Facts
In the 1960s, inhalant-abusing youths were arrested rather than treated for their dependency. Relapse and treatment failure rates remain high among inhalant abusers. Some professionals believe that programs specific to inhalant abuse, perhaps led by recovering abusers, are critical to improving treatment success. But programs like this are scarce. Even in 2005, there were few treatment centers for inhalant abusers in the United States. According to SAMHSA, nearly 200,000 Americans are in need of treatment for inhalant dependency or abuse. The majority of inhalant users seeking treatment are white males under twenty. More than half of the individuals admitted to treatment centers began using inhalants before the age of fourteen. Teens have easy access to inhalants. These toxic chemicals found in everyday household products can be readily purchased in grocery, hardware, and convenience stores or found around the house. About fourteen hundred ordinary products contain chemical vapors that young people can inhale or sniff, an act known as huffing. Huffing causes a quick, intense high that usually lasts only a few minutes and can be accompanied by a feeling of intoxication, well-being, and a lowering of inhibitions. The vapors are found in solvents such as glue, paint, paint thinner, gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, nail polish remover, varnishes, and cleaning fluids. They are also found in art or office supplies such as correction fluids and felt tip markers. Inhalants in the form of gases are found in whipping cream aerosols, coolants, cooking sprays, spray paint, chloroform, and nitrous oxide. In the 1950s and 1960s the use of inhalants became widespread and then died down considerably. In the past few years, however, the use of inhalants has increased. Use is highest in the middle schools and junior highs, where the appeal is the ease of obtaining the products. In 1993, 11 percent of eighth graders reported using an inhalant, and by 1995 that number rose to 13 percent. As the children get older they either lose interest or move on to stronger drugs, and by senior year only 8 percent had used inhalants in the past year. Depending on the chemicals inhaled, users can be left with headaches, nausea, dizziness, loss of concentration, blindness, hearing loss, brain damage, lead poisoning, and even cancer from sniffing chemicals like the benzene found in rubber cement. Since these products aren't meant to be used as drugs, many people don't think of them as such, and young people will often try them as an alternative to a "real drug" without knowing the dangers. At least seventy-six young people died from huffing in 1991 alone. The chemicals in aerosol sprays or solvents can throw the body into cardiac arrest by causing the heart to beat very fast and erratically, then suddenly stop beating, causing death. Or the inhalant can starve the body of oxygen by forcing the air out of the lungs and central nervous system. In that scenario, the user instantly stops breathing and dies. A federal crackdown in the early 1960s on prescription abuses prompted the illicit production of methamphetamine, particularly in a liquid, injectable form. By the late 1960s, a second wave of abuse began in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where it was known as “speed.” This outbreak was also controlled, but meth remained entrenched in the subculture of outlaw motorcycle gangs. The bikers used available chemicals, which they cooked in crude rural labs where the pungent odor associated with production could be concealed. Recent studies have shown that states in which "zero tolerance" laws have been implemented have seen a decrease in the likelihood of binge drinking behavior (more than 5 drinks per sitting) among male youths aged 18 - 20 by 13%. Since 1984, when setting a drinking age of 21 became federal law, it is estimated that 1,000 lives have been saved every year. However, as a result of negligence and/or loopholes in laws in certain jurisdictions, it is still relatively easy for people under the age of 21 to acquire and drink alcohol to the point of intoxication. The unfortunate facts are that underage drunk driving will remain a problematic cause of unnecessary fatalities for as long as alcohol is made accessible to underage persons. |
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.
Sobriety
Sobriety means the moderation in or abstinence from consumption of alcoholic liquor or use of drugs. When an individual with an addiction problem enters drug rehabilitation, their main goal is to attain long term sobriety. Unfortunately, sometimes drug addicts and alcoholics find they are able to sustain short periods of sobriety followed by a drug or alcohol relapse. This is why attending a drug or alcohol rehab will help the individual maintain their focus on sobriety. Often, it is only by getting help that individuals with severe drug addiction problems are able to achieve lasting sobriety.
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".
Dependence
Dependence is the compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug dependence is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended. Physical dependence on a substance (needing a drug to function) is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction. There are some substances that don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances that cause addiction but not classic physical dependence (cocaine withdrawal, for example, it does not have symptoms like vomiting and chills; it is mainly characterized by depression).
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.
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