Posted by azdrugrehabctr on August 24, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Prescription Drugs | 
Amphetamines are not a new drug. In fact, amphetamines were developed in the late 1800’s, but were not used in more pharmaceutical applications until the 1920s. Amphetamines are a stimulant that provide a person with an extreme amount of energy, the ability to focus and complete tasks. And while drug manufacturers did not start mass producing amphetamines until the 1920, there is evidence that people have been relying on the drugs for much longer than that.
In the late 1880’s there are reports of dockworkers in New Orleans who were expected to work over 70 hours a week. In order to sustain the schedule, they were given amphetamines, or more specifically, cocaine. The cocaine was so effective that eventually the drug spread throughout the south, fueling workers on cotton plantations, railroad work camps and construction sites.
It did not take long for cocaine’s popularity to spread throughout the country until it was made illegal in 1914. However, in 1929 a new type of upper came on the market, Benzedrine. This drug rapidly became a staple among Americans, with 8 to 10 billion tablets produced a year. Once Benzedrine dropped out of production, Adderall and Ritalin where there as replacements.
Originally manufactured for ADHD among children, Adderall and Ritalin are fast becoming popular among adults and college students. The drugs went from solutions for childhood ADHD, to cramming and finishing projects for college students and now business executives are abusing the drugs to increase their workload abilities. All the while cocaine is still a major problem in this country.
Because of the heroin and prescription painkiller problem in the United States, cocaine abuse and ADHD medication abuse may not get the attention they need. However, the drugs are being abused and schools, colleges and the workplace may be fostering environments where the use of these drugs are increasingly more acceptable, and the ramifications of such a pervasiveness are detrimental to society.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on August 18, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
A recent Gallup Poll shows that more Americans are concerned with prescription painkiller abuse than heroin abuse. However, heroin abuse is still also a major concern. In fact, prescription drug abuse only narrowly beat out heroin abuse, in the eyes of most Americans. These types of polls are important for law makers because it shows that American residents are feeling the effects of prescription painkiller and heroin abuse at home and want something to be done about it.
The survey also showed that more women than men thought the prescription drug abuse was a problem. It also seems that people who make more money are more likely to view prescription drug abuse as a problem. 30% of those making $36,00 or less agreed that prescription drug abuse was a problem, compared to 47% of people who make between $36,000 and $90,000.
The information gathered from the Gallup poll can be used in a variety of ways. Lawmakers who are advocating for more federal funding that can be used for treatment centers or prevention programs can focus their efforts toward those that agree that prescription drug use is a real issue. As more and more people are affected by the opioid drug problem in the United States, it has become increasingly imperative to create more treatment programs with more beds available to those in need. Often times policy makers and treatment providers have a difficult time obtaining funding for these treatment centers without the help from the Federal government.
Because America is in the middle of a presidential election, some wonder if the information from this Gallup Poll will be used to help shape the platforms of the presidential nominees. While there are many issues to discuss, the opioid epidemic is certainly one of them.
Now that American citizens seem to understand the seriousness of the prescription painkiller and heroin problem in this country, there is a better chance that more effective change is near. And the opioid problem is not the only issue that Americans worry about. The poll also showed that 44% of Americans consider drugs in general as a major problem facing the country, this is up from 2014 when 34% of Americans felt this was an issue.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 30, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
Drug or alcohol addiction does not discriminate. White, Black, Muslim, Christian, Asian or any other race or religion can fall victim to substance abuse. Immigrants can be particularly susceptible to opiate abuse because of the culture shock and overwhelming feelings of living in a new country. Heroin and painkillers can be a way to escape these overwhelming feelings. While there are apparently no current studies that effectively break down drug use by ethnicity, there is evidence that minority groups all over the country are suffering from increased use of heroin and prescription drug use.
In order to include immigrants and minorities in substance abuse prevention and education, it is important for the public to understand why these groups can turn to drugs in the first place. Unlike white suburban teenagers, immigrant teenagers are likely to turn to heroin or other illicit drugs because their new lives in America can be very overwhelming. Many other countries do not create public service announcements or programs to educate children on the dangers of certain drugs, so when people immigrate to the United States they are often unprepared to deal with the temptations of drugs.
One woman explained just how different it is to raise children in America. “It’s the transformation of how you raise your kids back home and the whole village is taking care of your kids to here. You’re in America; the only village taking care of your kids is the street,” explained Kathy Khatari, a Muslim immigrant.
Some experts have also pointed out that families of immigrant drug users are also not likely to come forward and discuss a drug addiction. The threat of shame and embarrassment that falls onto the family is often too much to allow parents and family members to speak out and educate other immigrants. Treatment and prevention efforts should be much more all-inclusive to be able to catch all of the people that are affected by addiction.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 15, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
The opiate addiction problem is a national crisis that includes rising overdose deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers. As more and more people become addicted to the deadly drug, citizens and public officials are scrambling to find effective solutions for saving more lives. In an effort to combat the growing heroin problem, the President is expected to sign a bill that would allocate more money and services to addicts, their family members and the treatment community.
The bill, which has had a tough road so far, was voted through the Senate on Wednesday. After President Obama makes it official, many people stand to benefit. Lawmakers have included measures to help communities develop treatment and prevention facilities. While the White House has criticized the bill in the past, saying that the funding problems are not solved within the bill, they do agree that it is a good start and doing something is better than making no progress at all.
And the White House is not alone when it comes to the criticisms. “This bill is like a Hollywood movie set – something that appears real on the surface but has no substance and no life behind its façade,” commented Senator Charles Schumer (D) of New York, referring to the lack of substantial financial support.
But, despite some of the negative feelings towards the legislation, the passing of the bill is important because it helps to distinguish addiction as a medical issue. Allocating funds to treatment centers and prevention programs is the first step in treating addiction as a medical problem, rather than a law enforcement issue. In a time of widening gaps between political parties, thankfully this is an issue that legislators can agree needs attention.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on July 6, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
Naloxone is a life-saving drug that has been getting more attention lately due to the number of deaths involving heroin and other opiates. The medication, which is delivered via nasal spray or injection, can reverse an overdose situation on the spot. It has been getting more use lately by first responders, but a group of researchers finds that there is even a greater need to make it more widely available.
A common misconception among most people is that only those who abuse heroin or prescription painkillers will ever be in a situation where they need the life-saving drug to prevent an overdose. However, patients who are prescribed narcotics like OxyContin and Percocet are not immune to accidental overdose. This is especially true for people who take the drug for extended periods of time due to some sort of chronic pain condition.
Experts explain that those who take prescription painkillers may not be aware that having a glass of wine after their dose greatly increases the risk of overdose. Additionally, combining other medications to handle other ailments may also make it more likely to suffer from an overdose.
The research that appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine found a 47% decrease in ER visits among opioid users after six months, and a 63% reduction over one year when patients were also given a prescription for naloxone.
“This study really does show that naloxone has a substantial role to play in managing the opioid epidemic. It’s not the answer to all our problems, but it’s an important tool to prevent mortality,” explained Dr. Phillip Coffin, director of substance use research at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
In addition to educating patients of the risks to life associated with prescription painkillers, it is becoming more necessary to educate family members as well. Oftentimes if someone suffers from an overdose, family members or close friends are the first to find them. Understanding the signs of an overdose can sometimes determine whether the overdose is fatal or not, and having a dose of naloxone available can help save even more lives.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on June 28, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News |
Cities throughout the country have witnessed an increase in violent crime for the last two years. And while crime is on the rise, it is not increasing at steady rates. This makes it difficult for experts and law enforcement to pinpoint exactly what is spurring the increase in violence. One theory that is growing in popularity is the effect of the Mexican drug cartels.
In the past, Colombian drug cartels, the Italian mafia and Asian drug rings have all been a threat to our national security. However, Mexican drug cartels have risen above all these groups and now pose the greatest risk to the United States when it comes to drug consumption, violence and murder, according to official reports from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The DEA has established several links between the cartels in Mexico and the street gangs in the US. “The Mexican drug cartels are moving to expand their share of US illicit drug markets, particularly heroin markets… Many gangs [in the United States] rely on Mexican Transnational criminal organizations as their primary drug source of supply, and Mexican organizations depend on street-level gangs, many of which already have a customer base, for drug distribution,” explained officials at the DEA.
Once the DEA was able to establish links between gangs and cartels, they began to see how these relationships were causing murder rates in the US cities to spike. Cartels in Mexico have developed a type of heroin that is much cheaper than past batches. This inexpensive heroin is more attractive to gangs because it allows them to sell more and make more of a profit. With more money on the line, gangs are waging war with rival gangs over territories, fighting over who can sell heroin on what corners.
With the Mexican drug cartel’s influence over the gang structure in the United States, and their influence over addicts in this country, it is easy to see why they are a threatening criminal organization. However, as long as people keep using drugs, someone will always be there to capitalize on their demise. Stamping out any one source will never erase the problem, as only prevention, intervention and treatment will ultimately solve the drug addiction epidemic.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on May 21, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
A new study conducted by researchers at Harvard University shows that there is has been a substantial increase in the number of people being hospitalized due to opioid use. These hospitalizations can include overdoses, accidents induced by painkiller use and infections.
After data was compiled using information from hospitals throughout the country, it was determined that hospitalizations related to opioid abuse and dependence have increased by 67% in ten years. In 2002, hospitals reported 302,000 admittances for opiate-related issues. In 2012, this number rose to 520,000 admittances. While data from 2013 to the present has not been available, researchers caution that these numbers have likely increased to reflect the continued worsening of the opiate problem in the United States.
“Our results characterize the financial burden on the healthcare system related to opioid abuse/dependence and one of the more serious downstream complications of this epidemic: serious infections,” explained Mathew V. Ronan and Shoshana J. Herzig, the co-authors of the study.
Increased hospitalizations not only cost the insurance companies and hospitals money, but the public is helping foot the bill as well. Many of these cases relied on Medicare or Medicaid funds to pay for the bills associated with treating these opiate addicts. Oftentimes the public does not realize how drug abuse negatively impacts the rest of society, but this is a great example of how even those that are not directly affected by the opiate crisis suffer.
Studies like this one are important because it keeps opiate abuse in the news. Some people may feel that these sorts of studies are redundant because it has already been established that prescription painkiller and heroin abuse is an epidemic in this country. However, keeping this sort of information in the news and educating the public, forces law makers and public officials to take notice and enact better policies and programs to combat this serious problem.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on March 8, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Prescription Drugs |
The over prescription of drugs like Oxycontin, Percocet or Xanax have led to countless painkiller and benzodiazepine addictions. The prescription abuse problem in the United States has skyrocketed over the last few years with overdose deaths having quadrupled in the last fifteen years.
However, despite the overwhelming data that prescription abuse is a serious problem in this country, many doctors are still prescribing large amounts of the drugs. Some are not changing their prescribing practices even if the patient experiences an overdose and are also not responding to warnings by the U.S government or the public.
As a way to determine what an effective warning to doctors would be, a research team led by Adam Sacarny of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City decided to track doctors who received letters warning them that they were prescribing too much of a certain painkiller or benzodiazepine.
In order to conduct the study, the research team looked to locate doctors who were prescribing more than their neighboring peers. Once these doctors were located, the team monitored their prescription practices after they were sent a letter from Medicare stating the problem of their over prescription. Despite receiving the letter, the prescribing practices did not cease. This was interesting to the researchers because in the past, letters from Medicare comparing local vaccinations had helped to bring up the amount of vaccinations patients were receiving from a doctor that was falling behind to his peers.
A total of 1,525 doctors were sent the letters warning them that they were prescribing more narcotic painkillers or benzodiazepines than other doctors. The doctors that were singled out to receive a letter because they were prescribing over 400% more painkillers and benzodiazepines than other nearby physicians. Unfortunately, the letters from Medicare did not seem very effective. In fact, the research team witnessed no significant change at all.
While the letters may have worked in the past for other issues, it is clear that a clearer message will be needed in order to safely bring down the amount of narcotics that are being prescribed to patients throughout the country.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 9, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Prescription Drugs |
Reports show that around six million people in the United States have been diagnosed with having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The number of people diagnosed with this disorder has increased over the years, especially among children. In fact, six percent of American children have been labeled as having ADHD. However, some are surprised that there is not a more definitive test to determine if someone has the fits into that category. This means that doctors often have to rely on their own observations, input from the parents and feedback from the children.
The most common medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder include Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin. These drugs are stimulants that allow a person with disorder to concentrate and stay on task. Those who take the drug without having this behavioral problem are essentially abusing speed. In fact, Adderall is an amphetamine, which has a very high potential for abuse.
Additionally, there are very few long term studies about the effects of Adderall on the brain. In order to rectify this, Joseph Helpern of the Medical University of South Carolina has begun to use MRI’s to view the brains of people who have been diagnosed with ADHD. In addition to investigating the long term effects of Adderall, Helpern and his group of researchers want to develop a method of diagnosis that is based on medical evidence, rather than relying on the methods that are being used today.
“Currently, we know the medications work on behavior but don’t understand what it’s doing to the brain over time. Having these (study) results would raise awareness to the potential risk in taking psychostimulants without a clinical diagnosis, in seeing if they are changing the normal brain to something abnormal,” explained Vitria Adisteiyo, a contributor to the study.
The research may be paying off, as Helpern and his colleagues have discovered that patients that have been diagnosed with ADHD seem to have lower levels of iron in their brain scans. This is important because it validates what many in the medical community have suspected for years, but haven’t been able to prove. If this discovery proves that iron levels are a direct link to ADHD, researchers may be able to develop a medication that is not addictive and cannot be abused recreationally.
More non-stimulant ADHD medications could help prevent these drugs from being abused in high schools and colleges across the country.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 30, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News |
Mothers who abuse methamphetamine while pregnant often give birth to babies who experience behavioral and emotional problems throughout life. Methamphetamine is a manmade drug that is often primarily comprised of chemicals found around the house. Methamphetamine provides a high that is more intense and longer lasting than cocaine, which could explain why addicts who become pregnant have a difficult time abstaining.
According to researchers, almost 25% of pregnant women who seek treatment at state-run drug programs are abusing methamphetamine. While it has been made clear to the public that abusing drugs while pregnant is dangerous to the baby and oftentimes harms the child for the rest of their life, addicts are still putting their unborn child at risk by the continued exposure to drugs such as this. In order to help children who were born with methamphetamine already in their system, researchers have sought out more effective treatments to behavioral and emotional problems that are common among them.
“In the first study of its kind, we followed children, who experienced prenatal methamphetamine exposure, up to the age of 7.5 years and found that adversities, such as poverty and continued drug abuse by a parent, contributed to behavioral and emotional control issues. While additional study is needed, these findings indicate that providing a supportive home life for children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure would reduce their behavioral and emotional control issues,” explained Lynne M. Smith, one of the authors of the study.
While it may not come as a surprise to many that children benefit from stable home environments, it does underscore the importance of educating mothers when it comes to providing the best life for their children. Mothers who have abused methamphetamine while pregnant may feel hopeless when it comes to making it up to the child. However, focusing on providing a stable, secure environment for these children will greatly reduce the behavioral and emotional problems caused by early exposure to the drug.
