Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 teenagers have used prescription drugs to get high? And every day 2500 kids use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Statistics show twenty percent of those kids will succumb to prescription drug addiction possibly suffering addiction for years or dying before seeking addiction treatment help.
That’s five hundred kids a day becoming addicted to prescription drugs! Studies have shown the cost to the taxpayers exceeds 1 million dollars per drug addict. That’s 500 million dollars a day for prescription drug addiction.
These numbers come from the Partnership for a Drug Free America which is a very useful website that shows ways to avoid your child becoming addicted or abusing prescription drugs that are in your medicine cabinet.
Many parents are unaware of the effects of drugs and quite possibly have the misconception since drugs are prescribed by a doctor then they must be safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today more people are suffering from prescription drug addiction and seeking addiction treatment or drug rehabilitation than those suffering addiction to heroin and cocaine combined.
You can start by monitoring the prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet and keep track of any refills. If your teen has been prescribed a medication please keep in mind all drugs have side effects and will produce physiological and psychological changes in your child. It’s always a good idea to thoroughly research all prescription drugs as to the side effects. Often times these negative effects will produce unwanted physical changes such as weight gain and psychological changes such as depression and anxiety. These changes when reported often lead to more drugs being prescribed and increase the chance of prescription drug addiction and dependence.
The study reported by the Partnership for a Drug Free America states 64 percent of kids age 12 to 17 who have abused pain relievers say they got them from their friends or relatives, typically without their knowledge. Securing any drugs in your house reduces the chance of your child becoming a victim of prescription drug addiction.
Narconon staff members across the country will tell you what a drug addict looks like upon arrival to a Narconon facility and its not pretty. Whether the addict is suffering street drug addiction or prescription drug addiction makes no difference by the time they arrive the addict is very often knocking on deaths door.
Narconon Hawaii Drug Rehabilitation and Education program does not want to see your teenager enrolled our program for any addiction much less prescription drug addiction. Sometimes drugs are necessary, albeit a very small percentage of the time. Drug Education is important and most Narconon centers provide drug education free of charge. For more information please www.narcononhawaii.com
The Narconon Hawaii staff would like to make known a few reasons why the holiday season is the perfect time to be on the lookout for family members with drug or alcohol addiction problems and get the help you need. With nearly 30 million people in the US needing drug or alcohol addiction treatment and rehabilitation, the holiday season can cause added stress and fear for families and loved ones.
For those with a drug or alcohol addiction problem, the holiday season is often marked by isolation, fear, tension, and increased drug use and or alcohol abuse. Often times, drug or alcohol addiction problems are discovered during the holidays, particularly in students, away from home for the first time who return with extra baggage. Increased guilt, depression, drug or alcohol usage, suicide rates and lack of work are the primary contributing factors.
Regardless what is promoted or stated by the drug or alcohol addict guilt is heightened during this time of year. Transgressions committed against the family, friends or society as whole are dramatized during the holidays and displayed by the addict as “this is your fault” or I have a problem with “so and so” family member.
The addict’s failure in life and lack of confidence or self esteem are compounded during the holidays and contribute to the drug or alcohol addiction problem. Family members who are doing well in life or might be judgmental will create the need to use drugs or alcohol all the more, just by presence alone. Drugs or alcohol were taken as a solution to a problem, which then by the sheer nature of the effects on the brain and body will cause depression, i.e. alcohol is a depressant and causes depression, so the solution to the original problem is now creating the problem.
Family members often arrange to meet, have wine or spike the ole eggnog during this time. Countless stories are told by drug addicts of “Uncle Johnny gave me my first hit” or “my cousin came in with a bag” which got the party the started. Often family members who realize their loved ones need help will want to wait until the holidays are over “because I don’t want to send him away before I see him again” and this is the WRONG thing to do, as stated above it will make matters worse and contribute to the problem.
The holiday season is the perfect time to seek drug and alcohol addiction treatment for a few reasons, many facilities have openings, it’s between school semesters and work is often slow during this time of year.The Narconon Drug and Alcohol addiction treatment and rehabilitation program consistently achieves over a 75% percent success rate by removing any physical cravings, handling mental emotional issues and teaching a person how to live life without using drugs or alcohol as a solution to the problems of life.
If you or a loved one are in need of help with drug or alcohol addiction treatment please do not hesitate to contact us. You can contact Narconon Hawaii at 866-373-2709 or email info@narcononhawaii.org and we will be glad to assist you in finding the help you need.
After years of battling prescription drug addiction, Marshall Mathers or better known as rapper Eminem says he is celebrating 18 months clean. The famed singer known for his tell it like he sees it lyrics almost lost his life on an accidental methadone overdose and has battled prescription drug addiction and anti-depressants for years. He says in an interveiw with Complex magazine his formula for success is staying clear of drugs and alcohol all together.
Prescription drug and opioid addiction is on the rise, over 5400 methadone overdose deaths occurred last year according to a webmd article on methadone, a seven fold increase since 1999. Death from opioid prescription pain pills more than tripled from 4,000 1999 to 16,800 in 2006. The problem with methadone, prescription drugs and drugs in general is they stay in the system much longer than realized.
At the time of death of famed pop star Micheal Jackson, tabloid queen Anna Nicole Smith, and talented batman co-star Heath Ledger, the medical examiner was required to measure toxicity levels of the body. This would tell you drugs are toxic, and if drugs are toxic then that would mean they are poisonous. If they are poisonous, then drugs are essentially poisons. Poisons are toxic and handled by the body naturally by being metabolized or broken down for disemination via the liver and kidneys. In this process the metabolites created become lipophilic, or fat bonding and can lodge in the fatty tissue for an undetermined length of time, potentially for years. This would mean drugs could lodge in the tissue, building up toxicity level, tolerance levels and even more nutritional deficiencies thereby causing the need to do more drugs to cause the same desired affect.
I’m glad to hear that Eminem does not plan on being a statistic, as have been many other very talented performers and will continue to write entertaining (and controversial) songs, and more importantly not let prescription drug addiction or alcohol get the best of him. If you or a loved one is in need of effective drug or alcohol rehabilitation or treatment, please contact Narconon Hawaii now at 866-373-2809 or email in to info@narcononhawaii.com
Youth who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine according to the article titled Substance Abuse: The Nations Number One Health Problem on the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse website. The site goes on to state 65% percent of youth get alcohol from family or friends. Experts say approximately 5500 kids a day try some sort of substance and 20% of those will need alcohol or drug addiction treatment or rehabilitation.
How this ties into alcohol companies and advertising is a recent study published in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) concludes that the most popular cable TV shows to kids seem to have the most alcohol advertising, which of course increases the need for alcohol and drug addiction treatment in later years since 40% of those who try alcohol earlier than 14 develop alcohol addiction.
The study conducted by UCLA and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) researched 600,000 alcohol ads aired on cable between 2001 and 2006 and found that shows with the highest percentage of viewers ages 12 to 20 had the largest number of alcohol ads. Ads for beer, liquor and alcopops increased in connection with the youth audience percentage, but wine ads dwindled. “This research suggests that ads are aimed at groups that include a disproportionate number of teens and that the alcohol industry’s voluntary self-monitoring is not working to reduce adolescent exposure to ads,” said CAMY director David Jernigan.
Alcohol companies are deceiving us,” said Dr. Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health and a co-author of the study. “Contrary to their public statements, they are targeting youths through their advertising. They are saying one thing, but doing another.”
Similarly, the teen drugabuse.org website reported a study also found that alcoholic beverages popular among youths are more likely to be advertised in magazines with high youth readership than alcoholic drinks consumed mainly by adults, resulting in disproportionately high youth exposure to such targeted alcohol ads.
This is not new news, back in the early 80’s when the need for alcohol and drug addiction treatment was high and in comparison to the numbers of alcohol ads being placed of front our nations youth. As seen on the Journal of public policy and Marketing website- www.jstor.org/pss/30000397 , in the early 90’s when issues surrounding advertising had aroused considerable debate.
Narconon Hawaii Parent Drug Education Kit
What parents can do that is proven to work is talk their kids, studies show children who have talked to their parents about drug and alcohol issues are 42% less likely to use drugs or alcohol and subsequently need alcohol and drug abuse treatment or rehabilitation in later years. Narconon Hawaii has information that can be seen at www.drug-free-kids.org with Parent Drug Education kits that can be purchased for minimal costs. These kits are designed to educate about the dangers of drug and alcohol so as to better enable parents to talk their kids.
What kind of death do you think she will suffer? I wonder where will she be found and who will find her body? Prescription drug addiction is evidently getting the best of Lindsay Lohan or so says her father. This comes on the heals of the tragic death of pop star Michael Jackson whose family says he was murdered and the doctor is being investigated. Heath Ledger found alone in an apartment, Superstar Elvis Presley was found in his bathroom. Anna Nicole died of prescription drug overdose, her doctor and freind are on currently on trial, and her son was addicted to methadone and overdosed as well!
According to MSNBC Lindsay Lohan has now agreed to seek help in the way of counseling two to three times a week in an effort to thwart her now possible addiction to prescription drugs.
In a failed attempt to handle her addiction she checked herself into a 30 day program back in 2007, and it is suspected that is where her prescription drug addiction began.
Unfortunately this is the case for many people seeking help for drug and or alcohol addiction. Traditional 30 day programs have success rates that range from 2-20 percent at best. When coupled with an already dependency on chemicals to handle life’s problems, trading one drug for another based a diagnosis often leads to prescription drug addiction.
There are obviously underlying reasons that start any kind of addiction and psychiatric diagnoses are often given within days of a person attempting to handle their addiction. The National Institute on drug Abuse reports it can take 3 months or longer for the brain to return to normal function. Common sense should tell you that any diagnosis during that period of time would be incorrect, a shot in the dark so to speak. Like trying to tune a car with a bad tank of gas, it’s just not going to run right and will more than likely get worse.
Its unfathomable to me how folks can be lead astray and not use common sense when handling these issues. Its like watching a drowning victim from the shore, saying ” well, I think they can swim” meanwhile they’re going down for the 3rd time! not only that they have someone there trying to give them a drink of water! Prescribing drugs to someone with a drug addiction problem without all of the basic fundamentals such as proper rest, nutrition etc for several weeks is insane to me! Prescription drug addiction is inevitable! its like someone wants them to fail.
Handling all the needed components of drug addiction, nutritional deficiencies, mental- emotional issues and how to live life normally, just does not happen in 30 days. Using prescription drugs as a replacement leads one farther down the path of destruction more often than not.
If you or a loved one needs help with prescription drug addiction, street drug or alcohol addiction, please give yourself the best chance and seek help in a more holistic setting of 3 months or longer.
Heroin addiction is on the rise in children! Kids as young as 9 and 10 years old have been arriving to Dallas emergency rooms suffering from heroin addiction withdrawal and were seeking treatment. As one who has helped hundreds if not thousands of people overcome drug and alcohol addiction I find that an overall education on ALL drugs is needed. Heroin is one of the most physically addictive drugs known to man. 100% of the time those needing treatment say ” I didn’t know it was going to be like this, noone ever told me”
Kids start abusing drugs for a variety of reasons, boredom and lack of interest in something constructive are the primary reasons. Some say peer pressure, poor home life etc are the primary the factors, and do play a part. However many people have lived very difficult lives and came out doing very well for themselves. With heroin addiction, the physical addiction is so overpowering it becomes the primary factor a person cannot stop using the drug.
As early as March of last year Dallas officials grew concerned about recent findings on heroin addiction and were seeing young children being brought to hospitals with signs of heroin addiction withdrawal. The city is in its third year of what drug abuse experts call a “mini-epidemic” among young Hispanics snorting a mild but addictive heroin called “cheese.” Withdrawal symptoms are flu like and include cramps, nausea, hot and cold flashes, insomnia and host of other ailments.
In New York according to a recent article in The Record the number of people seeking treatment for heroin addiction and other opiates has increased rapidly in recent years. Figures provided show a 55 percent increase in individuals seeking treatment, the majority of which were under 30 years of age, since 2007.
This is not a problem specific to the United States. According to a recent report on Reuters about 130,000 people in Iran begin suffering from Heroin addiction each year which indicates acknowledging the scale of the problem for a country on a key heroin trafficking route.
If you or some one you know is suffering from heroin addiction and needing treatment please seek help immediately, and do not assume the problem will just go away. The founder of the Narconon program, William Benetiz went to prison three times in 18 years because of his heroin addiction before founding the Narconon Program. He started using Heroin at the age of 15, even in 1948 kids were suffering from heroin addiction. Keep in mind it is never to late the educate or seek help.
As early as 1993 Elizabeth Taylor spoke out about Michael Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs. And now it has been confirmed that his drug addiction played a major role in his untimely death.
In an interview with Robin Roberts from ABC, Janet Jackson stated that the family tried to stop Michael’s addiction on a number of occasions. “Those are the things that you do when you love someone. You can’t just let them continue on that way. And we did a few times. We weren’t very successful,” she says.
Jackson of course is not alone – there is a long list of celebrities who have overdosed on prescription drugs. And their families feel the effects just a much as any other family.
Don’t wait if your family is experiencing this problem. Call someone who can hep you deal with the drug addiction.Drug abuse and addiction takes its toll on families – it leads to violence, separation of parents and children, loss of jobs, feelings of hopelessness, serious money problems, single parenthood, anxiety over childcare needs, bad relationships, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Many drug abusers end up in prison or jail. Sometimes they steal property to get money for drugs. Or, often they will commit crimes while “high” on drugs.
Don’t wait if your family is experiencing drug addiction problems – get effective help right away.
Robbie Williams, star of the British boy band Take That, came out this week and telling how he nearly killed himself by taking drugs every day. Williams was addicted to pain pills, adderall and anti-depressants and went into rehab in 2007. He says he still has fears he could relapse.
This is not unusual: less than 10% of people who go into traditional 30-day drug addiction treatment programs stay clean. Unfortunately this has been the case for most people addicted to drugs and many are led to believe it is now a life long battle.
Musicians and performers are very dynamic and possess a high level of creativity and very often turn to drugs to enhance that creativity. Temporarily the drugs used have the desired affect which leads the person to take more drugs. If you take to much of any drug it acts as a toxin or poison to the body. Toxins build up in the body which then cause continued vitamin burn up, drug cravings and alter the neurobalance or the way the brain functions. This hinders the person’s ability the think clearly and again leads to more drug use to “enhance the creativity or solve the problem”. Multiple drug toxicity led to the death of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson along with millions of others unheard of.
Drug use cause poor eating habits and interrupted sleep patterns. Either one of these can cause a person to exhibit forms of psychosis which are then treated with more prescription drugs and lead to more problems as the case with the three performers mentioned above.
Becoming educated about drug addiction and understanding the barriers in achieving full rehabilitation are paramount in prevention and rehabilitation. These barriers cannot be handled in a traditional 30 day drug treatment program or with more drugs.
Effective drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation gets a person off drugs and solves the underlying issues that led to the addiction by going back to the basic on the chain, handling that problem then teaching a person how to live life and be happy.
Who knows he or she is, in fact, capable of living a drug-free life thereafter;
Who has improved his or her ability to learn and thus can accept new ideas on how to change life for the better;
Who has personally absorbed the fundamentals of ethics and morality well enough that he or she can be productive and contribute to society and will have no further troubles with the justice system;
Who knows how to solve the problems of life in a rational manner to the best of his or her ability, without the use of mind altering drugs.
Narconon expects every student, no matter what the severity of his or her earlier life experience, to achieve and to live a stable, drug-free, and ethical life. There is no such thing as a “victim” in the Narconon way of thinking. Even if life has dealt one a bad hand of cards, the road out is through personal recognition of responsibility for one’s own condition
If you or someone you love would like to learn more about the Narconon program please contact a Narconon Hawaii counselor at 866-373-2809 or email info@narcononhawaii.com.
Narconon graduates don't have to live one day at a time - they are fully recovered. Our addiction treatment program rids the body of drug residues, stops the cravings and addresses the reason why they took drugs in the first place.
"In her 3rd year of college at age 20, our daughter tried ecstasy and the long slow spiral began with forays into cocaine and finally crystal meth. She went a rehab program, but within two months was back on the drugs and ended up living on the streets. Then we found Narconon. She's been clean for 3 years now. We have our sweet daughter back and she has her life back. There really are no superlatives to describe how grateful we are for this program at Narconon."
Our facility is on the island of Oahu. We arrange interesting outings for our long term residential students. You'll be in the most successful drug addiction treatment program and in one of the most beautiful spots in the world — Hawaii. Our Facility »
Narconon graduates don't have to live one day at a time - they are fully recovered. Our addiction treatment program rids the body of drug residues, stops the cravings and addresses the reason why they took drugs in the first place.