Question by Meghan W.: General addiction support?
I have what I believe to be an addiction, but it does not fall into the regular “groups” (Drugs, Alcohol, Sex/Porn, etc). Are there any general addiction support groups where I could seek peer aid?

Best answer:

Answer by kim s
It’s kinda hard to help if we don’t know what the addiction is. But there might be a support group for it. Maybe try googling it instead.

Answer by orchidmg
www.NAMI.org

National Alliance of Mental Illness

They have support groups in many cities. See if your city has a group. They meet 1-3 a month for an hour and a half. Talking helps. You will be surprised that you aren’t alone.

I use to be addicted to beer and cigarettes and sex. After my divorce and having a child I stopped all that. But I’m now addicted to spending money on crap. Purses, pens, lighthouses, books, food. I’m also addicted to food. Big time! My health isn’t good because of it. I’m also addicted to Yahoo Answers 🙂

Good luck

Lansing-area group targeting drug addiction
The group's goals include prevention and providing information about addiction. It's also a way for families to network, meet each other, share information and “help each other help their kids,” Pavona said. “We felt like we were the only parents in …
Read more on Lansing State Journal

Opiate addiction support group coming to Cape
What: Learn to Cope, a statewide support group for parents and family members dealing with a loved one addicted to heroin, OxyContin and other drugs. When: Meetings will be held every Tuesday evening, beginning Tuesday, at 7 p.m. in the training room …
Read more on Capecodonline

Local Group Aims to Stop Growing Drug Problem in Mid-Michigan
Tuesday night a local group started working on ways to help stop it as News 10's Josh Sidorowicz sat down with the family of a recovering addict that joined the group so other families don't have to go through what they did. Mason resident Aaron …
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Scholarships offered to students affected by drug abuse
Attorney General Jack Conway on Monday announced a new scholarship program that is also open to people who have been affected by drug abuse. Students who beat drug addiction and those who have experienced drug abuse in their families are eligible …
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Reckitt Benckiser may sell pharmaceuticals business
LONDON (Reuters) – Reckitt Benckiser may sell its pharmaceuticals unit, which has been suffering from declining sales of its main heroin addiction drug, to focus on growing consumer health and household cleaning products businesses. The British …
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Chabad on Campus Advances Awareness of Substance Abuse
As early as 1972, Chabad's involvement with preventing and helping beat substance abuse resulted in the founding of the Chabad Residential Treatment Centers in California and created chapters of Project Pride (Prevention, Resource, Information and Drug …
Read more on Chabad.org

Prescription Drug Facts – http://drugrehabcenter.com – Prescription Drug Facts – Discover the best treatment options for you. Call our Toll-Free Recovery Hotline at 1-800-839-1682. We…

NIDA's drug abuse information for teens goes mobile
To reach adults with limited literacy skills, NIDA's Easy-to-Read website now includes Spanish-language versions of its Drug Facts pages; its What is Addiction? section; as well as two easy to understand videos explaining the science behind drug addiction.
Read more on National Institutes of Health (press release)

COMMENTARY: DEA is stopping drug flow
Facts: Loosening laws and going down the dangerous path toward decriminalization will lead to increased drug use, violence, crime, motorists driving on drugs and many other ripple effects related to drug abuse. The societal costs of drug abuse and …
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21 members of Arizona National Guard indicted
The articles documented a systemic patchwork of criminal and unethical conduct that included sexual abuse, embezzlement, drug-dealing, fraternization, cronyism and failure to discipline. The newspaper findings were corroborated in May by a Pentagon …
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Question by Janet V: 3 year ban for drug addiction Juarez consulate – Proof of rehabilitation?
Where does it say “specifically” that an applicant must provide “proof of rehabilitation” once a 3 year ban for drug use is up? I would like to find this law and/or requirement.

Best answer:

Answer by bobby
ask your pb officer

Answer by Schmegicky
You can find it under INA 212 “Inadmissibility” Sections.

A drug user is inadmissible. When they take blood at the medical center they test for illicit drug use. 212(a)(1)(A)(iv) is the section.

I have even heard of it happening that they might give the chest x-ray (for tuberculosis) on one day and then send the alien back to give a blood test on the next day.

The immigration laws are written in such a way to place the burden of proof on the INDIVIDUAL, not the government. That is, if they find recreational drugs in someone’s system, then that person has the responsibility to prove to the consulate that they no longer use drugs. Merely, not being stupid enough the second time around not to use recreational drugs before a blood test may not be enough to convince the consular authorities that rehabilitation has occurred.

—– (edited below)

Excellent Fred, pointing out also the Foreign Affairs Manual section. However, this section doesn’t include the word “rehabilitated”. It has been noted that some consular officers often ask for more than simple abstinence from recreational drugs during the review period.

Members of the recreational drug-taking public are simply concerned that these procedures are not simply invented on the fly by the consular officers.

Dollars to DS-230’s, our asker’s next question will be what is considered acceptable proof of rehabilitation. It would be helpful to know what a majority of consular officers consider to be adequate proof of rehabilitation. Does it depend on the drug and level of addiction?

I’ll vote for your answer if you would be so kind as to provide some further general insight.

Learn More About Drug and Alcohol Addict Rehabilitation from Rehab Addict
Chico, CA — (SBWIRE) — 10/18/2013 — The problems related to the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addicts usually affect their families and may lead to severe consequences. The family members, partners or friends who wish to collect details about …
Read more on SBWire (press release)

Question by oblivious: how did elliot smith die?

Best answer:

Answer by iijakii
Elliott Smith died on October 21, 2003 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 34, from two stab wounds to the chest during an emotional fight with Jennifer Chiba. [16] According to her account, the two were arguing when she locked herself in the bathroom. Chiba heard him scream, and upon opening the door, saw Smith standing there with a steak knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out of him, after which Smith collapsed and she called 911. The time of death was listed at 12:18 PM. While originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in late December 2003 left the question of possible homicide open:
While his history of depression is compatible with suicide, and the location and direction of the stab wound is consistent with self-infliction, several aspects of the circumstances (as are known at this time) are atypical of suicide and raise the possibility of homicide. These include the absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing through clothing, and the presence of small incised wounds on the right arm and left hand (possible defensive wounds). Additionally, the girlfriend’s [Jennifer Chiba’s] reported removal of the knife and subsequent refusal to speak with detectives are all of concern.

According to the coroner’s report, the alleged suicide note, written on a Post-it, read, I’m so sorry – love, Elliot. God forgive me. The misspelling of “Elliott” was later acknowledged as a mistake on the part of the coroner. Robin Peringer, one of the singers few close friends towards the end of his life, says that Smith was a “cutter”, which would help explain the “possible defensive wounds.” Fritz Michaud, an engineer during the Basement sessions, claimed that “Elliott literally wouldn’t have been caught dead without his shirt on,” possibly explaining why the stab wounds penetrated his shirt (something extremely uncommonly seen in stabbing suicides).

His death has not been officially declared a suicide, and the investigation into his death continues, although almost no new information at all has publicly come to light since 2003.

Answer by mavsman15
According to Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing, he began to display signs of paranoia, often believing that a white van followed him wherever he went. He would have friends drop him off for recording sessions almost a mile away from the studio, and to reach the location he would trudge through hundreds of yards of brush and cliffs. He started telling people that DreamWorks was out to get him. “Not long ago my house was broken into, and songs were stolen off my computer which have wound up in the hands of certain people who work at a certain label. I’ve also been followed around for months at a time. I wouldn’t even want to necessarily say it’s the people from that label who are following me around, but it was probably them who broke into my house.” [12] Nugent’s book says that during this time, Smith hardly ever ate, subsisting primarily on ice cream (bizarrely, it was the only thing that he kept in his freezer). He would go for several days with out sleeping, then sleep for about 24 hours.

On November 25, 2002, Smith was involved in a brawl with the Los Angeles Police Department at a Flaming Lips/Beck concert. [13] Allegedly, Smith saw the officers harassing a young man, at which point the musician tried to step in and defend him. Thinking he was a homeless man, the officers supposedly beat and arrested him and his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba (without reading them their Miranda Rights). The two spent the night in jail. Smith’s hand and back were injured in the incident, causing him to have to cancel a number of shows. [14]

He attempted to go to rehab several times, but he “couldn’t honestly do the first step {where the individual admits that they have a drug/alcohol problem}. I couldn’t say what you were supposed to say and mean it.” Finally, after several years of darkness, things began to lighten. In the fall of 2002, Smith went to the Neurotransmitter Restoration Center in Beverly Hills to start a course of treatment for his drug addiction. In one of his final interviews, he spoke about the center: “What they do is an IV treatment where they put a catheter in your arm, and you’re on a drip bag, but the only thing that’s in the drip bag is amino acids and saline solution. I was coming off of a lot of psyche meds and other things. I was even on an antipsychotic, although I’m not psychotic.” [15] This time the center proved to do wonders for him, helping him permanently beat his addictions to heroin and crack. After his 34th birthday on August 6, 2003, he gave up alcohol, caffeine, red meat, refined sugar and his longtime regiment of sometimes abused psychological medication. “Elliott’s getting better”-type rumors spread on the internet and throughout the independent music community (as apparent on Ben Folds’ tribute song to Smith, “Late”).

Elliott Smith died on October 21, 2003 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 34, from two stab wounds to the chest during an emotional fight with Jennifer Chiba. [16] According to her account, the two were arguing when she locked herself in the bathroom. Chiba heard him scream, and upon opening the door, saw Smith standing there with a steak knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out of him, after which Smith collapsed and she called 911. The time of death was listed at 12:18 PM. While originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in late December 2003 left the question of possible homicide open:
While his history of depression is compatible with suicide, and the location and direction of the stab wound is consistent with self-infliction, several aspects of the circumstances (as are known at this time) are atypical of suicide and raise the possibility of homicide. These include the absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing through clothing, and the presence of small incised wounds on the right arm and left hand (possible defensive wounds). Additionally, the girlfriend’s [Jennifer Chiba’s] reported removal of the knife and subsequent refusal to speak with detectives are all of concern.

According to the coroner’s report, the alleged suicide note, written on a Post-it, read, I’m so sorry – love, Elliot. God forgive me. The misspelling of “Elliott” was later acknowledged as a mistake on the part of the coroner. Robin Peringer, one of the singers few close friends towards the end of his life, says that Smith was a “cutter”, which would help explain the “possible defensive wounds.” Fritz Michaud, an engineer during the Basement sessions, claimed that “Elliott literally wouldn’t have been caught dead without his shirt on,” possibly explaining why the stab wounds penetrated his shirt (something extremely uncommonly seen in stabbing suicides).

His death has not been officially declared a suicide, and the investigation into his death continues, although almost no new information at all has publicly come to light since 2003.

Twin Town Treatment Centers of Southern California to Be Honored During …
LOS ALAMITOS, CA–(Marketwired – Oct 8, 2013) – Key representatives from Twin Town Treatment Centers, Inc., a successful six-location outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility based in Los Alamitos, Calif., are being recognized with two special …
Read more on Marketwired (press release)

Awareness regarding drug abuse
LAHORE: Colours will fill the sky of the city after 10 years – since last Basant was observed – in a colourful event this November, in which mini hot air lanterns will be released in the air as part of a campaign against HIV/AIDS and injectable drug abuse.
Read more on Pakistan Daily Times

Commentary: Bipartisan agreement on the battle against prescription drug abuse
COLUMBUS — There's a lot of contention here at the Statehouse between Republicans and Democrats and Republicans and Republicans and Democrats and Democrats. Debates over issues like Medicaid expansion, abortion, school funding and tax policy …
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Saudi anti–drug authority takes quitters on hajj tour
More than 100 former drug addicts in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were invited to perform the Muslim hajj pilgrimage this year as part of a rehabilitation campaign by the kingdom's anti-drug authority. Many of the pilgrims quit drugs four to …
Read more on Al-Arabiya