NARCONON BLOG

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...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What if Car Crashes Increased at the Same Rate as Drug Overdoses? What Would Public Reaction Be Then?

While drug overdose deaths climbed from 16,800 to more than 70,000 over a 20 year period, was America’s response appropriately strong and determined? If not, why not?

DRUG INFORMATION

Is There a Connection Between Marijuana Use and Prescription Drug Use?

People seek drugs for all kinds of reasons. Some are trying to find an escape from a struggle or difficulty that they are facing in life. Others are peer pressured by their “friends” into using drugs. Some want to experience something different, something...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Suboxone Maker to Pay $1.4 BILLION to Settle Illegal Marketing Claims

In July 2019, Pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser Group settled a federal lawsuit that they fraudulently marketed their addiction treatment drug Suboxone. They’ll pay a huge fine but why doesn’t this settlement actually result in justice?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drinking and Marijuana Use Results in Increased Tobacco Consumption in Some Individuals

A healthy lifestyle is always preferred over an unhealthy one. As we go through life, we try to be as healthy as we can. Those intentions are, of course, strongly affected by a wide variety of factors. These include socioeconomic condition, genetic endowment,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

One Year of Overdose Death Decreases: How Good is This News?

For the first time in decades, the number of Americans lost to drug overdoses has begun to decline. Is this cause for celebration? Not yet. Not when you know the reason for the decline. Did you hear about this? For the last year, the number of overdose...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Have We Simply Become Numb to All the Drug-Related Deaths?

There’s a problem with the readily-available information on statistics related to America’s drug abuse and drug overdose situation. And this problem could be skewing the way many of us perceive this situation and reducing our sense of urgency in seeking...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Does Alcohol Marketing Affect Alcohol Use in Young Adults?

Advertising is a growing industry and has been for some time. We see ads pop up everywhere. TV and radio stations have advertised the products and services of sponsors for decades now. Billboards, vinyl wraps on public transportation, newspapers, signs...

ADDICTION

What You Can Do to Support Overdose Awareness Month

Every year, tens of thousands of people die from drug overdoses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017, a little over 70,200 people lost their lives due to overdoses.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Addiction Is “A Solution” that Becomes “The Problem”

The often false, painful and confusing narrative of how a person becomes addictive is at the center of much debate. For many years, addiction was seen as a problem for the inner city, or the morally weak. Worse, when a person didn't fit this narrative,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Financial Cost of Addiction

The headlines in U.S. News last week read, “Americans Spent $146 Billion on Illegal Drugs in 2016.” That’s a shocking figure. It’s a figure that drives home just how enormous our country’s drug problem is. But at the same time, a figure like...