Addictions Treatment Blog

From Coalitions Online - "After a decade of consistent declines in teen drug abuse, a new national study released this week found marked upswings in the use of various drugs, such as alcohol, marijuana and Ecstasy. The 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) was released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the MetLife Foundation.

According to this year’s PATS, the number of teens in grades 9-12 that used alcohol in the past month has grown by 11 percent, (from 35 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2009), past year Ecstasy use shows a 67 percent increase (from 6 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2009) and past year marijuana use shows a 19 percent increase (from 32 percent in 2008 to 38 percent in 2009). The PATS data mark a reverse in the remarkable, sustained declines in several drugs of abuse among teens: methamphetamine (meth) was down by over 60 percent and past month alcohol and marijuana use had decreased a full 30 percent over the past decade from 1998-2008."

One question I have is whether or not the surveys were accurate in previous years - how could they suddenly shift after so many years of steady decline? Was there some major influence in the past year that changed the attitudes and drug usage of this many teens in America? Regardless of how, it does seem to indicate that drug use is going up and not down - we predicted this on more than one occasion in recent years to be the case. On a policy level, it is time to divert as many funds away from methadone programs and private prisons and get that money spent on effective long-term drug rehabs and addiction treatment centers. Factor in the above statistics with the massive increase in prescription drug addiction and we have a major problem on our hands that people need to wake up to - whether it's your family member, someone on the road, or even a stranger that you're having to pay for with your tax money - it has to be handled by rehabs that can prove they work. We can help you find treatment centers like that.

With all of the hoopla over health care reform in our country and the great debates (arguments) over what should change and how much it costs has overlooked a very important connection between wasteful government spending and drugs. Not only is Medicaid paying out enormous sums of money for prescription drugs that are often unnecessary, but it also pays for addiction treatment programs (which it should, with limitations).

We could free up billions of dollars in revenue for our country by 1.) Minimizing the amounts and types of prescriptions Medicaid pays for (such as antidepressants, methadone, anti-anxiety drugs and antipsychotics); 2.) Giving those who abuse prescriptions or street drugs no more than 3 opportunities to get clean and sober in order to receive Medicaid benefits. If Medicaid paid a little more money for some addiction treatment centers that have highter success rates instead of those facilities that tell addicts they are hopelessly diseased for life then the chances of this happening increase dramatically.

The idea behind Medicaid is a good thing because its intention is to help people, but instead it has turned into more of a socialist system of having productive citizens pay for unproductive ones to do nothing. Not to say that everyone on Medicaid is not trying hard, but there is a very large percentage of are not and those that are working to get off of Medicaid are in the minority. If you don't believe me then go hang out a medical facility somewhere (treatment center, dentis, doctor's office, methadone clinic, etc.) that accepts Medicaid and see for yourself.

By stiffening up the criteria to receive public funding through Federal aid then we can get more people to work harder and produce more for our country and themselves and we can also free up more money in our Federal budget to put into programs that have a stronger positive effect on our nation and what's leftover will only go to those who truly need and deserve the help.

According to the latest Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, which reports drug abuse statistics among teens, most prescription drug addiction remained fairly steady in 2009 with the exception of Adderall and Oxycontin.

It would appear, though, that another prescription drug may be taking its place. Adderall, another stimulant used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), was included in the survey for the first time this year; in 2009 it shows annual prevalence rates of use outside of medical supervision of 2 percent, 6 percent, and 5 percent in grades 8, 10, and 12, respectively.

The picture for OxyContin is a little less clear. At all three grades, OxyContin use is higher today than it was when its use was first measured in 2002, although only 10th grade showed an increase in 2009 (+0.9 percentage points, not significant). The annual prevalence rates are now 2 percent, 5 percent, and 5 percent, respectively for OxyContin at the three grade levels. Whether this one-year increase at 10th grade is real, or simply a sampling artifact, will have to wait another year to be resolved. But the main point is that these two dangerous and highly addictive narcotic drugs remain at high levels of use among American teens.

The new trend in drug rehab and treatment services is pushing for results-based treatment, however, this is more than a trend and will eventually become the norm among rehabilitation services. Advocacy groups such as The New Face of Recovery and other programs that promote drug-free treatment are working to get doctors and government officials to see that the mainstream methods of the past that involved incurable disease diagnoses and replacement drug theapies have not worked and that patients are tired of the lack of success.

It's time for one and all to stand up against the system and demand what is right - addiction treatment centers that actually work instead of making excuses why they don't. Join the cause or contact us today to find out a drug rehab program that is based on results. Call 1-877-372-5719.

Several days before one of Tiger Woods' alleged mistresses reportedly claimed they had sex on Ambien, we could tell from the signs and symptoms that his accident was probably caused by the drug. There was also a police report stating that a neighbor said he was snoring on the ground after being pulled from the vehicle.

Not that any of the speculation has been confirmed, but it is likely that Ambien did cause the crash and if a toxicology report is ever released from the hospital then that will probably be the only way to knwo for sure. Ambien, and other commonly abused hypnotic drugs, are a serious problem in this country. Find out more about Ambien addiction if you know someone who needs help for abusing this dangerous drug.