Narconon Champions National Prevention Week with a Parent’s Guide to a Safe Summer for Teens
- With a steady stream of intense drinking and drug-using movies being released before school vacations, Narconon offers parents a helping hand to keep teen and young adults safe from harm.
Just in time for the summer and the National Prevention Week sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Narconon has released the Safe Summer Guide for parents. This guide is being released as schools let out for the summer which traditionally means higher numbers of young people starting to abuse drugs or alcohol, as reported by SAMHSA.
The last few years, the number and intensity of movies featuring young people getting smashed and destroying property have escalated in intensity. Ironically, major drinking and drug use movies are often released just before Spring Break or summer vacation. Parents have their hands full trying to offset these and other media influences that portray drinking, drug use and destructive behavior as “fun.” But if they don’t do their best, they may be facing the injury, arrest or even death of their teenaged or young adult children.
In March 2012, the extreme-teen-party movie Project X hit theaters, and by April, copycat parties had sprung up in Texas, Missouri, California, Utah, Florida, and other states. In each case, there was extensive property damage, plenty of underage drinking, injuries and even one death.
“Parents may not know how to approach their teens on the subject of staying safe and sober,” stated Clark Carr, president of Narconon International. “The first thing they should know is to start early, before children reach their teens. By downloading our free Safe Summer Guide, they will have specific steps they can take to help protect their children from harm. The most important things they can do are to talk to their kids and to set their own good example.”
The Safe Summer Guide offers a step-by-step approach parents can use to make it very clear that they expect their teen to avoid drug or alcohol abuse. There are specific suggestions on how to prevent opportunities for substance abuse and harm and also how to show youth that fun does not have to include substance abuse. This free downloadable guide incorporates the advice of the Surgeon General and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
“Young people can be influenced to drink, use drugs or take part in destruction because of peer pressure, movies, television shows and other media,” said Carr. “By countering these outside influences with love, concern and vigilance, parents save their children’s lives.”
Download the Safe Summer Guide Today.
Narconon is an international network of drug rehabilitation and prevention centers. For more information on Narconon, call 1-800-775-8750 or visit www.narconon.org.
Parents Warned to Monitor Teens and Young Adults for “Bath Salts” Possession or Use
Trying to keep up with the changing landscape of illicit drug manufacture and use is a daunting task for a drug education professional, much less a parent. But it is something that must be attempted if children and young adults are to be kept educated and safe from dangerous, even life-threatening drugs.
One of the tactics used by unscrupulous drug manufacturers is to make a new formula that shifts the chemical composition of a banned drug just enough to circumvent the law. It takes awhile for law enforcement agencies to catch up and in the meantime, lives are threatened. Young people going to shops, parties or raves may be offered the new drug.
Which brings us to “Bath Salts.” These are off-white crystals sold in small bottles or foil packets at convenience stores and at raves or dance clubs around the country. They may be named something like Red Dove, Purple, Cloud Nine, Lunar Wave or Pure Ivory. The packaging will state that it is “not for consumption” and that it is just for use in a “refreshing” bath. But smoke it, snort it or shoot it and you will get a hallucinogenic, dissociative high that can be dangerous, even fatal.
More than three thousand calls for help have come in to US Poison Control Centers in the first half of 2011 alone. People have been injuring themselves or arriving in emergency rooms in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana and throughout the South, Midwest and New England states. Psychotic episodes mimic those resulting from PCP use a few decades ago.
At its worst, the drugs in Bath Salts have resulted in extremely high fevers that can cause organ breakdown and death, suicide, homicide and a psychotic state that can only be subdued with a general anesthetic or powerful anti-psychotic drugs.
Bobby Wiggins is a drug education specialist for Narconon. He advised, “Parents should sit down with their teens and young adults and give them the straight story on this deadly drug. They could be saving the life of their own child or one of child’s friends.”
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has just used their authority to place a temporary national ban on the chemicals in the drug, giving legislators time to catch up with federal laws. But this action is just likely to drive dealers of the drug underground.
The psychoactive ingredient in Bath Salts may be Mephedrone , 3,4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) or Methylone. In chemical composition and effect, these drugs mimic the action of khat, a plant-based drug grown in East Africa and frequently smuggled into Europe and North America. Bath Salts, which may also be packaged and sold as plant food or “research chemicals” over the internet, are thought to be manufactured in China or India and then smuggled into the US, the UK or Europe.
When talking about Bath Salts, parents can report the following results that have come from emergency room or police reports:
Extremely high fevers that can result in kidney failure and death.
Psychotic episodes in which a person cannot even be subdued even by sedatives or Tasers.|
Homicidal rages or hallucinations that cause a person to leap into traffic, injure someone or commit suicide.
Mental confusion and disorientation lasting months.
“Parents may not learn the name and effects of every new drug that hits the market,” added Mr. Wiggins. “Really, the only safety for our young people is to educate them that they can never know when drug or alcohol abuse will turn deadly. Even if the drug itself is not life-threatening, nearly any drug can result in a fatal accident by altering a person’s perception of speed or distance or slowing their reaction time.” Mr. Wiggins recommended working with youth to develop their goals and then following up to provide assistance in achieving those goals. “When young people look forward to the future and feel they are accomplishing their goals, they are less likely to be sidetracked into drug and alcohol abuse,” he concluded.
To learn more about Narconon drug education or to receive drug education materials for your own use, contact Narconon International at 800-775-8750 or send an email to info@narconon.org
Narconon Spokesperson Reports on Arizona: Once a Rustic Cowboy Frontier, Now a Drug Cartel Frontier
A hundred years ago, Arizona was a cowboy-and-cattle-drive frontier. Twenty years ago, it began to be a haven for retirees who wanted a warm climate. In the last few years, Arizona has become America’s premier drug frontier for South American and Mexican drug cartels. This is not what families and retirees expected when they chose Arizona for a home.
The intensity of cross-border shipments of drugs has escalated to the point that $846,000 worth of drugs and money were seized in one weekend in March 2011. Fourteen pounds of methamphetamine, 160 pounds of marijuana and $300,000 of cash thought to belong to the cartels were seized at border crossing points near Nogales, Arizona.
The cartels are known for adjusting their tactics to keep up with the strategies of law enforcement agencies. By latest report, the cartels were breaking up their loads into smaller shipments so that there is less risk of loss per shipment seized. Traffickers have also branched out into other forms of trafficking, bringing guns out of Arizona and into Mexico and bringing human trafficking victims into the country from Mexico, South America and Central America, using the same resources and channels as their drugs.
Narconon spokesperson Bobby Wiggins pointed out that law enforcement alone will never eliminate substance abuse and addiction. “When a person discovers that they can’t stop abusing drugs despite the harm they do, he or she is addicted. Arresting drug traffickers, pushers or the users will not help the addicts return to an enjoyable, productive life. Only effective addiction treatment will bring this about and that Is what the Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program offers those who get trapped in this problem.”
Meanwhile, the drugs, guns and money make their trips across the border. In two years, Southwest border searches resulted in the interdiction of:
- $282 million in illegal currency
- Seven million pounds of illicit drugs, mostly marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine
- And 6,800 weapons.
Kidnappings have increased in the Phoenix area to the point that one kidnapping is reported per day. Most are thought to be associated with drug trafficking disagreements or related to human trafficking operations run by the same cartels.
The Arizona border is rapidly becoming a highly-fortified region, with more than 16,000 Border Patrol agents on duty along the Southwest border. “When we can offer effective drug rehabilitation to those who have become trapped, and drug education to keep the next generation from getting addicted, we can start to see a major shift in the susceptibility of Arizonans to victimization by these criminals,” added Mr. Wiggins.
For information about the Narconon drug rehab program, contact a Narconon drug rehab counselor.
Resources:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/03/09/20110309Nogales-Weekend-Drug-Seizures-abrkhtml
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/27/20101127border-drugs-guns-seizures-up.html
http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs40/40381/40381p.pdf
This New Years, Narconon asks: What If Entire Communities Resolved to Help the Addicts in their Midst Seek Sobriety?
Reaching Out to Communities to Curtail the Destruction of Out of Control Addiction Tops Narconon’s List of New Year’s Resolutions
It is that time of year when we take stock of our individual lives and seek to lay down plans to steer us back to pursuing our dreams. We acknowledge our successes and we assess the damage caused by 12 months of hammer and pound undergone while trying to achieve our dreams. Along the way, some individuals have succumbed to addiction and now face a dismal future, which takes a toll on loved ones as well. It is certain that there are hurting families hoping desperately for a solution in the new year. The Narconon network stands ready to assist them. In the last few years, the Narconon First Step Program has come to the fore and is producing far reaching effects. What is it?
“The Narconon First Step program empowers an entire community proactively reach out to the addicted. Anyone, friends, work associates, possibly even total strangers can help someone end a life of addiction,” says Mr. Clark Carr, President of Narconon International. “We know these tools can be administered anywhere, because we have successfully used them in the toughest neighborhoods imaginable – including in the Mexican states of Sonora and Michoacan, caught in the crossfire of warring drug cartels.”
The First Step program addresses the toughest aspect of addiction and what most often prevents addicts from breaking free of their habits – the initial agony of withdrawal. The First Step shows a person how to go through withdrawal without experiencing the horrific suffering that every addict knows awaits him or her. And it is accomplished without the administering of any drugs.
Mr. Carr says the effect of the program on the community surrounding an addict is highly therapeutic. “When an individual realizes he can take someone hopelessly strung out on drugs and bring him through withdrawal over a relatively short period of time it is hugely empowering. It is as life changing for the non-addict who helped his friend, brother, sister son, daughter or parent to kick a hard core habit as it is for the addict himself. For the addict, it is that vital first step on the journey to sobriety.”
The importance of addressing addiction in a community is not in question. There is a direct relationship between drug addiction and crime and violence. The International Narcotics Control Board, the independent and quasi-judicial control organ monitoring the implementation of the United Nations drug control conventions, in 2003 issued definitive findings on the matter in its report, Drugs, Crime and Violence: The micro level impact:” There is abundant evidence about the relationship between serious delinquency, crime, violent crime and drug abuse and the negative consequences for both individuals and communities.”
Drug-plagued communities face the reality of the UN’s findings every day. Grass roots organizations such as the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) seek to prevent addiction before it destroys communities through policies and campaigns implemented and carried out at the community level. But there is something else that can be done says Mr. Carr. “It is a powerful strategy to actually reclaim the victims of addiction. In Mexico thousands of men, women and even children are being salvaged from drugs without painful withdrawal through the Natrconon First Step workshops being delivered to existing twelve step rehab centers (Alcoholics Anonymous). As a result word spread very quickly. The effect on their communities was profound.”
The First Step program is designed for implementation at the community level. It does not require more than a few caring people to implement it. It is capable of assisting far greater numbers than what one hospital or one rehab can handle. It is designed to be easily put into practice. Narconon drug rehabilitation specialists are trained to assist communities wishing to implement this. “Our resolution for 2012 is that through our network of centers in 40 countries, we will be able to work with hundreds of communities worldwide to help them become safer and less impacted by drugs.”
For more information on how to bring the Narconon First Step Program to your community, contact 323-962-2404 or send an email to info@narconon.org.
http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/ar/2003/incb_report_2003_1.pdf
Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Method Enjoys High Scores and High Success
Narconon® in Part Attributes Its Success to Strategic Implementation of Today’s Established Principles of Addiction Treatment – With One Crucial Difference
Recently, Narconon took stock of its score according to the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Addiction) 13 principles of addiction treatment to see how the program measures up and reports as follows: “Narconon, because it does incorporate most of the scientifically proven fundamentals of addiction treatment through a deep understanding of addiction, is arguably one of the most effective and successful drug treatment programs in the world,” says Bobby Wiggins, senior drug prevention specialist at Narconon International. “There is one crucial point of departure, however. Narconon means “no drugs.” The program is administered – drug free.”
In 1999 NIDA, the National Institute on Drug Addiction, which supports most of the world’s research on drug abuse and addiction presented for the first time what it considered the 13 fundamental principles that characterize effective drug abuse treatment. Since then there have been a series of revisions to take in more recent discoveries – the latest version published in 2009, represents more than three decades of scientific review of addiction treatment methodology.
Wiggins says “One thing remains perfectly clear, whereas Narconon is highly attentive to NIDA’s 13 principles of addiction treatment, combining therapy with any medications has never been found necessary and is strictly avoided.”
How various principles outlined in the NIDA publication, Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-based Guidehave been precisely implemented can be fully comprehended by reviewing a description of the full Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program.
NIDA outlines the key factors that must be addressed when dealing with addiction, which in part accounts for the dismal failure of programs that score low. Conversely, Narconon Drug Rehabilitation earns a high score with no less than 10 of the 13 principles clearly prominent in its program curriculum and administration.
Whereas many principles are important, such as ensuring that addicts are in treatment long enough (#5), that addicts are monitored to ensure no drug use occurs during treatment (#12), and of course that treatment is readily available at the time the addict needs help (#3), one principle takes precedence in the Narconon model. It is perhaps the most important factor leading to a high percentage of full recoveries without relapse, a signature outcome of the program.
Principle #4 states: Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse. The Narconon program is structured to enable the addict to uncover and effectively remedy all issues that have caused his or her life to spin out of control because of addiction.
As stated in Narconon literature: Unethical behavior and repeated misconduct go part and parcel with an addicted life style. Addicts become trapped in committing transgressions against people in their lives and against society at large. They get into the vicious circle of committing transgressions in an attempt to hide or continue their drug or alcohol use. This then puts them in situations where further transgressions are committed in an attempt to solve the problems that the earlier transgressions have created. As this cycle continues, these individuals begin to individuate from the people in their lives who love and care about them and may become antagonistic toward them. They hurt the people they love most and as a consequence they become ridden with guilt. This in turn makes them so uncomfortable they will use more drugs or drink in an attempt to cover up or medicate away these negative feelings.
“By concentrating on helping the individual to deal with the complications of his life, along with aspects of the program that directly address and reduce the powerful physical cravings for the drug, we get traction with the addict necessary to achieve full recovery and dramatically lower instances of relapse,” says Wiggins.
The NIDA principles are a valuable tool because they are designed to encompass the full scope of effective addiction treatment, not single out any one model as ideal. However, one principle goes beyond guidelines for the treatment facility — #11 states: treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective. “This is a principle that we work diligently on,” says Wiggins, “waiting to intervene when a family member is addicted to drugs is truly the biggest mistake anyone can make. It is not easy to place someone in rehab, but failure to do so can be utterly disastrous. The outcome can go beyond any guidelines followed to try to save them.”
Seizures of Amphetamine -Type Drugs Rocket around the World, Revealing Proliferation of Production, Sales and Abuse, According to UN
Narconon International President reports that the Narconon drug rehabilitation program helps offset growth in amphetamine-type stimulant abuse by providing addicts a way to recover effectively.
Around the world, it’s cocaine, heroin, marijuana and prescription drug abuse that normally grab the headlines. It appears that more attention should be paid to amphetamine-type stimulants. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the up-and-coming drugs across the world, attracting users faster than any other type of drug.
Clark Carr, President of Narconon International, commented, “Addictive and damaging amphetamine-type drugs have long been the scourge of the Western United States, and now they have picked up speed in their distribution to new regions of the world. The only good news to this situation is that Narconon® has been successful rehabilitating such stimulant addicts.”
The new UN report, the 2011 Global ATS Assessment, observed that ATS drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines and methamphetamine are now the second most widely used drug after cannabis. What makes the fight against these drugs harder is that they are completely synthetic, so they don’t need proximity to growing fields of opium poppies or cannabis. A drug manufacturer just needs a supply of precursor chemicals, plentifully manufactured in China, India and other areas. Even if a precursor chemical is not available, it’s possible to get other chemicals that are more readily available and synthesize the precursor.
ATS have been typically manufactured close to consumer markets, meaning that little transport is involved. This makes it harder to track and seize the drugs. As international organized crime groups seize this growing opportunity to reap profits from the addiction and destruction of others, the patterns of production and trafficking have begun to shift. With the involvement of organized crime groups, international manufacturing and distribution networks are being developed that share suppliers, resources and personnel.
The UN report notes increases in ATS manufacture and use in Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia, countries that were previously transit countries for this type of drug. Countries with criminal drug manufacturing groups that seem to be jumping on the bandwagon include Japan, Republic of Korea and Thailand plus several countries in West Africa.
In Southeast Asia, seizures of pills made of ATS rocketed up from 32 million in 2008 to 93 million in 2009 and 133 million in 2010. The fact that ATS can be ingested and doesn’t need to be injected makes it more popular with people who associate the drugs with a modern and dynamic lifestyle, or for people who feel like they need these drugs to cope with long hours or extended physical labor, such as truck drivers.
“Many people see little hazard in using these drugs as part of a club or music scene,” said Mr. Carr. “They underestimate the dangers and addictiveness of the drugs. ATS can be very quickly addictive for many people. Indeed, methamphetamine and ecstasy use can in some cases create severe cravings after just one use. It is possible to need drug rehabilitation services after just a short period of use of ATS”.
Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers located on six continents offer a long-term program that has good success with those addicted to ATS. One of the key features of this program is a sauna sweat-out detoxification procedure that enables the recovering addict to flush out drug toxins that remain behind after drug use. These residual toxins have been found to have multiple negative effects in body and mind.
When residues are flushed out using a combination of nutritional supplements, moderate exercise and time spent in a low-heat sauna, life can recover the brightness that was lost during drug use. This process is called the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program and is part of every person’s drug recovery at a Narconon center.
“One of the most damaging and dangerous effects of ATS addiction is that the person trying to achieve sobriety is hounded by long-term drug cravings,” added Mr. Carr. “The crushing fatigue and depression that follow stopping these stimulants are also deterrents to long lasting sobriety”.
“Fortunately, cravings, fatigue and depression are no match for the Narconon drug rehabilitation program. As residues from these drugs are flushed out, recovering addicts report restored ability to think clearly and improved mood and greatly reduced cravings. Around the world, seven out of ten Narconon graduates remain sober after they go home, even those recovering from ATS addiction.”
Internationally, the problem will be solved by putting international crime organizations out of business, by educating young people on why they should avoid drug use and by rehabilitating those who get trapped in addiction. Narconon centers provide education as well as rehabilitation to prevent young people from becoming drug users as the United Nations continues to bring international attention to this growing problem.
For more information on the Narconon Rehab and Detox Program, please visit www.narconon.org
For immediate assistance call 1800-775-8750
Narconon Alerts Families to New Drug-Related Psychosis
Psychosis-Causing Drug May Stay on the Market Despite New Federal Ban, Warns Narconon Drug Educator
States and federal agencies are starting to catch up to sellers of “Bath Salts” that cause psychosis and hallucinations in some but sellers will probably just go underground.
The innocent-looking beige crystals have been sold in convenience stores and “head shops” around the country, labeled “Bath Salts.” Each label carried a notification that they were “not for consumption” but just to be used for a “refreshing bath” experience. The package might be named something like Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Pure Ivory, or Red Dove.
But when undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents made buys of the product, sales clerks would explain in detail how to consume the product to get a good high out of it.
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2011/nyc062811.html
“Families should be warned that teens or young adults in their areas may be abusing Bath Salts,” stated Bobby Wiggins, Drug Education Specialist for Narconon®. Narconon is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse and addiction through effective drug education and rehabilitation. “Young people at dance clubs or raves across the US have been taking this drug but many have suffered hallucinations, have become severely disassociated and disoriented and had panic attacks. The Drug Enforcement Administration is taking steps to remove this product from the market but that will probably just drive dealers underground.”
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr090711.html
Bath Salts follow a familiar pattern used in the development and manufacture of designer drugs. A designer drug is the result of slightly altering the structure of a banned drug to come up with a formula that is not itself outlawed. In this case, Bath Salts are an analog of the intoxicating chemicals in khat, a banned East African plant often smuggled into and abused in Europe and North America. The effect of the drug is described by the DEA as being similar to that of cocaine, LSD, Ecstasy, khat or amphetamines.
Narconon International has been receiving reports from its centers in Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa about youthful abuse of this toxic new chemical, but it has definitely hit the US, promoted of course on the internet.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/designer%20drug
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/abuse/drug_data_sheets/Bath_Salts.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat
According to a New York Times report from July 2011, the effects of this new drug can include:
Fevers as high as 107 degrees F that can cause organ breakdown and death
Homicidal or suicidal actions resulting in deaths
Users so agitated that emergency room staff could only subdue them with antipsychotic drugs or general anesthesia.
Other users so out of control that they did not even respond to Tasers used by police.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/17salts.html?pagewanted=all
Mr. Wiggins observed that the constantly changing drug markets make it difficult to keep young people educated about new and potentially deadly drugs. “We provide our drug education presentations to hundreds of thousands of young people each year and warn them of dangerous drugs to avoid. It is almost impossible to keep up with every new formula drug dealers come up with to circumvent the laws,” he commented. “It’s sad but these drug manufacturers and dealers don’t care who they hurt as long as they make their money. The only safety is teaching young people to go to parties where they can have a good time while staying sober.”
Mr. Wiggins commended the DEA for using their authority to impose emergency controls over this substance, as announced by the DEA on September 7, 2011. “This is the first step in taking the drug and its dealers off the streets,” Mr. Wiggins added.” Families should still alert the young people in the family and their friends that these drugs could result in serious damage or even death and to stay away from them.
For more information on the Narconon programs, please visit http://www.narconon.org/.
Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Center Expands in Mexico
| The first Narconon center was established in Mexico in 1998, in the city of Queretero. During the past decade the staff of this center has rehabilitated hundreds of addicts and educated thousands of kids throughout their region. They have always played an active role in their community, working closely with the police and numerous groups. |  |
| Just recently, the center expanded to a new facility in Celaya, about an hour east of Queretero. Their new premises are spacious, comfortable and have all that is needed to help the individual to overcome his/her addiction to drugs or alcohol. Narconon Mexico also offers drug prevention and education seminars that are delivered in the center itself or in schools, companies, churches or any other group in the community.
Aware of the ongoing drug wars in Mexico and of the high percentage of drug abuse in Celaya, the Narconon Mexico staff began reaching out to their new community to offer their help. |
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| This past week, Marisela de Espinal, Deputy Director of Narconon Mexico and the President of Narconon International, Clark Carr extended their offer of help to the community through a local TV station, “Canal 16”. Mr. Carr informed listeners of the continued work of bringing the Narconon First Step program to over 100 drug rehab centers in Mexico. He invited them, especially staff of the local drug rehab centers, to the First Step workshop that would be conducted in Celaya that weekend. |  |
| The workshop was delivered by Clark Carr and Laura Capaceta of Narconon International with the assistance of the Narconon Mexico’s Executive Director, Eduardo Espinal and Assistant Director Marisela de Espinal. The workshop was a big success, and awakened a great interest on the part of the attendees to implement the Narconon First Step drug withdrawal program in their own centers. |  |
| One of the attendees had this to say: “I am very pleased that there are such marvelous people who care so much for others like them, without expecting any return. We had no idea the things that can be done to make a more peaceful society, but really they were always speaking to us so clearly. Overall, I have no fear for my children, but now a hope seeing a future in which I can use the things that Narconon was pleased to train me in.” |  |
Narconon Drug Prevention Expert Weighs In on New York Indictment of Cocaine Traffickers
Americans refer to efforts begun under President Nixon to curtail international drug trafficking as the “War on Drugs,” and some feel it is a lost cause. Bobby Wiggins, Senior Drug Prevention Expert at Narconon International takes a different view. “The recent law enforcement efforts leading to the indictment of key members of the Los Rastrojos in Colombia is a welcome reminder that while our Narconon® drug prevention educators strive to steer kids clear of cocaine, there is an international effort ongoing to cut the supply lines from South America that flood the drug into our cities.”
Wiggins’ remarks were in reference to a detailed U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration news release announcing the indictment of 10 members of Los Rastrojos, who employed hundreds of individuals and controlled the drug trade along the Pacific coast of Colombia, with the international distribution of more than 25,000 kilograms of cocaine and money laundering. The indictment also charges the organization’s principal leader, Javier Antonio Calle Serna, also known as “Comba,” with operating a continuing criminal enterprise and with murder and seeks the criminal forfeiture of up to $1 billion in assets.
The indictment states that beginning in approximately 2004, Los Rastrojos in partnership with Mexican drug cartels, exported multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States, via Mexico, Venezuela, and other countries in South and Central America and additionally charged other Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations a “tax” on shipments of narcotics traveling through territory and coastal areas under Los Rastrojos’ control. All but one of the defendents, ranging in age from 39 to 48 are in custody in Colombia awaiting extradition to the United States.
Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who made the announcement, was quoted as saying, “This indictment is the result of an ongoing international effort to dismantle narcotics trafficking organizations that export cocaine from Central and South America into the United States.”
In 2007 and 2008, an estimated 16 to 17 million people in the world used cocaine, according to the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). More than 40% of those users were in North America and the major supplier of that cocaine was Colombia. “There is no question that this indictment is significant, although it saw little media attention,” says Wiggins.
Wiggins points out that most Americans have no real clue what is entailed in cocaine treatment or why law enforcement strives to shut down trafficking routes to our communities. He points out that those who have experienced cocaine’s destruction understand. Their experience with the war on drugs is up close and personal, because they watched a loved one drop dead at their feet due to heart failure, or witnessed their family’s wealth disappear or gave up trying to hold onto a precious relationship doomed to failure because of cravings for cocaine. “Behind every one of those lost battles are ruthless international criminals that can and should be brought to justice,” says Wiggins.
“As successful as our Narconon programs are at helping cocaine addicts regain a drug free life, as diligent as we remain at preventing youth from getting hooked on cocaine through our drug education efforts, we know how vital it is to curtail trafficking activity. It is not all the answer, but an important element, and we applaud the DEA’s success,” says Wiggins.
(Ref:http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2011/nyc060611.html)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-trafficking/index.html
The Tragic Death of Amy Winehouse: A Beautiful Artistic Life Shortened by Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Starting in 2003 in the UK, Amy Winehouse began to publish a series of albums that would bring her awards, riches, accolade and millions of fans. But after a few years in the limelight, Amy began also to struggle with cocaine, heroin and alcohol abuse that took her to the edge of illness and self-destruction time after time. Finally, on 23 July 2011, she lost the struggle, with the final condition that caused her demise being undetermined as of a week later.
Over the course of this eight years, Amy’s struggles were highly visible, as she appeared at concerts unable to stand steadily or perform up to her usual standard. In 2007, a concert tour was cut short after a disastrous appearance in London in which she arrived nearly an hour late and walked off the stage at one point, leaving her backup singer performing for her.
http://www.nme.com/news/amy-winehouse/32732
Amy had a stormy marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil who himself admitted that he introduced Amy to heroin and cocaine. In 2007, Fielder-Civil reported that Amy went into seizures and stopped breathing after a three-day celebratory bender on alcohol, heroin and cocaine. Fortunately, she recovered from that bout and continue to perform and record. Early in 2008, she attended a rehab program for two weeks but then relapsed after discharge. In paparazzi photos, Amy’s appearance varied between a dangerous scrawniness and a healthier look, like the one she displayed while staying in Saint Lucia in early 2009. While in Saint Lucia, Amy claimed that her whole marriage to Fielder-Civil had been based on drug-taking but that she was clean again. However, later in 2009, Amy’s father reported that she was again in rehab.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20260836,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/12/winehouse.divorce/index.html
In June 2010, she was again in rehab but left after a week. Video footage of her performance in Belgrade soon after she left rehab showed a star who was utterly unable to perform, to sing, even to hang onto a microphone.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20068315-10391698.html
At the end, her family stated that it might have been a total alcohol withdrawal, decided on by Amy after a doctor warned her to cut out alcohol abuse, that triggered a physical firestorm that she could not survive.
Narconon® drug educator and spokesperson Bobby Wiggins explained how alcohol withdrawal could have caused her death: “A body subjected to a heavy, daily burden of alcohol adjusts to the continuous presence of alcohol,” he explained. ‘The body’s adjustment to alcohol or drugs is referred to as tolerance, and is marked by the need to take more alcohol or more of a drug to get the same effect as before. The sudden cessation of alcohol consumption can trigger life-threatening symptoms such as high fever and seizures.”
These symptoms are referred to as delirium tremens or DTs, and also include severe tremors, hallucinations and confusion. The death rate from DTs runs from 1 percent to 5 percent, which is why those who have been severely alcoholic go through the initial steps of rehab under close medical supervision. “It is obvious that Amy should have had professional help and supervision to recover from her addiction to alcohol and her periodic use of drugs” Mr. Wiggins added. “At Narconon drug and alcohol rehab centers, we know that a safe, long-lasting recovery depends on choosing a drug rehabilitation facility with an excellent record of success.”
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments
Even a person headed for one of the scores of Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers around the world may need to detoxify under close medical supervision before they actually start their rehabilitation program, if they have been drinking heavily beforehand. But then once they are through that step, they have a chance at lasting sobriety by participating in the long-term, residential, holistic program that is characteristic of all Narconon centers. No substitute drugs are ever prescribed; in fact the only drugs on the premises are the ones needed for medical conditions. Only nutritional supplementation, counseling and life skills training in communication, decision-making, safe lifestyle choices and personal moral codes are used to bring about a recovery.
“The Narconon program is effective because we help each person, in their counseling and one-on-one work with the staff, get to the root of the problems that led them into addiction,” Mr. Wiggins commented. “At Narconon, we know it takes longer than one-week or one-month terms of rehab to rebuild a life that has been destroyed by drugs. If Amy had made the choice to stay in rehab for three months or longer, she might have had a chance at recovery that could have saved her life.” The Narconon drug and alcohol recovery program has been saving lives from drug and alcohol addiction since 1966.
For more information on Narconon, contact 1 800-775-8750.
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