Cannabis Addiction
Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead Gary W. Smith reports, ‘Although the number of people coming to us who are abusing pot is a smaller percentage of our total clientele, in the 30 years I have been in the drug
rehabilitation field I have not seen these numbers of individuals literally hooked on marijuana and unable to stop on their own.
We’ve known for a long time that marijuana use can lead to other drugs but it is shocking to see people whose lives are being destroyed by smoking pot just like others we are treating who are addicted to crack or alcohol.
I believe this is happening because the strength of the pot that is being smoked today is probably ten times stronger than the pot of 20 years ago.’
Drug Rehab Information By State
When one is searching for car for a loved one afflicted with addiction, one of the first facilities encountered in their search are drug
rehab hospitals.
These are often sections or departments of a hospital that deal with the acute aspects of addiction.
Drug and medications are often used in withdrawal procedures.
While these can be sometimes necessary to handle life threatening side effects of withdrawal, they can and often are overused.
A full service drug
rehab facility is generally more effective at handling drug
addiction in the long term. A drug free withdrawal is preferable whenever possible, and of course needs to be decided by competent medical professionals. Drug
rehab hospitals generally deal with the beginning stages of the recovery process and handle the immediate dangers of drug and alcohol use cessation. They definitely serve a purpose but are no replacement for a good long term, drug free resolution of all the problems relating to
addiction recovery.
Addiction
counseling done correctly will assist the addict with making the personal life choices that result in a drug free lifestyle.
Unfortunately much of what passes for
counseling amounts to invalidation and evaluation of the individual, both of which have minimal workability in effecting lasting change.
At Narconon Arrowhead
addiction counseling takes a different road.
We use an educational approach where the individual is given the theory and the application of workable tool for maintaining a drug free lifestyle.
The individual then puts these into action for him and observes their workability to the unique situations in their lives. In this way the addict gains tools and methods that are uniquely his and that he will continue to use as he has already seen the positive results from them – not merely someone telling him what to do or think.
What actually causes an individual to
abuse a drug or alcohol?
If you look or observe closely you will see that the person is attempting to handle pain of some sort.
This could be mental, physical or a combination of both.
It could be a shy teenager who starts using cocaine to be more outgoing (mental pain), or a construction working who starts using prescription painkillers for back pain and finds himself unable to break free from the trap (physical pain).
The point to be made here is that to handle the
abuse of drugs or alcohol the underlying causes need to be confronted and handled. Narconon Arrowhead Drug
Rehab deals not with labeling the addict or
alcoholic as ill for a lifetime but with empowering the individual to resolve these underlying reasons and achieve a drug free and productive life.
How does one go about determining when
drug use crosses the line into drug
abuse and addiction?
Drugs are used as a solution to pain, be it mental, emotional, or physical.
Fore instance one takes a painkiller and physical pain subsides or one take a street drug and the emotional pain of feeling like an outsider goes away.
There are many motivations but they all come under the heading of handling pain in one way or another.
Drug
abuse sets in when the drug is being used more and more to mask and cover up the pain rather than addressing the actual causes of the pain itself. From abuse one quickly moves on to
addiction where tolerance to the drugs builds up to the point where the individual can’t conceive of life without them for fear of unbearable pain of one type or another. Ones life then becomes centered on acquiring and using more and more drugs at any cost or sacrifice. Along with this comes all the cravings, guilt and depression that results from harm done to self, family, loved ones, careers, etc.
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