Counselors at Narconon often see college binge drinking as an early issue with alcoholics.  Alcohol abuse, beginning in college, can be the start of alcoholism for many people. What begins as a seemingly social activity can spiral into an isolated pattern of drinking alone, in excess, over years and even decades.  Addicts often have to relearn how to socialize without alcohol after years of abuse.

Survey data show notable drops in student binge drinking at several colleges and universities, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Feb. 16. For example:

• Alcohol-related violations dropped 3.7 percent at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. over two years.
• Between 2007 and 2009, “problem drinking” fell 12 percent at the University of Pittsburgh.
• The number of Purdue students who engaged in binge drinking sank from 48 percent in 2006 to 37.3 percent in 2009.
• Frostburg State University in Maryland saw binge drinking plummet 27% over the past decade.

Prevention advocates say the drop in risky drinking is no accident. Students and administrators are making concerted efforts to provide students with fun, late-night activities that are alcohol-free – and offered regularly.

What could possibly compete with a beer keg? The Wall Street Journal lists a dizzying array of activities, including alcohol-free tailgate parties, carnivals, movie showings, simulated sumo wrestling, bowling, arcade games, and contests.

http://www.jointogether.org/blog/posts/2011/activities-key-to-cutting.html

Narconon sees these significant drops in binge drinking as real progress in the effort to fight addiction.  Although these studies are fairly new, in time, other statistics will surely show increased GPAs and higher graduation rates for those schools offering more alcohol-free activities.

Narconon Drug Rehabilitation hopes to see less cases of alcoholism beginning with binge drinking as more schools adopt these practices.

Residents of treatment facilities will undoubtedly fall back into the correctional system and addiction related deaths will increase if the state reduces or eliminates residential treatment.  Although outpatient treatment helps some, many addicts require being removed from their environment and placed into a structured residential facility in order to initially get off drugs and alcohol. The state should redirect budget cuts or, at least, reduce the cuts to residential treatment. It costs taxpayers twice as much for an individual to be in the corrections system than in state funded treatment.

Even though the state of Maine has a rate of alcohol and drug addiction eight times higher than the rest of the nation, budget cuts there may soon force the closure of 10 out of 13 residential treatment centers, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported March 9.

Maine governor Paul Le Page is proposing to cut $5.6 million from the state’s substance abuse treatment programs. Most treatment providers say the cuts will be so deep that they will have to stop operating.

“It’s the classic pennywise-pound foolish, because we treat people at less than half the cost of the corrections community,” said Roger Prince of Serenity House, a substance abuse treatment program that is over 40 years old.

“So what do we want to do? Do we want to close this place down and send [our clients] back to jail or to the emergency room? It makes no sense to me,” he said.

According to a March 9 story in the Bangor Daily News, 40 percent of the Wellspring treatment program’s budget, or over $500,000, will vanish with the cuts. “There is no way I can make that up from other sources,” said Pat Kimball, the agency’s executive director.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2011/maine-eliminates-residential.html

Narconon hopes that Maine will reconsider their enormous cuts to residential treatment funding.

Narconon Drug Rehabilitation will continue to treat addicts residentially with high rates of success in Georgia, Michigan, California and Oklahoma.

It will take society as a whole because that’s how big the problem is.   Now days, almost everyone knows someone who is taking prescription drugs, even if they don’t pick up that there is an abuse problem.

This is an excellent article and well worth reading in its entirety:

“BECKLEY — Perhaps the trigger was an acrimonious divorce.

Possibly, the fuse was lit when a financial setback unleashed an avalanche of unpaid bills that made day-to-day living expenses too difficult to handle.

Maybe the proverbial straw on the camel’s back was a sudden illness that hurled the person into a deep fugue.

Whatever the underlying cause for depression, someone came along with some poor advice:

Sniff this. Swallow that. Inhale here.

What ensued was euphoria, with an unseen hook the friend never mentioned.

Once is not enough. So to maintain that good feeling, the hurting individual needs more of what took him into dreamland. Now, he’s hooked. From there, the path is treacherous, fraught with faking pain in “doctor shopping,” or buying from a back-alley supplier, and possibly ending with the slamming of a steel door.

And there’s a good reason for dependency, says Dr. Hassan Jafary, a practitioner of internal medicine at Stanaford Medical Clinic, outside Beckley.

Simply, the brain never forgets.
Jafary experimented on a reporter to illustrate. Eyes closed, the reporter opened his left hand and Jafary dropped in it an object.

“Now, as I start to count, tell me what it is,” he said.

“A dime,” the object of his experiment replied, correctly.

And that is why one shackled to drugs cannot readily overcome an addiction. The brain just won’t let go of him.

Jafary applauds West Virginia lawmakers for moving to set aside $60 million in a proposed cigarette tax increase to treat addicts.

But society as a whole needs to get involved, he says.”

http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x186202800/Doctor-believes-all-society-must-combat-drug-addiction

Narconon will work as long as necessary to get the word out – we are the middle of a bad situation with these drugs and unless we do something quickly, the ramifications may be severe for the world as we know it.

For those who are already addicted – Narconon drug rehab is here to help.

Besides taking an interesting view on Charlie Sheen, the article cleverly ties in the American addictive personality when it comes to debt.  Seems like enough people aren’t practicing moderation with their drugs or their money.   Here is the article:

“Watching Charlie Sheen’s outbursts is a great entertainment for Americans. Here is a guy who has it all, fame, fortune, a great career and it is all crashing in on him because of addiction.

We all know that Charlie Sheen is one 911 call from the morgue. He has made the ambulance trip before, and he doesn’t see it coming. Denial is a classic symptom of drug addiction.

Here is Charlie in his own words responding to a question about his drug and alcohol problems, “I’m different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man.”

Sheen is not dealing with reality and the concern of others around him doesn’t seem to register, “I’m dealing with fools and trolls. I’m dealing with soft targets, and it’s just strafing runs in my underwear before my first cup of coffee.”

Addiction does strange things to the mind. The same is true of America’s addiction to debt.

Americans have been warned many times about excessive debt. The latest warning in Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders is a prime example. Here is what Buffett concludes: “But leverage is addictive. Once having profited from its wonders, very few people retreat to more conservative practices….

http://townhall.com/columnists/floydandmarybethbrown/2011/03/05/charlie_sheen,_obama,_republicans_and_addiction

Narconon addresses many facets of life that contribute to what can appear to be an addictive personality.   Learning self-discipline and ethical behavior can keep a person off drugs and also help them make good decisions about money.

In fact, many who attend Narconon drug rehab become very successful in life, using the skills they have learned.

And guess what?  Drug addiction has taken a new face lately.  With so many doctors busy prescribing pain pills more athletes, housewives and just normal people are getting addicted every day.  If there is stigma to addiction and a stigma to treatment what are they supposed to do?    The potential consequences are not pretty.  This article makes some good points:

A Sensible Way to Deal with Addiction

“My first exposure to “White Rabbit” when it was the theme song to a mid 1970′s television movie called “Go Ask Alice.“

The movie about a high school drug abuser was a haunting description of many of my friends. Some of experimented with drugs.

They needed treatment but treatment wasn’t a popular concept then.

I made it through college, graduate school and the rest of my life isolated from the drug culture. I’ve never seen cocaine or harder drugs and wouldn’t know how to find them. Drugs are not a part of my world.

I was lucky. As it turns out, my friends were too. Few were ever arrested and most overcame their addictions.

As we got older, my friends settled down, raised families, went to college and lead productive lives. I follow them on Facebook. They seem to be doing well.

The key phrase is that they developed productive lives.

Those productive lives would not have happened if they had spent a few years in the slammer.

Charlie Sheen and others are bashing AA and other forms of treatment. I don’t really see Charlie as a role model but maybe I am wrong.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-mcnay/a-sensible-way-to-deal-wi_b_831854.html

Narconon works hard to make treatment available and so should the rest of society.  This includes not bashing the addict or the treatment, but coming to grips with the fact that an awful lot of people are having a hard time right now.

Narconon drug rehab is an answer for anyone – even the AA bashers.

The facts are that marijuana gets people high and it is a gateway drug for more potent and dangerous drugs.  Though states are acting confused, down deep most people have a sense that spreading the use of marijuana is not going to help society.  Even the temporary revenues will be eaten up down the line by the additional future burden of more drug addicts.  Here is the article:

“A broad range of marijuana-related legislation is pending in at least 13 states. The flurry of new bills includes efforts to legalize, expand, or repeal medical marijuana; protect workers using prescription marijuana; restrict the sale of medical marijuana in food; make driving under the influence of marijuana a crime; decriminalize small amounts of marijuana; or legalize, tax, and regulate its sale.

Proposals to Legalize Medical Marijuana

Hawaii is considering legalizing medical marijuana distributed through “compassion centers” under a proposal that would create three classes of licenses and make the drug subject to income, sales, and excise taxes.

Similar proposals are also being considered in Delaware, Idaho,Kansas, and Maryland. The sponsor of the Kansas bill said it was not likely to pass; in Maryland, a state delegate proposed amending the medical marijuana bill to disallow smoking marijuana for medical purposes – all other methods of ingestion would be legal

Indiana took a step closer toward proposing to legalize medical marijuana when a state senate panel backed a bill that would assign a state commission the task of studying and making policy recommendations on the issue. The panel made its decision after hearing testimony from a state senator with multiple sclerosis who said he wished he could legally use the drug to alleviate his pain.”

Plans to Change or Repeal Medical Marijuana Laws

A number of states that had previously legalized medical marijuana are considering changes.”

Narconon maintains that medication is indeed necessary in many circumstances.  However, this does not mean that we need to be moving towards having an entire nation on drugs.

Narconon drug rehab is the best solution for those who started on the path of abuse through marijuana and got addicted to marijuana or harder stuff.

The Narconon program helps address these issues and many more.  Here is a most recent success story from a student who just completed the sauna and exercise program:

“Before I began the sauna and exercise program, I felt miserable every day and I let everyone know it.   I was getting maybe 6 hours of sleep a night. My eating habits where horrible – I would only eat one big meal a day.   My general attitude was that life was a big joke to me.

Within 5 days on the sauna program, I started sleeping like a bear in hibernation. I also started to awake hungry and I re-introduced my body to breakfast. I started to see the effects of the nutrients I was eating every day. Instead of dreading exercise, I was craving it. I started to notice my sense of smell wasn’t gone for good.

One big change I immediately noticed was how clear my skin looks. I used to have a dry face but I haven’t had a problem with dry skin since I’ve started sauna, which is amazing. My nails have been growing like crazy.

The best thing that I got out of sauna was the way my body feels overall. I used to never leave the couch because my legs were always aching with pain. Now I feel like a kid again.  I can skateboard; play football, soccer, etc. without any soreness or pain. I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

I assess situations and think about past situations much differently.  I even realize the emotional stress that I’ve caused my loved ones. I think much more rationally. I’m ready to repair the bridges I’ve burned. I feel fully aware and now exist in present time.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to change. I always thought most of the programs graduates were exaggerating about the way they felt. They would say at some point during the program something would just click. For me, something just clicked in sauna. I had a lot of time to think. It’s hard to think about the things I’ve done in the past and the darkness that lingers. Looking towards the future and the infinite possibilities I can’t help but to feel happy. I know that with the way I feel now in combination with the tools I will need to live a happy life, there’s no way I can fail.”

The Narconon program addresses biophysical, social and behavioral components of addiction.  We cover many areas of life.  With all these areas addressed, the graduate can create a new life.

Narconon drug rehab does much more than get people off drugs.  It gives hope for a better future.

Narconon is concerned that a recent survey featured in Join Together, points out the alarming fact that there are barriers to patient access to drug treatment.  The immediate problem to receiving treatment is funding, and many drug rehabs are apparently looking for the government to help make their programs available.  Though temporarily it can appear to be a financial burden, long term, it is one of the best investments that society can make right now.

The burden of lost production and extra health costs is not fully realized, but it is great.  The increase in drug addiction, with its crippling effects on individuals is most definitely affecting the economy.  A drugged up population can’t push a nation forward.  The temporary financial gain made by “legal” pot or pharmaceutical companies is going to turn out to be very expensive indeed.  Here is the article:

“A 2010 survey of substance abuse treatment providers showed a field that expects continued barriers to patient access despite health care reform, especially as funding sources change, Addiction Professional magazine reported Nov. 1, 2010.

The 27-item online survey, which was conducted by the magazine in September and October 2010, received 363 respondents from treatment facilities. It covered types of treatment offered, patient characteristics, drugs of choice, and business trends. Respondents represented many levels of care and types of clients served; most (61 percent) served clients that were publicly-funded, primarily Medicaid, while about one third said they did not work with third-party payers.

Although the majority (55 percent) of respondents said they had seen an overall increase in their client censuses in the past year, fewer than half (47 percent) projected patient volume to continue to grow in the next three years, in spite of expected changes to health care because of a workforce shortage and fears that public dollars for treatment –  in particular the federal block grant for substance abuse – could disappear.

“There will be fewer sources to pay, and services will be reimbursed at lower rates,” said one survey participant, William LaBine, who directs the Jackie Nitschke Center in Green Bay. LaBine’s agency has had to diversify its client base and funders as public sources of funding have declined.”

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2011/addiction-professionals-say.html

Narconon stays busy educating legislatures and schools but we simply can’t get the message out fast enough.  More individuals need to join in on the major communication lines of the world and make the announcement that something has got to change quickly, or we are going to find ourselves in real trouble.

Narconon drug rehab is a good solution for those needing treatment.

Recently Narconon received this anonymous letter in the mail about huffing and how it had ruined the life of a friend.  The writer wanted to make sure that the message was spread far and wide, so here is the letter;

“Dear Executive director,

Bless you for the work that you and your organization does!  I am sending you my friend’s heartfelt important message to hopefully be passed on to other staff, children, teens and parents to which you are connected.  It is about how she has a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other permanent damage from using an inhalant otherwise known as “huffing” (inhaling fumes or chemical vapors from everyday household or industrial products such as glue, paint, any type of aerosol spray can or gas including even nice smelling things like perfume) from when she was just 12 years old.  She is now in her 30s.  Please forward the message along of how this has ruined her quality of life.  Please feel free to make as many copies as you want and keep them on file to share with others.

Please keep in mind tha the use of inhalants goes across the board, including kids from dysfunctional families, or not, straight –A students or not, younger children or teens.  It can really preserve the individual’ life and/or quality of life by letting others know about the true dangers and consequences of huffing.  A person can die or overcome permanently disabled even after the FIRST time of use.  It si that destructive and unpredictable!  Some field experts have referred to huffing as “Chemical Russian Roulette” due to how uncertain the deadly and damaging the effects are of the inhalants use.  So please pass on my friend’s message of how she has permanent life-long damage from huffing.  Thank you so much.  Your help is truly appreciated.  Hopefully, the people that you reach will choose to make good, healthy decisions for themselves.  Bless you and take care.”

Per this woman’s request, Narconon is getting the word out and we are asking that you pass it along as part of an ongoing effort to get the truth out about drugs.  Don’t count on anyone else to do it – the responsibility lies with all of us.

For those who are huffing, and are not yet permanently disabled, Narconon drug rehab is a good solution.  We have a 76% success rate.”

Narconon of Georgia has received information from local sources that there have been a few severe incidents, including death, locally as a result of “bath salts” as described in this article.  While we have not had anyone admitted to Narconon for bath salt abuse, our clients claim they had heard about the fake drug from a few of their friends.  Fortunately, we are able to warn our clients here about the dangers and get them to stay away.  After graduating from our program, they are not going to want drugs anyway.  However, it is important that the word be gotten out to anyone who might think that this is the next new fun things.  Here is the article:

“The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) issued a nationwide warning about the dangers of legal synthetic drugs often marketed as bath salts while various states moved to ban them, the Associated Press (AP) reported Feb. 2.

The powdered stimulants – sold online, in gas stations and drug paraphernalia stores as bath salts and plant food under names like “Ivory Wave” — are said to produce highs like cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamines. Active ingredients include 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (known as MPDV) and mephedrone. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved them for human consumption, but they have not been banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the so-called “bath salts” can cause “chest pains, increased blood pressure and heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia and delusions,” according to the AP. So far this year, 251 calls have been made about them to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, compared to 236 similar calls for all of last year.”

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2011/drug-czar-issues-bath.html

Narconon has learned that the best way to tackle a new drug trend is to bring it to the attention of families and individuals in the community.  We can’t leave it to officials to handle this sort of thing.  They already have their hands full with crimes created from substance abuse of many types.  And we can’t leave it to the manufactures of the products.  Their ethics level is a proven  to be low.

For those who need treatment for bath salts or any other drug of abuse, Narconon drug rehab is one of the best solutions available.