Methamphetamine Addiction
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The number of persons who used methamphetamine for the first time in the prior 12 months did not differ significantly between 2002 (299,000 persons) and 2004 (318,000 persons) but did decrease significantly between 2004 and 2005. In 2004, an estimated 318,000 persons aged 12 or older first tried methamphetamine in the year prior to the survey compared with 192,000 persons in 2005.

Combined data from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 to 2005 were used to examine demographic differences in methamphetamine use. Persons in large metropolitan areas (0.5%) were less likely to have used methamphetamine in the past year than those in small metropolitan areas (0.7%) and in non-metropolitan areas (0.8%).

Higher rates of past year methamphetamine use were found in the West (1.2%) than in the Midwest (0.5%), South (0.5%) and Northeast (0.1%) for the total population aged 12 or older.

With more states passing laws restricting the sale of over-the-counter drugs containing pseudophedrine and other ephedrine-based products (used to make methamphetamine), there has been an increase in the availability of crystal meth, also known as "ice."

 

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Prescription Painkiller Addiction
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National Surveys on Drug Use and Health indicate that the nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers (analgesics) among persons aged 12 or older did not differ significantly among the years between 2002 and 2005. The number of persons who used prescription pain relievers nonmedically for the first time in the past year of the survey also did not differ significantly - - with 2.3 million persons initiating use in 2002, 2.4 million in 2003, 2.4 million in 2004 and 2.2 million in 2005.

Combined data from 2002 to 2005 were used to examine the patterns of nonmedical prescription pain reliever use in general and the nonmedical use specifically of oxycodone and hydrocodone products. Oxycodone products include Percocet®, Percodan®, Tylox®, OxyContin®, and other pain relievers containing oxycodone that respondents specified that they used nonmedically. Hydrocodone products include Vicodin®, Lortab®, Lorcet®/LorcetPlus®, generic hydrocodone, and other pain relievers containing hydrocodone that respondents specified.

An annual average of 4.8% of persons aged 12 or older (11.4 million persons) used a prescription pain reliever nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Of the persons aged 12 or older who first used pain relievers nonmedically in the past year, 57.7% used hydrocodone products and 21.7% used oxycodone products.

Additionally, there has been an increase in recent years in the number of people being prescribed methadone for chronic pain relief. Methadone is one of the most addictive and deadly prescription drugs available. It is also one of the most difficult painkillers to withdraw from, as the lingering effects of methadone can remain for months causing joint aches and soreness as well as delayed sleeplessness.

 

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Marijuana Addiction
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Contrary to some popular belief, marijuana can be addictive and does have a very definite set of dependency and withdrawal characteristics. It is the most widely used illicit drug in the nation, and its use is somtimes promoted in certain pop sub-cultures.

Based on SAMHSA's 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.8% (1.7 million) youth aged 12 to 17 used marijuana in the past month and 3.5% (891,000) smoked "blunts" (cigars with marijuana in them) in the past month.

In 2005, about half (52%) of past month marijuana users aged 12 to 17 also used blunts in the past month with males more likely than females to have smoked blunts (55.6% vs. 47.5%).

Among past month marijuana using youths, rates of smoking blunts in the past month were highest in the Northeast (62.5%) and the South (54.4%) than in the Midwest (48.3%) and West (43.1%).

The criminal justice system was the principal source of referral in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for substance abuse treatment admissions reporting marijuana as their primary substance of abuse. The proportion of criminal justice referred treatment admissions increased from 48% of all marijuana admissions in 1992 to 58% of all marijuana admissions in 2002.

 

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Heroin Addiction
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Based on theTreatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), annual admissions to substance abuse treatment for primary heroin abuse increased from 228,000 in 1995 to 254,000 in 2005. However, the proportion of primary heroin admissions remained steady at about 14% to 15% of all substance abuse treatment admissions.

The proportion of primary heroin admissions who injected heroin declined from 69% in 1995 to 63% in 2005. The proportion who inhaled heroin increased from 27% among the primary heroin admissions in 1995 to 33% in 2005.

In 2003, there were 237,000 substance abuse treatment admissions for injection drug use (13% of all admissions reported to the Treatment Episode Data Set [TEDS]). Opiates (primarily heroin)accounted for 77% of admissions for injection drug use.

Often times many heroin addicts and their family members fall into the additional trap of drug replacement therapy, such as methadone. What the doctors and clinics don't tell them is that approximately 3,000 people each year die from methadone overdoses now days. New drugs such as brand name buprenorphine is now being pushed as a form of replacement therapy as well, but the same result occurs - the person is still addicted to another drug.

While medication may help in the initial withdrawal stage, any long-term drug replacement is still dangerous and addictive. The best overall results come from drug-free rehabilitation methods.

 

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Cocaine and Crack Addiction
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Based on the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), admission rates for primary cocaine treatment decreased nationally by 24% between 1992 and 2002 from133 admissions to 101 admissions per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older.

The number of States with cocaine treatment admission rates of 139 or more per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older decreased from 15 States in 1992 to nine States in 2002.

Between 1992 and 2002, cocaine treatment admissions decreased by 60% or more in five States (Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Idaho) and increased 100% or more in four States (Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin).

Inhaling cocaine was the predominant route of cocaine administration for much of the 20th century. In the early 1980s, a potent smokeable form of cocaine known as "crack" was developed.

In 1995, 63% of primary smoked cocaine (crack) were younger than age 35. By 2005, only 32% of primary crack admissions were in this age group.

The proportion of both inhaled and smoked cocaine (crack) admissions who were employed full time decreased between 1995 and 2005.

 

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Benzodiazepine Drug Addiction

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Benzodiazepines (Benzos) are one of the most commonly abused and addictive prescription drugs. Benzodiazepines are a class of central nervous system depressant drugs commonly prescribed for short-term treatment of anxiety or insomnia. Proprietary names for drugs in this group include Valium, Xanax, Librium, and Halcion.According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), nearly 1.3 million emergency department (ED) visits in 2004 were associated with drug misuse/abuse. Nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals was involved in nearly 500,000 of these ED visits.

Benzodiazepines were present in more than 100,000 emergency department visits associated with nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals. Benzodiazepines include alprazolam and clonazepam.

From 1995 to 2002, drug abuse related emergency department visits involving benzodiazepines increased 41%.

Nearly half of the drug abuse related emergency department visits involving benzodiazepines were the result of suicide attempts.

Suicide related visits involving benzodiazepines have been stable since 1995, but visits attributed to drug dependence and drug taking for psychic effects have been increasing.

Of the 23,000 admissions in SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) that involved benzodiazepines, only 19 percent were for primary benzodiazepine use; 81 percent were reported as secondary to the use of alcohol or another drug.

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Ecstasy Addiction
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According to SAMHSA's 2003 National Survey on Drug Use & Health, about 2.1 million persons aged 12 or older (0.9%) reported using Ecstasy at least once in the past year.

Almost all (97.5%) of the persons age 12 or older who used Ecstasy in the past year also reported past year use of alcohol compared with 65.2% of those who had not used Ecstasy in the past year.

Over 90% of past year Ecstasy users reported also using other types of illicit drugs in the past year compared with 13.8% of the those who did not use Ecstasy in the past year.

About 22.8% of the past year Ecstasy users used one other illicit drug, 50.3% used two to four other illicit drugs, and 17.9% used five or more illicit drugs during the past year.

Recent female hallucinogen initiates were more likely than recent male hallucinogen initiates to have used Ecstasy (49.5% vs. 37.7%).

 

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Drug Treatment Methods
Not sure where to go for drug addiction rehab advice?
There are millions of pages on the Internet about drug addiction and rehabilitation centers. A quick search feels like this picture with all the different directions. How do you know which drug rehab works? How do you know what type of addiction treatment is the most successful? Where do you find these programs?

Did you know there are more than 13,000 drug rehabs in the country? Most of the 2 million people who go through drug treatment every year only attend outpatient programs, and most of them don't stay clean and sober. A general rule of thumb can be that inpatient drug rehab is more successful for most people thatn outpatient, and 90 days inpatient should be more successful than 30 days. This is not an absolute rule though, because someone who is really determined to stop using with good support and the right program can have success in a shorter-term facility or on an outpatient basis. It should, however, be applied in most cases.

Many times state governments and insurance companies will try to get someone to try outpatient or short term inpatient first. This isn't because they think it will work, it's because they don't want to pay for longer term residential treatment. The 28 or 30 day program wasn't developed because people are magically cured in a month, but even if some can be, what about the rest?

Okay, so we know that, generally speaking, a residential program that is long term (90 days or more) is a good starting point, but what is it they do for 3 months or longer?

There is only so much that can be done with talking. Something has to be done about it. An addict can sit in a circle or talk to a counselor until they're blue in the face, but talking isn't going to fix everything. There has to be some application to fix the individual and the remaining components of life. Somebody can't just say "I'm sorry" to his wife for losing their house because of smoking crack - he would have to do something to make up for that. You also can't expect that your mind and body are going to be sharp and healthy again without some tuning up - and by tuning up we're not talking about finding some medications to alter your performance. Drug replacement therapy of any kind is damaging and counteracts rehabilitation.

A program that addresses the biophysical aspects of addiction as well as the mental and emotional components in a drug-free manner will ultimately provide the best long term results.

Contact us to find a successful long term inpatient drug addiction rehab program. Fill out the form above right or call 1-877-212-2070.

 

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Drug Rehab Success Rates

How is it determined if a program is successful?

Looking at Google Adwords ads, you can see that there is competition among drug rehab programs to tout who has the best success rates. The truth is, these published success rates are relative. What one group deems a success is different for another. Some people count their success based on the reduction in overall drug use, so even if someone uses drugs twice per week instead of every day they would still call that success. Other programs get it right and measure whether or not someone is using drugs at all. That is a true success rate. However, some may stop counting when the person leaves the program, or within the first few months after completion. The longer they measure that success and drug-free state, the better. Additionally, it should be noted that retention rate is a factor. Retention rate is the number of people who enroll in the program vs. the percentage who actually complete it. Generally, a retention rate above 50% is better than average. The best retention rate for long term residential programs participating in the national Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (SAMSHA) was 65%.

Contact us to find a successful long term inpatient drug addiction rehab program. Fill out the form above right or call 1-877-212-2070.

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What is Drug Addiction?
Don't let theory be mistaken as truth
For the past five decades certain individuals and groups have tried to convince us that drug addiction and alcoholism is an incurable brain disease. They're still trying. In fact, they're trying so hard that they're spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns in an attempt to sell us on the idea. The problem is that there has yet to be one study that can prove it and most Americans still know that people can and do permanently recover every day. Drug addiction is not a brain disease. Don't let your loved one fall into the black hole of no hope and believe that they will be doomed for the rest of their life. There is a way out, and it doesn't have to be complicated or take many years and several relapses.

The phrase 'relapse is a part of the recovery process' is not true, it's just something that has been observed because most programs don't offer workable solutions. The same is true for 'once an addict, always and addict."

The reality of the situation is that people often take drugs to relieve some unwanted physical or emotional pain or discomfort. Therefore it is possible to rehabilitate someone once their body and mind can be relieved of these discomforts and alternative solutions to problems in life can be found. A good drug rehab program will help someone address all aspects of life, not just their drug taking. In some cases, drug addiction treatment is very different than rehabilitation.

 

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