National Treatment Centers News

Tom Petty Original Bass Guitar Death, Did Drugs Play A Role in it?

2008-02-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

After watching the super bowl last night I decided to do a little research on Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers. What I found out is that 3 of the original 6 members of the band have passed away. Them being Ron Blair, Stan Lynch, and Howie Epstein. For the sake of sticking to drug addiction and drug rehab, Howie Epstein stands out the most. His death in 2003 is said to be as a result of years of drug abuse and personal problems. It boggles the mind to think of someone on such a high stage in life being the victim of drug addiction and in the end having that addiction kill him. I wonder how many rock stars actually have passed away because of drug addiction and overdoeses? I think thing to do is to research stars that like so many people in the world have had their life cut short because of addiction . More to come....

Amy Winehouse Enters Rehab

2008-01-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

Amy Winehouse has entered a rehab facility today, her record company announced Thursday.

"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors," said the statement from Universal Music Group. "She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction and prepare for her planned appearance at the Grammy Awards. She is nominated in an incredible six categories."

Winehouse, 24, has come under increasing pressure to take steps towards sobriety after The Sun newspaper published allegations and aired a video of her allegedly smoking crack cocaine.

The hidden video camera footage was shot just hours before the singer – famous for her "Rehab" song – appeared in court on Jan. 18 to support her 25-year-old husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is being held in jail prior to a witness tampering trial.

Meanwhile, police confirm that they are still deciding whether to launch legal proceedings against her over the video. "The video has been handed in to us and we are still deciding what action will be taken," a Metropolitan Police spokesman tells PEOPLE.

Grammy-nominated Winehouse still hopes to attend the prestigious event but her planned appearance at the NRJ Awards in France this Saturday has been canceled due to the rehab stint.

"Amy entered the facility by mutual agreement and continues to receive the full support of all concerned," Universal Music Group said in the statement. "Amy is the most talented and important musical artist of her generation and has made huge strides on her road to recovery. Universal Music Group wants nothing more than to see her take the time she needs to come back to full health and fulfill her incredible potential with the label."

The statement added: "The label has always had the best interests of Amy at heart and has been guided by her family and doctors in the last few months as to the best direction to take. All concerned feel that Amy must put her health before all other considerations and will be by her side whenever and wherever they are needed."

Click Here to Contact a National Treatment Centers Now for Drug Addiction Help or Call Toll Free 1-800-868-2148!

New Drugs and Dangerous Combinations on the Rise

2007-12-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

I was a daily cocaine user for two solid years of my young adult life. The addiction began as a “party favor” through college but quickly overtook my life and brought great turmoil and wreckage to all areas: personal, family, career, and spiritual. What started out as a fun high suddenly became a priority. I hit my bottom alone in a room after having just burned the last bridge I had managed to keep supported. I felt hollow, scared, weak, and lost. The truth is I gave up. I realized my way wasn’t working any more, I needed help. So, I sought it.

Recovery opened up a whole new door in my life. God willing, and efforts continued, I will always be recovering, and I love it. It is the most rewarding way of life I have ever discovered, and the millions in recovery with me will most likely agree. But what I’ve been introduced to in just my short time recovering is the harsh reality that drugs are not only more easily available than ever before, but are also taking on new, more potent and dangerous combinations.

Popular steroids are now being called “The Clear” with molecular structures being modified to avoid detection in urinary analyses. Heroin is being combined with over-the-counter cold medication, such as Tylenol PM to create a dangerous combination called “cheese.” MDMA, caffeine, and methamphetamine is combined to create “ecstasy.” Even over-the-counter blood pressure medicines are being abused in high doses to create euphoric, highly addictive effects.

For the purposes of this blog, I’d like to take the time to discuss the rise of a variety of drugs in today’s culture. I hope that the information submitted will provide a clear description of the many popular drugs, their effects, and the population most likely to abuse them.

So, stay tuned in order to learn more about the dangers and popularity of a wide variety of drugs.

Drug & Alcohol Rehab Services, Addiction Support Groups

2007-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

This series of blogs is for entertainment purposes. Anyone helped by this information is a bonus. The focus of this series is to list and review the different forms of addiction treatment and services currently available. In today's addiction market place there is a wide variety of services available and the outcome might make or break the consumer's future. The AMA apparently views addiction to substance or behavior as a symptom of underlying healthcare issues over which individuals self medicate over with unhealthy, self-destructive, immoral, and or illegal behaviors which tend to have a mind/mood altering effect.

Some of the addiction services currently used include detoxification (there are many types), inpatient/primary care/28 day rehabs, 90 day rehabs, sober living, hospital cd rehab, outpatient treatment, aftercare, therapists/psychologists/mft's/lcsw's/counselors, 12-step meetings including aa/na/ca/ma/oa/ga, alanon, alateen, acoa, coda, rational recovery, narconon, church/religous, rapid detox, aversion therapy, holistic approaches, alternative sentancing (treatment instead of incarceration), and probably more.

Over the upcoming series of blogs we will describe what each service entails and who the appropriate candidates for each.

What are the different types of Drug Rehab?

2007-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

The different types of drug rehab depend upon the degree of dependence, the patients social situation, and the kind of durg to which they are addicted. Some rehabilitation treatments have medical components, to ease the symptoms of withdrawal, intensive counseling, and methods that address underlying causes of addiction. In general, one can differentiate between drug rehab with in-patient, or residential, requirements versus out-patient treatment.

Please Contact National Treatment Centers for more Information about Drug Rehab.

Free Drug Rehab Evaluation

The Kramer Center: Providing You with the Best Facilities to Help Set Your Life Back on Track

2007-12-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

First of all, it is important to understand that an addicted person will never admit or even see him or herself as an addict. They just brush it off and say that they can stop taking drugs or drink alcohol anytime they want but as time passes by, they simply can't quit up to the point that drugs and alcohol becomes a part or a necessity in their daily life. In order to get an addicted person into a drug and alcohol rehab center is to first make them realize that they do need help and that they are addicted. It may be hard to do so but it is one of the first steps in getting themselves treated.

By accepting the fact that they are an addict, it will be easier for them to get treated for their addiction. If you don't know what to do about your loved one who is an addict and have given up hope, you can try contacting the Kramer Center. The professional staff here will be able to assist you in getting the addict to admit that they do need help.

First of all, the Kramer Center is a world-class drug and alcohol treatment facility. They use the latest clinical techniques and theories to help addicts get their life back on the right track.

It is important to understand that an effective treatment isn't only by getting the patient detoxified but the psychological factors on why the patient used drugs on the first place should also be tackled. By doing this, it will be able to provide a long term solution or a life long solution for addicts to never touch drugs or alcohol again and live a healthier life than before.

Here at Kramer Center, they know that stress is one of the main causes of alcohol and drug use. By creating a stress-free environment and by setting the facility up in a naturally beautiful environment, you can be sure that the patient here can truly relax and not think about problems that pushed them to use drugs or alcohol.

The Kramer Center also has experienced staff that is knowledgeable in treating addicts in order to get their lives back on track. From the administrative staff, to the medical staff, and to the counseling staff, Kramer Center only provides the best in terms of care and assistance.

The Kramer Center will also assess the incoming patient first before they admit them. By doing so, they will be able to design a treatment method that is suited for the individual. This is one of the great things about Kramer Center. Because they offer personalized treatment programs, they are able to provide great quality care for each and every patient they have.

These are some of the drug and alcohol rehab program that the Kramer Center can provide. So, whether, you need your loved ones to enter a drug rehab program or an alcohol rehab program, the Kramer Center will be able to help you. You can try and know more about the facilities, staff and the programs this drug and alcohol rehab center offer by visiting their website at kramercenter.com. Here, you will be able to take a closer look at their facilities and their treatment programs for their patients.

2007-11-26T13:19:00.001-08:00

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Drug Rehabilitation - What is it?

2007-11-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

Drug rehabilitation (often drug rehab or just rehab) is an umbrella term for the processes of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription Drugs , and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to cease substance abuse, in order to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused, especially by extreme abuse.

Drug rehabilitation tends to address a stated twofold nature of drug dependency: physical and psychological dependency. Physical dependency involves a detoxification process to cope with withdrawal symptoms from regular use of a drug. With regular use of many drugs, legal or otherwise, the brain gradually adapts to the presence of the drug so that the desired effect is minimal. Apparently normal functioning of the user may be observed, despite being under the influence of the drug. This is how physical tolerance develops to drugs such as heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine or alcohol. It also explains why more of the drug is needed to get the same effect with regular use. The abrupt cessation of taking a drug can lead to withdrawal symptoms where the body may take weeks or months (depending on the drug involved) to return to normal.

Psychological dependency is addressed in many drug rehabilitation programs by attempting to teach the patient new methods of interacting in a drug-free environment. In particular, patients are generally encouraged or required not to associate with friends who still use the addictive substance. Twelve-step programs encourage addicts not only to stop using alcohol or other drugs, but to examine and change habits related to their addictions. Many programs emphasize that recovery is a permanent process without culmination. For legal drugs such as alcohol, complete abstention—rather than attempts at moderation, which may lead to relapse—is also emphasized ("One drink is too many; one hundred drinks is not enough.") Whether moderation is achievable by those with a history of abuse remains a controversial point but is generally considered unsustainable.

Various types of programs offer help in drug rehabilitation, including: residential treatment (in-patient), out-patient, local support groups, extended care centres, and sober houses.

Pharmacotherapies to a greater or lesser extent have come to play a part in drug rehabilitation. Certain opioid medications such as methadone and more recently buprenorphine are widely used and show significant efficacy in the treatment of dependence on other opioids such as heroin, morphine or oxycodone. Methadone and buprenorphine are maintenance therapies used with an intent of stabilizing an abnormal opioid system and used for long durations of time though both may be used to withdraw patients from narcotics over short term periods as well. Ibogaine is an experimental medication proposed to interrupt both physical dependence and psychological craving to a broad range or drugs including narcotics, stimulants, alcohol and nicotine. Some antidepressants also show use in moderating drug use, particularly to nicotine, and it has become common for researchers to re-examine already approved drugs for new uses in drug rehabilitation.

Drug rehabilitation is sometimes part of the criminal justice system. People convicted of minor drug offences may be sentenced to rehabilitation instead of prison, and those convicted of driving while intoxicated are sometimes required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. There have been lawsuits filed, and won, regarding the requirement of attending Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step meetings as being inconsistent with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, mandating separation of church and state.

Some psychotherapists question the validity of the "diseased person" model used within the drug rehabilitation environment. Instead, they state that the individual person is entirely capable of rejecting previous behaviours. Further, they contend that the use of the disease model of addiction simply perpetuates the addicts' feelings of worthlessness, powerlessness, and inevitably causes inner conflicts that would be easily resolved if the addict were to approach addiction as simply behaviour that is no longer productive, the same as childhood tantrums. Drug rehabilitation does not utilize any of these ideas, inasmuch as they intrinsically contradict the assumption that the addict is a sick person in need of help.
Traditional addiction treatment is based primarily on counselling. However, recent discoveries have shown that those suffering from addiction often have chemical imbalances that make the recovery process more difficult. Often, these imbalances may be corrected through improved diet, nutritional supplements and leading a healthy lifestyle. Some of the more innovative treatment centres are now offering a "Biochemical Restoration" process to supplement the counselling portion of treatment.

For patients that are uninsured, there are a few options for low-cost drug rehab programs. Contact National Treatment Centers for a Free Referral.

The Holiday Turkey and Drug Rehab

2007-11-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving for many is a time of togetherness, happiness, and joy. But what about those families that are the victims of a son who just happens to be a drug addict, or and uncle that is a alcoholic, or worse the family of a daughter who feels that she cant eat anything on this day because she is overweight? (Eating Disorder)

For me coming from the typical american family where just about everything is out of the ordinary. I see addiction all around me. We have the uncle who tends to over do it continuously with the rum and coke, with my aunt continuously telling him to nock it off. My other uncle talking to his son about drugs such as crack, meth, and the times he got to "messed up on ether" that he saw people as if they were dead. So what is the youth of today to think? When all the supposed "role models" are telling them about all these great things they did. Do they turn to trying them, does this lead to drug addict? alcoholic?

To be continued......

Drug Rehab that Works! Don't Settle for Gimmicks, Settle for Results.

2007-11-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

The Kramer Center of Newport Beach (KCNB) is directed by licensed practitioners to provide an advanced program specifically designed to help those struggling with Addiction to get back on the path to a healthy life. KCNB offers 28 day and long term treatment options that integrate medical, clinical, counseling, education, and recreational recovery components to specifically meet individual needs. Clients receive a medical assessment, clinical evaluation, individualized treatment plan, 24-hour supervision, counseling sessions, education, group therapy, 12-step meetings, outdoor activities, social enrichment, physical exercise, nutritional planning, and self-discovery lessons to create sustainable positive life style changes. KCNB engages and motivates clients to participate in sustainable recovery activities that other programs merely lecture their clients about being critical to continuing their recovery process. Our rehab center is a feature not an afterthought like most programs. KCNB offers a unique treatment experience with the breathtaking views and tranquility of the historic glass penthouse suite while clients reside in the safety and comfort of the center’s beach side home. This is a notable difference from most programs where the treatment center is in their living room and the clients are confined to the same house or building except to attend an AA meeting or go to the gym. Please visit our website at www.KramerCenter.com

KCNB teaches and encourages individuals to identify and manage the underlying issues that lead to their Addiction. The program helps clients to identify situations where drugs and alcohol were used to cope with life’s problems and in learning new, more effective problem-solving strategies. Clients are introduced to the 12-step philosophy as they are guided in connecting with alternatives to self-destructive behaviors and solutions to mental health issues. Recovering individuals are assisted in understanding the impact their addiction has had on friends and family and in creating new behaviors which minimize the risk of relapse. Family and significant others are encouraged to be involved in the rehabilitation process in an effort to restore functional relationships. During this process clients achieve and sustain abstinence form all mind and mood altering substances.

Phase I – Contact, pre-assessment, and commitment. The client’s recovery begins as the Admissions Director completes the pre-assessment screening to determine appropriate treatment recommendations. Treatment needs including Intervention, detoxification, healthcare, and length of stay are reviewed with the client and their family so informed choices can be made regarding treatment options. The admissions agreement formalizes a mutual commitment to the client’s recovery. The client and their family transition to the clinical staff’s care at this point and continue with the intake process.

Phase II – Intake and admissions. The client’s check-in process to rehab is referred to as their intake. The newly recovering individual meets with an intake counselor to complete the client’s portion of their admissions agreement. The intake counselor has the client sign a copy of the rules, schedule, dress code, confidentiality, rights, liability, criteria, releases, emergency contact, equine forms, sailing forms, aquatic forms, and any other paperwork relevant to their intake. An inventory of personal belongings is completed as client’s personal items are checked by staff.

Phase III – Primary Care. The first seven days of primary care complete the admissions process as the intake process and medical clearance are accomplished. The programs MD, PhD, and clinical team collaborate to form an individualized treatment plan. Physical detoxification is completed as abstinence from alcohol, narcotics, and drugs not approved by the treatment team occurs.

Please visit our website at www.KramerCenter.com and feel free to contact us (800) 841-2440 for admissions information or (949) 566-0091 to speak with our Program Administrator and Director regarding treatment issues. We can also be faxed at (949) 566-9108.

Depressed Young Adults More Likely To Start Cigarette Smoking And Other Substance Use

2007-11-19T11:26:00.001-08:00

A new report indicates that young adults who have suffered from depression within the past year are at a higher risk of initiating substance use including cigarette smoking and use of alcohol or illicit drugs. The findings, based on the largest national survey on substance use and health, were reported today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The release of this report coincides with the Great American Smokeout - a national observance in support of being free of tobacco use and addiction. The data from the report highlight the relationship between depression and the impulse to begin smoking in young adults.

Depression and the Initiation of Cigarette, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use among Young Adults indicates that 9.4 percent of people aged 18 to 25, or approximately 3 million young adults in the United States experienced one or more major depressive episodes in the past year.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the source for this report, defines a major depressive episode as a period of two weeks or longer during which there is depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and the presence of at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning. These include problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration and self-image. This definition is consistent with the one used by the American Psychiatric Association.

"Today is the Great American Smokeout - a day when we pause to recognize ongoing efforts to draw attention to the health benefits of avoiding cigarettes,'' said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "This study clearly reveals that too often people turn to cigarettes or other substances to try to deal with depression, creating a double jeopardy for their health and well-being."

Among the report's notable findings were that young adults experiencing major depressive episodes within the past year were:

- Approximately 60 percent more likely to have initiated cigarette use than those in their age group who had not experienced depression in the past year (12.7 versus 7.8 percent, respectively).

- Approximately 35 percent more likely to have initiated alcohol use than those in their age group who had not experienced depression in the past year (33.7 versus 24.8 percent).

- Twice as likely to have initiated use of an illicit drug as those in their age group who had not experienced depression in the past year (12.0 versus 5.8 percent).

- Twice as likely to start abusing pain relief medication than were their contemporaries who had not experienced recent depression (7.1 versus 2.8 percent).

The report is also notable because of the size of the database -- nearly 135,000 interviews with persons aged 12 or older, including almost 45,000 young adults - and it was conducted during the course of the 2005 and 2006 NSDUH surveys. This database is one of the largest and most detailed of its kind.

$2.2M NIH Grant To Develop Drugs To Suppress Cocaine Cravings

2007-11-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a $2.2 million federal grant to develop therapeutics to suppress the cravings of cocaine addicts.

Compounds developed by a research team led by Alan Kozikowski, professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy, will target one particular family of serotonin receptors in the brain. Recent evidence, he said, strongly suggests that these receptors, called 5-HT2 receptors, are important in controlling a person's desire to use drugs.

Researchers looking for therapies for cocaine addiction have largely overlooked the 5-HT2 receptor as a target, Kozikowski said, and focused on dopamine receptors instead.

"In large part, the field of cocaine medications research has been dominated by the so-called 'dopamine hypothesis,' where cocaine is known to block the re-uptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Contact A Drug Rehab Center Now 1-800-868-2148 or Click Here

"The higher levels of dopamine present in the cleft between neighboring neurons leads to cocaine's high," Kozikowski said. "This has led to years of work on the discovery of compounds that might displace cocaine from its binding site on the dopamine transporter, while still allowing dopamine to be taken up through the transporter.

"Success with this particular approach has been marginal at best."

The new target is a broad group of receptors that bind serotonin, also called 5-HT for its chemical name, 5-hydroxytryptamine. It is a neurotransmitter that controls a wide variety of behaviors, including anger, cognition, sleep, attention, sexuality and appetite. Low levels of serotonin may be associated with many health disorders, including clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, migraine headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and bipolar disorder.

The mode of action of 5-HT is complex, and at least seven different receptor 'families' are known, each located in various parts of the body and triggering different responses. Kozikowski's team is investigating the 5-HT2 family, of which there are three subtypes.

"The 5-HT2a and 5-HT2c receptors may play a role in the strong conditioned associations made between cocaine and environmental cues," Kozikowski said. Drugs highly specific for just those receptors will need to be developed, he said, because interactions with other members of the family can cause hallucinations and heart valve problems.

Kozikowski's collaborators -- a research team led by Dr. Bryan Roth of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill -- have identified an antidepressant drug as a possible lead candidate to identify other 5-HT2c-receptor-binding compounds that may be useful. This compound emerged after nearly 800 compounds in a chemical library were screened.

New 5-HT2c-receptor-binding compounds might be useful "both as research tools and as potential therapeutics for use in treating cocaine addiction and possibly other disorders, including obesity," Kozikowski said.

"We have already generated about 100 new [receptor-binding compounds] showing much higher potency and subtype selectivity than shown by the original 'hit' compound," Kozikowski said. "Further structure-activity studies are underway to fine-tune the compounds to a point where high activity is maintained at the 5-HT2c sub-type with little or no activity at the other subtypes."

Kozikowski said tests are currently being conducted in animal models at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston by his collaborators Kenneth Johnson Jr. and Kathryn Cunningham.

Mike Tyson Sentenced on Drug Charge

2007-11-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Tyson was sentenced Monday to 24 hours in jail and three years' probation for drug possession and driving under the influence.

The former heavyweight champion had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.

Tyson had faced a possible maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison. Prosecutor Shane Krausner had recommended one year in prison Monday, saying that Tyson was a multiple offender who previously had been convicted of a violent crime and that only now has he sought treatment for his drug addiction.

The charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Scottsdale last December.

Police pulled Tyson over after the boxer had spent the evening at Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson's pocket and in his car.

Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents. He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.

Since his arrest, Tyson checked himself into an inpatient treatment program for what his lawyer called "various addictions."

Tyson attorney David Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without a relapse since his arrest and that he's attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Two of Tyson's former wives also wrote letters to the court asking for leniency.

Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams said Monday that she was impressed that Tyson was seeking therapy for his drug addiction. "You worked to address your addiction and self-destructive behavior," Abrams said.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas had said after the plea was entered that Tyson should be put in prison, noting that Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.

In 1986, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when, at 20, he knocked out Trevor Berbick. He lost his title four years later when he was knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas. By 1997, Tyson's career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.

Tyson, 41, recently had been trying to revive his career with a series of boxing exhibitions.

National Treatment Center

2007-11-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the NTC News Center