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The lobby groups that fought hard to stop the passing of legislation that legalized marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington State were beaten but not stopped when those bills passed. As the states work to determine exactly how to proceed and regulate a formerly illegal substance, the anti-marijuana advocate groups are rebuilding and now they have a Kennedy at their helm, according to the Seattle Times.

Fighting the Rising Tide

Former Democratic representative from Rhode Island Patrick Kennedy announced that he’s starting a group to fight the legalization of marijuana called Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana). Kevin Sabet, drug policy advisor to the White House, as well as others with a strong and vocal stance against the legalization of marijuana are all on the group’s advisory board. Perhaps less important than the Kennedy name is Patrick’s personal struggle with recovery as well as the long history of addiction in his family. Personal conviction and anecdotal evidence of the damage caused by ongoing addiction is the most powerful tool in the belt of groups fighting against a drug that is now legal in two states and whose legalization is being considered by numerous other states.

Anti-Legalization Stance Does Not Necessarily Support Criminalization of Addiction

Some supporters of legalizing marijuana say that it’s clear that the current criminalization of addiction has proven to be ineffective. They’re right. However, legalizing all substances or just marijuana is not necessarily the answer to the problem of addiction either. In between those two is the continued identification of those who have a drug problem by law enforcement with the end result being mandatory drug treatment – not prison time. When addicts get help, they can stop using drugs and build a positive life for themselves. When they are simply handed the legal right to get high, they lose the net that would catch them before they fall into an overdose, serious criminal behavior, or deadly accident.

Helping Your Loved One Beat Addiction

If you are concerned that the legalization of marijuana will only serve to increase the problems your family member is currently experiencing due to drug and alcohol abuse, the best way to address the problem is to help them enroll in a treatment program that will help them learn how to live without drugs and alcohol completely. At Alta Mira, we offer evidence-based care that has the goal of helping your loved one find abstinence. Call now to learn more about our intensive addiction treatment programs and help your loved one avoid the risks of drug dependence.

It may seem counterintuitive, but Kratom, a drug derived from a tree commonly found in Southeast Asia, may be effective in the treatment of withdrawal symptoms associated with detoxification for drugs including:

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Morphine
• Methamphetamine

Though Kratom is a black market substance sometimes abused in the United States, like methadone is a “replacement” medication for treatment of heroin addiction, Kratom is often used in Southeast Asia as a maintenance medication for patients in recovery from opium addiction. But will it be effective as a generalized remedy for withdrawal symptoms associated with detox?

The Study

Christopher R. McCurdy is a researcher from the University of Mississippi and he and his team sought to answer that question. They isolated active compounds in Kratom and found that these substances were useful in helping mice addicted to morphine when it came to dealing with withdrawal symptoms. Called mitragynine, the researchers believe that variations of this compound served as a tea during recovery could be helpful in aiding humans as they go through detox.

In a news release, McCurdy said: “Mitragynine completely blocked all withdrawal symptoms and could provide a remarkable step-down-like treatment for people addicted to hardcore narcotics such as morphine, oxycodone or heroin. The compound has been known for years, but we’re working to come up with an improved synthetic analog or a better formulation of the tea for testing in humans.”

Is Kratom Dangerous?

Labeled as a “concern drug” in the United States due to the fact that many who have used the substance have ended up in the emergency room, McCurdy and his team determined that the Kratom samples they used had no contaminants. However, like methadone can also be a drug of abuse and addiction that creates medical issues of its own when abused, Kratom may be effective in treatment of addiction as long as its use is monitored carefully.

Said McCurdy: “A lot of people who become addicted to methamphetamine, cocaine or even heroin truly want to quit. They begin with recreational use and don’t think they will become addicted, but (they) soon get to the point where they almost must take the drug to survive, because withdrawal is so intense.”

Detox and Addiction Treatment

Addressing withdrawal symptoms that occur during detox is important, but treating the physical aspect of addiction is just the first step in an effective treatment program. Psychotherapy that helps the patient process trauma, manage mental health symptoms, and deal with current obstacles to recovery is necessary in order to maintain sobriety in the long-term. Call us at Alta Mira today to learn more about how we can help your loved one begin their personal path to wellness.

After decades of research, it is clear that addiction is a medical disorder, a disease that affects and changes how the brain works and not an issue of willpower – or lack thereof. A recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Studies of Addiction recently re-confirmed this assertion and took it a step further. By utilizing MRI research, or scans of the brain, researchers were able to make an educated guess as to whether or not addicts would be successful in recovery or would instead relapse by viewing the changes that occurred in the brain when confronted with pictures of drugs of abuse and associated paraphernalia.

Hope Through Recovery

The goal of the study was not to create a crystal ball that would predict whether or not a patient would relapse after treatment but to determine the amount of sway that drugs of addiction held over patients who were beginning drug rehab. When there was an extreme response noted by heightened brain activity when a patient was exposed to pictures of substances of abuse, it was clear that the grip of addiction was strong and that that patient may find the challenges to sobriety greater as compared to patients who exhibited less brain activity when exposed to the same pictures.

Anna Rose Childress is a psychologist who directs the Center for Studies of Addiction’s cocaine-related MRI research. Said Childress: “You can be a fortuneteller. But it’s not just knowledge. It’s not just pretty brain pictures. It’s hope.”

Creating More Effective Treatment

When given a clear picture of the depth of addiction in a particular patient, the opportunity arises to provide more effective therapeutic intervention during the treatment process. It has long been known that a personalized treatment plan that addresses the specific struggles faced by the patient will be more effective in the long-term than a “cookie cutter” drug rehab program that places no weight on personal experience or areas of need.

With a better understanding of the impact of drugs of addiction on the brain, researchers hope to one day further personalize the treatment of each patient by perhaps providing medication that addresses the person’s mental vulnerabilities and capitalizes upon their strengths.

Doing the Work

While there is no magic pill currently on the market, personalized or otherwise, to cure addiction, there are effective and evidence-based therapeutic treatments that can help addicts to overcome their dependence upon substances of abuse and learn how to create a new life for themselves in sobriety. Contact us at Alta Mira today to learn more about our unique addiction treatment program.

It is estimated that about 14 million prescriptions for medications designed to treat the symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are given out every month in the United States to patients between the ages of 20 and 39. Those numbers were from 2011 and represent a sharp increase up from the 5.6 million prescriptions written to the same population for the same purpose just four years prior, according to the New York Times.

The increased number of prescriptions may be due in part to an increased understanding of the issues facing many adults who live with ADHD, but it is definitely due to an increased number of patients who have developed an addiction to these medications – like Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, Ritalin and others – thanks to its stimulant effects and the ability it gives them to focus for hours at a time. The problem is that chronic use of these drugs can lead to psychosis, delusion, aggressive behavior, and an inability to function healthfully. For many, the mental health problems it causes can be so great that suicide is the result.

Breaking the Stereotype of Addiction

Young adults who are living with an addiction to drugs like Adderall are not the stereotypical “junky” living in the shadows, breaking laws, and clearly at odds with the basic social contracts of social interaction and personal responsibility. The patients who are developing an addiction to Adderall are smart. They present well. They are well dressed and well behaved, often affluent with lofty academic and career goals. They often begin taking these drugs because they are looking for assistance to study for tests or complete multiple projects efficiently. They don’t necessarily consider that a life-altering – or life-ending – addiction can be the result.

The Risks of Untreated ADHD Medication Addiction

Unfortunately, stimulant ADHD medication addiction can be hugely mind-altering. Though it provides focus for between six and eight hours to those who are new to use of the drug, a higher and higher dose will be necessary to achieve these same effects after a few months of use, and higher doses increase the negative side effects experienced. Over time, patients often begin to experience:

• Uncontrollable rage and violent behavior
• Extreme mood swings that are drug-dependent (e.g., on the medications the patient may be friendly but when they wear off, he may be morose or aggressive)
• Paranoia that people or objects are spying on them
• Delusional behavior

Treatment Changes the Course of Addiction

If your loved one is living with an active addiction to ADHD medication, help them find balance in their lives through addiction treatment. Contact us at Alta Mira today for more information.

We know that genetic predisposition to the development of addiction behaviors can contribute to alcohol abuse risk. We also know that environmental issues like trauma and overly permissive parenting can increase the risk of alcohol abuse developing in adulthood. Additionally, it’s been shown that mental health issues can contribute to the rate of alcohol use as well.

To further explore contributing causes of alcohol abuse, a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs looked at different neighborhoods to determine whether or not the economic disadvantage or advantage of the neighborhood affected whether or not residents were more or less likely to abuse alcohol. Race and gender both played a part, it was found, but the study determined that neighborhood disadvantage not only played a part in whether or not someone was more likely to abuse alcohol but whether they were to experience negative consequences as a result.

Gender, Race, Alcohol-Related Consequences, and Neighborhood

In the study, these four factors were all shown to work together to have an effect on whether or not people were more likely to abuse alcohol. Though white residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to drink than white residents of advantaged neighborhoods, the disadvantaged residents were more likely to experience negative alcohol-related consequences than the advantaged residents. Additionally, black men and Hispanic men were more likely to drink when living in a disadvantaged neighborhood as compared to peers of the same race living in advantaged neighborhoods. Disadvantaged white women and black men were most likely to experience negative consequences due to alcohol abuse.

What Influences the Alcohol Abuse Behaviors of Your Loved One?

The study pointed out that a number of influences can come together to increase the chances that someone will abuse alcohol. Of course, someone could have all the characteristics of a person likely to abuse alcohol and never have a drinking problem, and another person could have none of the characteristics that statistically increase the likelihood of alcohol abuse and ultimately develop alcoholism. Every person is different.

This is why treatment, too, must be highly individualized to address the needs of each patient. Someone coming from economic advantage who struggles with a drinking problem will have different issues to address than someone who comes from economic disadvantage. The more personalized the treatment program, the better the chance of a successful recovery characterized by long-term sobriety.

Call us at Alta Mira today to find out more about what your loved one needs in treatment.

We know that the initial draw to cocaine use and chronic cocaine abuse is the “reward” experience it provides, or the high. Controlled use defines the decision to abuse cocaine the first few times and, after that, use becomes compulsive or uncontrolled. This shift is neurobiological in nature, but very little is known about how it works. However, a recent study published in Neuropsychopharmacology explored the process with the goal of providing more effective intervention for patients who are struggling with cocaine abuse and getting them the help they need before it turns into addiction.

The Study

MicroRNAs, also known as miRNAs, control the function of RNAs in the brain. One microRNA can regulate thousands of RNA transcripts, and it is believed that this mechanism can be key to the development of addiction. These miRNAs may be responsible for a number of responses to regular drug use and, according to the study, could be the key to managing those responses in treatment.

The Brain and the Body

There is a deep connection between the mind, body and spirit, and this connection is often the focus of comprehensive addiction treatment centers. Though physical dependence may one day be manipulated by pharmacological intervention, anecdotal evidence has shown time and again that the removal of physical withdrawal symptoms and dependence means nothing if it is not backed by healing on a psychological and spiritual level as well.

Patients who use drugs and alcohol to numb psychic and emotional wounds will still need to medicate in some way even if their “medication” of choice is taken away. When they learn healthy ways to deal with psychological and spiritual pain, they can learn how to decrease their levels of discomfort and increase their ability to stay clean and sober for the long-term.

What Does Your Loved One Need From Treatment?

It can be difficult to choose a drug and alcohol rehab for your loved one because success is based on the highly personal issues that he or she faces, and you may or may not be privy to the information you need to make an accurate choice in treatment services. The best thing you can do is find a drug and alcohol rehab that offers a wide range of effective resources to handle any eventuality.

• Long-term, inpatient care available for total submersion in treatment
• Low number of patients in residence during treatment
• High number of well-educated substance abuse treatment specialists
• Intensive diagnostic process that identifies the specific obstacles and challenges facing your loved one
• Multiple types of therapy so your loved one can find a perfect fit

Alta Mira: Comprehensive Recovery and Addiction Treatment

Here at Alta Mira, we offer an intensive treatment program that can aid your loved one in healing from addiction on multiple levels. Call today to speak to a counselor about options in treatment and care.