Drug Rehab
Narconon Taiwan Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
Over ten years ago Hestia Lin wanted to do something about the drug addiction problem in her country. According to the National Institute on Health there have been a prevalent number of males in the country who are struggling with heroin and methamphetamine abuse issues in Taiwan. In addition, heroin and methamphetamine are the two most commonly abused drugs in the country.
Lin had seen the devastation that drug addiction had caused her country and after searching for solutions found the Narconon drug rehabilitation program. Narconon is a non-traditional treatment center that has been helping people since the 1960s and has an over 70% success rate for permanent sobriety from addiction.
Hestia and another staff member arrived to the Oklahoma facility to receive training on the Narconon technology and returned to Taiwan and opened the first Narconon Taiwan residential center. The center was opened in quarters shared with a Buddhist temple, in collaboration with the Chinese Youth Buddhists Association Foundation.
Over the years, Narconon Taiwan grew and they obtained new facilities outside of Ji-An Township. Hundreds of addicts have completed the program in Taiwan and hundreds of thousands of children, parents and teachers have been educated on the truth about drugs.
On May 13, 2011, Narconon Taiwan celebrated their 10th anniversary of saving lives. Hundreds of guests, staff and graduates gathered together to celebrate. Also in attendance was the local Mayor, along with numerous people from the business community, coming from cities and towns throughout the region.
The event began with a dance performance, followed by the story of Narconon Taiwan’s beginning and the growth of the program over the years. Graduates then spoke of their wins and successes of achieving a drug-free life through the Narconon program.
“We are very proud of Lin and our Taiwanese center,” says Clark Carr, President of Narconon International. “Knowing that there is a solution for people in the country that will get them off drugs is key to handling the drug problem in Taiwan.”
For more information on Narconon Taiwan call 800-775-8750 or log onto www.narconon.org.
Addressing Physical Drug Cravings Is Essential For Recovery
The Narconon Program Is the Answer for Struggling Addicts – Like Ms. Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston is about to relaunch her career with a brilliant new film with Angela Basset. The two women have not been in a film together since “The Preacher’s Wife” in 1996. However, we are also advised that the popular performer is also relaunching her defenses against the devastation addiction can cause.
She is voluntarily seeking help from an out patient clinic. She clearly does not want her career derailed by an out of control cocaine dependency that began in 1992 when she was filming “Body Guard”. Houston, it seems, feels it is futile to control her urges for drugs without help; consequently, she will only venture out into the public if accompanied by a monitor to help her resist her urges.
“This is so sad. Narconon’s high success rate and low relapse rate is in large measure because addicts are relieved of the persistent drug cravings that Ms. Houston is battling,” says Bobby Wiggins, Narconon International Drug Prevention Specialist. “Ending physical cravings are accomplished by a unique exercise and sauna program offered only by Narconon. The addict gets other benefits as well, such as restoration of health by correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies and energy revitalization that is often described as “a new lease on life.”
True, rehab treatment for drug addiction generally starts with a detoxification program. However, this detox only removes drugs from the systems of the body. Research has proven that the physical cravings for drugs are caused by tiny drug residuals that lodge in fatty tissue in the body. Traditional detox cannot dislodge them. Detox accompanied by more drugs to prevent the addict from experiencing the come down is even less likely to penetrate beyond the body’s systems. The result is a “sobered up” drug dependent person who can now work on other aspects of their addiction, but the physical cravings for the drug will persist until these tiny residuals are gotten rid of. Research also confirms that stored drug residuals are capable of reentering the blood stream and this alone can trigger addictive behavior.
By comparison, when addicts go through the Narconon® sauna program, which is one of eight steps that address all aspects of addiction, the residuals are removed and they are freed of this physical aspect of addiction. It gives them a physical foundation on which to build their new drug-free life that is not undermined by uncontrollable urges.
The Narconon sauna program is a health regimen that combines exercise, sauna sweat out and nutritional monitoring. It results in a resurgence of health and elimination of physical cravings for drugs. Once the addict is no longer subject to these cravings, the odds they will be able to remain drug free are greatly improved and the addict has real hope that they can at last address the underlying causes of their addiction. “A person can regain full control of their lives,” says Wiggins. “We certainly are rooting for Ms. Houston’s anticipated comeback, and we are here to help.”
Cocaine – Still Destroying the Stars after All These Years
Daily, loyal fans see celebrity lives spinning out of control because of cocaine. Currently media focus is on actress Lindsay Lohan and actor Charlie Sheen. The one, a talented woman who crashed before she showed us the breadth of her talents. The other, a talented actor who seems determined to prove his immunity to the power this drug wields. These are not isolated stories. Unfortunately, cocaine has destroyed dozens of talented celebrities generation after generation. Neither Lohan nor Sheen are exempt from its destructive capability, and neither seems to realize this.
Not too long ago fans were lamenting the demise of another celebrity, an exciting virtuoso violinist, named Eugene Fodor. He died recently of liver disease at the age of 60, but his career had ended more than a decade earlier.
The Washington Post described his story this way. “At the top of his career in the 1970s, the Colorado-born, Juilliard-trained Fodor was playing some 100 concerts a year and appearing on The Tonight Show; he was also the spotlight performer of President Gerald Ford’s first State Dinner in the White House. Fodor was a particularly good-looking fellow, known to dazzle not only with his technique but with his good looks and charm. New York magazine dubbed him the ‘Mick Jagger of classical music.’ His career ‘began to swirl out of control’ in the mid-80s, due to his brash ways and his reliance on cocaine.”
Witness an artist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNVARrq3bos&NR=1 destroyed by cocaine and you will understand the ruthlessness of this drug and the people who introduce it to those who have attained uncommon success.
“Talented artists are easy prey for cocaine. It pretends to promise a solution to the outrageous demands and pressures of celebrity –then it betrays the user,” says Bobby Wiggins, senior drug prevention specialist at Narconon International.
Cocaine is a highly seductive drug that turns on its users quickly. Tolerance begins building almost immediately. That means once the user is addicted, the amount of the drug required to bring on its effects and the frequency it needs to be used both escalate dramatically,” says Wiggins. “To rescue the user it is vital to entirely eliminate the craving.” The Narconon Rehabilitation Program addressed this exact factor without administering any substitute drugs, using a detox system that also restores the health and vitality of the addicted person.”
For information on what Narconon is doing to curtail cocaine use, contact 800-775-8750 or visit their website at www.narconon.org
Small/ Mid-sized Businesses Can “Help Curtail Substance Abuse,” Says Narconon International
Employers Can Save the US Economy Substantial Funds by Establishing Drug-Free Workplaces
Health Care Reform stipulates that insurance companies will be required to recognize parity when dealing with behavioral and medical health issues for private insurance, including substance abuse. However, plans provided by employers will not be so required. Drug and alcohol dependency in America’s workforce is instead addressed by incentivizing maintenance of drug- free workplace policy.
One penalty for failing to have policies in place is loss of all federally funded contracts. 90% of large corporations have policies and programs, but only 5 to 10% of small and medium-sized businesses have implemented such policies according to the ‘Working Partners’ National Conference Proceedings Report: sponsored by U.S. Dept. of Labor, the SBA, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. 75% of working Americans are employed in this sector, and 70% of those who use drugs are employed.
“It is pretty clear that workers seeking to avoid substance abuse policies take their job search to smaller businesses, which makes this economic sector crucial to national efforts to curtail use of illegal substances,” says Bobby Wiggins, Director of Drug Prevention of Narconon International.
Narconon® has worked closely with businesses large and small to help them use corporate drug prevention efforts to save lives as well as improve their bottom line. “Establishing a drug-free work environment does not cost the company, it is an investment in the company,” says Wiggins. A proven Narconon strategy to help companies take a stand on substance abuse is to educate executives, staff and employees on the actual problems, physical and mental that drug abuse can and does create. Many graduates of the Narconon program, as well as many Narconon resident facilities, have made outreach to business owners part of a broader campaign to proactively address substance abuse.
One organization, Narconon Professional Drug Prevention (NPDP) in Los Angeles offers workshops created for the National Guard’s Counter Drug Training Center to start the process of establishing a drug-free work environment. “We find in large corporations hiring and firing policies for substance abuse can be very cut and dried,” says Executive Director, Teddy Chambers. “When drug abuse is dealt with in smaller enterprises, the matter becomes personal and tricky. A hard line on drugs can wipe out an entire department. Our solution is to show companies how they can handle this very real concern and still have the drug-free environment they want.”
There are ample reasons to take on such a project. Here are a few statistics. Substance abuse drains more than $100 Billion from American businesses every year. 38% to 50% of all Workers’ Compensation claims are related to substance abuse in the workplace. Substance abusers file three to five times as many Workers Compensation claims. Substance abusers incur 300% higher medical costs than non-abusers and are 2.5 times more likely to be absent eight or more days a year. It costs a business an average of $7,000 to replace a salaried worker. At this time, 20% of young workers admit using marijuana on the job.
Businesses interested in a proactive approach to effective drug prevention should contact 1 800-775-8750 or visit www.narconon.org.
California vs. Ecstasy and the Rave Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Weighs in on the Fight
The drug ecstasy has seen more media in California in recent weeks than marijuana. The battle lines are drawn. An alarmed populous has awakened to mushrooming use of the illegal drug by California’s youth.
On one hand rallying ravers cry, “PLUR (peace, love, unity and respect).” Their zeal translates into substantial fortune for aggressive promoters. On the other, a growing army of concerned citizens are saying that promoters, like Insomniac and GoVentures, see their primary task as creating an experience that attracts the maximum number of ecstasy users to their events.
The first battle in January was in Los Angeles. The undisputed victors – those who stand for drug-free life styles. For almost 15 years the Coliseum and Sports Arenas, both publicly owned venues, hosted gatherings of the faithful. As late as 2007 ravers at the all night dance events numbered 18,000 to 20,000. By 2010, the numbers jumped to over 150,000 and the revenue raised accounted for almost a third of the annual budget. The Coliseum’s oversight board was understandably reluctant to let the rave events go. However, there will be no raves in 2011 due to public outcry and media investigations by the LA Weekly and LA Times revealing unacceptable business relationships between the promoters and managers of the rented venues. The battle moves to Nevada where promoters have relocated their June event. They predict well over 100,000 attendees, so unless law enforcement in Clark County gets very busy, there will be a whole lot of ecstasy coming too.
Meanwhile, another threat to rave promoters looms on the horizon. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma has introduced AB 74 the Anti Raves Act of 2011. “The California Assembly is right to step in to bring the ecstasy rave scene under control,” says Bobby Wiggins, a spokesperson for Narconon Int, headquartered in Los Angeles. “We are in the very vital business of helping people rebuild satisfying, drug-free lives. Young people may find themselves needing our help as ecstasy use can pull them toward a life of addiction. Our drug prevention specialists work tirelessly to educate youth so they don’t take this detour, yet these events glamorize the drug,” says Wiggins.
Ravers are at risk. Most try to take precautions to protect themselves. They are cognizant of unscrupulous manufacturers who mix ecstasy (MDMA) with chemicals that increase the risk of overdose dramatically. What most ravers don’t understand is that it is the MDMA itself that creates the massive dehydration and other damaging effects which can lead to heart failure and overdose.
The question is will California lawmakers let promoters keep their cash cow if ravers are unable to prevent tragic episodes and an escalating number of hospitalized ravers despite all the precautions taken? So far, some authorities have tended to let things roll. That may be about to change in California. For information on what Narconon® is doing to curtail ecstasy use, contact 800-775-8750 or visit their website at www.news.narconon.org.
Narconon Welcomes US Insurance Reform
Those trapped in addiction stand to benefit from increased access to help
Under U.S. health insurance reform U.S. citizens have parity in coverage of medical and behavioral health conditions. “This is good news for millions of chemical-dependent people,” says Bobby Wiggins the Director of Drug Prevention for Narconon International.
There are three significant areas affected by insurance reform. Previously uninsured individuals with addiction as a pre-existing condition are now eligible to be insured. College children are included in their parents’ plans with the increase of the cut off age for coverage raised to 26. Health insurance plans that will become available through State Health Insurance Exchanges in 2014 must include substance abuse benefits. Further, insurance plans are barred from requiring higher levels of cost sharing or imposing more stringent benefit limitations for substance abuse treatment.
The 2011 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS ) Report, released earlier this month, shows that insurance reforms could lead to immediate and significant change in how Americans deal with substance abuse.
13,688 substance abuse treatment facilities participated in the N-SSATS survey. Excluding 539 (4%) facilities that provide free substance abuse treatment, 65 percent reported that they can and do accept private health insurance now. “What insurance reform means for Narconon® facilities is that we will be able to reach many more people who need help,” says Wiggins. “Certainly, we will continue our primary efforts to prevent addiction, but substance abuse remains a problem of epidemic proportion. Handling those already addicted is an immediate concern.”
Efforts within the rehabilitation field over the last several years to set up to accept health insurance as a means of payment are likely to pay off based on the findings of the survey. Some key findings that show why are presented here.
Facilities that accept private insurance are more likely to use a sliding fee scale (68 vs. 57 percent) which opens treatment to larger numbers. Facilities that accept private health insurance are more likely than those that do not to have agreements or contracts with managed care organizations (67 vs. 20 percent), a finding that is consistent with the fact that managed care is now the predominant type of private insurance.
Facilities that accept private health insurance are more likely to accept adolescents into treatment (58 vs. 33 percent). This is a trend that is expected to continue.
Facilities in urban areas are less likely than facilities in non-urban areas to accept private health insurance (75% + vs. 50% +). This can be predicted to change. “Ultimately, these trends mean the salvage of a lot more lives,” said Wiggins. “No one benefits when addicts can’t get the help they need.”
For more information about Narconon drug prevention and rehabilitation call 1 800-775-8750 or visit news.narconon.org
UK Experiences More Overdoses and Adverse Reactions to Adulterated Heroin Tied to Afghan Blight, Reveals Narconon Spokesperson
Reports from Afghanistan state that the opium poppy plant, the source of heroin, has suffered a fungal blight that has destroyed as much as half of 2010′s crop. As a logical result, some areas are suffering from a shortage of heroin. So what do heroin dealers do so they have plenty of “heroin” to sell? Cut their heroin with other drugs, chemicals or fillers.
Heroin users in the UK are suffering from more overdoses and usually bad reactions to their heroin use because of some of these substances. Dealers are heavily cutting their supplies with caffeine, paracetamol (known in the U.S. as acetaminophen), the powerful sedative phenobarbital, talcum powder, or other drugs or fillers.
Problems have arisen in London, Lancashire, Surrey and Stockton-on-Tees. And in Sheffield, users suffered symptoms of memory loss and aggressive and abusive behavior after injecting recent batches of heroin. Some people have become unconscious after using this heroin, or sick with flu-like symptoms, vomiting and amnesia.
From Hastings came a story of four users who overdosed even though they had used a small amount of what they thought was heroin. Sedatives have been found in heroin samples before but now they are being found more routinely and in greater quantity.
The use of larger quantities of adulterants to keep the apparent supply of heroin stable can have unpredictable effects on the drug users. If there is an adverse effect, a hospital may have a difficult time deciphering the signs to determine what has sent a drug user into a coma or caused him to become ill. Always risky, heroin use becomes far more dangerous when adulterants are heavily involved.
If a user is mixing his or her heroin with alcohol or if he obtains methadone and adds that to the heroin use, he runs an even more extreme risk. And those addicted to heroin may resort to mixing multiple drugs in times of shortage.
The only safety lies in helping a person who is addicted to heroin recover fully from that addiction. That’s why Narconon Hastings was established, to help those who have lost the power of choice regarding drugs. For more than forty years, addicts around the world have found lasting recovery in the Narconon drug-free rehabilitation program. Narconon is an international network of 150 centers in 50 countries dedicated to eliminating addiction through drug and alcohol rehabilitation and effective drug education.
For more information about the Narconon drug rehab program, visit www.narconon.org
Narconon Drug Rehab – Drug Trafficking into Arizona Brings Kidnapping and Violence with it
Every time law enforcement gains an advantage over drug cartels bringing their loads over the border into the U.S., the cartels adapt to the pressure and change their tactics. In previous decades, drug cartels used Miami, Tijuana and El Paso as portals for their drug smuggling. The last few years, the Arizona border has been the target of cartels. Wide-open deserts and remote Native American reservations have been some of the primary channels used for the movement of tons of drugs.
But along with the drugs, Arizona and, in particular, Phoenix have inherited other crimes. Some law enforcement bodies report that Phoenix is experiencing an average of one kidnapping a day. In the whole world, only Mexico City has more kidnappings.
The kidnappings relate to drug debts that have not been paid and other drug-smuggling offenses. They also relate to the trafficking of humans that has followed the path of drug smuggling.
The people doing the drug smuggling and the human trafficking have one terrible characteristic in common: they are criminals willing to use any level of violence to achieve their aims.
The volume of drugs and illegal immigrants coming across the border is staggering. Border Patrol agents in Arizona alone arrest an average of 900 illegal immigrants a day. And last year, they seized 1.2 million pounds of marijuana – more than a ton and a half every day.
In Arizona, we have the situation of the drug war in Mexico spilling over into the United States. It is not something we can ignore. Demand reduction through effective rehabilitation and drug education is an essential component to ending this dangerous and violent situation.
This article is brought to you by Narconon International. Narconon is an international organization dedicated to the elimination of drug addiction through drug rehabilitation and drug education.
The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program brings about a lower demand for drugs by enabling its graduates to live a drug-free life after graduation. Further, the Narconon drug education curriculum has been proven to lower drug use statistics among students who attend the classes.
The Narconon drug rehab techniques are used in Narconon centers around the world and in churches and secular groups who are helping addicts leave the life of drug abuse and the crime that so often accompanies it.
Narconon Spokesperson Warns, “When Mothers Breastfeed, It’s a Critical Time to Get Off Addictive Drugs”
Just because an addicted woman has a baby does not mean her cravings go away. In fact, the stress of trying to care for an infant may cause her to seek the relief that drugs might seem to offer her. But while her body may be able to tolerate the drugs, if she is nursing, she could be causing harm to her newborn and even risking killing him or her.
Most illicit drugs wind up in breast milk in varying quantities. Cocaine in particular presents a risk to infants because it stays in their bodies much longer than it does in the mother’s body. If a mother uses cocaine repetitively, then the baby may die of an overdose as the dosage accumulates in the small body. In a Michigan case, a woman used cocaine two or three times one day and then breastfed her five-month-old baby. The medical examiner said that the baby died of cocaine intoxication.
"It could be said that the time that a woman is pregnant or nursing are the most important times in her life to live a clean and sober lifestyle," commented Bobby Wiggins, spokesperson for Narconon drug rehab and education. Narconon is an international organization dedicated to the elimination of drug addiction through drug rehabilitation and drug education. "During this time, a woman harms someone other than herself with her drug use: her helpless newborn or the baby growing inside her. Family members around a pregnant or nursing woman who suffers from addiction must pull out all the stops to get her the help she needs to stop using drugs."
Methamphetamine is another killer drug when administered via breast milk. In the last several years, one mother in Georgia and two mothers in California have been jailed for killing their babies with methamphetamine.
"A mother with a young child, addiction to illicit drugs – this is a dangerous combination," added Wiggins. "We owe it to our youngest citizens to eliminate addiction by providing effective drug rehabilitation. At Narconon centers around the world, seven out of ten graduates stay sober after they go home, meaning there are more alert, capable mothers returned to their children after they have been to Narconon."
Visit www.narconon.org for more information about the Narconon drug rehab program.
Getting an Addicted Woman of Child-Bearing Age into Rehab May Save the Life of Her Future Children
Someone who has never been addicted to drugs probably can’t understand why any pregnant woman would expose her unborn baby to drugs of abuse like cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine or abused prescription drugs. The drive of an addict to get their next dose of the drug to which they are addicted is hard for the unaddicted to fathom.
For the addicted mother-to-be, the cravings for drugs are as strong as her need for air or food. Unfortunately, for many pregnant addicts, the need for drugs sends the needs of her developing fetus into the background.
Many people know that babies exposed to addictive drugs through the mother’s use can exhibit signs of drug withdrawal. But not as many people know that exposure to commonly-abused drugs can result in permanent damage, including death.
"Many mothers-to-be who are abusing drugs manage to stop during pregnancy," reported Bobby Wiggins, a spokesperson for Narconon drug rehab and education. Narconon is an international organization dedicated to the elimination of addiction through effective drug rehabilitation and drug education. "Still, it’s estimated that each year, as many as 400,000 babies are exposed to addictive drugs in the womb. Many of these babies have a difficult time as they withdraw from the drug exposure. The more women who can gotten through drug recovery before they get pregnant, the better it is for everyone."
The manifestations of neonatal drug withdrawal include jitteriness and irritability, prolonged high-pitched crying, sweating, fever, jerks and convulsions, restlessness and poor sleeping, poor feeding, vomiting and poor growth.
But for most babies, days to weeks later, the worst of the withdrawal effects will have worn off. For some unfortunate newborns, the effects of drug exposure will not be so easy to get over.
"What some mothers-to-be don’t realize is that drug abuse creates a higher risk for birth defects and Sudden Infant Death," added Wiggins. "Unfortunately, addicted or substance abusing pregnant women may be afraid of arrest or having their children taken away from them so may not admit drug use or ask for help. It’s common for pregnant women who abuse drugs to avoid prenatal care altogether."
Babies exposed to cocaine seem to have the greatest risk for Sudden Infant Death. In one limited study, the SIDS rate of unexposed babies was compared to cocaine-exposed babies. Only 0.5 percent of the unexposed babies died of SIDS but 15 percent of the exposed babies succumbed to SIDS. Cocaine babies may also be premature, suffer urinary tract abnormalities or even suffer strokes while in utero.
Heroin-exposed babies may be born prematurely, with all the respiratory and digestive problems common in premature babies. Babies from mothers using heroin were estimated to die from SIDS at levels five to ten times higher than unexposed babies, and mothers who were on methadone maintenance during pregnancy lost their babies to SIDS in 5 percent of cases.
Babies exposed prenatally to methamphetamine have been shown to suffer higher levels of central nervous system, cardiovascular and intestinal abnormalities and also run a higher risk of SIDS.
‘To give every baby the best chance at health, any woman who could become pregnant should be helped to overcome addiction," concluded Wiggins. "The best thing a family could do with a young woman who is abusing drugs or addicted is to help her get into a drug rehabilitation center that can prove its effectiveness."
The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs that are offered at recovery centers around the world help women and men both learn to live drug-free lives.
Visit www.narconon.org for more information about the Narconon drug rehab program.
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