Posts Tagged ‘Alcohol Abuse’

Alcohol rehab is different than a 30 day dryout. Alcohol rehab is a process whereby you are educated on what is going on inside your body and how the addiction is controlling your life. Once you see that there is a way out, you have a more informed option available to kick this addiction once and for all.
Alcoholism is disease, bar none. Beating this terrible addiction is not only possible, but very much encouraged by society. The ugliness of alcoholism has destroyed people and families for decades, and if you know of someone with this affliction, you know firsthand that the problem doesn’t go away.
Alcohol affects the brain in a way, that the victim feels helpless and only wants to drink themselves deeper into a point of invisibility. The effects on others is often blamed on the alcoholic’s excuse that they didn’t mean to do that, or they didn’t know what they were doing. This is denial pure and simple.
Depression may be the reason a person chooses to drink, but it will soon become the excuse an alcoholic uses to continue it’s abuse. Much like other addictions, trying to associate in a group of people who drink often lures an unsuspecting person who simple cannot handle the alcohol. Once attached to this group, you are doomed to fail in everything you do, unless you separate yourself from these people.
Alcohol rehab is treated with care in finding the original cause of a person’s addiction and shows them how and where their problems multiplied once they chose alcohol as a crutch or short-term dulling effect.
Once an alcoholic, unfortunately always an alcoholic. The body can be cleansed of the alcohol, but never the brain. Once you take a drink the sensors in your brain will be re-ignited and the addiction immediately reappears. The success of any addiction, is to educate a person that they are always addicted, but they can prevent the temptation of it grabbing them and flinging them back into a full fledged active addiction.
Too many times an alcoholic will inflict personal body damage or death on another. It doesn’t have to be that way, if you take the right actions and seek help through alcohol rehab.

If you know someone that is an alcoholic and needs alcohol rehab, take a look at the options available and the choices anyone involved with someone who drinks beyond the point of control:

Contact Michael Larroque at Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911. to get  more information.

The state of California’s 8-year-old program that mandates treatment instead of prison sentences for drug offenders is dramatically decreasing California’s jail population and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study, prepared by the left-leaning Justice Policy Institute in Washington, echoes another report released by UCLA earlier this month that also touted huge taxpayer savings through doing away with prison sentences in favor of treatment. That report said the program, which was passed by voters in 2000 as Proposition 36, saved California $173 million in its first year and $2.50 for every dollar invested since then.

 

The report by the Justice Policy Institute, which seeks alternatives to incarceration, said the rate of imprisonment for drug possession offenses has decreased by more than 34%. It also said that dire predictions of a rise in violent crime with the passage of Proposition 36 were unfounded.

 

“It really helps to put a context to the debate,” said Jason Ziedenberg, the executive director of the Justice Policy Institute. “I think people need to understand how many people were in prison in 2000 as opposed to how many there are today and that there has been progress.”

 

The release of the two reports comes at a critical juncture for supporters who contend that the $120 million earmarked for Proposition 36 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when funding runs out this summer is not adequate.

 

They contend that, because of inflation and an increase in costs for services, the money does not stretch far enough.

“It really needs to be at $209 million just to be bare-bones adequate,” said Margaret Dooley, statewide coordinator with the Drug Policy Alliance, which is seeking an increase in funding for the program. She said she and others would descend on the capital later this month to drum up support for the additional funding, which she believed would be forthcoming because lawmakers would be unable to point to a downside.
She also said she was confident of support from the more than 60,000 people arrested but kept out of prisons and jails because of Proposition 36.

 

Scott Ehlers, a coauthor of the Justice Policy Institute report, said he and others believe that the next goal should be to expand the reach of Proposition 36 to include those arrested for nonviolent crimes related to drug abuse, such as theft to purchase drugs.

He also said he did not anticipate any calls for major trims in the program.
“I don’t see anyone calling for a rollback by any means because I think the treatment is more cost-effective than sending people to prison,” he said.

 

Among other findings of the report are that spending on drug treatment in the state since 2000 has doubled, and that there has been a larger increase in drug treatment clients here than in the rest of the country. Also, the California prison population of drug offenders has been reduced from 27% to 21%, close to the national average.

 

Ziedenberg said the reason the Justice Policy Institute focused on California, as it does in many of its studies, is that”12% of the prison population is locked up there.”

He also said lawmakers will have to face the question whether they want to pay now for expanded drug treatment or later for additional prison facilities to handle the overrun.
“The main thing is for more money to be put in,” he said. “The thing we hear from people in California is that this is a good start.” TO GET HELP NOW WITH ADDICTIONS CALL HAWAIIISLANDRECOVERY AT 866-906-6911.

Scientific research since the mid-1970s shows that drug abuse treatment can help many drug abusing offenders change their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors towards drug abuse, avoid relapse, and successfully remove themselves from a life of substance abuse and crime.

It is true that legal pressure might be needed to get a person into treatment and help them stay there.  Once in a treatment program, however, even those who are not motivated to change at first can eventually become engaged in a continuing treatment process.Untreated substance abuse adds significant costs to communities, including violent and property crimes, prison expenses, court and criminal costs, emergency room visits, child abuse and neglect, lost child support, foster care and welfare costs, reduced productivity, unemployment, and victimization.

The cost to society of drug abuse in 2002 was estimated at $181 billion, $107 billion of which was associated with drug-related crime. Successful drug abuse treatment in the criminal justice system can help reduce crime as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on addiction treatment programs, there is a $4 to $7 reduction in the cost of drug-related crimes. With some outpatient programs, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12:1.1

Extent of the Problem

The connection between drug abuse and crime is well known. Drug abuse is implicated in at least three types of drug related offenses: (1) offenses defined by drug possession or sales, (2) offenses directly related to drug abuse (e.g., stealing to get money for drugs), and (3) offenses related to a lifestyle that predisposes the drug abuser to engage in illegal activity (e.g., through association with other offenders or with illicit markets).In 2003, nearly 6.9 million adults were involved with the criminal justice system, including 4.8 million who were under probation or parole supervision (Glaze & Palla, 2004, www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ppus03.pdf).  In its 1997 survey, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated that about 70 percent of State and 57 percent of Federal prisoners used drugs regularly prior to incarceration (Mumola, 1999, www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/satsfp97.pdf).  A 2002 survey of jails found that 52 percent of incarcerated women and 44 percent of men met the criteria for alcohol or drug dependence (Karberg & James, 2005,www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/sdatji02.pdf).

 

Juvenile justice systems also report high levels of drug abuse. A survey of juvenile detainees in 2000 found that about 56 percent of the boys and 40 percent of the girls tested positive for drug use at the time of their arrest (National Institute of Justice, 2003, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/adam/welcome.html).The substance abusing offender may be encouraged or legally pressured to participate in drug abuse treatment. Even so, few drug abusing offenders actually receive treatment. The 1997 BJS survey showed that fewer than one-fifth of incarcerated offenders with drug problems had received treatment in prison (not including participation in self-help or drug education).Untreated substance abusing offenders are more likely to relapse to drug abuse and return to criminal behavior. This can bring about re-arrest and reincarceration, jeopardizing public health and public safety and taxing criminal justice system resources. Treatment offers the best alternative for interrupting the drug abuse/criminal justice cycle for offenders with drug abuse problems.

Effective Treatment for Criminal Offenders

Studies show that treatment can cut drug abuse in half, reduce criminal activity up to 80 percent, and reduce arrests up to 64 percent.2 Based on a review of this and other scientific literature on drug abuse treatment and criminal behavior, in 2006 NIDA released Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations. This publication discusses 13 principles proven through research to help criminal justice organizations tailor treatment programs to better serve their populations.

 

In brief, these principles are:

1. Drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior.
2. Recovery from drug addiction requires effective treatment, followed by management of the problem over time.
3. Treatment must last long enough to produce stable behavioral change.
4. Assessment is the first step in treatment.
5. Tailoring services to fit the needs of the individual is an important part of effective drug abuse treatment for criminal justice populations.
6. Drug use during treatment should be carefully monitored.
7. Treatment should target factors that are associated with criminal behavior.
8. Criminal justice supervision should incorporate treatment planning for drug abusing offenders, and treatment providers should be aware of correctional supervision requirements.
9. Continuity of care is essential for drug abusers re-entering the community.
10. A balance of rewards and sanctions encourages prosocial behavior and treatment participation.
11. Offenders with co-occurring drug abuse and mental health problems often require an integrated treatment approach.
12. Medications are an important part of treatment for many drug abusing offenders.
13. Treatment planning for drug abusing offenders who are living in or re-entering the community should include strategies to prevent and treat serious, chronic medical conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis.

 

Drug Abuse Treatment can be incorporated into criminal justice settings in a variety of ways. These include treatment as a condition of probation, drug courts that blend judicial monitoring and sanctions with treatment, treatment in prison followed by community-based treatment after discharge, and treatment under parole or probation supervision. Outcomes for substance abusing individuals can be improved by cross-agency coordination and collaboration of criminal justice professionals, substance abuse treatment providers, and other social service agencies. By working together, the criminal justice and treatment systems can optimize resources to benefit the health, safety, and well-being of individuals and the communities they serve.For more information, see Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations: A Research-Based Guide at www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/cj.html.

If you are suffering from addiction please call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911.

Welcome to the new blog.

Soon we will have many posts to inform and educate you on your road to sobriety.

Check back often, as new topics will be discussed regularly.

Thanks,

The Hawaii Island Recovery Team!