Birdman Chris Andersen Rises from the Ashes of Addiction

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.

Study Shows US workers Are Using Less Cocaine but More Amphetamines

US Workers Cocaine Methamphetamine

Although a recent analysis by Quest Diagnostics showed that cocaine and methamphetamine use dropped amongst US workers in 2008, it also confirmed that use of amphetamines rose during that same period. The results came from 5.7 million urine samples Quest Diagnostics tested. The breakdown for drug use amongst US workers in 2008 was as follows: cocaine use fell by 29%; methamphetamine use dropped by 21%; and Amphetamine use rose from 5.3 percent in 2007 to a whopping 12.5 percent last year in 2008.

Quest Diagnostics
’ urine tests are designed to check recent drug use, as in a 1-3 day period. The company disclosed that the US government and the medical field concurred that the spike in amphetamine use over the last year coincides with the data collected from hospitals for prescriptions given to treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Chemicals prescribed to treat ADHD, such as Ritalin, often contain amphetamines or “Speed” as it’s known on the street. Quest Diagnostics confirmed that according to their information, drug use amongst US workers has shown an overall decline since 1988.

NA Blog: Narcotics Anonymous Meetings Los Angeles

Narcotics Anonymous meetings Los Angeles

As stated in the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, on page nine, “Narcotics Anonymous is a nonprofit Fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.”  Here at the NA Blog, we are dedicated to keeping anyone in the recovery community informed about Narcotics Anonymous meetings and events throughout the US.  This specific article focuses on Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Los Angeles.

The NA 12 Steps tradition is embraced at all of the 31,000 weekly meetings held around the world in the 100+ countries that form the Narcotics Anonymous fellowship.  Luckily, there is now a resource one can access easily online for up to date NA meetings information.  That resource part is offered through In the Rooms and can be located at: meetings.intherooms.com.  Below, please find a listing of just a few Narcotics Anonymous meetings the NA Blog has filtered through to provide those area-specific to LA.  We hope it helps someone out there find recovery.  For the full listing, click here.

Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Los Angeles:

AADAP
5318 South Crenshaw Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90043 Sunday 4:00PM

Agape Home Mission
2205 South Hobart Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90018 Saturday 7:30PM

AT Center
1773 Griffith Park Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026 Wednesday 8:30PM

Avalon Carver Center
4920 South Avalon
Los Angeles, CA 90011 Wednesday 7:00PM

BHS Community Center
3421 East Olympic Blvd
Downstairs Wednesday 8:00PM

Cafe Tropical
2900 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Silverlake Monday 12:00AM

California Building Plaza
5419 West Sunset Boulevard # 7
Los Angeles, CA 90027 Friday 5:00PM

Casa Mexicana
2900 Calle Pedro Infante
Los Angeles, CA 90063
enter at Calle Pedro Infante Thursday 8:00PM

Circle of Help Foundation
2120 West 8th Street Suite 330
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Third Floor Wednesday 4:30PM

Covenant House
1325 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Speaker on 1st Sunday of month only Sunday 7:00PM

Obama Administration Aims to Equalize Crack and Cocaine Sentences

crack and cocaine laws

On his 100th day in office, President Obama and his administration teamed with federal judges to call upon congress for fairer sentencing laws in the disparity that exist between cocaine powder and crack cocaine dealing penalties. Currently, someone must be convicted of dealing 100 times more cocaine powder, by weight, to receive the same mandatory minimum sentence, if they had been dealing crack. The example given at the meeting was that fifty grams of crack would trigger the cureent10 year mandatory minimum sentence, while it would take 5000 grams (five kilos) of powered cocaine to warrant the same penalty.

The original strict sentencing laws for crack as part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts were created in 1986 and 1988, at the peak of the crack epidemic that was sweeping the US. For years, people have argued that the discrepancy in sentencing was a racial issue as far more African-Americans are arrested for crack than cocaine powder, while the majority of people arrested for the powder form are Anglo. According to the Huffington Post, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that “While two-thirds of crack cocaine users are white or Latino, more than 80 percent of those convicted in federal court for crack cocaine offenses in 2006 were African American.”

According to AP reports, one the federal judges officials on hand, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, urged the US Congress to overhaul the current law, by testifying that they should “completely eliminate the disparity,” and added, “A growing number of citizens view it as fundamentally unfair.” As it stands, the Justice Department is currently working on new sentencing laws, based on recommendations, which would be more equal in the punishments dealt.

Report Shows Online Recovery Programs Are Effective

Online Recovery Programs

According to a recently published report by John Hopkins University, online drug treatment programs can provide short term counseling that is considered “just as effective” as traditional in-person group counseling. Former U.S. drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, was on hand for the announcement and said: “People need effective, science-based treatment that is appropriate for their community. This Internet delivery behind health care is going to be a big thing for us in the coming years.”

To prove the effectiveness of online recovery programs, researchers put 37 participants that sought a methadone treatment program into two groups, the first being a traditional counseling group and the second an online video-based group. Sic weeks later, researchers found that the online group attended 90 percent of the time, while the traditional group had only attended 76 percent of the time.

The findings are very exciting for individuals of low-income status that cannot afford the often pricey cost of in-patient treatment. However, traditional meetings such as AA and NA charge nothing for attending, while many online sessions, similar to those mentioned in the article “cost $50 each, and participants take part for 24 sessions. That comes to $1,200 for twice-weekly sessions over three months, only slightly less than in-person treatment,” according to Greg Warren, executive director of Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems.

Still, there are now social networking websites, such as IntheRooms.com that are a marriage of the two, by providing free memberships to recovering addicts seeking online recovery interaction with others. In the Rooms is considered a website were recovering addicts can go between their traditional group meetings to connect with others in the community to supplement their recovery efforts.

NIDAMED to Help Physicians Screen Patients for Drug Use

NIDAMED

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, rececntly unveiled its first comprehensive Physicians’ Outreach Initiative, NIDAMED, which gives medical professionals tools and resources to screen their patients for tobacco, alcohol, illicit, and nonmedical prescription drug use. The NIDAMED resources include an online screening tool, a companion quick reference guide, and a comprehensive resource guide for clinicians. The initiative stresses the importance of the patient-doctor relationship in identifying unhealthy behaviors before they evolve into life threatening conditions.

The NIDAMED tools were developed because doctors are in a unique position to discuss drug-taking behaviors with their patients before they lead to serious medical problems. Research shows that screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment by clinicians in general medical settings, can promote significant reductions in alcohol and tobacco use.

A growing body of literature also suggests potential reductions in illegal and nonmedical prescription drug use. Yet many primary care physicians express concern that they do not have the experience or diagnostic tools to identify drug use in their patients. For more information on NIDAMED visit www.drugabuse.gov. The online screening tool is an interactive Web site that guides clinicians through a short series of questions and, based on the patient’s responses, generates a substance involvement score that suggests the level of intervention needed.

Meth Facts for Teens

Methamphetamine affects your brain in many ways. In the short term, meth causes emotional changes such as anxiety, euphoria, and depression. Long-term effects include chronic fatigue, paranoid or delusional thinking, and permanent psychological damage.

Methamphetamine affects your body by creating a false sense of energy. The drug pushes the body faster and further than it’s meant to go and increases heart rate, blood pressure, and risk of stroke.
Methamphetamine affects your self-control. Meth is a powerfully addictive drug that can cause aggression and violent or psychotic behavior. An overdose of meth can result in heart failure. Long-term physical effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage can also kill you.

Methamphetamine is illegal in all states and highly dangerous; get the facts. For example, the toxic nature of the chemicals used to produce meth can cause fires, produce toxic vapors, and damage the environment. Another fact is that in 2001, meth use sent more people to the emergency room than use of any other club drug. Over half of these cases involved meth in combination with another drug, such as alcohol, heroin, or cocaine.

There are a lot of risks associated with using methamphetamine, including irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain and the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS for Meth users who inject the drug and share needles.

How can you tell if a friend is using meth? It may not be easy to tell. But there are signs you can look for. Symptoms of methamphetamine use may include:
Inability to sleep
Nervous physical activity, like scratching
Irritability, dizziness, or confusion
Tremors or even convulsions
Inhaling paraphernalia, such as razor blades, mirrors, and straws
Injecting paraphernalia, such as syringes, heated spoons, or surgical tubing

Other street names for methamphetamine, include: Crystal, Crank, Tweak, Go-fast, Glass, Black Beauties

Four Circles Recovery Center to Host Spiritual-Therapy Workshop

This summer, Four Circles Treatment Center, for young adults, will co-host its second annual professional development workshop for clinicians interested in recovery therapies that focus on spirituality.  The conference will take place in Asheville, North Carolina on June 5th and the daylong presentation called “Integrating Spirituality into Therapy.”  This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. David J. Powell, President of the International Center for Health Concerns.

Amongst other things, Dr. Powell is Co-editor of the Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment, as well as an internationally recognized trainer, presenter, and author who holds a doctoral degree in human relations and psychology.  He is also a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor, marriage and family therapist, and has served as a diplomat to the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine.

The June 5th workshop is a natural complement to Four Circles’ holistic approach to substance abuse treatment. Four Circles has been offering its outreach programming to professionals in the field of substance abuse treatment since 2006.  Additionally, Four Circles Treatment Center continues working to provide valuable continuing education opportunities to professionals in the substance abuse recovery community.  For more information about Four Circles Recovery Center, please visit: www.fourcirclesrecovery.com

New Trend: Recovery High Schools and Sobriety High Schools

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), more than a quarter of a million youths in the US are admitted to rehab treatment centers annually.  To put it in other terms, that’s 1 out of every 70 youths (Middle school to High school aged).  Thankfully, some US organizations, like the Association of Recovery Schools, have taken progressive action to curb youth addiction and substance abuse.  Currently, there are more than 20 “Recovery High Schools” across nine US states.  But what exactly is a Recovery High school?

Most of these innovative High schools are usually funded by a mix of support from statewide Department’s of Public Health and local school districts.  Their aim is to provide students more intimate drug-free environments (smaller class sizes, typically, 50 students), where they can focus on their studies.  In addition, the majority offer group sessions, 12 step programs as part of the curriculum, as well as random, weekly urine tests.  Upon completion, students are awarded a state-certified diploma authenticating their accomplishment of the program.

Although some of the schools that form the Recovery High schools, haven’t been around very long, others like Sobriety High first opened 1987 outside Minneapolis.  Since the first Sobriety High school’s opening, three more of its kind have sprouted in the surrounding area.  For a nationwide index of currently active Recovery High schools, click this link: http://www.recoveryschools.org/schools_highschool.html

Included on the list is Northshore Recovery High School, which has been around three years and was recently featured in CNN’s new documentary, Addiction – Life on the Edge.  One student interviewed by host Sanjay Gupta, Lucy Gross, said that Northshore Recovery High School, “helps me so much,” adding, “I can’t imagine staying clean without it.”

New Christian Drug & Alcohol Rehab Program Opens in California

A New Life treatment center, which is dedicated to Christian Alcohol and Drug Rehab, has recently opened in Southern California. The curriculum of the new Christian residential treatment program integrates scripture, Christ-centered therapy, and family reconciliation. Clients of the A New Life treatment center are transported to Saddleback Christian church for their addiction recovery counseling.

There, clients commune with others and take part in the program’s 8 Recovery Principals, designed by Pastor Rick Warren, with the goal of receiving fundamental life changes by working and employing Biblical principles to commence spiritual growth. This freedom produces peace, serenity, joy and most importantly a stronger personal relationship with God and with others. Celebrate A New Life operates at Hope by The Sea, a state certified and licensed facility.
For more information visit the website:
http://www.celebratedrugrehab.com