




Facts
As many as half of all babies born to heroin users are born with low birth weight. These babies, many of whom are premature, often suffer from serious health problems during the newborn period, including breathing problems, and are at increased risk of lifelong disabilities. Heroin is a narcotic derived from the opium poppy plant (Papaver somniferum). Opium poppy is grown primarily by destitute farmers in what is known as the Golden Crescent in Southwest Asia (encompassing Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) and the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam). In the Americas, Columbia and Mexico are chief producers. The poppy plant produces raw opium. Crude refineries modify the opium into a brown paste that is molded and dried into bricks. More sophisticated laboratories are found in Bangkok, Karachi, and Hong Kong. These labs change opium into what is known as number three heroin, a smokeable form. Purification of heroin to the "injectable" fourth stage (number four heroin) involves a volatile chemical combination that can result in catastrophic explosions. Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug use. Treatment must address the individual's drug use and associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. Drug court programs also experience a significant reduction in recidivism among participants. Depending on participant characteristics, recidivism among all drug court participants ranges between 5% and 28% and is less than 4% for drug court graduates. |
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.
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.
Intervention
An intervention is when a group of loved ones and/or a trained intervention counselor meets with the person in need of help for the purpose of breaking down their denial and motivating them to immediately seek drug addiction treatment. Often, individuals in the midst of drug addiction engage in a variety of self destructive behaviors. Although baffling to friends and family members such people generally either aren't aware on a conscious level that they have a drug addiction problem, or even when they know they have a problem they may cling to the false belief that the problem will somehow go away without any outside help. When an intervention is held a moment of clarity is created
for the addict. Most people struggling with the problem of drug or alcohol
addiction will accept help the very day of the intervention.
Abstinence
Abstinence is the act or practice of refraining from indulging a desire. The type of abstinence we are referring to here is abstinence from drugs and alcohol. This term has two connotations when it comes to abstaining from drugs. The first refers to drug or alcohol treatment programs that aim to help an individual stop using drugs or alcohol for the rest of their lives. The time abstinence is also used in drug education and prevention. It refers to trying to stop children from ever using drugs.
Drug Side Effects
Drug addiction and abuse comes with a heavy price. There are drastic drug side effects associated with drug misuse and abuse. Drug side effects from legal and illegal drugs can range from mild itching to comas and death. In addition to the physical drug side effects mentioned, there are many psychological drug side effects of drug abuse; the most serious being drug addiction and overdose.
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