Narcotics Anonymous (NA) began in the late 1940s, inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which, in turn, began in the 1930s. The first meetings were held in the Los Angeles region in the early 1950s. Officially, though, the NA program started in 1953.

Jimmy Kinnon, also known as Jimmy K., born in Scotland on April 5th, 1911, moved with his family to New York in 1923. He worked as a roofer there, struggling with drug addiction until he achieved abstinence from all drugs through the Alcoholics Anonymous program early in 1950. He and others began to hold meetings specifically for drug addicts three years later, with the first meeting on August 17, 1953. Kinnon wrote portions of the Little White booklet, on which the text titled Narcotics Anonymous is based. He also created the NA logo and served as the volunteer office manager of the organization’s World Service Office since it began in 1983. He died in July of 1985, after spending 35 years in recovery as a clean member of NA.

In the 1950s, NA was not yet well understood by society, so it had difficulty finding places to meet, initially going to people’s homes. In some cases, such as New York State, it was against the law for drug addicts to meet for any reason, which, in essence, made NA an illegal organization. The organization nearly went out of existence, holding no meetings for four months in 1959, until Jimmy Kinnon and others restarted NA, with the idea of dedicating themselves to the original principles of the group.

In the 1960s, meetings began again and started to grow. The White Booklet was written in 1962 and formed the basis for NA literature that would come next. Narcotics Anonymous really began to grow, however, in the 1970s, moving from 20 regular weekly meetings in 1970 to 200 meetings in 1976, some which took place in Germany, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Inida, Japan, and the UK, among other nations. By the 1980s, there were 1,100 different meetings across the world. By 2007, there were over 25,065 groups holding over 43,900 weekly meetings in a 126 countries, and, today, there are about 50,000 weekly meetings internationally in around 130 countries.

In the 21st Century, Narcotics Anonymous is known as a fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs are a major problem, and is based on the twelve steps as adapted from AA, and is now the second largest 12 step organization. The requirement for membership is a desire to stop using, and members meet on a regular basis with the intention of helping each other remain abstinent of all mood or mind altering substances, which includes alcohol and marijuana. Membership is free, without any dues or fees.

Most people who take a drink on a regular basis — a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day or a few beers with pizza — rarely give it much thought. The American culture is saturated with advertising for alcohol and information that suggests that even a couple of glasses of alcohol a day is not necessarily a bad thing for your health. But what happens when those glasses of wine become four glasses, or six? What happens if you find yourself drinking alone, where you’re drinking purely for the effect and not for social reasons? When does alcohol use turn into alcohol abuse?

To figure out whether or not you have a problem, you might begin with a definition of alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse may be thought of as a pattern of drinking which includes one or more of these situations over the period of one year: 1) Drinking in situations considered physically dangerous, such as operating a heavy machine or while driving a car; 2) failing to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home; 3) recurring legal problems related to alcohol, such as being arrested for drunk driving or for assaulting someone while drunk; and 4), continuing to drink regardless of how the effects of alcohol causes or worsens problems in an ongoing relationship.

You may wish to note that there is a difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Not everyone who abuses alcohol or has a drinking problem is an alcoholic — there are, in fact, various degrees of alcohol problems. Yours might be a minor problem or a major one, depending upon how badly it affects the rest of your life and the people around you. Regardless, if you do have one or more of the above signs, it suggests that you need to re-examine your relationship with alcohol.

Methamphetamine, or more simply, meth, is known to be one of the most addictive drugs available to people. The abuse of this drug can cause its users to isolate themselves socially, become depressed, psychotic, experience convulsions, and die. Finding a way to overcome meth addiction is certainly not an easy thing to do, and it shouldn’t be attempted alone, but rather with medical attention and an ongoing treatment plan.

Step One: The user must recognize a problem exists. It’s often difficult, especially when inside an addiction, to have any perspective on the illness; the user must realize the problem before recovery can begin. To gain some perspective, the user should talk to people about how his or her meth habit has affected their lives in an attempt to appreciate how the drug has affected his or her personality and relationships.

Step Two: The user must seek out professional help, to find a doctor or threapist to discuss the problem and to formulate a treatment plan. The plan usually means participating in a drug rehabilitation program.

Step Three, then, is to enter a treatment program for meth addiction. One of the more effective treatment models is something called cognitive-behavior therapy. This method allows addicts to recognize the triggers that cause them to use drugs in the first place, and to learn how to develop coping mechanisms that are non-destructive and positive. This type of therapy emphasizes goal-setting and confidence-building.

Step Four: The user in recovery must sever ties with other drug addicts. To be successful, it’s necessary to be surrounded with people who are drug-free and who support a commitment to quit using meth. It may also be a good idea to meet with recovering addicts, people who understand the journey that’s being undertaken, in settings such as Narcotics Anonymous.

Step Five: The user should prepare for withdrawals. The main effects of stopping meth are psychological and can last for as long as six months. The most common symptoms include depression, anxiety, rage, and intense cravings for food. These feelings will fade eventually, and that should be kept at the fore-front of the user’s mind, with the knowledge that freedom from meth addiction for the rest of one’s life is worth a very difficult half year.

Step six: The user should strive to stay in recovery, but make a commitment to keep trying, even if there is a relapse. Meth is so addictive psychologically that relapses are common. Users, then, should attempt to recognize the reason for the relapse and treat that as a learning experience.

While addiction doesn’t have a cure, it is possible to stop the abuse; users in recovery should be constantly aware that there is a risk of falling into old patterns of behavior that will trigger the addiction again. With determination, though, the user should know it’s possible to overcome meth addiction.

Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, may be defined by four specific symptoms: a strong need or urge to drink, not being able to stop drinking once you’ve begun, withdrawal symptoms once you do stop drinking (including nausea, sweating, anxiety, shakiness), and the need to drink greater amounts in order to get drunk or high. This disease is often considered chronic, and the craving for alcohol may be as strong as the need for water or food, which means an alcoholic may well sacrifice health and family to obtain what he or she needs. If you’ve been there, you know all this; you also know that after going through detox and recovery, that there is an additional thought that will come to mind — the idea that you can drink again, but this time, in moderation.

However, can you ever drink alcohol after recovery? Certainly, people do drink after recovery, but even with just a single drink, this often leads to another drink, and another, until, once again, you’re in need of detox and rehab, another revolution of a terrible cycle. It’s a sequence that can destroy jobs, marriages, relationships and threaten your life and the lives of others.

The safest course of action for alcoholics is to not drink again. It may sound simple, but anyone who has been there knows, this is easier said than done. Intellectually, it makes sense to stop drinking, but the conditions of the disease make this a complicated proposition. This is one of the reasons why there’s so much help available for people who have this problem, enabling you to seek out support groups and search for treatment programs in your local community.

The thought that tells you it’s okay to drink after recovery is one that will lead to negative consequences over time. Not drinking is a conscious choice practiced every day, at times every hour and minute. Remember, though, that there are people who care about what happens to you, often people who have been there before — even if you haven’t met them yet.

Even Bill W. — one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935 — doesn’t quite know the origins of the twelve steps, used so prominently in many rehab treatment programs for both drug and alcohol recovery, but he does recall a conversation with an alcoholic friend in 1934, who told him that his path to getting sober required him to be honest with himself and others, to make restitution for any damage he had done, and to pray to God for guidance even though the friend wasn’t sure God existed. This is one of the starting points for the creation of the Twelve Steps, which many use to help them combat their own addictions, from alcohol to narcotics. For those who have not come across the Twelve Steps before, they’re paraphrased below:

1) Admit that you’re powerless over alcohol and that your life has become unmanageable, 2) Come to believe in a Power greater than yourself that can restore you to sanity; 3) Make a decision to turn your will and life over to the care of God as you understand him; 4) Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself; 5) Admit to God, to yourself, and to another human being, the exact nature of your wrongs; 6) Be entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character; 7) Humbly ask God to remove your shortcomings; Make a list of all persons you have harmed and be willing to make amends to them all; 9) Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others; 10) Continue to take a personal inventory of your life and when wrong promptly admit it; 11) Seek through prayer and meditation to improve your conscious contact with God as you understand him, praying only for knowledge of his will for you and the power to carry that out; and, finally, 12) if you’ve had a spiritual awakening as the result of the steps, carry the message to others, and to practice these principles in all your affairs.

The Twelve Steps do not work for every individual, although such programs using the steps provide a community of people who understand and can support each other as they struggle to overcome their addictions. At least four out of the twelve steps seem to have something to do with God or a higher power, as the individual understands that higher power, and that can be a stumbling block for some individuals, especially those who are not religious. For more information, consult a twelve-step program near you which is focused on the substance to which you feel you’re addicted, whether it’s alcohol, narcotics, or another drug.

While similar to cocaine, crack cocaine is a drug mixed with baking soda or ammonia and water which then forms into rocks; crack cocaine is often less expensive than cocaine, and is usually smoked in pipes. It is an extremely addictive substance, causing a particular type of euphoria-like high to the user. This high doesn’t last long, and the user craves that experience again, causing the addict to chase after the drug, sometimes leading to criminal behavior as money and lives waste away.

The effects of crack cocaine don’t simply produce a euphoria; addictive use of crack cocaine can lead to paranoia, depression, anxiety, and a variety of mood swings. A regular user of the drug may begin living in a paranoid state; in worst cases, users experience intense cravings for the drug which can’t be satisfied; and once a person has become dependent on the drug, he’s unable to function well without it. These negative effects, though, are simply the first things a person might experience. With long term effects, a person may find him or herself having problems with bodily functions, hallucinations, delirium, and depression. Long term use may also lead to heart attacks and fatal respiratory problems.

Stopping the use of crack cocaine is not easy because of the withdrawal effects. These include intense cravings, anxiety, irritability, hunger, and paranoia. These effects are some of the reasons crack cocaine addicts quit trying to quit and return to the pipe. For this reason, addicts need help in order to stop their drug abuse. The best way in which to do this would be for the addict to receive help from an addiction specialist, the first step of which would be medical detox, freeing them from the physiological addictions. The addiction specialist also helps with the psychological addictions, with the hope of allowing addicts to either stay clean or at least stay in recovery longer.

Symptoms that might be an indication that alcoholism is present are often the same symptoms that might accompany someone who is a heavy drinker. There is a difference, although it’s not at all uncommon for heavy drinkers to become alcoholics in time. It’s important to understand what the symptoms are, and perhaps even more important to understand the nature of the disease.

In full-blown alcoholism, the characteristics of the disease include a physical as well as mental reliance on the effects of alcohol to feel normal. Brain and body chemistry are different from their normal states, and the addiction is such that these states might show signs of returning to normal, although there will always remain the potential to move back into an alcoholic state with even a small amount. What makes the disease so confounding to both the drinker and their friends and families is that the mind can often convince the alcoholic that there is really nothing wrong.

Some of the most pervasive symptoms, then, have to do with how the mind of the alcoholic actually works. There is usually a persistent obsession with drinking, thinking about how and when the next drink will be available. Coupled with this is a denial that there is a problem. Drinking is common in contemporary society, the drinker will think, and there’s nothing wrong with being a participant in that society. At the same time, the thoughts of drinking will continue, and eventually most of a life will be consumed with thoughts of the activity of drinking, of the relief it might offer, as well as trying to sort out the various problems one has had due to one’s drinking.

Other behavioral symptoms might be easier to assess, but they’re usually up for all kinds of denial on the part of the potential alcoholic. They can be as obvious as taking 4-5 or more drinks every day, having conversations with friends and loved ones about their concern for one’s drinking, experiencing physical withdrawal after a night out, or having to deal with legal or personal troubles caused as a result of bouts of drinking.

Perhaps the most telling symptom, however, comes when one tries to curb their behavior. An inability to stop at one or two drinks, repeated attempts to stop or slow down, along with moments of drinking to the point of complete intoxication or even blackout, are all very telling indications. If there is a question or a concern, this in itself might be a sign, and it’s never too early to get help, but there is a too late.

The death toll for people who were killed from drunk drivers is daunting. It is estimated that someone dies every 40 minutes by a drunk driver. Think about that the next you take a drink or two and then get behind the wheel. Getting the word out, making tough laws and all the ‘stop drinking and driving campaigns’ have reduced the amount of fatalities, but not significantly. In 1983 there were over 26,000 deaths caused by drunk drivers. In 2008, the latest records compiled, over 13,000 per were killed by drunk drivers. Yes, it is a reduction, but those over 13,000 were someone’s son, daughter, wife, mother, husband, father, sister or brother. 13,000 is still too much, plus that figure doesn’t include survivors of a drunk driving accident, victims who are now having to deal with being permanently incapacitated, recover from third-degree burns, pay medical bills that are creating financial burdens and a quality of life that will never be back to normal again.

The reduction in fatalities through the years does show that all the efforts to make the public aware of the hazards drunk driving, or getting behind the wheel after a couple of drinks, is not an acceptable behavior, and has made an impact. All the ad campaigns, like ‘Friends don’t let Friends Drive Drunk’, or the new ‘Buzzed driving is Drunk Driving’ and the tougher laws, like the one in Arizona, which has the toughest in the United States, have had an effect with keeping drunk drivers off the road. But, having one person every 40 seconds killed by a drunk driver is still unacceptable.

Since public ad campaigns and stiffer laws have only reduced the amount of fatalities due to drunk drivers, it seems obvious that it’s now time to take drastic actions and it’s up to every individual to take a stance and do something about it. For example: bartenders really need to stop serving an individual after two drinks. Most bars, pubs and restaurants make there money by serving alcohol; stronger laws aimed at bartenders, bars and restaurants need to be created or in most incidences just enforced. Same goes with establishments selling alcohol, underage drinking is on the rise and so are the under age drunk drivers. Even stricter laws need to be enacted that will make it impossible for a first time drunk driver to ever get behind the wheel to drive. Individuals who don’t drink and drive, need to make it clear to their friends to also not drink and drive. These are extreme measures, but having one more person die unnecessarily, is one person to many.

Alcohol abuse affects security clearance through an adjudication process by many private companies dealing with sensitive information, also with government officials. Listed below are a few sample cases where alcohol abuse affected an applicants chances to get or keep a job at the Department of Defense. Listed first, are three cases where security clearance was denied, in the last two cases the clearance was granted.

Case: Applicant works for a defense contractor. He was arrested in 1998 and in 2007 for driving while intoxicated. He pled guilty to both charges. He did not complete the sentencing requirements ordered by the state court in the second case. Applicant did not disclose the following on his security clearance application: his job terminated in 2006 by his former employer; the three non-judicial punishments he received in the U.S. Army resulting in his administrative discharge for a pattern of misconduct in 2004: and his two arrests. Applicant did not mitigate the alcohol consumption and personal conduct security concerns. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant began drinking alcohol in high school. In 2002 and in 2008, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He is currently serving probation. Even though abstinence from alcohol is a condition of his probation, he continues to use alcohol and denies that he has an alcohol problem. Applicant failed to mitigate security concerns arising from his alcohol consumption and criminal conduct. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant is 46 years old and employed as a Graphic Designer by a defense contractor. His long history of alcohol abuse and poor personal conduct, which includes three arrests and convictions for DUI; and, his use of marijuana while holding a security clearance, clearly demonstrates poor judgment, unreliability and untrustworthiness. There is insufficient evidence in mitigation. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant misused his former employer’s company van and was involved in an accident while drunk in 2007. He complied with all subsequent court and alcohol treatment requirements, and demonstrated rehabilitation and mitigation of resulting security concerns. Eligibility for access to classified information is granted.

Case: Applicant is 35 years old and employed as a Program Manager and Consultant for a defense contractor. His history of excessive alcohol abuse to the point of intoxication continued off and on from 2000 to 2005, and resulted in 3 alcohol related arrests and related misconduct. Since then, the Applicant has significantly reduced his drinking and has had no further encounters with law enforcement. There is sufficient evidence of rehabilitation. Clearance is granted.

The above examples of cases involving alcohol abuse demonstrates how easily one can loose their clearance, which affects pay, or how, with due-diligence, maintain their security clearance by keeping up with required treatments and a clean record.

Alcohol abuse effects, besides dealing with wide range of legal troubles, can be deadly. People who abuse alcohol could develop effects that are irreversible and will suffer from medical ills that will compound their legal woes on top of their loss of friends and family. Effects that will ruin their nervous system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular issues, metabolic, endocrine, skin and blood system.

For the nervous system, an alcohol abuser can suffer seizures or delirium tremens, otherwise known as the DTs, brain dementia, nerve damage and cerebellar degeneration, which is the area of the brain dealing with muscle coordination and balance; for gastrointestinaleffects, abusers of alcohol can expect to experience inflammation and irritation of the lining of the esophagus and stomach, an increased incidence of cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx and esophagus, liver damage like cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis, inflammation of the pancreas, which eventually will lead to pancreatic failure, chronic diarrhea and chronic pain.

Cardiovascular effects will be arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, elevated fats in the bloodstream; metabolic effects from abusing alcohol will be low blood sugar and lower than normal levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphate in the blood; with the endocrine system, abusers can expect a decrease in testosterone and testicular atrophy, which causes an increase in estrogen and thus the development of breast tissue in men; and finally the skin of an alcohol abuser will notice the effects of what called ‘Rosacea’ and spider angiomas, which is a collection of small blood vessels under the skin indicating liver failure from alcohol.

Some of these symptoms can be short term, while others will be long term. They can clear up in the first years of sobriety or sometimes alcohol abuse effects will never clear up. With all that could go terribly wrong concerning ones body and alcohol abuse, the most devastating effect is the possibility of losing loved ones or even killing someone while driving under the influence. Yet, most alcohol abuse effects have little or no power to make them stop drinking, even when laying in a hospital bed dying from one of the above diseases, they still want to drink more.

Over the past decade the abuse of prescription drugs has become a greater topic of conversation and research. This has become a real problem with adults and the kids who find drugs in the household medicine cabinet. Prescription drugs is the second most abused category behind marijuana. There is research that estimates that about 20 percent of the people in America are using prescription drugs for non medical use. The doctor may have good intentions but it looks like some of these drugs are addictive. Some of the ones you may have heard of lately include Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax, Valium, Dexedrine, Adderall and Ritalin. Steroids have also become an addictive drug.

Prescription pill addictions account for over forty percent of hospital emergency admission because of overdoses. This is happening because prescription drugs are so much easier to obtain these days. Getting an online pharmacy to fill prescriptions without a script is really easy to do. The sad thing is that even minors are able to get drugs this way. There is also the twisted belief that because it came from a doctor means it is safer to take. It is only safer if taken for the prescribed time and for the prescribe reason. Problems happen in the home because old drugs are not discarded even when they are not needed for intended reasons any longer. This keeps the access easy and the trips to the hospital high.

There doesn’t seem to be any difference between men and women misusing prescription drugs. There are, however, differences in what type of drug they will use. Women are more likely to use psycho therapeutic drugs, narcotic pain relievers as well as tranquilizers.

The use of many prescriptions drugs for many real ailments can lead into abuse as well. It becomes easier to take drugs for non medical reasons because one is so used to taking so many things already. This can be really dangerous to self prescribe medications when one is already taking so many for things like heart conditions or blood pressure issues. This leads to mixing the wrong combination of drugs together and having bad, even fatal, consequences.

No matter what kind of drug one takes or where it comes from, drug addiction alters how the brain functions. It is a pathological, biological process which is the essence of addition. At some point, it is easy for someone to go from a non addict to an addict without even knowing it is happening.

Recovering from an addiction requires the recovering addict to learn and cope with a healthy awareness of their relationships with others, both significant and casual. Most times, a recovering addict who is either married or has a been in a long time relationship, will become aware that their partner is co-dependent and that they not only need to recover from substance abuse, but also from their co-dependent relationship. If unaddressed, a co-dependent relationship will undermine the recovering addict’s effort to stay sober and the grow emotionally healthy.

A recovering addict’s current relationship is predicated on their illness, for example, the other partner in the relationship is receiving something out of being involved with someone who is an addict. Their motives are numerous and unhealthy, but this points out that this partner will strongly resist the recovering addicts process to staying sober. The very thought of recovery threatens the partner’s role in the recovering addicts life; the partner will feel threatened about the emotional control they have over the addict. They have, throughout the relationship, enabled, controlled and have become very co-dependent upon their addicted partner and will most likely, subconsciously, sabotage their sober partner’s recovery.

Individuals in addiction recovery programs will find that they’re in a co-dependent relationship, and that co-dependent partner is unwilling to accept change. If this is the case, then the recovering addict may need to leave this relationship. Some relationships won’t survive recovery; as a matter of fact, most do not, especially if the partner is a true co-dependent personality. It is essential for a recovering addict to make the choice between happiness and health through recovery, or to continue with a detrimental, co-dependent relationship; most recovering addicts choose health and happiness. Relationships that do survive recovery, are the one’s where the co-dependent partner also begins to recover from their own unhealthy actions and begins a recovery program of their own, which there are plenty designed to help them through a very difficult time of accepting change. As the time with recovery grows, the opportunity for the relationship to start anew will take shape and both partners will have a whole new respect for each other and each others recovery program.

Alcohol and drug abuse will permeate every organ and cell of the body, the physical effects of chronic drug and alcohol abuse are complex and wide-reaching. Big doses of drugs, alcohol, or both invade the body’s fluids and interfere with every cells metabolism. Alcohol damages the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system and the heart. Depending on which drug is abuses, the brain and the central nervous system are greatly effected.

In recovery from drugs and alcohol abuse, before the body can begin to heal, the use of alcohol and drugs needs to be completely stopped. In order to heal the damage done by years of drug or alcohol abuse, an after-care program is a necessity and should not only involve ways to keep sober, but to keep the body functioning at its optimum levels. The recovering addict must focus on nutrition and eating right at all times. There have been recent studies showing that the correct intake of calories, nutrients and vitamins, not only helps with making the body recover and heal, but also helps with staving off craving for the abused substance; with the right diet, cravings will go away.

Drinking water, keeping the body hydrated, helps maintain a body’s temperature, helps with proper waste elimination and keeps the body emotionally balanced. The healing nature of water is a well-known fact in the medical field. During the drug and alcohol abuse, the body was kept barely hydrated, which creates a hostile environment in the body, making it virtually impossible for the body’s own healing and restorative functions to do their jobs. Once the body is properly hydrated, it can again resume with what it does best, keeping all the organs running smoothly. If damage is already done, for instance, damage to the liver, besides taking medications to stop further damage, water helps the healthy cells of the liver to continue to function properly.

An exercise routine is highly recommended in order to regain a healthy body. Start with simple exercises, like walking around the neighborhood, use stairways instead of elevators, or ride a bike to the store. Once the body’s muscles have come back on-line, it is necessary to begin a regular workout routine, 3-times a week at the minimum. A physically fit body will heal and recover faster than a sedentary body.

With the body beginning to heal, don’t push it into extremes, such as running in a marathon; the body will need time to heal, probably as much time as the abuse of drugs and alcohol lasted. But, it will heal, so be patient.

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It might be a common conception that experimenting with alcohol is a normal part of growing up for everyone in this culture. With the amount of ads that come out almost daily celebrating both youth culture and alcohol consumption in the same message, and the presence of alcohol in all kinds of films and television shows, it does seem to be a part of life, and drinking at a young age is part of the picture. In that light, college binge drinking might seem to be a normal activity for normal people who are becoming accustomed to learning how to live in the world today.

Perhaps the big question here is: who decides what is normal, and how did it come to be this way? All of the studies of binge drinking among 18-24 year olds show some extremely unhealthy and often very dangerous patterns. Recent medical reports on alcoholism also suggest that those who experience intoxication at a younger age are far more likely to drink heavily throughout their lives. At the age of 18, the brain is still being formed, and alcohol can have even more serious lifelong consequences than usual.

In terms of immediate physical consequences, the statistics are not very reassuring. An estimated 1,700 students die each year from alcohol-related accidents, and most of these are the result of drunk driving. Approximately 600,000 are injured every year from accidents that are alcohol-related, and almost 700,000 are assaulted by someone who is under the influence. This includes sexual assault, and although its impossible to estimate how many students engage in unprotected sex while intoxicated, one in twenty report some form of sexual violence from a drunk partner. 30,000 students are taken to the hospital every year because of an alcohol overdose.

The studies don’t indicate that things are getting any better, although universities with strict alcohol policies do seem to have an effect on the students’ drinking behavior. But more importantly, in states where the drinking laws are more relaxed, and where it is more common for the adults to drink heavily, the universities have much higher numbers in terms of problems with alcohol consumption among its student population. With these facts, it is difficult to see how youth culture and alcohol can be presented in any positive light.

Addiction is a complex phenomenon, and the signs are rather numerous and extensive. There are some indications that would suggest a problem, and these can vary, but it’s important with something as severe as this to make some generalizations. It’s always safer to risk being wrong and start taking action before it’s too late.

The common wisdom dictates that one of the most telling signs is suspicion of addiction. If someone is trying to diagnose themselves, wondering if addiction is present, worrying about your own drug use, or having trouble stopping are signs that help is probably necessary. There are plenty of other signs as well. If you’re spending money when you don’t have it, find yourself thinking about the substance with increasing frequency, and changing your lifestyle to accommodate drug use, these also indicate the possibility of drug addiction. The most telling sign, however, is that there are problems in trying to slow down or stop. If you are unable to go without the drug without unusual levels of anxiety, it could certainly be a sign. If there are physical problems when you try to cut down, then there may be physical withdrawal symptoms at work, and help is almost always necessary.

In diagnosing someone else, it can be more complex. Generally, the signs involve changes in behavior, avoiding social situations, withdrawal from group activities, and secrecy. However, these are all very normal stages in growing up, and parents should be aware that they may not be in themselves signs that there is addiction looming in a teenager or young adult. Here it’s necessary to rely on good judgment, and to investigate further with caution as well as patience and love. Watch for changes in mood that are related to certain substances, and get to know the effects of certain drugs to try and determine what the problem might be. Finding drug paraphernalia or other physical objects related to drug use are, of course, telling signs that there might be an issue with addiction.

The good news is that there is help available. Drug treatment programs can be very effective, and there are many different options for these. One doesn’t have to face a life-threatening emergency before taking action. It’s important to remember that no one has to go it alone. Aside from rehabilitation therapies, the family and friends of the user can also get help from other family members, outside observers, and professionals in order to get on the road to recovery.

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The history of addiction treatment is as long and varied as the history of human beings using substances to induce intoxication. In earlier times, the citizens who were drunk and disorderly, or made crazy by other chemicals, were often treated as outcasts, and punished with prison, physical abuse, or time in the mental ward. The asylum near the Guinness plant in Dublin is often the subject of jokes, as the detoxing drunks were treated to the smell of their favorite stout all day and night. It’s only in the contemporary era, however, that there appears to be a concentrated effort to understand and treat addiction as a disease. This is why this generation has become the inheritors, in a sense, of the disease model, and it informs much of the current understanding of what addiction is.

The idea of alcoholism and drug addiction as a disease, and not simply a maladjustment of the mind, was introduced in George Washington’s army by the Surgeon General George Rush. About a decade earlier, there was an effort on the part of Native American groups to begin mutual aid societies to help its members to refrain from drinking. These two events are intimately connected to how we think of addiction and treatment today.

Mutual aid societies eventually developed all over the nation, as the Washingtonians evolved into the Oxford Group, which eventually influenced the founders of A.A.

For most histories, the disease model wasn’t introduced until the 20th century, when Dr. Silkworth presented his findings in a letter that would be reprinted in every edition of the famous Big Book of A.A., called “Alcoholics Anonymous.” This was in 1939, and this famous organization was already beginning to make some headway into communities in Ohio and New York. This would help move treatment from a concept that formerly focused on the physical withdrawal from the toxins into a more holistic approach that took the whole person into account.

Later findings in the 1960s, along with the admission on the part of the American Medical Association that endorsed the idea that addiction was a chronic illness, would further help the cause to promote ideas of addiction treatment that are common today. There are debates as to whether a 12-step program based on spiritual principles is as effective as a treatment program where physical sobriety is emphasized with behavior modification, but it’s still a result of the same breakthrough, that the addict is someone who is suffering from a disorder, and should be treated as a sick person, not a bad person.

Sometimes the ones you love have hard times and it is time to step in as a caring person and help out. There are many things that can be done to help out a person in your life who is struggling with drugs and or alcohol.

The first step would be to educate yourself on the topic. There are plenty of books to read about the topic, however, it may be best to find some support groups filled with real people in real life. Try going to an alcohol anonymous meeting. There are many kinds of anonymous meetings designed for all kinds of groups like alcoholics, drug addicts, teen troubles and support groups for the ones who are supporting others through the rehabilitation process, like Al-Anon.

Next, take the learning to another level. Get the facts on the disease because an addicts way of thinking is not like normal reasoning. It will be important at times to understand where the addict is coming from so you don’t go insane yourself.

Keep an open and loving space filled with patience available for your troubled loved one. There are ways to love them but not enable them. Getting angry won’t work in this situation. These people do not respond to threats or intimidation and in some cases it can create more problems.

At some point, you will need to figure out where they are in on the scale of getting help. It is always easy if they are willing, but if they are in denial than you may have to find the best way to approach them. If they are in denial then you will have to make sure not to bail them out of what ever trouble they are in. At the same time, you can’t continue to support their illusions of having a fine life.

Then there will be a time when you will need to be clear on what your own boundaries are. You will have to decide how far you are willing to go with this process and when will it be to much for you to handle. Don’t take abuse just because you care. It is OK for you to set your boundaries. Which leads to another point. When you do finally communicate what your boundaries are you have to realize that they will be tested. So you need to say what you mean and stick to it if tested. This is a very important step in the process.

They will have to suffer consequences of their actions and you will have to let it happen. It may be hard to see your loved one in pain but sometimes it is necessary. When they hit the breaking point, be ready with all the information and intervention that is available.

The question of amount in terms of overdose is always a very complex one, because there are different levels of different drugs that would constitute an overdose. Generally speaking, taking twice the amount prescribed is enough to be considered an overdose, although in the case of most drugs, this wouldn’t be lethal. For a lethal overdose, there really aren’t any certain tried and true formulas that would make it easy to calculate.

With some over the counter medications, it’s possible to have a lethal overdose situation with even the most seemingly-innocuous of drugs, such as aspirin. A medium-sized person would need to take upwards of 100 tablets without vomiting, and the process is very slow. It’s also possible to overdose on the most controlled substances, of course, and lethal narcotic overdoses are very common. They are rarely quick, where the body is left in a state of near paralysis, with uncontrolled shaking and nausea that can go on for hours. Liver failure for many drug overdoses is possible, and this is another situation which can be extremely slow and drawn out.

For all the drugs in-between, the numbers will certainly vary by drug and by dosages. It also varies by body weight, and a number of other factors. If combining with other drugs or alcohol, then it gets even more complex. Chemicals react to each other, because that’s how they’re designed to work, and there are combination that are extremely volatile. It would take a pharmacologist’s advice to determine how specific chemicals react with each other, but it’s important to understand that no combination is safe unless a doctor prescribes it.

If an overdose situation is suspected, calling poison control or 911 is the first action indicated. With pills, the chemicals enter the bloodstream very quickly, and time is extremely precious. Besides the risks of fatality, there are also other possible long-term effects that should be taken into consideration. Damage to the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and other vital functions are possibilities. Accidental overdoses need immediate medical treatment. If there is any question of an intentional overdose, getting help from mental health professionals is the next indicated action.

Even though teenage binge drinking has been on the decline over the past couple of years, it is still problem. Binge drinking is when a teenager drinks way too much alcohol in a short period of time. In worse case scenarios, the teen gets alcohol poisoning. The body can only eliminate alcohol so fast from its system. When too much alcohol is introduced into the system the body can’t cope and shuts down.

There are some real consequences to binge drinking. This activity can lead to death. There are thousands of teen deaths each year because of binge drinking. Over 30 percent of teen driving accidents and deaths are due to drinking. In fact, suicides, homicides and car accidents are the three major reasons that a teenager dies. There is also a link between violent teens and drinking. The next phase of an ongoing drinking teen is an addicted adult. Thirty-five percent of alcoholic adults became that way by the time they were 19 years old.

There is a list of problems that come up with binge drinking.

1. Getting Nausea
2. Vomiting
3. Fainting
4. Hard time breathing
5. Possible Seizures
6. Possible Coma
7. Alcohol poisoning
8. Possible death

If it becomes a habit, then more problems come along.

1. Stomach ulcers
2. Liver failure
3. Heart disease
4. Brain damage

If the alcohol is mixed with any other drug, illegal or prescription, then the risk of major health problems is greater.

Binge drinking is an illegal activity so if a teen becomes toxic with alcohol poisoning, their friends hesitate to get help for fear of getting into trouble. It is important to educate teens about the dangers of drinking alcohol. They think it is OK because their parents drink. They don’t think they have a problem because they don’t drink everyday. Most teens think they are invincible and that the statistics couldn’t be about them. There are new campaigns in the public that are coming from teenagers who have had bad experiences and are sharing their torrid story with their peers. Teens need to feel like they can blow off some angst without the use of drugs or alcohol. They also need to learn what to say to other teenagers who are looking to get high. They need to be encouraged to be around other teens who have a more positive peer interaction going on. For a teenager, it is really important to make good friend choices.

Drug abuse has continued to be a real problem in this country for decades now. In the eighties, drug use was a little higher. In the nineties, it fell a little bit. Today it may be down from the seventies but it is still happening often. It is hard to find information on 2009 statistics but, in 2005 forty-five percent of people from the age of 12 and older, had used an illicit drug or prescription drug for non medical use. Forty percent of that same age group used marijuana or Hashish for non medical use. Cigarettes may be legal but are still considered a drug, because of the nicotine. They are smoked by over sixty-four percent of people twelve years and older as of 2005. There are many people who are using over the counter or prescribed drugs for non medical use as well.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in studies of drug use in female teens. It turns out that just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you don’t party like the guys. Yes, nine percent of young females, ages 12 to 17, report the use of illicit drugs and ten percent of their male peers report use. It looks like age 16 and 17 has the highest reporting of drug use in that age group. Fewer use with the younger ages. When asked to report on how easy it was to get drugs the young replied that LSD, cocaine, heroin and crack were fairly easy or very easy to get. Same goes for marijuana. That was also an easy drug to get. Drugs and alcohol use is one of the main reasons that teens are involved with accidents that involve injury or death. The top causes of death among people between 10 and 24 years old are motor vehicle crashes, homicide, suicide and unintentional accidents. Drug and or alcohol use can lead anyone, including teens, into behaviors that have tragic outcomes.

There are over 12 million households in this country that are using illicit drugs with children around today. There are more than one million children who show up as victims of child abuse due to drug and alcohol abuse each year. Every day there are at least three children who die from abuse and neglect because of substance abuse. Substance abuse is one of the top reasons for major problems in families today. This comes from 81 percent of a 100 polled during reported cases with states child welfare records. There is a direct connection between drug and alcohol abuse and child abuse. Forty percent of confirmed child abuse cases involved drugs or alcohol.

Although Dr. Drew could not get any of the people that he wanted, he might still be able to get a few stars. Jason Wahler is not yet confirmed to be on Celebrity Rehab for his alcohol addiction but he is in negotiations for it. What is currently known is that he is interested, but there has been no contract that has been signed yet. It is still up in the air if the show will be able to go on at all with the lack of stars willing to come forward, and deal with their problems in front of cameras which can take a bigger hit to their careers than having the addiction in the first place.

Having a couple of drinks now and then is not a bad thing. The world is stressful and it feels good to just hang out with a few friends and relax with a drink. It is when one or two drinks a couple of days a week is not enough that one might be showing signs of a problem. Over a period of time one could stretch into four or five drinks on a daily basis and now the warning signs are clearer. If everyone was truthful with their doctor about what they really drink, the doctor could more easily identify a drinking problem because the blood work came back with elevated sugar to help confirm the diagnosis.

Sadly, alcohol is a really severe disorder. It is an ongoing battle between the increasing need for more alcohol and a physical and mental level with the really bad withdrawals one goes through to stop drinking. It is hard to even get someone to admit they have a problem with drinking. Heavy drinking causes real problems to the human body and if someone does not slow down or stop they could damage their liver, brain, heart and other organs. They will more than likely get some sort of disease like diabetes or liver disease. Often times it takes family and friends to speak up to get someone to hear they have a problem.

There are ten common warning signs of alcoholism:

1. Drinking alone.

2. Drinking secretly.

3. Drinking daily or frequently in order to function.

4. Making excuses and or finding excuses to drink.

5. Being incapable of getting by without a drink.

6. Getting angry when confronted about drinking.

7. Becomes violent during a drinking binge.

8. Poor eating habits.

9. Lack of personal hygiene or care of physical appearance.

10. Morning Tremors.

With statistics that show that 30 percent of people on the road today will be involved in an accident that involves a drunk driver, it’s a good idea to get the facts right. The truth is, a drunk driver is putting everyone on the road at risk, it’s never something that only affect them. True, the negative consequences of a DUI feel very personal, but taking everyone else’s safety into one’s hands by getting behind the wheel is also personal. This isn’t based on any kind of sliding scale of morality, but is based on facts that speak for themselves.

It’s estimated that over 40 percent of the fatalities on the road are related to a drunk driver, and there are thousands every year. Drunk driving incidents tend to happen more on the weekends, and the weekend accidents are statistically more severe than the ones during the week. The average blood alcohol content of a drunk driver in a fatal accident is around .16 percent. For an average sized man, this is about 8 drinks. The most common drink of choice for drunk drivers is beer. It’s not difficult to see that casual ideas about drinking are very certainly linked to drunk driving.

Holiday times are also more frequent than any other time of year, with Thanksgiving as the most dangerous holiday, and New Year’s Eve as the second. This suggests that some of the educational programs on drinking and driving have been successful in encouraging drinkers to have a designated driver, or using a form of public transportation, during New Year’s. However, Thanksgiving seems to be the holiday when people feel more at ease about watching their alcohol intake, and also suggests that having a family in the car with you doesn’t make you immune.

In any situation, it’s very important to be aware of one’s intake at all times, and to take the responsibility for one’s state of mind at the wheel very seriously. With public transportation, or a designated driver, the risks are much less, and everybody is safer.

It looks like Dr. Drew can get one celebrity to join the new season. Miss Tila Tequila, real name Tila Nguyen, has agreed to help out Dr. Drew, get some attention, and get some help herself. The real question is if they can get any more cast together in time to start filming the show. It was not named what addictions Tila Tequila will be trying to kick although friends close to her have been telling her that she needs to get some help since her fiance died. Tequila has been the star of another reality TV show in the past called “A Shot at Love with Tia Tequila”

What causes drug addiction? Could it be some sort of genetic gene in the family? Maybe it is just someones  personality. Peer pressure is bound to lead people into using. Well the answer is all of the previously listed reasons. With the family gene possibility it could be that someone has a system imbalance that they are self medicating around. Unfortunately, the use of drugs can actually make the reasons for its use even worse. The addiction comes in when one needs more and more of the drug to get the desired result. One’s brain and nervous system adapts to the dosage and always ends up needing more as time goes on. Sometimes the kind of drug that the addict is taking becomes, in their mind, absolutely necessary in order to function at all.

The family tree does play a factor. Doctors have found after many years of research that if the parents are addicts of substance then the kids have a higher chance of becoming addicts as well. Each generation passes it on, unfortunately. Those who are aware can take steps to not follow suit but it is a decision that is made to just stay away from the stuff. Some people have become such victims of abuse because of the parents addiction to drugs that they stay away from it for fear of recreating that life for their own children.

Personality plays a role in reasons for being a drug addict. Sometimes people are just curious which leads them to try a drug. People who are stressed in their lives may just be looking for something to help them relax. So people who are suffering with anxiety end up being users. Same goes for people who suffer from depression, chronic fatigue, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. Low self esteem can lead some people to drugs to make them feel good about themselves and confident around others. Sadly, the drug habit usually leads to a negative life path with even more destructive behaviors and the self esteem becomes worse.

For many young teens, peer pressure seems to be a big one. All it takes is a insecure teen, trying to fit in with the cool crowd, getting pressured into trying drugs. Then the feeling kicks in and the whirlwind begins. Now the kid is high on drugs feeling great and feeling accepted into the group. Building self confidence early in a child’s life is a great way to fend off many of the reasons that lead to becoming addicted to drugs. If one is confident in themselves they have a stronger will to not fall for peer pressure, ask for help with depression and make a stand not to follow the family path down a life of drug induced destruction.

The making and drinking of alcohol started thousands of years ago. Fermenting some sort of sugar like honey, grapes or other fruits is were it started. Research into the topic has shown that honey was the first to be used as a drinkable ethanol in the middle and far east. The pictures found on the walls of old Egyptian tombs show drunken people having a party. The Mediterranean area had their dates, grapes and cereals to ferment into alcoholic beverages. With the early use of alcoholic beverages came laws to manage it. The early trade of wine was done by women of low station and it was their job to make sure to report any problems associated with it. One of the first laws was that date wine could only bought at the price of corn and not silver.

The Old Testament and the Talmud have good references to a strong drink. It clearly states that alcoholic drinks gives courage and helps the poor and or unhappy to forget their trials and tribulations. Check out Psalms 104:15 for the direct quote. Wine played a major role in Greek society. The stories are endless with Greek tragedies and iconic battles. These stories eventually showed up in the theatres as actors acted them out for entertainment and maybe example. Even though there was a lot of drinking going on, being drunk was still looked down on in the early days. Plato was one of the first rulers to forbid anyone under the age of 18 to drink alcohol and said that those under thirty years can only have it in moderation. There were no limits on those over 40.

The effects of alcoholism was seen early on in history. Even though it has always been a popular form of relaxing and socializing, it has always been frowned upon when one goes over board. There have been times of prohibition because of the abuse that took place in the homes of a drunk. Alcohol has been the scapegoat for so many things that have gone wrong in human history. Even the downfall of the Roman Empire was blamed on alcohol.

So much of the history of alcohol consumption can be witnessed in modern movies. In the early melodramas the drinker was portrayed as someone who was living in anguish. Then it turned into portraying someone who was free, independent and strong. Today, movies and television bounce between sad drunks and independent drinkers depending on the story and the characters it is trying to convey. So the battle of alcoholism has been going on for thousands of years.

Steven Adler was the drummer for Gun ‘n Roses and has seen his fair share of parties. As any celebrity can tell you though you don’t get to be a 40+ celebrity while still partying as hard as you used to. He has gone through the worst of times and in the video above talks a little about what it takes to continue to live as he does now. He also talks about how he doesn’t really see the party animals anymore, if they are still around.

There seems to be endless stories about the bad side effects associated with the use of Ambien, the prescription sleep aid. In some cases, it almost looks like one could easily overdose on the drug because the biggest side effect is memory loss. When talking with people who have taken Ambien the stories are almost funny. Like a drunken college night full of strange activities that the drunk doesn’t remember. It was bad enough when people had memory loss because of alcohol but Ambien is even worse.

One of these stories was about a man who took Ambien and woke up the next day with the kitchen filled with dirty pots and pans and his check book out on the table. It really scared him at first. He was wondering who had made dinner and wrote out checks in his apartment in the middle of the night. Then he realized that the checks were written out for all of his bills. No one is going to break in and pay his bills, so what happened? Apparently, he was sleep walking and decided to make some dinner and pay some bills and then never remembered a thing. What else could have happened and gone wrong? This is a seemingly funny story that turned out to be OK but what if something bad had happened? What if he didn’t turn off his stove or something?

This sort of story is exactly what leads to Ambien overdoses. People just don’t remember taking the drug and they wake up in the morning with half of a brand new bottle gone. They were popping pills in the middle of the night without even realizing it. They complain about the cost at first until they realize that they luckily lived through a possible overdoes. After all, eventually, there is a time that could come where the whole bottle is taken down in one night and the person may never wake up again. It could happen that easily. Maybe its time to end the forgotten journey with Ambien and find some other way to get a good nights sleep.