NARCONON BLOG

DRUG REHABILITATION

Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap

Though millions of Americans struggle with addiction, only a small percentage ever actually get help with qualified treatment. What is the “Treatment Gap?” And how can we close this gap for good?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What Was Johnson & Johnson's Role in Triggering the Opioid Epidemic?

Oklahoma's lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson revealed the role this company played in encouraging the too-liberal use of opioid painkillers. Witness testimony also pointed to the special way this company profited from increased prescribing – of their...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

As Jobs are Lost, Addiction Statistics Soar

People turn to drugs and alcohol for many different reasons. For as many people that there are who are addicted, there are just as many reasons why those people use substances. Addicts are unique individuals. Each one will have his or her story of why...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opioid Lawsuits – Where Should Settlement Money Go?

An October 2019 article in USA Today focused on how critical it is that opioid lawsuit settlement dollars are used to treat addiction. This should be a given, to use settlements from pharma companies to treat addicts (especially considering that many addicts...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Recession, Poverty, and Substance Abuse Leads to a Drop in Life Expectancy in Great Britain

A headline in the New York Times reads, “Shortchanged: Why British Life Expectancy Has Stalled.” With just a glance at the headline, I was hit with a wave of deja vu. Then I remembered I’d written about this subject before, except in the context...

ADDICTION

Is it True When Drug Users Say, “I’m Only Hurting Myself”?

This is a line many families hear when they beg their addicted loved ones to accept their offer of rehab: “Leave me alone. I’m only hurting myself.” While every family member knows this not to be true, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to convince...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Should State Governments Regulate Alcohol Consumption?

It’s clear that consuming alcohol can be harmful. In fact, anything beyond infrequent and conservative levels of drinking should be strongly discouraged for health reasons alone. To drink with any kind of frequency is to open oneself up to potential...

DRUG REHABILITATION

After Rehab, How Should You Address Damaged Relationships and Community Harm?

When you get home from rehab, should you call up family and friends and tell them how great you’re doing now? Should you make a lot of promises about the fabulous things you plan to accomplish? Or should you simply provide real-life proof of your healthier...

ADDICTION

Tips for the 2020 New Years Resolution to Drink Less or Not at All

We just moved into a new year, a new decade. This is the time when New Year’s resolutions are at their strongest. People are energized, and they’re making plans for personal betterment. But we all know what happens next. Such resolutions are gradually...

DRUG INFORMATION

How Do Drugs Affect Us?

One of the major issues with the current U.S. drug problem is the fact that so many people still don’t know all that much about drugs. Millions of Americans still don’t have the data on one of the most severe public health emergencies of our time.

ADDICTION

The Importance of Sleep in Addiction Recovery

The importance of getting a good night’s sleep is something taught to us as children. And as we grow up, the concept of getting a proper night’s rest develops into a common sense thing which we just sort of know we’re supposed to do.

DRUG INFORMATION

Alcohol and Prescription Drugs Don’t Mix

It is estimated that about 18 million people misuse prescription drugs in the U.S. each year. About 5,480 people abuse such medications for the first time every day . Not all of those who misuse prescription drugs “just once” will become addicted to...

ADDICTION

What Children Learn When They Grow Up With Addicts for Parents

Why do the sons and daughters of addicts experience a significantly higher likelihood of struggling with addiction later on in life? One could argue that close proximity to substance abuse throughout one's childhood gives one the idea that experimenting...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Risky Behavior and Addiction – Knowing What to Watch Out For

Most experts agree that addiction is not limited by race, genetics, socio-economic backgrounds or level of education. They may be factors, but there is no one smoking gun that always equates to addiction among them. Except perhaps, the behavior of using...

ADDICTION

Dangerous and Addictive Substances Are Found in Most Homes

Parents sitting down to educate their children on the dangers of drug use may miss the fact that their own homes may abound with dangerous and even deadly abusable substances. The vast majority of parents want to protect their children from drug-related...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opiates? Hospitals Now Changing Their Approach

One of my colleagues is a veteran nurse who works in a hospital in Baton Rouge. He was born and raised in a sparsely populated, underserved area of Louisiana which is now being devastated by the opioid epidemic...

DRUG INFORMATION

Does Substance Use Increase the Risk of Suicide?

Drug overdoses aren't the only way drug users may lose their lives. Heavy users of alcohol, opioids, cocaine or even marijuana run a higher risk of suicide than those who don't use drugs. This is another compelling reason to get an addicted person into...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Can We Make REAL Progress on the Drug Crisis in the 2020s?

We have just passed into a new year and a new decade. There is some significance to that. We are saying our goodbyes to 2019 and the 2010s and saying hello to the year 2020 and the new decade of the 2020s. There is much that we need to work on in the new...

ADDICTION

How Much is Substance Abuse Involved in Reducing American Life Expectancy?

There have been many reports on the recent slight decline in American life expectancy in the last few years. Increased losses to substance abuse have been cited as the cause. We take a closer look at the reasons for this change.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Childhood Exposure to Opiates – A Potentially Lethal Crisis for Parents

The opiate epidemic has rocked America and brought on one of the worst national public health emergencies of our time. This crisis has also brought with it a range of unpleasant consequences. New study findings suggest that young people are being taken...