She was found in a Caravan in Norfolk, there is speculation as to why the former Royal Medical Corps Technician would want to take her life. Family and friends say it’s because she was discharged against her will, others say it was the mental strain ‘Post -traumatic stress’ she suffered after serving six years in such war thorn places as Bosnia and kosovo.

St. Pierre, Executive of NORML (The National Organization For The Reform of Marijuana Laws) feels that the more productive issue here deals with Employees, Insurance agencies, Hospitals, and Employers., let’s cut straight to the dollars and cents of the issue. As a tool for saving money and increasing a patients state of well being, medical marijuana should be part of the array of choices doctors, patients, and employers explore.

Advocates of Marijuana legalization champion it as an effective medicine with far ranging benefits such as treating Weight loss, Nausea, Pain, Spasticity, symptoms associated with cancer, AIDS, Cerebal Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and Arthritis. In addition it has proven to be a cost effective alternative to other pharmaceuticals.

St. Pierre says it’s the hope of advocates that reimbursing patients who use medical marijuana, could help eliminate their use of more costly and potentially addictive drugs. For employers, as payers of health care., if only considered a money saving tool – medical marijuana could very well be a solution.

Since pain can’t be measured, it can be almost imppossible to figure out with absolute certainty whether the patients Opiate Needs are legitimate or simply just a ruse - intended to feed an addiction. This conundrum has caused many doctors to become scene as villians, victims of the under/over opiate prescription dilemma.

Here at the NA Blog we’d like to extend our reviews and recommendations of recovery books to our readers as part of a new segment we’ll be running titled, “Recovery Books.” Check back often for the latest and best reviews of a whole spectrum of recovery books. Also, for future reference, please find all of our future segments in the sidebar, under the category titled, “Recovery Books.”

We start with the book, “A Day Without Pain,” by Dr. Mel Pohl. In A Day Without Pain, Dr. Mel Pohl addresses all the dangers that come with the excessive use and abuse of prescription painkillers that are used to treat chronic pain. Dr. Pohl also goes on to inform readers that are alternatives to prescription painkillers and the (quick addiction that often come with them); namely, holistic approaches that don’t depend on using any kinds of drugs.

Amazon user Gary L Dickinson describes A Day Without Pain by saying, “chemical dependency perspective to chronic pain management (utilizing 12 step approaches and spirituality) make a lot of sense and deepens commitment for patients.”

Just a little about Dr. Mel Pohl; he is a Board Certified Family Practitioner, Vice President of Medical Affairs and the Medical Director of Las Vegas Recovery Center (LVRC), and has many years of addiction and recovery experience. As for the noted contributor, Mike Donahue, he is a journalist who worked close with Dr. Pohl to complete the book.

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

The NA Blog would like to share this moving and enlightening testimonial written by a recovering addict about their struggle with a prescription drug addiction and the wonders that the internet plays in 21st Century recovery. Please keep in mind that the author’s identity has been kept anonymous for the sake of maintaining the basic premise within NA of anonymity.

Painkiller Predicament

As I sit down to write this, I still can’t believe that this is my story. My name is Nicole and I was a competitive bicycle racer for many years. I wasn’t pro or anything but I loved riding my bike fast. I was physically fit, never a smoker or big drinker and my only real addiction was clipping in and riding. One morning I was out on a training run and a car turned left in front of me leaving me no time to stop. I flew over the hood and landed flat on my back. The first thing I did was wiggle my fingers and toes and thank the lord they all moved. I knew I wasn’t paralyzed but I couldn’t stand up or move. After the ambulance, the lawsuit and countless hours of physical therapy I found myself addicted to pain medication.

I don’t have an ugly story of addiction to tell. I never woke up in a strange place covered in vomit. I never sold all of my possessions or lost the deed to my house. But I was an addict nonetheless. I couldn’t get off the painkillers. I kept upping my dosage all on my own. I just didn’t think I was ‘one of those people’, an addict. It was easy for me to rationalize that addicts are all homeless people or that if I was able to go to work I must be fine. However the pills affected my personality, my relationships, my habits and all the other parts of my life. Finally I found help through a website filled with real honest people who had experiences similar to my own. I learned that addiction is a disease and it can affect ANYBODY. Nobody is ‘too good’ to be addicted.

I was taking an ungodly number of pills to kill the pain of depression, my backache and to keep me out of withdrawal for not taking enough pills! I was barely managing to keep my job and I knew I needed help. I was a shell of the athletic and outgoing person that I was. I knew I needed help and enrolling in rehab saved my life.

I want to share my story because there are millions of Americans out there addicted to prescription drugs. My addiction snuck up on me after a devastating accident and my growing addiction to the meds just made everything worse. I was a working professional woman with a good head on her shoulders. I was an athlete and proud of my body but my body took control of me for a while. I needed help and I asked for it. Please, if my story strikes a chord with you, please do not be afraid to ask for help. There are people out there waiting to help you become whole again.

Keeping your head up and always looking towards the future and good things to come is what can separate you from the rest of our negative based society. The realization that bad times are inevitable and that they can and will be overcome, is the most important factor towards a drug and alcohol free life. No one needs to resort to these measures, they just do because its that easy. But sadly, in the jist of it all it only adds to the problem and creates a cloud of negative energy around yourself which is like a beacon light just calling for more and more negative experiences for yourself. Who wants that??

Surrounding yourself with positive people who share a lust for living life to its fullest is important when trying to make yourself see the light of positivity. Negative people will only bring you down, and the further down you get, the more desperate you are to get out. We are all in this together, so be there for your friends, make them see that YOU are that positive beacon of light and it will rub off on others. Bringing hope and joy to anthers life is what will keep your good times coming and your bad times at a lesser scale. Be the change that you need in your life and the rest will follow behind!

The site has so many different people from all walks of life and helps connect you to others who share a similar story of addiction. With thousands of personal profiles, users can choose to join a particular fellowship is he/she desires. Virtual meetings, speaker libraries, daily meditations and affinity groups help make this the best online social network for the Recovery community worldwide.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), the incidence of emergency department (ED) visits related to narcotic analgesic abuse has been increasing in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, and more than doubled between 1994 and 2001.

Here are some interesting statistics that I recently came across in my research from The US Department of Health and Human Service.

• In 2004, there were an estimated 90,232 ED visits related to narcotic analgesic abuse, a 117 percent increase since 1997.

• Nationally, narcotic analgesics were involved in 14 percent of all drug abuse-related ED visits in 2004.

• In 2001, approximately one-third of the narcotic analgesics reported to DAWN were not specified by name (32,196 mentions). Among the named narcotic analgesics, hydrocodone led with 21,567 mentions, followed by oxycodone (18,409 mentions).

• Oxycodone mentions increased 70 percent from 2000 to 2001, compared to the 186 percent surge in mentions from 1999 to 2000. However, mentions of most narcotic analgesics did not increase from 2000 to 2001.

• Dependence was the most frequently mentioned motive for narcotic analgesic abuse cases (38,941), followed by suicide (24,576), psychic effects (13,949), unknown motive (11,039), and other motives (1,727).

• In 2001, the average age was 37 for patients who attended the ED because of narcotic analgesic abuse.

These statistics may frighten many but for some it is a clear indication of the power of narcotics over the mind, body and soul. Getting help for a prescription drug addiction can be difficult for those under the 24 hour influence of such powerful narcotics. If you know someone struggling with this type of an addiction, offer them help. Whether that be a shoulder to cry on or a helping hand towards rehabilitation, it is important to always remember to help others in need.