Over four decades, an ‘inexorable’ epidemic of drug overdoses reveals its inner secrets

Americans have long construed drugs of abuse as choices. Poor choices that can cost users their lives, to be sure, but choices nonetheless.

But what if drugs of abuse are more like predators atop a nationwide ecosystem of potential prey? Or like shape-shifting viruses that seek defenseless people to infect? If public health experts could detect a recognizable pattern, perhaps they could find ways to immunize the uninfected, or protect those most vulnerable to the whims of predators’ appetites.

In a war against drugs that has yielded few victories and spawned plenty of unintended consequences, these are radical ideas. But a comprehensive new study of drug-overdose deaths aims to give researchers the data they need to discern previously unrecognized patterns in the widening epidemic of drug abuse — and, maybe, to devise policies that really work.

The new research makes clear that over close to four decades, the collective toll of drugs on Americans has followed an upward trajectory that looks less like a steady rise and more like the chain reaction that builds to a nuclear explosion.

The drugs that exact this toll have changed: Methamphetamine, cocaine, prescription narcotics and heroin have all dominated the killing fields of American drug use at some particular time and place.

Put those disparate trend lines together, though, and the curve representing fatal overdoses grows sharply steeper between 1979 and 2016. The death toll from drugs has doubled every eight years, according to the report published Thursday in the journal Science.

“Inexorable,” Dr. Donald Burke, the study’s senior author, called the trend. And frightening, too, since it appears that drug overdose deaths will continue unabated.

From the LATimes.com. Read the complete article here.

Nearly half of Americans have a family member or close friend who’s been addicted to drugs

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Bring your Pet to Rehab

The idea of leaving your pet behind to find treatment. can seem difficult to entertain But what if you didn’t have to? Animal ownership provides immeasurable therapeutic value to addiction recovery patients.

Your pet is your loving and trusted companion who will love you unconditionally if you love them. When you feel despondent and without hope, your pet will be there to keep you going. When you feel a sense of rejection from everyone else, your pet will be steadfast in its loyalty and will show no dilution in its love for you.

When you are struggling with addiction, you may have tough time trying to fit in social settings and prefer to be alone. This is the time when the unconditional love of your pet will be your best bet to get you through that difficult phase. Extensive research studies have shown how pets have a salubrious effect on our body, mind, and soul.

Companionship with your pet can help you get through periods of anxiety, stress, and depression. These are typical concerns that individuals in their early stages of recovery are faced with. It is hard to be angry or dejected when you have pet is affectionately wagging its tail and licking your face. Even for life threatening illnesses such as heart disease, medical experts often recommend the patients to keep the company of their pet, which could help them recuperate well and improve their physical and mental state of being.

How a Pet Friendly Rehab Facility Can Help?

The decision to get your admitted to a rehab facility can be psychologically and emotionally draining. Several types of roadblocks may deter you from seeking this courageous path to try and get rid of your struggling situation and find an opportunity to re-start a healthy and sober life. A rehab center that is 100% pet friendly, and is ready to extend a warm welcome to you and your pet, can make your decision and your process to enter rehab much easier.

Orange County Pet Friendly Drug Rehab

Addiction Treatment for Couples

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‘Sober September’ is here

People who indulged this summer or are just looking for a fresh start this month are putting away the booze and joining sober September. The 30-day challenge is a month-long hiatus from drinking, where the rosé and Coronas of summer are replaced with sparkling water and other non-alcoholic beverages.

Sober September joins its counterpart, dry January, in offering a chance to get back on track with health at a time of new beginnings. In January, it is the start of the new year, while September marks the start of the school year and a return to routines and schedules after the lazy days of summer.

“These months are good and healthy to do, if not only for the reason that they bring back into the forefront of our consciousness how we consume alcohol and force us to take stock of this,” said ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who completed dry January this year. “What I found personally is that it was incredibly easy to go dry for a month.”

She added, “If people do not find it easy, it can be an indication that there may be a dependence or overuse or abuse problem.”

The current U.S. dietary guidelines defines moderate drinking as up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men.

Nearly 30 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the past month, according to the most recent data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What can taking a month off of alcohol do for your body?

Dr. Mariam Alam, a former resident in ABC News’ medical unit, analyzed the research to see if a month of no booze for a limited amount of time produces any results.

What can no-booze do for you?
There has been limited research on how quitting alcohol for a month affects your body, but a few studies have shown psychological and health benefits.

Most of the studies have focused on Dry January, which was started by a British organization, Alcohol Concern.

In 2013, 14 staff members at the magazine New Scientist teamed up with researchers at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the University College London Medical School to investigate the benefits of Dry January.

The staff members, who all considered themselves “normal” drinkers, underwent baseline testing with blood samples, liver ultrasound scans and questionnaires. For the next five weeks, 10 of them stopped drinking and four drank their normal amounts.

Read the complete article at GMA

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‘It Starts With Mindset’: What Portugal’s Drug Policy Experts Taught Me About Addiction Treatment

“Change the mindset.” Goulao recognized early in the drug reform battle that society’s perception about drugs and people who use them needed to change. Everyday Portuguese people were dying, and they demanded change. People in positions of power needed education: policymakers, judges, prosecutors, doctors, etc. Not unlike this country. We all have gaps in our knowledge. I’m no different: I knew very little about addiction (and absolutely nothing about harm reduction) after medical training. My “mindset” changed when I learned that addiction is a chronic medical disease of the brain, and that most people with addiction–once connected to the appropriate treatment and care–GET BETTER.

In “How to Win a War on Drugs,” published in the NY Times September 2017, Nicholas Kristof describes the impact of Portugal’s decriminalization. Heroin is still illegal, just like it is in the U.S. and Canada. However, unlike in North America, a person possessing and using heroin in Portugal will not be arrested and incarcerated. Individuals possessing a 10-day supply or less of an illicit drug–a threshold set by the government–are referred to the Dissuasion Commission. “Setting a threshold reduces discretionary power from the police officer,” points out Dr. Goulao, now the General Director of the Service for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD). Dealers and traffickers still face legal and criminal consequences.

Lifesaving medications need to be widely available. Methadone is highly effective at reducing cravings for opioids like heroin (and was persistently advocated by addiction leader, Dr. Newman). In Lisbon, methadone is distributed in vans (it can also be given as take-home doses, described later). Psychologist Hugo Faria coordinates one of two Low Threshold Mobile Units which not only administer lifesaving methadone, but also provide a wide range of services: blood testing (TB, HIV, syphilis, etc.), syringe exchange, condoms, other medications (e.g. antibiotics) and education. Luis, who last used heroin 8 years ago, says “the van changed my life. I would be dead without it.”

Read the complete article at Forbes.com here .. 

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