A Elements Behavioral Health Guide to Drug Rehab
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A recent survey found that there has been an increase in drugs being sold on the Internet, and the results indicate a rise in global drug use in general.

According to the Global Drugs Survey, 60 percent of respondents reported buying illegal drugs like marijuana and LSD online.

Main Reasons For Online Drug Trafficking Increase

Online Drug Trafficking Increase | Drugs Being Sold Online DrugWhat’s causing this increase in online drug trafficking? The main reason is sites that allow people to anonymously buy drugs using bitcoin peer-to-peer digital currency. The most famous online drug source was the original Silk Road online market, which was shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in October, 2013. Drug officials also report the increase of online trafficking is because users often face the chance of being robbed or physically assaulted during face-to-face drug exchanges, so they feel that online transactions are safer.

Respondents to the Global Drug Survey reported that, just like overall Internet shopping, buying drugs online is faster, cheaper and there is a larger selection. The survey found that over 40 percent of participants said they were buying online for the first time, which proves that the web is a growing resource for drug users.

The overall cause of the increase in online drug purchases can be explained by the increase in drug use overall. The survey found that a third of the respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 used drugs, which had increased from a previous survey showing only a fifth of that amount. The Global Drug Survey collected data from 45 countries and 80,000 individuals.

Marijuana is the drug of choice in many countries. Brazil, France and the United States are countries with the highest rate of marijuana consumption. The survey found that 70 percent of Brazilian and American respondents used marijuana.

Another cause for the increase in global drug use can also be blamed on the legalization of marijuana. Countries around the world seem to have conflicting opinions on legalization. The United Nations reportedly feels that legalization poses a great danger to its country. However, Uruguay legalized the drug’s sale and production last year. In the United States, Colorado and Washington State were the first states to legalize the use of the drug recreationally, though with many limitations. In the Netherlands, possession of marijuana under five grams has been legal since 1976.

Something alarming that the survey found that was only about 20 percent of those 80,000 respondents reported ever seeking help or having feelings that marijuana use had a negative effect on their job or schooling.

Read More About How The War On Drugs Isn’t Effective At Protecting Youth

The use of cannabis (marijuana, hashish and hashish oil) is linked to a range of potential health problems, including diagnosable abuse and/or addiction and increased odds of experiencing some of the psychosis-related symptoms associated with schizophrenia and certain other severe mental illnesses.

In a study published in April 2014 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a team of French researchers investigated another possible consequence of cannabis use: dysfunction in the cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) system. These researchers concluded that young adult cannabis users, in particular, put themselves at increased risk for potentially life-threatening cardiovascular problems.

Marijuana Use Stats

How Can Marijuana Use Lead To Heart DiseaseCannabis use (particularly, marijuana use) is a relatively common form of recreational substance intake among U.S. adults and teenagers, according to figures compiled by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In 2012 (the last year with fully available statistics), almost 19 million Americans over the age of 11 used marijuana in a given month; this number is the equivalent of more than 7 percent of the teen and adult population.

The highest rates of intake for marijuana and all other illegal or misused substances occur in teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 34. Within this fairly broad age range, peak rates of use occur among individuals in their late teens or early 20s. Intake rates are lowest among very young adolescents and adults age 60 or older. Throughout the U.S., only alcohol and nicotine outrank marijuana as popular substances of abuse.

Cardiovascular Risks Associated With Marijuana Use

One of the most serious cardiovascular problems is acute coronary syndrome, a term that doctors use collectively to describe any condition that produces a rapid decrease in blood supplied to the tissues that make up the heart muscle. Well-known conditions that meet this definition include heart attack (loss of blood flow and tissue death in specific areas of the heart) and cardiac arrest (stoppage of all heart function). Acute coronary syndrome also includes a form of unpredictable chest pain called unstable angina.

In the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers from four French institutions used information from an ongoing project called the French Addictovigilance Network to assess the cardiovascular risks faced by people who use marijuana or other forms of cannabis.

In France, this network acts as a national reporting system for all people seriously impacted by any type of substance abuse or substance addiction. The researchers looked at data gathered from 2006 to 2010. All told, 1,979 reports of serious cannabis-related harm were registered with the Addictovigilance Network during this timeframe.

The researchers found that cardiovascular problems accounted for just 1.8 percent of all cannabis-related harm. However, they also found that many of the reported cardiovascular problems were severe or potentially lethal in nature. For example, over half of the affected individuals suffered from acute coronary syndrome.

Other reported problems included complications related to the function of blood vessels located in the upper or lower limbs, as well as complications related to the function of blood vessels inside the brain. Altogether, fully 25.6 percent of the cannabis users impacted by serious cardiovascular issues died as a result of their condition.

Does Marijuana’s Negative Cardiovascular Effects Have A Greater Impact In Men?

The authors of the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that the vast majority (85.7 percent) of the cannabis users affected by serious cardiovascular problems were male. On average, affected individuals of both genders were just over the age of 34. The study’s authors specifically note that young adults who use cannabis may have increased risks for potentially fatal cardiovascular issues.

In line with this conclusion, they call for wide distribution of information regarding the link between cannabis use and serious heart- and blood vessel-related harm. In addition, they call upon doctors to consider cannabis intake as a possible source or contributing factor for any cardiovascular problems found in young adult patients.

Find Out If Marijuana Is Really Dangerous Now!

Call Us Immediately If You Believe You Or Someone You Know Is Abusing Drugs Or Alcohol!

The phrase older and wiser suggests that as a person ages they learn a lot about how to deal with life. Experience is a profound teacher. However, it’s also true that as a person enters their golden years they are entering new territory. The retirement years are full of all kinds of changes and challenges. Sometimes there are so many of them that seniors are left scrambling for a way to cope.

Older People And Life Challenges That Effect Drug Abuse

Why Are Older Americans More At Risk for Alcohol, Drug AbuseThe American Geriatrics Society reports that older adults may be more apt than others to form a substance addiction by virtue of the many life challenges they encounter. Loneliness, grief, lack of purpose, boredom and chronic pain confront seniors with full force. As many as 20 percent of senior citizens msuse or abuse their prescription drugs or alcohol.

Alcohol – Most Abused Substance By Seniors

The substance most often abused by seniors is alcohol, with 60 percent of addiction treatment admittances for older adults relating to alcohol use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), 5.5 million seniors struggle with an alcohol use problem. This is in part because alcohol is a socially acceptable mode of self-medication.

But for seniors, drinking too much alcohol can have serious consequences. The truth is that alcohol affects older bodies more than younger ones. The senior’s body is slowing down in every way, including metabolism. That means that alcohol is processed much more slowly in an older person’s body. Because of this the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that adults age 65 or above consume no more than one alcoholic beverage per day.

Older People Abusing Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs are another source of potential abuse for seniors. To begin with, senior citizens are prescribed more medication than any other age group of Americans. But just as with alcohol, medications are also metabolized more slowly by older bodies.

Sedatives (barbiturates, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide) used to help older patients sleep are highly addictive. These medications tend to store up in fat deposits which make their effects even longer-lasting in older bodies which typically carry more fat. This is no small problem with the diazepam drug Valium prescribed to 100,000 older Americans annually.

Seniors Abusing Illegal Substances At A Greater Rate?

More people over age 50 are using illegal, illicit drugs. SAMHSA reports that treatment admittances for patients over 50 addicted to illegal drugs doubled and has continued to rise.

The good news in all of this is that when addiction forms late in life, with intervention and treatment there is hope for recovery.

See That There Is Hope For Recovery For YOU!

If You Or Your Elderly Loved One Need Help With Drug Or Alcohol Abuse – Call Us Now – We Are Here To Help!

Deciding to admit to your problem with addiction is a big accomplishment. Denial and fear are major roadblocks that keep so many addicts from ever coming clean. Once you have made the admission and decided to get help, though, you still have many steps to go until you reach sobriety and recovery. The first step is detoxification, or detox. What happens during detox may be uncomfortable and painful, but it will bring you through to the other side and set you on the path to your personal recovery journey.

What Do You Do In Drug Rehab?

What’s Involved In Detox | Detox RecoveryDrug rehab is how you move from the world of addiction to a life of sobriety. It is a transition period that will help to transform you. The first part of rehab is detox, although some facilities require that you detox before you even get there. In this case, you can find a location that specializes in detoxing before you enter your long-term rehab facility.

Once you have completed a detox, you will go through a series of counseling sessions and other activities designed to help you learn more about yourself and your addiction. One-on-one therapy sessions are personal and will help you get to the root of your problem. Group work will help you empathize with others and learn from their experiences. Other activities help you to relax without using drugs or alcohol and teach you strategies for staying sober.

What Happens During Detox?

Your first step in the process of recovery is detox. What happens during this step is that your body is cleared of all substances so that you are completely sober and ready for the rest of your journey. During this process you will experience the symptoms of withdrawal: irritability, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and more. It is unpleasant, painful and difficult, but it is necessary.

Are There Different Kinds Of Detox?

Different facilities may offer different ways of detoxing. Many will simply do it the natural way: allowing your body to eliminate the drug or alcohol over a period of several days without much intervention. Some facilities may offer medicated detox, which involves giving you medications to relieve some of your withdrawal symptoms. Others may offer rapid detox. This means putting you under anesthesia for a couple of days so that you essentially sleep through your detox. This is a controversial method, but one many people find attractive.

Any successful drug rehab includes a period of detox. You cannot begin to enter recovery until you have stopped abusing substances and let the drugs and alcohol pass completely from your body. With the right professionals on your team, you can get through it and come out on the other side ready for rehab.

Read More About The Origins And Developments In Detox Addiction Treatment

Methadone maintenance treatment and abstinence-based treatment are two approaches used in recovery programs for people affected by opioid addiction. When successful, each of these treatment options helps opioid addicts reduce their level of craving for continued drug/medication use.

In a study published March/April 2014 in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, a multinational team of researchers compared the brain effects of successful methadone maintenance treatment to the brain effects of successful abstinence-based treatment. These researchers concluded that each of the two approaches to opioid addiction treatment has its own unique impact on brain function.

Methadone, Abstinence Treatments Activate Different Brain PathwaysHarm Reduction

Methadone maintenance treatment is one form of a harm reduction-based approach to substance addiction. In harm reduction, doctors don’t set complete abstinence from substance intake as a necessary goal of treatment.

Instead, they attempt to limit the damage caused by uncontrolled substance use, even if this means that their patients still engage in substance use to a lesser degree or in more strictly limited circumstances.

An opioid addict participating in methadone maintenance receives a specific amount of methadone (an opioid medication) every day instead of consuming an unknown or unpredictable amount of heroin or some other powerful opioid drug of abuse. This dose of methadone provides enough of an opioid effect to avoid triggering symptoms of withdrawal i

Abstinence-Based Treatment For Opioid Addiction

An abstinence-based approach to opioid addiction treatment may also involve the use of methadone or another opioid medication called buprenorphine as a temporary treatment to help recovering addicts avoid the worst symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

However, the ultimate aim of this approach is to help recovering addicts completely avoid opioid use on an ongoing basis. This means that the use of opioid medications is strictly limited, if it occurs at all. Abstinence-based programs may also use non-opioid-based medications such as naloxone or naltrexone, which actively block the drug effects of opioid substances in patients/clients who have completely detoxified from active opioid use.

Counseling And Psychotherapy Treatment Sessions

Both methadone maintenance and abstinence-based programs also typically use some form of counseling, psychotherapy or mutual support to augment the effects of medication and improve the odds that treatment will have a beneficial outcome.

Forms of counseling and psychotherapy used in opioid addiction treatment include a behavioral retraining approach called cognitive behavioral therapy and a modern-day form of psychoanalysis called psychodynamic therapy. Many mutual support groups for recovering opioid addicts follow a basic 12-step approach that emphasizes ongoing drug abstinence.

Differing Brain Effects For Methadone vs. Abstinence-Based Treatment

In the study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, researchers from Australia and Iran used an imaging technology called fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to compare the brain functions of a group of people who successfully participated in methadone maintenance treatment for heroin addiction to the brain functions of a group of people who successfully participated in abstinence-based treatment for heroin addiction.

For comparison’s sake, they also examined the brain functions of a third group of people unaffected by opioid addiction. The fMRI scans were taken while the members of all three groups viewed a mixture of stimulating cues, including cues designed to trigger any residual cravings for heroin. In addition to analyzing the data from these scans, the researchers asked each individual to report his or her level of drug craving prior to and after exposure to the heroin-related cues.

The researchers found that the members of the methadone maintenance group and the members of the abstinence-based treatment group displayed an equal ability to resist the heroin cues used during the fMRI scans. However, they concluded that different brain areas were activated in each group as a result of exposure to the cues.

Compared to people unaffected by opioid addiction, the people who participated in methadone maintenance showed an unusually high level of activity in parts of the brain responsible for visual processing, logical analysis, the control of both pleasure- and fear-based emotional responses, and basic muscle coordination.

On the other hand, the people who participated in abstinence-based treatment showed an unusually high level of activity in parts of the brain responsible for regulating decision-making, controlling impulsive behavior, anticipating rewards and controlling certain key involuntary functions in the cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) system.

The authors of the study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine note that, when successful, both methadone maintenance treatment and abstinence-based treatment are linked to increased activity in brain areas that help recovering opioid addicts significantly reduce their drug cravings. They also note the clearly differing brain pathways that are typically activated in participants in each type of treatment.

Discover Additional Treatments For Opioid Addiction Help Is Available – Call Now! 

 


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