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 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 December 29, 2014 under Addiction Trends |
Suicide is a social problem that is often the end result of a drug addiction. Stimulants are drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and Adderall. Stimulants are a commonly abused class of drug that researchers have found can be a major catalyst for suicide attempts and suicides. While those suffering from a drug addiction are more likely to think about, attempt and follow through with suicide, this new information isolates stimulants as the most abused drug when it comes to those who are suicidal.
Stimulants provide a different kind of high than opiates like heroin or prescription drugs like Oxycontin. People who ingesting stimulants are often very impulsive and much more susceptible to drastic mood changes, especially after the high has worn off and major depression sets int. These behaviors are what researchers think is the reason why suicide among stimulant addicts is so high.
“Our study addresses a number of important issues that could change practice. While it confirms that drug use itself represents a significant risk for suicidal behavior, it identifies cocaine and amphetamine users as a higher-risk population,” explained one of the researchers. Interestingly enough, an early use for amphetamines included kamikaze pilots – to give them the courage to kill themselves in battle.
While all drugs can be harmful, people who are addicted to cocaine or methamphetamine can lead a particularly lonely life. Since the effects of the drugs wear off so fast, the user is in a constant cycle of craving the drug, oftentimes going to great lengths to obtain the drug, being high and then back to craving the drug again. This cycle leaves little time for anything else in the addict’s life. Family and friends are quickly out of the picture when it comes to battling this type of heavy addiction.
For people who are abusing large amounts of stimulants, paranoia is also a likely side effect. Sometimes the paranoia can be so great that the addict has to completely remove themselves from society because of the distrust and panic that sets in after continual usage.
Researchers are hoping that this information will lead to more specialized treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addicts. Currently there are very few treatment facilities that specialize in these types of addictions.
