Pete Townshend traces drug abuse, alcohol addiction, infidelity in new biography
TORONTO – Legendary Who guitarist Pete Townshend has weathered drug abuse, alcohol addiction, infidelity, near-deafening rock 'n' roll assaults to his ears and, of course, those infamous child pornography charges. Townshend discusses these trials …
Read more on Vancouver Sun

Matthew Mitcham … reveals his battle with drug addiction in his new book …
Matthew Mitcham … reveals his battle with drug addiction in his new book. Source: News Limited. Beijing gold medallist Matthew Mitcham has revealed he battled a methamphetamine addiction in 2011 that almost ended his career and destroyed his life.
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Group at churches offers support for drug–addict helpers
Parents, spouses or friends who find themselves trying to help someone struggling with drug addiction can get discouraged when their efforts don't seem to be succeeding. Parents of Addicted Loved Ones, also called PAL-Groups, tries to keep their …
Read more on Arizona Republic

Compulsive Shopping: The Holiday Addiction
Many certified addiction therapists have experience treating compulsive spending, and there are several 12-step self-help groups, such as Debtors Anonymous and Shopaholics Anonymous, where you can find nonjudgmental support and good, constructive …
Read more on Huffington Post

War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure
When it comes to drugs, we should focus on the goals we agree on: protecting our kids, protecting public safety and preventing and treating drug abuse and addiction. To help unlock barriers to drug reform, last June, I joined the Global Commission on …
Read more on CNN International

Question by burkedawn: Is the war against drug abuse a good topic for a research paper? If so what would be a good hypothesis for it?
I am wirting a research paper for my class at University of Phoenix online and I chose to do an essay on the “war against drug abuse”. What I am wanting to know is what would be a good hypothesis for this topic area?

Best answer:

Answer by clover spots
you could posit
1 what pressures has the war on drugs put on our prisons, hospitals
2 why is funding given more to arrest drug offenders than to treat them
3 what is the goal of the war on drugs, has it been met
4. what are other options that have been used in other countries, are they feasible here

Give your answer to this question below!

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 🙂

Add your own answer in the comments!

For many years, painkiller abuse was the “silent” addiction that no one spoke of. Many people hid their use of painkillers or other prescription drugs from their family and friends. Well, today, painkiller addiction is getting more press then ever, largely because there has been such a huge increase in use of these particular drugs. Many people going to extreme lengths to obtain them and the news are beginning to report it. Doctor shopping, pharmacy thefts and prescription forgery has increased tremendously.

As new reports cover these incidences and more people begin talking about it, addicts are coming forward and telling their stories. More and more individuals are also checking themselves into Painkiller addiction treatment programs, which is further evidence of this growing problem.

Organizations that study drug abuse and addictions have found that prescription drugs, methamphetamines and marijuana are the three types of drugs whose use is growing. More people then ever are reporting use of these substances. The reasons why are unclear.

Some people believe that painkiller misuse is on the rise because it is legal. It is a prescription drug so people are able to get it legally from their doctors. People also do not have to purchase drugs from a drug dealer. Of course they can if they have no other options. But largely, at least at first, they don’t have to worry about coming across a violent drug dealer or being arrested for illegal drug possession.

This type of addiction is generally pretty safe in terms of legal repercussions if all a person is doing is doctor shopping. However, things can go downhill fast if an individual starts to steal the drugs, attempt to forge prescriptions or begins buying from a drug dealer.

Many people don’t start off taking painkillers to use them to get high, though there are definitely those that do. These individuals often have some type of injury or have just had surgery and are prescribed the medication by their doctors. It is after they begin taking it to deal with a legitimate injury, that they find themselves hooked. They may then attempt to fake more injuries to keep the drugs coming or go to multiple doctors to get as many drugs as possible.

Painkiller addiction treatment is often the best option for those addicted to these types of drugs. This is because the drug is so addicting that it can be very difficult for a person to give up using them on their own. There are special medical detoxification programs that will allow individuals to get the drugs out of their body slowly so that the withdrawal symptoms are not so severe. There are generally at least several in every state. Persons should seriously consider checking in to such a program if they find themselves repeatedly unable to make it through the first few days of their attempts to quit. Painkiller addiction treatment is just what many persons need to get clean and should be utilized when necessary.

For many years, painkiller abuse was the “silent” addiction that no one spoke of. Many people hid their use of painkillers or other prescription drugs from their family and friends. Well, today, painkiller addiction is getting more press then ever, largely because there has been such a huge increase in use of these particular drugs. Many people going to extreme lengths to obtain them and the news are beginning to report it. Doctor shopping, pharmacy thefts and prescription forgery has increased tremendously.

As new reports cover these incidences and more people begin talking about it, addicts are coming forward and telling their stories. More and more individuals are also checking themselves into Painkiller addiction treatment programs, which is further evidence of this growing problem.

Organizations that study drug abuse and addictions have found that prescription drugs, methamphetamines and marijuana are the three types of drugs whose use is growing. More people then ever are reporting use of these substances. The reasons why are unclear.

Some people believe that painkiller misuse is on the rise because it is legal. It is a prescription drug so people are able to get it legally from their doctors. People also do not have to purchase drugs from a drug dealer. Of course they can if they have no other options. But largely, at least at first, they don’t have to worry about coming across a violent drug dealer or being arrested for illegal drug possession.

This type of addiction is generally pretty safe in terms of legal repercussions if all a person is doing is doctor shopping. However, things can go downhill fast if an individual starts to steal the drugs, attempt to forge prescriptions or begins buying from a drug dealer.

Many people don’t start off taking painkillers to use them to get high, though there are definitely those that do. These individuals often have some type of injury or have just had surgery and are prescribed the medication by their doctors. It is after they begin taking it to deal with a legitimate injury, that they find themselves hooked. They may then attempt to fake more injuries to keep the drugs coming or go to multiple doctors to get as many drugs as possible.

Painkiller addiction treatment is often the best option for those addicted to these types of drugs. This is because the drug is so addicting that it can be very difficult for a person to give up using them on their own. There are special medical detoxification programs that will allow individuals to get the drugs out of their body slowly so that the withdrawal symptoms are not so severe. There are generally at least several in every state. Persons should seriously consider checking in to such a program if they find themselves repeatedly unable to make it through the first few days of their attempts to quit. Painkiller addiction treatment is just what many persons need to get clean and should be utilized when necessary.