NARCONON BLOG

DRUG INFORMATION

Stimulant Addiction Comes Roaring Back onto the National Stage

If we focus too closely on the opioid epidemic, we could miss the growing problem with abuse of stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine, and prescription drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall and others. Just like opioids, these drugs can be deadly.

DRUG REHABILITATION

How Have Socioeconomic Factors Played a Role in the Addiction Crisis?

In my years as an addiction counselor, one thing I’ve learned is that while addiction does not see color, the ethnicity, age, gender, income level, background and geographic location of the addict can certainly affect their access to care and ultimately...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The East Coast Suffers under the Weight of Opioid Addiction

The United States has suffered for nigh on two decades with an opioid crisis. It is a sweeping addiction epidemic that has torn millions of families and individual lives apart. Widely publicized as the worst addiction-related epidemic in the history of...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Children Are Being Exposed to Drugs Used to “Help” Address Addiction in Adults

To love and protect children is one of humanity's most important doctrines, one of the supreme, guiding principles of just being human. When we hear of a child’s suffering, it strikes a deep, painful chord in our very souls.

DRUG INFORMATION

The Difference between Fentanyl and Other Opioids—Why So Many Addicts Die

If you’ve had your eye on health news, you’ve probably heard “fentanyl” mentioned more than once in the last year. And why is that? Fentanyl is a powerful and potent opioid pain reliever first introduced into the medical pain-relief sector for...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Advertising Addiction: How Modern-Day Marketing Makes Good People into Addicts

How Modern-Day Marketing Makes Good People into Addicts The United States is a unique country in a lot of ways. We are the land of the free, the home of the brave. But there is one area in which we are quite trapped.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Unhappy Americans & An “Epidemic of Addiction”

A March 21st edition in the Washington Post caught my eye for its leading article by Allyson Chiu. The article was titled, “Americans Are The Unhappiest They’ve Ever Been, U.N. Report Finds.” An interesting topic certainly, but what really caught...

ADDICTION

Exploring the Difference between Overdoses and Overdose Deaths—What We Can Learn from These

A wise friend once introduced me to the concept that, “Correlation does not imply causation.” The principle is that, just because two incidents occurred side by side, or just because one event took place and was closely followed by another (correlation),...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Should a Jail Be Responsible For Treating Addiction?

When I checked the news the other day I was shocked to find a story of a federal judge who ordered that a county jail in Massachusetts be made to give an inmate his methadone doses, so he could continue his medication-assisted therapy.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Is Addiction Really a Form of Suicide?

I was recently on a short trip and the motel I stayed at gave patrons a complimentary copy of USA TODAY. I generally don’t like to read newspapers because all they put in the papers is bad news and I don’t think a lot of it is even true, let alone...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

French Health Officials Warn Its Citizenry of Alcohol Consumption

In the U.S., we love our alcohol. That just goes without saying. Alcohol consumption has become a regular part of our lives and such a frequent and normal occurrence that we don’t even think twice about.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Using Health Insurance to Fund Addiction Treatment

One of the most critical factors in determining the success of a recovering addict’s stay at a residential treatment center is the amount of time they get at that rehab.

DRUG INFORMATION

New Research Shows Opioid Overuse Harms Hormone Levels

It seems like every year we hear about another adverse side effect of pharmaceutical opioid drugs. Yes, there is the rampant death toll from these drugs. The fact that pills are supposed to help people and instead end up killing them is a frequent headliner...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Treating More Than Opioid Dependence—Why Residential Treatment Is Critical to Recovery

Overcoming hardships is a part of the natural process of life. I don’t think anyone could say that life is “easy” for anyone. Challenges and obstacles are things we must all face from time to time. It’s just a part of life on planet Earth. Welcome...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Portugal Finds Value in Diversion of Drug Addicts to Treatment Instead of Incarceration

Imagine the worst possible drug den, the ultimate cesspool of addiction and drug-related misery. That was Portugal in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. Then, in just a matter of a few years, the country completely turned their drug problem around...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Meth Surge Now Rivals Opioids for National Headlines

Most of the headlines I see on America’s addiction crisis are related to the opioid epidemic, and rightly so. Opiates account for a significant portion of our nation's drug crisis. But it’s not the only drug to be aware of.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

HIV Outbreaks, Opioid Misuse, and Small Town America

When we hear the words, “HIV outbreak” odds are we think of Africa, or maybe the United States in the early to mid-1990s. Even if we consider an “HIV outbreak” as occurring on American soil, we instantly assume cloud-shrouded high rises, sprawling...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What We Can Learn from the Overdose Capital of the U.S.

I saw a headline yesterday that read “City with the Most Per Capita Overdose Deaths in the Nation Begins to Recover.” It caught my eye.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Michigan’s Drug Problem and What a New Grant Could Do to Stem the Tide of Addiction

Throughout our history, the individual states of the United States of America have gone through their ups and downs. Sometimes these issues have mirrored what was going on in the country at large, and sometimes they were unique to the state.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Taking a New Look at Alcohol Consumption

We know that there are unintended consequences of alcohol consumption. We know that drinking alcohol can lead to poor choices, drunk driving, fights, public drunkenness, legal issues, unhealthy sexual decisions, bad hangovers, failed drug tests, career...