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MARYLAND
- Drug rehabs
throughout the country are not created equally.
It is important to get all the information
possible when it comes to drug rehabilitation
facilities and their treatment methods.
State to state,
prescription abuse issues vary. However,
prescription drug abuse overall has been
soaring. More readily available, and with the
misconception that if a doctor has prescribed
it, then it must be safe, more and more people
are abusing and becoming addicted to prescribed
medications.
The DEA1 (United
States Drug Enforcement Administration) reports
that current investigations indicate that
diversion of oxycodone products such as
OxyContin® continues to be a problem in
Maryland. Primary methods of diversion being
reported are illegal sale and distribution by
health care professionals and workers, “doctor
shopping” (going to a number of doctors to
obtain prescriptions for a controlled
pharmaceutical), forged prescriptions, and
employee theft. In addition, illegal
distribution of controlled substances through
Internet pharmacies is a growing problem.
Benzodiazepines, methadone, and Klonopin were
also identified as being among the most commonly
abused and diverted pharmaceuticals in Maryland.
The State of
Maryland Office of the Attorney General2 released
the report, "Prescription for Disaster, The
Growing Problem of Prescription Drug Abuse in
Maryland." It states: The abuse of illegal drugs is,
after decades of struggling to contain it,
embedded in our consciousness as a widespread
and intractable problem. We are acutely aware of
the dangers it poses for the health and
well-being of our youth and our communities. As
parents, we try to educate our children about
its destructiveness. As policy makers, we try to
allocate resources to combat it and develop
programs to help those who have already
succumbed to it. As law enforcement officials,
we battle to beat it back at its source. It
holds a place of regrettable prominence in our
public policy and private thoughts.
The abuse of legal drugs, however, has not
received nearly the same attention. Yet it
threatens to become a scourge as insidious and
destructive as the abuse of illegal drugs. The
U.S. Department of Justice calls the diversion
and abuse of pharmaceuticals among the “leading
drug threats to the country,” and characterizes
the risk to Maryland as a “serious but often
unrecognized threat throughout the state.”
The US Food and
Drug Administration3 released a
report called, "Prescription Drug Use and Abuse"
by Michelle Meadows in 2001. It begins, "It was
supposed to be a short course of treatment with
tranquilizers after the death of her infant son
15 years ago. But Lynn Ray, 46, of Germantown,
Md., says her abuse of the anti-anxiety drug
Xanax and other prescription drugs led to a long
struggle with addiction that nearly ruined her
life.
Tranquilizers, which slow down the central
nervous system and cause drowsiness, numbed
Ray's agony, helped her sleep, and untied the
relentless knot in her stomach. Soon, even if
her doctor had prescribed one pill in an
eight-hour period, she took two or three in an
attempt to intensify the calming effect of the
drug.
When the doctor stopped writing prescriptions
for her and encouraged grief counseling, Ray
began doctor-shopping--going from doctor to
doctor, fabricating panic attacks, backaches,
migraines, and other ailments that would get her
multiple prescriptions for tranquilizers and
pain killers. "I became a very good actress,"
Ray says. "I thought I needed these drugs no
matter what, even if I had to bamboozle the
doctors to get them."
Most patients take medicine responsibly, but
approximately 9 million Americans used
prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in
1999, according to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA). Non-medical purposes include
misusing prescription drugs for recreation and
for psychic effects--to get high, to have fun,
to get a lift, or to calm down.
Experts stress that prescription drug abuse
isn't about bad drugs or even bad people. It
involves a complex web of factors, including the
power of addiction, misperceptions about drug
abuse, and the difficulty both patients and
doctors have discussing the topic.
There is also the delicate balance of curbing
criminal activity related to drug abuse while
making sure that people with legitimate health
needs can still access care, says Alan I.
Leshner, Ph.D., director of NIDA. "We recognize
the very real issue that millions of lives are
improved because of prescription drugs--the same
drugs that are sometimes abused," he says."
 One thing is for certain, for
the drug addict of prescription medications, the
dwindling spiral will continue on its downward
path unless action is taken. NOW is the time to
do something before the addicted person winds up
in jail or dead of an overdose or accident.
Unfortunately past failed attempts to overcome
addiction only further depress the individual so
it comes as no surprise that fear and
hesitation.
In the state of Maryland there is an increased
need for effective drug and alcohol rehab and
addiction treatment centers as drug and alcohol
use continues to escalate. Drug use erodes the
quality of life not only for the user, but for
their families and communities. Marriages and
families are torn apart by mistrust, betrayal,
fear and anger. Careers are ruined; companies
lose millions of dollars in lost production
time; cities and suburbs become degraded by the
increased crime and violence that goes with drug
trafficking and drug addiction.
From city to suburb to rural life, drug and
alcohol use and abuse continues to undermine the
quality of life for Maryland citizens. To do
nothing for the addict, should not be an option.
Something can be done; help is available.
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Should a chronic drug or alcohol abuser
attend a treat program close to home? |
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 Drug
and alcohol addiction typically involves
habitual routines in the environmental
scope of the individual, i.e. the
locations of their drug or alcohol use,
the people they associated with in the
activities of drug or alcohol use, etc.
Drug or alcohol addiction is not just
drug and alcohol use, it revolves around
people and things in their immediate
environment which help to trigger the
addictive behavior. The abusers location
and routines of drug and alcohol use
further trigger drug and alcohol use. It
is the constant and seemingly
unstoppable drug or alcohol use and the
hopelessness of day to day existence
which perpetuates the problem and
inhibits the native desire to stop
ruining their life through the use of
drugs and alcohol.
The above factor should not be over
looked when considering a treatment
center location. The first two weeks of
treatment are always the most difficult
and there are many factors at work to make
this so. In addition to what has been
covered above, a more basic factor is
this; people are creatures of habit.
Even overwhelmingly positive and
beneficial changes in life, such as the
birth of a child or a new job does not
guarantee the individual will have no
thoughts of missing past negative
activities such as, drug or alcohol use,
drug or drinking acquaintances and other
associated activities. Factually this is
the normal reactive auto response of
most human beings; to do what they are
familiar with; good or bad. It is not
really that they yearn for these things,
it is just all that they have known for
some time. If the abuser is close to
home when overwhelming feelings manifest
themselves, there is a good chance he or
she will leave and get back to what they
know, drug addiction, as it is not very
far away . Due to these factors,
attending a drug rehab close to home is
seldom the correct treatment option for
chronic drug or alcohol abusers. It is
extremely therapeutic to be distanced
from their former association with drug
dealers, bars, the cabinet where the
alcohol was kept, the cigar box where
the cocaine was stored, etc. All these
triggers make the task of sobriety seem
insurmountable to the chronic drug or
alcohol abuser as these triggers
continuously stimulate a reminder of
their past addictive behaviors.
For individuals with a severe drug or
alcohol addiction problem, choosing a
long term inpatient treatment program is
another key to a successful outcome. By
providing a new, safe trigger free
environment, distanced from past
negative associations and surroundings
for an extended period of time, the
chance for success increases
dramatically.
Our program provides people with
positive circumstances to increase their
chances for a successful recovery. The
vast majority of students entering our
program, around (80%), are from out of
state or from other countries. |
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Healing Addicted Lives |
|
 Call
now and request a copy of Healing
Addicted Lives written by Gary W. Smith,
Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor
and Director of Narconon Arrowhead Drug
and Alcohol Rehabilitation and Education
Center.
Call anytime to speak with one of our
counselors about our program. We will
take the time to answer your questions
whether it be for yourself or a loved
one. It is possible to replace the loss
and pain of alcohol or drug addiction
with a productive, enjoyable life.
Call now (877) 340-3602.
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