Question by Chelsea: How can I be sure the ex-wife doesn’t try to take our children??!?
So my husband’s ex wife is literally crazy. She has put herself in and out of jail, she drinks, does drugs, sleeps around…if its bad, you name it. She does it. While my husband and she were married over two years ago, she conceived two different Children by two different men. Then she picked up and left after the second baby was born. She wants nothing to do with them in all sincerity. She texts about once every 6 months to see how they are, etc. then is done.

My husband and I are neither biologically related to our children, but have raised them from the time they were babies. He has full legal custody, with her only having limited right to speak to them. If we sued for full legal adoption, can we win without her possibly getting them, or the government putting them Into foster care? Like I said, she is crazy. She moves from home to home, job to job, and only acts interested once every six months. She never wants to talk to them. We have given them a stable home life for the past 4 years. How can we legally make sure she will never try to get them on some whim? Even though we are not biologically related, they have been ours since day one. Please help!

Best answer:

Answer by Strife and Discord
You need a family law attorney. Seriously, this is way beyond the dept of your well-meaning Yahoo-ers. Good Luck!

Answer by Divine
Your husband needs a court order to allow only supervised visits until she completes a treatment program and parenting class. When I say treatment I am talking a year or two in residential long term. Those 28-90 day “treatment” are just to placate judges for misdemeanor crimes or to keep a job. His ex need the whole long term treatment. If she agrees to it she can have visits with the kids there. I went to a 2 year treatment program a few years back and it really changed me for the better and now I have a life that is meaningful and the respect of others and myself too. It helped me and it could help her. You don’t have to like her because it is not about you or the ex, it is about the children. By the way you are a special lady caring for those precious kids. Kudos to you.

Call for specialised drug treatment prisons
Every year, 2,400 prisoners seek drug treatment when they are released. Only 1.6 per cent of them get access to a residential rehabilitation bed. There is a three month waiting list for the 286 residential drug treatment beds across the state. "The …
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Class Notes: Schools to observe Performance-Enhancing Drug Awareness Week
The respective boards of education for Gainesville City and Hall County schools have adopted a resolution to recognize Performance-Enhancing Drug Awareness Week, Dec. 8-14. “It's often true that what we begin to see in the adult culture, certainly it's …
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by Heart Watched

Students distribute ribbons to promote drug awareness
HAMDEN — Members of the Hamden High School Students Against Destructive Decisions club promoted drug awareness and “Positive Choices” in observance of National Red Ribbon week. Red ribbons, provided by the local Chapter of Mother's Against …
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RAW VIDEO: Imperial County Sheriff's Office holds drug awareness program
More than 1,300 Imperial Valley sixth-graders got an up-close look at how using drugs will affect their life during the Imperial County Sheriff's Office drug awareness program “The Drug Store.” The students went through a series of scenes showing them …
Read more on Imperial Valley Press

Question by Katie D: What are some good teen books about disorders?
I read the book “Cut” but Patricia McCormick, “Perfect” By Natasha Friend, and I’m reading “Massive” by Julia Bell.

What are some other good ones about mental/personality disorders?

Even if they’re not teen books, I want some good ones.

Best answer:

Answer by Cheyenne
Go Ask Alice is a really good book. Its about a young girl with drug addictions. Its really emotional. And probably not anything like you would think. But, I won’t ruin the story line.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is also really good. Its a bit disturbing, though, in some points.
I reccomend The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, as well.

Answer by Katie
“Oh my goth” by Gena Showalter..http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/gena-showalter/oh-my-goth-.htm
Look to the left of this link to find whatever you wish to select..http://www.amazon.com/Social-Issues-Teens-Books/b/ref=amb_link_15?ie=UTF8&node=17496&pf_rd_p=236740601&pf_rd_s=browse&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=28&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1154P7743DWC9RG6QDQH

New Xulon Book is a True Journey from Addiction to Redemption
"It is my deepest desire that each person who reads 'Just Right' will have a greater sense of understanding regarding alcoholism and drug addiction," states the author. "[The most important thing about this book is] that there is always hope for the …
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EXCERPT: Artie Lange's 'Crash and Burn'
He's grotesquely honest about his addiction to heroin and prescription drugs, too. Now happily engaged to his … In response to Jimmy Kimmel saying that he was friends with Tom Cruise and that what Lange wrote about Cruise in his first book didn't …
Read more on New York Daily News

NIH-funded study finds that gabapentin may treat alcohol dependence
“The results of the study on gabapentin showed similar or greater positive outcomes when compared to existing FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]-approved treatments for alcohol dependence,” said Dr. Mason, Pearson Family Professor and …
Read more on National Institutes of Health (press release)

State Working Toward Immediate Access For Drug Abuse Treatment
VPR's Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Barbara Cimaglio, Deputy Health Commissioner of Alcohol & Drug Abuse. “About half the people who seek treatment are seeking treatment for opioid dependence. And we serve almost 10,000 clients per year. So that's grown …
Read more on Vermont Public Radio

Dallas Treatment Center Announces New Video Available for People Seeking …
A Dallas treatment center dealing with drug and alcohol addiction is please to announce a new video has been launched to detail what services are offered at Drug Addiction Treatment Centers. These services are available in Dallas as well as surrounding …
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Question by Dan W: Can i become a councilor with a GED?
Well i am wondering if you can become a councilor for drug abuse if you only have a GED, because i was addicted to methamphetamine, marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol for about five years of my life and luckily i got myself help and have been clean for about 2 years now and i would really like to help people overcome the demons i also faced trying to become clean, any help would be wonderful. Thanks for any feed back.

Best answer:

Answer by jannsody
Congratulations on having almost two years of sobriety! With regard to becoming a substance abuse counselor, I believe that most with a Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) have a master’s degree which takes about six years of college, if attending on a full-time basis. There are different levels of training for addictions counseling, but most jobs prefer those with a master’s degree.

Please also be aware that in order to get one’s certification as a CAC (or similar credentials), the person needs A LOT of clinical experience which includes having an actual patient caseload of those with addiction.

With regard to schooling, please AVOID those private overly priced For-profit schools such as kaplan, ashworth, capella, university of phoenix, devry, ITT tech, strayer, everest, brown mackie, american public university, keiser, argosy, penn foster, ashford, grand canyon, westwood, stratford career, pima medical institute, colorado tech and others as they are merely out to “make a profit” (** and their course credits usually do NOT transfer to other schools).

These consumer sites have a lot of negative posts by former students about those for-profit schools, and please heed the students’ warnings:

– http://www.ripoffreport.com

– http://www.pissedconsumer.com

– http://www.complaintsboard.com and can search.

Please instead consider the more affordable community college and/or public/state university as long as the program is accredited within the industry.

For U.S. colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ

This site is supposed to have more info re: (regarding) getting certified in addictions counseling: http://www.naadac.org/certification and can scroll down a bit.

General career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search “counselors”, “social workers” or such.

Regarding inhalants or “huffing” (fumes or chemical vapors), my friend actually has a Brain Injury from inhalant use at the age of 12, now in her 30s.

Other risks of huffing include sight loss/blindness, heart/liver/kidney damage, seizures, limb spasms, hearing loss and even death, all of which can happen after the very FIRST time of use.

For anyone, this site has more info about the dangers of huffing – National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: http://www.inhalants.org

Wishing you continued recovery and wellness and that you continue making good, HEALTHY choices in life 🙂

Rehab clinics cut off for questionable billing still reaped federal funds
But the flow of drug rehab money to Goretti Health Services points to another problem. It shows what can happen … The oversight breakdowns resulted in troubled clinics retaining their state certification, a seal of approval that allows storefront …
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In Our Towns: Joint pain seminar at Elgin's Saint Joseph
Cannestra, of Midwest Bone and Joint Institute, is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and member of the PSJH Medical Staff. He has been recognized as a specialist in … Renz Addiction Counseling Center is raffling two Chicago …
Read more on Elgin Courier News

Former Navy SEAL to be a Featured Speaker at the MODER8 Mental Bootcamp …
McLeod and Michael will be joined by Licensed Professional Counselor, Jennifer Manly, who will be teaching how to recognize and control emotions that can sometimes lead to turning to substances or negative behaviors to cope. The workshop is being held …
Read more on EIN News (press release)

Question by Kirk: What is the medical and legal definition of “narcotics abuse”?
If a patient suddenly discovered he had been given a diagnoses of “narcotics abuse”, what does that mean? It’s a false claim and it needs further investigation, and moreover, an explanation. But ,can you break it down for me? It immediately conjures up an extremely negative connotation for me.

Best answer:

Answer by KoalaMama
Let’s start at the basics. Narcotics are any of a group of drugs, such as heroin, morphine, and pethidine, that produce numbness and stupor. They are used medicinally to relieve pain but are sometimes also taken for their pleasant effects. Prolonged use may cause addiction, which leads to the abuse.

The definition of abuse would be “misuse, maltreatment, or excessive use.” So, the overindulgence in and dependence on said substance, leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual’s physical or mental health, or the welfare of others, would be defined as narcotics abuse.

In other words, narcotic use is considered abuse when people use narcotics to seek feelings of well-being apart from the narcotic’s pain-relief applications.