Trinny Woodall, star of the British version of What Not To Wear, recently admitted her past obsession with drugs and alcohol made her a “sick person.” Once she made the distinction between being a “bad person” — her words — who suffered from addiction and a “sick person” who needed help recovering from a disease,…
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Finally confirming rumors that have been swirling for months, Toronto mayor Rob Ford recently acknowledged using crack cocaine during a “drunken stupor” while serving in office. Although Ford has promised not to do it again, here is why his admission hurts anti-drug efforts. A Public Spectacle Ford, who has appeared in public on multiple occasions…
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Opiates are addictive narcotic painkillers that come in legally prescribed and illicit forms. They are also dangerous, and opiate addicts currently suffer from the highest rates of relapse and overdose, according to National Institutes of Health. In the past, addiction professionals regarded substance abuse as a weakness of character rather than a mental health disorder;…
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The Internet is steadily increasing the rates at which we consume news, goods, information, and now, illicit drugs. “Detailed instructions for how to make designer drugs” are not only available online, but they are also available for purchase, forcing an already-bad problem into epidemic proportions. From spice to bath salts to meow meow, substance abusers…
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For the first time, drug overdose surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Drug addiction rehabs exist to prevent death — not only to send the message that doing drugs is bad for your health. Although the compulsive, chronic abuse of dangerous drugs and alcohol leads to a…
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Addiction scientists have long searched for a safe chemical means to turn off the brain’s desire to use illicit drugs. Recent research reported by Smithsonian magazine indicates that kynurenic acid treatment blocks the desire to use marijuana in rats and monkeys, and although FDA approval is likely years away, this chemical has the potential to…
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For many people, alcohol and drugs provide a means of escape from the pressures of everyday life. Unfortunately, the choices that seem like no big deal have a way of turning into a life-changing addiction. Although recovering from alcohol and drug addiction is challenging, the good news is that by enrolling in a spa or…
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The death of popular Glee cast member Cory Monteith to an accidental heroin and alcohol overdose in July 2013 shocked the entertainment world. “Our friend Cory didn’t look or act like an addict,” fellow cast member Jane Lynch said. “He was happy, successful, and seemingly had it all.” The fact is that drug and alcohol…
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People who suffer from alcoholism do so for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, there is a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. Other times, a person addicted to alcohol self-medicates depression with the false confidence alcohol provides. Often, people who struggle with alcoholism have a difficult time relaxing and turning off anxious thoughts or worries. Recent research…
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Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing addiction problem in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Of particular concern is the rise of the unmistakable signs of maternal prescription drug abuse in infants; in fact, some hospitals are overwhelmed with the complex task of weaning babies off dangerous prescription drugs.…
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