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People who are getting high from salvia are taking a big chance with a one-way ticket to psychosis. While long-term disabilities from use of this drug are not widely reported, there is evidence that even when someone comes down from a salvia high, he is likely to bounce back off into insanity. What’s up with this drug?

Salvia Divinorum is actually a cousin of the sage plant, native to the regions of the Oaxacan Mountains and used by Mazatecan shamans in their practice of mysticism and religion. Tribal priests either chewed the leaves or brewed them into a tea. Simply smoking the leaves produces little effect, but purveyors of this drug will doctor leaves with liquid salvia so that people can smoke the substance in higher concentrations. It can even be liquefied and added by drops into someone’s beverage.  Salvinorum A is the actual active ingredient in this plant.

Its high is different from that of spice or marijuana; it produces more of a hallucinatory effect including out-of-body experiences and flashbacks. The National Drug Intelligence Center reports that people experience feelings of traveling through time and space or the sensation of merging with inanimate objects.  Because sellers control the strength of the product, the high can be a short one or it can last for hours.  A professional from a drug treatment center has stated that many people use it once and then avoid it because they have unpleasant experiences. However, others view it as “any high in a storm.”

People who sell it—some from head shops but mostly on the Internet—will be quick to tell you that it offers medicinal benefits to treat diarrhea, headaches, and even rheumatism. In 2008 researchers acknowledged it had potential to reduce pain without the negative side effects of opioid analgesics and possibly reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, depression, and schizophrenia.

Medical researchers are eager to study it but they are put off by reports of this drug’s after effects. In Delaware, a mother blamed use of salvia for her son’s suicide. The actual cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.  She campaigned with success to have it outlawed in her state.

A psychiatrist at a California hospital-based drug treatment center reported in 2011 on an adult male who presented in the emergency department with active psychosis. He was admitted to the hospital and attempts to wean him from drugs were unsuccessful; he remained actively psychotic due to salvia.

Kate Daily from Newsweek reported that Jared Loughner, the Arizona shooter responsible in 2011 for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ injuries and the deaths of six people, purportedly ingested salvia prior to that shooting. Experts believe that a user will be too incapacitated to commit harmful acts while he’s high, but the drug can trigger a person’s capacity for psychosis and push him over the edge afterward.

Most states now outlaw salvia or categorize it as a Schedule I drug, but the problem, as with spice, continues to be an inconsistent scope of laws across the states.  Exceptions include states that allow its sale when not intended for human consumption, including Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. A couple of those states specify that salvia is approved for landscaping. There are also states that allow it for sale to adults only, including California, Maine, and Maryland. Wisconsin prohibits its possession but not its sale or delivery.

Like most people who abuse substances, those who use spice or salvia will over time develop a relationship with their substance of choice. Only referral to a licensed, certified drug treatment center can help someone learn how to beat his addiction and maintain recovery.  For more information to seek help contact Vista Taos Renewal Center at 1.800.245.8267.

Read More About It

Dailey, Kate. Newsweek online, on The Daily Beast, U.S. News, 1/13/2011, at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/01/13/salvia-and-the-arizona-shooting.html

Join Together Staff at Drugfree.org. Researchers’ Fears Among Salvia Concerns, at http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/researchers-fears-among

News outlets throughout the Southwest and in fact nationwide are reporting on a new prepaid credit card called the “Next Step” card. It’s a card intended for use by adults in recovery. It cannot be used at bars, liquor stores, beer or wine distributors, pawn shops, or ATM machines.

The company offering the card was founded by a group of three recovering addicts:

• Eric Dresdale has a BA in business management and has worked primarily in real estate. He is also known for his involvement in charitable organizations.
• Louis Fisher is proud of his military background and has since funded and organized a variety of entrepreneurial projects. He also works closely with several charitable organizations that target recovery.
• Ryan Jaffe’s background is in marketing and sales, and he works regularly to help addicts who are crossing the bridge from treatment centers to recovery.

The founders came up with the idea for the card because “cash in hand” typically has been an addict’s trigger for use. A trigger is something that makes someone automatically want to use a substance. For example, give a cigarette smoker a cup of coffee and he will automatically want to light up. With substance abuse, the triggers can be many things, but most experts agree that cash triggers a desire to use.

Others dispute that cash is a trigger. Dr. David Festinger and his colleagues writing for The Partnership at Drugfree.org argue that there is insufficient research to support this theory. While there is acknowledgment that having cash on hand has on occasion brought someone to a point of relapse, they say that most people in addiction treatment utilize their cash funds wisely to pay bills or buy food.

However, many addiction treatment centers restrict the use of cash by the clients they are treating. In some cases, even a T-shirt decorated with cash or gold is frowned upon. Clinicians have found that addicts who are in treatment together will, during periods of socialization, enjoy talking about past deals they made, how they scored, and what they would do if they had money. Glorifying cash and drugs does not help someone who’s trying to recover.

How does the Next Step card work? The person in recovery cannot set up his own card. He must have a family member or friend who is willing to establish a primary card, and that card will control or limit the funds for the Next Step card. That means that the addict has to be in a stage of recovery so that he or she has gained the trust of this other person.

It’s also not free. There is a $10 fee to set up the card, and then the user incurs a monthly fee of $15. Transactions are limited to 40 per month for adults, and parents of teens can set up the card so that the teen can use it once per day up to five times daily. The card will not work at package stores for beer, wine and liquor; at bars, taverns, pubs, nightclubs, and cocktail lounges; gambling establishments; dating or escort services; tattoo  or piercing parlors; or ATMs. It will not offer a cash-back option at point-of-service establishments.

The company cannot, of course, guarantee misuse by vendors who will help the addict circumvent the restriction by inflating a purchase price and then giving the addict cash back. The card will not stop someone from purchasing alcohol at a store where the primary business is not alcohol; for example, at a supermarket, the store’s primary products are groceries, but many sell alcohol.

Some people believe, however, that the Next Step card is a real way for the person serious about recovery, working in tandem with a caregiver who supervises his card, to transition back into society and get a feel for controlling his own finances once again. Many people believe that the founders are taking advantage of an opportunity to just make some bucks; but if you consider the cost of the card against the fees charged for house arrest, it might just be justifiable. What do you think?

Resource:

Festinger, David et al, for The Partnership at Drugfree.org. Commentary: Charging Into Recovery – Is Cash Really a Gateway Drug? http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addiction/commentary-charging-into-recovery-is-cash-really-a-gateway-drug?utm_source=Join+Together+Weekly&utm_campaign=cda10d62b1-JTWN_Charging_into_Recovery_Gateway_Drug_102612&utm_medium=email

See also Nextstepcard.com

Families of three clients who died at the Narconon Arrowhead rehab center located in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, have now filed civil lawsuits for wrongful death against the center. According to Randy Ellis writing for the Oklahoman’s online news service, NewsOK, the mother of the third decedent filed suit just one day shy of the anniversary of his death.

Gabriel Graves, age 32, died in his bed at the drug rehab center in Oklahoma in October 2011 following a series of sauna treatments along with administration of high doses of niacin, also known as Vitamin B3. The other two deceased clients were both young women, ages 20 and 21, one from Oklahoma and one from Texas.

The rehab center embraces the philosophy of the Church of Scientology, and its clients are referred to as “students” because they must immerse themselves into the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard during their stay in treatment. According to Anne Schechter writing for NBC’s Rock Center, the clients are required to purify themselves in a sauna up to five hours per day for 30 consecutive days. They are also commonly given up to 5,000 milligrams of niacin per day.

Pros and Cons of Niacin

The theory behind the niacin administration is that toxins from abused substances are stored in the body’s fat cells. Because fat cells can never be completely eliminated, even with a healthy diet and exercise, a high dose of niacin will cause the fat cells to burst, with toxins then eliminated.

Doctors who subscribe to niacin therapy generally advise beginning at the recommended daily dose of 30 milligrams and then building up slowly. According to LiveStrong.com, only in extreme cases and after an appropriate upward titration should a maximum dose of 5,000 milligrams be administered.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that high doses of niacin can indeed cause adverse effects. It has been successfully used and is “likely effective” at a 500 milligram dose for helping to lower cholesterol, when used in conjunction with diet, and for treatment of vitamin B3 deficiency syndrome manifested by diarrhea, skin lesions, mental aberrations, and even death.

Niacin has been deemed “possibly effective” for preventing osteoarthritis, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cataracts, and hardening of the arteries. There is “insufficient evidence” that niacin administration helps with anything else, although it has been used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, migraines, dizziness, depression, motion sickness, acne, and alcohol dependence.

However, the NIH concludes that niacin at doses in excess of 3,000 milligrams can result in liver problems, gout, digestive tract ulceration, heart dysrhythmias, blindness, high blood sugar, and even stroke. Considering that people who persistently abuse drugs or alcohol have a higher incidence of abnormal liver function, it seems that niacin would not be a recommended treatment for them.  Although Mr. Graves’ therapeutic regimen is undisclosed, he complained of headaches and vomiting just prior to his death.

Alternative Therapies

Whether Narconon Arrowhead drug rehab center in Oklahoma and its affiliated centers will revise therapies remains to be seen. According to Schechter’s story, Hollywood’s most famous Scientologists—Tom Cruise and John Travolta—stoutly defend Narconon’s treatment modalities because Scientologists “…are the authorities on getting people off drugs.” The Scientologists believe that Narconon’s methods for engaging clients in detox and withdrawal plus a series of Scientology courses are far more effective than traditional 12-step programs.

Yet there’s no doubt that working the 12 steps can lead a person to successful recovery without sweating out drugs in a sauna or inducing fat cells to rupture. Successful therapies involving art and music aid the addict in refocusing on natural skills and improving concentration techniques. Guided imagery teaches people how to relax and visualize a better future. Massage therapy, yoga, and even acupuncture or communing with animals such as dogs or horses can take the recovering addict toward a brighter future.   For more information read about complementary therapies at www.VistaTaos.com or call 1.800.245.8267.

Ellis, Randy, for NewsOK. Third Lawsuit Filed in Narconon Arrowhead Deaths in Oklahoma, http://newsok.com/third-lawsuit-filed-in-narconon-arrowhead-deaths-in-oklahoma/article/3721980

Schechter, Anna, for NBC’s Rock Center. Families Question Scientology-Linked Drug Rehab After Recent Deaths, http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/16/13312825-families-question-scientology-linked-drug-rehab-after-recent-deaths?lite

Langton, Nicole, for LiveStrong.com. Is Too Much Niacin Bad For You? http://www.livestrong.com/article/511859-is-too-much-niacin-bad-for-you/

NIH Medline link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/924.html

Years ago, when people named the drugs most seriously abused in the United States, they immediately thought of marijuana, cocaine, and—that most despicable of all drugs—heroin. Drug rehab was for people with needle tracks climbing up their arms. If someone was an addict, you knew he lived a life so lowdown he didn’t even know how low down he was.

You can’t be so quick to generalize these days. The business manager wearing the perfect suit with the waistcoat or the fashionista who teaches at the art institute might well be abusing drugs. They’re not using heroin or methamphetamine or ecstasy. According to Mike Gallagher in the Albuquerque Journal Online, in Prescription Drugs Kill More in N.M. Than Heroin http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/08/14/news/prescription-drugs-kill-more-in-nm-than-heroin.html, there are more people in New Mexico dying from prescriptions drugs than from heroin or cocaine.

Gallagher reports on Dr. Harris Silver, a surgeon who got a prescription for pain killers for a disc problem in his neck. When his back problem was resolved, he kept seeking new prescriptions, going from doctor to doctor.  His drug abuse went on for twenty years. He was caught only when an astute pharmacist noticed that he was presenting prescriptions from a variety of doctors and turned him in. 

Nobody thinks they’re “abusing” prescription drugs. Your doctor writes an order so that you can go to the drugstore and pick up something to help you sleep, help you relax, help you quit biting your nails. And then you give some to your spouse—“just try some of this”—or someone else in your family helps themselves to it.  According to the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health quoted by Gallagher, 55 percent of pain medication abusers get their drugs for free by taking them from a friend or relative.

When someone like Dr. Silver gets a prescription for pain medications, he is likely to have difficulty getting multiple refills. Either his doctor or his insurance company will balk at continuing the prescription. That’s when earnest, ordinary people begin stealing from friends and family members, or they turn to drug dealers for something to take the place of the prescription meds.

The three most commonly abused categories of prescription medications include opioid pain relievers, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants. Let’s take a look at each of them.

• Opioids. If you’ve heard of Percocet, Hydrocodone, OxyContin, or even Tylenol with Codeine, then you’ve heard of opioid pain relievers. They are commonly prescribed for postoperative pain or dental problems.  They are dangerous because they cause users to be drowsy and utilize poor judgment, rendering them prone to automobile or other accidents. However, possibly their biggest danger occurs when they depress the respiratory system. You can take painkillers, pass out, and die.
• Central nervous system (CNS) depressants include common, well known benzodiazepine medications such as Valium and Xanax, used to relieve stress and panic attacks. Sleep aids such as Lunesta or Ambien are not classified as benzodiazepines but they work on the same receptors in the brain. There is also a category known as barbiturates, which are better controlled than other CNS depressants. However, since they are sometimes used for surgical patients or for treating seizure disorders, they are still somewhat readily available. They are just as deadly as opioids.
• Stimulants. As you would think from the name, stimulants increase your heart rate, alertness, and overall mental focus. Today they are most often prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder, and they are also very carefully controlled. However, they are popular among people who take them for weight loss and also among college students who want to heighten their alertness when they are studying or taking a test. Aside from the euphoric energy a user will feel, he is also likely to experience paranoia and aggression, and when he comes down from the high he will feel draggy and depressed.  They won’t make you pass out like the other two categories, but how about being “stimulated” all the way to a heart attack?

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) reported in 2008 that 52 million Americans had abused prescription drugs at least once, and 35 million of them had abused pain killers. Over 6 million had used them in the one-month period just prior to the survey.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates that over 6,000 people per month have their first experience abusing prescription drugs.

In New Mexico, Gallagher reports, most of the people who die from prescription drugs are between the ages of 44 and 64. That’s a far cry from the young street punks, right? Among women, more die from prescription drugs than from illegal drugs.

Today Dr. Silver, after successfully completing drug rehab, has switched his specialty to epidemiology, which is the study of disease patterns in the general population. He testified before New Mexico’s Legislative Health and Human Services Committee last year that focusing on drug prevention is twice as cost effective as treatment. 

Gallagher also reports on the case of another man who graduated from painkillers for dental pain to heroin. He went through one drug rehab center and relapsed immediately after his release. Both Dr. Silver and this second young man are also doing well at this time in their recovery. Both of them tell people that drug rehab isn’t easy, that addiction is a complex brain disease that disables a person’s ability to make good decisions.

Rehab isn’t easy. But it’s possible!  Call Vista Taos to begin your road to recovery at 1.800.245.8267.

References

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs/trends-in-prescription-drug-abuse/how-many-people-abuse-prescription-drugs

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm220112.htm

http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/minutes/lhhsminnov2.11.pdf

Some people who recognize that they need to be in recovery simply refuse to attend AA or NA meetings: They just don’t want to be “hassled” by others who practice religion openly in their lives. It turns them off when they hear someone say that they will be doomed if they don’t embrace religion, that they can’t achieve recovery or maintain sobriety without the help of God.

Is that a valid excuse for skipping step work? Can you find your way into recovery without embracing religion?

If you go into a recovery program for 90 days, for example, you will learn the 12 steps of AA or NA, but because understanding each of the steps takes so much time and thought you will really only work your way through the first four steps. They talk about being powerless, believing in a higher power, turning yourself over to your higher power, and conducting a fearless moral inventory.

If you were raised in a household where religion was practiced sternly or not practiced at all, you simply might not see the relevance of turning your life over to the care of God.  After all, all religions are man-made organizations.  They don’t encourage exploration or expansion of the inner self. Some people don’t want to go to confession. Others practice a gay or lesbian lifestyle or believe in other liberal agendas that may be excluded by some religions.

Those people do not take pleasure in participating in a religion that requires the subjugation of oneself to a church leader who passes judgment and sets expectation.  The precepts of most religions require you to accept certain teachings blindly, without question.

However, the key to succeeding in a 12-step recovery program lies in that little phrase at the end of Step 3: It refers to God “as you understand him.”  What that really means is that you are ready to turn yourself away from the self-destructive practices of using alcohol or drugs and instead turn toward a higher power—a new spirituality—that will bring enlightenment and happiness into your life. It doesn’t matter whether your higher power is a supreme being or something else, like a commitment to earth stewardship or a devotion to meditation and healthful living.

Realizing that you can embrace recovery without committing yourself to a strict theological approach is quite possible. It’s a joyous idea! What you really will do is focus not on religion but on spirituality.

Instead of forcing you to accept the stern doctrines of an organized religion, your spirituality will allow you to embrace an inner peace. Instead of accepting creeds etched in stone dictated by church leaders, spirituality allows you to ask questions and formulate your own theories.

Instead of fearing the punishments proscribed by church leaders and bearing heavy guilt for your past sins, you can learn to forgive yourself and move forward. You can learn to forgive the others in your life who have hurt you, and when you cannot change something you can learn to move forward from it. 

So let’s take a good look at the first four steps: 

• Step 1: You are powerless over your addiction: Well, if it’s true, admit it, God or no God. Are your relationships with other people damaged? Have you jeopardized your job and your ability to provide clothing, food, and shelter for yourself and your family? Has your substance abuse brought you legal problems? Has your addiction at times made you physically ill?
• Step 2: A power greater than yourself can restore you to sanity. You owe it to yourself to evaluate your perceptions of religion. If you don’t like religion, why not? How was it practiced in your household when you were growing up? Do you think that scientific energy drives the universe? If so, how can you synergize with the world around you?
• Step 3: You will turn yourself over to the will of God as you understand him. There is not a God in any known religion who wants you to obey him mindlessly. If you do embrace the idea of a supreme being, think of Him-Her-It as a being that wants you to do what you believe is the right thing. Once you embrace the thinking, the recovery program, and the 12-step group, you can focus on using your intellect to learn.  You can begin to work on recognizing your relationship with your addiction, your need for treatment, and the triggers that spur you on to substance abuse.
• Step 4: The searching and fearless inventory. The first three steps all lead to this one. No matter whether you believe in God or if you deny his existence, you reach the point at Step 4 when you have to turn your probing inspections inward at yourself. What kind of character do you have? Are you a good person more than a bad person? What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Recovery by way of development of your inner spirituality can certainly work when you don’t hold a conviction to religious beliefs. What spirituality means in real practice is an attention to yourself: Enhance your inner self with meditation. Expand your mind through journaling. Focus on outward practices such as environmental causes or mentorship in an area where you have strengths.

You may do well in a recovery program that helps you explore those inner needs and characteristics. Yoga can help you become a more calm and focused person. Holistic treatments, acupuncture, and artistic therapies let you develop self-confidence and emotional healing. Even a guilty pleasure such as massage helps to relieve discomfort and reduce stress.

Learn to treat your body better as you begin your spiritual recovery from addiction. Drink healthful foods. Read the nutritional panels on the packages of your favorite healthy foods when you shop. Find an exercise program that suits you, whether it involves free weights, a machine circuit, cardio classes, or swimming. If you once enjoyed reading, drawing, singing, or another creative pastime, then take it up again. Only when you embrace your own complete harmony with the world around you will you be able to travel down the road to recovery, whether you travel with God or without him.

Vista Taos Renewal Center’s therapeutic efforts are grounded the Twelve-Step  model.  For more information on the residential treatment program contact them 1.800.245.8267.

The Austin American-Statesman reported in September 2012 that of the Texas veterans who have died since their service in Iraq or Afghanistan, a full-one third passed away from drug overdoses, suicide, or traffic accidents. The newspaper’s investigation reveals what law enforcement officials as well as local communities have been slow to recognize: Even though our veterans honor us by serving our country, we fail to reciprocate that honor by adequately treating their addiction and abuse problems.

The average age of these dying veterans is only 28 years old. They leave behind them wives, children, and families who mourn them and simultaneously question the need for their loss. Many of these untimely passages could have been prevented had their families and friends recognized the dangers of the antidepressant drugs they were taking and helped them find appropriate drug rehabilitation centers

As reported on Statesmen-com   http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-military/texas-war-veteran-deaths-studied/nSPJs/  the figures stack up like this:

• Of 266 Texas veterans’ deaths investigated, more than one-third of them died from a toxic combination of drugs, from the overdose of a single substance such as an antidepressant, or from suicide.
• Of those 266, one-fifth of the fatalities resulted from vehicular accidents, with figures unavailable for the percentage that were driving under some type of intoxication.
• Of 46 veterans with a primary diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), only two of them died from natural causes. That’s a mortality rate of 83 percent.

Many of our returning veterans suffer from both depression as well as a physical disability resulting from the war, seeking to self-medicate, they too often combine antidepressants with pain medication,  a deadly cocktail. Add to those medications a real cocktail—on those occasions when the young men and women decide to add alcohol to their regimen, you have a recipe for disaster.

Almost 20 percent of the 266 deaths were attributable to suicide. The real number may be higher because deaths were not counted as suicide if the decedent did not leave a note.

Too many veterans need effective treatment in drug rehabilitation centers but fail to receive it. The Veterans Administration insists that it can only provide treatment when it is requested.  Protocols for administration of pain drugs and those for PTSD have been implemented, but according to the investigation from the Austin newspaper, the VA is failing to assess fair adequate numbers of returning veterans. This prevents them from recognizing the scope of the problem as a whole.

Many veterans receive prescriptions to treat their pain or depression without adequate education or counseling about the dangers of taking a high dose of medication. They do not anticipate the overwhelming effect on their bodies when they combine drugs or use drugs with alcohol.

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness, commented on this story, stating that the young ages and physiology of our returning soldiers—with an overwhelming number of them under the age of 25—makes them more susceptible to side effects such as suicidal and even homicidal ideation.

While there are veterans turning to the drug rehabilitation centers at VA Hospitals, others seek help from community providers. This is sometimes because of access to services, and other times it’s because they want to hide their problems from the military machine. Often it’s a member of the family who turns to a community service provider.

In Oklahoma and some other states, veterans participating in drug rehabilitation centers may leave those programs because new laws forbid them to smoke cigarettes.  http://newsok.com/tobacco-using-vets-fear-they-could-be-asked-to-leave-state-owned-centers/article/3663305 According to a story in the online version of The Oklahoman, a law passed early in 2012 has now gone into effect forbidding smoking in state-run facilities. About 20 percent of those veterans smoke cigarettes. Even though cigarettes were provided when they went to war in Iraq or Afghanistan, they now have to give them up if they want to continue treatment.

Those who do seek help for mental health or substance abuse often feel that counselors and social workers fail to understand the military culture. How can a licensed therapist without wartime experience understand the stresses of deployment, the MREs (ready-to-eat meals), and the lack of privacy while showering and sleeping? Many of them feel frustrated just trying to tell their story to a therapist when they have to stop and explain a slew of military abbreviations and anagrams or describe what they were doing within the context of a day.

Meanwhile, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that almost 600,000 veterans suffer from co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders in a given 12-month period. The number is staggering. The consequences are frightening.

People getting high today demonstrate a high amount of resourcefulness in getting their buzz, and a couple of plant-based substances continue to cause concern among professionals in drug rehab centers and families of substance abusers. If someone in your family is smoking spice or K2, you need to know that those drugs are pretty much the same thing, and sellers have been pretty creative about skirting the laws against its sale.

The Many Names of Spice

Maybe you’ve heard it called spice, K2, smoke, genie, Yucatan fire, sence, skunk, bliss, black mamba, or zohai. Those are all names for the same drug, JWH-018, although there are slight variations.

The actual high comes from a man-made chemical originally created by researchers who wanted to study the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Sellers use it to spray it on herbs; it is available in head shops and even gas stations marketed as potpourri or incense. While it is a favorite right now of teens and young adults, anyone who’s craving a marijuana high can get a similar high from using this drug.  Appropriate treatment takes place in licensed drug rehab centers.

The short-term side effects include lack of pain response, elevated levels of agitation, increased sweating, nausea and vomiting, spastic body movements and seizures, as well as increased heart rate and blood pressure, prompting drug treatment center professionals and state legislators to work to get this drug banned from legal use.

The initial problem with doing that was that laws addressed specific components of the chemical, and its manufacturers would simply slightly alter it so that it fell outside of legislated bans.

Finally, in March 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration passed a one-year ban against spice and all synthetic cannabinoids, and it was passed permanently in 2012. By the end of 2012, 41 states had passed specific legislation prohibiting spice, with the exceptions being Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont.  Nevada, Oregon, and Washington reflected bans by classifying it as a schedule I drug through their state pharmacy boards.

The United States military finally addressed its problematic and growing use among the young men who are serving our country: Its semi-legal status and easy portability made it a favorite among enlisted men. Early in 2012 the Secretary of the Army issued comprehensive wording making it clear that soldiers are not allowed to use it, possess it, manufacture it, sell it, distribute it, import it, or export it.

If someone in your home is using spice you’ll find it packaged in little plastic kitchen-type storage bags, usually with a colorful label stuck on it. Since it’s been categorized in the same DEA schedule as PCP, ecstasy, and marijuana, there should be no question of its legality.

Just as with marijuana and its characterization as a so-called gateway drug, users of spice will find themselves in danger of moving on to other, more serious drugs. Specialists in drug rehab centers are best equipped to help your loved one fight their dependency on this drug.  The  counselors at Vista Taos Renewal Center are ready to help you or your loved one.  Simply call them at 1.800.245.8267.

Read More About It

National Conference of State Legislators, November 2010. http://www.ncsl.org/magazine/trends-and-transitions-october-november-2010.aspx#pot National Conference of State Legislatures.

Lopez, C. Todd, on The Official Homepage of the United States Army, “Spice” Now Illegal, 03/24/2011, http://www.army.mil/article/53810/spice-now-illegal/.

Is medical marijuana harmful to our society today? If medical marijuana dispensaries are approved by various states, they must be okay—right? Consider these scenarios taking place right now in Colorado.

The Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Michael Weisser of Carbondale, Colorado, was denied a permit to operate his business providing medical marijuana in a decision handed down on October 11, 2012. The perplexed businessman has had his shop doors open for about a year, but the town’s trustees have put a temporary halt to his business based on technicalities.

The trustees’ vote was divided, 4-3 against granting Weisser the license to operate. The opposing trustees stated that they had concerns about the filing of a sales tax license by the store’s original owner just two days before the town invoked a moratorium prohibiting any additional medical marijuana dispensaries.

The sales tax license was never revoked, but when Weisser purchased the business in 2011 he was ordered by the trustees to revise his business application because he had not revised the certificate of occupancy necessary when the store underwent remodeling. In addition, at this most recent hearing, he has been told to satisfy questions from the trustees about multiple addresses listed on his license.

Weisser’s business is clearly rated tops among shops when it comes to the green stuff—that means marijuana, not moolah—as Cannapages.com rates his product at 5 out of 5 points for overall product quality,  product, store, staff, and price. But apparently the town already has one marijuana dispensary and wants to avoid adding another and risk being viewed as a center of cannabis commerce.

Amendment 64

A concomitant Colorado issue concerns Amendment 64, appearing on the ballot in November. It proposes that persons age 21 and over shall not be prosecuted for possessing or consuming limited quantities of marijuana, for providing for the licensure of cultivation facilities, or for a slew of other allowances for possession or consumption.

Some proponents, including a group of doctors who endorsed passage of Amendment 64, advocate that it’s “time to embrace a more commonsense policy,” noting that they don’t see marijuana as harmful to teens—even though the passage of Amendment 64 would validate use and consumption only by those over the age of 21. That seems like comparing apples and oranges, so just what are they smoking?

Marijuana: Yes, It’s a Gateway Drug

Consider these statistics from the Drug Awareness page of Eureka County, Nevada:

• Of people who don’t use marijuana, only 0.1 percent go on to try heroin. Of marijuana users, 9 percent try heroin.
• Of adults who tried marijuana when they were teens, 62 percent of them go on to try cocaine.
• Of adults who tried marijuana when they were teens, over 59 percent of them abuse psychotropic drugs, the pills that relieve anxiety or depression.
• Each year, 2.1 million people try marijuana for the first time.

Why do people move on from marijuana to more harmful drugs? A study done by Hall and Lynskey in 2005 suggests that some people have a predisposition, either genetic or nurtured, to try a variety of drugs. Perhaps a more significant reason is a person’s integration into a drug-using culture; once they’ve experimented with marijuana and associated with the socioeconomic group that supports its use, they will tolerate a higher degree of exposure to illicit substances.

Does Medical Marijuana Help?

These facts are gathered form a variety of reliable sources about the effectiveness of medical marijuana. Read them and make your own decision:

• For cancer patients and people suffering from other illnesses, said former U.S. Senator and medical doctor Bill Frist of Tennessee in 2003, there are many pharmaceutical analgesics that offer safer alternatives to pain relief than marijuana to help cancer patients and other pain victims.
• The National Eye Institute in 2009 issued a statement, as a result of research that began in 1978, that marijuana for glaucoma did not reduce intraocular eye pressure more effectively than approved medications. In addition, it cautioned against the increased heart rate and decreased blood pressure associated with use of marijuana.
• Many experts have cited the number of harmful carcinogens ingested into the lungs when marijuana is smoked, exposing the user to potential cancer or respiratory disease.
• HIV/AIDS patients who use marijuana medically risk a decrease in their natural immunity as well as increased susceptibility to allergic pathogens.
• Harmful effects of marijuana withdrawal include cravings, decreased appetite, aggression, instability, restlessness, insomnia, and anger, based on a 2001 report from the University of Arkansas Center for Addiction Research.

The Number One Reason to Oppose Medical Marijuana

Ask the adults you know who use drugs today, and be honest with yourself: How many of them first got high as teenagers, maybe even got high with their older siblings or parents? That scenario occurs far more common than most people believe. If that was how you first used, do you want to pass that legacy on to your children?

Of all the reasons to oppose medical marijuana, the number one reason involves the adults who support Amendment 64, the medical marijuana dispensaries, and the use of marijuana in general. When those adults characterize marijuana as harmless and even good, they contribute to a culture among our teens that abstinence from drugs is not necessary, that drug use can be normal and accepted.  Those children will be the 9 percent, the 59 percent, and the 62 percent who move on to more serious drugs. And that is something we cannot tolerate. 

Drug Awareness page of Eureka County, Nevada: http://www.co.eureka.nv.us/methsite/marijuana.html)

Hall and Lynskey, Drug Alcohol Rev 2005 Jan:24(1):39-48. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16191720

Have you been considering treatment in a residential drug treatment center? You’re probably wondering just what it will be like.  The idea of stopping your abuse or dependency of a substance is scary, whether it be to drugs, alcohol or both. You’ve reached a point at which you really can’t just quit on your own, and you’ve probably even had some outpatient treatment. What will happen to you when you’re admitted for residential treatment?

Scheduling an Admission

There are very few cases when someone is carted off dramatically and dropped off at a treatment center without some kind of advance planning. You will go through an assessment, which is an appointment with a licensed substance abuse counselor who will ask you all kinds of questions about your use of legal and illegal substances. You will also answer questions about your family life, social life, work life, legal problems, physical health, and mental health.

Once you agree to residential treatment, a date will be set for your admission. Depending on the facility, it may come quickly; at other places, there can be a waiting list. While the professionals will want to admit you as quickly as possible, your admission will be planned.

Your First Day

Once you’re admitted to the facility, a counselor will be assigned to be in charge of your treatment. This counselor will manage all aspects of your care, from substance abuse to family issues, medical, problems, and so on.

Usually within 24 hours of your admission the counselor will sit down with you and create a treatment plan. He will describe to you how the center’s staff will manage your care by addressing areas such as detox or withdrawal; biomedical health; emotional, behavioral, or cognitive conditions or complications; treatment acceptance; family functioning; aftercare planning; and recovery environment. Most of this will be accomplished by group counseling and some individual one-on-one sessions.

On your part, you’ll tell the counselor what you hope to achieve by going through the residential treatment program. It’s quite possible that by the time you leave, your goals will be changed, but that’s not something to think about on your first day.

Your counselor should tell you that everything he and his staff will do will be aimed at helping you to achieve a successful discharge from the facility. He will arrange for you to have an easy transition back to the life you once had, the life you lived before substance abuse—or create a new life if that’s what is needed.

Treatment Modalities

Just what is a treatment modality? It’s a therapeutic regimen or series of treatments that will help you reach your goal of quitting substance abuse. They occur outside of the group therapy sessions, and they are aimed at helping you to think about your relationship with your drug of choice. Here are examples of common treatment exercises:

• Exploring Yourself. Your counselor might have you answer a questionnaire about the kind of person you are. It’s not so easy to come up with 25 things about yourself, for example, but if you stop and take some time to think about it, you can remember the person you really are beneath the influence of the drugs.
• Use, Consequences, Secrets. When did you first start using? What were the consequences? What secrets were you forced to keep as a result? Your story might have begun years ago, when you were a teen. If you smoked cigarettes when you weren’t allowed, and then you got sick, but you had to hide it from your mother, that could have been the beginning of substance abuse. The idea of the exercise is to connect your behaviors with the consequences that they bring.
• Vision Board. What do you see as your future? Certainly you have one! What would you like to do, if you weren’t mired down by the problems associated with drug use, such as feeling unwell and not having enough money or time?  Most people forget their natural gifts when they are focusing on getting their next high. Maybe you once had an aptitude for drawing or playing music, and once you stop your substance abuse, that natural skill will be something you can enjoy once again.
• Family Tree. While you cannot blame others in your family for your substance abuse, it’s possible that others in your family have had problems similar to yours. It’s true that addiction behaviors tend to run in families.  Looking at your family tree can help you see the pattern, and it can help you make a commitment to being a good role model to younger people in your family.

It’s Not a Sunny Day at the Beach

Those are just a sample of the treatment exercises you can expect while you’re in substance abuse therapy. It’s hard to stop blaming the world around you and turn your gaze inward to critique yourself. But in order to do so effectively, the residential treatment center will limit your contact with the outside world.

That means it will be no sunny day at the beach! Your phone calls and visitations will be limited. Most likely, you will not be able to access the Internet. The treatment center will want you to get your head into treatment and focus on the path to recovery. 

Recovery, of course, does not end with your stay at the residential treatment. You have to look at recovery the way you would think of a medical disease like diabetes. If your doctor says you have diabetes, he can give you a diet and some medication, but you really must manage it your whole life.

The same thing applies to recovery. It’s like an illness, the medical diagnosis of addiction; but with the help from your residential treatment center counselors, you can manage this—and go back to a life worth living once again.

Do you know someone who needs to be in an addiction treatment center? The process is a bit more involved than you might think, although it’s certainly possible to make rapid moves toward recovery. However, it’s never as dramatic as the cases depicted on daytime talk shows. You’ve probably seen when a television host showcases a family led by an intervention specialist to confront an addicted relative or friend about the need for treatment.

But in the real world, there is no rapid “whisking away” of a family member into an addiction treatment center. If that happens, it’s because the host of the television show has worked behind the scenes with the family and with the treatment specialists. Let’s find out what usually happens.

The Real World

In the typical case, there is an addicted friend or family member whose use or abuse of a specific substance is wreaking havoc on his life. Perhaps he is endangering his health through substance abuse. In many cases the person is no longer able to sustain good personal relationships. He may lose his job or flunk out of school. Maybe he’s had a brush with the law, for driving while intoxicated or even been charged with a theft, committed because he needed money to support his habit.

If that sounds familiar, then you’ve probably been putting up with this person’s use for quite some time. Initially, everyone excuses it. The person promises she can quit whenever she wants, and everybody gives her chance after chance to do so. The thing is; it never lasts.

The Elephant in the Living Room

 The family member’s addiction becomes like an elephant in the living room. This is a popular analogy among addiction treatment specialists. It’s an apt description because the addiction really takes a lot of time and energy from the people who have to put up with it. You have to feed the elephant, by helping the person get enough money to buy his substance of choice. You have to tend to the elephant, making excuses for the addicted person—calling his work when he can’t make it in because of a hangover, for example. You even have to clean up after this horrible, huge elephant:  Paying legal fines, smoothing over episodes of verbal or physical abuse from the addicted person, and worse.

The amazing thing about the elephant in the living room is that everyone pretends it’s not even there. There is no problem. There is no addiction. As soon as the person sobers up and apologizes to everyone, the elephant goes away—until the next time. Sound familiar?

What Is an Assessment?

 When you call an addiction treatment center, you can expect a counselor or intake person to schedule an appointment for what is called an assessment. The assessment will be a meeting between a counselor licensed in addiction treatment who will talk with the person about what substances she uses, how often she uses them, and how she takes them. There will be other questions concerning the person’s family life, work or school life, any legal difficulties, and even any mental health issues. The counselor will meet with the addicted person and will then talk with family members only if the addict signs an authorization permitting the counselor to do so. The addict’s confidentiality is strictly protected by federal law.

At the end of the assessment, the counselor will recommend a “level of care”. Most states require therapists and treatment facilities to recommend the least restrictive level of care for someone seeking help. That means that no matter how angry you may be with the person, no matter how much you want to put him into a treatment center, the first step will most likely may be in an outpatient setting.

• Outpatient substance abuse counseling takes place once a week, usually in one-hour sessions with a licensed substance abuse professional.
• Intensive outpatient counseling gets the addicted individual involved in a set number of sessions per week—usually three sessions per week, for two or three hours per session. Just as the name says, it’s more intensive!
• Partial hospitalization is a day program. It is less restrictive than residential treatment because the patient goes home at the end of a day spent in therapy.
• Residential treatment centers will provide a bed for the addicted who has agreed to seek help. The addict will remain there for a specified length of treatment and abide by the treatment center’s rules. The rules are set up to keep the patient focused on his need for treatment, and he will participate in daily treatment programs through groups and therapeutic activities and may only have visitors as approved by his substance abuse counselor, so that the patient is focused solely on his own recovery.

Involuntary Commitment

 There is another option available when the family or friends of an addict believe that she constitutes a danger to herself because of her substance abuse. The family can require the person to be assessed by staff at an area mental health hospital. If the addict’s behavior is out of control, the family can ask for police assistance in transporting the person to the hospital for evaluation.

The hospital personnel will then determine if the person’s substance abuse merits immediate hospitalization to keep him safe. Usually, however, the hospital’s care is limited to stabilizing the person over a period of about 72 hours and then the person is released. While they always recommend follow-up care at one of the levels mentioned above, it is up to the individual to accept the recommended treatment.

When the Courts Come Into Play

The court system is usually a last resort.  If the addicted individual has broken the law through her behavior, it’s up to a member of her family to go to the county prosecutor’s office and press charges against her. In many cases, an addict will not get help until she is court-ordered to do so.

Helping a member of your family a friend to get help at an addiction treatment center is emotionally painful, but just remember: You are probably saving that person’s life.