Articles looking at options when people are struggling with distancing themselves from drugs or alcohol.
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, […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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”. […]
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 […]
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted persons self-control […]
It is never a good situation to be in when someone may have to wonder whether or not a family member is addicted to alcohol or drugs. However, if you do find yourself in this situation, just know that you are not alone, as nearly 21 million Americans struggle with an active addiction in our […]
Marijuana, also known by cannabis, weed, grass, shake, ganja, reefer, dope, hash, herb, chronic, and many other names, has a reputation for being a safe narcotic. In reality, there are no 'safe' narcotics, and the potential for addiction to 'weed' (as it will be henceforth referred to) has well earned its place on the DEA […]
