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Archive for September, 2010

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$3.7 Million Grant to Develop A Drug to Treat Cocaine Addiction

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Researchers in Maryland have been awarded a $3.7 million dollar grant to develop a drug that could treat cocaine addiction. The medication is made from active compounds that are found in some Chinese prescription drugs.

If the drug is successful, it would be the first approved treatment for cocaine addiction. The study will last for five years and will observe mice in the laboratory using I-tetrahydropalmatine (I-THP), a compound found in some Chinese medicine. This compound decreases the cravings for cocaine and suppresses the “reward pathway” in the brain responsible for addictive lure of cocaine.

“The compound alters the activity of dopamine and other neurotransmitters that are instrumental in the human body’s response to addictive drugs,” said Jia Bei Wang, Ph.D., the lead researcher of the study.

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Paris Hilton Will Not Serve Any Time

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

A judge in Las Vegas sentenced Paris Hilton to a one year jail sentence for drug possession and obstructing a police officer. Hilton will not serve any jail time if she fulfills the terms of her plea agreement. The heiress and media darling has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine, do 200 hours of community service and complete an outpatient drug program.

If Hilton is arrested again, she would violate the terms of her plea agreement. Hilton will have to appear in court in one year. The judge will then see if all of the terms of her plea agreement have been satisfied.

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Prescription Drug Radio

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Dr. Larry Golbom is addressing the subject of prescription drug abuse on the radio. The Tampa area pharmacist has experience with the subject – his son struggled with an addiction to prescription drugs.

“Prescription Addiction Radio” takes to the airwaves every Sunday night. Golbom believes it is the first and only radio program of its kind in the country.

“We have an epidemic that continues to grow,” Golbom said. “We have to first have some honest discussion. We don’t have that right now.

Golbom believes that his radio program will help bring what has been a taboo subject into mainstream discussion.

“What is it going to take for America to start talking about the issue of drugs and how it’s affecting every community in the country?”

For more information, go to

www.prescriptionaddictionradio.com 

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Illegal Drug Use Climbed to 10 Year High in 2009

Monday, September 27th, 2010

The annual report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that the rate of illegal drug use climbed in 2009 to the highest level in almost ten years. The increase was profound in marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine abuse.

The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, was not surprised by the 9 percent increase in drug use. This is in part due to “eroding attitudes” about the perception of harm from illegal drugs and more states allowing the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

According to the report, marijuana use rose by 8 percent and kept its status as the most often used drug. Cocaine abuse continues to drop from its peak in 2006. About 21.8 million Americans reported using illegal drugs in 2009, which is the highest number since the survey began in 2002.

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Communities Frustrated by the Rise in Prescription Drug Abuse

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Advocacy groups like the Butler County Coalition for Healthy, Safe and Drug-Free Communities are frustrated by the rise in prescription drug abuse. From 1999 to 2007, prescription drug poisonings in Butler County, Ohio have nearly quadrupled. A 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 64 percent of people under under 25 years of age got their supply of prescription pills from friends or relatives.

“That is the common thread that we feel is happening and where (medications) are coming from,” said Grace Marie Eckman, project specialist for Medication Take Back in Butler County.

“When another family member of someone in the household is looking for something to cure a headache, they know who is on medication for pain,” Eckman said.

The increase in prescription drug abuse is evident on the campus of Miami University in nearby Oxford, Ohio.

“We have, over the past years, seen more instances of prescription drug abuse, particularly stimulant drugs like Adderall,” said Lt. Benjamin Spillman of Miami University Police Department. “We’ve also seen people with legal prescriptions selling these to friends, presumably for the purpose of concentration for studying.”

Eckman wants to use school as a platform to teach about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

 ”The schools have to be open to providing programs,” Eckman said. “The school has to be responsible to provide information. Our schools are our strongest asset and ally.”

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1.4 Million Australians Drink to “Feel Normal”

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

A new survey indicates that 4 million Australians drink out of habit and about 1.4 million Australians drink to “feel normal.” The survey, conducted for the Australian Salvation Army, indicated that 2.4 million people, and one third of 18 to 24 year olds, drink alcohol just to become intoxicated.

The survey results are disturbing, according to Kathryn Wright, the Salvation Army state drug and alcohol services coordinator.

“The very act of getting drunk has health implications every time someone does it,” Wright said.

The survey discovered that the main reason for drinking was social.

“It’s so ingrained in our culture that drinking is the way that you celebrate, it’s the way that you commiserate, it’s the way that you socialize, that it sort of crosses a boundary than drunkenness in some instances is very socially acceptable.”

The survey was completed as part of the Salvation Army’s annual research into alcohol awareness. Since the inception of the survey, in 2002, alcohol consumption overall in Australia has gradually declined, especially among men.

The survey indicated that almost 10 percent of men in Australia drink every day. Thirty six percent of Australian men consumed more than the suggested amount of alcohol in a single session in the previous month.

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Recovery from Drugs and Alcohol Rally

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Thousands of people attended a rally last Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island in support of recovery drug and alcohol addicts. The eighth annual rally was part of celebrations to mark September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month.

Jim Gillen is a recovering addict and the lead organizer of the event. For Gillen, the day was an opportunity to celebrate another year of sobriety and health.

“It’s like our Mardi Gras or our New Year’s Eve, where we can feel that we’re not defeated by this illness,” Gillen said.

Carrie Blake is a recovering addict and an advocate of substance abuse treatment. She wanted to attend the rally because she believed it was about trying to erase the social stigma of addiction.

“We need to show that it’s normal people that are struggling with this. The more that we put an accurate face on addiction and show that recovery is real and sustainable, the more it gives people going through it hope and helps others understand us better.

Nick Zeller is the project leader for the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap Coalition in Providence. He said approximately 100,000 residents in Rhode Island suffer from addiction, but only one in eight people is getting the treatment they need.

“True health care reform must include robust benefits for substance abuse treatment. For too long, behavioral health has been separate from mainstream medicine,” Zeller said.

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Hope

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Never Deprive someone of Hope, It may be all they have.

Has someone ever brushed aside your dreams or adamantly told you a goal was unrealistic? Did you believe them and feel foolish and lost ? At some point have you done the same to someone else.

Have not all major and minor accomplishments by man started with someone who had a glimmer of hope? All major changes in mankind have begun with one persons hope that things could be different.

For a lot of my life the only thing I hoped for was not to die an addict, and although many people thru ignorance and disgust tried to extinguish that slight glimmer. My hope was allowed to glow through first one person than another that I could live a life free of addiction. If not for those few in the beginning who allowed me to believe, I most certainly would be dead.

Now maybe my Hope has not changed the world like the Wright brothers plane or Barak’s presidency. But if you look in my daughters eye or could have watched my Mother sleep thru a night. You would now by allowing a glimmer of hope to turn into a beacon of life has certainly changed lives.

So today and forever remember that when one person shares something that may not seem important or realistic to you, it may be the only thing they are holding on too.

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Recovery CAN Be Tough

Monday, September 20th, 2010

As we leave treatment and embark on a new adventure , we must not allow ourselves to be swallowed up by life. For many of us we drop right back in and feel the need to begin fixing years of damage to ourselves and those around us. We also get caught up in work and various other life situations and old commitments.

With all these seemingly pressing items on our agenda , it is very easy for our recovery to take a back seat. Until that morning we wake up with our head in our hands wondering how the hell did I end up here again.

On the other hand if we keep our recovery first and foremost , and begin traveling through the steps. We will begin to feel better about ourselves, and become more equipped to handle life, we will learn how to slowly take on responsibility and become integral parts of our families, friends and employers lives.

This is not a dream this is a promise repeated over a million times daily in lives around the world.

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Just Turn It Over

Friday, September 17th, 2010

At times in the beginning I wanted to just turn something over all right, most likely their chair, Due to the fear and anger I had when I walked in these doors. I was incapable of comprehending this well repeated suggestion. No one was explaining the process, just sharing as everyone understood what turning it over meant. As in the first step understanding my powerlessness over my addiction, yet again I was faced with relinquishing the control I had fought all my life to hold on too, even to death and back. To make this process even harder the slim faith I had was based in a non Judeo Christian belief which I was afraid would alienate me from those who were my last chance at having a productive life.

Through my sponsor I began to ask, those questions, how do I turn something over?, how do I know I turned something over?, what do I do when I take it back?

As always he smiled, He said the next time something comes up, ask yourself, is there anything I can do now or in the near future that will make the situation better for everyone not just myself? If I do take action am I doing it to make my life more comfortable or to truly make a positive difference in the world? Not that this instantly fixed everything, but it ran inline with my faith which believes for every action there is a positive or negative reaction. If I do have faith in something, and if I realize my powerlessness in any given situation and no positive can come from me in the situation, turning over to my faith or Karma is just leaving the situation alone and believing at least I will not be making it worse. This has begun to lighten my load and allow me to be more productive in the positive change I can effect these days. The more I have stepped aside the more I have been able to witness how spiritual energy will guide and protect me as long as I am willing to Turn It Over

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