment strategies need to assess the psychobiological, social, and pharmacological aspects of the patient's drug abuse.
What is Cocaine?
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Today, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
There are basically two chemical forms of cocaine: the hydrochloride salt and the "freebase." The hydrochloride salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water and, when abused, can be taken intravenously (by vein) or intranasally (in the nose). Freebase refers to a compound that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. The freebase form of cocaine is smokable.
Cocaine is generally sold on the street as a fine, white, crystalline powder, known as "coke," "C," "snow," "flake," or "blow." Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic) or with such other stimulants as amphetamines.
What is Crack?
Crack is the street name given to the freebase form of cocaine that has been processed from the powdered cocaine hydrochloride form to a smokable substance. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked. Crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water, and heated to remove the hydrochloride.
Because crack is smoked, the user experiences a high in less than 10 seconds. This rather immediate and euphoric effect is one of the reasons that crack became enormously popular in the mid 1980s. Another reason is that crack is inexpensive both to produce and to buy.
How is Cocaine Used?
The principal routes of cocaine administration are oral, intranasal, intravenous, and inhalation. The slang terms for these routes are, respectively, "chewing," "snorting," "mainlining," "injecting," and "smoking" (including freebase and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting releases the drug directly into the bloodstream, and heightens the intensity of its effects. Smoking involves the inhalation of cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection. The drug can also be rubbed onto mucous tissues. Some users combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin in a "speedball."
Cocaine use ranges from occasional use to repeated or compulsive use, with a variety of patterns between these extremes. There is no safe way to use cocaine. Any route of administration can lead to absorption of toxic amounts of cocaine, leading to acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies that could result in sudden death. Repeated cocaine use by any route of administration can produce addiction and other adverse health consequences.
What are the short-term effects of Cocaine Use?
* Increased energy
* Decreased appetite
* Mental alertness
* Increased heart rate and blood pressure
* Constricted blood vessels
* Increased temperature
* Dilated pupils
What are the long-term effects of Cocaine Use?
* Addiction
* Irritability and mood disturbances
* Restlessness
* Paranoia
* Auditory hallucinations
What Are the Medical Consequences of Cocaine Abuse?
Cardiovascular Effects
* Disturbances in Heart Rhythm
* Heart Attacks
Respiratory Effects
* Chest Pain
* Respiratory Failure
Neurological Effects
* Strokes
* Seizures and Hheadaches
Gastrointestinal Complications
* Abdominal Pain
* Nausea
What Treatments are Effective for Cocaine Abusers?
There has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction during the 1980s and 1990s. Treatment providers in most areas of the country, except in the West and Southwest, report that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug of abuse among their clients. The majority of individuals seeking treatment smoke crack, and are likely to be poly-drug users, or users of more than one substance. The widespread abuse of cocaine has stimulated extensive efforts to develop treatment programs for this type of drug abuse. Cocaine abuse and addiction is a complex problem involving biological changes in the brain as well as a myriad of social, familial, and environmental factors. Therefore, treatment of cocaine addiction is complex, and must address a variety of problems. Like any good treatment plan, cocaine treatment strategies need to assess the psychobiological, social, and pharmacological aspects of the patient's drug abuse.
drug rehabs - alcoholism
For many people, the facts about alcoholism are not clear. What is alcoholism, exactly? How does it differ from alcohol abuse? When should a person seek help for a problem related to his or her drinking? The following information explains both alcoholism and alcohol abuse, the symptoms of each, when and where to seek help, treatment choices, and additional helpful resources.
What Is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes four symptoms:
• Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: The inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion.
• Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
• Tolerance: The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high.”
People who are not alcoholic sometimes do not understand why an alcoholic can’t just “use a little willpower” to stop drinking. However, alcoholism has little to do with willpower. Alcoholics are in the grip of a powerful “craving,” or uncontrollable need, for alcohol that overrides their ability to stop drinking. This need can be as strong as the need for food or water.
Although some people are able to recover from alcoholism without help, the majority of alcoholics need assistance. With treatment and support, many individuals are able to stop drinking and rebuild their lives.
Many people wonder why some individuals can use alcohol without problems but others cannot. One important reason has to do with genetics. Scientists have found that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely that if you choose to drink you too may develop alcoholism. Genes, however, are not the whole story. In fact, scientists now believe that certain factors in a person’s environment influence whether a person with a genetic risk for alcoholism ever develops the disease. A person’s risk for developing alcoholism can increase based on the person’s environment, including where and how he or she lives; family, friends, and culture; peer pressure; and even how easy it is to get alcohol
What Is Alcohol Abuse?
Alcohol abuse differs from alcoholism in that it does not include an extremely strong craving for alcohol, loss of control over drinking, or physical dependence. Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking that results in one or more of the following situations within a 12-month period:
* Failure to fulfill major work, school, or home responsibilities;
* Drinking in situations that are physically dangerous, such as while driving a car or operating machinery;
* Having recurring alcohol-related legal problems, such as being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or for physically hurting someone while drunk; and
* Continued drinking despite having ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by the drinking.
Although alcohol abuse is basically different from alcoholism, many effects of alcohol abuse are also experienced by alcoholics.
What Are the Signs of a Problem?
How can you tell whether you may have a drinking problem? Answering the following four questions can help you find out:
* Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
* Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
* Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
* Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning (as an “eye opener”) to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
One “yes” answer suggests a possible alcohol problem. If you answered “yes” to more than one question, it is highly likely that a problem exists. In either case, it is important that you see your doctor or other health care provider right away to discuss your answers to these questions. He or she can help you determine whether you have a drinking problem and, if so, recommend the best course of action.
Even if you answered “no” to all of the above questions, if you encounter drinking-related problems with your job, relationships, health, or the law, you should seek professional help. The effects of alcohol abuse can be extremely serious—even fatal—both to you and to others.
Alcoholism Treatment
The type of treatment you receive depends on the severity of your alcoholism and the resources that are available in your community. Treatment may include detoxification (the process of safely getting alcohol out of your system); taking doctor-prescribed medications, such as disulfiram (Antabuse®) or naltrexone (ReVia™), to help prevent a return (or relapse) to drinking once drinking has stopped; and individual and/or group counseling. There are promising types of counseling that teach alcoholics to identify situations and feelings that trigger the urge to drink and to find new ways to cope that do not include alcohol use. These treatments are often provided on an outpatient basis.
Because the support of family members is important to the recovery process, many programs also offer brief marital counseling and family therapy as part of the treatment process. Programs may also link individuals with vital community resources, such as legal assistance, job training, childcare, and parenting classes.
What Is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes four symptoms:
• Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: The inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion.
• Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
• Tolerance: The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high.”
People who are not alcoholic sometimes do not understand why an alcoholic can’t just “use a little willpower” to stop drinking. However, alcoholism has little to do with willpower. Alcoholics are in the grip of a powerful “craving,” or uncontrollable need, for alcohol that overrides their ability to stop drinking. This need can be as strong as the need for food or water.
Although some people are able to recover from alcoholism without help, the majority of alcoholics need assistance. With treatment and support, many individuals are able to stop drinking and rebuild their lives.
Many people wonder why some individuals can use alcohol without problems but others cannot. One important reason has to do with genetics. Scientists have found that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely that if you choose to drink you too may develop alcoholism. Genes, however, are not the whole story. In fact, scientists now believe that certain factors in a person’s environment influence whether a person with a genetic risk for alcoholism ever develops the disease. A person’s risk for developing alcoholism can increase based on the person’s environment, including where and how he or she lives; family, friends, and culture; peer pressure; and even how easy it is to get alcohol
What Is Alcohol Abuse?
Alcohol abuse differs from alcoholism in that it does not include an extremely strong craving for alcohol, loss of control over drinking, or physical dependence. Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking that results in one or more of the following situations within a 12-month period:
* Failure to fulfill major work, school, or home responsibilities;
* Drinking in situations that are physically dangerous, such as while driving a car or operating machinery;
* Having recurring alcohol-related legal problems, such as being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or for physically hurting someone while drunk; and
* Continued drinking despite having ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by the drinking.
Although alcohol abuse is basically different from alcoholism, many effects of alcohol abuse are also experienced by alcoholics.
What Are the Signs of a Problem?
How can you tell whether you may have a drinking problem? Answering the following four questions can help you find out:
* Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
* Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
* Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
* Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning (as an “eye opener”) to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
One “yes” answer suggests a possible alcohol problem. If you answered “yes” to more than one question, it is highly likely that a problem exists. In either case, it is important that you see your doctor or other health care provider right away to discuss your answers to these questions. He or she can help you determine whether you have a drinking problem and, if so, recommend the best course of action.
Even if you answered “no” to all of the above questions, if you encounter drinking-related problems with your job, relationships, health, or the law, you should seek professional help. The effects of alcohol abuse can be extremely serious—even fatal—both to you and to others.
Alcoholism Treatment
The type of treatment you receive depends on the severity of your alcoholism and the resources that are available in your community. Treatment may include detoxification (the process of safely getting alcohol out of your system); taking doctor-prescribed medications, such as disulfiram (Antabuse®) or naltrexone (ReVia™), to help prevent a return (or relapse) to drinking once drinking has stopped; and individual and/or group counseling. There are promising types of counseling that teach alcoholics to identify situations and feelings that trigger the urge to drink and to find new ways to cope that do not include alcohol use. These treatments are often provided on an outpatient basis.
Because the support of family members is important to the recovery process, many programs also offer brief marital counseling and family therapy as part of the treatment process. Programs may also link individuals with vital community resources, such as legal assistance, job training, childcare, and parenting classes.
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