Search Results: internet

The United States Armed Forces has detected a growing enemy among its troops. This past year in excess of 1,100 soldiers have been investigated for harboring this enemy and endangering their own welfare. Military investigators have seen the use of Spice, an herbal mixture people use to reach a “high,” sometimes more powerful than marijuana, rise at an alarming rate in its soldiers.

Read More

Treating patients with drug abuse problems is a challenging job, but addiction specialists are now faced with another challenge in the world of drug rehab. A rising number of patients are using synthetic marijuana, a blend of exotic plants that induces a similar high. The complex ingredients in synthetic marijuana create complexities in managing drug rehab.

Read More

Synthetic drugs are sweeping the nation, often with tragic results. “Fake pot” products such as K2 and Spice have grown in popularity, prompting state and federal bans that classify the drugs as Schedule 1 controlled substances similar to heroin and cocaine.

Read More

Poison control centers in the United States saw a twenty-fold increase in the number of people calling them about bath salt poisoning last year. Police and hospital personnel are reporting similarly large increases in bizarre incidents of people abusing bath salts as hallucinatory drugs.

Read More

Some are using the beginning of the great recession in 2008 as a benchmark for increases in drug use in the United States. It is true that drug use in America has risen from 8 percent in 2008 to 8.9 percent in 2010, but the recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health does tuck some tidbits of good news in as well.

A Growing Epidemic of Marijuana and Prescription Drug Abuse

The national drug survey involved 675,000 adult Americans from across the country as a representative sample. Overall, the survey indicates that 22.6 million Americans use illegal drugs. It seems that what is driving the statistic higher is an increased use of marijuana, which has grown from 14.4 million users in 2007 to 17.4 million users in 2010.

There is a potential link between new state laws that permit the medical use of marijuana and the observed increases. More research needs to be done in order to establish the connection with certainty. What is known is that the fastest growing demographic for marijuana use is adults aged 18-25 years. Marijuana use in that age group was 19.6 percent in 2008, but by 2010 it had risen to 21.5 percent. The news is disconcerting given the fact that this is a period of life when most young adults are establishing the foundations for their futures – going to college, starting a career and building a family.

Marijuana is not the only growing drug problem. Illegal use of prescription painkillers is also on the rise. Sadly, most abusers of prescription painkillers obtain them not from the Internet (less than 1 percent), nor from drug dealers (around 4 percent), but from close friends and family members (55 percent).

Waning Abuse of Meth, Cocaine & Other Drugs

The good news is that methamphetamine use is waning significantly from the 735,000 users in 2006 to 353,000 users in 2010. Also moving in a positive direction is the downward trend in cocaine use from 2.4 million in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2010. Further good news is found in the smaller numbers of teenagers abusing alcohol and tobacco. The figures reveal teen drinking was at 14.7 percent in 2009, falling to 13.6 percent by 2010, while teen smoking decreased from 11.6 percent in 2009 to just over 10 percent in 2010.

Unfortunately, not many who abuse these drugs ever get the help they need. It is estimated that 23.1 million Americans need of professional drug rehab treatment, yet only 2.6 million Americans are getting help. When Americans do seek professional help, it is usually for alcohol abuse (#1 reason for seeking treatment), followed by treatment for marijuana abuse (#2). This used to be followed by treatment for cocaine abuse, but now the #3 reason for seeking drug treatment is abuse of prescription painkillers and/or heroin abuse.

In the current cultural climate, it is unacceptable to smoke almost anywhere. Why we don’t feel the same about alcohol and marijuana use is a question that deserves to be answered. Our own national survey is telling us that we have a serious problem we are not facing.

Every year it seems there is a new designer drug making headlines. This year, that drug is kratom, a derivative of a plant found in southeast Asia that has been used for many years as an herbal treatment for depression, diarrhea and pain and as a medication for opiate withdrawal. However, in the U.S., kratom has been found to have no established medical use.

Read More

On July 8th, Australia placed a ban on all substances that are like Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, including eight that were synthetic-based types.

Read More

The rise in prescription drug abuse has meant that more and more people seeking addiction treatment do not use illegal drugs. They get their fix from their doctor.  They have become addicted to pain medications or anti-anxiety pills. They have also had to resort to other ways to meet their increased tolerance for the drugs. Maybe they have doctor-shopped or forged prescriptions or scoured the medicine cabinets of friends and family.  Maybe they have resorted to buying their OxyContin or Xanax from drug dealers or from illegal pharmacies on the Internet.

Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic

As if the current state of prescription drug abuse in this country isn’t bad enough, it’s about to get a lot worse. That’s the warning from Dr. David M. Martin, chairman of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DTIA).

In his opening remarks to the DTIA’s Annual Conference, Dr. Martin cited a report that will be released this month in the Journal of Health Affairs on a seven-year study tracking broadband Internet access and hospital admissions for substance abuse.

The results showed that for every increase in broadband access there was a corresponding spike in hospital admissions for prescription drug abuse, while admissions for alcohol, cocaine and heroin either remained the same or decreased.

What’s Causing the Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic?

What could account for this phenomenon? According to Dr. Martin, it’s the instant access through the Internet that’s primarily to blame. And the threat is very real. “What this means is that America is facing an exponential epidemic of drug abuse never before seen in the recorded history of human addictions,” said Dr. Martin.

Dr. Martin went on to say that those looking for powerful prescription drugs can just go on the Internet and get them overnight. They don’t have to go to the street corner and deal with an unsavory thug to get their pills. It all seems so safe and easy. Prescription drugs are also relatively easy to get through “pain clinics.”

Another aspect of the explosion in drug abuse is the medical marijuana and drug legalization lobby. Dr. Martin pointed out that this lobbing is creating a dangerous endorsement of drug abuse that’s starting in America, but it won’t end here. Expect it to spread to Europe, China and worldwide within the next year.

As a result, the cost to society – and the economy — will be enormous. In addition, there will be a corresponding increase in accidents, sick time, hospital admissions and absenteeism as well as a dramatic decrease in global productivity.

Specialized Prescription Drug Rehab Treatment Is Necessary

Most drug rehabs today have seen the rise in prescription drug abuse. Many clients present with complex issues and multiple addictions. They might be addicted to benzodiazepines such as Klonopin for their anxiety, sleeping pills for their insomnia, and opiates such as Vicodin or OxyContin for their chronic pain. These are dangerous combinations and require a carefully planned, medically monitored detox.  A good residential rehab program will have you examined by a physician and do an assessment. A nurse specializing in detox will be on-site to help you through the process.  The rehab can also make withdrawal more comfortable by using replacement medications for the detox period, such as Suboxone, which is used to help you detox from opiate-based pain medications.