Duluth, Minnesota Drug Rehab Information

With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced or stopped. Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as early as a few hours after the last administration, produces drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (‘old turkey’), kicking movements (‘kicking the habit’), and other symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal, although heroin withdrawal is considered much less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal.

LSD is one of the most psychologically damaging drugs available on the streets today. LSD users may manifest relatively long-lasting psychoses such as schizophrenia or severe depression, even after only one use. There is a tolerance that can build up requiring larger and larger doses to induce the “LSD trip”, but is there such a thing as LSD addiction? Addiction is a condition characterized by repeated compulsive seeking and use of drugs, alcohol or other substances despite adverse social, mental and physical consequences. Many individuals coming to addiction treatment for LSD report using more and more of the drug more frequently over time with many of these individuals binging on the drug for long periods of time.

Alcohol rehabilitation of course involves the cessation of all alcohol use. Alcoholic generally have all sorts of reasons and rationale for drinking. Many, many try to control their drinking and only end up putting off the inevitable. Alcoholism can only end in one of three ways – death, jail, or sobriety. There really are no other options. Many times alcoholics will be involved in other substance abuse, often unknown or unsuspected by family or loved ones. Whether it is alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both, the three factors needing fully and competently addressed are the cravings, guilt, and depression that are hand and hand with any addiction.

Medical drugs are generally prescribed as short term solutions in the handling of pain. Many of these medical drugs will build up tolerance in the system requiring increased amounts for the same effect. Thus dependence sets in and one begins taking these at abusive and addictive levels before long. This accounts for drugs like OxyContin being more and more used in illegal black markets to handle addiction to them. Black market illegal use of drugs such as these is outstripping legitimate use and prescription. Anti-depressants and anti-psychotics are much the same story with many school age children selling their prescriptions in the school yard. Add the horrific side effects, some of which are life threatening, and what we see is an epidemic rise in the abuse and addiction to prescription medications.