A lot has been said, written and discussed about the harmful effects of doing drugs. From newspaper articles to TV chat shows, people have come on several platforms to debate on this issue. Nonetheless, the number of drug addicts has continued to rise in spite of these concerted efforts to create a general consensus on the ill effects of doing drugs. As a result, many people today have accepted that drug abusers are present in almost all societies and instead of shying away from this fact they are readily accepting and calling for steps to help such people come out clean. One of the most effective ways to help people get rid of this ill habit is taking medical help from drug rehabilitation centers.

With the number of drug abusers on a steady rise all over the world, a number of drug rehabilitation centers have mushroomed in various parts of the world. These drug treatment institutions are offering permanent solution to the drug problem, making it easier for the drug abusers and their family members to deal effectively with this serious problem.

In most cases, the drug detox centers are seen to be more successful than any other drug treatment center. Irrespective of which kind of drug rehabilitation center is chosen it is important to choose the best of the lot to expect best results in a short span of time. It must also be remembered that an addict may not always be in the right position to decide which drug treatment center is right for him. For this, family members and close friends can be of great help.

There are certain factors that need to be taken into account while choosing the most effective drug rehabilitation center. These are as follows:

· Cost of the rehab program:

Imagine a situation where you find a great three week program which pays equal emphasis on medication and therapeutic counseling. You read up all information and conclude that this is the best deal that you were looking for all this while, you reach the office and much to your astonishment you realize that the treatment will cost you several thousand dollars which you unable to cough up. It just goes without saying that you will not be able to afford this treatment program simply because you don’t have thousands of dollars to be spent on getting this kind of treatment. This is because pricing plays a very important role in determining the kind of services that we can afford. It is therefore always a good idea to ascertain the pricing of the treatment program before taking the final step. Read up the brochures carefully to get an idea about the price. You should also compare it properly to make sure that you get a good deal.

· Check for the location:

If you have a friend or family member who needs to be put into a drug rehab center, you would naturally want to put the person at a place which is closer home instead of one which is located at a far off place. An ideal rehab center should be reachable within a few hours if not minutes by car. For this, you can easily check the various online databases that will give you a complete resource bank on the drug rehabilitation centers located closer to your area. You may also want to refer to neighbors and friends who might have opted for the services of such rehabs and get a proper idea and full clarity.

Apart from this, you should also make sure that the setting of the rehab is in tune with the ambience expected of a drug rehab center. Many times, some inept rehab centers advertise themselves as affordable rehab centers. However, after checking in the patient and his family realizes that the place is not really worth of the dollars that they have spent on getting in. Some of these rehab centers are shabbily arranged and lack basic amenities. You would definitely not want a loved one to be put at a place like that. To avoid this, you need to do some research and access relevant information about the setting of the rehab.

· Pay attention on level of services:

Please remember that cure for drug abuse has to work on both physical and mental levels. It is therefore important to connect to the patient and cater to his/her individual needs. Inadequate attention or lack of medical care can lead to serious consequences and wastage of time and money. So before signing up for the treatment, do make sure that you are investing in an effective treatment program, which does not treat patients as prisoners but with a lot of love and affection.

Keeping these factors in consideration can prevent problems at a later stage and help an addict to come out clean.

drug abuse treatment

drug abuse treatment

drug abuse treatment

Link to my latest article for Macomb County residents who need drug treatment help. http://tiny.cc/AOvWp

In our world today drug abuse rages rampant. Brain function and behavior are affected due to drug addiction which is complex but treatable. Drug abuse alters the brain’s structure and function and can result in changes that persist long after the drug use has ceased. Despite the potential devastating consequences abusers are also at risk for relapse. To know more, Drug Abuse Help.

Drug Abuse Treatment Principles

There are certain effective principles based on which the treatment of drug abuse is done.

§ Addiction is a complex but treatable disease
§ There is no single ‘across the board’ treatment for everyone
§ Treatment of drug abuse should be readily available
§ Multiple needs of the individual are covered by effective treatment
§ Taking the treatment and staying the course for the entire duration
§ Individual and group counseling
§ Right medications are an important element in treatment
§ For good progress continuous monitoring and assessment of the individuals are done
§ Awareness that many drug-addicts also have mental disorders
§ First step to treating the addiction is by giving medically assisted detox
§ Voluntary drug treatment is effective but not necessary
§ Constant monitoring to avoid drug use lapses during treatment
§ Patients should be assessed for infectious diseases

What to look for when choosing a Drug Abuse Treatment Program

There are many drug abuse treatment programs available so how to find that you have chosen the best one?

§ 24 hour in-patient care
§ A staff of experienced physicians and trained therapists
§ Qualified nursing staff
§ Numerous additional support personnel

The drug abuse treatment should provide each patient with an individualized treatment plan encompassing detoxification, rehab and additional support through a variety of specialized aftercare programs. The patients who require specialized treatment for gay-friendly rehab, sexual abuse treatment, dual diagnosis treatment and other special services should be available for them.

Drug Abuse Recovery – One Day at a Time
Recovery of drug abuse is an on going process you cannot get “cured”. A monumental step to accepting drug treatment is by understanding that one can not get recovered in one day as the abuse didn’t occur in one day.

There are many steps in treating drug abuse beginning with detox and moving on to the addiction treatment program, on-going support and relapse prevention. New life skill s will be discovered and how to deal with cravings, thoughts, and the urge to start the addictive behavior all over again are learnt by an individual during the drug recovery process.

Additional Recovery Tools

For those seeking treatment there are many number of effective drug abuse recovery tools available. The drug abuse patients are helped to relax and remain focused on recovery issues by incorporating meditation techniques, holistic approaches and exercise programs like yoga in some programs. In some programs individuals are allowed to communicate through their creative expressions by using art therapy or music therapy.

Drug Abuse Prevention

If drug abuse prevention techniques are not mentioned, which are an important part of any addiction recovery program, then this missive remains incomplete. You can learn to avoid the allure and continue on a road to long-lasting recovery by learning the triggers that influence abusive behavior

Get a healthy and fulfilled life by saying no to drugs of any kind.

Read more at Treatment For Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is a disease that requires a doctor specializing in addiction medicine to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most appropriate treatment. You must ensure that a drug abuse treatment center can offer a variety of treatment programs that meet your needs. These programs may comprise inpatient, residential, outpatient, and/or short-stay options. Then another important question arises: how much does a drug treatment center cost? The price tag for treatment is presented in many kinds of formats. You must have a clear idea of what is included, what will be added to your bill as a fee-for-service

Program, and what services will be covered by your health insurance.

Due to the change in world’s social and economic pattern with so much of stressors and so less time for each other and even for oneself to get relaxed, there is a hug scope for the immature population to go for unnatural and short-lived pleasures which although might pose severe threat to one’s own health and well being and even to life. Hence late teenagers and people in early twenties are those who are most prone to it as they both have reason and accessibility for the same.

Drug abuse by young people is very common, which can lead to disastrous consequences in the future. A large proportion of deaths in people between 15 and 24 are reportedly caused by drug or alcohol abuse. Such abuse also leads to violent criminal acts, such as assault, murder or rape. Some young people also take to drugs to overcome depression and anxiety.

Prescription drug abuse leads to physical dependence, and the person cannot function normally without a supply of the drug. The body adapts to the presence of the drug and can function while it is being supplied, but once the course of treatment is over, the patient suffers from pill withdrawal symptoms. These can be severe, including physical illness, mood swings and aggression, and depression. Ultimately pill addiction can lead to death through overdose. Paracetamol based painkillers containing codeine, for example, can be dangerous. The patient overdoses for the codeine content, but the paracetamol is insidious and can cause severe liver damage over a period of time.

Drug abuse alters the brain’s main sites known as the receptors. Regular drug abuse can definitely change the brain’s sensitive cells and even prevent the brain to utilize the necessary nutrients. These receptors are the primary units for transmission of vital information. Drug abuse further stops the brain from also recognizing the information highways made up by chemicals. The information is transmitted by surges of electricity. Drug abuse strikes this very pillar of mankind’s information technology. Therefore, repeated drug abuse changes the brain’s chemical layout, and even clogs the vital channels of information. The most dangerous aspect of drug abuse is the irrevocable damage caused to brain’s cell.

The user’s preoccupation with drugs, plus its effects on mood and performance, can lead to poor performance in schools, colleges or workplaces, resulting in dismissal. A child’s drug abuse can devastate parents and other family members, and ruin family life. According to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, teens and their parents view drugs as their biggest concern.

Read about Weight Loss Diet and Treadmill Exercise Routine and also know more about Clenbuterol Weight Loss

There is a movement to legalize marijuana and the debate is underway.

Supporters of legalization efforts liken marijuana laws to prohibition of alcohol, citing the advance of criminal distribution networks across the country.

There is also the belief that for years, marijuana has been demonized and made out to be the root cause of all addiction while it has no detrimental effects.

This last belief could not be further from the truth for many who have worked in the field of drug treatment, most of who have treated persons for marijuana abuse.  The argument is that legalization will do nothing for those who are already addicted.

Whether marijuana is legalized or not, it is important to remember that it is first and foremost a drug with psychoactive chemicals.  While there may be some arguments for legalization in order to focus on more harmful drugs, pretending that marijuana has no ill effects is not the answer.

No matter the legal status, anyone who is abusing marijuana recreationally is at risk.  Effective drug treatment for those already using it is the answer.

For those who aren’t effective drug education will help them say NO, no matter who the vendor.

Narconon of Georgia is a non-traditional drug abuse treatment program which was founded in 1967 whose mission also includes drug education and working with children.  The Narconon program provides body detoxification through a sauna and exercise program that helps eliminate or reduce cravings.  Then the client learns those life skills essential to success in life and the ability to stay clean.

Narconon 877-413-3073

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has thanked the FIA for its treatment of the team in today

So…you’ve begun to try and find the drug treatment Los Angeles that is both the best suited for you and the best drug treatment Los Angeles available. Congratulations on taking the first step! There are many important things to know about drug treatment Los Angeles and there are many helpful tools and tips for choosing the best drug rehab setting for yourself or your loved one.

The first thing to remember is not to become overwhelmed. In California there are many, many drug treatment centers and finding and choosing the best drug treatment Los Angeles can be accomplished by taking just a few simple steps.

First: “The Questions to Ask”

Remember that not all the drug treatment Los Angeles rehabilitation centers are the same. You have to decide on what type of drug treatment setting will be the best fit for you. Treatment approaches and treatment settings usually differ from drug treatment center to drug treatment center. Some are big and some are small. Some are more personalized than others and some drug treatment Los Angeles centers offer individualized care and some offer more group treatment methodologies. The best drug treatment Los Angeles centers usually offer dual-diagnosis care but some don’t. There are a lot of differences in drug treatment. So when deciding on a drug rehab program that’s right for you it’s usually the questions that you ask of yourself that are often the most important first step when choosing the drug treatment Los Angeles that is most suited for your personal needs.

What questions you should ask yourself about drug treatment Los Angeles:

1.       Do you want to attend a large drug rehab setting or one of the more intimate drug treatment Los Angeles programs?

2.       Do you want the drug rehab program to offer dual-diagnosis treatment or does it not matter to you if the drug treatment Los Angeles program that you attend offers these types of services?

3.       Do you want a personalized treatment plan or do you prefer of more one-size-fits-all drug treatment Los Angeles approach?

4.       Do you care about having personal space while undergoing addiction treatment or do you prefer a drug treatment Los Angeles program that focuses more on providing communal space?

5.       Do you prefer to be treated while in drug rehab by addiction counselors or do you prefer the drug treatment Los Angeles program offer therapy with therapist and other licensed health care providers?

Once you answer these questions of yourself you are more likely to choose the best drug treatment Los Angeles for you.

Second: “Call the Drug Treatment Center”

Although it’s important to do some research about drug treatment Los Angeles on the internet the next step is to call the drug treatment center of your choosing. This will allow you to find out more about the drug treatment program because not all drug treatment Los Angeles programs have all the information you will need about the center on their website. When you call the center you should be sure to notice whether you get a good feeling from the drug treatment Los Angeles program’s representative. Ask them what their role in the drug rehab is. This is important because the person you talk to should be at least a certified addictions counselor. (That is a requirement in most states and in Los Angeles.) You don’t want to get an assessment from a person who is not licensed or certified to provide one and you don’t want to be coerced or “sold” treatment by a drug treatment Los Angeles program. If you get a good feeling from the drug treatment Los Angeles program than make the decision to move forward with enrollment. The best drug treatment Los Angeles programs usually run in high demand so you’ll want to get yourself into treatment quickly or at least secure your bed space with a deposit if you can’t enroll immediately.

Here are additional resources for asking questions of a drug treatment Los Angeles program that are available online:

Tips for Choosing the Best Drug Treatment Los Angeles Program

If you feel that calling a drug treatment Los Angeles program would be the next best step then call 1 877 415 4673 to speak with a certified professional for a free assessment.

The first thing you might notice when researching drug rehabs in Los Angeles is that there certainly are a lot of them! How can you possibly choose which program will be the best fit for you? Well, the first thing to realize is that why there may be a great many drug rehabs in Los Angeles, there are probably only a few drug rehabs in Los Angeles that will be a good match for you.

This is because not all drug rehabs in Los Angeles offer medical detoxification services, clinical treatment or individualized care. Also, not all drug rehabs in Los Angeles are modeled the same. Some offer drug treatment to 50+ clients at a time – some offer addiction treatment to less than 12 clients at a time. Additionally, not all drug rehabs in Los Angeles offer dual-diagnosis treatment and not all offer services beyond the confines of their addiction rehab setting.

So the first thing to do when trying to locate the best drug rehab in Los Angeles for you is to decide whether the following points are important to you:

·         Do you want to be in a large drug rehab program or do you want to be in a more intimate treatment setting?

·         Do you care about personal space or are you comfortable being in a drug rehab setting where you sleep in a room with several other people?

·         Do you need individual therapy or do you want to do mostly group activities?

·         Do you want to attend a drug rehab in Los Angeles that takes you offsite or are you more comfortable being isolated from your surroundings.

·         Do you need the drug rehab program in Los Angeles that you attend to offer medical detox or do you not need the addiction treatment center to offer these services.

These questions may seem foolish but if you want to attend the best drug rehab in Los Angeles for you than they are very important questions to ask.

Fortunately, not all drug rehabs in Los Angeles are the same. This allows for you to get your individual needs met by doing the research to find the best rehab environment for you. Some people in Los Angeles like big drug rehab centers…some like small. The important thing is that you know prior to calling a drug rehab in Los Angeles a little about what you want or what you’re looking for.

There are many more questions to consider when thinking about enrolling in a Los Angeles drug rehab. Some of these have to do with where the rehabilitation program is located. This is because many addiction treatment centers and drug rehab programs offer aftercare or continuing treatment. This should be thought about prior to enrollment if you want to attend an addiction treatment program. This is because if you live in West Los Angeles and you attend a alcohol treatment program in Hollywood and the aftercare starts at 5pm on Wednesdays and Fridays, how will you be able to fight through traffic and keep peace of mind…little less manage to keep up with other personal responsibilities. Or if you live in Hollywood and attend a drug rehab program in Malibu, how much drug rehabilitation services will you actually be able to receive in aftercare or continuing treatment if you have to drive the Pacific Coast Highway every Tuesday and Friday. Logistics sometimes are the last thing on your mind when trying the choose the best drug rehab in Los Angeles but if you spend just a few minutes thinking about it you will be able to narrow down your choices a bit. 

Ultimately the key to finding and finalizing your choice for the best drug rehab in Los Angeles is to ask the right questions. Researching drug treatment centers online is an important first step but be sure to keep notes and develop some questions to ask the drug rehab program representative so that when you decide to call a drug treatment center you may ensure that the program setting will be the best drug rehab for you!

Drug Rehab Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, California there are many drug rehab centers. This makes finding a drug rehab in Los Angeles a daunting process. How do you choose from all the drug rehab options and find the right one for you?

The first thing to do is take a breath and to commend yourself for taking this first step. Enrolling in a drug rehab program in Los Angeles, or anywhere else for that matter is an important decision…and the journey of a thousand miles always begins with a single step.

The second thing to do is to realize that not all drug rehab programs in Los Angeles are the same, so it is important to do the research in order to locate the best drug rehab setting for you. What most people need when researching drug rehab centers in Los Angeles is to locate the one that offers personalized care in the most supportive, comfortable setting possible. This is because the work that you will do in a drug rehab will be deep, cathartic and emotionally draining. The benefit of doing this kind of work in a supportive drug rehab setting is fairly obvious – it will help motivate you to continue to stay in rehab. What isn’t always as obvious, especially to family members and others is that attending a comfortable drug rehab in Los Angeles is also important – this is because comfort is paramount to creating both a willingness to stay in a drug rehab setting and also because comfort helps you to focus inward on yourself without uncomfortable distractions. If you’re distracted while in a Los Angeles drug rehab then you won’t be able to take full advantage of the short-time you have in treatment.

The third thing to realize about choosing a drug rehab in the United States or a drug rehab in Los Angeles is that the program has to offer you effective clinical treatment. Many traditional drug rehab centers, in Los Angeles and elsewhere focus more on modifying your behavior and isolating you from everyday life. The problem with that is two-fold.

1.       Behavior is a symptom of the need for drug rehab – but not the reason your addiction or abuse issue exists.

2.       If you are isolated while in a drug rehab in Los Angeles you may do well while in the drug rehab – but how can you learn to cope with life when you leave?

The Los Angeles drug rehab programs are numerous, but if you begin researching drug rehab and alcohol treatment with these few things in mind you will find that the best drug rehab in Los Angeles quickly rises to the top.

·         Find a drug rehab in Los Angeles that offers clinical treatment, not just behavior modification.

·         Find a drug rehab program that offers individualized treatment planning, not just a cookie-cutter treatment approach.

·         Find a drug rehab program that is in an area of Los Angeles that allows you to be comfortable, but not isolated.

·         Find a drug rehab in Los Angeles that offers a supportive setting where staff understands the process of addiction, alcoholism and substance abuse and doesn’t look down on you for your condition.

Remember – drug rehab Los Angeles…just typing the words into Google won’t get you enrolled even though it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Don’t be overwhelmed and keep your eye on the prize! Freedom awaits…it’s as easy as picking up the phone and calling a drug rehab in Los Angeles…and to make the first step that’s all you have to do!

In what seemed like an endless search to locate a drug rehab center in Los Angeles, I finally found something that made sense…

I had been looking into drug treatment for my sister who has been struggling with substance abuse as long as I can remember. First she was addicted to pot and then she graduated to cocaine addiction…last year she became addicted to heroin and started showing signs of heroin withdrawal…

My family had pretty much written her off as they had paid for numerous drug treatments for her over the past 5 years…so, I had to find  rehab that I could swing financially that had the kind of clinical approach that seemed so necessary to me given that she has failed in so many traditional drug rehab settings.

She has been living in Los Angeles, California where there seemed to be no shortage of drug rehabs but they were all really, really expensive…so after a long search I came across a website worth sharing:

www.arctreatment.com

They were really helpful in giving me assessment of the situation and I ended up enrolling my sister there due to the comprehensive nature of the clinical program which seemed much more pertinent to my sisters needs…

She has just completed the detox phase of the program and is doig really well. My sister says she feels like she is doing deeper work than she has in the past and she has been meeting with her therapist 5 times a week. This program offers her substance abuse counseling in addition to therapy which I am really happy about. The price was right and the staff has been very professional and caring! After doing almost 10 sessions per week between her therapist and counselor, coupled with all the group activities I am feeling very confident that my sis will make it…if anyone else is looking for treatment in Los Angeles, or wants to try attending a drug treatment center in California I strongly recommend the Authentic Recovery Center…they have really lived up to their name!

Best of luck!

Jim R

I recently had to enroll my son in a drug and alcohol abuse center…

Needless to say, it was a very difficult time in my life…(it has gotten much better though, since he has been clean and sober since attending this program

Drug Treatment California

I wasn’t sure how to get him to enroll since he didn’t seem very “receptive” to the idea when I first brought it up to him. He’s 22 by the way and still was living at home so at least I had some leverage…

I called a bunch of drug treatment centers but then I came across the following article which really helped me to narrow down my options…

Here it is:

Vicodin addiction almost always carries with it the need for medical detox. DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA provides onsite medical detoxification services for Vicodin addiction. Physician, nurses and licensed professional create a safe, comfortable detox environment that offers clients the opportunity to begin recovery in a confidential, dignified fashion. If you or someone you know is suffering from Vicodin addiction call 877 415 HOPE today. Our credentialed staff will answer any questions you might have.

The Dangers of Vicodin Addiction and Vicodin Abuse

The effective analgesic qualities of Vicodin are such that it is often prescribed in pain management scenarios. Vicodin works by binding to brain receptors, relieving pain. The result is that both the feeling of pain and the response to pain are decreased. Taking Vicodin often leads to Vicodin addiction because of the euphoric bi-products experienced as a result of the areas of the brain it interacts with. One of the dangerous side effects of taking Vicodin is that increased dosages are needed as physical tolerance grows in order to achieve the same level of pain relief. Due to the acetaminophen content in Vicodin, increasing doses can lead to liver damage and because the area of the brain that manages involuntary respiratory function does not develop tolerance as quickly as other areas, increased dosages can lead to respiratory failure and death. Vicodin can be especially dangerous when used with alcohol and other drugs. People that become addicted to Vicodin also often develop a higher propensity to abuse illicit drugs, primarily due to the sense of comfort and euphoria that can be reproduced through street opiates, such as heroin and opium. Occasionally, Vicodin addiction promotes the compulsion to abuse street drugs with stimulant qualities, such as cocaine, speed or crack. This is due to the necessity to moderate energy levels or mood both of which are greatly affected by the depressant qualities of the Vicodin itself. It situations where this pattern is evidenced, it doesn’t take long for a full blown addictive process to develop which can lead people to demoralizing addictive behaviors or overdose.

Complications Derived from Vicodin Addiction and Vicodin Abuse

Vicodin addiction can be complicated by the reality that it is being prescribed by a physician. This often leads people taking it to overlook the gravity of the Vicodin addiction situation. It can be hard for people to see the psychological, emotional and physical problems that are developing around the Vicodin consumption because they trust the doctor prescribing it and don’t associate the accumulating problems with a growing Vicodin addiction. Alongside this trust is the dependence on the drug itself. Once Vicodin consumption results in physical dependency, medical detoxification is needed to prevent withdrawal symptoms from arising. Often, physicians don’t have available resources for providing safe detoxification and conversely as tolerance grows, they can’t continue to prescribe the high dosages that are necessary to achieve the same pain-relief. In these situations once high-functioning individuals are left to resort to their own devices to obtain Vicodin prescriptions. Many of our clients have resorted to illegal internet prescription companies and/or illegal forgery of Vicodin prescriptions at local pharmacies. It doesn’t take long for these behaviors to create legal or ethical complications which demand something must be done to end the addiction to Vicodin.

Vicodin is typically prescribed for relief from pain. When the experience of pain sensation is constant people prescribed Vicodin will often deviate from prescription parameters in an effort to increase the drug’s effects. In this scenario people risk experiencing symptoms of Vicodin overdose.

Vicodin Addiction Overdose Symptoms

• Fainting
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Fast heartbeat
• Muscle stiffness
• Vision problems
• Shallow breathing
• Feeling light-headed
• Paralysis (loss of feeling) 

Many of the clients of DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA are individuals who were initially prescribed Vicodin by a physician in order to alleviate pain. However, due to growing online resources for obtaining Vicodin illegally many of our clients have self-initiated developing Vicodin addiction and overdose symptoms are quite common with this class of Vicodin abusers.

Acute Withdrawal Symptoms from Vicodin Addiction

DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA provides onsite medical detoxification services for Vicodin addiction. Safety during withdrawal is ensured by staff physicians, nurses and licensed professionals. Clinical continuity of care during detox supports clients cope with any difficult feelings and emotions that arise during withdrawal that might otherwise heighten a clients desire to leave treatment before primary care begins.

Common acute withdrawal symptoms associated with Vicodin addiction and treated by DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA include:

·     Nausea

·     Headache

·     Stomach pain

·     Sleep disturbances

Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms from Vicodin Addiction

The primary challenge with post-acute withdrawal symptoms is in their accumulative affect. While traditional drug rehabs support clients experiencing post-acute withdrawal symptoms by imparting the spiritual philosophy that “this too shall pass” DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA focuses more on medically treating the physical post-acute symptoms and clinically supporting their psychological manifestations. This medical and clinical coupling helps each client completely overcome the ongoing challenges associated with post-acute withdrawal from Vicodin addiction. Some of the post-acute withdrawal symptoms stemming from Vicodin addiction are:

·     Craving cycles

·     Stress sensitivity

·     Memory problems

·     Sleep disturbances

·     Inability to think clearly

·     Physical coordination problems

·     Emotional fluctuations or emotional “numbness”

Treatment for Vicodin Addiction with DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA is Unique

During primary care the DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA treatment philosophy is designed to address the underlying causes and conditions that have contributed to the onset of Vicodin addiction. Each client is assigned a primary clinician who develops a personalized treatment plan with specific objectives that support clients in identifying and achieving their short-term and long-term recovery goals. In the day-to-day treatment curriculum individual therapy is the cornerstone of the treatment process. A variety of therapeutic approaches are implemented based on each client’s individual needs. Some of these are:

·     Grief Therapy

·     Trauma Therapy

·     Somatic Therapy

·     Reflective Therapy

·     Analytical Therapy 

·     Insight-Based Therapy

·     Reason-Based Therapy

·     Psychodynamic Therapy

·     Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

·     Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

With DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA Treatment for Vicodin Addiction is Clinically-Based

Education about the physiological impact of Vicodin is also an important element in recovering from Vicodin addiction. DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA provides educational groups which are designed to impart an inherent understanding of the physiological bi-products attributed to post-acute Vicodin withdrawal. This helps clients to cope with some of the unique emotional characteristics of post-acute withdrawal with a growing sense of hope that they are not alone and that addiction recovery is possible. (A myriad of the DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA staff are in recovery from Vicodin addiction and serve as empathetic, recovering role-models)

DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA offers an experiential therapy program and year-round outdoor recreational activities. These programs help clients alleviate stress and serves to promote a growing sense of personal enthusiasm for living Vicodin free. Our regional weather and local natural resources (Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Mountains) ensures enjoyment during these activities beneath the Southern California sun. All the DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA experiential programs are designed to meet the physical conditioning of each participant and take place weekly.

DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA Offers Continuing Care Programs for Effective Treatment of Vicodin Addiction

As clients progress through primary care they may choose to enroll in Phase 2 (Continuing Care) or Phase 3 (Extended Care). These programs are designed to meet the ongoing and transitional needs of clients continuing their road to sustained Vicodin addiction recovery. When circumstances or time constraints prevent participation in further residential care, an aftercare plan is developed for each client by their primary clinician. This helps clients to overcome unforeseen future challenges during a long-lasting recovery from Vicodin addiction. As a component of Primary Care, the DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA family program addresses any issues that have evolved from the addictive process. This program helps to prioritize the multitude of problems that have developed and begins the process of resolution and reconciliation for clients and their loved ones. It serves as a great starting point for a new chapter to unfold in the lives of all those who have been impacted by the devastation of Vicodin addiction.

DRUG REHABS IN CALIFORNIA understands the dangers of Vicodin addiction and is committed to providing comfortable onsite medical detoxification services that reinstate each client’s personal power of choice. Our comprehensive treatment approaches take into consideration the issues of origin that led to the Vicodin addiction in the first place and provides strong aftercare planning allowing our clients to leave treatment with the tools necessary to prevent Vicodin addiction from gripping them as they walk the road of sustained recovery.

If you or someone you know is struggling with Vicodin addiction call 877 415 HOPE today. Vicodin addiction is a very dangerous condition that can result in fatality. Our credentialed staff will answer any further questions you might have.

The drug rehab program offered by DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES is a private, clinically-based drug treatment center located in Southern California. The need for drug rehab is derived from conditions such as; alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction, which are all treated effectively by DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES. Our comfortable, dignified onsite medical detoxification services ensure that when issues of abuse have resulted in chemical dependency each client will undergo detox with the most advanced medical protocols available. All medical services are provided by physicians, nurses and licensed professionals with the utmost focus made on client safety and comfort during the withdrawal process. Enrollment in drug rehab allows the progression of the addictive process to be interrupted so that individuals can go on to lead independent, recovering lifestyles. If you or someone you know is in need of drug rehab call 877 415 HOPE today. Our credentialed staff will answer any questions you might have.

Understanding the Purpose for Drug Rehab with DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES

The need for drug rehab arises when a line is crossed and experimentation with drugs becomes a full-blown addictive process. Individuals, families and their greater communities are all affected by drug addiction. The primary purpose of drug rehab at DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES is to restore clients and their families to a healthy, more positive state of being. In achieving recovery each client brings a renewed sense of purpose and meaning to their broader community.

DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES Offers a Supportive Setting Where Healing Can Begin

Drug rehabs have only recently become an accepted method for treating drug addiction. In the course of drug rehabilitation centers growing as a recognized means to address the personal and social ramifications of active addiction, many new methodologies have been employed for supporting individuals and their families on the road to recovery. There is still, however a sense of shame often attached to the personal need for drug rehab. Uniquely, DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES addresses these issues by normalizing the experience as the majority of our staff has struggled with drug addiction in one form or another. As each client seeking drug rehab becomes immersed in a clinical program designed to meet the needs of clients in early recovery, our treatment team in their common experience in dealing with personal addiction begins to alleviate this sense of shame. The accommodations of DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES include program amenities that as quickly as the shame is lifted, meet each client with orchestrated comfort, allowing dignity in a difficult time to be maintained.

The drug rehab program at DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES is a combination of coordinated clinical services, addiction education and individual and group therapies. Clinical services help to promote insight and awareness of each client’s pathway into addiction and serve as a platform for understanding the psychological circumstances that contributed to the eventual need for enrollment in drug rehab. Individual therapy is designed as a tool for addressing the intimate underlying issues contributing to negative forms of self-expression and the addictive process itself. Group therapy allows each client the opportunity to develop new relationships and to learn from each others experiences. Additionally, as the need for drug rehab can be associated with demoralizing feelings, group interactions help to neutralize this perspective and allow a common plight to become the supportive bond that nourishes our human need to socialize and feel a part of a broader community.

The DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES Drug Rehab Effectively Treats a Wide Variety of Addiction and Abuse Issues

The DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES drug rehab provides onsite medical detoxification services and clinical care for individuals suffering from both drug abuse and drug addiction. DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES provides detox in a comfortable, dignified environment under the care of physicians, nurses and licensed professionals. DRUG TREATMENT CENTER LOS ANGELES is a comprehensive drug rehab and attends to addiction issues such as:

·         Alcoholism

·         Meth Addiction

·         Soma Addiction

·         Crack Addiction

·         Xanax Addiction

·         Opiate Addiction

·         Heroin Addiction

·         Valium Addiction

·         Cocaine Addiction

·         Vicodin Addiction

·         Percocet Addiction

·         Oxycontin Addiction

·         Oxycodone Addiction

Considering drug rehab can be a difficult process. Additional examples of people who might need drug rehab are people needing services for: meth abuse, meth addiction, crank abuse, crank addiction, crystal abuse, crystal addiction, ice abuse, ice addiction, cocaine abuse, cocaine addiction, crack abuse, crack addiction, opiate abuse, opiate addiction, heroin abuse, heroin addiction, soma abuse, soma addiction, klonopin abuse, klonopin addiction, xanax abuse, xanax addiction, valium abuse, valium addiction, soma abuse, soma addiction, percocet abuse, percocet addiction, vicodin abuse, vicodin addiction, benzodiazepine abuse, benzodiazepine addiction, barbiturate abuse, barbiturate addiction, methadone abuse and methadone addiction.

If you or someone you know is in need of drug rehab for any of these issues call 877 415 HOPE today. Our credentialed staff will answer any questions you have about obtaining addiction recovery.

Drug rehab in the United States is a periodic conditions solidified by the circumstances surrounding drug abuse and drug addiction. The United States has one of the highest concentrations of drug treatment and drug rehab options in the world and many of these drug treatment centers and drug rehab centers are located in Los Angeles, California.

Drug treatment centers have concentrated on warmer climates for several reasons. People like to attend drug rehab in a warmer climate! The sun feels good on addicted skin! It also is neat to choose a drug rehab in Florida or California because the drug treatment center modalities offered there are different than the traditional drug rehab and abuse and alcohol addiction centers in New York.

Alcohol addiction centers in Ney York and East Coast addiction treatment and alcohol and drug rehabs have several things in common with Los Angeles drug rehab and Florida drug rehab centers but they are not as good as authentic recovery centers. Authentic recovery centers have drug rehab principles that are elemental to the individual drug rehab and drug treatment center concepts that are offered as medical treatment for detoxification of drugs and alcohol abuse principles. Drug rehab in Los Angeles and drug addiction treatment in Florida is different in a vast way because of the authentic recovery model of treatment.

Drug rehab is hard to find on the Internet because of the confusion associated with addiction and the family concerns of loved ones about the alcohol and addiction abuse treatments offered in the United States. It is just as difficult to find addictiontreatment in say, the United Kingdom because of the shortage of drug treatment options available there in the Britain drug rehab options.

When clients enroll at ARC, treatment planning is personalized to meet their individual needs. Our treatment philosophy is that alcoholism, drug addiction and substance abuse issues have root causes and conditions and that for addiction treatment to be successful, these core issues need to be addressed. Resolution in some cases may come quickly, but more often than not, true resolution takes time.

The purpose of personalized treatment plans is to create a program of recovery that provides a pathway of supportive services during treatment and after, so that personal resolution can be reached. Treatment does not end once a client leaves the center. A program of action is implemented during primary care that continues once transition from rehab takes place.

Detailed individual assessment is initiated upon intake and from this evaluation process, a treatment plan is formulated that takes into account the short and long-term goals that need to take place for sustained addiction recovery to be possible. A multi-disciplinary team of licensed professionals use a variety of methodologies to determine what these goals should be. Individual, family, community, educational and employment considerations are evaluated to create a treatment plan congruent to each clients present and future needs.

Personalized treatment planning prevents clients from having a treatment and aftercare plan that doesn’t fit within their life’s framework or the reality of their obligations to family, work or scholastic endeavors. It creates flexibility so each client can return to independent living with supportive measures in place that ensure participation in life versus having to maintain distance and/or separation from the routine activities of daily living.

ARC Primarily Utilizes Individual Therapy as a Treatment Modality

Our philosophy is that individual addictions need to be treated in individual ways and the Authentic Recovery Center offers a treatment curriculum that primarily utilizes individual therapy as a treatment modality. Offering individualized care allows each clients treatment to be tailored to meet his/her unique needs and serves each client by ensuring that the treatment is conducted in the most effective manner possible.

ARC offers each client a minimum of three to five individual sessions per week. Some of the methodologies we utilize during individual sessions are:    

• Grief Therapy
• Trauma Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Reflective Therapy
• Analytical Therapy
• Insight-Based Therapy
• Reason-Based Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Individual therapy helps each client to better understand the origins of their condition. For many clients, daily therapy sessions become the cornerstone of their recovery process. During these sessions, the therapist and the client begin the process of identifying and resolving the underlying issues that have contributed to the cycle of addiction. In individual sessions clients are presented with the opportunity to address issues that are often too difficult to process on a group level. The intimate setting of individual therapy is often the format for clients to experience a cathartic shift in consciousness and to begin the process of resolution for issues that have hidden beneath the surface for quite some time.

Individual therapy is a very important factor in helping clients to achieve recovery success. Group therapy is also a useful tool in supporting clients in beginning their road to recovery, but ARC does not apply group modalities as the primary tool for supporting clients and their loved ones. Instead, ARC offers individual therapy as the foundation for our entire treatment curriculum, including the Family Program.

The Origins of Group Therapy and its Role in Traditional Drug Treatment Centers

The clinical technique of formally organized group therapy is said to have been devised by J. H. Pratt in 1905. Pratt was holding general-care instruction classes for recently discharged tuberculosis patients when he noticed the impact of this experience on their emotional states. In 1925 psychoanalyst Trigant Burrow became dissatisfied with individual psychoanalysis, and began experimenting with group techniques. Burrow hoped to decrease the authoritarian position of the therapist, and to more thoroughly examine interpersonal interactions. The application of group therapy methods to prison inmates and discharged mental hospital patients was pioneered by Paul Schilder and Louis Wender in the 1930s. At that time group therapy was found to be particularly useful in the treatment of children and adolescents. The development of group therapy was given impetus during World War II; as a result of the large number of soldiers requiring treatment for what is now know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The conclusion of the war also introduced the American public to a new group modality designed to support alcoholics. This program was centered on a 12-Step process that facilitated a support network for newly sober individuals and provided them with action steps that once taken, would create a new behavioral framework for living life sober.

Over the course of the next 50 years, with the apparent success of this 12-Step program, and the documented success of clinically-based group therapy for the treatment of trauma and social disorders, drug and alcohol treatment centers began to mold the group format into what has become accepted today as a proven treatment method for treating alcoholism, chemical dependency, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.

However, although the Authentic Recovery Center praises this movement for the success it has achieved, we are willing to point out some of the flaws in the group therapy format when it is utilized as the primary tool for addressing psychologically related issues.

For those that are unwilling to face the truth about the ineffectiveness in utilizing group therapy as a primary treatment modality, here are some pertinent facts about the recovery rates of group related clinical approaches:

• In 1991-1993 a national sample showed that two-thirds of clients admitted to treatment relapsed in under a year. The same study showed that 15% of those who relapsed were already using alcohol and/or drugs at the time they left treatment.

     NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Research Monograph 72

• In 2003 the NIDA determined that 30 day treatment modalities were approximately 30-35% successful in treating addictions.

    NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Drug Abuse Outcomes Analysis Study of 2003

The Pros and Cons of Utilizing Group Therapy as the Primary Modality in Treatment

Some of the pros of utilizing group therapy as the primary treatment modality:

1. Group therapy helps to normalize the experiences that are associated with the addictive process. Group therapy helps people to recognize that they are not alone.
2. Group therapy is a useful format for education. Group therapy is a great way to educate individuals about the nature of addictive disease and alcoholism and addiction related topics.
3. Group therapy helps people to engage with each other and helps to foster a sense of connection with a positive peer group.
4. Group therapy can be a tool that is useful in supporting one individual to learn from the experiences of another.

Some of the cons of utilizing group therapy as the primary treatment modality:

1. At times, issues of a personal nature are too difficult to disclose on a group level.
2. Group topics are not always determined by the people attending the group. This can result in treatment that is less effective because the group topics aren’t relevant to everyone’s needs.
3. Group process relies heavily on the individuals attending the group. If you have negative peer influences in group, they can counteract the effectiveness and purpose of the group, which is to introduce each client to a positive peer support network.
4. Group therapy is dependent on the people participating. If the people attending are of different age groups or genders, then the ability for people to relate to each other is compromised by the dissimilarities of the issues that come up. (i.e., young people often have a host of different issues than older people; women have different issues than men, etc.)

So overall, both individual and group therapy play an important role in ensuring a successful outcome for clients undergoing treatment for alcoholism, chemical dependency, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. However, the Authentic Recovery Center focuses more on individual therapy as the primary treatment modality while utilizing group therapy in predominantly an educational format, for the most part. This treatment approach is not always suitable for everyone, but in our experience, it is usually the most effective way to treat addiction related issues.

If you or someone you know is in need of treatment that does include a personalized treatment approach then call 877 415 HOPE for help today. Our credentialed staff will help you determine what drug rehab options with ARC might be right for you.

The drug rehab program with ARC is a comprehensive clinical approach to treating addiction. The treatment philosophy of ARC focuses on the identifying whether a client is suffering from drug abuse or drug addiction. If drug abuse issues are present for our clients then the treatment approach is modified to meet their specific needs. Drug abuse can lead to drug addiction and drug abuse issues vary in severity.

Drug abuse is typically identified by intermittent patterns of consumption although occasionally people will use drugs of abuse everyday and still exhibit high-functioning capability. We have found that one of the most important factors in providing effective drug abuse treatment is first determining the patterns of consumption and the surrounding behaviors that ensue. Another factor in assessing the severity of a drug abuse issue is identifying what the primary substance of choice is and what routes of administration are being utilized.

At ARC each client receives an in-depth assessment designed to ascertain how severe their drug abuse issues are. This assessment is important because it allows each client to participate in a personalized clinical program that meets their unique circumstances and individual needs.

Drug of abuse are often initially introduced to people by their peer groups; friends, fellow employees or acquaintances at a party. When this happens, a person who has addictive tendencies unknowingly engages the gears of the addictive process. Before long, simple enhancement becomes a coping mechanism and drug abuse becomes a reality. Uninterrupted drug abuse often leads to full-blown drug addiction. If you or a loved one is suffering from drug abuse one of the most important steps that can be taken is to intervene on the pattern of abuse so that potentially life-threatening situations can be avoided.

Drug Abuse vs. Drug Addiction

More often than not, drug rehab programs do not disseminate between drug abusing and drug addicted individuals when providing treatment. In most cases this is a contraindicated approach to treating the full spectrum of drug abuse – drug addiction.

Successful drug treatment for an individual suffering from drug abuse should differ from treatment provided to an individual suffering from drug addiction. This is primarily because when a drug rehab program provides an individual who does not have an extensive history of addictive behaviors with the same treatment as an individual who is exhibiting issues of abuse, the ability for that individual to identify with the intense demoralizing experiences is compromised by a lack of personally relatable circumstances to draw from.

Usually, the demoralizing experience of living with an addiction is the leverage a drug rehab program needs to present rigid lifestyle changes that although difficult to initially implement, over the course of time will help transform a person into a happier, healthier human being. Since most drug rehab programs rely on this personal acknowledgement of the negative circumstances resulting from alcohol and drug addiction, any apparent lack of these negative circumstances will create a rift in the treatment process for the drug abusing individual unable to relate their own experiences to the more intense experiences of the people about them.

This crack in the treatment can allow the drug abusing individual to separate themselves from their peers, the treatment staff, and the rigid lifestyle changes that are being presented as the solution to the addictive process. Ultimately, abuse issues are manifested in a mental obsession, followed by a series of compulsive behaviors. Because the abuse issues are centered first in the brain, the individual without identifiable experiences of reference and relationship will wind up relying on the same resource that led them into issues of abuse in the first place, their own mind.

So it is of the utmost importance that a drug rehab program not only accurately evaluate where an individual is testing on this spectrum of abuse vs. addiction but also that they provide treatment to individuals in consideration of their personal history and current circumstances. This patient, more comprehensive treatment approach offered by ARC enables each individual to be taught in their own unique way and nurtures the process of developing insight and awareness so that abstinence and recovery can be achieved and maintained.

This separation of abuse vs. addiction does not mean that one substance is harder or easier to recovery from than another. It simply means that a drug rehab program must identify the level of abuse or addiction that an individual is suffering from before proper and appropriate care for the individual can truly be provided in a meaningful and successful fashion.

ARC is committed to creating personalized treatment plans that identify where our clients are on the spectrum of abuse – addiction.

MUDGE’S Musings

So, back into the archives yet again, (once again, a picnic summer concert with friends) but this time, you really get a treat, as this is one of my all time favorites, not by any statistical measure, just by my own subjective evaluation.

I console myself by guessing that most of you weren’t here nine months ago. As one of my favorite paper publications used to say: “If you haven’t read it yet, it’s new for you!”

Blast from the Past!

A post we really, really loved to write, and read, and re-read…

From last fall, and always in season, originally posted October 12, 2007, and originally titled “mm168: We’re fighting more than one pointless war.”

MUDGE’s Musings

The U.S. has always been this very strange dichotomy: a Puritanical streak a mile wide, uneasily coexisting with gaudy decadence.

We prohibited alcohol consumption by Constitutional amendment in 1920. The result: organized crime in this country became an ingrained institution, and every solid citizen knew a bootlegger. The Great Experiment ended with repeal of prohibition in 1933.

Oddly, organized crime is still with us, having survived to evolve toward other more lucrative (i.e., still illegal) venues. Such as gambling, sex, even tobacco.

And drugs.

Gambling had always been an underground phenomenon, save for a couple of pockets (Nevada and Atlantic City). Then, 35 years ago, state sponsored lotteries began to appear on the scene, leading to the next step, the oddly constrained riverboat and tribal casinos that now populate so many parts of the nation.

Gambling, always a pernicious and destructive habit, is now state sanctioned, making it possible for working stiffs and stiffettes who couldn’t raise busfare to an Indian casino to blow half their weekly pay on a one in 12million shot at obscene wealth at their corner mini-mart.

Commercial sex, fully consummated in the form of legal brothels only in several counties of Nevada, has long been available in teaser form (”look but don’t touch — and would you like to buy a ‘private dance’ in the back?”) in nearly every city, of whatever size.

Many of these strip clubs, “gentlemen’s clubs” and the like are run by, you guessed it, organized crime, also still a force in the pornography field, although the liberating effect of the Internet has democratized both supply and demand of that particular form of entertainment.

Tobacco is a late addition to the list of proscribed vices, as more municipalities and states (who have long since attempted to control tobacco sales to minors with spotty success) have begun to restrict the ability of citizens to indulge in smoking in public spaces, and have often raised taxes on cigarette purchases so outlandishly that organized crime has been pleased to step into tobacco sales, providing low-priced supplies using stolen or imported stock.

So the U.S. goes both ways: Puritanical (sex, tobacco) and decadence (alcohol, gambling).

And then there are drugs. The Puritans have a firm grasp on this issue, and the law and order establishment has made the enforcement of drug prohibition a very big business indeed.

As rusty manufacturers blow away (to China, mostly), and agribusiness mechanizes and hires cheap immigrant labor for the parts that resist mechanization, rural, mainly white, America has seen the building and staffing of prisons as economic manna.

And what crimes have made prisons such a growth industry? Drug crimes.

MUDGE is prepared argue that there are two classes of drug related crime. The organized crime variety, the one with Glocks and AK47s — those criminals belong in prison — throw away the key.

The other class of “criminals” are the consumers of “recreational chemicals,” whose presence in the criminal justice system has bloated it out of all proportion.

The war on drugs has been the tooth of the drug enforcement tiger, attracting big dollars, big legal establishments and big prison systems, and finds very little distinction between supplier, dealer, and user. The war on drugs’ motto: Put them all away!

Let’s hear what San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom had to say about this issue last week:

(CBS 5 / KCBS) SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaimed the nation’s war on drugs a total failure and insisted the crime rate would go down if the government spent money on treatment as opposed to jailing people with drug problems.

“If you want to get serious, if you want to reduce crime by 70% in this country overnight, end this war on drugs,” he told reporters at City Hall on Thursday. “You want to get serious, seriously serious about crime and violence end this war on drugs.”

The mayor maintained local jails are overcrowded with people incarcerated for drug offenses, taking up room that could be used to hold more violent criminal offenders. He said violent criminals with lengthy felony records are being turned loose, too often.

Unlike alcohol use, unlike even commercial sex, tolerated in all but nine-counties-of-Nevada-form in most localities, we’ve let the Puritans continue to set the agenda on drugs.

The result: flourishing organized crime, brutal and deadly; burgeoning courts with backed up dockets; prisons often overcrowded despite the building boom; and users who rather than getting treatment for their addictive behavior are instead matriculated in crime school — jail.

The war on drugs makes no distinction between “recreational chemicals” and the increasing scientifically documented uses for marijuana for medical purposes.

Of course, Puritans (read: Republicans) don’t have a lot of use for science, unless it’s ridiculous pseudo-science like so-called “creation science.”

And so cancer patients and their doctors have also become criminals. What a waste!

[Please click the link below for the complete article -- but then please come on back!]

cbs5.com – SF Mayor Gavin Newsom: War On Drugs Is A Failure

Now, MUDGE is not recommending total legalization. After all, alcohol was legalized 74 years ago, and while the impact on criminals was dramatic, the impact on addictive individuals, their families, and those unlucky enough to share the highways with them has remained dire. An impact, however, that, except for DUIs, the medical establishment has been deemed most appropriate to handle.

But, when Prohibition ended, so also did the lucrative line of business for criminals.

Several states, mainly in the East, still to this day restrict alcohol sales to state run facilities.

Okay, that sounds like a useful template. Open up state controlled substance stores. Demand six forms of identification if necessary to keep children far away.

Thus, let’s see what happens to drug crimes when to use drugs doesn’t require one to be a criminal.

Prohibition turned an entire nation into criminals, and changed the face of criminal activity in this country. Prohibition finally became unsustainable because the nation came to its senses realizing that even otherwise exemplary citizens had to behave like criminals and break the law to enjoy a drink.

Set a price for heroin and cocaine and the like that includes a tax to fund drug abuse treatment programs — I’m guessing the “street” price will still, tax and all, come in at far less than the price available from the Colombian-supplied junkie down that alley.

But, keep a few law enforcement agents around, to throw the book at the creeps who persist in selling to children.

Make medical marijuana freely available at a fair price by prescription, again at the state stores where legal identification can be assured.

Just as organized crime found new things to do in 1933, if you take criminality out of the drug supply industry, drug related crime will dry up just as promptly. Fear not for the poor farmers in Bolivia, Peru and Afghanistan with their poppy fields. They will remain in business, paid though by the U.S. government rather than by criminal cartels.

Of course, there’s always a down side. This program would leave thousands of judges, bailiffs, court clerks, prosecutors, defense attorneys, sheriffs’ deputies, wardens and guards out of work.

Probably an acceptable price for the reduction, even elimination, of the casually violent drive-by shootings that kill innocent 10 year olds.

Use some of that obsolete war on drugs budget to retrain the judges, bailiffs, clerks, lawyers, deputies, and guards.

Teach them web page development and Java. Create something useful.

Maybe we can once again compete with Bengaluru.

Another pointless war we can end. Why not now?

It’s it for now. Thanks,

–MUDGE

(Chicago, IL) – Since fiscal year 2004, Illinois has successfully rolled back recidivism rates from record levels, reduced the rate of new crime among parolees, slowed the prison population growth rate, and saved taxpayers more than $60 million, according to new state statistics.

Governor Rod Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) reported at a press conference in Chicago on May 19 that the number of new convictions for crimes among parolees has decreased by over 18% from 4,567 in FY04 to 3,742 in FY07, the largest decline in state history.

Additionally, Governor Blagojevich and IDOC report:

• Total arrests among parolees experienced a 23% decline from FY04 to FY07.

• Participants in the Sheridan Drug Prison & Reentry program, which has been called a national model, have exhibited a 40% recidivism rate, lower than comparison groups.

• The prison population has increased by only 4.5% since the end of FY02, which is the slowest rate of growth over any similar time frame since the Illinois Department of Corrections was established in FY70.

• Reduction in repeat crimes has saved taxpayers an estimated $64 million in prison costs since 2004.

The figures stand in stark contrasts to Fiscal Years 1989 – 2005 when the state prison population doubled from 22,000 to 44,000, and the recidivism rate increased to nearly 55% — meaning that 55% of all inmates released from prison returned to prison within three years.

“The State of Illinois is leading the nation in its efforts to reduce crime and recidivism.” said Joan Petersilia, Professor Criminology, University of California, Irvine. “This is the type of progress that has required tremendous leadership by Governor Blagojevich and partnerships among both corrections and social service officials.”

“The reduced recidivism of Sheridan parolees testifies to the value of well-funded of drug treatment and the need for continued drug treatment investment,” said IADDA CEO Sara Moscato Howe.

MUDGE’S Musings

The U.S. has always been this very strange dichotomy: a Puritanical streak a mile wide, uneasily coexisting with gaudy decadence.

We prohibited alcohol consumption by Constitutional amendment in 1920. The result: organized crime in this country became an ingrained institution, and every solid citizen knew a bootlegger. The Great Experiment ended with repeal of prohibition in 1933.

Oddly, organized crime is still with us, having survived to evolve toward other more lucrative (i.e., still illegal) venues. Such as gambling, sex, even tobacco.

And drugs.

Gambling had always been an underground phenomenon, save for a couple of pockets (Nevada and Atlantic City). Then, 35 years ago, state sponsored lotteries began to appear on the scene, leading to the next step, the oddly constrained riverboat and tribal casinos that now populate so many parts of the nation.

Gambling, always a pernicious and destructive habit, is now state sanctioned, making it possible for working stiffs and stiffettes who couldn’t raise busfare to an Indian casino to blow half their weekly pay on a one in 12million shot at obscene wealth at their corner mini-mart.

Commercial sex, fully consummated in the form of legal brothels only in several counties of Nevada, has long been available in teaser form (“look but don’t touch — and would you like to buy a ‘private dance’ in the back?”) in nearly every city, of whatever size.

Many of these strip clubs, “gentlemen’s clubs” and the like are run by, you guessed it, organized crime, also still a force in the pornography field, although the liberating effect of the internet has democratized both supply and demand of that particular form of entertainment.

Tobacco is a late addition to the list of proscribed vices, as more municipalities and states (who have long since attempted to control tobacco sales to minors with spotty success) have begun to restrict the ability of citizens to indulge in smoking in public spaces, and have often raised taxes on cigarette purchases so outlandishly that organized crime has been pleased to step into tobacco sales, providing low-priced supplies using stolen or imported stock.

So the U.S. goes both ways: Puritanical (sex, tobacco) and decadence (alcohol, gambling).

And then there are drugs. The Puritans have a firm grasp on this issue, and the law and order establishment has made the enforcement of drug prohibition a very big business indeed.

As rusty manufacturers blow away (to China, mostly), and agribusiness mechanizes and hires cheap immigrant labor for the parts that resist mechanization, rural, mainly white, America has seen the building and staffing of prisons as economic manna.

And what crimes have made prisons such a growth industry? Drug crimes.

MUDGE is prepared argue that there are two classes of drug related crime. The organized crime variety, the one with Glocks and AK47s — those criminals belong in prison — throw away the key.

The other class of “criminals” are the consumers of “recreational chemicals,” whose presence in the criminal justice system has bloated it out of all proportion.

The war on drugs has been the tooth of the drug enforcement tiger, attracting big dollars, big legal establishments and big prison systems, and finds very little distinction between supplier, dealer, and user. The war on drugs’ motto: Put them all away!

Let’s hear what San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom had to say about this issue last week:

(CBS 5 / KCBS) SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaimed the nation’s war on drugs a total failure and insisted the crime rate would go down if the government spent money on treatment as opposed to jailing people with drug problems.

“If you want to get serious, if you want to reduce crime by 70% in this country overnight, end this war on drugs,” he told reporters at City Hall on Thursday. “You want to get serious, seriously serious about crime and violence end this war on drugs.”

The mayor maintained local jails are overcrowded with people incarcerated for drug offenses, taking up room that could be used to hold more violent criminal offenders. He said violent criminals with lengthy felony records are being turned loose, too often.

Unlike alcohol use, unlike even commercial sex, tolerated in all but nine-counties-of-Nevada-form in most localities, we’ve let the Puritans continue to set the agenda on drugs.

The result: flourishing organized crime, brutal and deadly; burgeoning courts with backed up dockets; prisons often overcrowded despite the building boom; and users who rather than getting treatment for their addictive behavior are instead matriculated in crime school — jail.

The war on drugs makes no distinction between “recreational chemicals” and the increasing scientifically documented uses for marijuana for medical purposes.

Of course, Puritans (read: Republicans) don’t have a lot of use for science, unless it’s ridiculous pseudo-science like so-called “creation science.”

And so cancer patients and their doctors have also become criminals. What a waste!

[Please click the link below for the complete article -- but then please come on back!]

cbs5.com – SF Mayor Gavin Newsom: War On Drugs Is A Failure

Now, MUDGE is not recommending total legalization. After all, alcohol was legalized 74 years ago, and while the impact on criminals was dramatic, the impact on addictive individuals, their families, and those unlucky enough to share the highways with them has remained dire. An impact, however, that, except for DUIs, the medical establishment has been deemed most appropriate to handle.

But, when Prohibition ended, so also did the lucrative line of business for criminals.

Several states, mainly in the East, still to this day restrict alcohol sales to state run facilities.

Okay, that sounds like a useful template. Open up state controlled substance stores. Demand six forms of identification if necessary to keep children far away.

Thus, let’s see what happens to drug crimes when to use drugs doesn’t require one to be a criminal.

Prohibition turned an entire nation into criminals, and changed the face of criminal activity in this country. Prohibition finally became unsustainable because the nation came to its senses realizing that even otherwise exemplary citizens had to behave like criminals and break the law to enjoy a drink.

Set a price for heroin and cocaine and the like that includes a tax to fund drug abuse treatment programs — I’m guessing the “street” price will still, tax and all, come in at far less than the price available from the Colombian-supplied junkie down that alley.

But, keep a few law enforcement agents around, to throw the book at the creeps who persist in selling to children.

Make medical marijuana freely available at a fair price by prescription, again at the state stores where legal identification can be assured.

Just as organized crime found new things to do in 1933, if you take criminality out of the drug supply industry, drug related crime will dry up just as promptly. Fear not for the poor farmers in Bolivia, Peru and Afghanistan with their poppy fields. They will remain in business, paid though by the U.S. government rather than by criminal cartels.

Of course, there’s always a down side. This program would leave thousands of judges, bailiffs, court clerks, prosecutors, defense attorneys, sheriffs’ deputies, wardens and guards out of work.

Probably an acceptable price for the reduction, even elimination, of the casually violent drive-by shootings that kill innocent 10 year olds.

Use some of that obsolete war on drugs budget to retrain the judges, bailiffs, clerks, lawyers, deputies, and guards.

Teach them web page development and Java. Create something useful.

Maybe we can once again compete with Bengaluru.

Another pointless war we can end. Why not now?

It’s it for now. Thanks,

–MUDGE