Category Archives: Drug Dependency

CHICAGO - Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines. "The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data. In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 per cent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics. The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs which include OxyContin and Vicodin were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths. Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs. They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said. … Continue reading →

By LINDSEY TANNER , Associated Press "The Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines. "The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data. In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics. The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs which include OxyContin and Vicodin were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths. Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs. They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can … Continue reading →

CHICAGO (AP) -- Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines. "The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data. In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics. The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs which include OxyContin and Vicodin were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths. Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs. They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said. … Continue reading →

HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) Mindy McCready threatened suicide after losing custody of her sons earlier this month, yet she was allowed to leave a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program just days before she apparently killed herself at her Arkansas home, her ex-boyfriend said Monday. Billy McKnight, who was in a long, stormy relationship with McCready and is the father of her oldest child, Zander, said the 37-year-old mother of two stayed in the substance abuse treatment center for about 18 hours before she was allowed to walk free. McCready died Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, a vacation community about 65 miles north of Little Rock. She was found dead on the front porch, where her longtime boyfriend, musician David Wilson, died last month of a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities are investigating both deaths as suicides but haven't determined an official cause of death. McKnight told The Associated Press during a phone interview from Tampa, Fla., that McCready and Wilson, the father of her youngest son, were recently engaged. He wondered how she was allowed to go free, given all the turmoil in her life. "That was a big mistake on the part of whoever released her," McKnight … Continue reading →

The call for better mental health services may never have been more clear. Anytime our homelessness problem is discussed, its clear that population is underserved in diagnosis and treatment. Police too often spend resources responding to calls spurred by residents who would be far better served by a health professional. And, stepping outside our borders but with an issue that hits home, every public shootings seems to bring both sides of the gun control argument agree on one thing: better identification and treatment of mental health problems would offer some help. Dependency on alcohol or drugs is different, of course, but perhaps no less important. In a similar way, those struggling with addiction have their problems often burden public services like emergency medical care and law enforcement, when treatment of root causes would be far more beneficial for the community. That explanation of the cost for those problems may sound straightforward, but finding an answer is not. Readers touched by mental health issues or drug dependency know how complex problems can become in a persons life, and the ripple effect they have through a family, network of friends, an economy or the fabric of a community. The countywide sales tax … Continue reading →

Originally published February 15, 2013 at 4:32 PM | Page modified February 15, 2013 at 4:32 PM DURING the great welfare-reform debate of 1996, Republican leadership in Congress sought mandatory drug testing for recipients as a controversial but core plank of their plan to give each state flexibility to design its own path from welfare to work. They lost that battle, but won their larger goal ending welfare as an entitlement when President Clinton signed the landmark legislation. Since then, the welfare rolls in Washington plunged 45 percent from an average monthly caseload of 99,376 in 1996 to 54,427 in 2012. Those families used the get-to-work resources of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families education, job-hunting aid, child care, chemical-dependency treatment as a springboard, we hope, to a better life. While some bad ideas of the 1990s have mercifully died think high-waisted, acid-washed jeans a handful of Republicans in Olympia are trying to revive former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Doles misguided idea. The notion that the parents poor enough to need welfare must be sitting around doing drugs all day is offensive. Currently, welfare recipients undergo a comprehensive assessment to determine the biggest obstacles to steady work. If it is … Continue reading →

Butte-Silver Bow will no longer run its own chemical dependency programs after a recent budget analysis showed more than $1 million in losses since 2005. The county instead plans to transition those programs including drug and alcohol treatment, tobacco prevention and assessment classes to other providers in thecommunity. Chief Executive Matt Vincent announced the decision Friday, saying local government is in the wrong business administering chemical dependency services out of the health department. Vincent hopes to make the transition by the next fiscal year, which begins officially in July, and until then he assured there will be no break in programs or changes in staffing. None of these patients will be abandoned, and the personnel will remain the same through this transition period, Vincent said. County officials will work with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services Chemical Dependency Bureau on preparing a request for information to identify which providers are best suited for the job. Vincent cannot guarantee the new provider will retain any of the programs seven employees, but said the countys control in the selection process does provide some leverage. From this point forward, well be relying on the employees to work through this transition … Continue reading →

Governor Bobby Jindal unveiled several reforms he will pursue during the upcoming legislative session that will help Louisiana's at-risk youth and reduce recidivism rates for juveniles and non-violent drug offenders. The juvenile justice reforms include streamlining the system of care for youth currently in the juvenile justice system and also strengthening programs to help at-risk youth on the front-end so they do not end up in the juvenile justice system. The sentencing reform proposals include moving to more effective community-based alternatives to incarceration - under the supervision of the Department of Corrections - as a way to treat non-violent, non-sex, and non-habitual drug offenders. On juvenile justice reform, Governor Jindal said, "With these reforms, we can help at-risk youth on the front-end so that they can avoid a future of incarceration and instead become productive members of society. Providing our children with community-based support before they fall through the cracks will go a long way toward strengthening our communities and keeping our kids out of trouble." On sentencing reform, Governor Jindal said, "Studies and practices in other states have shown that substance abuse treatment instead of incarceration is a more effective treatment for non-violent, non-sex, non-habitual drug offenders. By enacting … Continue reading →

Nollie Robinson Program Director/ CEO A Road to Recovery Treatment center Nollie Robinson Program Director/ CEO A Road to Recovery Treatment center. A road to recovery is uniquely able to address your individual needs, At A Road to Recovery, A Florida Drug Treatment and Alcohol Treatment Center located in Port St. Lucie, FL, we believe in an individualized approach to treating and helping our clients to recover from the diseases of drug addiction and alcohol addiction. It takes courage, guidance and structure to become clean and sober. We offer daily, personal attention in a relaxed, nurturing environment to help you address underlying problems, life issues, clear through the wreckage of the past and build the foundation for a new life in recovery. This approach prepares our clients for long-term success in sober living, allowing our program to excel where others may have failed. Getting clean and sober is only the beginning. We can show you that Affordable Drug Rehab and Alcohol Rehab in FLoridaenjoying life, having fun, getting help and building a life you love in sobriety is possible and is just as close as phone call away. As a rehab in Florida, we are approved and licensed by The … Continue reading →

WHITNEY HOUSTONS DRUG DEALER SPEAKS HOUSTONS SNORTED THREE OUNCES A WEEK Legendary singer Whitney Houston died from a heart attack induced by excessive cocaine use and heart disease today (February 11, 2012) Whitney Houston sold over 200 million albums in her lifetime, based off of six albums, a holiday album and three movie soundtracks. Houston was found dead in her room in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, after accidentally drowning in her bathtub, just before the 2012 Grammy Awards. In the weeks, leading up to the anniversary of her death, Whitney Houston's mother Sissy has been making the rounds in the media. Cissy Houston's promoting her new memoir "Remembering Whitney." Sissy Houston, 79, discusses her daughter's severe drug dependency problem in the book. "She started partying and she didn't really know how to stop," Cissy Houston said Whitney. "I used to wonder what she was doing at night, where she was." raresoul.com By: raresoulcom … Continue reading →