Blog # 4--Seeking Substance Abuse Treatment

      For some people treatment of their substance abuse can be the difference between life and 

death. Although it is up to the individual to make the final decision to address his or her 

substance abuse problem, when that decision is made, it may be difficult to find treatment 

options. The harms of substance abuse and treatment options are not widely advertised. In 

regards to television ads the issue of substance abuse can be compared to cigarette smoking. 

It is a known factor that smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes; ways 

to quit smoking and the negative effects of cigarettes are widespread in television commercials.  

The negative effects of substance abuse and treatment options are not a common occurrence in 

television ads. If the effects of substance abuse, whether it is alcohol, street or prescription 

drugs, were in television ads and billboards, similar results would be reached as with the 

antismoking campaigns. The first antismoking ad campaign was launched on Thanksgiving Day 

of 1966 and since then the percentage of smokers has declined. In 1960 the percentage of 

smokers in the U.S. was 54%; the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 

that in 2007 the prevalence of smoking fell to 19.8%.

      There are numerous of community-based substance abuse treatment available to the public 

but it may take some searching to find the right option. The Center for Substance Abuse 

Treatment (CSAT) is a governmental agency that is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and through there, individuals and families can 

locate services that will best suit their needs regarding substance abuse treatment. Doing a 

search for treatment facilities located within the 100 mile radius of Sacramento, 490 facilities 

came up. Their services vary from outpatient, residential (both short and long term), 

hospitalization and day treatments. If one is looking for treatments to their drug or alcohol 

problem, there are hundreds of options available. If those options would be advertised in the 

same way that the quitting of cigarettes is advertised, more people would seek help to their 

addictions.



http://www.no-smoking.org/march99/03-30-99-1.html

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/

http://csat.samhsa.gov/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/27/health/webmd/main3106215.shtml

Blog # 3--Substance Abuse in the Military

Substance Abuse in the Military

Substance abuse amongst military personnel and veterans is a growing problem in the United States’ Military as well as Militaries of other countries.  The British military reports that in 2003 there were 517 cases of illegal substance abuse and that number increased to 769 by 2006.  More recently, three Australian soldiers have been sent home from Afghanistan due to drug abuse.   

In the United States wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed a great deal of strain on the men and women in military both physically and psychologically.  As Bob Curley reports in his article “Wounds of War: Drug Problems Among Iraq, Afghan Vets Could Dwarf Vietnam”, long tours, combat and being away from loved ones for long periods of time are the major stressors for soldiers.  To deal with the stress and injuries endured during combat and training, soldiers turn to alcohol and other drugs for relief. 

Prescription drugs can be easily accessible to solders suffering from war-related injuries.  Gregg Zoroya in his article “Prescription Drug Abuse Hits Mo. Army Unit Hard”,  writes about a 26 year old solider, Jeremy Thompson, that plead guilty to abusing prescription narcotics.  While doing combat training Jeremy dislocated his shoulder and was prescribed painkillers; he used them as directed.  His injury required surgery but that was postponed due to his deployment to Iraq.  Jeremy continued using the prescribed painkillers from 2003 through 2006 and became physically dependent on the narcotics.  At first he was prescribed 30 pills a month and the doctor eventually increased it to 240 pills a month.  There were other soldiers in Jeremy’s unit that were abusing prescription drugs in a similar way and their drug source was either the Army pharmacy or other soldiers selling their prescriptions.  When an investigation was launched it was discovered that along with Jeremy, 12 other soldiers were charged with illegal drug use. 

Drub abuse has been a problem in the U.S. military for decades.  Jim McDonough, a retired U. S. Army officer and a former director at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that historically, substance abuse has “not only been presented but fostered by the military”.  Looking back at the Vietnam War we can see a similar pattern of drug consumption.  Vietnam veterans returned to the states with heroin addictions.  Today’s returning soldiers will most likely be addicted to prescription drugs and engage in binge drinking.  A study published by the University of Minnesota and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 43 percent of active-duty military personnel reported binge drinking.   McDonough said that between 2004 and 2006 substance abuse incidents in the military went up 100 percent but treatment referrals went up zero percent.  In order to keep our soldiers healthy this issue needs to be addressed.

Affordable and easily accessible treatment options need to be widely advertised to military personnel and veterans.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers treatment options for military families, veterans and active duty personnel.     

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/138985.php

http://www.erie.gov/veterans/pdfs/newsletter_2009july.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7142413.stm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-10-20-pain-drug-inside_N.htm

http://www.theage.com.au/national/drugabuse-soldiers-ordered-out-of-afghanistan-20101115-17ug7.html?from=watoday_ft

Blog # 2--Prescription Drug Abuse

September 23, 2010







      “Social disapproval of street drugs has grown, and the risks of such drug use has been

publicized more effectively, abuse of street drugs has slowly, but surely declined.” (Garrett) What

has increased is the abuse of prescription drugs. From a young age children are introduced to

prescription drugs and learn that medicine is a way for them to get well when they are sick or hurt.

They do not perceive medicine or prescription drugs to be something negative. As children get

older and start to experiment they realize that using prescription drugs recreationally can give them

a high that is similar to, or sometimes even better than street drugs. The abuse of prescription pain

relievers is a growing problem. A study conducted by the University of Michigan in 2005 found that

10% of high school seniors have used Vicodin and 5.5% said they used OxyContin. This may

seem like a small percentage but that was five years ago and that number is growing steadily.

SAMHSA reports that there has been a 152% increase in emergency room visits in the U.S.

related to OxyContin abuse. Figure 1 represents trends in Emergency Department (ED) visits

involving the nonmedical use of narcotic pain relievers from: 2004 to 2008. Figure 2 represents

visits involving the nonmedical use of narcotic pain relievers by gender and age group: 2004-2008.

Figure 3 breaks down the visits based on drug type.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

      It has been determined that Vicodin and OxyContin are the most commonly abused

prescription medicine “with nearly 1 in 5 teens having abused the medicines.” (Garrett) Vicodin

and Oxycotin are both used to treat pain and can be extremely habit-forming if not taken with

caution. The directions on the prescription label for OxyContin strictly say not to consume

alcohol when taking OxyContin as it can result in death. According to USA today this drug has

become extremely popular at parties and what party is complete without alcohol. Teenagers may

not realize that it is deadly for them to mix alcohol with this drug and when they are offered this at

a party, they don’t think twice. That is how a San Ramon High School Student, Joey Rovero,

died in his dorm room at Arizona State University. He mixed OxyContin with alcohol and it halted

his breathing. He received his drugs through a prescription and sold half of them to his

roommate, who also had an addiction to OxyContin. His drug abuse did not only hurt him, but

affected his family and friends that lost a loved one. 



 

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/DAWN016/OpioidED.htm 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-12-teens-pharm-drugs_x.htm  

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/national/20teen.html

Garret, Rose. “Prescription Drug Abuse: A Growing Problem Among Adolescents.” Education—Bringing Learning to Life. Education.com. http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Prescription

Blog # 1--Substance Abuse - A Victimless Crime?

September 16, 2010
      A victimless crime is an illegal act without an obvious injured party.  Substance abuse, which includes Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), falls under this category but a question is raised whether it is really a victimless crime?  It can be argued that the only person affected by substance abuse is the user because they are not violating anyone’s rights.  .  When an individual consumes AOD there isn’t someone that can be hurt or call the police on them because they have committed a crime against another individual.  With substance abuse becoming a growing problem can it still be said that it is a victimless crime?  No, because everyone that surrounds the individual that is consuming AOD is indirectly affected, therefore becomes a victim.    

      Substance abuse, specifically alcohol, has become extremely popular with teenagers.  Underage drinking has become an apparent problem throughout the world.  Looking at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) statistics in 2003 and 2004 it was reported that throughout the United States percentages of persons from ages of 12 to 20 that have consumed alcohol ranged from 18.63 percent and all the way up to 42.68 percent.  These children that start drinking at such an early age start to develop serious health problems by the time they are in their twenties.  In an “ Vodka, homework and me” , written by Jamie Berry, he writes about a teenager, Helen, who started drinking at an early age of thirteen.  She is now twenty-five years old and suffers from liver disease that was caused by alcohol consumption.  Helen has a 50 percent chance of surviving until the age of thirty.  Substance abuse may be identified as a victimless crime but it is far from that.  Helen has become a direct victim of her crime of substance abuse.