Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drug abuse and addiction is one of the fastest growing forms of addiction in the world. Statistics show more and more drug rehab treatment admissions for prescription drugs as their primary substance of abuse, while the numbers reporting prescription drug abuse along with their primary drug of abuse is reaching epidemic proportions. This is a wide category covering painkillers, anti-depressants, and many of the numerous ‘medications’ being prescribed to handle emotional and physical pain. The black market for these substances is huge and these are available on many street corners and campuses. The side effects of these substances, even after cessation of use can be almost intolerable and contributes to escalating rates of violence and suicide, especially among our young.

There are various forms and methods of ingesting drugs and toxins. Orally, nasally, injecting, and smoking are a few of these. The effects from smoking drugs as opposed to orally ingesting them or nasally generally creates a more intense effect faster. This is one of the factors that make crack cocaine a tougher addiction to break than powder cocaine. Drugs like Oxycontin are often ground up and mixed with other drugs and smoked for faster more intense highs as well. Also many times the harder drugs like heroin are smoked under the misunderstanding that the risk of addiction is lower and this is definitely not true. Addiction is addiction, some methods of taking drugs will take you to addiction faster and with more devastating effects.

Abuse occurs when a drug, alcohol, or other substance is used to the detriment of the users health, family relations, finances, career, etc. The detriments may be slight at the beginning of abuse but generally escalates quite quickly into cravings (mental or physical) for the drug, alcohol, or substance. This is followed in short order by a marked rise in feeling of guilt and depression as the individual starts sacrificing quality of life for self and others in the more and more single-minded pursuit of the drugs and alcohol. Once abuse has set it the whole process of addiction picks up speed as does the damage done to health, families, career, etc. The sooner this dwindling spiral is halted and addressed with effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation the better.

Long term drug treatment is proving to be more and more effective in handling addiction and alcoholism for a lifetime. With the majority of rehab participants entering treatment with multiple drugs of abuse and addiction a long term drug treatment becomes more and more an important point in obtaining lifetime sobriety. There is also marked increase in potency of many of the drugs on the market these days to say nothing of the epidemic increase in the abuse of prescription drugs many of which have life threatening side effects. Treatment needs to be monitored not in terms of days spent in treatment but rather in terms of lasting results for a lifetime.

What goes into creating the best drug rehab possible? In putting together the Narconon Arrowhead program with success rates far and above the current norms we have isolated what we consider some key components. First is a full handling of cravings, guilt, and depression which are the three blocks to any addiction recovery and statistics show that without these three handled the individual has a much greater risk of relapse. Narconon technology handles each of these. Also important is a long term residential treatment facility where the individual is able to attack each of these points to a full resolution as opposed to have a couple of weeks or 28 days of clean time. A drug free environment is also essential. Substituting one drug or substance in hopes of handling another drug or substance makes no sense and is an endless downward spiral leading to more addiction. A drug free productive life should be the goal of anyone claiming to be the best drug rehab, not simply changing drugs.