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Increased dental disease was one of the most common health conditions among methamphetamine abusers, found in 41 percent. Methamphetamine abusers also had more teeth missing than nonusers (average 5 versus 2). People who injected methamphetamine were twice as likely to have missing teeth as smokers of the drug. Their higher rates likely reflect more severe addiction and accompanying neglect of self-care.
Read more on how Methamphetamine Abuse Undermines Dental Health
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]]>National Take-Back Initiative
October 26, 2013 – 10AM to 2PM
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
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]]>By The Christian Science Monitor
Tuesday, October 8, 2013 7:02 EDT
A new study shows that deaths from prescription drug overdoses have quadrupled during the past decade, suggesting that a stronger response is needed.
Deaths involving prescription pills have quadrupled between 1999 and 2010, according to a report released Monday by Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit organization in Washington that studies health policy. About 6.1 million people abuse prescription pills, and overdose deaths have at least doubled in 29 states, where they now exceed vehicle-related deaths. In 10 of those states, rates tripled; in four of them, they quadrupled.
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The Pasadena Recovery Center announced on October 1st that they are teaming up with actress Mackenzie Phillips to help educate the public about addiction and recovery. Phillips, an outspoken voice in the community, will be joining Pasadena Recovery Center as the new Recovery and Treatment Advocate. She will be involved in community relations, educational outreach and will host a weekly group meeting. As an alumni of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, she became familiar with the center during filming of the hit reality television series.
“As an addict/alcoholic in recovery, I’m so passionate about helping others find a new way to live,” said Mackenzie Phillips. “Teaming up with Pasadena Recovery Center is an opportunity to do just that. We are in the grip of an epidemic, but there is a solution!”
“I’m very excited about teaming up with Mackenzie Phillips. She brings a lot of enthusiasm and is a welcome addition to the Pasadena Recovery Center Team,” said Michael Bloom co-founder of Pasadena Recovery Center.
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]]>Overcoming Memories That Trigger Cocaine Relapse
The research reveals that stimulation of certain brain receptors promotes inhibition of cocaine-associated memories, helping addicts to stop drug use. This inhibition is achieved through enhancing a process called “extinction learning,” in which cocaine-associated memories are replaced with associations that have no drug “reward.” This reduces drug-seeking behavior in rats.
Check out this helpful website for more on this and many other topics…
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]]>Teen Intervention Help: Do you think — or know — that your child is using drugs or alcohol?
Even if you believe your teen is just “experimenting” it’s important to take action right away.
Casual drug use can quickly turn into drug abuse, dependence or addiction and can lead to accidents, legal trouble and serious health issues.
If you are at all concerned about your child – or even just have a bad feeling – you can and should intervene by:
- Setting tighter limits with clear consequences
- Getting outside help and support if necessary
- Having productive conversations with your child — remain calm, share your concerns and listen.
- Closely monitoring your child’s behavior and activities
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In 2011 there were approximately 1.24 million emergency department visits related to the nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals, which include prescription and over-the-counter medications as well as supplements.
A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that some drug-related emergency department visits increased by 300 percent — from 5,605 visits in 2005 to 22,949 visits in 2011. These visits, made by adults aged 18 to 34, were related to the nonmedical use of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants. On average, about 30 percent of these visits also involved alcohol.
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Even though anabolic steroids do not cause the same high as other drugs, steroids are reinforcing and can lead to addiction. Studies have shown that animals will self-administer steroids when given the opportunity, just as they do with other addictive drugs. People may persist in abusing steroids despite physical problems and negative effects on social relationships, reflecting these drugs’ addictive potential. Also, steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drug—another indication of addiction.
Individuals who abuse steroids can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them—including mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, and steroid cravings, all of which may contribute to continued abuse. One of the most dangerous withdrawal symptoms is depression—when persistent, it can sometimes lead to suicide attempts. Research has found that some steroid abusers turn to other drugs such as opioids to counteract the negative effects of steroids.
Performance Enhancing Drug Effects
The use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly popular as athletes compete for scholarships, medals, money and coveted spots on professional teams, report Mayo Clinic doctors. Drugs that are used by both male and female athletes to give them an edge over their competition include anabolic-androgenic steroids, diuretics, stimulants and creatine. Each drug, whether natural or man-made, comes with its own set of side effects. While they do reap some of the desired benefits, most physicians and sports trainers report that the dangerous performance-enhancing drug effects outweigh any short-term benefits.
The bottom line
Do performance-enhancing drugs boost performance? Some athletes may appear to achieve physical gains from such drugs, but at what cost? The long-term effects of performance-enhancing drugs haven’t been rigorously studied. And short-term benefits are tempered by many risks. Not to mention that doping is prohibited by most sports organizations. No matter how you look at it, using performance-enhancing drugs is risky business.
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A lack of effective medications to treat cocaine addiction means that the current best hope for recovery is behavioral therapy, in which people learn to ignore the cues that trigger their drug craving and to establish new habits that provide healthy rewards. New research by Dr. Michael A. Nader, Dr. Robert W. Gould, and colleagues at Wake Forest School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, suggests that the brain’s capacity for this type of learning is compromised during the initial days and weeks of cocaine abstinence, but may return to normal thereafter.
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Are Pills In Your Medicine Cabinet a Gateway Drug to Heroin?
By Jeremy Martinez, MD
Opiate use has been escalating among young people.[i] Pills in your own medicine cabinet may be the Gateway to Heroin, and I will explain how.
High school students are among those who have begun to experiment with Vicodin, Percocet, Norco, and other strong pain-killers.
Prescription pills can appear innocuous to many. These pills have been given by a doctor, which makes a person feel that they are safe. These pills are also made by a professional manufacturer, and may appear safer than street drugs.
The problems with opiate addiction begin with regular use of these drugs. Tolerance to opiates begins after daily use over an extended period of time. A person’s body changes with regular opiate use, and this causes withdrawal when the drug is stopped.[ii]
Stopping the pain-killers leads to runny nose, nausea and vomiting, severe muscle pain, and diarrhea. Opiate addicts commonly refer to this as getting “sick,” and may feel like a bad flu. Withdrawal can also cause muscle twitching, or “kicking,” that can occur in the arms or legs.
Opiate addicts are afraid of becoming “sick,” which can be extremely painful, and leads to the regular, daily use of stronger and stronger opiates to stay “well.” Many who are addicted to these drugs will tell you that they are just trying to stay “well.” At some point they are no longer trying to get “high.”
Using pain-killers regularly can lead to a rapid tolerance. Using Vicodin or Percocet will turn into Roxicet or OxyContin, which can be more than 100 times stronger[iii] than Vicodin. OxyContin is often sold illicitly, or “on the street” for up to $80 per pill.[iv] You can imagine how expensive this becomes!
The pricey OxyContin (also called “OC’s” or “OP’s”) will often become difficult to get, and heroin provides a cheaper option to “stay well.” People are often introduced to heroin by smoking it. Smoking heroin does not have the stigma or “scariness” of injecting the drug IV. For a high school student who has smoked marijuana, it might not be as scary to try smoking heroin.
Smoked heroin has only 1/4 to 1/2 the potency of IV heroin.[v] Once again, the addict begins to spend so much money smoking the heroin, that injecting heroin begins to look like an attractive option. The addict desperately needs some form of opiate to avoid “the kick.”
This is how the pain pills in your medicine cabinet may ultimately lead to a young person’s addiction to heroin. Not every young person that takes a Vicodin becomes an opiate addict. The danger of addiction arises from regular, daily use of these drugs.
What can be done to prevent this from happening?
There are simple steps that you can take today to prevent your pain medications from leading to another person’s life-long addiction…
First, if you take painkillers such as Vicodin, or the other pills mentioned here, it is important to keep these in a locked container. Locking pill containers are available at most drug stores.
Second, it is also critical that you never give your pain medications to another person. If they are prescribed to you, you are the only one who should take them.
And lastly, if you have pain medications that you are no longer taking, these should be destroyed. The FDA actually recommends that opiates be flushed down the toilet because of the high risk of abuse by others (http://1.usa.gov/1dQ1EIx)
If you have concerns about opiate addiction for yourself or a loved one, talk to your doctor about the treatment options available.
Jeremy Martinez, MD is an Addiction Psychiatrist who works at Pasadena Recovery Center and The Solstice Clinic in Los Angeles, CA.
[i] Hall AJ, Logan JE, Toblin RL, Kaplan JA, Kraner JC, Bixler D, Crosby AE, Paulozzi LJ. Patterns of abuse among unintentional pharmaceutical overdose fatalities. JAMA. 2008 Dec 10;300(22):2613-20.
[ii] Ouyang H, Liu S, Zeng W, Levitt RC, Candiotti KA, Hao S., An emerging new paradigm in opioid withdrawal: a critical role for glia-neuron signaling in the periaqueductal gray., ScientificWorldJournal. 2012;2012:940613
[iii] Ordóñez Gallego A, González Barón M, Espinosa Arranz E., Oxycodone: a pharmacological and clinical review., Clin Transl Oncol. 2007 May;9(5):298-307.
[iv] Kavilanz, Parija. Prescription drugs worth millions to dealers, CNNMoney, 2011 June
[v] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Division of Pharmacologic Therapies. Medication-Assisted Treatment for Substance Use Disorders. 42 CFR Part 8 Opioid Drugs in Maintenance and Detoxification. Treatment of Opiate Addiction; Final Rule. Published January 17, 2001.
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