The medical marijuana craze has ignited a multi-billion dollar industry. From oils to tinctures to lotions to lattes to e-cigarettes in all shapes and sizes, for pain, anxiety, depression, seizures, autism, soft skin, hangover, etc., marijuana is everywhere. In fact, those who invested in top marijuana companies in 2016 are potentially up more than 1000%. Yet another danger lurks under the guise of “synthetic marijuana”, “K2”, or “spice”. It is not a surprise that marijuana...
Does this sound familiar? You call up all your friends and loved ones to inform them about your plans to quit using drugs or alcohol. You are so sure about it and believe that nothing can get in the way. So you quit cold turkey, with no help. And just as everything seems to be working out perfectly, the unexpected happens – you slip back in and start using again. If this is familiar, you...
Many people saw a meme going around in late January – early February that looked like a reputable news story, with the headline: “Cocaine Kills Coronavirus, scientist is shocked that the drug can fight the virus”. This had many people seeing (and believing) that just maybe, the illegal, illicit drug could help prevent people from getting COVID-19. Of course, to answer the question can cocaine help kill the coronavirus, or COVID-19 is a resounding NO....
First and foremost, if you are in any immediate danger, please reach out to another family member or relative, friend, neighbor, emergency services, or another trusted source to remove yourself from the situation before it gets too bad. Maybe you know your parent uses heroin because you’ve found some needles or other drug related paraphernalia, if that is the case, do not attempt to dispose of them yourself, leave them alone and ask for help....
While addiction is said to last a lifetime, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the harmful effects on your brain will. Addiction is a complex condition that is considered by the majority of healthcare professionals to be a disease of the brain. It is often characterized by compulsive, almost uncontrollable, drug seeking and drug using behavior despite negative consequences. People who suffer from drug addiction (or severe substance use disorder) have an intense focus on getting...
Addiction itself is difficult to deal with. It can be difficult to even admit to yourself and others that you struggle with a substance abuse problem. Addiction is a chronic, and potentially relapsing, disease that chemically alters the structure of the addicted person’s brain. It takes a life long commitment to overcome and maintain sobriety. Some people believe that addiction is a choice, while that may be true initially, as far as making the choice...
Addiction is a scary thing – no doubt. Parents fret over it, schools try to prevent it, politicians politicize it (that’s another discussion), but everyone is afraid of it. Let’s face it – addiction comes with a label and that label is hard to get out from under. Some would say almost as hard to beat as the disease itself. The label of addiction immediately comes with a sense of hopelessness. “Your life is...
The price of heroin in California is more than you can afford. In fact, it’s more than you should afford. Although a 2018 study by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) found that heroin use in the Los Angeles area was lower than the national rate, heroin treatment admissions were still at a dangerously high level. What’s the Cost? The US National Library of Medicine used literature based estimates to create a model ...
We all think we know what substance abuse looks like. Maybe it’s your aunt who drinks to much at birthday parties and then stumbles through your house starting arguments with your friends and family. Or maybe, it’s your brother who started smoking marijuana while away at school and never quit when he “became an adult”. Are these people addicts, or do they have a dependency on their desired substance? The answer could be either...
Drug addiction and alcoholism are synonymous with each other in the fact that they both destroy lives, families, and the homes of those who suffer from them. Alcoholism is simply just being addicted to alcohol, which is a drug itself, whereas drug addiction is an addiction to pretty much everything else that is substance related, such as heroin, methamphetamines, prescription pills, etc. Both drug addiction and alcoholism are substance use disorders, and unfortunately both are...
