Every year SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) promotes recovery in a BIG way during the month of September. This year is no exception. The theme of The National Alcohol and Drug Prevention Recovery Month for 2008 is Join the Voices for Recovery - Real People, Real Recovery.

One of the services provided is a monthly webcast, focusing on an important issue in the recovery community. I was asked to be part of the August webcast entitled Accessing Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Online where I, along with three other professionals, discussed the changes that have occurred in the…

by William C. Moyers

People struggle to explain to me their problems related to alcohol or other drugs. The result: Oftentimes, they expound in minute detail about their circumstances before finally punctuating their e-mails or letters with the questions they want answered.

But sometimes, it’s the other way around, and they drive right to the point, leaving me to struggle with how to keep it simple with succinct responses.

Dear Mr. Moyers: As a 30-year-old man with 10 years of sobriety now, I find myself in a perplexing relationship with a woman who is a wine connoisseur (and beautiful and funny and intriguing,…

Whatever 12 step program (or programs) we come from, we are a fellowship; “an elite group of experienced people who work together as peers“*, sharing our experience, strength, and hope with each other in the pursuit of a solution to our common problem and to help others to recover. The price for admission to our little society is higher than for any I know of. The price we pay to walk into the rooms truly sets apart from the rest of the world.

My sponsor/mentor/adviser/friend, a man who has been sober for 38 years, told me that there have been times…

This issue is especially important to people in recovery. Many doctors make it clear by their statements and attitudes that they know little or nothing about addiction.

I was once sent by my dentist (25 years sober) to an oral surgeon for some tricky extractions. The DMD and I had a long conversation about my recovery, addiction, and the fact that I was unwilling to take mood-altering medications. He agreed that was a good idea, and assured me that he was up on such things. He then went on into my treatment planning, and his first two ideas were Valium to…

The Big Book of AA doesn’t describe alcoholism as a disease but rather an allergy in which there is a physical craving and a mental obsession. More recent medical information since the publishing of the BB indicates that there are definite physiological differences in the brains of those who crave alcohol and those who are normal drinkers. Regardless of the medical determination, I see alcoholism as a disease of dis-ease.

I know that accepting the disease description helps me to better understand the individual. I can accept and have compassion for a person who has this “cunning, baffling, and powerful” disease.

I…

Afghans fight an addiction to heroin

Chris Sands, Foreign Correspondent

from an article in “The National”

More Afghans are turning to home-grown heroin, creating a serious health threat that officials say could be as dangerous as the insurgency. AP

KABUL // More and more Afghans are turning to cheap home-grown heroin, creating a health threat that is potentially as serious as the insurgency, narcotics officials and community workers warn.

The drug’s easy availability has become a major problem since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, despite efforts by the international community to stop poppy growth and the production of opium, from which heroin is…

by Mark Harris

I am a mandatory reporter for a system I would not trust a single blood relative to. Nor could I wholeheartedly, unreservedly, recommend or refer any person who looks like a blood relative of mine. I have to honestly say that even if you are blond haired blue eyed and wealthy, that the system will take adequate care of you. To be sure, many parts of it will be happy to take your personal wealth, or insurance wealth, in the elusive pursuit of mental health and well-being. For the most part it will do well by you, by…

I have to admit that I typically will defend the inappropriate, senseless, hurtful and sometimes illegal actions of an active addict or alcoholic as being a part of their disease almost 99.9% of the time.  What I mean by this is that, being an addict myself, I know the depths I went to achieve my next high, sometimes I hurt people emotionally, broke laws, stole from people, cheated, lied etc.  I did all these things because the driving force was my addiction and I didn’t care of anything but that.

by William C. Moyers

John McCain and Barack Obama were on the never-ending campaign trail again last week, and for once, one of the candidates actually talked about the never-ending war on drugs.

The problem is that Sen. McCain was doing his talking in Colombia, where the fight to control the production and distribution of cocaine to America never has succeeded, despite billions upon billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars being spent to do so. And what he said was nothing new.

“There is a long way to go to stem the flow of drugs into the United States of America,” McCain said. “The…

Thanks to Congress voting overwhelmingly to override the president’s veto, The Medicare Reform Bill (HR 6331) finally became a law! (If you’d like a FUN reminder of exactly how a bill becomes law, click here)

Apparently, Congress heard the screams from doctors, seniors, and the mentally ill. We bombarded them with our displeasure over The Shrub’s veto, and in a win for the system, our representatives responded.

This is big news for doctors, seniors, the disabled, and people like me–those of us with a mental illness! Doctors will be paid more. Private insurers will be paid less, as they’ve been overpaid for…

by William C. Moyers

In the past few months, I’ve had an opportunity to speak to students at a high school for adults in Minnesota and criminal defendants in the judicial system in Texas. The students know almost nothing about addiction. The felons know everything. They’re at opposite ends of the spectrum that separates fiction from fact. And both are crucial to changing the debate about alcoholism and drug addiction in America.

At the Lehmann Center School, in a gritty Minneapolis neighborhood of emigrants from all over the world, older students striving to get their high-school diplomas never had heard about alcoholism…

I was engaged in a dialog over on Dean’s World about the disease concept of alcoholism and the need/not need for absolute abstinence among recovering people. Without opening that can of worms for the moment, in the process we began discussing the idea of “outside help” in the 12-step programs.

Most of us who have been around the rooms for very long have heard some old mustache pete pipe up and say that he (sometimes she) got sober in the rooms of AA (this seems to be more common at AA meetings) and the Program Of Recovery As Laid Out In The…

Broken lives and fractured families, dashed dreams and financial ruin, and physical, emotional or mental distress; such are the harsh consequences for people addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

Even for those who do stop drinking and drugging and find recovery, it’s not unusual to experience these misfortunes, sometimes months or even years later. It can takes years to clean up the messes from the past.

Dear Mr. Moyers: Last fall, my son was kicked out of high school for drug possession. He went to treatment in another state. The good news is that today he is clean and sober; that’s not…

In a recent column about marijuana, I made these three key points: It is a mood- and mind-altering drug; it is illegal; and for some people, it causes serious consequences, including addiction.

Some readers responded with support for my perspective. “Pot made me infectiously goofy, wonderfully giddy and incredibly introspective before it caused me to not care anymore, and then I lost my job, my bank account, my girlfriend,” wrote Paul D. from Des Moines, Iowa.

A few others pushed beyond my position that marijuana should remain illegal. “Anything that affects how we feel or how we think is dangerous and should…

by William Cope Moyers

I usually preface my advice with a short editorial comment about a current event related to addiction. Not today. Here are pleas for help that remind us all of the private tragedies that never make news, even though they happen to families across the country all the time.

Dear Mr. Moyers: My 53-year-old wife, a successful executive, relapsed after seven years of sobriety, and unfortunately, this time we will not get back together. I need to know “why.” I need to get inside the head of a drug addict. Do you know of any books or DVDs made…

by William Cope Moyers
The end of the school year is here for millions of college students. It’s a time for final exams and report cards, commencement ceremonies and parties. And while many will celebrate what they’ve learned over the years, their eduction won’t include lessons on the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. Some are likely to pay for their ignorance with serious consequences.

Dear Mr. Moyers: I’ve worked as a substance abuse counselor for over 20 years. The last three, I have been employed at the university level as their prevention person and counselor. I also teach a substance-abuse class…

I watched my story in multiple parts on The Second Road’s home page and felt like I’ve stripped naket in cyberspace. I’ve shared my story in private and very public forums now for years, I’ve had the most inimate details published all over but haven’t experienced this before. Now, my drug story is “out there” memorialized on the internet. I can imagine now being held to a standard where every future deviation from the video version will be subject to criticism a la the author of “A Million Pieces” I’ve no doubt offended many of the same traditional recovery stakeholders.…

by William Cope Moyers

My soon-to-be-16-year-old son, Henry, took the written exam for his driver’s permit this week. He didn’t pass. I shared his disappointment. And I admired his commitment to study harder for too much and got behind the wheel — it’s that simple. — Melissa W. in Atlanta

Dear Melissa: Your family’s tragedy will never disappear. Neither will the woman’s responsibility for causing it. What she did was wrong. But perhaps there is some good that can come from this. On a personal level, only you can decide if meeting with her is the right thing to do

.

I’m sure it…

What better way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition in America than with a cold beer. That’s exactly what some of the nation’s brewers did last week to mark the end in 1933 of our 14-year failed experiment in enforced sobriety. They had a party.

“April 7th is a day to recognize the past 75 years of beer and the beer community’s contribution to Americans’ quality of life. The explosion of creativity and innovation by those who make beer is an American success story,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association.

Perhaps. But the end of Prohibition…

Employers soon may have to start providing employees with equal coverage for mental and physical health care if a mental health parity bill is signed into law. And while many business groups endorse the basic concept, many say they are concerned about the legislation’s potential impact on health care cost and coverage.

Lawmakers currently are hammering out a compromise proposal on mental health parity legislation that would marry elements of House and Senate bills (S. 558, H.R. 1424). If passed, the legislation would expand the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and require employers to offer employees the same level of…

If you’re like most people who learn that a family member has cancer or another life-threatening illness, you instinctively react with compassion, a desire to help and support. But more often than not, family members don’t know what to do when their loved one is struggling with alcoholism or drug dependence. Some of them even go so far as to feel guilty or shameful about trying to help that person.

Dear Mr. Moyers: I am throwing everything else on the line right now because I don’t know what else to do. My father, 50, is a successful attorney in Indiana. He…

On vacation with my family this week in Florida, I am reminded of the never-ending debate about drinking and young people.

It’s spring break, and this annual migration of teenagers and college students to warmer climes, mostly without a parent or teacher escort anywhere in sight, highlights the role alcohol plays in defining good times and bad on these trips.

At 2 a.m. in the hallways of a hotel near the Fort Myers airport, roving knots of young men and women with half-empty 12-packs of beer seem intent on making sure they aren’t the only ones who stay awake all night. If…

By William C. Moyers

Two events occurred recently that remind me of the stakes in getting the public to accept addiction as a disease that affects the entire family — but one that is treatable with benefits for everyone.

On March 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand private insurance coverage for people seeking treatment for drug dependence or alcoholism. It’s the first time the House has ever voted to require insurance companies to treat addiction like other chronic illnesses. It follows by a few months similar action in the Senate.

“We’ve waited 12 long years for this historic day,”…

This is an astonishing article I found on CNN.com on how America’s drinking water holds many different types of pharmaceuticals…

(AP) — A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Officials in Philadelphia say testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But…

By William C. Moyers

I spoke at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the other night. It was a remarkable moment for me. There I was, in a national monument of spirituality — “America’s house of prayer for all people” — telling my story of addiction, redemption and recovery. From the floor of a crack house in Atlanta in 1994 to the sanctuary of the cathedral 14 years later … go figure.

Of the several hundred people in the audience were a group of women from N Street Village. It’s an organization dedicated to preventing and eliminating homeless, and it starts by…

This article is from Newsweek’s cover story on Science. Very interesting…

Addiction isn’t a weakness; it’s an illness. Now vaccines and other new drugs may change the way we treat it.

Photographs by Gerald Forster for Newsweek

Faces of Recovery: (Clockwise from top left) Alvin O. Taylor, Megan Pudliner, Brandal Mitchell (with his mother, Chase), Christine Kelly, Sam Stanford and Annie Fuller each tell their stories

By Jeneen Interlandi | NEWSWEEK

Mar 3, 2008 Issue

 

Annie Fuller knew she was in trouble a year ago, when in the space of a few hours she managed to drink a male co-worker more than twice her size under the table.…

Here’s a little info on the interesting VH1 series, “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew“…

“Celebrity Rehab” is the first television series to chronicle the dramatic, unscripted real life experiences of a group of actual celebrities as they make the life-changing decision to enter themselves into a drug, alcohol and addiction treatment program with the sincere desire to achieve true rehabilitation and recovery.

This compelling true account of addiction, healing, and redemption is being supervised with great compassion and insight by renowned addiction and recovery expert Dr. Drew Pinsky, Medical Director of the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Southern California’s Las Encinas…

Here is an interesting article we found on Methadone treatment and the number of deaths connected to the drug. Definitely worth a look…

By Joanna Kiernan
Sunday January 27 2008
The drug substitute methadone is leading to the deaths of more addicts than heroin, disturbing figures have revealed.A report by the Dublin City Coroner has shown that of the 87 inquests heard in his court last year, pure heroin was found to have caused the deaths of 14 people and contributed to a further 12. However, methadone, the legal substitute used to treat those with a heroin addiction, was found to have caused…

By our guest writer, blogger In Repair.

I’m not good at future planning. I don’t plan at all. I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow. I don’t have a day planner and I don’t have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.

~Heath Ledger

I walked in the door after work on January 22, 2008, to my husband asking, “Did you hear about your *boy*?” I had no idea who he was talking about. When he told me Heath Ledger had died, I felt a bit of a knot form in my stomach.

“How?…

An article from News 14 Carolina on mothers who used meth in order to cope with their family life. Check out the video link on this page…

January 20th 2008
By Ivanhoe Newswire
News 14 Carolina

PHOENIX, Ariz. — According to government statistics, women make up 49 percent of all patients treated for a primary addiction to meth. Long-term effects of taking meth can be devastating, and more and more mothers are turning to this dangerous drug. The results can be disastrous.
Jasmine Trujillo loves her daughter Savannah, but until recently she also loved something else. “Meth became my higher power, it was something I…