According to an article from British website http://www.guardian.co.uk, the British government wants to give compulsory treatment of benefit claimants addicted to drugs.

Problem is that everyone else seems to think that’s pretty much impossible. British Liberal Democrats think the plan is completely absurd citing the fact that Britain does not have enough addiction treatment centers to get the job done.

Also according to the article:
“As many as 350,000 heroin and crack cocaine users of working age are receiving state payments, it has emerged. The government’s welfare reform bill will require all of them to undergo medical assessment and treatment or lose financial support.”

The number however may be as many as 400,000 drug addicts receiving these types of benefits with at least 8,000 more waiting for them.

However, treating these people without proper facilities remains to be seen. There is simply nowhere to put all of these drug addicts to ensure that they get proper care. Some may require dual diagnosis treatment as well.

Others say that you cannot force an addict into treatment and just expect them to completely change their lives; they have to do it willingly.
The article states:
“The welfare reform bill also contains provisions enabling a secretary of state to introduce similar mandatory treatment regulations to those who misuse alcohol.”

So the plan is not just meant for those using hard drugs, it’s also a plan to help UK citizens break free from all types of addiction.

This article in The Guardian is just another example of how drug addiction really is a wide spread epidemic in the world today. It shows that no government has found a way to deal with it yet effectively. But can people be forced by the government into treatment? Or will that just make relapse that much more expensive for governments.

If a person is not ready to get off drugs, the government surely cannot force them.

If you or a loved one need help with addiction treatment call us and we can help.

According to an article from the New York Times from May 28, 2009, “Government spending related to smoking and the abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs reached $468 billion in 2005, accounting for more than one-tenth of combined federal, state and local expenditures for all purposes, according to a new study.”
The report was released by the National Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse which is a private group that operates at Columbia University. Most of the spending, according to the article, goes to health care costs that occur after abuse, such as lung cancer or overdoses. Only 2 percent of the spending goes toward prevention.
This study was the first of its kind to calculate abuse-related spending by all three levels of government, legislative, executive and judicial. The approach now leads to other social problems that require government spending such as homelessness or child abuse.
“Federal studies show that the best drug treatment programs pay for themselves 12 times over, the report said, because patients who succeed have quick improvements in health and behavior.”
A promising piece of the report cited the education that has been provided by the anti-smoking campaigns. With the combination of educating people about the effects of smoking and the taxes on cigarettes, smoking is down overall.
The center thinks that addiction treatment centers should be covered more widely by insurance companies because then more people will take advantage of it.
Insurance companies argue that record of drug treatment is not sufficient enough to implement any sort of changes. The report overall suggests that we need to invest more in prevention and less on the law enforcement aspect of drug abuse and addiction.
There is that old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and this report is just an indication of how true that really is.

According to a new report from the Office of Applied Studies that provided state by state analysis found that there are a wide range of types of drug and alcohol use, but that of course, every state has its varying issues.

The report was developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) based on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health ( NSDUH ).

Here are the report’s most notable findings:

• Vermont had the nation’s highest incidence rate of marijuana use among people aged 12 and older ( 2.5 percent ) while Utah had the lowest ( 1.6 ) percent.

• The District of Columbia had the nation’s highest rate of past year cocaine use among those aged 12 and older ( 5.1 percent ) while Mississippi had the lowest ( 1.6 percent ).

• Utah had the nation’s lowest rate of current underage drinking ( 17.3 percent ) while North Dakota had the highest ( 40 percent ).

• Tennessee had the nation’s highest rate of people aged 18 and older experiencing a major depressive episode in the past year ( 9.8 percent ) while Hawaii had the lowest ( 5.0 percent )

According to the press release for the study, here is another interesting finding:

“Among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island ( 5.2 percent vs. 12.5 percent ) – yet Iowa’s population aged 12 and older also had one of the nation’s highest levels of people experiencing alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year ( 9.2 percent).”

The report is an important indication that it really does not matter where you live because every state experiences its own set of problems and needs addiction treatment centers.

This report just goes to show how much of an impact addiction is having on our country as a whole and there may be more need for dual diagnosis treatment than we think.

According to an article from Army Times, the Army news source, the Army has started to take notice of the rampant use of drugs and alcohol in the ranks. The article attributes this largely to commanders who are failing to take control or the worsening situation to get people into addiction treatment centers.

The Army now hopes to get offenders into treatment. They are staring their crackdown slowly, but getting started is half the battle. “That could mean increased inspections of barracks rooms and more visits by leaders to soldiers’ off-post homes to make cursory evaluations of their living conditions.”

Soldiers who are having urine tests coming back positive can soon expect stricter penalties. The problem with substance abuse has come to light after the Army Vice Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli made an internal method. This is being combined with a larger initiative launched in April to look into the suicide rates of soldiers.

The problem is, according to the article, is that soldiers who are testing positive in multiple urine tests are not being referred for treatment. Instead only about 70 percent of those tested go on and receive treatment for one addiction, or dual diagnosis treatment.

Positive urine test results are growing steadily. And alcohol continues to be a problem for soldiers. In a Department of Defense study from 2005, it found that nearly 25 percent of soldiers are heavy drinkers.

Alcohol is among the reasons why a soldier may commit suicide. Along with other factors such as relationship problems, financial hardship or pending legal action.

“The incidence of alcohol abuse is detected differently than that for drugs, usually by military police or local police outside post, for driving under the influence or in observations by peers.”

So soldiers could go without being found out that they indeed do have a problem for longer periods of time.

According to an article from USA today, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health shows that fewer women are drinking closer to their delivery date. However, 19 percent of those surveyed still use alcohol in their first trimester. This could have also been because the women did not know she was pregnant and drank alcohol unknowingly.

There is however, still a staggering amount of women who choose to drink during pregnancy. The article states:

“The report also cites a 15-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting that the number of women who drink while pregnant remains high and hasn’t changed much in that time — still one in eight women drink some amount of alcohol while pregnant.”

What the study also found is what kind of habits women fall back into after their pregnancy, whether it is alcohol or marijuana abuse. The study or 68,000 women taken from 2002 to 2007 showed that 10 percent of women binge drink after their pregnancy, 20 percent was smoking cigarettes and almost 4 percent were smoking marijuana.

Of course, these statistics do not take into account if the woman was already doing these kinds of behaviors prior to their pregnancy. They could perhaps just be resuming the practices they had before they became pregnant.

The study mostly should be used to show the importance of not abusing substances after a child is born. The study cites that fewer women are using alcohol as their pregnancy progresses, but 31 percent of women in the study did report drinking after their child had been born.

The article did not state if the statistics were based on how many drinks a woman had and what constituted as drinking after pregnancy, because there is a difference between a glass of wine and binge drinking.

The article quotes a Peter Delany, rector of the Office of Applied Studies in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that conducted the study he says:

“The study highlights the importance of getting the message out to women to not resume substance use after pregnancy.”

Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings indicate that kids who use cigarettes are more inclined to use illicit drugs. It also shows an asociation to alcohol as there is an indication that for heavy drinkers, there is a higher rate of illicit drug use.

The study found that:

* In 2007, the rate of current illicit drug use was almost 9 times higher among youths aged 12 to 17 who smoked cigarettes in the past month (47.3 percent) than it was among youths who did not smoke cigarettes in the past month (5.4 percent).

* Past month illicit drug use also was associated with the level of past month alcohol use. Among youths aged 12 to 17 in 2007 who were heavy drinkers (i.e., consumed five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days), 60.1 percent also were current illicit drug users, which was higher than the rate among nondrinkers (5.0 percent).

Many experts agree that for parents and teachers who deal with teenagers on a daily basis, knowledge is the power in identifying a child that has a problem with alcohol and drug use and may need dual diagnosis treatment. These studies help to show trends and empower people who are thinking about enrolling a teenager into addiction treatment centers or young adult drug rehab program.

In the third and fourth stages of alcoholism, the individual becomes more and more physically dependent upon the substance to function. Drinking habits become more obvious to family and friends, and it’s clear that the drinker’s life is taking a negative turn.

The Third Stage of Alcoholism: The drinker’s loss of control has become more pronounced and noticeable to outside viewers. Often the individual cannot manage the quantity or speed with which he consumes alcohol after the first taste. Serious problems in the drinker’s social life, relationships and work experience are piling up. It’s common for drinking to occur as soon as a new day starts in order to calm the symptoms of a hangover and to muffle feelings of remorse. Drinking has taken the place of other necessities, such as food and shelter. The drinker may at this point make small attempts to seek help, but doesn’t follow through.
The Fourth Stage of Alcoholism: In the fourth stage, it is highly unlikely that the drinker can be a “functioning alcoholic”, meaning he has little chance at maintaining a job or relationships. Drinking is no longer a choice; the withdrawals from not drinking are so severe that the individual has to drink in order to make it through the day. Long, drawn-out binges are frequent, where the individual is helplessly drunk for days or weeks. He is constantly on the hunt for that initial high he received from his first drink, but can never achieve the same feeling. During this stage, alcoholics experience delirium tremens, or the shakes, which is a serious condition of the nervous system that has potentially deadly consequences.

Alcoholism is a progressive disease that can be divided into four stages, separated by four overarching behavioral patterns. The first two stages, described below, are when the individual starts to show symptoms of alcoholism: craving, physical dependence, tolerance, and the loss of control. These stages predict the likelihood of a much more serious problem occurring with alcohol in the near future:

The First Stage of Alcoholism: In this first stage, alcohol is no longer a social habit, but used as a means to escape reality. Alcohol replaces the drinker’s need to face emotions and drinking is a way to avoid deeper problems, causing dependence upon the mood-altering effects. An increase in tolerance also becomes apparent in the first stage, as well as an overall increase in the amount of alcohol consumed.

The Second Stage of Alcoholism: Tolerance to alcohol continues to increase, and the drinker typically feels a more powerful urge to drink. Drinking commonly starts earlier in the day and becomes an accepted part of everyday life. At this point, the desire to drink has moved past the drinker’s need to cope with psychological issues; now, the drinker is physically dependent. Family members and friends are starting to notice the increased consumption, and the individual has become more self-conscience about their drinking. However, it’s common for them to blame outside influences and external factors for their troubles. Physical symptoms include hangovers, blackouts, hand tremors, and stomach problems.

Maintaining sobriety is a constant, ongoing struggle. Addicts have to face the reality that relapsing is not only possible, it’s statistically probable. Nic Sheff, the 26-year-old writer of Tweak is a recovering crystal meth, marijuana and alcohol addict, and represents the large number of young adult drug users who battle with their urge to use every day.

In a recent CNN profile, Nic confessed how life’s misfortunes and missteps have led him to revisit his drug-riddled past. “I am isolated, alone, disgusted with everything and, most especially, myself. I am filled to overflowing with pain and torment and weight,” said Nic, describing how he fell back into drugs after a bad break-up and a manic episode.

Unlike general belief, a relapse isn’t spurred simply by a lack of willpower or ability to deal with personal crises. When an addict returns to using, a complex mental and chemical reaction is at work. A relapse refers to a failure or breakdown in a person’s ability to continue or follow through with a change in any set of behaviors — most commonly, alcohol and drug abuse. Often times, a relapse is underlined by a user’s complete lack of control over their behavioral response to situations; they will take more than they want to take, and cannot stop no matter how intensely they want to. 

Edythe London, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles asserts that an addict’s neurological system is different than a non-addict. Feelings like helplessness, lack of control and loss of inhibitions can be linked to the circuitry of the brain. “Some of the most profound changes, for example in the dopamine system, can take years to resolve completely,” she says.

Although relapse is a common occurrence for many addicts, there still is hope. Cognitive and behavioral therapies can teach a person how to deal with pressures and stressful situations in a healthier manner. Gatehouse’s extended care treatment program instills in residents basic life skills and coping mechanisms; the long-term care increases the chances that an addict will remain sober for the long-run.

Most recovery programs and addiction experts employ the “disease model” of alcoholism when they treat addicts. This means that addiction is viewed in the medical field and rehabilitation industry as a disorder with genetic roots. Those who are inflicted with the neurological condition cannot drink alcohol without losing control, questioning the notion that willpower has anything to do with an addict’s choice to drink.

Research has indicated that belief in the disease model may actually hurt efforts to quit drinking — the excuse to “give in” to temptations to use being pardoned by the idea that the disease is truly to blame.

The onset of a relapse can’t be scientifically pinpointed, but there some strong predictors that can identify what led to alcohol use for a recovering addict: surging cravings, negativity, frequent agitation, and lack of motivation are clear signals. But one of the strongest signals that can forecast an addict’s decent into relapse is whether he or she thinks alcoholism is an illness. This demonstrates how some addicts who have a hard time remaining abstinent from alcohol find comfort in associating their relapses with an illness, and identify them as behaviors they can’t control.

Although the disease model is supported by a great amount of research that confirms there is such thing as an inherited vulnerability to alcoholism, the common perception of what the “disease of addiction” really means is not always accurate or scientifically validated.