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Posts Tagged ‘the treatment center’

Ohio’s fight against opiate addiction

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Treatment officials in Ohio are pleased with Governor John Kasich’s support and funding for the fight against the state’s severe problem with opiate addiction. Under the previous administration of Ted Strickland, budget cuts resulted in addicts scrambling for treatment services in Ohio.
 
Governor Kasich has now set aside $4.6 million dollars for treatment, but Stacey Frohnapfel-Hasson, the spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Drug Addiction and Alcohol Services, is encouraged with the governor’s move. The Ohio Department of Drug Addiction and Alcohol Services funnels state and federal treatment services money to 50 local mental health and recovery boards across the state.
 
“It’ll help,” said Frohnapfel-Hasson. “We’ve been so historically underfunded.”

Mike Starr has died from the disease of drug addiction

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Another celebrity has unfortunately succumbed to the disease of drug addiction. Mike Starr, the former bassist for Alice in Chains, died in Salt Lake City earlier this week.
 
Starr, 44, was arrested in February for felony possession of a controlled substance. Police found six Xanax pills and six pain pills on Starr when he was arrested.
 
“It’s a terrible shock and tragedy,” said Starr’s father.
 
In 2009, Starr was a part of VH-1′s show, Celebrity Rehab, where he received treatment for heroin addiction at the Pasadena Recovery Center.
 

Drug abuse can increase infection

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

A new study finds that illegal drug users have an increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens. As a result, this group of people are more prone to serious infections and diseases.
 
Drug abuse can increase infection risk by encouraging the growth of germs and suppressing the immune system of the user.
 
“Drugs such as cannabis and opiates have been shown to directly suppress immune function. Methadone has also been shown to enhance HIV replication in immune cells. What’s more, dead or damaged tissue at an injection site provides an ideal anaerobic environment for certain pathogens to grow,” said Dr. Karishma Kaushik, one of the study authors.
 

Gastric bypass surgery causes increased risk of alcohol addiction

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

A new study finds that people who have had gastric bypass surgery take longer to metabolize alcohol, which could result in some of those people binge drinking. People who have gastric bypass surgery have an increased risk of depression, alcohol and drug addiction. This made researchers want to examine how gastric bypass patients metabolize alcohol after their surgery.
 
The patients who underwent a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery had a significantly higher breath alcohol content and took more time to return to a sober state after consuming alcoholic beverages.
 
“Severe obesity continues to be a public health crisis in the U.S., and bariatric surgery offers a very effective treatment,” said John M. Morton, M.D., senior author of the study. “Despite its benefits, we want to raise the potential concern for RYGB patients who continue to drink after their operation because they may tend to overuse alcohol, which can, in turn, lead to weigh regain, nutritional deficiencies, and/or alcohol dependence.”

Genes can influence the severity of addiction

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has completed a study that found that people addicted to drugs, who have a certain genetic composition, have fewer neurons in certain areas of their brains. Those addicted to drugs have less neurons in the areas responsible for decision making, self-control, learning and memory.
 
“This research shows that genes can influence the severity of addiction,” said Nelly Alia-Klein, an author of the research study. “This research shows that genes can influence the severity of addiction. The results suggest that addicted individuals with low MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) genotype may need a different kind of treatment than other addicted individuals who carry the high MAOA genotype.”
 
The research study was a combined effort from scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Exercise can reduce marijuana use

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Researchers at Vanderbilt University are examining people who use marijuana heavily to help understand what exercise does for the brain. It is hoped that the research will contribute to learning about exercise as a modality for prevention and treatment. This is the first study to show that exercise can reduce the use of marijuana in people who do not want to seek treatment for their addiction.
 
“There is no way currently to treat cannabis dependence with medication, so this is by considering the magnitude of the cannabis problem in the U.S. And this is the first time it has ever been demonstrated that exercise can reduce cannabis use in people who don’t want to stop,” said study author Peter Martin, M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Addiction Center.
 

Deaths from prescription drug overdoses tripled in Ohio

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration finds that 5.9 percent of children aged 12 to 13 drank alcohol in the past month. The study also learned that 93.4 percent did not pay a penny for their alcohol. About 44.8 percent of 12 to 14 year olds who drank alcohol received their alcohol from their family or at home. This figure includes 15.7 percent of children who were provided alcohol by their parents.
 
“People who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are six times more likely than those who start at age 21 and older to develop alcohol problems. Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction,” said Pamela S. Hyde, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration director.
 

Deaths from prescription drug overdoses tripled in Ohio

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

A group of researchers decided to conduct one of the largest studies to reevaluate the cognitive effects of ecstasy. The study was funded by a $1.8 million dollar grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
 
“Researchers have known for a long time that earlier studies of ecstasy use had problems that later studies should try to correct,” said lead author John Halpern. “When NIDA decided to fund this project, we saw an opportunity to design a better experiment and advance our knowledge of this drug.”
 
The new research experiment involved 52 people who used ecstasy on a regular basis. Their cognitive function was contrasted against 59 people who did not use ecstasy. The conclusion was clear, according to Halpern.
 
“Ecstasy consumption is dangerous. Illegally made pills can contain harmful contaminants, there are no warning labels, there is no medical supervision, and in rare cases people are physically harmed and even die from overdosing.”
 

Researchers May Have Way to Curb the Urge for Cocaine

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

The recession has forced many Americans to save money. But, believe it or not, in some ways that might not be such a wonderful thing.

 

“It’s pretty obvious people can drink much cheaper staying home than going out,” said Dan Duncan, Director of Community Services, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in St. Louis, Missouri. “I think the concern comes in where an individual who is starting to deal with problems by drinking and isolating themselves, that will set the stage very often for someone to develop a problem.”

It has been said that in tough economic times, people do tend to drink more alcohol. Sales of alcohol for home consumption have increased 20 percent during the recession. The same study discovered that people drink twice as much alcohol at home as they would in a bar or restaurant.

“There’s not the issue of getting home…there aren’t necessarily going to be other people there to monitor,” said Duncan.

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George Michael Charged with Marijuana Possession

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

 

George Michael has been charged with marijuana possession and driving while unfit through alcohol or drugs after an incident in north London last month. Michael, 47, was arrested on July 4 after allegedly crashing his Range Rover into the front of a photo shop in Hampstead.

Michael, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, was formally charged when he reported to a police station in Camden. He was later released on bail. He will appear in court on August 24.