The Addiction Reporter

Gastric Bypass Surgery Linked to Increased Risk of Alcoholism

Post author:Michael
Post published:05/26/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 mins read

Gastric bypass and Lap-Band surgery are two increasingly popular procedures that are used to aid in weight loss. A new study has found a link between gastric bypass surgery and an increased risk of alcoholism. The study’s data indicates that people who are treated with gastric bypass are more than twice as likely to later enter into treatment for alcoholism compared to those who have Lap-Band surgery.

The study, which was conducted by a team of Swedish researchers, compared the medical records of more than 12,000 formerly-obese patients who had received weight loss surgery to approximately 122,000 people who were healthy and had not had surgery. Before weight-loss surgery, the obese patients were more likely to suffer from depression, attempted suicide and alcoholism than the healthy group. After surgery, the presence of all of these disorders remained high, but the incidence of treatment for alcoholism was 2.3 time higher among …

Teen Alcohol Intervention

Post author:Michael
Post published:05/11/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 mins read

According to the National Institute of Health, alcohol is currently the drug of choice among American teenagers.

Although it is illegal for those under the age of 21 to purchase or drink alcohol, teenagers consume about 11% of the alcohol sold in the U.S.

Many teenagers today are engaging in partying and binge drinking at a younger age and are experiencing adult-sized problems related to alcoholism. As a result, underage drinking is a major health issue in this country.…

Miles Against Meth Abuse

Post author:Michael
Post published:05/11/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:4 mins read

One man takes literal steps to fight his addiction to methamphetamines.

There are many treatment rograms to help individual with substance abuse, but one man decided to walk 6,500 miles across the nation to fight his drug addiction.

Richard Remus started his self motivated “Miles Against Meth Abuse” to wean off of a seven and a half year meth addiction.

Remus started using meth in result of long hours of work and multiple days with out rest. He started smoking meth before and after shifts at work. Remus had a family and house, but meth became an addiction and Remus was able to put all his belongings into his car.…

Synthetic Heroin Claims More Lives – Banff Canada

Post author:Michael
Post published:05/03/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:4 mins read

This past weekend two people died, and a third almost succumbed to a fatal overdose one in a separate incident almost died. The city of Banff in Canada had just recently released in the local paper “Bannffshire Journal” a warning of the dangers of a synthetic drug being passed of as heroin.

The Bannffshire Journal highlighted and put out the warning because of a man that was found dead from overdose by using the synthetic heroin. Investigation on the two male deaths, are uncertain whether the synthetic drug was involved.

“We would remind those in our communities who use heroin of the inherent dangers associated with taking any form of controlled drug. This has sadly become all too evident given the tragic loss of life in the Banff area over the past few days.” said Inspector Andy Imray, Grampian Police substance misuse coordinator.…

420 Festival – More Ecstasy than Weed by a Longshot

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/22/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:4 mins read

What do you think of when you read the below lineup. This is the lineup for a “420 festival” to be held on April 23rd in Silverado (Orange County, California). But, clearly times have changed because this is a hard core electronica lineup and we think the stoners in Marin County who coined the term “four twenty” (referring to a daily ritual – not a police code) probably sue for misrepresentation.

The drugs at this festival will be plentiful and they will include cocaine, meth, ecstasy, LSD, and probably – a ton of pot too.

…

Salvia, the Controversial Legal Hallucinogenic

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/21/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:4 mins read

Salvia Divinorum is a legal hallucinogenic herb in California, but The National Institute on Drug Abuse repots that the Drug Enforcement Agency has listed the known hallucinogenic as a drug of concern. The DEA has been considering classifying salvia as a schedule 1 drug like LSD or marijuana, and several states have already made the drug illegal.

Salvia has developed huge popularity by having many poster children post their experiences on Youtube. In December local head shops said there sales of salvia increased after TMZ posted the video of Miley Cyrus smoking salvia out of a water pipe.…

Elderly Man Overdoses after Drinking Heroin Tea

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/21/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 mins read

On August 21 of last year police found Nicholas Tyrrell, 51, dead in his apartment. A concerned neighbor, Ronald Potter, called the police after he had not seen Tyrrell for four days. An inquest heard last week said that Tyrrell had fatal levels of morphine in his system, which pointed to the misuse of heroin.

Tyrrell had been experiencing anxiety and depression for a number of years. He would drink tea that contained crushed opium poppy seeds that he would purchase on -line. There was one point in time were Tyrrell sought help and stopped the habit, but then he lapsed.…

Wet Houses – Giving up on Problem Drinkers

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/15/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 mins read

Today the Addiction Reporter discusses “wet houses” which highlight a disturbing reality of alcoholism: it is a fatal disease for many who are unable to recovery.

The “wet house” is a new approach that some states are adopting to deal with long-term problem drinkers. Alcoholics are given shelter and basic services, but instead of entering a treatment program they are allowed to keep drinking. They are essentially being warehoused until they die from acute alcoholism.

This controversial approach has been tried in Seattle, Washington and throughout the state of Minnesota. The wet house approach saves these states money, costing about $13,000 to $18,000 per resident for annual support compared to the higher cost of housing chronic alcoholics in jail, hospitals or county detox centers.…

A New Generation of Drug-Addicted Newborns

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/12/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:3 mins read

The New York Times recently reported on a woman in Maine named Tonya who abused OxyContin and other prescription drugs during her first trimester of pregnancy. She then attempted to detox on her own, causing her unborn baby to experience seizures. Next she turned to methadone, which she used daily for the remaining months of her pregnancy. Shortly after birth, Tonya’s baby began to experience opiate withdrawal. Doctors had no choice but to begin a course of methadone treatment for the newborn.…

Heroin Parents Facing Charges for Child Neglect/Abuse

Post author:Michael
Post published:04/08/2011
Post category:Uncategorized
Reading time:4 mins read

The trap of opiate addiction is overwhelming and often the responsibilities of parenthood are no match for the cravings of the drug.

A couple of stories from the news recently highlight the bad parenting decisions that heroin addiction can lead to.…