VistaTaos

The New Years’ weekend was busy for police departments across the country. As each precinct focused on keeping drivers who were under the influence off the roads, they made many arrests.

In Dallas on New Years’ weekend, 31 people were arrested for driving under the influence. This number is lower than last year’s 34 arrests, and perhaps this year’s “no refusal” initiative influenced drivers to celebrate more responsibly. 

From Dec. 30, 2011 to Jan. 2, 2012, the Dallas Police Department enforced the “no refusal” initiative. This acting law states that any driver who refuses to take an alcohol breath test will be subject to the warrant process, wherein the arresting police officer obtains a warrant to draw the driver’s blood.

This process expedited the standard arrest protocol. During normal daily law in Dallas, drivers are able to refuse a breath test upon arrest and wait until they arrive at the station to have their blood drawn. In many cases, the extra time spent booking the citizen could allow him or her to become sober enough to pass the blood test with a legal blood alcohol content.

 Dallas and San Antonio both adopted the “no refusal” initiative over the weekend, and the Dallas P.D. was able to make six arrests over the weekend due to the initiative: six persons refused the breath tests; warrants and tests were issued; and the offending citizens were arrested.

After the successes seen during the initiative period, speculation abounds that the initiative will be adopted as daily law in parts of Texas.  

For those who face alcohol abuse and/or drunk driving issues, the implementation of this potential law could be the driving force needed to seek alcohol rehab assistance. Alcohol rehab programs, like Vista Taos in New Mexico, can help alcoholics overcome the underlying issues that lead to addiction. Alcoholism can cause a long list of problems. It can damage your heath, your relationships and bring about legal problems. If you or a loved one need help, contact Vista Taos’ alcohol rehab program to learn more. Located in New Mexico, clients from the Dallas Texas area, as well as other surrounding cities in Texas and southern states have found help within Vista Taos.

Charlie Sheen’s twin boys may have another troubled parent in their lives. The boys’ mother, Brooke Mueller, was arrested on Saturday, December 3, 2011 for assaulting a woman in a popular Aspen bar. Mueller was also in possession of cocaine, which she intended to distribute. Cocaine possession with intent to distribute is a felony.

Mueller is no stranger to drug and alcohol charges. In September 1996, she was arrested for driving under the influence. In March 2001, Mueller faced charges for cocaine possession, but since she had no drugs in her system, the charges were dropped. In May 2011, Mueller entered an outpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, which she completed.

As the primary custodian of her twin boys, Mueller has been the more stable influence in the twins’ lives. Sheen assaulted Mueller on Christmas Day 2009, and his past drug and alcohol abuse has been extensive. Sheen has recently battled and overcome his abuse issues very publicly, and now he appears to be back on track in all aspects of his life. In fact, in August 2011, Sheen and Mueller vacationed together, and they have recently tried to resolve their conflicts.

Unfortunately, despite Sheen’s ability to turn his drug abuse around, his ex-wife appears to be on track to a potential cocaine addiction. At this point, since charges are only pending (until her court appearance on December 19), the twins still remain in her custody.  

It is hopeful that Mueller can get the help she needs for her cocaine addiction through a drug rehabilitation program, like Vista Taos Renewal Center. Getting her life back on track and battling her cocaine addiction could very well be the stability that her twin boys need.

Tragically, a man driving drunk killed his entire family on Wednesday, November 9, in Valencia County, New Mexico. Possibly, and more tragically, the father will not release the remains of the children to their grandmother for burial.

James Woolbert was driving drunk with the mother and the two children as passengers on Wednesday when he crashed the car in Meadowlake. The children were not in the car seats, and they were thrown from the vehicle. They were 2 years old and 4 years old. The mother, Dawn, also suffered fatal injuries.  

The children’s grandmother, Pauline Jaramillo, has requested the remains of the children be released to her for burial, but Woolbert has been uncooperative with her request. Jaramillo, who helped raise the children, is heart stricken and has sought the assistance of a lawyer in the matter.

To complicate matters, Woolbert is currently recovering from his own injuries at the University of New Mexico Hospital. As soon as he has recovered, he will be arrested and await trial. The matter of the releasing the remains may be drawn out even more for these reasons.

Sadly, this tragedy may end in more tragedy, with the burial delayed and the father sentenced to prison. On a positive note, Woolbert may receive the alcohol rehabilitation he needs to prevent future lives from being lost.

While alcohol rehabilitation often takes place in rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos Renewal Center in New Mexico, Woolbert may receive his treatment while in prison. Jail is never the ideal environment for detoxification from drugs or alcohol, as the reoccurrence rate is high. Before you or someone you love is behind bars, get to an alcohol addiction center and seek proper treatment, outside of prison walls.

Not one, but three healthy young adults experienced heart attacks in the Dallas Texas area after smoking the synthetic marijuana: K2/Spice. Doctors are curious if there was something particularly dangerous in that specific batch, though all synthetic drugs are showing a high rate of illnesses associated with using them. These drugs are legal to purchase, but the FDA has been working hard to stop the production of these cannaboids. It seems as soon as one is outlawed, the makers manufacture another one to take its place.

Emergency rooms all over the United States have been reporting side-effects from these products, including nausea, convulsions, elevated blood pressure and many more. Now they can add heart attacks to the already long list of health issues associated with synthetic marijuana. Thankfully, the three young men who suffered the heart attacks in the Dallas area are healthy, and are lucky the heart attack didn’t bring about any other problems; they’ve all made a full recovery.

Doctors are warning people to stay away from these drugs and if needed, seek help for addiction at a drug treatment center. Spice and K2 may seem appealing because they are able to be obtained easily, cheaply and won’t show up on common drug screening tests, but the side-effects are not worth the risk. Though no reports link K2 to deaths in Texas, there have been reports in other parts of the country, such as Iowa.

Vista Taos Treatment Center is located in New Mexico, and able to assist those in the Dallas Texas community who need help with substance abuse. Let these stories be a warning to you; addiction does not end well for those who do not hurry and get on the right path to wellness. Please let Vista Taos show you the path to sobriety.

It seems that children have now joined the drug smuggling game, acting as deflectors for their drug dealing parents. In the last few weeks, agents at checkpoints have found around six children were used as decoys in their parents’ drug smuggling. And many of these parents were mothers.

As most people know, drug smugglers try to blend in with traffic so that they are not stopped at checkpoints for a search. Children help them blend in more, in hopes that checkpoint agents, who only have seconds to ascertain whether or not a traveler is worthy of a vehicle search, will let them pass.

In fact, a Tombstone, Arizona, checkpoint was one of the most recent drug seizures that involved a child. The eight year old child was used as a decoy, but when agents stopped the mother to search the car, they found 104 pounds of marijuana in the trunk.

In another case, a different eight year old was used by her mother as a decoy, and agents found 50 pounds of marijuana in the spare tire.

Child decoys are not only used in drug trafficking but in smuggling illegal aliens as well. Recently, a mother was stopped for search, and the officers found several illegal aliens in the vehicle. The mother’s children were also with her.

Drug abuse is on the rise in the United States, and unfortunately, mother smugglers see no reason to leave their children out of the smuggling operation. As drug abuse and demand continue to rise, these smugglers may have to take even more extreme measures to fit in with the crowd.

Fortunately, if we stop the chain of drug abuse and dependence, we can stop this form of child abuse. Drug rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos can help those dependent on drugs break the cycle. Vista Taos Drug Abuse Center is in Taos, New Mexico and can cater to many people living in the southern United States dealing with substance abuse.

Popping pills may not be the recreational past time people once thought it to be. Prescription drug death rates are rising across the United States, topping the death rates for cocaine and heroin use combined. Particularly, the death rate for narcotic pain pills has increased to four times the narcotic pill death rate in the previous decade.

Of course, pain pill use of this magnitude must be prescribed, and there has also been in increase in the numbers of prescriptions written that corresponds with the death rate. Sometimes narcotic drugs are prescribed for legitimate pain, but other times the narcotics are prescribed by “pill mill” doctors, who hand out prescriptions to addicts for cash. These doctors only have interest in money, not treating people for the betterment of their lives. If reviewed further, many of these doctors have faced legal issues surrounding malpractice laws and find that pill mills are the best way to make money and not be held accountable for their diagnosis.

Often, the start of addiction begins because of legitimate pain. When the patient is prescribed heavy-duty narcotic pain meds, they could become addicted quite quickly. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a caution to doctors, requesting that they carefully screen their patients before prescribing narcotic pain pills.

 The death rate for narcotic pain medications is highest in New Mexico, and the highest abuse rate is in Oklahoma. Overall, the death rates are the highest in poor or rural counties, and the death toll is higher among whites and Native Americans, including Alaskan Natives than other races.

Prescription drug abuse can be treated, so if you know anyone suffering from prescription drug abuse, getting them to treatment centers like the Vista Taos Renewal Center, located in the number one state for pill deaths: New Mexico, could save their lives and improve their level of life enjoyment. Prescription drug abuse is not automatically a death sentence; help is waiting. Don’t become another statistic.    

A Colorado marijuana farm was busted this November, and the growers were charged with cannabis trafficking, possession of cannabis, and unlawful delivery of cannabis. The operation was based on a 100 acre farm in Elbert County, Colorado. Elbert County is located about 70 miles south east of Denver, Colorado.

The four growers were arrested after ties with a Chicago distribution operation were linked to the pot farm in the Elbert area. The investigation had been going on since March, and the forces of the Illinois State Police, USDA, Colorado Springs Police Department and Elbert County Sherriff’s office helped narrow down the suspect list to an operation in Colorado Springs, based on information from a Chicago sting.

Once officials were on to the Colorado Springs operation, it was only a matter of time until another suspect with links to the Elbert County operation took the bait that officers dangled in a sting. Officers set up a controlled delivery operation from the Colorado Springs operation to the Chicago delivery site, and once the delivery took place, the suspect/delivery person was linked to Elbert County.

When law officials searched the Elbert County farm, they found 140 pounds of marijuana, 26 plants and numerous grow locations, some of which were greenhouses, rock outcroppings, buildings and trees. Four growers were arrested, including Daniel Haggerty, Matthew M. Tunzi and Anthony M. Munizzi.

This latest sting is just one of many in the fight against marijuana addiction. While the drug is often thought to not display addictive properties, many people have fallen to marijuana addiction. However, there is help in the form of marijuana addiction treatment centers, like Vista Taos Renewal Center in New Mexico.  

A new bilingual helpline was recently created by drugfree.org to aid parents and families who may not have access to other resources in dealing with family members who might be struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction. Many parents struggle with how to educate their children on the dangers of substance abuse. It is never an easy process and parents need as many resources as they can get in order to know what their kids might be involved in and how they can help them stay drug-free. Remember: start talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol now. The sooner the better, but it’s never too late!

This new toll-free hotline for parents, 1-855-DRUGFREE – (1-855-378-4373), is staffed by social workers with sensible experience in substance abuse intervention and drug treatment. The social workers will offer advice on how to help parents plan a course of action when dealing with a child who is struggling from an addiction as well as supply them with resources and treatment facilities that are local to where the family is living.

It must be noted that this hotline is not a 24-hour crisis line, but it will be staffed and open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Through this, the staff is able to work with parents to understand the unique needs of their children so that they can then help them find drug treatment options while promoting support and family involvement through their recovery process. Helping a child dealing with substance abuse is never an easy process and takes a lot of support for the parents and the child. At Vista Taos, the upmost drug treatment care is provided to those struggling with the disease of addiction. Now is the time to seek help in healing our youth and educating them on the positives of leading a drug-free life.  If you are 18 years of age or older and need help with addiction, Vista Taos can help you.

Doctors have possibly been prescribing the wrong medicines for the wrong conditions, including drug and alcohol abuse. Those seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse from general psychiatrists rather than specialists in rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos have often been prescribed antipsychotic drugs.

These antipsychotics have been used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with satisfactory results. However, when the drugs containing risperidone (which include the brand names Risperdal, Abilify, Zyprexa and Seroquel) are prescribed for drug and alcohol abuse, they do not effectively treat the patients.

In fact, the side effects of risperidone-based drugs include stroke, tremors, weight gain and fatigue. When the drug is not effectively treating drug and alcohol abuse and is producing unwanted side effects, it is a wonder that psychiatrists would prescribe it to those whom it does not benefit.

Unfortunately, psychiatrists may just be grasping at straws when they prescribe these antipsychotic drugs to addicts. Those unfamiliar with drug and alcohol abuse treatment can sometimes prescribe medications as a trial and error, which can prove to be very difficult for addicts hoping to recover.

Rehabilitation centers like Vista Taos of New Mexico, however, are well-versed in drug and alcohol abuse treatments that work well. At Vista Taos Renewal Clinic, for example, the rehabilitation center focuses on treating the whole person, including any underlying issues. Treatments include individualized counseling, family counseling and after care services. 

When weighing your options in alcohol and drug abuse treatment, you may wish to consider rehabilitation centers over general psychiatric help. Those trained to treat drug and alcohol addictions can often better treat your addictions.

Addiction treatment might be experiencing a change in how to treat it. Dr. Kim Janda, a San Diego-based chemist, has spent the last 25 years working on a vaccine that will help to eliminate addictions such as smoking cigarettes or using cocaine. This would basically mean that when a person consumed his or her drug of choice, that they would feel nothing from the experience, thus eliminating the urge to use again.

Dr. Janda claims the vaccines are not imminent but are well on their way to being developed to help those struggling with addiction. He explained that the vaccine would be administered after someone finds themselves addicted to a substance that they cannot let go of, and that it would be designed to make the immune system create antibodies that would shut down the narcotic before it was able to take control of the body or brain.

Dr. Janda has already run trials with cocaine addicts who have been injected with one of his vaccines and then snorted cocaine. The participants said the coke tasted “dirty” and they did not get the high they would usually get from using this drug. Dr. Janda feels that attitudes have changed toward addiction treatment and that doctors are becoming more willing to promote medical solutions to drug problems in the United States. While the thought of such a vaccine coming onto the market might sound great, it might not be the solution for everyone.

Struggling with an addiction can be life-draining and the help for addicts needs to be provided quickly in order to help save their lives and get them back on the right track to leading a sober life.  If you or a loved one is struggling with an addiction, contact Vista Taos today for answers on how this struggle can become a distant memory. Medical-based treatment is a good option, but it may not be enough. New Mexico’s Vista Taos Clinic focuses on more ways to cope with addiction, not just western medicine. Learn how holistic care can be the solution to tread substance abuse.