Fight Crime by Eliminating Addiction

In every state in the Union, crime and arrest statistics show the relationship between drug or alcohol abuse and crime. And Texas is no exception. An examination of ADAM (Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program) statistics shows that between 50 and 60 percent of adult male arrestees in four Texas cities tested positive for cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates or PCP in 2000. The numbers ranged from a high of 59 percent in Laredo to a low of 52.9 percent in San Antonio. Marijuana was the top drug found in Dallas, and 45 percent of all arrestees in Laredo tested positive for cocaine.

The same year, the economic impact of drug or alcohol abuse in Texas was an estimated $25.9 billion. This means a cost of more than $1,200 for every man, woman and child in the state.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy states the connection this way: “Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture or distribute drugs…drugs are also related to crime through the effects they have on the user’s behavior and by generating violence and other illegal activity in connection with drug trafficking.” Illicit drug users are about 16 times more likely than nonusers to be arrested for theft, 9 times more likely to be arrested for assault.

The loss of life to drugs or alcohol is another cost that it’s hard to put a price tag on. Thousands of Texans lose their lives each year to substance abuse. In 2002, 1,677 people in Harris County and 1,070 people in Dallas County died this way.

“Whether a person starts using drugs first or starts committing crimes first, the result is the same: a dwindling spiral of loss of self-respect and hope that leads to more drug use and more crime,” said Gary W. Smith, Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma.

To read the rest of the article, go to: Fight Crime by Eliminating Addiction. Or visit the website for Narconon Arrowhead.

National Recovery Month Points Out Necessity of Acting Early to Eliminate Addiction

September is the time to celebrate National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That makes September the right time for families to approach family members with an addiction problem to help them find their way onto the path to recovery now.

When families realize that a son, daughter or other member is having a problem with drugs or alcohol, the natural tendency is to try to help them find a new job, a new place to live, or help them out with bills or legal fees. All too often, however, this route leads to tens of thousands of dollars invested without that expense resulting in recovery from addiction. By the time many families start a serious search for rehabilitation, their financial options are severely limited and their emotions have been ravaged. The addicted person may have been through multiple stays in jail, may have lost their children, spouse, health, business and everything they own by this time.

“Many addicts promise to quit but in fact, can’t get clean without help,” stated Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions at Narconon Arrowhead, one of the nation’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “When a person has a pattern of continuing to use drugs or alcohol despite damage to life, family and work, that should tip a family off to the need for rehab. If a family continues to bail out the addict from one problem after another, they are actually helping the addict continue their addiction rather than insisting on recovery. Their insistence may be what that addict needs to face the drug or alcohol problem.”

To read the rest of the article, please click here:
National Recovery Month. Or visit the website for Narconon Arrowhead.

Parents Need to Know How to Protect Kids from Drugs in Schools

According to a study by the Columbia University National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, eighty percent of high school students in American have personally witnessed drug use or possession or drunk or high students at their schools. Forty-four percent of middle school children have had the same experience. The study also showed that students in drug-infested schools are much more likely to use drugs or alcohol themselves.

Until school systems learn how to turn this situation around, a student’s primary line of defense is his or her parents. To protect their children, parents must learn what changes may indicate that the student has started abusing drugs or alcohol. Symptoms include:

Missed classes, lateness, incomplete or missing assignments, falling grades

Accidents, mistakes

Sudden, unexplained weight loss or gain

Neglect of school, work or family affairs

Discontinuation of hobbies, sports or group activities

Deterioration in appearance or hygiene

Change in communication with family or good friends

Secretive behavior

Missing money or unexplained money or new and expensive items, missing items of value

Health problems, change in sleep patterns, runny nose, cough, irritated skin, hangovers

Explosive arguments, often over small matters

To read the remainder of this article, please go to:
Parents Need to Know How to Protect Kids from Drugs in Schools. Or visit the website for Narconon Arrowhead.

The Road to a Miracle: From Hell’s Angel to Helping Addicts Achieve Drug-Free Lives

It was a long road from being a Hell’s Angel addicted to amphetamines to finally becoming a productive drug-free individual spending his life helping others get off drugs.

The road started in New Jersey where George Veliskakis grew up. It then led through the Hell’s Angels and amphetamines and then through a heroin addiction George battled while running a boxing gym. Fortunately, the road finally arrived at a drug-free life in which he could help others overcome the addiction problems he had suffered from.

George’s first encounter with drugs came after he lost an eye while being abused by other kids. “They were teasing me about being Greek and one of them accidentally stabbed me in the eye with a knife,” George explained. While in the hospital, one of the nurses convinced George that he needed a painkiller for the eye injury. “I only realized years later what happened,” he went on. “The nurses wanted to get some morphine for their own use so they got me to ask for a painkiller when I wasn’t even in pain. They gave me a little, laughed when I got high then they got high themselves. Many years later when I got injured and actually needed painkillers, these memories came back to me and I figured out what had been going on.”

In his 20s, George joined the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. He began to use and sell amphetamines and other drugs and spent two terms in jail. After the second jail term, he decided to get clean and return to the athletic world that had helped him succeed when he was a young man.

To read the rest of this article, please go to: From Hells Angel to Helping Addicts Achieve Drug-Free Lives. Or visit the website for Narconon Arrowhead.