NARCONON BLOG

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Teen Overdoses at All-Time High, Parents Must Act

Preserving the health and safety of teens is priority #1 for parents. Every parent wants their sons and daughters to grow up to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. With that in mind, it is extremely worrisome that teen drug overdose deaths have more than...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Treating Addiction Provides Lasting Economic Benefits

Though it is not often mentioned by the media, there is a broader economic cost to the national public health emergency of drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction is expensive, not just for addicts, but for all Americans. Conversely, solving America’s...

ADDICTION

Drug “Experimentation” in Youth Leads to Addiction in Adulthood

A long-held point of view has been that young people will experiment with drugs and alcohol because “that’s just what young people do” often maintaining that young people will transition out of drug and alcohol experimentation when they grow older...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Does Removing Criminal Penalties for Drug Use Lead to More Drug Use?

Does it really make sense to blanket legalize drugs? On the other hand, does it really make sense to continue the War on Drugs? Or is it possible that leaving some penalties in place but altering or lessening them if treatment is completed might be more...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Driven by Fentanyl, Teenage Drug Overdoses Doubled

Teens are less likely to use drugs now than they were in previous years, but they are significantly more likely to die from an overdose when they do use drugs. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is almost entirely to blame for the deaths.

DRUG INFORMATION

Marijuana Use Linked to Consequences in Young Users

From increased risk for certain types of stroke complications to a higher likelihood for stroke events in young people, from memory loss to potentially permanent drops in IQ, people who use cannabis are putting their health at serious risk.

DRUG INFORMATION

No Amount of Alcohol Consumption Is Good For You

It’s commonly believed that a small amounts of alcohol are not harmful, or in some cases may even be helpful. However a recent study throws cold water on this belief, as any amount of alcohol is show to have negative health outcomes.

DRUG INFORMATION

Alcohol’s Assault on the Body

One might think that a substance that kills six times as many people as drugs would be talked about more than it is. But it isn’t, mostly because alcohol usually kills far more slowly than drugs. A drug overdose is dramatic and immediate. It could take...

ADDICTION

Ten Summer Activities That Are More Fun Sober

During my early sobriety, one of the biggest obstacles I found that kept me from living a life of recovery was the fear that I wouldn’t be able to have fun without alcohol. Looking back on this now, I can see how crazy that thought was, but at the time,...

ADDICTION

Tips for Staying Sober This Summer

Practical tips on ways to stay sober this summer from someone who has been there.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Study Finds Cannabis Manufacturers are Marketing Products to Young Audience

In the late 20th century, tobacco and alcohol companies were caught using marketing techniques to advertise their products to young people. Today, it would appear that cannabis companies are attempting similar strategies to widen their customer base to...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Missteps in Oregon Decriminalization Illustrate Need for Additional Addiction Treatment Resources

Drug decriminalization and legalization are two hotly debated issues in the United States. While criminal prosecution and stigma serve as a barrier to treatment for many, liberal possession laws with few penalties for continued use do little to end the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Further Consequences of Drug Addiction Emerge

It is no mystery that opioid addiction is harmful to users’ health. As America’s opioid epidemic advances and claims more lives, disturbing links between addiction and heart attacks are being uncovered.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drunk and High, The Worst Combination Possible for Getting Behind the Wheel

In the field of substance abuse, three connected factors are setting the stage for serious harm on America’s roads.

DRUG INFORMATION

Law Enforcement Seizures of Pills Containing Fentanyl Increase Dramatically

One of the most significant risks of using drugs is the possibility that an addict will unknowingly use a completely different drug from what they were expecting. This risk has been particularly evident with the recent surge in fatal fentanyl overdoses.

DRUG INFORMATION

What Happens When Abuse-Deterrent Pharmaceuticals are Still Abused

When prescription drug abuse really began to take off in the U.S., causing unprecedented deaths and destruction, many Americans chose to blame the pharmaceutical companies which made the drugs. And this was the right place to lay the blame, or at least...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Addiction in America

Addiction is such a pervasive problem in America that one in eight Americans suffer from this problem. Grasping the extent of the problem is a vital first step to resolving it successfully.

DRUG INFORMATION

Drugged Driving and Cannabis

People who use cannabis sometimes say that they feel okay to drive after an hour or two has passed. But are they really okay to drive? A new study shows they are not.

DRUG INFORMATION

Study Finds Just One Drink Per Day Can Shrink Your Brain

A common view shared by many people who consume alcohol is that limited, conservative alcohol consumption poses zero risks to one’s physical health. However, a new study indicates that even just one alcoholic beverage per day can reduce brain size over...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Tracing A Network of Crime: How Pharma Distributors Acted as the Middlemen in the Opioid Epidemic

In the now two-decade-long opioid epidemic in the U.S., pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers, pharmacies, and doctors have all come under fire for the role they played in the surge of opioid addiction and death. One group, previously unnoticed and only...