NARCONON BLOG

STATISTICS & TRENDS

American Seniors Struggling with Growing Rates of Drug and Alcohol Addiction

While most media attention is understandably on the teens and young adults who are struggling with addiction or even losing their lives, seniors constitute another group of Americans who suffer similar problems.

DRUG INFORMATION

Is Ibogaine the Solution to the Opiate Epidemic in Vermont?

The small and beautiful State of Vermont has been struggling with one of the country’s worst heroin and opiate painkiller epidemics. In 2014, Governor Peter Shumlin dedicated his State of the State Address to the growing problem.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

According to the Oklahoma Department of Education, Drug Abuse is a Factor in the Rising Number of Homeless Children

According to data collected by school districts and reported to the state, thousands of Oklahoma children fall asleep each night on the couches or beds of friends or relatives, hundreds more stay in a hotel or motel, and some even sleep in a shelter or...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What is Behind the Changing Trends in Drug Abuse?

A look back through history shows that patterns of drug abuse in the U.S. never stay the same for long. In the 1950s, tranquilizers like Miltowns and plenty of alcohol were being abused. In the 1960s, it was marijuana, speed, and hallucinogens like LSD.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Is a Drug User Only Hurting Himself?

When pinned down by his family and told that he (or she) needs to go to rehab, many addicted people will complain that the family just needs to leave him alone because, after all, “I’m only hurting myself.

ADDICTION

Support Groups Helping Parents of Drug Addicts to Shed the Shame

While few people truly understand the effects of drug use, abuse, and addiction, even fewer people consider the full extent of the damaging effects these problems can have on an addict’s family members.

ADDICTION

The University of Buffalo Reports that Drug Abuse Could Triple Annual ER Visits

The purpose of regular health check-ups with a primary care physician is for an individual to take the opportunity to maintain good health throughout their life.

ADDICTION

Is a Hospital Survey Worsening Our Addiction Problem?

When we see a doctor, we want to think that the doctor is deciding on the best care to make us healthy again. But what if that doctor was under pressure to change what he recommends for us? Surely that could not be good for the patients of any doctor under...

DRUG INFORMATION

Purple Drank in Today’s Popular Culture

Anyone into Hop Hop music knows what Purple Drank is. It’s a mixture of prescription cough syrup and Mountain Dew or other soda, usually with some Jolly Rancher candies mixed in and dissolved to give it color and flavor.

DRUG INFORMATION

Risks of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy

Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable: Pregnant women advising each other to smoke marijuana. But now, take a look at just about any pregnancy forum and you’ll find posts on this topic with strong opinions on each side.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Oklahoma Urging Pharmacies to Join Efforts in Curbing Prescription Drug Abuse

One of the most troubling drug abuse and addiction problems that currently affect our nation is the problem of prescription drug abuse.

ADDICTION

Parenting and Drug Use: The Worst Mix in the World

With just a quick look around, it would be far too easy to collect a stack of stories that prove that parenting and drug use are not only a terrible idea, it can be deadly. In the case of marijuana use, it’s common for intoxicated parents to lose track...

ADDICTION

8 Good Reasons to Quit Using Drugs

If you are looking for reasons to stop using drugs, chances are very good that you have noticed that your life is not as happy, enjoyable or successful as it was before. Maybe you’ve been convinced that you can use drugs and still keep things together.

DRUG INFORMATION

Marijuana as a Gateway Drug

Is marijuana really a gateway drug? That depends on who you ask. If you ask NORML, the pro-marijuana advocacy group, they’ll say no. Asking those who ended up going to rehab for intensely destructive drugs like heroin and cocaine might get you a different...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Should the Legal Drinking Age be Raised to 25?

In the last few years, new studies have shed light on the age that young people reach physical maturity and it’s not 18. It’s also not 21. It’s 25.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Is the Next US Drug Trend Going to be Heroin?

The Washington Post just published an article that could be predicting a terrifying trend. According to an April 6th article, Mexican farmers are pulling out their marijuana crops and planting heroin poppies instead.

DRUG INFORMATION

Is Krokodil the Worst Drug in the World?

If there were some kind of competition for Worst Drug, krokodil would surely be in the running. If you have not heard of this drug, is a home-cooked drug that starts with codeine extracted from headache pills. In Russia, where this drug originated, you...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Are We Going to “Take Palcohol Wherever We Go”?

“Palcohol” – powdered alcohol – was approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Palcohol is the brainchild of Mark Phillips. After years of work, he developed a method for drying and packaging alcohol.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Smartphone App Will Allow Doctors and Pharmacists To Track Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drugs can be wonderfully helpful in limited medical situations, but their help comes at a steep price.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Officials Confronted with High level of Heroin Abuse in New England

On the Boston Globe website recently, there were three articles that, taken together, illustrated the difficult situation we’re in with regard to this addictive, destructive drug.