Thousands gather to celebrate lives free from drugs
Five months sober, Licht was one of thousands of drug addicts who joined hands on the Interstate 5 Bridge on Monday to cheer on their recovery from a life of addiction. In its 12th year, the Hands Across the Bridge event celebrates the change those in …
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Family that trusted Aaron Hernandez now wants truth
Sit on the couch in Elba Ortiz's living room and it hits you: Hanging on the wall, above the flat-screen television and among a dozen other pictures of smiling family members and friends, is a framed color photo of Aaron Hernandez, breaking a tackle in …
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Best Drug Rehabilitation CEO Per Wickstrom Speaks to Rob Rubick at Detroit's …
Per Wickstrom, the CEO of holistic treatment facilities including Best Drug Rehabilitation, recently sat down with former Detroit Lions tight end Rob Rubick at the Detroit's Hometown Heroes Event to discuss the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among …
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Question by ridethelightning: How do addicts not realize they are on Intervention?
With Intervention now being a globally popular show, I don’t really understand how they are still keeping these addicts under the impression that they are “filming a documentary about addiction.” There’s no way they can just not realize what’s happening.

Best answer:

Answer by Ashley D
Well if they are drug addicts, they probably don’t have the firmest grip on reality…

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Question by : How many addicts successfully recover from drug addiction?
Those rehab places seem like a revolving door. What percentage of drug addicts who’ve been addicted to hard drugs for at least one year successfully recover from their addiction the rest of their lives?

Best answer:

Answer by applesk8er
1 in 6

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Question by Danyel: What type of education would I need to become an RN at a substance abuse detox facility?
I am currently going to school for pre-health with a nursing concentration, until I have the requirements to apply for nursing. I would like to be able to work as an RN in a substance abuse facility. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advise as to how to go about doing this? I do not know if I will need to specialize in a certain area in order to do so or not? If anyone could help me out in regards to what to do education wise I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by MeMeMe
Hi,

First off, good for you for wanting to work in addiction treatment! I’m an addictions counselor and have been working in mental health (mostly suicide prevention) for 7 years and we certainly need more qualified RNs in the field. So I think you will have an easy time finding work once you’re finished with school.

As for your question… To become an RN, you need to go to nursing school. Although I’m sure you already know this. As for specializing in addiction treatment, I don’t believe there are any additional requirements, but it would be good if you have experience working with addicts or at least a greater knowledge of treating clients with addiction. So I would suggest trying to get an internship of some sort with a treatment center in your area. They may not let you do much while you’re in school, but you will be able to put it on your resume. You can learn a lot from observing how things work in treatment. The other suggestion I have would be to take some extra classes that focus on substance abuse. Drug addicts and alcoholics face a variety of special issues separate from the “normal” population you would be working with in a hospital. Most community colleges and some universities now offer programs where you can learn more about these issues. I don’t know where you live, but you may want to start looking for college programs titled “Addictions Counseling” or “Addictions Studies.” Classes you may want to take would be any type of pharmacology, a bloodborne pathogens/infectious disease class, and even alternative treatments to addiction classes. It could also help to take a few classes for addictions counselors like group therapy, individual therapy, or something similar. These will definitely help you in the future in terms of communicating with your clients.

The most important thing I would think an RN working in addiction should have to be educated about is prescription drugs of abuse. Normally when I do an intake on a client coming into treatment, they have been medically prescribed multiple addictive drugs that only contribute to and exacerbate their disease (addiction). Usually these include opiate painkillers, benzodiazepines, and other sedatives and tranquilizers. I had a client once who was on NINE different benzos which she had been on for years, all prescribed by doctors for things like insomnia, anxiety, and even hypothyroidism. This is so egregious and disgusting to me! They were killing her. She obviously had to be medically detoxed for risk of seizures and death from her meds. And needless to say, after being evaluated by our MD, she didn’t NEED any of the pills.

Anyway, I’m rambling. Just excited to see someone wanting to help in the field of addiction treatment. It is rare these days, it seems. But what a satisfying and rewarding job. Good luck to you!!!

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More rehab centers needed to curb drug abuse
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said that the country lacked drug rehabilitation centers and that the government needed to do more to handle the drug problem, especially now that the number of drug users is an estimated …
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Sh6 million drug rehab centre for Moi Eldoret hospital
THE National Campaign against Drug Abuse in Kenya in collaboration with Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Eldoret yesterday unveilled a Sh6.5 million worth rehabilitation centre. The hospital's director John Kibosia said the move is aimed at stepping …
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John Pinette enters rehab for prescription drug addiction
The U.S. stand-up comedian, 49, underwent unspecified surgery earlier this year and became dependent on the drugs he was taking, the celebrity news website said. Where he is undergoing treatment and how long he is expected to stay in the facility were …
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@ISSUE: Why are death rates soaring from prescription drug abuse by women?
Health care providers and women can take steps to protect against prescription painkiller overdoses. It is important that health care providers follow guidelines for responsible opioid prescribing (including screening and monitoring for substance abuse …
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North Jersey 'pill mills' cashing in on painkiller addiction
They came by vanloads from downtown Newark. The Medicaid recipients and homeless drug addicts piled into a medical center in a strip mall in Passaic, where they got cursory examinations and bogus diagnoses from a licensed doctor. The patients left with …
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