A very informative weblog by Dirk Hanson covering the science of substance abuse including articles and health studies about addiction and alcoholism, and the most recent scientific and medical findings.

Wednesday, October 17th 2007
Marijuana Withdrawal

“For Some Users, Cannabis Can Be Fiercely Addictive.”
“For a minority of marijuana users, commonly estimated at 10 per cent, the use of pot can become uncontrollable, as with any other addictive drug. Addiction to marijuana is frequently submerged in the welter of polyaddictions common to active addicts. The withdrawal rigors of, say, alcohol or heroin tend to drown out the subtler, more psychological manifestations of cannabis…

Judith Ann Hillards’ blog…

Judith has written a book based on her own experience in battling cocaine addiction. The Other Woman at the Well is a truthful accounting of addiction overcome.
She also has a B.A. in communication, and an M.Ed. in counselor education, both from Arizona State University, and completed her Ph.D. training in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Here is part of her story…

“I was a preacher’s kid, the president of the National Honor Society, and voted “most likely to succeed” by my classmates. I doubt anyone dreamed that I would start snorting cocaine.

Initially I thought cocaine was “helping” me…

My Heroin Recovery

Here are some excerpts from a day to day blog of a recovering heroin addict based in South Africa… he is now on day 350.

Day 2

“I ask myself: ”Why?”. Why is it that once more a Saturday, a week, a life is ruined by my selfish actions. For that moment, that brief moment where I have my love in my arm, I think only of myself. I do the stupidest things to the most loving people and for what? Why? To slowly kill myself – that is why! To feel good for a few minutes and bad for…

ALCOHOL

“How could this have happened! The last thing I ever thought I would allow myself to do was to become an alcoholic! I mean, I accomplished every reasonable goal I set for myself, and this was not one of them. I MUST be able to control this. I WILL NOT DRINK too much tonight.”
Then I did it again…I drank too much. I became someone I did not want to be.
After one or two drinks it was if my brain said, “You have got to keep this going; don’t stop now. This is the way you really want to feel”. My…

“Broken”
By William Cope Moyers
Reviewed by Ginger B.

When I first saw William Cope Moyers he was sitting in the back seat of a car outside a theater where he was going to be speaking later that evening. He was wearing a starched blue oxford cloth long sleeve shirt and the appropriate red power tie and was speaking on his cell phone. “Great”, I thought, “Here’s a rich kid grown up, having every break money could buy, and he’s going to speak to a bunch of addicts tonight about his journey from addiction to recovery. How could his story possibly relate to…

Well, it’s been a long, hard labor, but the pain, patience and the persistence (Oh! the persistence!) have been worth it. Today our site is live - and it’s taken about 9 months since we first started our plan to launch this baby! The first trimester was a little rocky. Morning sickness reigned and we weren’t sure if we were going to make it. The second trimester flowed smoothly, though, and plans were made for design, content and delivery. However, the third trimester brought trepidation about what we had gotten ourselves into and concern about whether or not we could…

When Jim Ramstad spoke these words earlier this year, he was speaking from the heart of someome who knows. When he was arrested over 25 years ago, he had reached his “bottom” and because he had insurance that covered substance abuse treatment, he was given the care that he needed and deserved. As he so plainly states, “Treatment works.” He is passionate about closing the gap in insurance discrimination for mental health and substance abuse issues and has worked tirelessly so that the 300,000 people who were denied access to treatment this year may find hope for insurance coverage for…