



Facts
Heroin Overdose: Overdosing is a common problem among heroin addicts. One reason for frequent overdoses is the varying purity of the street drug, which makes it difficult for the addict to judge the size of a dose. Also, some substances used to cut the drug may be toxic (poisonous) themselves, contributing to a drug overdose. Furthermore, as a user becomes tolerant to the heroin rush and the euphoria, he or she may increase the dose past the point of safety in an attempt to intensify these sought- after sensations. When a person takes an overdose, he or she falls into a stupor. It is difficult to wake the person up. The pupils are typically small and the skin may be cold and clammy. Seizures may occur. Breathing becomes slow, and the lips may darken to a bluish color. This blueness indicates that there is not enough oxygen in the blood. Most dangerously, heroin overdose causes respiratory depression, or a slowed rate of breathing. As a result, blood pressure may then fall. Most people who die after a heroin overdose die because of this respiratory failure. Typically, the heroin user has also taken other drugs—whether on purpose or because they were mixed with the heroin—and/or drunk alcohol. The presence of other substances in the body makes the heroin overdose even more dangerous. There are no accepted standards for what constitutes adequate clean-up of a methamphetamine site. It is often impossible to remove all contaminants from a contaminated site. The most that can reasonably be expected is that contaminants will be reduced to an acceptable level. However, “an acceptable level” is often difficult to determine. In 1988, about 300,000 infants were born addicted to cocaine. Hydromorphone is a semi-synthetic prescription drug that has similar pain-relieving properties to that of morphine and codeine. It is classified as an opioid or narcotic analgesic. It is an effective treatment for moderate-to-severe pain and is sometimes used in patients with a non-productive cough. It is used to treat several types of pain, including headache, cancer pain, and back pain. Hydromorphone is formed by making a slight alteration to the morphine molecule. The primary active ingredient in hydromorphone is thebaine. Thebaine is one of several compounds called alkaloids that are found in all narcotic analgesics. Thebaine is a word based on the name of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. The residents of Thebes are known to have harvested significant amounts of opium from the poppy plant variety known as Papaver somniferum. Hydromorphone provides pain relief by bonding with specific pain receptors in the body. The pain-relieving effects of hydromorphone are very similar to those provided by morphine, but hydromorphone is actually more potent. Hydromorphone is in the opiate family of drugs. The opiates and their semi-synthetic and synthetic descendants are big business for legal and illegal entities. Some 30 million prescriptions and orders are written annually in the United States alone for controlled substances, many of these for narcotic analgesics. A large part of the international illicit drug trade involves the sale of drugs in the opiate family. A substantial amount of crime committed in the world is linked with this drug trade and with illicit drug use. |
Therapeutic Community
An effective therapeutic community attends to the many needs of the individual, not just his or her drug use. Care given at a therapeutic community addresses the individual's drug use and associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. Also, a therapeutic community will continue to be flexible and provide ongoing assessments of the individual's needs, which may change during the course of care.
Remaining in care at a therapeutic community for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness. The time depends on an individual's needs. For most people, the significant improvement is reached at about 3 months in treatment.
Drug Overdose
A drug overdose occurs when you consume more drugs than your body can tolerate. Drug users are constantly flirting with the risk of a drug overdose. There is a
fine line between the high they're seeking and serious injury or death. While many victims of drug overdose recover without long term effects, there
can be serious consequences. Some drug overdoses cause the failure of major
organs like the kidneys or liver, or failure of whole systems like the
respiratory or circulatory systems. Patients who survive drug overdose may need
kidney dialysis, kidney or liver transplant, or ongoing care as a result of
heart failure, stroke, or coma. Death can occur in almost any drug overdose
situation, particularly if treatment is not started immediately.
Addict
An addict is an individual who has a compulsive urge to use drugs, to the point where they feel they have no effective choice but to continue use. An addict will continue their self destructive behaviors in order to feel good or to avoid
feeling bad. It can dominate their mind, and keep them coming back for more. The addiction can be
different for each addict, depending on their vice and the kind of person they
are.
Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is defined as the chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Drug abuse is a problem which has an effect on people of all income levels,
ages, and stations in life. Quite often the last person to see that there is a
problem is the drug abuser them self. Every year, more and more people become
drug addicts in their pursuit to get "high".
Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is a pattern of repeated drug taking that usually results in tolerance (the need for greater amounts of the drug to achieve the same effect), withdrawal (physical and cognitive effects when drug use declines or stops), and compulsive drug taking behavior (drug taking that persists despite efforts to reduce intake and despite problems with family, friends, and work). Drug addiction encompasses a diverse range of drugs (such as alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines, and cocaine) and is caused by many different factors.
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