NARCONON BLOG

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Patterns Shift with China Still a Major Player

Keeping drugs out of our country requires monitoring the shifts in production and trafficking patterns. Recently, the way fentanyl has been coming into the U.S. has made one of those shifts.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Retired Navy Admiral Is Working to Prevent Drug Overdoses

The media is so often filled with unhappy circumstances, lousy news, hardships, and unpleasant events. That’s what sells. So when USA Today featured an interview with a retired U.S. Navy admiral about a non-profit that he and his wife started to counter...

DRUG INFORMATION

How Heroin Can Kill You (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)

Most people know that overdoses of opioids like heroin, oxycodone or fentanyl can kill on the spot. But the use of these drugs, especially injecting them, can cause many other deadly conditions. Understanding the risk an addicted person faces every day...

DRUG INFORMATION

Why Does the Surgeon General Advise Pregnant Women to Avoid Marijuana?

As marijuana use becomes legal in more and more states, it can be hard to know who to ask for advice on the safety of this drug. For pregnant women, knowing who to listen to is particularly important. To help these women, the U.S. Surgeon General has just...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Does the U.S. Prescribe More Drugs than Other Countries?

A striking report from U.S. News revealed that American surgical patients are nine times more likely to receive a prescription for opioid pain relievers than Swedish patients. Even bringing the focus closer to home and comparing U.S. prescribing rates...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

“Sober Curious” and “Straightedge”—Dreaming of a Youth Culture Which Supports Abstinence

Last week I saw an article in U.S. News titled, “The Rise of the Sober Curious.” The subheading read, “Alcohol-free events, bars, and drinks are increasing as people explore ways to lower their alcohol intake – and improve health.” Seeing this...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Treat Overdose Deaths Like Other Preventable Causes of Death?

Though it might be a morbid prospect to do so, one of the reasons why it is so essential to study and analyze causes of death is because doing so sets the stage for creating better health conditions in America.

ADDICTION

Taxation of Alcohol Does Not Offset the Costs of Alcohol Consumption

A new report in U.S News shed a concerning light on something many Americans have taken for granted for a very long time. For many years, decades even, people have more or less justified the existence of massive , multi-billion dollar alcohol companies...

DRUG INFORMATION

Form of Heart Disease Connected to Opioid Use

Overdoses are probably the most discussed and the most focused-on effect of drug use, particularly when it comes to opioid drugs. We see news headlines about drug overdoses all the time.

DRUG REHABILITATION

What Should We Do to Make the Correct Addiction Treatment More Available?

The current drug addiction epidemic began in the late 1990s. However, it took several years for the United States to recognize the severity of the problem. Since it became apparent that we were indeed in an addiction crisis, states all across America have...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Hard Was It to Detect the Opioid Epidemic as It Grew?

How did we get into the situation of opioid addiction like the one the U.S. struggles with now? To figure out how it happened, let’s take a look at how company executives may make decisions for the good of their company but that create serious problems...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Fentanyl Is Still the Most Threatening Illicit Drug

The ravages created by fentanyl may not be obvious to you as you walk down the main street of your town. But factually, in some strata of life in America, fentanyl is creating unprecedented devastation. This drug (actually a family of drugs) is taking...

ADDICTION

How to Talk to Kids About Drugs

“How do we talk to our kids, even young kids, about drugs and alcohol?” “And should we do so?” “What is the right age to start talking to my child about drugs and alcohol?” “How do I communicate to a nine-year-old what drugs are and why they’re...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Should Family Members Have a Right to Know When a Loved One Overdoses on Drugs?

As soon as we get into the realm of medicine, patient medical history, physical health, and mental health, we start walking on delicate ground. On the one hand, it is essential to maintain privacy and personal confidentiality when it comes to an individual’s...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Campus Safety—Higher Learning without Substance Abuse

When we think of college, we think of institutions of higher learning. We think of places that our young adult sons and daughters go to expand their knowledge, to flourish, to grow intellectually, and to develop their life goals and ambitions.

DRUG REHABILITATION

The Value of Long-Term Care in Addiction Treatment

Just a cursory glance at the news or CDC documentation will tell us that addiction can be and often is a fatal condition. Drug use is currently one of the top causes of preventable deaths in the United States.

DRUG INFORMATION

Why It’s So Important Not to Drink or Use Drugs during Pregnancy

It has been common knowledge for some time that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not consume drugs, drink alcohol to excess, or consume tobacco. All three of these activities are not only harmful to Mom’s health, but such activities also...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Deaths, Suicide, and a Three-Year Drop in Life Expectancy - What Does It Mean?

One of the most telling indicators of the overall health of a nation’s population is its life expectancy. When a population’s life expectancy improves, this is a sign of overall improvement for that country. When a country’s life expectancy falls,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Most Opioid Pill Addicts Still Receive Opioid Prescriptions Following an Overdose

Addiction is the health crisis of the century for millions of Americans and their families. A cursory examination of the addiction epidemic timeline reveals that pharmaceutical opioids played a huge role in the creation of the epidemic.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Not Every Overdose Is Fatal, What Happens When the Addict Survives?

Our country is more familiar with drug overdoses than we perhaps ever have been. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70,237 people died in the U.S. from drug overdoses in 2017. That’s the highest that number has ever been in...