JS Online: Survey shows rise in baby boomers’ illicit drug use

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel comes an article about the rise in drug use among baby boomers. Marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogen drug use among baby boomers rose 4.1% in 2007, states the article.

Other interesting facts from the article include:

• “Among boomers aged 50 to 54, illicit drug use increased from 3.4% in 2002 to 5.7% in 2007”
• Boomers aged 55 to 59 showed a significant increase in illicit drug use over a five-year period

Interestingly, while illicit drug use in baby boomers increased, drug use among those aged 12 to 17 actually decreased during the 5 years the study was done.

To read more about this survey, please visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Prescription opioids in home put children at risk - Yahoo! News

Keeping up with the theme of children and teens being overexposed to prescription drugs in the home, an article from Yahoo! News surfaces that touches upon research that shows that opioids in the home are putting children at a greater risk than previously thought. Don’t let your child become the next opiate detox patient .

Some facts from the article:

• The number of deaths due to poisonings with [prescription medications] nearly doubled between 1999 and 2002
• Among the 9,179 children for whom opioid exposures had been reported to RADARS (Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance), 8 died, while 43 suffered serious effects. The children ranged in age from newborn to 5.5 years old, while most were 2 years old. Ninety-nine percent of the children ingested the drug; 92 percent of cases occurred in the child’s home; and 6 percent took place in another person’s home, suggesting that opioids were discovered during toddlers’ exploration of their environment

To read more about the Opioid findings, read Yahoo! News.

Did you know: The Drug Enforcement Agency has found that prescription drugs are the fastest growing drug trend in America today. Is your teen in danger of becoming grouped in that statistic?

Pharma Parties: A Definition

There’s no doubt that teenagers are easily influenced, but new indications are pointing to a disturbing trend in which teens steal prescription drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinets and create “prescription cocktails” that can be shared with friends at parties. Prescription medications such as Xanax®, OxyContin®, and Ambien® are some of the popular name brand pills that teenagers look for when raiding their household medicine cabinets.

Pharma Parties: Is Your Teen Participating?

Since prescription medications can be prescribed for a number of reasons and aren’t always taken on a regular basis, it can be easy for a teenager to take one or two pills from each medicine bottle without anyone noticing. If a household has sleeping prescriptions and cough medicines that are only used every few months, it’s simple to not notice that extra pills have gone missing. Mixing prescriptions together can lead to drug abuse and addiction, though, so it’s important to keep track of all of the medicines located within your home.

On top of looking out for any unusual behaviors, parents should also keep prescription medicines in an attended area where quantities can be monitored. If you aren’t using a certain prescription anymore, dispose of it immediately.

A new trend is emerging that is leaving drug addicts that set out seeking treatment in worse conditions then they were before they started treatment: doctors prescribing opiates as a solution for drug addiction treatment.

What is Buprenorphine Treatment

Methadone and OxyContin have been trendy methods of Drug Addiction Treatment for the past few years. These “treatment” methods call for heroin addicts to be placed on a prescription drug of Methadone or OxyContin in order to lessen withdrawal and craving effects associated with abruptly stopping drug usage. What happens, however, is that dosages of Methadone need to be steadily increased in order to get the full effect of the drug, ultimately reaching the point where drug addicts become addicted to the treatment drug. The addiction to the treatment opiates then leads to illegal means of acquiring those prescription drugs.

Buprenorphine Treatment is a similar “treatment method” to Methadone and OxyContin. With Buprenorphine, drug addicts are prescribed orange pills which dissolve under the tongue in order to relieve addicts’ cravings for narcotics. The thing to remember, though, is that Buprenorphine is an opiate.

Buprenorphine Treatment Abuse

In recent months, Burprenorphine has become one of the most popular and requested street drugs, mostly by drug addicts who were prescribed the opiate as a treatment option and now need a higher dosage than their doctor will prescribe.

Health officials have seen patients crushing and injecting Buprenorphine pills, eventually leading to overdose and relapse situations. A recent report by The Sun investigated abuse of the drug, which included illegal street sales.

Explore Your Treatment Options

If you or someone you care about has made the decision to seek drug addiction treatment, please research all of your options before deciding on which treatment is best for you. Realizing that your body can easily become addicted to drugs - even opiate drugs that are being prescribed by doctors – early in the research process will help ensure a successful treatment journey. Don’t trade one bad habit for another!

For the first time in 5 years, Denise is free, sober, clean, clear, and happy. After struggling with an opiate addiction she tried to get clean using subutex and soboxone, only to become addicted to them as well. After treatment, now Denise says, “I feel as though I have finally been released from my personal prison of using.”

Read More About Denise’s Story and Experience…

According to a National Survey (2006), almost half of the American public knows a friend or family member with a pain killer addiction. Furthermore, the majority of them are not aware that what they are really addicted to is an opiate. This makes pain killer abuse equal to that of a heroin addiction.

Heroin is a semi-synthetic opioid created from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. This opioid compound acts the same way as endorphins by creating a feeling of happiness, well-being, and euphoria. The similarity of heroin addiction to pain killer addiction lies here, in the opiates contained in these substances. Because opiates are addictive substances, the misuse and abuse of pain killers very often leads to a serious addiction.

Although many take opiate based drugs as pain killers, the start of an opiate addiction may be psychological. Individuals may think that by taking their pain killers they can have a better day or become less stressed. Such careless use of these drugs comes with a high price, both substances, will lead you to dependence, tolerance and withdrawal stages. More often than not, a pain killer addiction leads into the use of heroin.

Withdrawal symptoms for these addictions may appear at different time intervals, but the results are the same. They both include vomiting, shaking, stomach pain, depression, suicidal thoughts, horrible cramps, aching bones, restlessness, insomnia lasting days to weeks, runny nose, loss of appetite and sweating.

The recreational use and abuse of pain killers is not to be taken lightly. The dangers of an opiate class drug are very apparent and proven. It is important that you are educated on the dependency of opiates should a doctor prescribe them, use as directed and with caution. Seek the advice of a professional if you start to experience withdrawal symptoms or suspect an abuse problem.

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Recent studies have shown that heroin use is growing in New York City as an increased amount of the opiate is smuggled into the city. In fact, drug treatment center admissions for heroin addiction outnumber all other drugs in the city.

The rise in heroin use in New York tells a chilling tale of drug use nationwide. SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) reported a nationwide rise in heroin users from 136,000 in 2005 to 338,000 in 2006. All of this while abuse of prescription opiates such as Methadone, OxyContin and Vicodin also continues to rise nationwide. These latest number prove that opiate abuse and addiction continue to be a major problem in America and a problem not easily solved.

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Two of our latest success stories come not from the patient, but from their family members. It is important to remember that drug addictions never affect just one person.

In Pennsylvania, Elaine’s son had been an addict for over 12 years. After 7 failed attempts at rehab, he turned to heroin. Several more rehab attempts and a sober house later, Elaine’s son found himself severely sick and turning back to drugs. Wanting to stop, he finally found the Rapid Drug Detox Center. Elaine and her son’s life were restored, “The kindness of the Nurses and Doctors and the program, I will always keep them in my prayers for giving back my son to me.”

Read More About Elaine and Her Son’s Story and Experience…

We came across an article from the Toronto Star today that tells the chilling story of a Toronto jail inmate, named Keigo White. Keigo was a former heroin addict and was now on methadone.

However, in jail his addiction to methadone ultimately pushed him over the edge and led to his suicide. The story serves as a reminder of the addictiveness of methadone and the dangers that can result from using methadone to quit other opiates.

People are the core of a company. Without healthy, productive, capable employees a business cannot succeed. Chemical dependency can dramatically affect an employee’s ability to contribute to the success of a business. Substance abuse in the workplace creates problems such as increased absenteeism, on-the-job accidents, errors in judgment, legal expenses, medical insurance claims, illness rates, and decreased productivity and employee morale. Depending on the nature of the individual’s work, public safety can be jeopardized.

Because an addiction impacts every facet of a person’s life, the problem must be addressed at many different levels, including the place of employment. The benefits of addressing addiction and getting treatment for employees who need it are widespread. Improved job performance, motivation, morale, and increased overall customer satisfaction are just some of the results.

Symptoms of addiction in the workplace:

1. Change in work attendance or performance
2. Alteration of personal appearance
3. Mood swings or attitude changes
4. Withdrawal from responsibility or associate contacts
5. Unusual patterns of behavior
6. Defensive attitude concerning the object of addiction

If you have reason to believe an employee is having a problem with alcohol or any drug, gambling or other compulsive behaviors, call a counselor.