NARCONON BLOG

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...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alarm Bells Sound In Oklahoma Meth Epidemic

When we think of the drug problem in the U.S., the first thing we almost always think of is the opiate epidemic. The opiate epidemic usually takes the spotlight. And not without good reason. The majority of all drug deaths every year are at the hands of...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Abuse Leads to an Increase in Working-Age Deaths

Over the last few years, several articles, research papers, and studies have been published, all of which indicate a decline in life expectancy for the American people. That’s something to be concerned about. In one of the wealthiest, most technologically...

DRUG INFORMATION

Doubling the Risk of Stroke—A Harmful Consequence of Marijuana Use

Marijuana. Marijuana. Marijuana. It seems that everywhere we look, there is another story on marijuana, another slew of opinions, always taking one side or the other, usually debating over emotions and morals as opposed to science and facts.

DRUG INFORMATION

Caffeinated Alcohol – A Liquid Mixture of Trouble and Risk

Caffeine and alcohol. That’s not a combination we would typically think of. But there was a time when one could purchase caffeinated alcoholic beverages. That was until 2010 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that such drinks were...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Addiction and Overcrowded Jails

The subject of drug addiction and incarceration has been a contentious one for some time. Many people still feel as though drug use is a crime and therefore should be punished as such. But as the years go by and as our understanding of addiction improves,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Halting the Runaway Train That is Our Opioid Crisis: Can We Do it?

It may seem like an impossible task to halt the runaway train of our opioid crisis. But Oklahoma has prepared a plan to do just that which can serve as a model for other states and let us estimate the price tag to eliminate this catastrophe.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Addiction on a Global Scale

Almost universally across the world, drug use is going up. Why is this? Why are more people using drugs? Are people naturally inclined to use drugs? Certainly not. National and international communities work very hard to crack down on drug production,...

ADDICTION

Committing to Sobriety in 2020

The holidays are a time of celebration and merriment when we get together with family members, friends, and other loved ones. It’s also a time when coworkers gather in a more casual environment and socialize. The holidays are when we all come together...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why is Binge Drinking on the Rise for Women?

Although men still misuse alcohol at a rate higher than women, new research indicates that the gap is closing. A study published in PLOS Medicine and reported on in U.S. News brought the spotlight onto this concerning issue.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Drug Addiction—Enslaved to a Substance

To be addicted to a substance is truly to be enslaved by that substance. The substance controls you. But that also means the people who provide that substance control you, in a way. And you are also a slave to seeking money so that you can buy the substance,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Global Drug Report Shows Increasing Use of All Drugs, Huge Growth of Opioid Use and Record Cocaine Production

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports each year on global drug use and addiction. This year’s report shows that despite the efforts of tens of thousands of people around the world, there is more drug use and loss of life than ever.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

A Controversial Awareness Campaign Hits Home but Misses the Mark for Some in South Dakota

A news story out of South Dakota made national headlines when the state launched a controversial media campaign. Governor Kristi Noem led an ad campaign to raise awareness of the state’s meth problem. The slogan of the campaign was: “Meth. We’re...

DRUG INFORMATION

An Update on the Lethal Synthetic Opioid Fentanyl

The extreme potency of fentanyl and similar drugs coming into the U.S. have thwarted efforts to reduce the number of lives lost to drug overdoses. That makes it an important drug to know more about.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Whatever Happened to Providing Abstinence Based Addiction Treatment?

At one time, the expectation of rehab success was abstinence. Now, it's more often the expectation that a person maintains compliance with a medication regimen. Have we given up on the concept of being fully drug-free after rehab?