Monthly Archives: May 2009

Anonymous Member Shares Thoughts on IntheRooms.com

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IntheRooms.com

I recently received an anonymous email from a member of IntheRooms.com asking me to publish the following letter. He/she stressed the importance of the online community, which has really made a difference to his/her recovery.

Anonymous In the Rooms Member –

To the Editor of the NA Blog, I noticed you’ve written some articles about In the Rooms, which is great, but I’m not sure if the articles are reflecting all the facets of what In the Rooms does, exactly, to help members.

As an active NA member, I can honestly say that In the Rooms has provided me with a vital tool I use daily for my recovery. I’m recovering cocaine addict and am beginning to have some real success for the first time. Throughout the last few years, I have had several relapses and been in and out of rehab treatment centers. I’d say that in the last 9 months, IntheRooms has helped make a big difference in my recovery.

You see, I travel for my job, which doesn’t help in terms of attending meetings. With In the Rooms, I connect from my laptop at any hot spot and talk to my recovery buddies at the NA group IntheRooms.com, which has over 14,000 members. We chat live, send each other messages, and post discussions in the group.

For someone like me, struggling to get to meetings, I just go onto IntheRooms and connect with fellow NA members. Also, I always check In the Rooms national database of NA meetings, in case I have time to attend a meeting in a visiting city.

I hope my testimony helps people understand and encourages them to join In the Rooms. It can really help to connect with so many people who have so much knowledge about recovery. One of my buddies In the Rooms has been clean 30 years. He’s a tremendous well of knowledge and support to me. Thanks _ AnonymousNAer

Arizona News Poll Reveals Majority Supports Legal Marijuana

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Arizona Legalization of Marijuana

The Arizona Star recently polled their readers to find out if they supported the initiative of legalizing marijuana in the state.  Shockingly, the majority were in favor of legal marijuana in the state of Arizona.  However, the periodical made sure to note that the study was not scientific and that it only reflected the opinion of those who participated.

Nonetheless, when asked: “Do you believe marijuana should be legal for recreation purposes?” 84% of readers agreed that it should.  When asked: “How would you view the legalization of marijuana? (In terms of the government’s role)” 53% agreed that it was wise and 39% agreed that it would be a satisfactory means of seeking tax revenue.  Finally, when asked: “What effect do you believe legalizing marijuana would have on drug trafficking and its related violence?” 70% thought it would decrease significantly, while only 9% claimed no effect.

For me, the poll reflects the trend of medical and legal marijuana across the US.  It also makes sense, as the “Baby Boomer” generation is now in full control of the reins.  After all, they were also the generation marked by the “hippie” drug culture.  Still, I conclude that these Arizonians, and many others, are oblivious to the realities of legalizing drugs.  I would argue from the slippery slope premise and say that there is a snowball effect.  Basically, you start with allowing medical marijuana, and then it is all together legal, which eventually leads to the legalization of all drugs.

What kills more people per year, illegal drugs or legal drugs and alcohol?  Answer, legal drugs and alcohol.  Of course, common sense would tell us because it is more readily available when legal and less controlled.

2009 US Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Data

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National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009

A frightening report from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), known as “The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009 (NPDTA),” was recently released and reflected an excessive abuse of nonmedical, prescription drug use in the US. The most startling figure, however, was the absorbent amount of youths (12-21) that were included in the results.

The very first sentence of the report reads: “Approximately 6.9 million individuals aged 12 or older were current (past month) nonmedical users of prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs (opioid pain relievers tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants) during 2007, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).”

The report goes on to note: “the number of deaths and treatment admissions involving CPDs, particularly prescription opioids, increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114 percent from 2001 (3,994) to 2005 (8,541), the most recent nationwide data available.”

The data is based upon an accumulation of information collected from local law enforcement authorities and public health officials across the US. For the full report of The National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment 2009, please click the following links:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/index.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs33/33775/33775p.pdf

Legislation seeks to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania

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Medical Marijuana Pennsylvania

As part of the ongoing controversy, Pennsylvania is now among the states seeking to approve Medical Marijuana use.  Pennsylvania politician Mark Cohen of Philadelphia recently introduced a piece of legislation that would allow small amounts of marijuana to be legally purchased and used for medical purposes.

The timesonline.com reported in an article that: “he (Cohen) introduced the bill because it seemed, after talking to people, that marijuana had a legitimate use in easing the pain and suffering of patients diagnosed with life-threatening or painful illnesses.”  They also reported that the issue may take special precedence for Cohen as his own father passed away four years ago from disease and glaucoma, both of which may have been treated with medical marijuana.

Nonetheless, many legislators across the US agree that the medical marijuana issue can be a slippery slope.  Take California for example.  Originally, the state passed legislation for medical marijuana, and within just a few years of its approval and implementation, marijuana was being considered for general legalization as it could be an easy way to collect more state taxes.

Harvard Professor Gene M. Heyman Claims the Unbelievable in New Book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice

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A Harvard psychologist named Gene M. Heyman recently released the book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, which asserts that addiction isn’t really an illness. However, it really isn’t that surprising as Heyman is just one of the many who have previously posed this opinion.

The facts remain that nearly all health experts agree that addiction is a serious illness, which is not voluntarily chosen. Among such experts that disagree with the logic behind Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, is Norman Miller, professor of medicine at Michigan State University, who says: “These guys – I don’t know, academia, they just kind of take what they want, and they don’t care about the truth, or what the studies show.”

Tony George, the head of addiction psychiatry at the University of Toronto, further expounds upon this point, when he says the following about Gene M. Heyman’s hypothesis in the new book: “Where (Heyman) loses the argument is that there are clearly both biological and environmental or contextual factors involved, but he’s basically saying that the context and the environment are everything and the biology is irrelevant.”

The Recovery Network (TRN) is Down

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The Recovery Network

Just recently, The Recovery Network (TRN) website has gone down. Similar to other social networking sites for recovering addicts, the Recovery Network specialized in connecting people and keeping them informed with blogs and news. It also provided online support that connected members to recovery experts. The Recovery Network was actually one of the first among the circle of social networking sites for recovering addicts; its niche and main base was the continent of Europe. It is unknown exactly why the site is down at this point, but insiders are speculating that it has to do with hosting costs.

Nonetheless, there is a viable and readily available solution. Right now, anyone seeking the same kind of social networking website and more can find it free of charge at intherooms.com. IntheRooms is less than a year old and already boosts 40,000+ members whose combined recovery time has recently been marked at 100,000+ years.

IntheRooms features all of the interface capabilities of The Recovery Network and more. It has a blogroll with at least 20+ blogs, a community forum, live chat for all the fellowships that members belong to (NA Chat, AA Chat, GA Chat, etc). The Newsletter is updated weekly. Each member can set up an account that has email and messaging capabilities; they can set up their own discussion groups for any and all interest broad or niche.

At last count, IntheRooms.com had members in every continent (over 100 countries). Their recovery community is considered global, so for any former members of The Recovery Network seeking similar needs again (because the network is down), please come check out IntheRooms.com. Hope this helps out.

PokieAct.org Encourages Poker Addicts to Support One Another Online

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Pokie Addiction

The new “Pokies Cause Pain” campaign is encouraging people that live with a pokie addiction (poker machine) to share their tales online with the hope of preventing others that maybe destined for similar paths.

The campaign was initiated by Australian senator Nick Xenophon and was launched on “Responsible Gambling Awareness Week.” Senator Xenophon told the Australian AP that families had been victimized long enough as a result of pokie addiction and added “It’s an opportunity for people to have that voice. They haven’t had it in the past.”

For anyone interested in making an anonymous contribution to the “Pokies Cause Pain” campaign, the website is up and running and can be found at: www.PokieAct.org.

Still, Australian Senator Nick Xenophon said that the government must find a better way to shift taxes collected from pokies to other areas and ultimately limit the influence of pokies; “There is no doubt that communities would be better off, budget bottom lines would be better off, if state governments didn’t rely so heavily on poker machine taxes,” Xenophon said.

New Comer to NA: 1st Meeting Experience

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NA Meeting</i>

A “New Comer” recently sent me this essay because he wanted to share his experience. I promised I would publish it but also told him that I would comment on the essay as well. Anyway, below are “His” (anonymous) thoughts and below that are my own. I hope this helps any New Comer to NA Meetings.

New Comer to NA: 1st Meeting Experience

Hey Editor of the NA Blog. I wanted to share this story with you and hopefully get some feed back. I attended my first NA meeting the other day and had mixed emotions about my experience. I went because I really want to quit using. This time it’s really for me. Not like all the other times. Anyway, all these guys were old schoolers with like 10 or 20 years clean, and they mostly just talked about there wives and family and money and stuff, and not there recovery or addiction. Also, the meeting was totally disorganized. There were people joking and laughing while the speaker was talking, etc. You know there were some incredible moments, but mostly what seemed like boring conversations between old buddies. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if I want to go back. Let me know if there is anything you can suggest.

- Anonymous

Well, first off, thanks for sharing. A New Comer’s first experience can be very rough. It seems like that is your case. However, I would not suggest that you throw in the towel just yet. Please remember, there are usually dozens of NA groups within close proximity to each other, all with different agendas, that anyone seeking the NA fellowship can attend. For example, just in my area, there are all of the following groups, each with a different focus: “Step 1-2-3 Ongoing; Beginners; Meditation; Youth Oriented; Women Preferred; Basic Text Study;” so forth and so on. I encourage you to seek out the full schedule of NA meetings and maybe try attending some other groups. Every recovery experience is different and it is very important that you feel comfortable in your home NA group. I know sometimes the “old schoolers” can be like that, but like you said, “there were some incredible moments.” Try and look for those if someone is boring you. I can tell you that recovery is not all fun and easy, but keep going back to the meeting and you’ll see that the 12 steps and the NA fellowship works.

- NA Blog (Editor)

Despite Public Unawareness, Steroids Are Also Addictive Drugs

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Steroids Use
With all the recent reports in the news of steroids use in Major League Baseball and other professional sports, The NA Blog felt it important to remind the public of the addictive qualities of Steroids.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has reported that the number of steroid users that become addicted is undetermined. The criterion to be qualified as a steroids addict includes having built a tolerance, compulsive use of the drug regardless of its negative consequences, and withdrawal symptoms once consumption has stopped. Withdrawal symptoms from cessation of steroids use also includes depression that can last several months.

The addictive quality of steroids may explain why MLB baseball players continue its use, in spite of the fact that their athletic career is being put at risk.

For those seeking treatment, NIDA lists some options, including supportive and behavioral therapy, as well as medications that help restore the natural balance of hormones in the individual.

Birdman Chris Andersen Rises from the Ashes of Addiction

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As many people may have noticed by now, there is a guy on the Denver Nuggets that looks like a white version of Dennis Rodman that is kicking butt. Well, that guy is Chris Andersen, who has averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks against the Mavericks in the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals.

However, Chris Andersen (aka the Birdman) hasn’t always had such a successful life and career as he has recently. His story is an inspiration to anyone in recovery. See, the Birdman grew up in Texas, where by 11 years-old, his father had placed him and his sister in a children’s home. They spent almost 3 ½ years there before there mom was able to regain custody. Nonetheless, when looking back on it, Chris Andersen has always said he made the best of that time.

Later, the Birdman would have to overcome adversity again as he faced a two year suspension after violating the NBA’s “Drug Abuse” policy by testing positive for an illegal substance. As a result, he lost his 13 Million Dollar contract. However, Chris Andersen rose once again from the ashes like a Phoenix, after he spent time in an addiction treatment center and made a successful recovery. Andersen was reinstated in 2008 and immediately made an impact on the Denver Nuggets.